Gigantic shift in America Tue

[papasmurfbell]

Firstly looking here. Md is the first state to vote in gay marriage. They were not the only ones to do it Tue. Four states either voted for it or said they do not support a constitutional ammendment making it between a man and a woman. I think this will be a sweeping tide across the country now.

 

Out west weed was legalized in 2 states. That is huge. The minute the vote is certified if the police find you with it then they can do nothing about it. So you can hang out and smoke in public without repercussions.

 

Also more states with medical use were voted in. In the long run it will be everywhere.

 

The GOP pooch screwed themselves. They had a really good shot at taking the Senate. They ran zealots who scared people away from injured incumbents. McCaskill was hurt and was ripe for the picking then Aiken had to open his yap. He had to say what he thought and not act like a a politician and lie. Richard Mourdock another fanatic lost too.

 

How does a democrate win in North Dakota? Tommy Thompson loses in Wisc. Linda McMahon lost again after spending almost $100 mil of her own money in 2 elections. George Allen lost again. Tester was hurt but survived in Mont. They picked up I think 4 seats in the Senate.

 

That said the Sup Court will change a lot in the next 4 yrs. Kennedy and Scalia will more than likely retire. They are both 76. Bryer and Ginsburg are old but that will not change the look of the Court. It should be a 6-3 court in 4 yrs. With the extra seats the Senate will be an easier vote. Maybe they will kill Citizens United then.

 

Now looking at the demos of the election the GOP ios screwed. They are an old white straight party. they have pushed out everyone who does not fill that demo. Col was solid red and Nev was purple. Now both are blue. They are because the latino electorate is so large and they are voting basically as a block dor teh democrates. It is turning Fla too. Texas is next. The GOP will start losing a lot if they don't open their arms soon.

 

And finally the Tea Party is dead. Their ilk has been what hurt the GOP. Time will tell how bad it will be.

[thundercleetz]

Good analysis. What you said is the cold, hard truth for the GOP. I am a registered Republican, but I was not happy with the Romney campaign. It led me to vote for Gary Johnson, who I feel represents what the Republicans should represent.

 

This election was a big opportunity lost for the party. IMO, a lot of voters were wishing for a legitimate candidate to vote for. I think there was general displeasure with Obama and middle voters wanted someone to convince them to vote for him. This was the Republicans opportunity to provide that guy, but Romney was not it. If Ron Paul was 25-years younger, I think he would have mopped up the electoral votes. Romney was a candidate that was disconnected from the general voter base and represented too much of "Bush-era politics". The party needs to go back to its roots, conservative fiscal policy that is based on the constitution and not religious principals. Too much of curent GOP fiscal policy is influenced by religious ideals that are against the fabric of Constitution (anti-gay marriage, creationism in schools, abstinence education, etc.). The Tea Party claimed to be constitutionalists, but it ended it up being highly hypocritical using the constitution when it was only convenient, but denying gay people rights and failing to recognize a separation of church and state. I truly hope the movement is gone. It completely eliminated any chance of swaying the middle voter.

 

Where there is dispair there is opportunity. I think the party has some young politicians like Marco Rubio, Justin Amash, Rand Paul, and even though he lost in MD, Dan Bongino who are fiscally conservative but are more supportive of civil liberties. Politicians who are more libertarian like Ron Paul and Gary Johnson than present-day Republican. I think in the long-term this loss will do the party good. A lot of the social issues that have poorly influenced GOP policy will be taken care of during the next four years, so in 2016 the GOP will be able to focus on what it should, fiscal policy.

[papasmurfbell]

I saw Rudy Guliani last night on CNN. He said he didn't run for President this yr because he couldn't win the nomination. Ultimately the religious right and tea party crowd hijacked the whole party. The tale was wagging the dog.

 

I see Christy and Jeb as big possibilities. I am not into Rand as much as his father. I have to wait to learn more about Rubio. I have not heard of Amash.

[vmax]

For me, the 2 party system is a failure in todays era. Only a Democrat or a Republican has a shot at getting elected.

It did not give me a choice of a person who I thought could lead and guide this country during a critical period of our history.

 

There are a ton of brilliant people in this country who could be far better Presidents than either of those two, but the Democrats and Republicans have a monopoly that makes it impossible for the cream to rise to the top.

 

So...I see no shift. Just the same old, same old.

[papasmurfbell]

I am in total agreement on that. I am talking about a shift in what is comcidered to be the social norms of the US. The religious right is such a small minority in this country.

 

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2012/11/08/ac-republican-platform.cnn

 

Check out Ari fleischer and what he has to say at about 1:50.

[BengalBilly]

I work in aviation, which means I come in contact with many small business owners. After Obama's re-election they all feel doomed, and are ready to start laying off employees, or switching them to part time. They can't stay in business otherwise.

 

I also maintain aircraft owned by doctors. They're ready to stop practicing medicine if Obamacare gets passed.

 

Dark days are ahead.

[Spen]

For me, the 2 party system is a failure in todays era. Only a Democrat or a Republican has a shot at getting elected.

It did not give me a choice of a person who I thought could lead and guide this country during a critical period of our history.

 

There are a ton of brilliant people in this country who could be far better Presidents than either of those two, but the Democrats and Republicans have a monopoly that makes it impossible for the cream to rise to the top.

 

So...I see no shift. Just the same old, same old.

 

Two me its not just the two party system, its the fact that the parties are so powerful and they end up shaping the candidates into their cookie cutter forms.

 

I work in aviation, which means I come in contact with many small business owners. After Obama's re-election they all feel doomed, and are ready to start laying off employees, or switching them to part time. They can't stay in business otherwise.

 

I also maintain aircraft owned by doctors. They're ready to stop practicing medicine if Obamacare gets passed.

 

Dark days are ahead.

 

 

I work for a small company that has tried and struggled to provide healthcare for its employees for years and finally had to give up and force us get our own coverage. If things go as planned with health care reform my company plans to offer coverage again next year. Other policies had my company's owner and the CEO hoping Obama would be re-elected.

 

My wife works in the pharmaceutical field in a business owned by a family of doctors and they are not worried about health care reform in the least. They dont all necessarily view it as a great thing, but not a bad thing either. Just a different process. Her previous job at a senior care pharmacy supposedly had jobs created in part because of the health care reform.

 

If CEOs or companies lay people off now "due to the election"- that is on them, not Obama. Especially since there was no clear cut specific plan from Romney. Who knows what would be better or worse under his non expressed plans, its just silly fear mongering that makes me sad when I see people buy into it. Hopefully most people are smart to see through the leaps of illogic.

 

[Spen]

I am not sure either of these mean anything, but I find them interesting.

 

And I just like this one:

[Spen]

These just make me laugh:

 

 

[vmax]

Nice find Spen!

 

Talking about a shift....I see your point papa. It's one thing to be openminded about issues such as gay marriage, gambling and legalizing pot and another to take action on them by voting for them. Then a shift occurs. It's a process. First comes awareness, belief and thought, then action.

I take this recent shift as a sign people are getting more openminded.

The shifts I want to see are in this country are higher than issues such as these, that really are small potatoes compared to the dark mushroom cloud that looms over this country. Issues and states of existence such as our national debt, global warming, being in a constant state of war as the world police led by the oil companies, the energy crisis, the rampant murder and violence in this country, and a Congress that no longer makes decisions based on the highest good for all.

 

Shift to a vision of what is best for everybody on this planet. Identify where are we heading that's not good? How can we correct that from happening? Shift towards building and investing in that future today.

We still have the money and the power that has our country as a world leader. With that comes the grave responsibility to be a good steward.

[Spen]

I admit I lean to the left but I have voted for Republicans numerous times and in presidential elections. I just couldn't bring myself to vote for any the current options due in part because of their stance on some scientific issues including energy, global warming, women's health, and evolution. If that doesn't change I cannot see myself voting for them any time soon.

 

I was a skeptic on man made climate change for a long time and it bothered me that some reported it as fact long before enough data was in. I also think both sides cherry pick their data. Having said that, I always thought the science was sound (not that I am a scientist or anything) and as more information has come in in recent years I now believe. At this point (last I saw) its estimated that 98% of the worlds scientists agree with the theory that man is contributing to global climate change. One party, many politicians, and one faux news network still roll their eyes when its brought up and say that not everyone agrees its happening and we cannot force ourselves to change when the facts aren't all in. Are we seriously supposed to wait until 100% of scientists agree before we take it seriously? If so its not going to happen. I bet you can find one or two doctors out of a hundred who say smoking isn't bad for you. Its irresponsible to ignore a vast majority of scientific opinions and cling to a few in the minority as an excuse for inaction.

[papasmurfbell]

Hell the scientist that the Koch brothers hired to debunk climate change said he had to afirm it and he said he thinks it is worse than the original scientists said.