On November 08 2012 11:07 Maxyim wrote: Looks like the Republican party is done; left-wing voters resoundingly outnumber right-wing voters now within the USA; the election was not even close, yet Republicans were the party with the momentum!
Hillary will win in 2016 after another "slow recovery" period by positioning herself as a more moderate Democrat than Obama. Pretty soon, the moderate Democrats will be running against the liberal Democrats. Europe, here we come!!!
On a brighter note, America just voted to re-elect a minority president after a first term chronicled by the worst economic record since the Great Depression. Perhaps we can finally stop talking about racism now.
MAINSTREAM REPUBLICANS, ESP. THOSE PLANNING TO RUN FOR POTUS / CONGRESS, OR ADVISE SAID CANDIDATES IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM:
It's time for a serious, and I mean FUCKING serious attitude adjustment. We know now (although some of us already knew before, but you were too fucking STUPID to listen), that, even when we are in the RIGHT (pun intended) on all key issues pertaining to fiscal and foreign policy, we will get RAPED UP THE ASS in elections if we utter a peep against abortion or gay marriage. These subjects are NOT RELEVANT. Just SHUT THE FUCK UP about them. Who are you to decide whether two people can be in a relationship? Do you have a vagina? If not, why the FUCK are you talking about what someone can or cannot do with one? You realize that there is almost NOTHING that you will ever have a chance to do regarding these issues within the Legislative and Executive branches of Federal government? That's right, they are decided on a STATE level, unless there is a perceived injustice against a minority, in which case the Supreme Court gets involved, not YOU, DUMBASS. READ the Constitution that you all lie through your teeth about being so in love with. STOP falling for TROLOLOL at every possible opportunity!
After another term of Obama and two terms of Hillary, and this country is going to be a very different place. There will be no room for 19th century politics. There will be no room for bigoted ignorance. We need to be able to offer a clear contrast to the left-wing without giving them ANY opportunity to discredit our entire platform with crap that IS NOT RELEVANT. We are the LAST HOLDOUT of conservatism. There IS NO GALT'S GULCH. If there were, do you think that the welfare state would leave it alone? Class warfare is here to stay, and God help us that we can pull together enough votes to keep it at bay every now and then; it will be difficult enough without all of your MORONIC DISTRACTIONS!
Obama had less then one percent more of the population vote for him then romney. You're really blowing this out of proportion. There was this one election a little while back where the republican candidate won all but one state in the union. did the democrats die out because of that?
Quite literally nothing changed from the election and its looking like thats going to stick. Republicans are holding more gov seats then ever and have a redistricting advantage in the house.
Like literally bachmann is still going back to Washington. If that doesn't say anything to you then you need to reexamine your view of politics in america.
My friend, you forget that Obama was running for reelection after a first term chronicled by the worst economic record since the Great Depression. He won IN SPITE of his record. He has literally accomplished nothing in four years. Obamacare is a perceived failure by over 50% of the electorate. The economy was rated as the top area of concern by something like 75% of the electorate.
Women and minorities decided this election, for reasons specifically stated above. Bachmann survived by the skin of her teeth; West and Love are out...I don't see where you are going with your argument.
On November 08 2012 09:06 Probe1 wrote: Wait so the Republican Party isn't going to support deportation over naturalization anymore? When did this start? Ten minutes after the election was over or twenty?
The problem with sending out the message is actions speak tenfold over crappy commercials and blowhard pundits. Republicans ain't so kind to dem foreigners.
President Bush actually tried repeatedly to pass immigration reform that would have laid a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Since then the moderate elements of the Republican party have lost influence on the issue. McCain pushed hard for it as well during the time Bush was in office, but seems to have taken a bit of a step backwards as he decided to support Arizona SB 1070 last minute in order to better his chances at re-election. Mitt Romney has moved his party farther to the right in the issue as he casted himself as an outspoken hardliner on immigration as well as a host of other social issues.
8 years ago the party was divided and headed towards immigration reform. Right now there are still Republican members of the House and Senate who were around when Bush pushed for it, and I suspect will readily support illegal-friendly immigration reform as soon as it is politically palatable to their base. Their base recoiled on pretty much every social issue after President Obama was elected and they made the decision to cater to the base rather than stand firm on things like this. That said, it's not fair to characterize the entire party as one that hates illegals. Moderate Republicans are out there, and they don't have the hard-line stances that Mitt Romney leaned towards regarding social issues.
Everyone said this election was going to be about the economy. Mitt Romney still won on the economy. He lost on social issues and he lost on foreign policy due to the continued hangover from Bush.
You guys keep saying that but I'm not seeing that. I saw Arizona gunman dressed up on a Friday night calling themselves a militia and George Bush condoning it. I saw his own brother running wet foot dry foot and treating immigrants as second class citizens.
All I ever see is Republicans with jingoism in their eyes. Maybe I'm wrong but it's what I've experienced in my life.
switched parties after literally a lifetime as a Republican moderate.
Edit: Both bills failed, largely from right-wing opposition.
After hearing Fox News say, on air, that they think they lost this election because Romney was too moderate ... I don't know what to think. They said the same thing about McCain too. Sigh.
Independents need a choice. Independents were given a choice in 2010. They came out in droves. The choice was very clear, a more limited government, more fiscal responsibility, vs. expansive government, obamacare, etc.
When independents don't see a clear difference between the candidates, they stay home. When Mitt Romney or McCain try to come across as moderate, when they don't distinguish themselves from Obama with a clear and articulated philosophy, then they are making it a pure popularity contest, a beauty contest. McCain and Romney are not going to win a beauty contest with Obama. The only chance they could possibly have is to articulate a philosophy so that people can vote philosophy and not vote popularity contest, which they are doomed to fail.
There is a market for the ideas, 2010 proved that. When the ideas are push aside, Republicans lose. When ideals are championed, as they were with Reagan, with Rubio, with Rand... You can see victory.
Of course, I need to be clear which ideas I'm talking about. I'm not talking about gay marriage, or abortion, or any social issue. I'm talking about individualism and limited government. We talk and think too much of Democracy itself and too little of the values which it serves.
I disagree with you 100%. We lost the election because of the superfluous crap that taints Republicans. Romney offered a clear fiscal and foreign policy alternative to Obama. Obama already had a poor track record in these areas. Yet none of that could stop the 5% margin from increased turnout by pissed-off women, gays and Latinos. GG, no re for 12 years; can we try something different then?
Do you honestly think Republicans could ever win anything playing the "we're less liberal than they are" game? That's a death sentence. It makes no sense at all to say that the way to beat Democrats is to be more Democrat.
Unless the country is.....you know.......more Democrat.
This. There is no other explanation.
Obama has accomplished things in his first term, don't really know what you're talking about.
On November 08 2012 11:07 Maxyim wrote: Looks like the Republican party is done; left-wing voters resoundingly outnumber right-wing voters now within the USA; the election was not even close, yet Republicans were the party with the momentum!
Hillary will win in 2016 after another "slow recovery" period by positioning herself as a more moderate Democrat than Obama. Pretty soon, the moderate Democrats will be running against the liberal Democrats. Europe, here we come!!!
On a brighter note, America just voted to re-elect a minority president after a first term chronicled by the worst economic record since the Great Depression. Perhaps we can finally stop talking about racism now.
MAINSTREAM REPUBLICANS, ESP. THOSE PLANNING TO RUN FOR POTUS / CONGRESS, OR ADVISE SAID CANDIDATES IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM:
It's time for a serious, and I mean FUCKING serious attitude adjustment. We know now (although some of us already knew before, but you were too fucking STUPID to listen), that, even when we are in the RIGHT (pun intended) on all key issues pertaining to fiscal and foreign policy, we will get RAPED UP THE ASS in elections if we utter a peep against abortion or gay marriage. These subjects are NOT RELEVANT. Just SHUT THE FUCK UP about them. Who are you to decide whether two people can be in a relationship? Do you have a vagina? If not, why the FUCK are you talking about what someone can or cannot do with one? You realize that there is almost NOTHING that you will ever have a chance to do regarding these issues within the Legislative and Executive branches of Federal government? That's right, they are decided on a STATE level, unless there is a perceived injustice against a minority, in which case the Supreme Court gets involved, not YOU, DUMBASS. READ the Constitution that you all lie through your teeth about being so in love with. STOP falling for TROLOLOL at every possible opportunity!
After another term of Obama and two terms of Hillary, and this country is going to be a very different place. There will be no room for 19th century politics. There will be no room for bigoted ignorance. We need to be able to offer a clear contrast to the left-wing without giving them ANY opportunity to discredit our entire platform with crap that IS NOT RELEVANT. We are the LAST HOLDOUT of conservatism. There IS NO GALT'S GULCH. If there were, do you think that the welfare state would leave it alone? Class warfare is here to stay, and God help us that we can pull together enough votes to keep it at bay every now and then; it will be difficult enough without all of your MORONIC DISTRACTIONS!
Obama had less then one percent more of the population vote for him then romney. You're really blowing this out of proportion. There was this one election a little while back where the republican candidate won all but one state in the union. did the democrats die out because of that?
Quite literally nothing changed from the election and its looking like thats going to stick. Republicans are holding more gov seats then ever and have a redistricting advantage in the house.
Like literally bachmann is still going back to Washington. If that doesn't say anything to you then you need to reexamine your view of politics in america.
My friend, you forget that Obama was running for reelection after a first term chronicled by the worst economic record since the Great Depression. He won IN SPITE of his record. He has literally accomplished nothing in four years. Obamacare is a perceived failure by over 50% of the electorate. The economy was rated as the top area of concern by something like 75% of the electorate.
Women and minorities decided this election, for reasons specifically stated above. Bachmann survived by the skin of her teeth; West and Love are out...I don't see where you are going with your argument.
On November 08 2012 11:22 farvacola wrote:
On November 08 2012 11:21 jdseemoreglass wrote:
On November 08 2012 11:18 Maxyim wrote:
On November 08 2012 11:13 jdseemoreglass wrote:
On November 08 2012 10:54 babylon wrote:
On November 08 2012 10:52 Wuster wrote:
On November 08 2012 10:42 Probe1 wrote:
On November 08 2012 10:26 p4NDemik wrote: [quote] President Bush actually tried repeatedly to pass immigration reform that would have laid a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Since then the moderate elements of the Republican party have lost influence on the issue. McCain pushed hard for it as well during the time Bush was in office, but seems to have taken a bit of a step backwards as he decided to support Arizona SB 1070 last minute in order to better his chances at re-election. Mitt Romney has moved his party farther to the right in the issue as he casted himself as an outspoken hardliner on immigration as well as a host of other social issues.
8 years ago the party was divided and headed towards immigration reform. Right now there are still Republican members of the House and Senate who were around when Bush pushed for it, and I suspect will readily support illegal-friendly immigration reform as soon as it is politically palatable to their base. Their base recoiled on pretty much every social issue after President Obama was elected and they made the decision to cater to the base rather than stand firm on things like this. That said, it's not fair to characterize the entire party as one that hates illegals. Moderate Republicans are out there, and they don't have the hard-line stances that Mitt Romney leaned towards regarding social issues.
Everyone said this election was going to be about the economy. Mitt Romney still won on the economy. He lost on social issues and he lost on foreign policy due to the continued hangover from Bush.
You guys keep saying that but I'm not seeing that. I saw Arizona gunman dressed up on a Friday night calling themselves a militia and George Bush condoning it. I saw his own brother running wet foot dry foot and treating immigrants as second class citizens.
All I ever see is Republicans with jingoism in their eyes. Maybe I'm wrong but it's what I've experienced in my life.
switched parties after literally a lifetime as a Republican moderate.
Edit: Both bills failed, largely from right-wing opposition.
After hearing Fox News say, on air, that they think they lost this election because Romney was too moderate ... I don't know what to think. They said the same thing about McCain too. Sigh.
Independents need a choice. Independents were given a choice in 2010. They came out in droves. The choice was very clear, a more limited government, more fiscal responsibility, vs. expansive government, obamacare, etc.
When independents don't see a clear difference between the candidates, they stay home. When Mitt Romney or McCain try to come across as moderate, when they don't distinguish themselves from Obama with a clear and articulated philosophy, then they are making it a pure popularity contest, a beauty contest. McCain and Romney are not going to win a beauty contest with Obama. The only chance they could possibly have is to articulate a philosophy so that people can vote philosophy and not vote popularity contest, which they are doomed to fail.
There is a market for the ideas, 2010 proved that. When the ideas are push aside, Republicans lose. When ideals are championed, as they were with Reagan, with Rubio, with Rand... You can see victory.
Of course, I need to be clear which ideas I'm talking about. I'm not talking about gay marriage, or abortion, or any social issue. I'm talking about individualism and limited government. We talk and think too much of Democracy itself and too little of the values which it serves.
I disagree with you 100%. We lost the election because of the superfluous crap that taints Republicans. Romney offered a clear fiscal and foreign policy alternative to Obama. Obama already had a poor track record in these areas. Yet none of that could stop the 5% margin from increased turnout by pissed-off women, gays and Latinos. GG, no re for 12 years; can we try something different then?
Do you honestly think Republicans could ever win anything playing the "we're less liberal than they are" game? That's a death sentence. It makes no sense at all to say that the way to beat Democrats is to be more Democrat.
Unless the country is.....you know.......more Democrat.
This. There is no other explanation.
Obama has accomplished things in his first term, don't really know what you're talking about.
I have no wish to debate this; it is not a factor anymore. But no, he did not. He got Obamacare through (which nobody wants, not even the unions), added 5 trillion to the debt, and then became a lame duck in 2010, which is where he is now going to stay until the cows come home. All economic statistics leading up to the 2012 election were almost identical to statistics leading up to the 2008 election, except for the debt, lol.
Everyone said this election was going to be about the economy. Mitt Romney still won on the economy. He lost on social issues and he lost on foreign policy due to the continued hangover from Bush.
Yeah, this is the most surprising thing I took away from the election. People care more about social issues than economic issues. I whiffed on that one completely.
In fairness it's not like Obama's economic plan was to set fire to the country and claim the insurance, he does have a legitimate track record on the economy. Jobs are being created, it is growing. Whether it's as much as you believe Romney would do is another matter but I don't think people voted for Obama because they didn't care at all about the economy.
Incomes declined every year during his first term. down by $4,300. for middle income families.
32 million on food stamps when Obama took office. Now 47 million on food stamps.
10 trillion dollars in debt when Obama took office. Now16 trillion in debt.
Unemployment is down, but there are also less people being counted that still remain unemployed. I need to dig up the details about this, but there is a lot of concern that un-employment is being understated as a result in the way unemployment is being counted. In essence, being willing and able to work yet remaining unemployed does not mean you are being counted in the unemployment numbers.
"Setting fire" seems a bit extreme, but I'm not seeing how Obama's policy are anything short of failure. Unless of course, you paint the doomsday picture that Obama saved us from.
The financial crisis of 2007–2008, also known as the global financial crisis and 2008 financial crisis, is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.[1][2] It resulted in the threat of total collapse of large financial institutions, the bailout of banks by national governments, and downturns in stock markets around the world. In many areas, the housing market also suffered, resulting in evictions, foreclosures and prolonged unemployment. The crisis played a significant role in the failure of key businesses, declines in consumer wealth estimated in trillions of US dollars, and a downturn in economic activity leading to the 2008–2012 global recession and contributing to the European sovereign-debt crisis.[3][4] The active phase of the crisis, which manifested as a liquidity crisis, can be dated from August 7, 2007 when BNP Paribas terminated withdrawals from three hedge funds citing "a complete evaporation of liquidity".[5]
The bursting of the U.S. housing bubble, which peaked in 2006,[6] caused the values of securities tied to U.S. real estate pricing to plummet, damaging financial institutions globally.[7][8] The financial crisis was triggered by a complex interplay of government policies that encouraged home ownership, providing easier access to loans for subprime borrowers, overvaluation of bundled sub-prime mortgages based on the theory that housing prices would continue to escalate, questionable trading practices on behalf of both buyers and sellers, compensation structures that prioritize short-term deal flow over long-term value creation, and a lack of adequate capital holdings from banks and insurance companies to back the financial commitments they were making.[9][10][11][12] Questions regarding bank solvency, declines in credit availability and damaged investor confidence had an impact on global stock markets, where securities suffered large losses during 2008 and early 2009. Economies worldwide slowed during this period, as credit tightened and international trade declined.[13] Governments and central banks responded with unprecedented fiscal stimulus, monetary policy expansion and institutional bailouts. Although there have been aftershocks, the financial crisis itself ended sometime between late-2008 and mid-2009.[14][15][16] In the U.S., Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In the EU, the UK responded with austerity measures of spending cuts and tax increases without export growth and it has since slid into a double-dip recession.[17][18]
Many causes for the financial crisis have been suggested, with varying weight assigned by experts.[19] The U.S. Senate's Levin–Coburn Report asserted that the crisis was the result of "high risk, complex financial products; undisclosed conflicts of interest; the failure of regulators, the credit rating agencies, and the market itself to rein in the excesses of Wall Street."[20] The 1999 repeal of the Glass–Steagall Act effectively removed the separation between investment banks and depository banks in the United States.[21] Critics argued that credit rating agencies and investors failed to accurately price the risk involved with mortgage-related financial products, and that governments did not adjust their regulatory practices to address 21st-century financial markets.[22] Research into the causes of the financial crisis has also focused on the role of interest rate spreads.[23]
In response to the financial crisis, both market-based and regulatory solutions have been implemented or are under consideration.[24] Paul Krugman, author of End This Depression Now! (2012), argues that while current solutions have stabilized the world economy, the world economy will not improve unless it receives further stimulus.[25] Buchanan, Gjerstad, and Smith argue that fiscal and monetary policy are ineffective, failing to reignite residential investment and construction as they have in past contractions. The current type of contraction requires balance sheet repair via currency depreciation and export-driven growth. Fiscal stimulus extends a current account deficit and retards export growth.[18][26] If the world economy does not improve, many economists fear sovereign default is a real possibility in several European countries and even the United States.[27]
How's that for painting? Get real, we suffered MASSIVE economic hits, and the damage could have been far worse, all thoughts given print by the likes of Krugman and similar minded economists. The mere fact that you mention a sub-20 million dollar increase in food stamps shows how loaded your hand is; that number is not only tiny but also very likely indicative of something most average people can see very clearly; shit got bad, and people needed assistance. Now is where you pretend that most of those who receive these benefits are lazy, horrible, likely minority citizens, and use that intellectually dishonest label to justify lionizing anyone who wants to cut government spending. Guess what, voters didn't buy the bullshit, so I'd stop selling it like it's a well informed opinion.
There's a reason why no college campus in the country accepts Wikipedia as a reliable source. Jus sayin.
There's a reason why it is an incredibly useful means of sourcing information when prompted via impromptu online message boards, something I'd think a 1000+ poster would know. In fact, amongst pretty much anyone who knows how wikipedia goes about maintaining their high traffic pages, when someone says "oh mah gawd wikipedia so bad", it means they either lack the evidence or the will to actually support a position. Jus sayin.
Edit: I apologize if I appear hostile, I'm only trying to play my doomsayer role.
I wish I could pretend to understand all the intracacies that propel the economy in a positive or negative direction. There is enough speculation out there to evidence a position for and against the necessity of Obama's economic policies during the last four years.
What I do understand are simple facts. Those are easy. We're making less money than we were before Obama took office. We're paying more for everyday goods. Unemployment remains way to high. Our national debit has increased by 6 trillion dollars.
I'm not sure any amount of spin can paint these things as a success. "Hey, it could have been worse" doesn't seem like much of an argument to me. I do look forward to hindsight regarding this matter.
How about this for some short-and-sweet spin: stop thinking all of our problems can be fixed in a few years. Shit takes time. Doesn't help when half of government is uncooperative, either.
On November 08 2012 11:30 jdseemoreglass wrote: + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nj9e3JLGkA
Liberal rage incoming.
You're forgetting that nobody with half a brain gives anything about what Bill O'Reilly says. Who cares if the 'white establishment' is no longer in control?
On November 08 2012 11:07 Maxyim wrote: Looks like the Republican party is done; left-wing voters resoundingly outnumber right-wing voters now within the USA; the election was not even close, yet Republicans were the party with the momentum!
Hillary will win in 2016 after another "slow recovery" period by positioning herself as a more moderate Democrat than Obama. Pretty soon, the moderate Democrats will be running against the liberal Democrats. Europe, here we come!!!
On a brighter note, America just voted to re-elect a minority president after a first term chronicled by the worst economic record since the Great Depression. Perhaps we can finally stop talking about racism now.
MAINSTREAM REPUBLICANS, ESP. THOSE PLANNING TO RUN FOR POTUS / CONGRESS, OR ADVISE SAID CANDIDATES IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM:
It's time for a serious, and I mean FUCKING serious attitude adjustment. We know now (although some of us already knew before, but you were too fucking STUPID to listen), that, even when we are in the RIGHT (pun intended) on all key issues pertaining to fiscal and foreign policy, we will get RAPED UP THE ASS in elections if we utter a peep against abortion or gay marriage. These subjects are NOT RELEVANT. Just SHUT THE FUCK UP about them. Who are you to decide whether two people can be in a relationship? Do you have a vagina? If not, why the FUCK are you talking about what someone can or cannot do with one? You realize that there is almost NOTHING that you will ever have a chance to do regarding these issues within the Legislative and Executive branches of Federal government? That's right, they are decided on a STATE level, unless there is a perceived injustice against a minority, in which case the Supreme Court gets involved, not YOU, DUMBASS. READ the Constitution that you all lie through your teeth about being so in love with. STOP falling for TROLOLOL at every possible opportunity!
After another term of Obama and two terms of Hillary, and this country is going to be a very different place. There will be no room for 19th century politics. There will be no room for bigoted ignorance. We need to be able to offer a clear contrast to the left-wing without giving them ANY opportunity to discredit our entire platform with crap that IS NOT RELEVANT. We are the LAST HOLDOUT of conservatism. There IS NO GALT'S GULCH. If there were, do you think that the welfare state would leave it alone? Class warfare is here to stay, and God help us that we can pull together enough votes to keep it at bay every now and then; it will be difficult enough without all of your MORONIC DISTRACTIONS!
Obama had less then one percent more of the population vote for him then romney. You're really blowing this out of proportion. There was this one election a little while back where the republican candidate won all but one state in the union. did the democrats die out because of that?
Quite literally nothing changed from the election and its looking like thats going to stick. Republicans are holding more gov seats then ever and have a redistricting advantage in the house.
Like literally bachmann is still going back to Washington. If that doesn't say anything to you then you need to reexamine your view of politics in america.
My friend, you forget that Obama was running for reelection after a first term chronicled by the worst economic record since the Great Depression. He won IN SPITE of his record. He has literally accomplished nothing in four years. Obamacare is a perceived failure by over 50% of the electorate. The economy was rated as the top area of concern by something like 75% of the electorate.
Women and minorities decided this election, for reasons specifically stated above. Bachmann survived by the skin of her teeth; West and Love are out...I don't see where you are going with your argument.
On November 08 2012 11:22 farvacola wrote:
On November 08 2012 11:21 jdseemoreglass wrote:
On November 08 2012 11:18 Maxyim wrote:
On November 08 2012 11:13 jdseemoreglass wrote:
On November 08 2012 10:54 babylon wrote:
On November 08 2012 10:52 Wuster wrote:
On November 08 2012 10:42 Probe1 wrote:
On November 08 2012 10:26 p4NDemik wrote: [quote] President Bush actually tried repeatedly to pass immigration reform that would have laid a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Since then the moderate elements of the Republican party have lost influence on the issue. McCain pushed hard for it as well during the time Bush was in office, but seems to have taken a bit of a step backwards as he decided to support Arizona SB 1070 last minute in order to better his chances at re-election. Mitt Romney has moved his party farther to the right in the issue as he casted himself as an outspoken hardliner on immigration as well as a host of other social issues.
8 years ago the party was divided and headed towards immigration reform. Right now there are still Republican members of the House and Senate who were around when Bush pushed for it, and I suspect will readily support illegal-friendly immigration reform as soon as it is politically palatable to their base. Their base recoiled on pretty much every social issue after President Obama was elected and they made the decision to cater to the base rather than stand firm on things like this. That said, it's not fair to characterize the entire party as one that hates illegals. Moderate Republicans are out there, and they don't have the hard-line stances that Mitt Romney leaned towards regarding social issues.
Everyone said this election was going to be about the economy. Mitt Romney still won on the economy. He lost on social issues and he lost on foreign policy due to the continued hangover from Bush.
You guys keep saying that but I'm not seeing that. I saw Arizona gunman dressed up on a Friday night calling themselves a militia and George Bush condoning it. I saw his own brother running wet foot dry foot and treating immigrants as second class citizens.
All I ever see is Republicans with jingoism in their eyes. Maybe I'm wrong but it's what I've experienced in my life.
switched parties after literally a lifetime as a Republican moderate.
Edit: Both bills failed, largely from right-wing opposition.
After hearing Fox News say, on air, that they think they lost this election because Romney was too moderate ... I don't know what to think. They said the same thing about McCain too. Sigh.
Independents need a choice. Independents were given a choice in 2010. They came out in droves. The choice was very clear, a more limited government, more fiscal responsibility, vs. expansive government, obamacare, etc.
When independents don't see a clear difference between the candidates, they stay home. When Mitt Romney or McCain try to come across as moderate, when they don't distinguish themselves from Obama with a clear and articulated philosophy, then they are making it a pure popularity contest, a beauty contest. McCain and Romney are not going to win a beauty contest with Obama. The only chance they could possibly have is to articulate a philosophy so that people can vote philosophy and not vote popularity contest, which they are doomed to fail.
There is a market for the ideas, 2010 proved that. When the ideas are push aside, Republicans lose. When ideals are championed, as they were with Reagan, with Rubio, with Rand... You can see victory.
Of course, I need to be clear which ideas I'm talking about. I'm not talking about gay marriage, or abortion, or any social issue. I'm talking about individualism and limited government. We talk and think too much of Democracy itself and too little of the values which it serves.
I disagree with you 100%. We lost the election because of the superfluous crap that taints Republicans. Romney offered a clear fiscal and foreign policy alternative to Obama. Obama already had a poor track record in these areas. Yet none of that could stop the 5% margin from increased turnout by pissed-off women, gays and Latinos. GG, no re for 12 years; can we try something different then?
Do you honestly think Republicans could ever win anything playing the "we're less liberal than they are" game? That's a death sentence. It makes no sense at all to say that the way to beat Democrats is to be more Democrat.
Unless the country is.....you know.......more Democrat.
This. There is no other explanation.
Obama has accomplished things in his first term, don't really know what you're talking about.
He went into his first term with a super majority in the senate a soundly defeated enemy and the most super charged and connected populace the country has ever seen. Then he managed to fuck up the first thing he did in office (obamacare) and things went downhill from there when he lost control of the house and lost his super majority in the senate.
I hope to god that a president does something with the kind of advantage that obama had in his first term. He did nowhere near what he said he was going to do
Everyone said this election was going to be about the economy. Mitt Romney still won on the economy. He lost on social issues and he lost on foreign policy due to the continued hangover from Bush.
Yeah, this is the most surprising thing I took away from the election. People care more about social issues than economic issues. I whiffed on that one completely.
In fairness it's not like Obama's economic plan was to set fire to the country and claim the insurance, he does have a legitimate track record on the economy. Jobs are being created, it is growing. Whether it's as much as you believe Romney would do is another matter but I don't think people voted for Obama because they didn't care at all about the economy.
Incomes declined every year during his first term. down by $4,300. for middle income families.
32 million on food stamps when Obama took office. Now 47 million on food stamps.
10 trillion dollars in debt when Obama took office. Now16 trillion in debt.
Unemployment is down, but there are also less people being counted that still remain unemployed. I need to dig up the details about this, but there is a lot of concern that un-employment is being understated as a result in the way unemployment is being counted. In essence, being willing and able to work yet remaining unemployed does not mean you are being counted in the unemployment numbers.
"Setting fire" seems a bit extreme, but I'm not seeing how Obama's policy are anything short of failure. Unless of course, you paint the doomsday picture that Obama saved us from.
The financial crisis of 2007–2008, also known as the global financial crisis and 2008 financial crisis, is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.[1][2] It resulted in the threat of total collapse of large financial institutions, the bailout of banks by national governments, and downturns in stock markets around the world. In many areas, the housing market also suffered, resulting in evictions, foreclosures and prolonged unemployment. The crisis played a significant role in the failure of key businesses, declines in consumer wealth estimated in trillions of US dollars, and a downturn in economic activity leading to the 2008–2012 global recession and contributing to the European sovereign-debt crisis.[3][4] The active phase of the crisis, which manifested as a liquidity crisis, can be dated from August 7, 2007 when BNP Paribas terminated withdrawals from three hedge funds citing "a complete evaporation of liquidity".[5]
The bursting of the U.S. housing bubble, which peaked in 2006,[6] caused the values of securities tied to U.S. real estate pricing to plummet, damaging financial institutions globally.[7][8] The financial crisis was triggered by a complex interplay of government policies that encouraged home ownership, providing easier access to loans for subprime borrowers, overvaluation of bundled sub-prime mortgages based on the theory that housing prices would continue to escalate, questionable trading practices on behalf of both buyers and sellers, compensation structures that prioritize short-term deal flow over long-term value creation, and a lack of adequate capital holdings from banks and insurance companies to back the financial commitments they were making.[9][10][11][12] Questions regarding bank solvency, declines in credit availability and damaged investor confidence had an impact on global stock markets, where securities suffered large losses during 2008 and early 2009. Economies worldwide slowed during this period, as credit tightened and international trade declined.[13] Governments and central banks responded with unprecedented fiscal stimulus, monetary policy expansion and institutional bailouts. Although there have been aftershocks, the financial crisis itself ended sometime between late-2008 and mid-2009.[14][15][16] In the U.S., Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In the EU, the UK responded with austerity measures of spending cuts and tax increases without export growth and it has since slid into a double-dip recession.[17][18]
Many causes for the financial crisis have been suggested, with varying weight assigned by experts.[19] The U.S. Senate's Levin–Coburn Report asserted that the crisis was the result of "high risk, complex financial products; undisclosed conflicts of interest; the failure of regulators, the credit rating agencies, and the market itself to rein in the excesses of Wall Street."[20] The 1999 repeal of the Glass–Steagall Act effectively removed the separation between investment banks and depository banks in the United States.[21] Critics argued that credit rating agencies and investors failed to accurately price the risk involved with mortgage-related financial products, and that governments did not adjust their regulatory practices to address 21st-century financial markets.[22] Research into the causes of the financial crisis has also focused on the role of interest rate spreads.[23]
In response to the financial crisis, both market-based and regulatory solutions have been implemented or are under consideration.[24] Paul Krugman, author of End This Depression Now! (2012), argues that while current solutions have stabilized the world economy, the world economy will not improve unless it receives further stimulus.[25] Buchanan, Gjerstad, and Smith argue that fiscal and monetary policy are ineffective, failing to reignite residential investment and construction as they have in past contractions. The current type of contraction requires balance sheet repair via currency depreciation and export-driven growth. Fiscal stimulus extends a current account deficit and retards export growth.[18][26] If the world economy does not improve, many economists fear sovereign default is a real possibility in several European countries and even the United States.[27]
How's that for painting? Get real, we suffered MASSIVE economic hits, and the damage could have been far worse, all thoughts given print by the likes of Krugman and similar minded economists. The mere fact that you mention a sub-20 million dollar increase in food stamps shows how loaded your hand is; that number is not only tiny but also very likely indicative of something most average people can see very clearly; shit got bad, and people needed assistance. Now is where you pretend that most of those who receive these benefits are lazy, horrible, likely minority citizens, and use that intellectually dishonest label to justify lionizing anyone who wants to cut government spending. Guess what, voters didn't buy the bullshit, so I'd stop selling it like it's a well informed opinion.
There's a reason why no college campus in the country accepts Wikipedia as a reliable source. Jus sayin.
There's a reason why it is an incredibly useful means of sourcing information when prompted via impromptu online message boards, something I'd think a 1000+ poster would know. In fact, amongst pretty much anyone who knows how wikipedia goes about maintaining their high traffic pages, when someone says "oh mah gawd wikipedia so bad", it means they either lack the evidence or the will to actually support a position. Jus sayin.
Edit: I apologize if I appear hostile, I'm only trying to play my doomsayer role.
I wish I could pretend to understand all the intracacies that propel the economy in a positive or negative direction. There is enough speculation out there to evidence a position for and against the necessity of Obama's economic policies during the last four years.
What I do understand are simple facts. Those are easy. We're making less money than we were before Obama took office. We're paying more for everyday goods. Unemployment remains way to high. Our national debit has increased by 6 trillion dollars.
I'm not sure any amount of spin can paint these things as a success. "Hey, it could have been worse" doesn't seem like much of an argument to me. I do look forward to hindsight regarding this matter.
How about this for some short-and-sweet spin: stop thinking all of our problems can be fixed in a few years. Shit takes time. Doesn't help when half of government is uncooperative, either.
I don't think for a second that problems of this magnitude are fixed in a "few short years." However, I'm not sure waiting until the ship has sunk to abandon it is prudent either.
Liberal rage or not, this sums up my assessment of the USA today.
This is the usa of always, the entire american dream is based on materialism, I could take a similar tactic and say the only reason your disappointed is because you think you are losing 'stuff'.
By the way, for the record, we conservatives DISOWN Bill O'Reilly; he has made it plenty clear many times that he is a closet liberal roleplaying a RINO republican. If you want to diss us, talk smack about someone like Mark Levin or Michael Savage.
On November 08 2012 11:37 JinDesu wrote: People supported Romney cuz they wanted things too you know.
Like that tax cut. And the military funding. And the tough stance on Iran. Etc.
Not the same thing. You have to WORK to benefit from a tax cut. The other examples you made only favor people who are aware of the issues / see them as a cause of concern and already agree on the "core" arguments.
On November 08 2012 11:07 Maxyim wrote: Looks like the Republican party is done; left-wing voters resoundingly outnumber right-wing voters now within the USA; the election was not even close, yet Republicans were the party with the momentum!
Hillary will win in 2016 after another "slow recovery" period by positioning herself as a more moderate Democrat than Obama. Pretty soon, the moderate Democrats will be running against the liberal Democrats. Europe, here we come!!!
On a brighter note, America just voted to re-elect a minority president after a first term chronicled by the worst economic record since the Great Depression. Perhaps we can finally stop talking about racism now.
MAINSTREAM REPUBLICANS, ESP. THOSE PLANNING TO RUN FOR POTUS / CONGRESS, OR ADVISE SAID CANDIDATES IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM:
It's time for a serious, and I mean FUCKING serious attitude adjustment. We know now (although some of us already knew before, but you were too fucking STUPID to listen), that, even when we are in the RIGHT (pun intended) on all key issues pertaining to fiscal and foreign policy, we will get RAPED UP THE ASS in elections if we utter a peep against abortion or gay marriage. These subjects are NOT RELEVANT. Just SHUT THE FUCK UP about them. Who are you to decide whether two people can be in a relationship? Do you have a vagina? If not, why the FUCK are you talking about what someone can or cannot do with one? You realize that there is almost NOTHING that you will ever have a chance to do regarding these issues within the Legislative and Executive branches of Federal government? That's right, they are decided on a STATE level, unless there is a perceived injustice against a minority, in which case the Supreme Court gets involved, not YOU, DUMBASS. READ the Constitution that you all lie through your teeth about being so in love with. STOP falling for TROLOLOL at every possible opportunity!
After another term of Obama and two terms of Hillary, and this country is going to be a very different place. There will be no room for 19th century politics. There will be no room for bigoted ignorance. We need to be able to offer a clear contrast to the left-wing without giving them ANY opportunity to discredit our entire platform with crap that IS NOT RELEVANT. We are the LAST HOLDOUT of conservatism. There IS NO GALT'S GULCH. If there were, do you think that the welfare state would leave it alone? Class warfare is here to stay, and God help us that we can pull together enough votes to keep it at bay every now and then; it will be difficult enough without all of your MORONIC DISTRACTIONS!
Obama had less then one percent more of the population vote for him then romney. You're really blowing this out of proportion. There was this one election a little while back where the republican candidate won all but one state in the union. did the democrats die out because of that?
Quite literally nothing changed from the election and its looking like thats going to stick. Republicans are holding more gov seats then ever and have a redistricting advantage in the house.
Like literally bachmann is still going back to Washington. If that doesn't say anything to you then you need to reexamine your view of politics in america.
My friend, you forget that Obama was running for reelection after a first term chronicled by the worst economic record since the Great Depression. He won IN SPITE of his record. He has literally accomplished nothing in four years. Obamacare is a perceived failure by over 50% of the electorate. The economy was rated as the top area of concern by something like 75% of the electorate.
Women and minorities decided this election, for reasons specifically stated above. Bachmann survived by the skin of her teeth; West and Love are out...I don't see where you are going with your argument.
On November 08 2012 11:22 farvacola wrote:
On November 08 2012 11:21 jdseemoreglass wrote:
On November 08 2012 11:18 Maxyim wrote:
On November 08 2012 11:13 jdseemoreglass wrote:
On November 08 2012 10:54 babylon wrote:
On November 08 2012 10:52 Wuster wrote:
On November 08 2012 10:42 Probe1 wrote: [quote] You guys keep saying that but I'm not seeing that. I saw Arizona gunman dressed up on a Friday night calling themselves a militia and George Bush condoning it. I saw his own brother running wet foot dry foot and treating immigrants as second class citizens.
All I ever see is Republicans with jingoism in their eyes. Maybe I'm wrong but it's what I've experienced in my life.
switched parties after literally a lifetime as a Republican moderate.
Edit: Both bills failed, largely from right-wing opposition.
After hearing Fox News say, on air, that they think they lost this election because Romney was too moderate ... I don't know what to think. They said the same thing about McCain too. Sigh.
Independents need a choice. Independents were given a choice in 2010. They came out in droves. The choice was very clear, a more limited government, more fiscal responsibility, vs. expansive government, obamacare, etc.
When independents don't see a clear difference between the candidates, they stay home. When Mitt Romney or McCain try to come across as moderate, when they don't distinguish themselves from Obama with a clear and articulated philosophy, then they are making it a pure popularity contest, a beauty contest. McCain and Romney are not going to win a beauty contest with Obama. The only chance they could possibly have is to articulate a philosophy so that people can vote philosophy and not vote popularity contest, which they are doomed to fail.
There is a market for the ideas, 2010 proved that. When the ideas are push aside, Republicans lose. When ideals are championed, as they were with Reagan, with Rubio, with Rand... You can see victory.
Of course, I need to be clear which ideas I'm talking about. I'm not talking about gay marriage, or abortion, or any social issue. I'm talking about individualism and limited government. We talk and think too much of Democracy itself and too little of the values which it serves.
I disagree with you 100%. We lost the election because of the superfluous crap that taints Republicans. Romney offered a clear fiscal and foreign policy alternative to Obama. Obama already had a poor track record in these areas. Yet none of that could stop the 5% margin from increased turnout by pissed-off women, gays and Latinos. GG, no re for 12 years; can we try something different then?
Do you honestly think Republicans could ever win anything playing the "we're less liberal than they are" game? That's a death sentence. It makes no sense at all to say that the way to beat Democrats is to be more Democrat.
Unless the country is.....you know.......more Democrat.
This. There is no other explanation.
Obama has accomplished things in his first term, don't really know what you're talking about.
He went into his first term with a super majority in the senate a soundly defeated enemy and the most super charged and connected populace the country has ever seen. Then he managed to fuck up the first thing he did in office (obamacare) and things went downhill from there when he lost control of the house and lost his super majority in the senate.
I hope to god that a president does something with the kind of advantage that obama had in his first term. He did nowhere near what he said he was going to do
Republican intransigence at least has to take part of the blame for those things, and indeed the political system as a whole. It doesn't give him a free pass, but equally voters probably remembered the numerous Republican-instigated roadblocks that were holding up everything, especially if it pertained to their own personal circumstances like the funding of unemployment and the likes.
The Republicans have nobody but themselves to blame for losing this one if Obama's handling of the economy was as catastrophic as they claimed, and given the cited stat earlier that 75% of voters had this as their number one concern it seems curious that Obama won.
Perhaps Romney's own financial plans weren't that good?
On November 08 2012 11:36 Souma wrote: Seems like we're about to rehash all of the same arguments from before the election.
Voters have made their decision. Everything is not Obama's fault. Republican bullshit will not be tolerated. Reality has a liberal bias.
Until the next political thread!
Peace~
lol, who are you kidding? You'll be back in hours.
Reality doesn't have a liberal bias. Political ideology is determined by values, and values are subjective, they cannot be determined empirically. There are some factual statements which each party pushes which is provably false, but that cannot be described by a political philosophy such as liberalism.
On November 08 2012 11:30 jdseemoreglass wrote: + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nj9e3JLGkA
Liberal rage incoming.
Haha, it kinda sounds like he just read some Marx right before going on air. "Zeez people want THINGS!"
OK, this isn't mine, but here's a shockingly good Youtube comment:
Fayme20 wrote: I'm sure there are A LOT of rich people who voted for Obama as well. But no, in terms of this "people want STUFF" statement. You're damn right, Bill. Women want STUFF. Stuff like not being told what the fuck to do w/ their own bodies & to not be told that they have to carry their rapists' babies. Gays want STUFF as well, Bill. STUFF like having the rights to marry like the rest of America regardless of certain politicians religious beliefs. How wonderful of the Repubs. to not want STUFF.
Everyone said this election was going to be about the economy. Mitt Romney still won on the economy. He lost on social issues and he lost on foreign policy due to the continued hangover from Bush.
Yeah, this is the most surprising thing I took away from the election. People care more about social issues than economic issues. I whiffed on that one completely.
In fairness it's not like Obama's economic plan was to set fire to the country and claim the insurance, he does have a legitimate track record on the economy. Jobs are being created, it is growing. Whether it's as much as you believe Romney would do is another matter but I don't think people voted for Obama because they didn't care at all about the economy.
Incomes declined every year during his first term. down by $4,300. for middle income families.
32 million on food stamps when Obama took office. Now 47 million on food stamps.
10 trillion dollars in debt when Obama took office. Now16 trillion in debt.
Unemployment is down, but there are also less people being counted that still remain unemployed. I need to dig up the details about this, but there is a lot of concern that un-employment is being understated as a result in the way unemployment is being counted. In essence, being willing and able to work yet remaining unemployed does not mean you are being counted in the unemployment numbers.
"Setting fire" seems a bit extreme, but I'm not seeing how Obama's policy are anything short of failure. Unless of course, you paint the doomsday picture that Obama saved us from.
The financial crisis of 2007–2008, also known as the global financial crisis and 2008 financial crisis, is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.[1][2] It resulted in the threat of total collapse of large financial institutions, the bailout of banks by national governments, and downturns in stock markets around the world. In many areas, the housing market also suffered, resulting in evictions, foreclosures and prolonged unemployment. The crisis played a significant role in the failure of key businesses, declines in consumer wealth estimated in trillions of US dollars, and a downturn in economic activity leading to the 2008–2012 global recession and contributing to the European sovereign-debt crisis.[3][4] The active phase of the crisis, which manifested as a liquidity crisis, can be dated from August 7, 2007 when BNP Paribas terminated withdrawals from three hedge funds citing "a complete evaporation of liquidity".[5]
The bursting of the U.S. housing bubble, which peaked in 2006,[6] caused the values of securities tied to U.S. real estate pricing to plummet, damaging financial institutions globally.[7][8] The financial crisis was triggered by a complex interplay of government policies that encouraged home ownership, providing easier access to loans for subprime borrowers, overvaluation of bundled sub-prime mortgages based on the theory that housing prices would continue to escalate, questionable trading practices on behalf of both buyers and sellers, compensation structures that prioritize short-term deal flow over long-term value creation, and a lack of adequate capital holdings from banks and insurance companies to back the financial commitments they were making.[9][10][11][12] Questions regarding bank solvency, declines in credit availability and damaged investor confidence had an impact on global stock markets, where securities suffered large losses during 2008 and early 2009. Economies worldwide slowed during this period, as credit tightened and international trade declined.[13] Governments and central banks responded with unprecedented fiscal stimulus, monetary policy expansion and institutional bailouts. Although there have been aftershocks, the financial crisis itself ended sometime between late-2008 and mid-2009.[14][15][16] In the U.S., Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In the EU, the UK responded with austerity measures of spending cuts and tax increases without export growth and it has since slid into a double-dip recession.[17][18]
Many causes for the financial crisis have been suggested, with varying weight assigned by experts.[19] The U.S. Senate's Levin–Coburn Report asserted that the crisis was the result of "high risk, complex financial products; undisclosed conflicts of interest; the failure of regulators, the credit rating agencies, and the market itself to rein in the excesses of Wall Street."[20] The 1999 repeal of the Glass–Steagall Act effectively removed the separation between investment banks and depository banks in the United States.[21] Critics argued that credit rating agencies and investors failed to accurately price the risk involved with mortgage-related financial products, and that governments did not adjust their regulatory practices to address 21st-century financial markets.[22] Research into the causes of the financial crisis has also focused on the role of interest rate spreads.[23]
In response to the financial crisis, both market-based and regulatory solutions have been implemented or are under consideration.[24] Paul Krugman, author of End This Depression Now! (2012), argues that while current solutions have stabilized the world economy, the world economy will not improve unless it receives further stimulus.[25] Buchanan, Gjerstad, and Smith argue that fiscal and monetary policy are ineffective, failing to reignite residential investment and construction as they have in past contractions. The current type of contraction requires balance sheet repair via currency depreciation and export-driven growth. Fiscal stimulus extends a current account deficit and retards export growth.[18][26] If the world economy does not improve, many economists fear sovereign default is a real possibility in several European countries and even the United States.[27]
How's that for painting? Get real, we suffered MASSIVE economic hits, and the damage could have been far worse, all thoughts given print by the likes of Krugman and similar minded economists. The mere fact that you mention a sub-20 million dollar increase in food stamps shows how loaded your hand is; that number is not only tiny but also very likely indicative of something most average people can see very clearly; shit got bad, and people needed assistance. Now is where you pretend that most of those who receive these benefits are lazy, horrible, likely minority citizens, and use that intellectually dishonest label to justify lionizing anyone who wants to cut government spending. Guess what, voters didn't buy the bullshit, so I'd stop selling it like it's a well informed opinion.
There's a reason why no college campus in the country accepts Wikipedia as a reliable source. Jus sayin.
There's a reason why it is an incredibly useful means of sourcing information when prompted via impromptu online message boards, something I'd think a 1000+ poster would know. In fact, amongst pretty much anyone who knows how wikipedia goes about maintaining their high traffic pages, when someone says "oh mah gawd wikipedia so bad", it means they either lack the evidence or the will to actually support a position. Jus sayin.
Edit: I apologize if I appear hostile, I'm only trying to play my doomsayer role.
I wish I could pretend to understand all the intracacies that propel the economy in a positive or negative direction. There is enough speculation out there to evidence a position for and against the necessity of Obama's economic policies during the last four years.
What I do understand are simple facts. Those are easy. We're making less money than we were before Obama took office. We're paying more for everyday goods. Unemployment remains way to high. Our national debit has increased by 6 trillion dollars.
I'm not sure any amount of spin can paint these things as a success. "Hey, it could have been worse" doesn't seem like much of an argument to me.
You should know that middle class income has been dropping since 2000.
You should also know that Obama is actually a net-job creator (more jobs have been created than lost during his term, raw numbers not the unemployment / underemployment / work force participation numbers; actually payroll figures).
Things were terrible in 2007/8. It's really easy to forget that, but just think how unpopular those things Obama did? Bail out the banks? Release a stimulus? Pander to the auto unions by rescuing GM/Crystler from bankruptcy?
*All* of that was started under Bush and the Republican controlled Congress. That's how dire the situation was. Not only did those programs get bipartisan support, they survived virtually intact under Obama and the Democrats.
Bush signed the first stimulus in 2008 early enough so it could take effect for tax day. That summer they started working on TARP, signing it into law in the fall. Then they started holding hearings about Detroit, eventually sending them an emergency bailout that was to take effect under Obama (which he did).
The funny thing is, Romney kept hammering Obama on his followup stimulus plans and famously opposed the Detroit bailout. There wasn't really any point there except to revise history to forget how everyone saw these things as vitally necessary. Well I guess, since the programs ended up being so fully associated with Obama, that it let Romney prove his conservative bonafides.