That’s what elections are for
posted at 8:19 am on November 5, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
Congratulations go to Barack Obama for his victory last night. He did what few Democrats have managed to do this century: win majorities in both popular vote and the Electoral College. Bill Clinton couldn’t do that in either election, and he was one of the most gifted politicians of this era.
Having gone through more than a few presidential elections, I tend to be more philosophical about their outcomes. Winning is never a complete blessing, and defeat is rarely a complete disaster. As I told people last night, we survived Jimmy Carter, who got elected with a similar “change” wind at his back after Watergate and the Vietnam War. He also had large Congressional majorities, and the Fairness Doctrine had been firmly in place for decades.
I hope that Obama turns out to be a better President than Carter, not for Obama’s sake but for the country’s sake. Christopher Buckley and other conservatives engaged in some wishful thinking by claiming that his victory would somehow lead him to become centrist rather than a liberal ideologue once in office. Obama has always been pragmatic, as his campaign showed; it will be up to us to work to get that to happen.
The voters in America wanted a significant change, however, and they got it last night in the proper manner — at the ballot box. Obama’s victory was no fluke; he beat John McCain by seven million votes and won more states than Bush did in either of his two elections. He will have stronger majorities in both chambers of Congress for his party, and will have legitimate claim to a mandate.
Over the next four years, Republicans and conservatives have to work to rethink their approaches, find new leadership, and work to keep the worst excesses of the Democratic policy from becoming reality. In 2010, we will have an opportunity to rebuild. We need to do that through ideas, policies, and strong leadership, not by acting … well, like the Left did throughout much of the Bush years.
It’s time to get back to work.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2 3 4
That’s right. Chimpy McFlightsuit gave us what we have toady. Nationalized banks. NATIONALIZED BANKS??!! From a republican?? The party left conservatism, not the other way around.
csdeven on November 5, 2008 at 10:04 AM
I wish it were this simple. I truly want to root for Obama now. The problems is without a drumbeat of his short comings the MSM will make him look sucessful. It’s almost as if there has to be a shrill and unfair voice to get the attention of the media these days. Afterall without Kos and Moveon Obama probably couldn’t have won.
If Republicans play nice we lose. I hope even as I write that, that this can be stopped but the other side is so hateful and spiteful that being nice just doesn’t work. Just ask McCain.
petunia on November 5, 2008 at 10:04 AM
darwin and csdeven, name calling and insults won’t get Republicans elected, as we’ve just seen. So please put the Cheetoes and Mountain Dew down, walk away from the keyboard slowly, and go outside and clear your heads.
starfleet_dude on November 5, 2008 at 10:06 AM
Wake up! The context was congress not McCain.
csdeven on November 5, 2008 at 10:07 AM
Hmmmmm … just wait until the leftists in Congress roll out energy “reform”. No oil, no nuclear, burn food for fuel. Prices will skyrocket for everything.
darwin on November 5, 2008 at 10:08 AM
Don’t you think we can deal with that if it means those policies never get enacted?
csdeven on November 5, 2008 at 10:09 AM
What the hell are you talking about? The reason we lost is because the Republican leadership doesn’t have the cajones to play hardball and call a spade a spade.
darwin on November 5, 2008 at 10:10 AM
While it is disheartening and a bit upsetting to see so many people in this country either outrightly supporting socialism or being easily fooled by slick talk, this beating was both predictable and deserved by the Republicans. Just like after the ’06 beating, many Republicans and especially Republican politicians are trying to figure out what happened and determine a “new” direction for the Republican Party. There is nothing “new” that need be discovered or attempted. When the worthless Republicans in Congress and the White House failed to even try to fix the real impending financial crisis of Medicare and Social Security, failed to secure our borders during a time where we are fighting a war where the enemy’s only real offensive threat to this country is to infiltrate it along our porous borders, failed miserably to stop a bloated, corrupt government from continuing to subsidize anything and everything they can (Farm Bill anyone?), so miserably failed to shrink the size and scope of the federal government that it actually grew at a record pace, failed to stop the collapse of the credit market by ending the pressure on banks to lend money to people who could not pay it back, failed to implement any sort of educational reform that was actually useful (vouchers, school choice, actually giving education to the free market?), or any other numerous failures of the Republicans – they sealed their own fate.
The Republicans will continue to lose and lose badly as long as they continue to screw conservatives and libertarians by trying to be moderates.
McCain. He was a loser from the beginning and that the Republican party even came close to nominating him shows how lost the party has become.
You can blame me for voting for Barr all that you want to, but you are blaming the wrong person. You should be blaming people like Bush, Rove, Trent Lott, John McCain, Arlen Specter, Lindsey Graham, etc. They are the ones who lost this election.
King of the Britons on November 5, 2008 at 10:10 AM
Like it’s been said, in times more dire than these:
LET’S ROLL
Capital Mess on November 5, 2008 at 10:10 AM
In case you failed to notice, it was Lehman’s collapse due to Paulson’s refusal to back them that led to the stock market going down the tubes right before the election. The fact is that the big investment banks had all their liquidity dry up thanks to the housing bubble bursting and it was necessary for the government to step in to try and prevent a liquidity trap from bringing on a real panic like what happened to Japan in 1990.
starfleet_dude on November 5, 2008 at 10:11 AM
Oh yeah, that kind of talk will really convince a majority of Americans to reject Obama. Riiiiiight….
starfleet_dude on November 5, 2008 at 10:12 AM
Typical. You think that the reason Lehman’s collapsed was because the government didn’t back them. Remarkable.
King of the Britons on November 5, 2008 at 10:14 AM
Racism is officially dead…the race card is pulled from the deck, the age card, the overweight card, the bald card, have a higher standing.
Now we start building a real conservative base, not a libertarian, not an open border, not a “conciliatory to the other aisle”; but a real smaller government, shrinking government, less intrusion.
We prepare now, for the realization that people will be disgusted with the liberal dogma that will be forced upon us.
right2bright on November 5, 2008 at 10:14 AM
Do we need to go through the list of lobbying and lying that Fred engaged in? Seriously, the guy is only good as a mouth piece for conservatism. His behavior is otherwise.
csdeven on November 5, 2008 at 10:15 AM
I keep thinking about those words from Thomas Jefferson today.
And I’m afraid that this is what it might come down to…
In the meantime, God grant me the strength and wisdom to do what is right for my faith, my family and my country.
either orr on November 5, 2008 at 10:15 AM
I needed to see that! Thank-You!
After hearing about that man taking the highest office, 20 rockets fired into Israel shortly after,
Last night all that ran through my mind – History will never forgive those who voted for this man.
christene on November 5, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Ignore him.
csdeven on November 5, 2008 at 10:17 AM
Mr_Magoo, I’ve been thinking about that passage in Samuel a lot lately. We’ve got to humble ourselves and pray for this country!
mcplumbercuda on November 5, 2008 at 10:19 AM
What is wrong with the “libertarian” philosophy in your “smaller government, shrinking government, less intrusion” idea?
King of the Britons on November 5, 2008 at 10:20 AM
Thanks, Ed. I agree.
Also agree – well said.
And with the many others espousing similar viewpoints.
I awakened this morning disappointed, as we all did. But also amazingly calm and resolute.
I am thankful to have “met” you all. You’ll be my source of encouragement and news in the coming months and years (I’m done with the MSM). As I hope to be for you as well.
I agree we have to regroup and get busy. I will. On a local level first.
In my state (TN), we have just elected a conservative majority to the legislature for the first time since reconstruction. Our current liberal Secretary of State, Comptroller and Treasurer were involved in partisan campaigning during this election. They will be gone in January. Two years later, I expect our liberal governor to be ousted as well.
On an even more local level…I live in one of the what…six? blue counties in the state. In my district, we just elected a conservative to the City Council. It’s a miracle, I tell ya! I’ll start there my new found activism. And I won’t be alone by a long shot. Of that I am quite sure.
I know I don’t speak for all of you, as much to my shame, I’ve been a sleeping member of the Silent Majority for most of my 53 years, but this gal is not going to spend any time whining, licking my wounds, or feeling oppressed.
I’m going to get busy at the grassroots level. And I expect the landscape to have tilted in our favor by 2010. Hope and change. Too bad those words are forever tainted. They ARE great concepts. They just need the right action behind them.
Let’s get crackin’!
sanguine1 on November 5, 2008 at 10:20 AM
Dude, whatever you managed to post before of interest, is completely lost after that staement. Not helpful.
hawkdriver on November 5, 2008 at 10:21 AM
Wish I could say there is somewhere to go from here but there probably is not.
The American idol audience now has control of our country. I always knew my generation would blow it when it came our time. I never thought it would be this bad.
Forty years of PC indoctrination has left us with Barry. Eight years of Bush/Bad and two years of Barry/Divine was all it took. We are now a dependent and stupid people no longer worthy of the noble experiment in democracy handed to us by the founding fathers.
How can there even be a conservative movement when the state now controls the press?
What is left for us ? Barry will destroy the economy , gut the military, and triple energy costs. That is the good news. His appointees to the Supreme Court is what will ultimately destroy the American way of life.
After that, while in our death throes, white’s will revolt against the new minority rule and attempt to reclaim the country. It won’t be worth saving by that time. Not a pretty picture for our children.
The country our parents fought for and worked for and believed in is gone. It was our responsibility to hand that country down to our children . We have failed them.
DeweyWins on November 5, 2008 at 10:21 AM
One thing Conservatives need to do, and have not done, is know thy enemy. Play by the rules they play by, McCain’s speech last night while noble, reflected the problem with republicans….. above the fray, clean hands type of confrontation. Well it stunk up the country, and we conservatives are paying the price. Ok, it’s our collective fault. Let’s get off our asses and plan the revolution NOW! Start by memorizing Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. The libs played that card perfectly. Having the economy tank and having no one to viciously attack the Franks, Waters, Dodds and Pelosi’s didn’t help, either.
MNDavenotPC on November 5, 2008 at 10:22 AM
You must be joking.
Esthier on November 5, 2008 at 10:22 AM
I knew you were a RINO. Whatever happened to the conservative ideal that we are responsible for our own actions and expect the same from others?
You bailout shills forget that there was/is billions of dollars that would have come into the markets to buy up these companies that engaged in risky practices. The bailout was to keep the status quo in power…the same status quo who have our politicians in their pockets. The same status quo that just put $25 billion into the pockets of shareholders in the form of dividends. Remember that money was SUPPOSED to create liquidity in the market? Bwahahahahaha!!! The RINO’s screwed you again and you’re going to beg for more.
csdeven on November 5, 2008 at 10:22 AM
okay the silver lining, wishful thinking stuff is really bothering me. You start by saying you can expect Obama to be pragmatic, and govern more from the Center. When has he ever done this in his personal life, his jobs, his philosophical positions, and his legislative actions & votes. This is a pipe dream. Then you say he won bigger than Bush did when even with all branches of government on his side Bush governed from the center left with his entitlements and increase in pork and spending. What fantasyland do you live in that makes you think Obama will feel the need under all these FACTS to govern with a move to center right. Obama ain’t going to move his politics anywhere. He won’t move right or left. He’ll govern from the spot he stands, because that is what he has done despite what he and others say.
Nice touch with the entire Obama family wearing red, black, and white.
Sultry Beauty on November 5, 2008 at 10:24 AM
That’s how the left played,(dirty,scare tactics,race card, lie after lie, President bush 3rd term)…and just look who won!
christene on November 5, 2008 at 10:24 AM
I just read in the Jerusalem Post that 78% of Jews voted for Obama. What in the world! Are they blind? I blame the MSM for this. I wonder how long it will be before they realize they helped elect a man who despises Israel. The leader of the ‘Nation of Islam’ called Obama the Messiah. I’m in shock. Total Shock.
mcplumbercuda on November 5, 2008 at 10:25 AM
There’s a concrete agenda for Party reform and policy reform that almost all Republicans should be able to unite around and create a platform for the 2010 and 2012 elections:
Party reform:
1. No more open primaries or caucuses.
2. Remove Iowa and New Hampshire as the opening GOP primaries and start in South Carolina.
Policy reform:
1. Oppose all further bailouts.
2. Support free trade.
3. Restructure the Federal Reserve and mandate that its sole function is to regulate the money supply and control inflation.
4. Privatize or abolish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
5. Oppose any new restrictions on offshore drilling, coal fired power plants, or any other extraction and use of domestic energy supplies.
6. Secure the borders.
Election and finance reform:
1. Repeal McCain/Feingold but require immediate online disclosure of EVERY campaign contribution over $5.
2. Require verification of name and address on all credit/debit card contributions.
3. Felony and mandatory prison time for campaign finance violations.
4. Prohibit all paid solicitation of voter registrations.
Ethics/process reform:
1. Prohibit sitting members of Congress from accepting ANY campaign contribution from any industry they oversee. Prohibit appropriators from accepting ANY contribution from any federal contractor.
2. Term limits for membership on Appropriations and Ways and Means/Finance.
rockmom on November 5, 2008 at 10:26 AM
Folks, it’s not as if the investment banks aren’t going to have to eventually pay back the taxpayers via the equity share the federal government now has in them. As someone who lived through the Chrysler bailout in 1980, it did save them for a generation and that is no small thing.
starfleet_dude on November 5, 2008 at 10:28 AM
A lot of American Jews would vote for Heinrich Himmler if he had a (D) after his name. Not being anti-Semitic, just sayin’.
ddrintn on November 5, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Let me clarify that context……When I use the term “Chimpy”, I use it only in the narrowest description of certain policies that he engaged in. Nationalizing banks in the most “chimpiest” of behaviors. Next to shamnesty that is.
The left use it to describe his as a whole.
csdeven on November 5, 2008 at 10:30 AM
If you read what I posted a little more carefully, you will see that what I meant by “culture war”, is what started in Berkeley in 1968.
What you refer to as “an endless war” is what Peter Robinson and Tom Sowell are talking about on Uncommon Knowledge.
We are both using “war” metaphorically but the adjective “endless” is not really suitable. Wars do not normally last more than a generation (100 years seems to be the limit).
I think that an “evolutionary struggle” is a better way to describe the long-term problem.
gh on November 5, 2008 at 10:30 AM
rockmom on November 5, 2008 at 10:26 AM
+100
This should be writ large and in stone….
Add to that open self-regulation among GOP/Conservative members of Congress, all elected officials for that matter, in every precinct, every district to go on record and point out by name every fellow GOP/Conservative who violates any of the above. The quiet acquiescence which allowed guys like Denny Hastert to use Congress as a personal ATM has to stop and WE have to make sure WE are the ones who blow the whistle and raise the roof when ANY of our GOP/Conservative officials stray into personal get-rich schemes. Let the liberals wallow in their corruption. Let us make darn sure we are seen as the ones who never allow it…ever.
Take the moral high ground for real….and the rest gets a lot more easy to accomplish.
coldwarrior on November 5, 2008 at 10:33 AM
ddrintn,
I just don’t get it. It is as if the Christian Right in this country cares more about what happens to Israel than Jews do. Absolutely crazy.
mcplumbercuda on November 5, 2008 at 10:34 AM
Rockmom, that’s a great list. What about social issues?
hawkdriver on November 5, 2008 at 10:35 AM
Like most of you, I am angry and disappointed this morning. But also very motivated. During this entire election season, I was appalled at the MSM for their blatant bias. Can’t change the results of last night’s victory, but I can lash out at the media for their unjust contribution. I know absolutely nothing about their industry but I do know that I, for one, will be making a conscious effort to spank them where it hurts. Ratings are their lifeblood. I am turning them off and will gather my news in other places. And yes, Fox News is on my list. We watched a strategic campaign with mass appeal usher in a new president with the simple message of change. My simple message is “turn it off”.
sherry on November 5, 2008 at 10:35 AM
If you want to be a part of a grassroots effort where we can identify one another and link to each other and work together, email me and I’ll coordinate the list and loop everyone in.
http://www.beatcanvas.com/contact.asp
Let’s improve our influence: individually, locally, and online.
beatcanvas on November 5, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Actually, the President won 31 states in ’04. Obama has only 27 (plus DC) thus far.
BradC on November 5, 2008 at 10:37 AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_dog_Democrat
Dark-Star on November 5, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Forget the MSM. Work around them. The Republicans have won and won big before despite the MSM. If we have a consistent, coherent message, we can win again.
ddrintn on November 5, 2008 at 10:38 AM
I know this is a hard morning. But President Bush is still my Commander in Chief. I have admired his courage in his prosecution of the GWOT and fought for him in that capacity. While I do not agree with his every domestic policy he will go down in my book as the President that stopped Radical Islam dead in it’s tracks. Chimpy of any form is what his liberal detractors use and I understand it’s always been gloves off for them. I just wouldn’t expect that from a fellow conservative.
I’m heading to work. I left my email. Here it is again. hawksp2000@gmail.com If folks are going to seriously organize, I’m in.
hawkdriver on November 5, 2008 at 10:41 AM
mcplumbercuda,
i pray for America every day.
mountainmanbob on November 5, 2008 at 10:43 AM
This is not like other elections. Obama is a Gramsci Marxist. I KNOW Marxists…I know how they think, I listened to them lay out their plans. These are not good people. This is not good for America. This is change, however. And it is fundamental.
JustTruth101 on November 5, 2008 at 10:43 AM
But the left don’t fight among themselves … there’s a lesson to learn there if you ever want to get it back. This is not a short term problem. Society has been creeping left for 40 years. Obama is just at the tipping point.
gh on November 5, 2008 at 10:46 AM
I cannot believe my fellow hispanic brothers and sisters voted for Obuma a little more than 2 to 1. What a bunch of hypocrites. Always exclaiming how proud and Christian people we are. These same hypocrites that will have no shame going to church this weekend, many of which with their innocent children.Have you no idea what this man thinks of human life? Have you not educated yourselves on his radical views on abortion? You have sold your pride and morals for the few dollars he has promised you. Try looking this one up in your Bibles, Matthew 10:33. All you hypocrites should have one in your homes (just for show of course).
LatinRed on November 5, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Where we go from here:
1. Starve the media. Cancel your newspaper and magazine subscriptions, V-Chip the MSM news channels like CNN and MSNBC, and go out of the way to avoid books in Oprah’s Book Club. The MSM got Hussein the Twit elected in part because they hope a Fairness Doctrine will starve out the blogosphere that has been encroaching on them. All the Fairness Doctrines in the world, though, can’t make you give the media organs a thin dime.
2. Tired of William Ayers and his KGB buddies educating your kids? Run for the school board, especially if you are not a creationist. No offense to actual creationists, but Creationism has been the weapon used by liberals to get conservatives off school boards, so we need to deny them this weapon. Far more important is taking civics education back from the Marxists. Once on the school board, you can give the heave-ho to any American History textbook with the word Zinn anywhere in the bibliography. If Marxism stops selling textbooks, the textbook market will stop selling Marxism.
3. When Obama screws up and the Democrats overreach (birds gotta fly, fish gotta swim…), don’t hesitate to remind your smug, triumphalist coworkers, acquaintances, and family members that this is exactly what they voted for. Don’t let them weasel out of their voting behavior’s responsibility for the coming malaise. One of the reasons the Democrats got rewarded for their bad behavior was because 2006 liberal voters trying to weasel out were easily re-directed to blame the current crisis on Bush. Rub their noses in it like you would a dog who peed on the carpet. Make them make the association of Liberal Democrat and screwup.
4. When the Democrats get too deep in the water, it’s time to forget you know how to swim. We’re just *back of hand to forehead* powerless to do anything to bail the Democrats out should their irresponsibility get this nation in trouble. Now, I know that you want to ride in to save the Republic from itself on a white horse. However, this is exactly what the Democrats have been counting on all these years—they f up, we ride in and save the day, and the liberals can nail us for any imperfections in our saving the day. It’s like bailing out your ungrateful slacker daughter when she can’t handle her finances for the millionth time. So what if we sit on our hands this time—make them have to get themselves out of the pickle with no help from us? What’s the worst that can happen? We get blamed? NEWSFLASH–we get blamed anyway.
5. Encourage attrition. Part of the reasons we are still fighting the battles of the 1960s and 1970s is because the Baby Boomers are at their pre-retirement peak of income, and can make donations to groups like MoveOn in order to help them re-create their activist youth. But if something is threatening to make retirement a little harder in the near future, especially for some grasshopper who didn’t save for a rainy day, a lot of these folks may decide to retire while the getting’s good. Twenty and thirty somethings are not counting on things like Social Security anyway. Maybe it’s time to touch the third rail.
Any thoughts?
Sekhmet on November 5, 2008 at 10:52 AM
Foremost on my agenda, term limits.
The people are sick of the cronyism and same old politics as usual. There is a reason that the approval ratings are so low and they will probably get worse once the liberal policies start sucking the economy down to the ground.
My outlook for this country is bleak. I don’t believe that Obama will stay in the center, not with a strong majority in both Congress and the Senate. He will veer left, and this country will go in the toilet, as well we will be a true paper tiger for the radical governments to abuse and take advantage of. I foresee that Iran will acquire nuclear arms within the next 4 years and that is something that can never be undone. Obama will kowtow to the UN and other countries, Frank will head up dissolving the military to a great degree, the liberal legislature will implement give aways to “under privileged” to help the “middle class” with their idiotic bottom-up economic plan….
sigh. The view from here is bad…
Geministorm on November 5, 2008 at 10:57 AM
You’re not the only one. My so called Catholic wife voted for him. This morning I couldn’t help myself. I told her in front of our 8 year old who received his first Communion last spring that she committed a grave sin by voting for an abortion supporter and someone who voted against the Born Alive thing – and that she can’t receive Communion with a good conscience and that if she does it’s a mortal sin. She was fluffing it off and telling him that I was wrong, and I had to follow up that the Bishops and Holy See agree with me on the abortion thing and that she obviously has no concept of Doctrine and that religion is not a democracy.
I had to tell my Irish mother in law who was constantly raising the straw man that Republicans don’t want to take care of out of wedlock children (bullcrap, BTW) and she was defending Obama too. These people really have no clue.
Things are going to be real tough in my house for the foreseeable future.
worlok on November 5, 2008 at 10:58 AM
A good first few, but we need to address much more than that…
Questions:
Term limits?
Illegal Aliens being granted amnesty?
SCotUS appointments?
Our businesses moving oversees to avoid the anti-business atmosphere here?
Once you start giving out freebies to people, its hard to pull them back. How do we counter the welfare state when there are no jobs to be had?
Future economic bailouts bankrupting our country for decades?
Iran/Syria/Terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons?
Dissolution of our military and capabilities? If we get behind technologically, can we ever make up the lost ground?
Energy – Economic commitment to “green”, cap-n-trade, bankrupting the coal industry, destruction of the evil “Big Oil” petroleum industry, destruction of the car manufacturers, using our own resources (being dependent on foreign energy), etc.?
SCotUS/federal court nominations and decisions?
Government involvement in private business?
It ain’t looking pretty folks…
Geministorm on November 5, 2008 at 11:09 AM
At least now I think I can agree with Obama and Wright on one thing. God Damn America. From now on I’m in it just for me. Per Ayn Rand, “I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.”
This was my last election, and my last time to trust my fellow Americans with anything important to me. Starting today I will do whatever is within my power to create as much trouble as I can find any way to produce.
MikeA on November 5, 2008 at 11:09 AM
Are you seriously going to evoke Jimmy Carter to point out how happy we should be about all of this?
Are you mental?
There is nothing positive about yesterday’s election. We’ve elected a socialist and granted him near-dictatorial powers. That wasn’t an election; it was a national suicide attempt.
commenter on November 5, 2008 at 11:12 AM
I’m afraid I share your pessimism. We can all talk about how to fight back, and believe me, I will do what I can, but all the things listed in Rockmom’s post are going to be hard to accomplish when we are working against a Democrat controlled Senate, House, White House and judiciary. It will be especially hard when they control, or are themselves controlled by the MSM. Their side also has control of education, which is the single biggest obstacle we face. This election is only a symptom of the much larger problem we face. People are stupid.
Radical feminists and Marxists have controlled our schools for too long. They have indoctrinated rather than educated our youth. They are more determined to teach sex and how to have it anyway, anytime, with anyone or anything without regard to the very real dangers and consequences than they are to teach our children how to reason or even read. They have emasculated our men. They have taught that women can do it all on their own. I am woman hear me roar, or men need to get in touch with their feminine sides, and men have taken advantage of this by bailing on their fatherly duties. Hey, it isn’t bad, just enjoy the free sex devoid of responsiblitly.
While clearly there are exceptions,*nods to upstanding HotAir commenters* my husband, who tends to be very objective and a tad unsympathetic, pointed this emasculation out when the lunatic at VA Tech masacred those people. While I can’t imagine the horror and try not to judge the ‘every man…and woman, for himself’ attitude, My husband looked at me, as I was sobbing, and asked what it said about our future when able bodied men were bailing out the windows leaving an old man, who had survived Nazi Germany, to hold the door.
pannw on November 5, 2008 at 11:16 AM
rockmom on November 5, 2008 at 10:26 AM
Is great to see you back! Missed reading your enlightening posts. Loved your list too. Have to get in shower. Will be back in a while.
At least we can still share idea’s and give each other comfort with this total joke of a So called Pres.
sheebe on November 5, 2008 at 11:26 AM
I’m so sorry. You are doing the right thing, though, speaking the Truth to your family, but mostly teaching your child the Truth.
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
pannw on November 5, 2008 at 11:28 AM
Fixed it for you, rockmom.
Otherwise, you are on the right and proper track.
either orr on November 5, 2008 at 11:36 AM
I’ve been calling him “chimpy” it those contexts for several months. I am very upbeat today. I know this is the beginning of the end for the RINO rule in the republican party. We tried it their way and it failed. JUST LIKE YOU AND I SAID IT WOULD.
So I get to rub their noses in the mud for a couple of days at least. And Bush isn’t immune. He bears a portion of the responsibility because he fought conservatives on very basic principles. Banking and amnesty for starts.
But never fear, I will always be fighting for conservatism and to educate the moronic RINO’s that have infected our party.
csdeven on November 5, 2008 at 11:37 AM
Wait till those “BUSH” tax cuts expire. Let’s hope someone calls it the “Obama” tax increase.
marklmail on November 5, 2008 at 11:38 AM
Obama called on his supporters to “service and sacrifice.” I may be wrong, but I don’t think that’s why they voted for him. They voted so he would take care of them. It will be interesting to see how many step up. My guess? A whole ton of’em will go back to their homes and hangouts and wait for their check to arrive in the mail.
Mr_Magoo on November 5, 2008 at 12:01 PM
BUCK OFAMA!!!!
I’m making t-shirts by the way. =D Of course I have to make sure my profits only go up to $249,999.99 a year. Bahahahahah!!!!!
Lincoln on November 5, 2008 at 12:01 PM
Ok. How did Obama just win the white house?
The answer is George W. Bush. No, I am not going to tell you that Bush is a devil and deserves to be shot. On the contrary, I believe that the president is a great man. Still, however, Obama was elected to become president because of Bush. How you ask? Because for eight years……the MEDIA fed the American people Lies about this great man. Not that he has no faults. We all have faults. Even Ronald Reagan had faults (immigration for example). Our president was belittled, put down, disparaged, and demeaned by the Main Street Media (MSM) for over 7 ½ years. All because their pastor boy, Gore, lost the white house.
I believe that in the MSM’s eyes, Obama can, and will, do no wrong. It is up to us, as Conservatives (some will call us Republicans) to treat the next president as Bush was treated.
For all of you, who think we need to take the high road on this one, remember: the good man ends last.
It is our duty as Americans to get this country back to her conservative roots.
2010 is next.
Yitzchokm on November 5, 2008 at 12:05 PM
Last night America died and the People’s Republic of US was born. I went through socialism early in my life I saw first hand what this system will do to our great nation.
Moving to the US was the greatest blessing for me. Served 4 years in the US Army and 8 in the NJ National Guard, serving my adopted country has been my greatest honor. I work very hard for my education and every thing I have been able to accomplish so far in life. I never asked the government to do nothing for me; I believed in personal freedom and personal responsibility the core values of this great nation. I fear demo-rats will work very hard at destroying the moral values that made this country the greatest Nation in the world. Many of these moron liberals tell me that this country will no be socialist we just want to take the money from the rich and redistribute to the poor. I guess so many of them don’t have the IQ to understand the basic concept of socialism. Them the majority of people in this country yesterday told our troops their scarified mean nothing to them. Many of our great men have died for nothing. Those republicans who supported Obama thinking by defeating McCain the party will come back in 2010. I got news for those morons; Democrats will make sure Republicans are in the minority for the next twenty to thirty years. We need to stop pointing fingers, the election was lost due to one person only Mc Cain. The born again Christians and evangelicals who had a problem with Mitt Rodney Religion are the ones who will kick themselves in the ass now. I say, in the next four years Obama will put most of them out of business.
Today when I dropped my kids at school I saw the majority of them going to class with Obama’s buttons. I thought Catholics schools did not allow any display of politics in the class room. If want them to be indoctrinated I will send them to public school. Even one of the priests had one on him. To be fair I’m disgusting with my church too and I’m thinking to change my membership to a more conservative one. This is the second time the Catholic Church let me down. Any suggestion I’m open. Last night we decided with my wife to move out of the peoples Republic of NJ to a more conservative state. Here I’m surrounded by the most stupid people in the planet. Democrats have destroyed this great State and people here keep voting for them.
Republicans need to come back to the Reagan conservative principles to win again. If they try to be more like dumb liberals they are doom. We need new effective leadership in the party, so for the next ten to twenty years we have to work hard to regain the trust of the American people to bring the country back to its greatness.
pukara61 on November 5, 2008 at 12:18 PM
57,000,000 people want no part of Obama.
Mr_Magoo on November 5, 2008 at 12:42 PM
Ed, I know it’s early and we all have political hangovers – but can we start a list of conservatives we can start to look at for the future of the GOP? Other than the obvious, I for one would like to see a dirty dozen begin to form in our minds.
Mr_Magoo on November 5, 2008 at 12:46 PM
No, Captain, we get it by having the better ideas and by acting exactly as the left did all those years. Remember, Obama was one of those people constantly ankle-biting Bush. Now, when he gets the reins of power and sees the intelligence flowing in, I personally will become a faux-leftist and hold his feet to his campaign promises. And if he ignores the intelligence and disaster follows, he’ll get his just desserts there too.
I think the guy is clueless and we are going to be gravely hurt while this two-year old (1/6th the political age of John Kennedy when he began his run for the Presidency) learns how global politics work. We already are — look at how the Iranians are publicly salivating at the concessions they know we are going to have to make at the table — and we will make those concessions, because Obama has admitted he wants a face-to-face with a US adversary.
Kennedy, with 12 years of national legislative politics under his belt, was sorely outclassed by Nikita Khrushchev early on, and we endured the Cuban Missle Crisis and the Berlin Wall as a result.
We can only hope that Powell gives Obama some aid, but even that may be too little — given the statements Obama has already made, ostensibly with Powell’s aid, to date.
unclesmrgol on November 5, 2008 at 1:10 PM
I am so tired of faux conservatives like McCain.
Mitt Romney I like but he changes his colors like autumn leaves – ever adjusting to the politics of the season. Governors like Tim Pawlenty, Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin must take up the “yoke” of the party, take no prisoners and demand from our spineless GOP reps in Washington to fight back and fight hard. No compromise – ever!
javiermgfa on November 5, 2008 at 1:10 PM
I’m Catholic as well and understand your frustration. I live in a conservative county in a conservative state, Tennessee. However, I have been very disappointed in the Churches around me. Pretty social justice minded places, rather than any sort of orthodoxy. Actually, the majority of the people I know who voted for Obama in this area are the Catholics and I can see how after attending a number of the local parishes. My children and I drive into Nashville for Mass at an old church, because it actually seems Catholic and the priest is ‘old school’. They actually have a crucifix over the altar and the Tabernacle is even in the church. Imagine that… We even get to receive the Eucharist on our knees at the old Communion rail, since it is a historic building and they weren’t allowed to gut it.
At any rate, it keeps me sane for now, but after this election, I really want to buy some land. I think we should pull out of our 401ks and invest the money elsewhere while we can. This area is just too expensive, and again, I’m not thrilled with my Catholic options so I’m seriously considering trying to talk my husband into investing in some in Alabama, near the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament. EWTN is just south of there, outside of Birmingham and Mother Angelica’s sisters and priests are very devout. The land is fertile, and the cost of living is relatively low. Of course, there isn’t a large Catholic population in Alabama, but I grew up there and the Shrine is attracting people. I have sisters in Birmingham and my parents and another sister just south of Huntsville. I don’t know…but I’m feeling the pull. I don’t know if it is just panic over the election and will subside, or if someone is trying to tell me something. Anyway…
Just fyi if you are serious about moving.
pannw on November 5, 2008 at 1:16 PM
Here’s how I’m feeling this morning towards many of my “fellow Americans”:
You Maniacs!!! You blew it up!!! God Damn you!
UltimateBob on November 5, 2008 at 1:23 PM
Uh huh. Osama Obama is better, right? Ever complain about that. Insults like that, targeting a sitting POTUS or candidate, denigrate the user more than the object of their derision. You are two fools sharing one standard. How efficient.
***
Hiding behind colloquialisms won’t mask the truth behind your words. Don’t be a tease. Say what you mean you friggin wuss.
The Race Card on November 5, 2008 at 1:26 PM
Rockmom, good list but perhaps we should start with a different first item on the ” Must Do” list. How about a national standard for voter registration combined with a photo id requirement. I know our heritage with “States Rights” concerns, being a southerner, but until there is one and only one accepted way of handling this problem, then we will see it again. Please remember folks “you always learn more from your trials than your victories” (my dad, god rest his soul)
doublenaught spy on November 5, 2008 at 2:19 PM
In the thick “blue” morning fog of the day after, ask yourself some basic questions.
We patriots that resisted the $Billion-Messiah Brand, some 57 million voters; who,what,how,when & why.
WHO: Mccain,a 72 yr old Vietnam War-hero,a mediocre speaker with left the impression, he was giving his best Bob Dole imitation, ran as the RINO,Reagan Democrat,masquerading as a moderate Maverick, who campaigned with a concession
speech.
WHAT:The MSM, every network, save Fox, conspired since election day 2000, to destroy the Bush Administration, Conservativism, re-write history; Iraq, 9/11,Katrina
Gitmo, the Patriot Act, relentlessly grinding down,demeaning, confusing, demoralizing the silent majority…All the while they cynically spewed lies,
SIMULTANEOUSLY running intereference for the Democratic politicians, paving the way for the “inevitable” candidate,
Barack Obama, giving “THE ONE” a free pass on all issues, his inexperience, past, radical marxism, flip flops etc…
EASILY ADDED 12% TO HIS VOTE TOTAL IN EVERY STATE !!!
HOW: MCCAIN’S CAMPAIGN STRATEGY FAILED
Coming out of the REP Convention, with the BRILLIANT selection of Sarah as VP, the Mccain campaign ran a flailing and erratic campaign. So consumed with being honorable, while playing softball on the trail chanting,
“My Friends,My Friends”; the friendly Media ran negative newstories 57% (more than double Obama’s)vs 21% favorable…
How come he straightjacketed his own campaign taking Rev
Wright, all the skeletons in Obamas closet off the table.
It took precious time for him to polish his image and message, so he garnered the MSM award of being meanspirited
and running the negative campaign.
As we scratch our heads, the MTv, transformative Champion of hope & change, leveraged his hipness and coolness – great marketing and packaging -
as he performed like a Zenmaster reading hypnotic platitudes to the delight of his minions, the media and a public looking for something new and different. Smells alot like “WHITE GUILT” + the new road to Camelot, to me.
WHEN: The turning point – MCCAIN/PALIN had scratched and clawed to inch ahead in several polls up to Sept 15 -
that is when the market crashed and the financial meltdown
consumed all other issues.
Within 24 hours the polls bought the spin that Obama
has the right stuff -the demeanor & temperment to
handle the Economy & the Crisis !!!
Mccain stumbled and was crucified as he fumbled what was to be the only issue that ever would count!
It took Joe the plumber, to ask the only question Obama ever got – including the debates and interviews he bobbed and weaved through since he finessed the nomination.
WHY: MCCAIN LOST
I do not buy into the concept Obama won.
Mccain failed to win the EV & the popular vote BECAUSE -
The Maverick, with a career trackrecord of distancing himself from ReaganConservative ideas & votes, ran to champion & embrace democrat- bipartisan travesties
like MccainFinegold, MccainKennedy, etc…etc…
His reward — Independents , lost them 60% – 39%
Under 30 voters, lost’em 67% – 33%
Hispanic voters, crushed 2:1
Lost 20% of Exit poll Conservatives
This from an electorate best described of 22 % liberal,
34% conservative
Thanks to Sarah, he held 89% of Republicans.
With some hindsight, here in homestate of California,
and so hopelessly “blue” and plagued by years of reckless spending & now with inpending bankruptcy at its doorstep…
PROP 8 – PASSED REAFFIRMING MARRIAGE –
The penultimate CONSERVATIVE CULTURE ISSUE
Like the Carter win that created the Reagan Revolution
ELECTION 2008 will give CONSERVATIVES
the opportunity to take back the party
and the future.
RED.inca on November 5, 2008 at 2:19 PM
The Catholic school thing bothers me. My kid goes to a Catholic school and I have heard some stuff about the new principal. I asked him to report to me any teachers or the principal displaying Obama stuff, which I will immediately bring up with the Parish Pastor, who has been preaching for LIFE lately at Mass. I think that we need to have to have some good old fashioned reeducation in that school. This priest might be sympathetic since although he is young, his stance on Pro Life is pretty strict.
I’m in NJ too, and what you say is correct.
I remember the days of Reagan, fondly. I lived in Wallington, a Polish immigrant outpost. Everyone was for the Gipper, and the Pope, and Lech Walesa vs the commies.
I have to print out a nice Reagan photo to hang on my wall in my computer room to make me feel better about this. I miss Reagan so much these days. He was a great one. I remember, as a young teen, watching his speeches on TV and feeling so safe and secure, in spite of the Cold War, with him as our leader. What a great man. God Bless Ronald Reagan’s fearless soul.
worlok on November 5, 2008 at 2:38 PM
It truly saddens me that the Majority whore`d themselves out for the sake of empty meaningless words and a handout.
It truly saddens me that the country I LOVE, the country that my parents told me had no limits is gone, it has been for a while now, yesterday just reaffirmed this.
It saddens me that 63 MILLION people took the bait, hook line & sinker.
It saddens me to envision the very real prospect of having my personal Liberties d!cked with.
It saddens me that the media and all of it`s shills and minions are the only means of information for …oh about 63 MILLION sheeple.
It saddens me that the future has just become much bleaker for my children, and their children, and so on.
It saddens me that apparently there are somewhere around 63 MILLION sheeple who never knew, or have lost the ability to think fo themselves.
It saddens me that for at LEAST the next 4 years I will be forced to see and hear the voice of a man who I would not have voted in for dog catcher.
63 MILLION can`t be wrong…could they?
Through all of this disappointment and
I am glad that I still have my health
I am glad that I have a spouse who I love dearly, as she does me.
I am glad to have 3 GREAT kids who even thought they are sort of young, they “GET IT”, and will continue to, as long as there is air in my lungs.
I am glad that I am NOT alone, for while there were 63 MILLION who DON`T get it, there are 56 MILLION who do.
NY Conservative on November 5, 2008 at 2:39 PM
While I always support the best for our country, I will never support the man that just won the presidency. There might be a policy here and there I may agree with, but I despise the leftist p.o.s. (and his wife) that want so desperately to turn this country into a european style left wing toilet.
If he reached out to shake my hand, I’d turn my back on him all the while resisting the urge to spit in his hand first. Why? Because when it comes down to it I know this man won’t fight FOR America, he’ll instead apologize for it. The amount of mindless asshats that supported him and are willing to do the same in this country make me ill.
So I wait for better days. Meanwhile, I’ll not do a damn thing to support this cardboard figure of a human, and I’ll resist every turn he makes to the left.
Spiritk9 on November 5, 2008 at 3:12 PM
I don’t agree with the assessment that “America is dead” after one election goes extremely sour. We’ve had bad times before and we’ll overcome this too. The left wingers out there need a reminder of what the Carter days were like, clearly. They’re going to get it, and there will be nobody to blame but themselves for this. Meanwhile, we have the next 2 years to pound it into their heads that the liberals have had the house majority and made a bigger mess than the conservatives did.
This aside however, I will do absolutely nothing to support this creep, and I’ll work against every liberal (and marxist) thing he tries to get done while he’s in office.
Swiss bank accounts FTW.
Spiritk9 on November 5, 2008 at 3:21 PM
The moderate Republicans in this party won’t even stand by one of their own anymore if he is trailing in the weeks leading up to the election. Poor John McCain. He did everything they wanted him to do. And they still deserted him like rats.
The David Brooks’, the Peggy Noonan’s, the Christopher Buckley’s, the Kathleen Parker’s, they all jumped ship because they could see what was coming.
I’m a big fan of Ann Coulter, have been for years. Michelle Malkin too.
Question: If you’ve read any of Ann’s columns over the years, and Michelle’s, did you ever notice what sort of opinion they have of the people that have been running the Republican Party even before Ronald Reagan rode off into the sunset?
Do they have a high opinion of them or a low opinion of them?
If you’ve read their columns, you know very well that Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin have an EXTREMELY LOW OPINION of the current leadership in the Republican Party.
What reasons have been given for this very low opinion?
I can remember several.
1. They don’t fight back. They spend a lot of time apologizing…..AFTER they have been unjustly attacked.
2. They really don’t believe in conservatism, they don’t think conservative issues are winning issues, and therefore treat the vast conservative base as almost an afterthought. They think forming a party that appeals to Dem’s and Indys is more important than building a party that appeals to conservatives.
Here’s your big heaping dose of reality, my fellow conservatives:
A real conservative hasn’t run for President since Reagan in 1984. That was almost 25 years ago.
Who’s headed each Republican ticket since then?
George H.W. Bush / Dan Quayle? Elected to one term, basically on the STRENGTH of promising to continue Reagan’s successful policies. Unfortunately, as quickly became apparent (and was known all along inside Washington) Bush the Elder was no conservative; he was a moderate Republican and quickly reneged on some key principles, including breaking his promise not to raise taxes.
Here we see the “Moderate Republican/Solid Conservative” model tried and it worked – for one election. Dukakis ran proudly as a liberal, the last Dem. candidate to do so, making Bush’s job much easier.
But against a Southern Governor running as a conservative ‘New Democrat’, the Clinton/Gore ticket managed to make Bush /Quayle look clueless and listless and tied to Washington.
Had the Dem’s run a out and proud liberal Bush might have held his own even still, but against a fresh face, a ‘conservative’ Dem from the South, old Washington hand Bush looked out of touch.
So the moderate Republican loses to the ‘New Democrat’ who really was an ultra-liberal running in disguise.
Well by 1996 Bill Clinton’s mask had dropped off. The country had watched scandal after scandal envelop him as well as seeing him break most of his campaign promises and governing as a doctrinaire liberal (something that led to the Republicans ‘invading’ Congress and ‘seizing’ power in the 1994 mid-terms).
So how is it a vulnerable Clinton won re-election handily?
Simple.
The moderate Republicans running the RNCC made sure one of their most moderate number won the nomination. Bob Dole.
Doles’ “It’s My Turn And I’d Like The Job Even Though I Don’t Have Any Big Ideas or Direction I’d Like To Take The Country In” campaign was as listless, lost and meandering as the one we just watched McCain suffer through.
Republican pundits like to focus on the fact that Dole got outspent 3 to 1 (while Obama just outspent McCain by an even larger margin – 5 to 1), but the simple fact of the matter is even if he had more money to spend that Clinton, Dole had no coherent message.
Once again the ‘safe’ method of putting a Moderate Conservative at the top of the ticket with a Strong Conservative sidekick was tried. Bob Dole teamed up with Jack Kemp was supposed to be a ticket that would appeal to conservative Dems and independents,while pulling in some conservatives as well.
Despite the fact that the country knew exactly what it was getting….again…..it opted to return the Clintons to the White House rather than give Dole the job.
So…..gearing up for the 2000 campaign, the Republican party decided to……..try the same thing again.
It found a Moderate Republican in Texas Governor George W. Bush, teamed him up with Dick Cheney, and ran him against Al Gore / Joe Lieberman.
What resulted was the closest election in modern history.
After winning the nomination by appealing to the conservative base, Bush then moved to the middle and tried the key RNCC strategy of trying to draw Dem’s and Indys to the ticket.
Instead he almost lost the election.
Not content with almost screwing up 2000, Karl Rove and others convinced Bush to try it again in 2004, where once again Bush tacked to the middle, and instead of slaughtering John Kerry like he should have, Bush managed a narrow win.
Having learned absolutely nothing from 2000 and 2004, the RNCC decided to set up the nomination process for 2008 so that the most moderate/liberal parts of the country would choose the RNC frontrunner for the primaries. This was their strategy to ensure yet again that a Moderate Republican wound up on the top of the ticket.
And it worked.
John McCain won the nomination, then tried to get the conservative base to hop aboard the bandwagon by selecting Sarah Palin, Strong Conservative Governor of Alaska as his running mate.
The strategy, once again, was to have McCain tack strongly to the middle as a Moderate Republican so as to appeal to the 50 or so Moderate Republicans in the country, while also drawing in conservative Dem’s and independantes, as Palin worked the heartland and drew in the hicks and bible-thumpers and hoi polloi from the Red States.
And once this time….not only did this flawed strategy not produce a narrow win, it instead delivered an election landslide in favor of a 1st term Senator with absolutely no record to run on.
What does this mean for 2012?
Here’s your second Big Heaping Dose of Reality, my conservative friends.
The current Republican Party leadership is NOT GOING ANYWHERE unless BIG changes are made.
Unless something is done, STARTING NOW, they will STILL BE THERE IN 2012.
AND IF YOU THINK THERE’S ANY CHANCE AT ALL THEY LET A REAL CONSERVATIVE ANYWHERE NEAR THE TOP OF THEIR TICKET, YOU ARE DREAMING, MY FRIENDS.
Sarah Palin in 2012?
Are you NUTS?
Did you not just see what happened the last 7 weeks?
After trying to make her the ‘fall guy’ for their failed strategy, and not even waiting for the election to be over before starting to point fingers at her, do you REALLY THINK these same people turn around and hand their nomination to her in 2012?
You’re DREAMING.
In 2012 we end up with another Moderate Republican with some ‘safe’ conservative tacked on as an afterthought to appeal to the hicks out there.
Plus every real conservative politician out there just had a 7 week primer on what they can expect should they step up to the plate even as the VP pick on the ticket.
They AND THEIR FAMILY can expect to get a big heaping dose of what Sarah Palin just got.
Sarah Palin in 2012?
She can throw her hat in the ring if she wants, but if she thinks the RNCC is going to even give her an exploratory phone call she’s sadly mistaken. As far as they are concerned, they wouldn’t mind if they never saw her again.
Would she even volunteer to put herself and her family through this again starting in 2010? She might. But if she does I’m letting you know right now, I’m preparing you all for the distinct lack of enthusiasm the Republican Party leadership would have for putting her anywhere near their ticket.
She would have to do what Reagan did, which is to build a coalition so strong and so big and so powerful that despite getting turned away for Ford in 1976, by 1980 even the RNCC had to finally hand him nomination, albeit reluctantly.
Could she do it?
I don’t know. I hope she would. We need to have strong conservative leaders rise up and challenge these spineless cowards that are currently running the Republican party. She could be the first of many.
We have 2 years until the mid-terms in 2010. A lot can happen until then.
One of the things I hope to see happen is a huge hue and cry among conservatives everywhere as they see what Barack and Co. have planned for our country and focusing that outrage on the RNCC leadership and kicking them all out when it becomes apparent they not only have no coherent strategy to take the Democrats on, they are still stuck trying the same failed ideas of the past.
Barack Obama was not inevitable.
We have a RNCC that insists on running Moderate Republicans because they are CONVINCED conservatives ‘frighten’ the country and could never win so they will never allow one to be at the top of their precious ticket.
It’s time for a change – and THIS is change we conservatives can believe in.
manofaiki on November 5, 2008 at 4:48 PM
Why? The Dems won without ideas, policies and strong leadership. It is clear that Americans don’t vote based on ideas, policies, and leadership but instead on style and skin color and DNA.
Dollayo on November 5, 2008 at 5:25 PM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2 3 4