You deserved this. Get your shit together and come back strong in 2 and 4 years (and not with fucking palin ).

11/4/2008 11:42:12 PM

hell its only 2 yrs, I can handle it

11/4/2008 11:42:55 PM

Purge yourselves of the religious right and shift yourselves towards a more libertarian stance and I'll join you. I think a libertarian/conservative hybrid party would be viable right now and a good counterbalance to the democrats.

11/4/2008 11:45:10 PM

^I would love that

11/4/2008 11:46:42 PM

i agree

we need a social liberal economic conservative combo

11/4/2008 11:46:55 PM

I'd vote for that ticket, assuming they shed the anti-intellectualism as well.

It'd have to be a party that didn't include this^ type of person

[Edited on November 4, 2008 at 11:47 PM. Reason : ]

11/4/2008 11:47:02 PM

id be on that like stink on shit, lets hope we can survive 2 years of a socialist paradise

11/4/2008 11:47:59 PM

Yes.

11/4/2008 11:48:37 PM

Become socially liberal (Shuffle off the Puritanical nutjob wing of your party)
Get back to being fiscally moderate to conservative
Realize that environmental sustainability and preservation is the key to financial sustainability.

And you will get my vote.

11/5/2008 12:18:55 AM

Quote :

"Get back to being fiscally moderate to conservative"

agree here. being a conservative i want to see less government, not bigger.

11/5/2008 12:21:02 AM

Attn: Republicans, if you don't like then you can gtfo! nah guys, i'm just kidding, its all cool. i'm glad that both sides turned out big enough that it wont be so embarrassing to compare our election result turnouts to that of Europeans

11/5/2008 12:25:38 AM

attn conservative moonbats.

buy your airline tickets to Dubai now.

dont let the escape hatch hit you in the ass on your way out.

11/5/2008 12:27:16 AM

i hope that the senate maintains its balance so that fillibusters are still in play

we need some sort of balance system in place...

11/5/2008 12:27:20 AM

joe, remember to try not to be too much of a dick about "winning" the election.

Partisan asshole-ism isn't a good trait.

11/5/2008 12:28:47 AM

Yeah, the common thread of both Obama and McCain's speeches and really a lot of their campaigns has been a personal desire (NOT reflected by their campaigners and surrogates obviously) to reach across the aisle and work with each other. Despite the partisan hackery done on their behalf and by the media, they are both fairly centrist.

11/5/2008 12:30:05 AM

I don't think we need to gloat, despite supporting Obama i thought McCain was one of the most decent candidates I've seen in a long time, not that that's saying a lot with choices like Bush, Kerry and Dole being in our recent past.

11/5/2008 12:31:11 AM

Quote :

"they are both fairly centrist."

i would put mccain way closer to center than obama

11/5/2008 12:31:57 AM

People consider themselves centrists who are wide left and right of actually being centrist. So yeah, since your idea of centrist is based off of your political norms, the person who you identify with would definately be closer to what you consider a centrist position.

I would instead argue they are both in the smeary purplish area of "moderate." I can't really argue that one is more centrist than the other since that's a moving goal post.

11/5/2008 12:34:54 AM

i consider a centrist:

- neutral on taxes for both middle class, rich, and poor
- respecting individual rights while understanding the need for regulation as determined by the people
- regulating markets while respecting a business' rights
- understanding government's role in daily life while not overextending power
- open to environmental conservation while limiting effects to industry and growth
- understanding a need for minimum wage and setting it low enough to not affect employment
- understanding that unions, by nature, are the death nell of industry, but smart enough to deal with unions effectively.

i would put mccain closer to that than obama AT THIS POINT AND BASED ON THE CAMPAIGN

i have to think that most people view "centrist" as i do and I sincerely hope that Obama is on this level because I think he can be a valuable asset for us if so

[Edited on November 5, 2008 at 12:45 AM. Reason : ]

11/5/2008 12:43:27 AM

i'm all for reaching out and working with republicans

i am addressing the people, including [user]tkeschultz[/user], who said they were going to leave the country.

so notice: i said, "conservative moonbats"

i'm not going to stop telling intolerant fascists, like the fundamentalist christian right, to sit down and shut the fuck up. theres no more place for their bullshit. they need to start acting right, or git out.

11/5/2008 12:45:57 AM

no shit

the fucking religious right has kept republicans from probably overtaking democrats forever

economic liberalism is pretty retarded at its basic logical level, but there is more to republicans than just economics and i have a serious problem with that

the parties should be: progressive v. libertarian

11/5/2008 12:51:12 AM

the only thing central about obama is the tie he wears, it is in the middle. He is so far left, but that was missed by most everyone.

11/5/2008 12:53:01 AM

Progressive vs Libertarian makes sense...except not at all.

If the Republican party was fully libertarian then there would either be a third party or the democrats would combine progressive thought with religious views to gain those voters.

As much as internet neckbeards love libertarian viewpoints, especially after reading their first Ayn Rand novel, libertarian policy isn't necessarily very good for nations.

11/5/2008 12:53:40 AM

im worried that you are right, of course, I thought that about Clinton and he was OK

I am trying to see the good in this man, it's tough though

^ shit man come on, there are clearly four quadrants of beliefs and I don't like being pigeonholed into two - i think a social liberal and economic conservative would be a winner

even if it was an old school barry goldwater style republican...

[Edited on November 5, 2008 at 12:56 AM. Reason : ]

11/5/2008 12:54:10 AM

^^ Oh god no, it should never be in charge. Libertarians make good watchdogs for progressives though.

11/5/2008 12:56:54 AM

Quote :

"internet neckbeards"

11/5/2008 12:59:52 AM

Quote :

"As much as internet neckbeards love libertarian viewpoints, especially after reading their first Ayn Rand novel, libertarian policy isn't necessarily very good for nations."

Neither is misanthropy, yet we seem to tolerate your presence around here, regardless.

11/5/2008 1:01:56 AM

Big-L libertarianism could never work, but it wouldn't be a bad thing for some of their concepts to be tempered with with we have now to seep in to things.

11/5/2008 1:20:05 AM

I was looking at the Senate races in 2 years, it will be about 50/50 this time around now that you include Obama's and Biden's seat (special elections). Dems might pick one or two to get to the magic number of 60 if all goes well the next 2 years. Luckily for a lot of Dems (or unlucky depending on the next 4 years) a shitload of Dem Senators go up for reelection in 2012.

Hagel is retiring that could be a Dem pickup if the governor runs.

[Edited on November 5, 2008 at 1:38 AM. Reason : w]

11/5/2008 1:37:20 AM

Quote :

"Purge yourselves of the religious right and shift yourselves towards a more libertarian stance and I'll join you. I think a libertarian/conservative hybrid party would be viable right now and a good counterbalance to the democrats."

11/5/2008 1:38:13 AM

so at what point will the general public hold Dems responsible if something goes wrong?

not trolling, serious question here -- with huge majorities in both houses and a dem president, when does it start being about them and not Bush? 2 years? 4 years? 8? Until something good happens?

11/5/2008 7:45:50 AM

Quote :

"i am addressing the people, including [user]tkeschultz[/user], who said they were going to leave the country."

If Obama had lost, and people had said they would leave the country if McCain won, there is plenty of obvious places for them to go to.

I don't think there are many places to chose from for any McCain supporters who are "fed up" and want out.

Quote :

"You deserved this. Get your shit together and come back strong in 2 and 4 years "

Agree with you on this, except for Bev Purdue. None of us deserve that

11/5/2008 7:54:26 AM

Seriously Alaska? First Sarah Palin and now a convicted felon? I officially declare Alaska the new Florida.

11/5/2008 8:09:59 AM

Quote :

"not trolling, serious question here -- with huge majorities in both houses and a dem president, when does it start being about them and not Bush? 2 years? 4 years? 8? Until something good happens?"

Whenever Republicans stop blaming Clinton for everything.

11/5/2008 8:12:53 AM

I love how the hardcore republicans act like its the end of the world now that OBama was elected.

I laugh

11/5/2008 8:32:19 AM

Attn: Republicans. Thanks for making it a 1 party system!

11/5/2008 8:33:51 AM

Quote :

"Purge yourselves of the religious right and shift yourselves towards a more libertarian stance and I'll join you. I think a libertarian/conservative hybrid party would be viable right now and a good counterbalance to the democrats."

11/5/2008 8:41:50 AM

Quote :

"Purge yourselves of the religious right and shift yourselves towards a more libertarian stance and I'll join you. I think a libertarian/conservative hybrid party would be viable right now and a good counterbalance to the democrats."

That would get my vote hands down!!

11/5/2008 8:44:47 AM

Libertarian stance? No thanks, we have a Libertarian party already.

Give me socially moderate policy (status quo on abortion, not care about gay marriage either way, but no prostituion, no drugs, etc), and classically liberal economic policy (free trade, free markets with regulation and some oversight, some worker protection, balance budget, elimination of debt, etc).

11/5/2008 8:46:56 AM

Come back with a fair tax plan
Drop the evangelical bullshit
Embrace 21st century social awareness
Stop slamming intellectuals
Drop the elitist charges
Embrace the coasts

11/5/2008 8:48:50 AM

Quote :

"shift yourselves towards a more libertarian stance"

I agree with this....I also think republicans suck because they are total pansies...

11/5/2008 8:52:17 AM

They lost college-educated whites this year. For the first time, I think.

It's only going to get worse if they keep wrapping themselves in anti intellectualism.

11/5/2008 8:58:40 AM

^ yup. Count me as one of them. Such a poorly run campaign, poor candidate choices, poor platforms. Really insulting to a lot of people who began the election process in the primaries with a Republican lean.

[Edited on November 5, 2008 at 9:14 AM. Reason : ]

11/5/2008 9:12:09 AM

'Pubs did a lot of things wrong in this campaign.

however, we will see the 'mandate' in 2010 when there is no Obama to get people to the polls that typically dont vote.

11/5/2008 9:19:53 AM

Quote :

"Such a poorly run campaign, poor candidate choices, poor platforms."

Really more of a reflection on McCain, not the Republican party in general.


Obama (any Democrat candidate would have) already had an advantage in the public eye because he wasn't Bush. He has an decidedly larger campaign budget than McCain. McCain never truly represented a "Republican" candidate; he's been big on earmarks, voted for the bailout, weak on immigration, etc. McCain's health was a concern to many and those weren't comforted by the selection of Palin as VP because of her inexperience. Obama had the support of the overall media and the support of everyone who wanted to usher in a new chapter in our history with a black president. The majority of people who voted for Obama were truly excited about him and his platform; the majority of people who voted for McCain were begrudingly doing so because he wasn't Obama.

All of these factors and it was still fairly close in the popular vote. The country is shifting a little left, but we're still a centrist country and I think a really good Republican candidate definitely would have won this race. The Republican party isn't dead, it just needs to find the right candidate. I'm not saying everything is perfect for the party and there definitely need to be some changes made but let's get some perspective here.

11/5/2008 10:28:17 AM

Quote :

"All of these factors and it was still fairly close in the popular vote. The country is shifting a little left, but we're still a centrist country and I think a really good Republican candidate definitely would have won this race"

I think it would have as well, but they didn't pull through and made a lot of major mistakes along the way imo. He had more than one VP option that would have been MUCH better than his choice. Palin most certainly lost him votes and I doubt it gained him hardly any.

My "perspective" is that I wasnt a direhard Republican anyways. So, sure, they may not be losing a lot of die hard republicans because of this campaign. But for people like me who only "lean" Republican because it has tended to be closer to our beliefs than democrats, this kind of campaign can not be run again if they want to win in 2012.

[Edited on November 5, 2008 at 10:34 AM. Reason : ]

11/5/2008 10:32:26 AM

Yeah, again, it's mostly on McCain and his campaign. The campaign was run so poorly, it's like they were trying to get people to change their mind and vote for Obama.

That's one thing the Republicans definitely need to learn from the Democrats; how to run an effective campaign.

11/5/2008 10:37:23 AM

Quote :

" libertarian policy isn't necessarily very good for nations."

This is an opinion that unfortunately has been gaining support over the many years of our poor education system.

The ship of libertarian philosophy-- individual liberty, personal responsibility, free markets, and smaller gov't --may be sinking on a sea of nanny statism...but I still refuse to abandon ship.

11/5/2008 11:15:34 AM

Off topic response:

Quote :

"Obama had the support of the overall media"

Since when has the media been even the least bit "centered"? I know there are exceptions, but the vast majority is extremely leftist.

On topic response:
I would most certainly vote a

Quote :

"Social Liberal Economic Conservative"

combination so long as the economic issues didn't overlap into the social issues.

Abortion? If you wanna stick a clothes hanger in your coug, don't let me stop you.
Gay Marraige? Personally, I don't see the reason, but anyone should be able to name whoever they like as a beneficiary of their estate.
Social Welfare? There are better ways to spend tax money.
Estate tax? Start the taxing on people with a net worth > $10 million
Income tax? I would prefer a National Sales Tax with certain exemptions.
Capital Gains? Sure, I like them but they could be replaced with a National Sales Tax System

11/5/2008 1:54:09 PM

Quote :

"Since when has the media been even the least bit "centered"?"

Because it wasn't really bias this time, it seemed to me like they were actively rooting/campaigning for Obama to win. Not really because he's a Democrat or they hate the right RAWR RAWR LIBERAL MEDIA -- it's because an Obama presidency is an interesting story, history, media ratings, etc. so I'm not really complaining or using that as an excuse, it makes perfect sense for them to want a president who the general public is very very interested in, even his opponents, rather than another old white guy.

11/5/2008 5:39:33 PM