Thank You, America. - by Nicker
Nuth on 7/11/2012 at 08:09
Now that the election is over, how long before the U.S. sees a significant economic recovery?
demagogue on 7/11/2012 at 08:24
Right. The
good less-bad guys take the day once again. Good work, team.
It was closer than I thought it would be. I thought Romney would be better than Bush II, and McCain better than him... But Obama was better than all of the above, so it turned out as well as could be hoped for.
So... What's the best FB doomsday posts you guys have been getting? I got this jewel:
Quote:
I believe it is going to be four more bad years of Obama! I believe we will become a socialist state just like Western Europe. Obama hates this country and wants us to fail. My child will inherit a country that will be like a third world country. I can not believe that people really believe that we are better off with Obama! When is the people going to wake up?
He apologized for posting while upset. I want to tell him there's no crime in expressing his feelings. You don't get language that colorful from normally quiet people unless they really get emotion invested in it. It was striking to me how worked up people get for these thing though. I like politics, but the level of emotion of some people get is odd to me ... It's just not the way I think about politics, which I guess is a lot more on the wonk end of the spectrum.
Peanuckle on 7/11/2012 at 08:34
As a Republican, I'm pretty worried now. Obama doesn't have to worry about re-election, and can do pretty much whatever he wants. Increase in governmental everything is certain, and I can see him working to override second amendment rights. I voted Romney not because of any financial plan or direction for the country, but because I prefer government to stay out of my business. Obama will increase social programs that raise taxes and raise government influence in our lives.
I think one of the big reasons he won is that people are getting used to having government take care of them, and will continue to vote for a more powerful big-brother to hold their hands in a self-reinforcing cycle. The only way the Republican party has a chance anymore is if the Democratic plans fail horrifically.
Or maybe it's just impossible to oust an incumbent anymore. Sitting president has huge advantages over a challenger.
Azaran on 7/11/2012 at 08:37
Quote Posted by demagogue
So... What's the best FB doomsday posts you guys have been getting? I got this jewel:
You probably won't get blatantly ridiculous posts like that from educated people either. He sounds like those (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUPMjC9mq5Y) "Obama is a Nazi\Stalinist\Muslim\Antichrist" conservatives.
demagogue on 7/11/2012 at 08:54
I don't know. It's pretty typical of the posts coming from my hometown. They're all friends I grew up with, so I know they're good people at heart and have fine intentions. But there's something about politics that enrages people and has them see conspiracies everywhere.
I grew up Republican and only started getting alienated around going into the 2004 election. And all the early work I did in law was under the Republican guru of market mechanisms in environmental regulation, and that perspective is still very influential to me. But ironically the Democrats have been more open to that recently than Republicans, who have just lurched so far right they're on a "total deregulation" binge. I think of myself as having a position, center-right, without a Party though ... the kind of position the Republican base sneers with the label "Republican in Name Only", what they call everyone from the Bush I administration (whom I respected a lot) -- except I'm not sure I can even call myself that much anymore. And they never miss a chance to keep alienating me.
Nuth on 7/11/2012 at 08:59
Quote Posted by Peanuckle
As a Republican, I'm pretty worried now. Obama doesn't have to worry about re-election, and can do pretty much whatever he wants. Increase in governmental everything is certain, and I can see him working to override second amendment rights.
I'm a conservative Independent with some libertarian tendencies, and I voted for Romney. Like you, I don't want my life being dictated by government(or at least not dictated any more than it already is.) I'm a firearms enthusiast, but I'm not really worried about Obama on that issue. He might try to infringe on the 2nd Amendment, but I'd expect him to fail. I'm most worried about the effect Obamacare will have on the economy. Businesses are already gearing up for it by cutting workers' hours below 30/week to avoid some of the impact. I think it's going to be a tremendous drag on the economy once it really kicks in. Also a bit concerned about what Obama may attempt with immigration. I could see him trying to engineer a one party state through some kind of amnesty.
Peanuckle on 7/11/2012 at 09:07
Quote Posted by Nuth
Also a bit concerned about what Obama may attempt with immigration. I could see him trying to engineer a one party state through some kind of amnesty.
This. Freaking this.
Obama got the majority of the Hispanic vote because of his immigration policies. He'll relax immigration laws and let in as many hispanics as possible to inflate his voter base. It'll all but ensure Democratic victories forever. And once that happens they can safely ignore Republican voters because we'll be about as powerful as the Green Party. I do not look forward to marginalization. Not only that, but an influx of unskilled laborers puts even more strain on our welfare systems. Increasing the poor and low-income population without supporting the middle class.
The only good thing about this from a Republican view is that he has four more years to prove that his policies don't work. Businesses were already cutting back on hiring to watch what happened, and now that we get more of Obama, they're going to cut back even further because his policies supremely favor the worker while screwing the employer. It's incredibly risky and expensive to hire someone already, and you can bet that people will get more "protections" that really just prevent them from getting jobs.
Kolya on 7/11/2012 at 09:25
Huge sigh of relief. Thanks America, for saving us from the nazis, for internet porn and for re-electing Obama. Nicely done.
heywood on 7/11/2012 at 09:33
It was never that close. The national popular vote doesn't tell us much of anything, because the turnout in each state varies widely depending on whether the state is contested. For example, California has the largest population by far, almost double the population of Florida. But right now it looks like they will end up casting roughly the same number of votes.
The electoral vote tells the story. Romney had to take Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida which were all Obama states in 2008, plus not lose any of the states McCain won in 2008. It looks like he's only going to get Indiana and North Carolina. The results turned out to be consistent with predictions.
One thing I've never really understood is why non-Americans have been so interested in this particular election cycle. It's not like there were significant differences between Obama and Romney with regards to foreign policy.
