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Subscribe to RSSNearly six months after President Obama became the first U.S. president to endorse the right of same-sex couples to marry, Maine and Maryland on Tuesday became the first states to legalize same-sex marriage through a ballot measure.
And in Minnesota, voters rejected a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage -- also a first for the U.S. electorate.
(A marriage-equality initiative also appeared before voters in Washington State. As of Thursday afternoon, the NBC News Decision Desk had not made a call on whether this measure was passed or be rejected by voters.)
“Voters made history [on Tuesday night]. For the first time, marriage equality for all loving couples has been upheld in popular statewide votes,” Justine Sarver, Executive Director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center in Washington D.C. said.
Marriage equality was just one of several political issues put in the hands of voters during this year’s election. On Election Day, voters in 38 states decided the fate of 176 ballot measures, according to the Initiative and Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California.
One of the most closely watched ballot measures of this election was an initiative in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Voters in Colorado and Washington approved the measure, making them the first U.S. states to legalize the recreational use of the drug. In Oregon, the measure failed with 54% of voters rejecting it.
Despite the voter-approved measures in Colorado and Oregon, the federal government still prohibits the recreational use of marijuana. The Department of Justice released this statement on the issue:
“The Drug Enforcement Administration’s enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged. In enacting the Controlled Substances Act, Congress determined that marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance. The Department of Justice is reviewing the ballot initiatives and we have no additional comment at this time.”
Other ballot-measure results:
-- Marriage equality was also on the ballot in Washington. Voters there were asked to either uphold or dismiss the state’s marriage-equality law. As of Wednesday morning, state election officials were still counting ballots, but said the measure was passing “easily.”
-- Voters in Maryland upheld the state’s DREAM Act. The law allows undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at Maryland community colleges if they graduate high school in the state and their parents file taxes in Maryland. After completing two years at a community college, the students can then transfer to a state university, while still paying the in-state tuition rate.
-- California’s Prop. 34, a measure making the maximum punishment for murder life in prison without parole, was defeated. Fifty-two percent of voters in California voted against the ballot measure.
-- Oklahoma voted in favor of outlawing affirmative action programs in the state. State Question #759 asked voters whether or not affirmative action programs in the state should be banned, and 59% of voters said “yes.” The ban extends to the state, its agencies, counties, cities, towns, school districts, and other subdivisions.
-- Floridians defeated Amendment 6, a measure that would banned the use of public funds for abortion -- unless it’s performed in order to save a mother’s life. Forty-five percent of the electorate voted to approve the measure, falling short of the 60% required to pass.
-- And voters in Minnesota rejected a ballot initiative that would have amended the state constitution to require voters in future elections to show a government-issued photo ID before voting.
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It's all part of the changing demographic and generational shift...adapt or die...
Change is certain and that never changes.
Romney concedes Florida
Maybe Romney concedes, but what does Karl Rove say?
Pat -- About time too!
332
That's a huge win.
Dont_carry_it_all
President O lost only 1 state - Indiana. He did excellent!
Pat - I can't find that anywhere! Where did you hear it?
Article on Huffington Post, SS.
Allen West doesn't concede...
With 100 percent of precincts in, The Associated Press still has not declared a winner for District 18, spanning St. Lucie, Martin and northern Palm Beach counties. Murphy garnered 160,328 votes to West’s 157,872. That’s a difference of 2,456. Percentage-wise, that’s 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent, or a 0.8 percent lead favoring Murphy.
Florida law only allows for recounts when a race is decided by a half percentage point or less. The margin in the West-Murphy matchup was razor thin, but not close enough to warrant a recount, according to Florida statutes.
If an election is won by 0.5 percent or less, it triggers an automatic recount. If the margin exceed 0.5 percent, State Division of Elections spokesman Kevin Cate said “there exists no statutory mechanism for a candidate, group or anyone else to have a recount done by the state or any supervisor of elections.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/11/08/allen-west-isnt-conceding-as-rival-claims-victory/
@ Ricardo: Who cares.
NDD - Thank you!
It's all part of the changing demographic and generational shift...adapt or die...
Danger - They'll never adapt...Oh well, I guess that leaves just one option for them.....
History in the making, why I thought it was always in the making. I hope folks are ready for more history in the making. As that saying goes, a pebble starts to fall down the side of a mountain.Which will trigger an avalanche the whole world will sit up and take notice of. This will be the decade generations will look back on and say...".nudge, nudge...honey, please don't hog all the covers!" And it will become a mathimatical equation who is asking whom!
I say HOORAY Maine and Maryland!!!! (Mary-land...very appropriate)
Now... I hope they ALL move to those states and get the hell away from us.
(changing demographics my @rSE... They have ALWAYS been there... )
You poor pathetic soul (sickofthebickering).
People from the political machine of the GOP are still trying to understand what they did wrong and why they failed to get Romney elected.
The answer is simple. A person needs only to look at the people who support the GOP such as SickOfTheBickering to understand who they are and how out of step they are with the majority of people in the country. SickOfTheBickering is a homophobic who is so demented that he doesn't even want to be around anyone who doesn't share his thoughts about what right or wrong. He and others like him don't want to live in a civilized democracy that the U.S. offers. He'd rather admonish everyone with a differing opinion or lifestyle to live somewhere away from him. Here's an easier answer. Rather than asking tens of thousands of others to move, make it simple. YOU move. Preferable to a deserted island where no one else will be different than you and you can live out your days in your own precious bubble of a world.
AND Puerto Rico residents voted to become a State!!!! Did not even know they wanted to. Now it has to go before Congress. This should be interesting. 51 States? I kind of like the idea!
Sick of the Bickering-
You are correct - misogynists, bigots and homophobes have always been there. Maybe the next generation can change that.
Once all the dust has settled, it is clear that this year's general election saw some major historic happenings! I am extremely proud to be a part of that history, and I am proud of our country and particularly proud of the folks in ME, MD, and MN. Their voices have been heard and I see people in other states who may soon follow their lead. I am also particularly proud of the people of NH and creating the first state to be governed by ALL women! Wow! What a positively exciting time we are all living in right now!
SS: Yes, that has been a decision by the people in PR that has definitely evolved over the last several years. There were those in PR who did not want to see it happen as they enjoyed the benefits of being a part of us, but they did not want all that comes with actually being a state. I think many preferred remaining as their own "country" so to speak. Kind of like how Alaska was in the preceding years before the people finally said "Let us in!" The people of PR would have much to gain as they would actually be able to vote in U.S. elections as opposed to just giving their electoral votes, which has never made sense to me, to be honest with you.
The times they are a changing, people, and if you don't move along with it, you will be left behind.
sick - yes they HAVE always been there - as have small minded bigots like you. Have you been harmed by any of "them?" I doubt it. If you have a problem with people living their lives and loving others then it is YOUR problem - not theirs.
Can't believe we didn't shoot down the death penalty.
nomoresameo .... great response to SOB's disgusting post . . .
SOB -
"They" "Us"? You're as bad as Ann but worse.
Sick (an appropriate moniker, if ever there was one) once described homosexuality as "unnatural".
To which I say: If it exists, how can it be unnatural?
I would also say that if it is "unnatural" to someone, then DON'T DO IT! What is unnatural to one is quite natural to another.
Due to shifting demographics in the US, it won't be too many election cycles before states such as Arizona, Texas, and even Georgia become Blue States. Unless the GOP recognizes that their exclusionary tactics are failing them, the Republican Party soon will be marginalized even unto irrelevancy.
I could have sworn SonofaBitchering was complaining on another thread about compromise - yet here he is, reinforcing the stance of his stale, pale, male party.
Sick O' - the change is that less people believe in hate as a solution to their confusion. You should try it.
To SeekingSanity #2.2: Puerto Rico and "Borinquenos" in NY, FL, and many other areas have been arguing pro and con for 50+ years for Puerto Rico's entrance into the USA as the 51st state. I hope this time Congress agrees.
LOL!
:OP
Such a heart warming story... Stories about children and their views of the world are always touching...
A father watched his young daughter playing in the garden. He smiled as he reflected on how sweet and pure his little girl was.
Tears formed in his eyes as he thought about her seeing the wonders of nature through such innocent eyes.
Suddenly she just stopped and stared at the ground. He went over to her to see what work of God had captured her attention.
He noticed she was looking at two spiders mating. "Daddy, what are those two spiders doing?" she asked. "They're mating." her father replied.
"What do you call the spider on top?" she asked. "A Daddy Longlegs." her father answered.
"So, the other one is a Mommy Longlegs?" the little girl asked. As his heart soared with the joy of such a cute and innocent question he replied, "No dear both of them are Daddy Longlegs."
The little girl, looking a little puzzled, thought for a moment, then lifted her foot and stomped them flat. "Well," she said, "that may be okay in San Francisco, but we're not having any of that @!$%# in South Dakota."
LMAO Sick!!!!!! You owe me a monitor and keyboard and another large sweet tea from Arby's.
Hey Jack (off) In Port's Mouth!
You are a flat out F'ing LIAR!
Don't you dare put words in my mouth. I NEVER SAID THAT IT WAS UNNATURAL! But since you brought it up... lets explore the premise that homosexuality is 'NATURAL' vs. 'UNNATURAL'
It is a scientific fact that other animals have been observed performing homosexual acts. As a matter of fact, it occurs in nearly every species. Given that... it obviously happens in nature. Does that make it 'NATURAL'?
I think not. Just because it exists in nature doesn't make it 'NATURAL'. In the animal kingdom, the basic purpose of every living creature is to procreate and keep its species going... homosexuality is counter to that goal of keeping the species going, since homosexual activities CANNOT produce offspring. (sorry but that's a fact... don't believe me ask your mommy or daddy.)
Man, being a higher-order animal still needs to procreate to keep his species going.
If all of humanity practiced homosexuality mankind would be extinct in exactly one generation.
Given that, is homosexual activity NATURAL or UNNATURAL?
:O)
HAHAHA....
I have been waiting for DAYS for some liberal lunatic to answer my question...
Yet no response has been offered. I am not even talking about the moral vs. immoral aspect of the issue... nope... simply talking BIOLOGY...
And they, the liberal lunatics would have you believe that it is A-OK for homosexuals to carry on... I mean... hey if it feels good do it... RIGHT? Who are we to tell them how to live...
But when confronted with simply logic... they cannot justify those actrs... they simply cannot refute nature.
Go Figure!
My young liberal cubs were in the forefront of sending the MN measure to defeat. I made my share of phone calls for MN United. One group of citizens should NEVER support rights being taken away from another group of citizens. Think on this, if you do this, will a right YOU value be next?
To my cherubs. You make me proud. We tried to inculcate that citizenship requires social action.
You got that message, and act on it.
New Day--the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! So glad your kids are involved in politics--we need all the young people we can get. And congrats to your state for its results.
I just don't think it is correct to put anyone's rights up to a vote. It wasn't that long ago that African Americans couldn't vote or women, either. Rights are rights and shouldn't require anyone's approval to exercise them.
They spent HOURS on it, Steeler Fan. One of them was at the headquarters for MN United when it FINALLY became apparent that they had won.
Had quite the conversation with her around 4 AM.
She was exhausted, but elated, and all of mine are proud of their state.
Next? The fight for full equality.
My 12 yr-old son asked me on the way to school today about same-sex marriage and why it was important.
I tried to explain how I believed that if someone was exercising their right to happiness, and it didn't infringe on my rights or impact my happiness, why would I be against it?
I also explained about the real benefits of a legal marriage - such as survivor rights, hospital visits, and medical decisions and how important that could be.
Those are the kinds of questions that can test a Dad.......
On the plus side he was astounded to learn that it used to be controversial for people of different races to get married or kiss in public. I have great confidence that some day discrimination will be somethng they read about in their History e-books.
Good job, TNSEVOL!
That is a parent's greatest hope, isn't it - that our kids grow up to be wiser and kinder than we are?
Unfortunately my parents came from Appalachia and were very prejudiced. I grew up not knowing any better but managed to come to my own conclusions and move past their beliefs.
I hope and pray my son will move things even further along.
You are so right. everyone has the rights to live there life as they like. as for me, I have been with my HOT wife for 38 years now.
TNSEVOL ...
That has been mine!
NDD - Great job Mama Bear!
Wow, TN! Your son is one very lucky boy to have someone like you explain something as important as same sex marriage, a civil rights issue that nobody should be denied of. I have alot of faith in today's youth. So many of them do not see their peers by color, religious ideology, social status, or economic status. It just doesn't matter to them. I think many could learn a lesson or two from today's youth.
TNSEVOL: "That is a parent's greatest hope, isn't it - that our kids grow up to be wiser and kinder than we are?"
I don't know - from the sounds of it, your son has a tough act to follow in that respect. I never had kids myself, but I have one nephew who at 11 already seems far wiser than I was at that age, and who would be equally as astounded as your son if he knew what was still illegal based on race when his father and I were his age. I've met a number of his friends since my brother adopted him six years ago. Some have parents of different races, some have single Moms (when my nephew was little, before his Mom met my brother, he used to tell people how he didn't have a Dad, he had a "sperm doughnut"), some have two Moms and some - like my nephew - have adopted Dads who are old enough to be their grandfather. It's no big deal to them.
Hopefully, the Republican party in this country will soon be as wise as your son and my nephew.
TNSEVOL---great job on that question, which no doubt came from left field!
The GOP is unable to adapt to the changing demographics of our country and is being marginalized daily as the electorate changes.
There was a great commercial out a couple of years ago. It had young people sitting on a stoop with brown bags covering their heads - so they couldn't see anything about each other. They all got along great. Then they took the bags off and looked at each other differently. It was a very powerful message. We all need to be "blind" to the differences between us and just accept each other. Why make problems when we don't have to?
What a positive and encouraging line of comments. Let us all remember the most important result of the election: The next Supreme Court justices will not be chosen by a racist, misogynist, homophobe bigot. Let's all breathe a sigh of deep relief...
Irving 99 - now someone just has to shoo those 3 "oldies but goodies - or not so goodies" out the door so some moderates can join the court!
Irving 99 -
Excellent point. And DEEP sigh of relief......
TNSEVOL:
Way to go Popa Bear!
...but, in perhaps the most important ballot measure of the 2012 Election, voters in Los Angeles County approved Measure B. What does Measure B do? Well...let's just say that the next time actor Ron Jeremy films a scene in Los Angeles he will no longer be completely naked.
Thanks for the visual.....now I have to go throw up.
There is a joke in there somewhere about 'Measure', condoms and porn stars but I'll just let it go.
LA County supervisors hoped that one would fail................now they get to figure out exactly how to enact enforcement......
That's a wrap, folks!!!
Well played, sir.
Would that be a big whopper wrap, or a burrito wrap?
Who'd a thunk LA County took their penal code so seriously?
Honestly, I have no idea how you enforce this law...and I'm not interested in finding out. I imagine, though, that offenders would face stiff punishment...perhaps even a little hard time.
RedDev-
That would require another 'Measure' to clarify....sorry, had to go there!
DaNoid, the jokes just keep coming....
Who'd a thunk LA County took their penal code so seriously?
LOLOLOL!!!!
This is the BEST 'inside baseball' article I've read about President Obama's re-election campaign. It's good, juicy stuff that I know you guys here will love.
Uhh, did you intend to attach something. . . ? What am I missing?
malarson, if you tried to attach a link, it always comes up ' etc. Delete the http part and your link will stay.
As you can see in my post above, it took out the http // : part (I'm trying to get it to stay for your)
Congratulations to all those folks in love that are now able to have their unions legally recognized. Much happiness to you! Congratulations also to the folks in MN for rejecting restricting the right of legal cirtzens to vote.
Those actions validate the American belief in individual civil rights and liberties.
Matthew: the odd thing about both those amendments is that it looked like they would pass until the very end of the campaign. HUGE shift the last few weeks.
Just in time!
still a perversion dispite trying to cover it over with calling it marriage.
If you are so vehemently opposed to gay marriage then I have good news for you...
...if you are a dude, nobody is going to force you to marry another dude!
...if you are a chick, nobody is going to force you to marry another chick!
Problem solved...you're welcome!
The majority voted to not designate women's reproductive organs as U.S. Government Property.
Would I lose all my street cred as a loony lib - not to mention a wannabe hippie love-child of the 60's - if I say that I'd have voted against the legalization of recreational marijuana?
Look, I get all the arguments - prohibition doesn't work, might as well regulate and tax it, lower crime rate, no worse than alcohol, etc., etc., etc. - I just can't stand the smell of the stuff. There - I admitted it. I feel better now.
And before anyone asks - no, I never inhaled. At least not willingly.
For this one social issue, it's nice to live here in good old way-behind-the-times Pennsylvania! :)
Ha! If you can't stand the smell(you may not have smelled the really really good stuff! HA!) then you would not like it here! Let's just say that when it comes to the leafy green, this state is not RED.
No, JoAnne, you have in no way altered your loon status! LOL
As someone who had a medical card in Denver and now lives in Seattle and smokes daily, I am very uneasy about the new law. If I get pulled over, even if I have not smoked in days, or more likely hours, even if the effects have worn off, I could still get a dui. I would like to see some studies done on the effects it has on driving. I have never felt like I could not drive even when using copious amounts of the drug. Luckily 1% of the tax revenue is going to studies on the effects of the drug. Hopefully one of the studies focuses on the impacts of driving while using.
I have no idea how the DUI enforcement is going to work. THC takes about a month to leave the system. A lot of people who smoke and even more people who grow voted no on the new law. Taxes are extremely low on the current producers and now there will be a 25% tax at every level. When the grower sells it to the distributor, 25%. Distributer to retailer, 25%. Retailer to user, 25%. Even with all this tax the price is only going to go from $10 a gram to $13. This means there will be almost no black market demand unless the taxes are increased. Still waiting to see the reaction from the DEA but with Obama still in, I can see the DEA overlooking growers in WA state and pursuing other types of drug crimes.
So to answer your question Jo Ann, you would not lose your card as a lib hippy. The bill passed because Washington GOP supporters were tired of billions of dollars that could be taxed going to organized crime. Lots of GOP supporters voted for the law and lots of Libs voted against it.
AlaskaGirl -
Have been to your awesome state three times, including once when it was -45 below on New Year's Eve, and would come back in a heartbeat! A very dear friend and I had dreamed for over 30 years of getting back again someday to visit Chicken (we'd each read "Tisha" about 900 times), but sadly, she passed away this past April. I still hope to get there some day, maybe with her grand-daughters. When I do, let's do lunch somewhere - my treat!
@fission - Thanks for the background info! Like so many other issues, it's not as simple as it first seems.
JoAnne - I don't like the smell of MJ either, but the bigger issue for me is the criminalizing its use. I don't believe people should be jailed, fined, and carry a lifelong record for smoking pot. Being eliminated from 30% of jobs for taking a toke makes no sense to me.
By the way, legalizing pot doesn't make it legal to smoke it everywhere.
It's a date, JoAnne! If you do come back, send me a shout out and I will tell you where I live. I can tell you that it isn't where it will get -45 ANYTIME! Sorry for your loss. I have been dying to go to Chicken! I just love the folklore of how Chicken became Chicken!
I was against the "legalization" ballot measure here in Washington, but that's because it would establish a completely unreasonable standard for driving while impaired (you could fail a roadside test based on that bonghit you took two weeks ago) and because it would- will- take marijuana out of people's backyards and put it into the hands of the liquor interests. Because we all know what good citizens they are, right?
I'd give a lot to know how much money Seagram's and Anheuser-Busch put into getting this turkey passed. The trouble is that now, it will be a damn sight harder to replace this law with real legalization than if we'd just stood pat for another four or six years. The liquor interests are going to make buckets o' cash on this. It's only been two years since the liquor monopoly was taken away from the state and handed over to Costco, Safeway, Albertsons and the like. Result? Liquor is much easier to get than ever before, even if you're a minor, the state has lost a huge revenue generator, and best of all, average prices 'out the door' have gone up by some 30%! So much for the efficiency of the free market.
With all the evidence in hand to date, if there's anybody who still believes that privatization of things that have traditionally fallen under the purview of government will result in lower prices or superior service, I will have to assume that that person has been doing some early testing of that there Bacardi Bud.
JoAnne: I do not like the taste of Jack Daniels, but we should not outlaw it. I have not toked in over 25 years, but if it was legal in NJ, you bet.
Twenty five years ago, that weed would be considered dirt weed today. Today, one hit of chronic will knock you on your a@@. So I have been told.
Thanks to all for the additional input.
@Foxtrotsky - Here in PA, seems like every governor in my lifetime has campaigned on a promise to privatize our "state store" system, and one after another they can't get it done. Always plenty of opposition from the unlikely tag team of the Retail Clerks Union and MADD, lots of conflicting studies about whether or not easier access has any impact on drunk driving rates, even more conflicting studies on whether privatization would actually be more profitable. Doesn't seem to make any difference whether the governor and legislature are Republicans or Democrats. Next thing you know, it's another election and the status quo wins again. Like so many other things in life, I have mixed feelings. I'm not a big drinker, though I do like my wine with dinner - but having been in a car that was totalled by a 16-year-old drunk driver one New Year's Eve several years ago, I'm really not in any hurry to make it any easier to get. My main objections to the current system are price, selection, and store hours - but even those aren't real issues to me, as I can go ten minutes out of my way and buy anything I want any day of the week a heck of a lot cheaper at Total Wine in Delaware (I think the state line actually runs through the last shelf in the back of the store, it's that close). In terms of losing revenue, you'd think one look at the sea of PA license plates in their parking lot on an average Saturday morning would be a real eye-opener, but.....
Anyway, I spent a lot of time down in Florida the last few years. Never did quite get used to seeing wine and beer in the CVS and Target. On a Sunday. Have to admit, I don't have the answers on this one.
@the totas: "So I've been told" - LOL!
The California State House now has a 2/3 Democratic majority. Republicans cannot hold the budget hostage for months past the legal deadline any more. The GOP is now officially insignificant in the Golden State. Forever.
Ricardo98 - I believe the GOP wil be insignificant everywhere in about 8 years - if they don't get up to date!
Ricardo,
Not sure I am comfortable with the Blue Supermajority in Sacramento. A healthy democracy relies upon discussion and compromise between multiple parties, not by the dominance of one.
That being said, the 2/3 rule in California is the real problem and has created many of the problems we have. All I have to say is I hope the Democrats use their power wisely, as they stand to be able to perhaps actually get something done. I wish them well as a resident of the Golden State and as voter will be watching closely.
The GOP has not gone away. Just bouncing off extremes, trying to find relevance. Conservative does not have to be a dirty word.
Why is America giving a pass to "Mickey Mouse Mitch McConnell" in the US Senate? Why is America giving a pass to the GOP/Tea Begger "Hoodlum's On The Hill?" Why is America giving a pass to the GOP/Tea Begger "Caucus Comspiracy?" Why is America giving a pass to little "Richie Rich" Ryan for his part in the "Caucus Conspiracy?" Why has America not demanded answers for the Tea Begger "Caucus Conspiracy" on Janruary 20, 2009? Why does America think that "Bonehead Boehner," and his "Tea Begger Buddy? We all know him as "Crazy Cantor!" Is ever going to 'compromise' with our President?? Why would my fellow citizens ever still keep the GOP/Tea Begger's in the US House Of Representatives still in power?? America made a "Political Misstake" not voting out the Tea Beggers in the US House of Representatives! "Mickey Moues Mitch McConnell" never retracked his order to destroy an American President! The GOP/RNC never have given up on their Tax Pledge they all took to "Goofy Grover!" The GOP/RNC "Hoodlum's On The Hill" have every intention to be obstructionist in their politics. "Bonehead Boehner" is a "Two-Faced Traitor" who gave a big thumbs up to the "Caucus Conspiracy." Progressive Think Tanks are horrified to still see the Tea Begger's still "Manipulating" their "House Of Greed!" Our fellow citizens need to keep poltical and economic preasure on the Tea Begger's in their "House Of Hoodlum's!" The GOP/RNC "Zombies" have never retracked their views on Womens Rights, Women's Reproducitve Rights, and their continued 'conspiracy' against the American People. Stand by America for the GOP/Tea Begger tactics of deny, lie, obstruct, and destroy the US Economy. Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! The whole GOP/RNC should have been gone! What a real shame America.
Not all of them were on the ballot this time.We will have to wait until 2014 but stay vigilant and stay focused do not let them off the hook keep your friends involved in the process.I will not forget and I won't let anybody around me to forget.
Look on the bright side P=F 11:
No more Huntsman,
No more Paul,
(They never had a chance at all.)
No Santorum,
No more Trump,
(I'd rather vote for Forrest Gump.)
No more Perry,
No more Newt,
(They were only in it to make some loot.)
No more Bachman,
No more Cain,
AND-
NO MORE HUMAN WEATHERVANE!
Yes, Boehner and McConnell are still trying to stand firm in their public posturing, but they will have work with POTUS soon, or face a serious backlash in 2014 and beyond.
In the states, GOP Governors and legislators will pay for their silliness soon--except maybe where they were able to Gerrymander the districts in their favor for a little longer.
The Bubble is punctured. Bad air out, good air in. Only the most fanatical conservatives will hang on like suicidal warriors--the rest will want to preserve their political hides. (Personally, I'd pay good $ to watch many of the whack-jobs self destruct!)
And to all the conservatives on the vine: Your guys lost--get over it. None of this stuff: Bengahzi/ Socialist/Un-American/Kenyan/Muslim/Most Devisive President Ever/First President to (insert BS/Lie/Mis-information here)/(insert Racial stereotype here), etc, was anything but self-deluding. It may have been comforting, but so is any group hug. No thinking person believed it, and consequently, thinking people gave the President the re-up.
You liked to say that you had to repeat the mantra to Liberals until we got it.
Well, now, what have you learned--and what are your questions?
Congrats.and THANK YOU voters in Colo. and Wash. state for voting for the beginning of the end of the prohibition on marijuana. Again I say THANK YOU now FIRE IT UP!
Romney was just a plain fraud-no relation to the average person in this country. Elevators in his garage, investments in foreign countries, failure to show enough tax returns and ageneral feeling for the rich. Always, remember the 47% discussion-that was where his heart was. His tenure in Ma. was not good. Let him go back to business where he belongs-not to lead a country like ours.
toothdoc: Couldn't agree more. Business may be the closest thing to human interaction--but it isn't (a) human; it's only an approximation. No one is credible who puts his/her straw "person" up against a real one.
Prog/For, what I want to know is this: On Election Night, we had confirmed reports of electronic voting machines 'flipping' votes from Obama to Romney in four states (OH, PA, FL, CO). There were confirmed AND RECORDED instances of voter intimidation or unlawful challenges in three states (FL, CO, OH). And there was one instance that I'm aware of of a poll worker tampering with paper ballots (OR). Every one of these cases involved Republicans breaking the law, and were witnessed. So WHERE'S THE FREAKIN' OUTRAGE? WHERE ARE THE ARRESTS? WHEN ARE WE GONNA SEE SOME GODDAMN RETRIBUTION, HUH?
Look, folks, we all know good and well that if it had been Democrats attempting vote fraud or intimidation, the Party of Lies and Hypocrisy would have been screaming bloody murder from Florida to Neptune, with mass demonstrations (very likely including violence- hell, they've only been threatening as much for four freakin' years now, right?) and the network anchors having seizures on-camera. So why are we letting this go by the boards like that?
Those of you who've made my acquaintance well know that in the short time I've been contributing to this space, I have warned repeatedly that the Forces of Darkness were gonna pull some infamous skullduggery such as this, and sure enough...! Look- in the early days of WWII, when Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty (a civilian post roughly equivalent to Secretary of the Navy), he was constantly putting forth schemes for aggressive action against the Germans,* who had already dismembered Czechoslovakia and conquered Poland. The French generals from whose soil any attack would be launched refused to do so, on the grounds that it might make Hitler angry! Well- sparing Moustache Boy's feelings actually proved not to be an effective strategy for winning a war. Trying to stay on the Republican's good side wouldn't work even if they had one, and they've been at some pains to disprove that hopeful notion.
If the authorities move aggressively against these felons, it will do nothing to dissuade them from trying it again on an even larger scale, because that's really about all the party of Stale, Pale and Male has left. But if they're not pursued, it will guarantee them a new lease on life in two years, and the inevitable death throes of their hateful ideology will be that much more protracted and painful for the innocent. They must not get away with it!
FoxTrotsky (love the name): "They" won't get away with it, as long as "we" are willing and able to tell the difference between an ideology and common sense. The objectionable "stale, pale, male" stance (which is not limited to stale, pale, or male), and which goes back to the Powell Manifesto of August, 1971, was predicated upon a fear that "the People" might interfere with a takeover (by Big Business) of the Republican Agenda. Their fears have been realized in this Presidential election. We aren't the same group we were then. We worked around them.
I have to hand it to Aesop and his fables: Slow and steady wins the race.
For those who care to know, the Powell Manifesto was a reactionary document from lawyer Lewis Powell (later Supreme Court Justice), to his cronies and others, regarding certain political movements and harbingers of his time, which threatened the agenda of Big Business. It "went viral" in his own 'community', and now serves as the basis for the unfortunate (and, I believe, unforeseen) eventual division of this country, with which we are now faced, and must reconsider as a nation of diverse peoples all "yearning to breathe free". See the following:
http://www.tortdeform.com/archives/2007/01/a_supreme_court_justices_memo.html http://reclaimdemocracy.org/powell_memo_lewis/; see also: http://www.commonwealinstitute.org/category/tags/powell-manifesto; http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/The-Lewis-Powell-Memo/
There are many other commentaries, but I think the crucial matter is that we are all (average Republican or Democrat voter) fighting a huge corporate machine that we've been unwittingly 'slave' to, for more than 50 years. We cannot "go back" to this. Our country's and economy's troubles are directly related to it, and to the legislation of a half-century that has worked against us.