Well, no surprise I guess. Thoughts? What local elections/ballot measures were you watching and how did they turn out?
I didn't vote for president, but I did vote for many local offices and proposed state constitutional amendments. Thankfully, the proposed amendment restricting abortion access here looks to have been defeated soundly, coming nowhere near the 60 percent needed for approval.
Still plenty of votes to count, but it looks like ballot measures to allow same-sex marriages in Maine, Maryland and Washington are set to pass, which will be the first time such a measure was passed in popular elections. Also, in Minnesota, a measure that would add an amendment clarifying marriage as between one man and one woman to the state constitution is too close to call.
I'm also anxious to see the aftermath of the Colorado amendment legalizing marijuana being passed.
CNN reporting just now that Romney has called Obama and is to concede the election soon.
Arkansas and Massachusetts have legalized medical marijuana, and Colorado and Washington have legalized marijuana entirely. My state has chosen the first openly-gay US Senator in history, which I'm proud of.
Originally posted by Guru ZimRepublicans need to stop viewing rape as the will of the creator.
Akin and Mourdock both lost Senate elections that were totally in the bag for Republicans just two months ago (in Mourdock's case, just a few weeks ago). Two crushing losses for the GOP and it may've cost them the Senate in the big picture, as the Republicans had to divert funds to Missouri/Indiana that could've gone to other close races.
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Washington, Maryland and Maine have voted to allow same-sex marriage, and Minnesota has voted not to ban it. So that's 4-for-4 as far as I'm concerned.
Also, I'm very pleased the president won re-election.
(edited by ekedolphin on 7.11.12 0435) "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." --Stone Cold Steve Austin
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Originally posted by ekedolphinWashington, Maryland and Maine have voted to allow same-sex marriage, and Minnesota has voted not to ban it. So that's 4-for-4 as far as I'm concerned.
Also, I'm very pleased the president won re-election.
(edited by ekedolphin on 7.11.12 0435)
I am very proud of my state. First in the nation to allow same-sex marriage by referendum, with 3 more states to allow (or not ban it). Great night for making sure there is freedom and equality for all.
-- 2006 Time magazine Person of the Year -- -- July 2009 Ordained Reverend --
I am very proud of my state. First in the nation to allow same-sex marriage by referendum, with 3 more states to allow (or not ban it). Great night for making sure there is freedom and equality for all.
And see here in Maine, the news is saying we're the first. Either way, I am proud of both of our states, Zeruel!
Last night was pretty great if you vote D which at the first debate had to be a shocker. I didn't think Obama was going to win Florida and watching VA go from 5 points down to taking it in the last batch of voters was pretty amazing. I like Karl Rove was surprised they called Ohio early, but the more it came into focus, it was the right call.
GOP pretty much has to take a long hard look at a few things. One of which is women. They have to find a way to be both pro-life while not offending women. Two, The Tea Party has to go. From what I saw, every signal statewide Tea Party member got crushed mainly for saying stupid shit mainly about women. I understand the primaries lead to more extreme points of views, the Dems are guilty of that as well. Yet, they have to have a come to Jesus meeting about how far right they are willing to go. I personally believe if Mitt was more moderate like the guy in the first debate, he may have won this thing instead he was pushed into a corner in the primaries and everything came back to haunt him.
Third, taxes. As much as it was about the economy, I would say having the noose of tax cuts for the rich did not help them at all. They were not able to appeal to a good chunk of the middle class. It also made them look like elitist. Now, John Boehner said there is no mandate after the election on taxes, I disagree. This was a layup election for the GOP maybe not for the Presidency, but at least for the Senate. Instead, they are gong to lose seats and their hold on the Congress is not that great. Yes, I do expect a few GOP members to look around at some of the empty chairs and realize tax breaks for the rich is not a winning plan.
Lastly, minorities. John Anderson said it best when he wen through Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado and Florida, they are the key to winning elections from this point on. An exit poll showed 62% are in favor of some form of immigration reform that allows Hispanics to stay in the country. The Dems have owned this topic and will continue to do so. Now, can the GOP make inroads with African American voters after Obama is gone, I doubt it due to the times the Dems have gone to the wall for them. The same thing is happening with the Hispanic population as well. Puertro Rico voted to become state. That is more electoral college votes for the Dems without even trying. The GOP has got to move from the white guys party to one that goes back to big tent Reagan. Unfortunately, how you do that and win a primary with a rapid base, I have no idea.
In summation, the GOP for all intensive purposes is done at least for the next two years. They can try to obstruct bills, but that obviously does not work well. Obama still has a the fiscal cliff this December on top of the fact our Social Security is going to go up. We are going to get out of Afghanistan probably sooner than later. The economy is now in real recovery phase and needs to continue to be which he has to make sure happens. Its a long road for him, but at the end of the day, he will probably be able to change the Supreme Court, build in roads with our allies who don't want to take us to war and has a better looking economy than the one he got.
The Wee Baby Sheamus.Twitter: @realjoecarfley its a bit more toned down there. A bit.
I am very proud of my state. First in the nation to allow same-sex marriage by referendum, with 3 more states to allow (or not ban it). Great night for making sure there is freedom and equality for all.
And see here in Maine, the news is saying we're the first. Either way, I am proud of both of our states, Zeruel!
They're being nit-picky here that we're first (it's almost like youtube where they're yelling "FIRST") only because our polls closed first or something like that.
Oh, and congrats to New Hampshire. This has to be some sort of milestone of having an all woman governor/congressional delegation.
(edited by Zeruel on 7.11.12 0859)
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I can't believe that everyone is sleeping on Puerto Rico voting to become the 51st state! The first new state in 53 years! I'm so excited!
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Originally posted by Mike ZeidlerA mathematician, actually.
I can't believe that everyone is sleeping on Puerto Rico voting to become the 51st state! The first new state in 53 years! I'm so excited!
I had been keeping track of the poll at the Puerto Rico Board of Elections all night, but the people I was with mistakenly told me that a No vote (which won in the first part of their referendum) was a vote to keep things the way they were. Which turned out to be incorrect. So I went to bed thinking they had voted to stay a Commonwealth. It's still a little murky about what's going to happen now. Apparently the referendum was non-binding and they need the final approval of Congress. I hope it doesn't get politicized into a Democrats vs Republicans issue.
Originally posted by Guru ZimRepublicans need to stop viewing rape as the will of the creator.
Akin and Mourdock both lost Senate elections that were totally in the bag for Republicans just two months ago (in Mourdock's case, just a few weeks ago). Two crushing losses for the GOP and it may've cost them the Senate in the big picture, as the Republicans had to divert funds to Missouri/Indiana that could've gone to other close races.
Wrong. I can't speak for Indiana, but in Missouri Aiken was shunned by the party and left on his own. A McCaskil ad highlighted all the sound bites from GOP politicians denouncing Aiken and even Romney saying he should pull out. In the big picture, picking up House seats for the GOP shows that their message works locally, but they can't translate that on the national level.
We basically have had nothing change nationally, so we can't really expect things to get a whole lot better anytime soon.
Our local elections basically kept the same suspects in power. We defeated tax increases on tobacco, let St Louis finally control their police force (its been controlled on a state level) and voted to prevent the state from creating an insurance exchange without a statewide vote.
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Originally posted by StaggerLeeWe basically have had nothing change nationally, so we can't really expect things to get a whole lot better anytime soon.
You're probably right, but it wouldn't shock me to see the Republicans cave on a few issues between now and 2016. Mitt running on an "Obama didn't get the job done" platform didn't work. If they work together with Dems on a few issues and those issues succeed, then they can say, "Hey, look what we helped with!" If the issues fail, they can say, "Well we tried, and it still didn't work."
Not that I WANT them to succeed or anything, it just seems like the logical progression to me.
Originally posted by StaggerLeeWe basically have had nothing change nationally, so we can't really expect things to get a whole lot better anytime soon.
You're probably right, but it wouldn't shock me to see the Republicans cave on a few issues between now and 2016. Mitt running on an "Obama didn't get the job done" platform didn't work. If they work together with Dems on a few issues and those issues succeed, then they can say, "Hey, look what we helped with!" If the issues fail, they can say, "Well we tried, and it still didn't work."
Not that I WANT them to succeed or anything, it just seems like the logical progression to me.
This was the first major election that I really had the time and motivation to follow. Last time I was still in grad school and the excitement was obscured by a haze of equations, flowmeters, and thesis proposals.
As a scientist/engineer (or perhaps just because ) I have difficulty strongly supporting things I don't totally understand. The arguments between supply-side and demand-side economic policy certainly qualify for that. It seems the more I read the more conflicted I become. Thus, I tend to stay out of most economic arguments and focus on social issues. The Democrats were the clear choice and for that reason I'm glad Obama won.
I am most excited about the victories against marijuana and gay marriage prohibition. Great stuff and hopefully we see these things spread to more and more states in the coming years.
Since nobody has mentioned it yet and we've been discussing the look of the Senate, I feel it bears noting the Republican candidate from Connecticut did not win either.
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I can't believe that everyone is sleeping on Puerto Rico voting to become the 51st state! The first new state in 53 years! I'm so excited!
From what I read, it is a non-binding resolution and it still would need approval from congress. If PR leans republican, there is no way the dems in the senate would let it become a state before DC gets full voting rights in congress.
-- 2006 Time magazine Person of the Year -- -- July 2009 Ordained Reverend --