election postmortem

[kellinator]

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.

Comments

[raistlinbrown.livejournal.com]

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?

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

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.

[bethynyc.livejournal.com]

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

and *hugs* to you,

[sirinek.livejournal.com]

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.

[lonesomenumber1]

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

[sirinek.livejournal.com]

Oh my mistake.. thanks for correcting me :)

[raistlinbrown.livejournal.com]

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.

[sirinek.livejournal.com]

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)

[alladinsane.livejournal.com]

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