kellinator | election postmortem

Wow. For once I get to talk about what I saw on TV last night without using a spoiler cut.

I called my mom this morning. She said "How are you feeling?" and I said "well, I didn't feel the need to tie one on last night like I did the past two election nights."

That said, I'm hardly the happy squeeing ball of goo most of you were expecting, for a variety of reasons:

* Harold Ford Jr. lost his Senate race in Tennessee, largely due to the spectre of the racist South. (Of course, the fact that his daddy's made a career of being a corrupt politician probably didn't help either.) I think he would have done a great job (daddy notwithstanding), and I wouldn't be nearly so angry if I didn't feel Corker had won by going OH NOES HE'LL HAVE SEX WITH YOUR WHITE WIMMEN.

* Apparently the Republicans are becoming a regional party -- centered right where I live. Great. As if the South needed any help digging itself into a poorly educated impoverished intolerant hole.

* The Democrats who are making strides in the South (Heath Shuler, I'm looking at you, and believe me is it weird for a Vandy grad who once got a small crowd, well okay maybe it was more like two people, chanting "another Heath Shuler" at Peyton Manning) are doing it by acting like Republicans -- criminalize abortion, we don't like gays! Yeah, THAT'S exactly what we need. I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that, but I won't stick around if it does. Not like I have a choice because...

* James has finally convinced me the two-party system is utterly borked. I'm having a lot of trouble looking on these results as anything more than "same shit, different day."

* I sincerely hope that the Democrats don't repeat Bush's mistake of thinking they have a mandate. For the first time in my life, I agree with Tom DeLay -- the Democrats didn't win, the Republicans lost. And if the Democrats don't get their act together, we'll be back to square one in no time.

* I have serious doubts that this will actually do much to end Bush's shenanigans, because it's not like the Democrats have ever shown any balls to speak of. I'll believe it when I see it and not a moment before.

* Virginia, I swear if George Macaca Allen pulls this out, you will become my go-to state for mocking for the foreseeable future. Seriously folks, put down the crack pipe. Or maybe it's the mint julep Kool-Aid.

* Joe Lieberman, that egomaniacal sack of shit. Seriously, the Dems should tell him to fuck off, which is after all what he did to them, but can't because they need the numbers.

* And the big one... the past two elections I gave money, I even went door-to-door in '04. Didn't do a damn bit of good. This time around, I didn't, and that didn't matter either. So much for feeling like I have any power to affect anything. And yes, those of you reading this who I tried and tried to reason with in '04 and you voted for Bush anyway and now you're all "yay! Republicans lost!" -- yeah, I'm talking about you. See, that's the thing. Absolutely nothing I say is going to change anyone's mind, and it's just going to subject me to abuse like being told I'm closed-minded and stupid for pointing out that Fox News is a bunch of liars. So forgive me if I only talk about shallow shit like Britney Spears. At the end of the day, my sanity is my priority. Not posting the same shit every day.

Rumsfeld's out. Santorum's out. Dammit, aren't I supposed to be happy? But with all that Bush has done to our country, it just feels like too little, too late.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And yes, those of you reading this who I tried and tried to reason with in '04 and you voted for Bush anyway and now you're all "yay! Republicans lost!" -- yeah, I'm talking about you. See, that's the thing. Absolutely nothing I say is going to change anyone's mind, and it's just going to subject me to abuse like being told I'm closed-minded and stupid for pointing out that Fox News is a bunch of liars.

See, I wouldn't tolerate my friends telling me stuff like that. Does that make me closed minded? Intolerant? Either way, I no longer surround myself with them, either on or off LJ.

In the Fox News case, that's exactly what I did.

Given that Bush has the keys (i.e., executive decision with veto power), it's doubtful much change will occur over the next two years. Lots of gridlock to look forward to until 2008, which will be an interesting election time. I'm down on the two-party system myself (went Green in several races yesterday), and although I'm in favor of proportional representation I'm not sure such a government would run more efficiently.

Here's what I don't get, if anyone can answer this for me. With Virginia and Montana the only results pending, why did CNN list the Senate as being 49 to 49? It seems like an important point to me. Where are they counting Lieberman? And is he the only independent, or was there another?

Because CNN is stupid. Lieberman ran as an independent, and I believe there's one more independent senator from New England, the one who broke with the Republicans a few years back if I'm not mistaken.

I think it was Vermont, but it might be NH, who is sending a Socialist! Don't quite remember.

and *hugs* to you,

Bernie Sanders was just elected as an independent also, making there 3 now counting Lieberman. You're talking about Jim Jeffords, who is the other senator from Vermont. All three are being counted as Dems, the 49-49 comes from the 2 races not called.. Montana and Virginia.

Actually, Montana was just called for Democrat Jon Tester, and its looking good for Webb to win Virginia, for 51-49 in the D's favor.

Sanders is replacing Jeffords. Vermont's other senator is Patrick Leahy.

Oh my mistake.. thanks for correcting me :)

Thanks. I figured it out myself. (Had to go to Fox News. :-) )

Whether those guys usual practice is voting with the Democrats or not, I still don't think they should technically be calling it a majority, especially after Lieberman gets voted in by Republicans and publicly states in his victory speech that he is beholden to neither party.

Lieberman, Sanders and Jeffords (the latter two being the Senators from Vermont) are all Independents who vote primarily with the Democrats.

49-49 comes from the two races left to call (VA and MT)

down to VA now...MT called for Tester...

Rumsfield: proof that rats do leave a sinking ship.

Wanna run off to Canada with me, darling? We can raise alpacas and play with the nummy nummy yarn!

The next two years will be interesting

Who's Bush, and Rumsfeld? Did I miss one of the meetings again? ::smirk::

By the way, did you see the video of Santorum's 8-year-old weeping at her father's concession speech? I did feel sorry for her, but perhaps you could have derived some amusement from it. :- )

I get the feeling that the Dems will try to (ab)use this as much as possible, and lose it in two years.

I get the feeling the republicans had better come up with a better plan/agenda or they won't get much in two years either.

I get the feeling we all lose no matter who is in charge. People are idiots, the politicians know this, and abuse the crap out of it.

I say we go off and start our own country.

Virginia, I swear if George Macaca Allen pulls this out, you will become my go-to state for mocking for the foreseeable future. Seriously folks, put down the crack pipe. Or maybe it's the mint julep Kool-Aid.

just want to point out its the small but densely populated Northern VA region (for the most part) against the large, somewhat less densely populated rest of VA (aka southern VA). And that a lot of people are in total denial about George Allen. Its sad but true.

I had a very uncomfortable moment at dinner last night. Adam and I ate at his grandparents' house. His grandmother was talking about how her votes usually cancel out Adam's grandfather's, and his grandfather asked me how I voted on #1, which, despite effecting boy gay and straight people has been dubbed the Gay marriage ammendment. When I answered I voted against ammending the constitution, he asked "Why?" in a mildly exasperated tone. I can't wait until Adam and I get 'real' jobs and move in together. *rolls eyes*

I feel the same way. However, when I last checked, Webb was 8,000 some votes ahead with 99.9 percent of precints reporting. If Allen does contest this, he's going to look a really sore loser.

Harold Jr. didnt help himself crashing Corker's press event in Memphis a week before the election(Daddy's idea most likely)...I wasnt thrilled about his embrace and claiming of a "bigger power" helping us along(you can guess who the bigger power was from his commercial filmed in a church and the Ten Commandments printed on his biz cards)...and there was the matter of his brother, he of the GED and drug and arrest history running as an independent against Steve Cohen, the Dem primary winner contending for his old House seat; he endorsed neither one(Cohen won handily)...

You know, I absolutely agree with you on this. 100%.

Lieberman: "See, the electoral system does work (except when I lose, then it needs to be circumvented)."

* James has finally convinced me the two-party system is utterly borked. I'm having a lot of trouble looking on these results as anything more than "same shit, different day."

S'truth. Look at the actual numbes- large portions of the country were split with 48 or 49% of the vote going to each candidate. This country is split very nearly 50/50, and that makes the two party system useless. Might as well flip a coin.

Combine that with low voter turnout and the election generally goes to the one who persuades the most people to come out and vote.

Remember back in the 70s and 80s when the parties put up candidates that actually meant something? We need another JFK, or, god help us, another Reagan- someone the entire country can get behind.

Hmm.... President Schwarzenegger? ::snicker::

election postmortem

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Ummm.... Did I miss something?

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RE: Virginia

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