I’ll be leaving Denmark shortly and for most of the next 24 hours will be incommunicado over the Atlantic. Go take a breather, and allow the bread and circus community a few hours to celebrate.
Yes, I know many are disappointed, if not downright concerned on behalf of our friends in the US who still retain the ability to do math. But look at it another way – the next four years are sure to bring blogging gold. Remember – he inherited this mess.
Re David Southam comments above:
I’ve been wondering why the Tea Party has been so quiet during this election. Your observations awakened the following thoughts:
1. Who stayed home, was it the Tea Partiers?
2. Who are the Tea Partiers really?
3. Why did they stay home? was it religious intolerance after all?
My goodness, has this been a lose-lose battle from the start? Now I’m really sad.
Bill O’Reilly had some very pertinent comments about the election on Fox News last night. His thesis was that after Romney’s big win in the first debate, his campaign made a deliberate decision to attempt to coast to victory by taking absolutely zero risks. After the debate, Romney avoided any statement that was even remotely controversial. The strategy nearly worked, except that Hurricane Sandy intervened. The storm took Romney out of the public eye for days on end, while focusing significant attention on Obama.
I have to agree with O’Reilly’s analysis.
I also made the statement early in the campaign that Romney failed to sufficiently energize his base. It took him too long to shake the image that he became the nominee because he was just the best of a lousy bunch.
Some are adopting a “let it burn” attitude, as they have spent the last four years learning about alternatives to the taxable economy, and will put that knowledge to use incrementally in the next two-to-four years.
This will achieve three positives: 1. it will defund the Leviathan, 2. it will hasten the Left’s reach for foreign funding mechanisms that bypass national taxpayers, and 3. the Energy/Environmentalist (or OPEC/Sierra Club) payor/payee nexus will find it more and more difficult to hide in its webs of foundations and media companies.
One negative of “Let it Burn” is, many drop-out of national politics as they detach from its taxes and services. This means that as Patriotic business people go “Galt” their self-reliance manifests electorally the same way that apathy does. And this causes political buoyancy to leak out of the nation’s conservative and libertarian caucuses.
Like Ann Althouse I think the “Let it Burn-ers” are going a tad too far. But, if a citizen only implemented a fraction of the tax-avoidance measures that some advocate, they’d go a long way to alleviating the potential downsides from the Leviathan’s second term.
arkman201 at November 7, 2012 5:47 AM
“Just like a delusional alcoholic, the American people just haven’t found bottom yet…”
They likely never will. Contrary to what the concern trolls say, most drunks do not recover. They die cold, alone and broke in a gutter somewhere. We need to learn how to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps and live without America. They will too be busy breaking into cars to pay for their next fix to be of any use to anyone.
David Southam,
Here’s something to add to your numbers. I’m not sure if the pop vote count for Romney includes the ballots counted in Florida yet. But if they are included, then Romney received less votes than McCain did in 2008. And if Romney was attracting more of the Independents like the polls suggest, then how many Conservatives/Republicans stayed home?
Romney was a great candidate. The majority of Americans just didn’t want him — “fiscal responsibility” were not words they wanted to hear. They wanted open borders and free stuff. Conservatives will not win again — only faux “conservatives” operating left-of-centre, like Harper. The last time conservatives ever won in America was with Reagan. It’s over. America has tipped over.
Conservative politics have abdicated the education of the people to the leftards who dominate that arena. Dumbing down is a reality.
If conservative thought cannot defeat a government that has spent the USA into debt slavery then what hope is there. The people who are looking at the ‘bright’ side of this debacle are no different than the leftards who assume they can continue to kick the deficit can down the road. It cannot continue folks, the numbers don’t add up.
Romney’s mistake in this election was not to have focussed solely on the economy. It was his and Ryan’s strength and they were sidetracked. Yes there is a goodly number of Demo voters who draw more from government than they produce. The challenge was showing these folks that it cannot continue.
‘There is no free lunch’ receives lip service only. I do believe that the majority in society do think there is a free lunch. The true saddest is that they will learn the truth the hard way.
. . . p.s. well, maybe conservatives won with Newt Gingrich in Clinton’s first mid-terms, but they haven’t won a Presidential election since Reagan.
Bill O’Reilly had some very pertinent comments about the election on Fox News last night. His thesis was that after Romney’s big win in the first debate, his campaign made a deliberate decision to attempt to coast to victory by taking absolutely zero risks. After the debate, Romney avoided any statement that was even remotely controversial. The strategy nearly worked, except that Hurricane Sandy intervened. The storm took Romney out of the public eye for days on end, while focusing significant attention on Obama.
-Dennis.
——————————
Quoted for truth.
I was thinking the exact same thing during the last debates. A horrible feeling set in when I figured out what was going on. It reminded me of those retards Tim Hudak and John Tory. Both attempted to win their respected elections by agreeing their way through the debates and campaign with the sitting governments. That DOES NOT WORK.
Seemed like a good strategy, until it failed miserably.
California is the next Spain.
New York is the next Italy.
Washington D.C. Is the new Athens.
The only winners will be the police making big bucks in overtime on the Riot Squad.
Romney is a RINO, plain and simple.
The conservative vote stayed home or voted for Gary Johnson, their choices were a Socialist or Democrat “Light” (Romney).
The GOP installed a lightweight, they had more “hope and change” with the Banksta Romney than the Demo’s did with O.
With only two choices and no conservative, they chose to stay home.
Romney was not conservative enough.
When will conservatives stand up and say they are respectfully and passionately so, and then let the electorate get behind them and push the leftist out the door?
The republicans lost the election,the dems didnt win it.In 2010 they had Sarah and the tea party,the two things that the dems were deathly afraid of,and they made huge gains in the houses.This time they used neither and lost.Prime minister Harper won,not because he comprimised, but because he didnt.
Obama has *already* begun blaming Bush for the crap that’s coming in the next 4 years.
After reading my daily news round–ups yesterday it became clear Obama was going to win, a corrupt liberal media combined with voter fraud, illegal voters voting and the never ending stream of threats of rape, rioting and rampaging it’s evident the left feel empowered to abuse the right with impunity. Americans deserve the government they elect, and if this morning’s stock market is an indication America hasn’t seen the worst yet.
Well “glacierman” if the conservatives stayed home because Romney wasn’t conservative enough then maybe that’s a good thing after all. Maybe it has become a case of “careful what you wish for”. I’m truly worried about the direction liberalism is taking us but now I no longer understand the conservative right.
L,Never forget this,The democrats took America into the first world war,the second world war,the korean war and the vietnam war. Nixon took the USA out of Vietnam and was impeached for it.
It’s disapointing but I think it will be a blessing. Obama will drive the US into the ground and in 2016 you will see a strong Reagan like tea party candidate start a revolution. The progressives are happy now but the cheque will come soon and they won’t be able to pay it. The pendign disaster will be a huge wakeup call for the mindless lemmings on the left.
Well, let’s at least hope Obama makes massive cuts to the military. I was a bit startled by Romney’s resolution to not reduce military spending. That’s nuts.
Also I was alarmed about his jingoism in threatening China for “currency manipulation” which, you have to admit, is hypocrisy of the highest order considering what America has done since Bretton Woods in 1944.
I’m as bitterly disappointed as everybody else here, but you just have to admit that Bush’s pointless and destructive adventurism in the ME, as well-intentioned as it may (?) have been, is a big factor here. Romney’s a Neo-Con. We are massively LESS FREE as a result of the ill–conceived War on Terror.
Perhaps I’m rationalizing here, but Obama needs to OWN the implosion of America (which was going to proceed apace with Romney anyway).
As someone recently opined, the outlook for liberty may actually have been advanced with the Obama win. An implosion under Romney would get “capitalism” (what precious little of it remains) blamed which would sound its final death knell.
Davenport: perhaps in addition to the litany of our sins, you could provide a list of the good outcomes you expect going FORWARD!
maybe the mayans know something we don’t.
The real question now is what is the republican congressional strategy. Obama has shown he is able to not wear any blame for anything so opposing him is kind of a losing proposition really. On the same hand going along with his legislative agenda will really piss off the base.
“We discount nearly every other news source”
At first glance, James’ words would appear to be sage advice. However, the reality is that “other news sources” have proven to be unreliable and downright biased. The Benghazi affair was, and I suspect will continue to be, treated as a non-event. No president in history has been insulated, coddled and defended as has Obama. What media source has directed any hard questions toward the president? The media, with a few exceptions, has done a huge disservice to the American people and for that they deserve nothing but contempt.
So how’s things over here in the echo chamber post election? Smiles and rainbows all ’round?
I would stay, but the stench in here is bad for my health.
Enjoy the echoes!
The Wet One
How the Mighty USA became Cuba.
Me No Dhimmi: “Perhaps I’m rationalizing here, but Obama needs to OWN the implosion of America (which was going to proceed apace with Romney anyway).
As someone recently opined, the outlook for liberty may actually have been advanced with the Obama win. An implosion under Romney would get “capitalism” (what precious little of it remains) blamed which would sound its final death knell.”
I said that a while ago. Others have also said the same thing, it’s not an original thought.
I think people need to as some others said, step out of the Right wing media box a little bit. I correctly predicted the Obama 303 + win in the earlier thread because of several reasons, reading rasmussen polls, applying a realistic analysis of early voting and how much Romney would have to make up for it in Ohio and Wisconsin, looking at polling momemtum in the final week due to Sandy and the media bias.
Also bear in mind, a number of Senate seats that were potentially winnable, were lost due to social issues, in fact this election was fought on social issues maybe more than economic issues. Akin, Mourdock, Walsh all went down simply because they do not represent what most independents want. I can think of a few other states which lost due to this as well. Interestingly in places where social issues were not a factor, like in Buffalo, republicans did well on economic issues alone…
The Republican party needs to drop their Christian right achilles heel. They have a long road to come back from Bush’s economic mistakes, as well as foolish ME adventures.
Time to do some reflection for some folks…
After last night Canadas lefties must be drooling and slobbering over pictures of their saviour St.Justin Turdeau.Now the CBC will go into high gear extolling the virtues of “the one” who got his fathers arrogance and his mothers brains.God help North America if we get two closet commies running things in a couple of years.
Most ironic moment of last evening – Candy Crowley reporting from Romney HQ.
As stated in the Sun Free Enterprise lost to Free Stuff. My analogy is the family, two parents, two kids. The parents represent the GOP, the kids the Dems – the kids won the election and with it access to the family finances. Ask yourself how that one will go.
I thought Romney, except for one good week, ran a terrible campaign. He over relied on the first debate and thought his momentum would carry him through. The trouble was it was hair thin and all it took was a hurricane to divert it to Obama. He represented a milquetoast Dem alternative and this must change starting now. Independents and undecideds moved to him on election day but it was not enough because the GOP base was demoralized and disunited and those were the voters who stayed home.
What does the future hold. I think in a strange way it is good for Canada’s right of centre. As America descends into a European style entitlement economy, with the true cost of debt financing taking hold over the next four years, the Canadian left will be doomed, not just by seat redistribution but by the sad example of the US. Ask yourself what the US will look like in the next 1-4 years, which will be IMHO:
– stagnant economic and job growth with continued “transactions of decline” as economic power moves from the productive small business/middle class to the unproductive unionist, green statist class, each clamouring for their payoff from an electorally untethered president (possible relief, the House of Representatives remains GOP, though are likely demoralized).
– the end of the Clinton legacy, as Hillary is thrown under a bus over Benghazi and Americans stop listening to Bubba as his credibility disappears faster than American prosperity
– dangerous developments in foreign policy, as Obama pays off some of his markers, including official recognition of Jerusalem as the Palestininan capital, Israeli unilateralism in dealing with Iran, continued Iranian, Russian and Chinese meddling in ME affairs and greatly increased terrorist/Islamist activity and violence.
The GOP needs to start today and take a page out of the Ronald Reagan book – take the statists on, get in the face of leftists, stop being the nice guy (the media will brand them as negative whities anyway). IOW present a clear alternative and continue to bleed away the moderate and independent voter from the Dems.
Once the people of a great nation forget what it took to make them great, its decline and eventual demise is inevitable.
Okay here are some quick lessons from this experience:
1) The polls worked and all those people trying to torture the polls into what they wanted them to be were delusional. Nate Silver won this election.
2) The Legacy Media is king of the hill. All that stuff about the New Media changing the landscape is mostly hot air. There are some checks on the worst excesses but not much.
3) It turns out if you nominate a guy nobody likes, he probably won’t win, no matter how many times you chant ‘electable’ in the face of all evidence to the contrary.
4) The TP went comatose this year and the GOP suffered for it.
5) Americans are not that different from other people around the world and haven’t been for a long time.
On the bright side: Gary Johnson pulled the best showing for the LP ever, several Ron Paul-approved candidates won their races, MJ legalization won in CO and WA, and eminent domain reform won in Virginia. There were other such victories.
I’m thinking that the reason so many conservatives stayed home instead of going out to vote for Romney is because they’ve woken up to the realization that it just doesn’t matter anymore. Republican or Democrat is just two sides of the same coin. The collapse is coming either way.
JMO
And the DOW gives its verdict, -300 and dropping.
This morning I find myself singularly unmoved by the fate of the Americans. They had a choice, style vs. substance, and they chose style. They voted for Obama because they haven’t yet suffered enough from the consequences of his policies. And a boatload of conservative voters stayed home last night. Yes, I mean the crazed supporters of Ron Paul and Larry Johnston. Conservatives should never be allowed the cheap excuses of “the filthy socialists stole/cheated/lied their way through”.
More than two-thirds of US voters claim that the nation’s fiscal crisis is the most important issue. Yet they went out and voted for a man who has no plan at all to address it.
This could well have been won, but the conservatives botched the opportunity through several main causes.
1. intolerance for the issues plaguing the latino community. If not addressed, this one alone ensures that the conservatives will lose just about every national contest in the future.
2. division within the ranks. Which is why so many stayed home.
3. conservatism is a shrinking demographic within the US. It has ceded control of education to the Left, and now it is suffering the consequences of that with newer and ever more ignorant young voters.
They will now suffer the consequences of their bad choices. Neither HL Mencken nor Ambrose Bierce would be in the slightest surprised by this outcome. Nor would Winston Churchill. After all, he watched his country doing precisely all the wrong things for twenty years.
And the outcome of Britain’s stupidity, along with that of France and the United States, was to endure a war that caused the death of about 50 million. A war that could have been strangled at birth.
One of the consequences of this election will be the remorseless, unchecked rise of America’s competitors, particularly China. Pax Americana is done. It lasted about as long as Pax Sparticana after the Peloponnesian War. The US now conducts its foreign policy by bowing and scraping to Arab monarchs and smuggling Russian guns to rebels in the night. China now owns about a trillion dollars worth of US debt. In another four years, it’s reasonable to suppose that it may own about another two trillion. That’s enough to crash the value of American currency if all those bonds are dumped on the market. If China wishes to destroy the American economy, it will soon be able to do so instantly.
Let it be said once and for all. The American voter is stupid, just as stupid as the Greeks, the French, and those in Ontario. They liked the shiny windowless van, and they hopped right inside for the candy. They never considered the tear-stained mattress in the back.
As HL Mencken would say, the American voter is about to get it good and hard.
Of course many of the factors mentioned above are important, demographics, Romney not being GOOD enough etc etc…
but without the corrupt leftist main stream media this would not have happened
if the media was informing people instead of brainwashing them, much less people would have voted for Obama
just go on any left wing blog and discuss any issue with lefists; they do not know half of the facts and the part they know they do not fully understand
Benghazi is the most recent example but there are thousands of examples.
the main stream media is the enemy
if there is to be a revolt, the first thing that should be destroyed is the main stream media.
The main stream media is the number one enemy
check out Bill Whittle’s Stratosphere Lounge…he went live with this last night shortly after Ohio was called for O.
Interesting solutions he imparts to listeners/watchers:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/26770607
@ SHamrock: the US is worse than most European socialist states. This is often a suprise to most Canadians. Having lived in the US, some of the entitlements and social programs as well as crony business subsidies are so entrenched and rediculous that Europeans would be having orgasms just at the thought of obtaining them.
@ LAS:
Yeah. The TP is composed of two different groups strangely. When polled you find the orginals were mostly libertarian leaning and the later additions were SoCons. As the SoCons took over the TP, you find the libertarians becoming more disinterested in the TP. Some interesting research perfomed in that area and reviewed on CATO.org. I think the Socons really ruined the TP movement along with the knives that came out for libertarians during the Candidate Nomination Convention.
I now you get a lot of flack, as do I here by a lot of people because we tend to try and be realistic, but I really think this was a race based on Social issues as much if not more than Economic issues and as I said the Repubes blew some Senate races they could have won based on abortion of all things.
I do think Americans are slightly different from other people around the world, favoring personal freedoms slightly more – key word is slightly. I think if a candidate had campaigned more on economics and freedom and been relentless on these instead of simply being identical to Obama in many ways including foreign policy there may have been a more dramatic switch. There are still a lot of people who voted Obama based on Bush’s record on economics and middle east adventures… and do not trust the Republican party with good reason.
However at the same time I think Sandy as well as the pliable media really helped Obama. Polling momentum all switched for him during the last week, and in some places all that was needed was a few percent. I think as I said after the third debate, Romney’s plan of not attacking Obama really failed him. He didn’t present that much different an alternative.
Must see NON-political-non-partisan-video ( only 5 minutes long) that explains clearly and in simple terms why the growing US debt is an accident waiting to happen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW5IdwltaAc
Netty, 9:55a.m. —
It was not my intention to imply or insinuate that the Tea Party, per se, is the source of any such discrimination against Mr. Romney. I might be wrong, but I see the Tea Party as being concerned with economic and financial issues, as well as traditional personal liberties as understood by the Founders.
Cataclysmos, 10:01 a.m. —
You are correct. Any question of who would be President-elect today if he had that the extra 3 million votes that John McCain had (FL decided by 40,000 or something; Ohio by 100,000, etc.)?
The failure of the American right to get out and support Romney in at least McCain numbers is beyond belief.
Looking at the long game…IMHO…
The problem is when they run out of other peoples money.
The Abamanation simply cannot continue to spend on the “free stuff”…..when it ends the mob will look at the Whitehouse parties/vacations and there will be a butchers bill.
It will not be the guys with the John Deere hats in flyover country that overthrow the elites it will be those whose Obama-phone don’t work no more.
Then there is the military….rank and file disgruntled with being disenfranchised, having dangerous ROEs, lack of spares…maybe even pay…
one Caesar is all it will take…or a Franco…
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Abraham Lincoln
The next four years will be Blogging gold Kate?
Betcha bloggers will be chocked off from voicing opinions contrary to the administration’s message.
The First Amendment will be compromised shortly and extended to cover foreign internet opinion and reporting.
Just watch.
I absolutely loved all the predictions, guys. See you again in 2016!
Langmann: yeah I agree. I still think the TP can be a force for good. They do the ‘Hulk Smash’ on the GOP establishment (which should be sweating ice cubes right now) while the Ronulans go about taking over. Libertarians would be silly to be shouted out by SoCons; they are a dying breed.
The GOP has alienated the Hispanic vote with ridiculous xenophobic notions. Oddly, moderate Romney was one of the worst in this regard.
Media bias was disgusting.
They had a choice, style vs. substance, and they chose style. They voted for Obama because they haven’t yet suffered enough from the consequences of his policies. And a boatload of conservative voters stayed home last night. Yes, I mean the crazed supporters of Ron Paul and Larry Johnston.
1) Romney had no plan at all. He was not very different from Obama. They had style vs style.
2) RP and GJ voters will continue to stay home until the GOP submits to our will, at least to a degree. You have no choice.
So the Yanks have their version of Trudeau. Tell me, how popular was Pierre at the end of his second term?
LAS, personally I think the TP is sunk. They were portrayed in the media by the usual suspects as ignorant rednecks. Some people in the TP helped with this perception by raising the old spectre of Birtherism, and railing on about Christian Fundamentals as if anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage somehow established the US constitution and the Enlightenment had nothing to do with it. I suspect there will be another movement, once again started by people with libertarian views once the debt spiral starts up again, and taxes increase. It amuses me how every year we get to the Debt Ceiling that much faster. In fact they should change it to the Debt Moonroof – it would cause a lot less angst.
Not only are RP and GJ supporters staying home, but so are, it seems, independents and even GOP members…
Why is that? The Republicans need to ask themselves…
At ZeroHedge the mocking going on today is hilarious.
LAS: what also amazes me, is the amount of subsidies to corporations, ie: solar energy, with kickbacks going right back to democrats, that seems acceptable to both the media and people…
In Canada they had something like this that sank the Liberal party. Yet hardly a peep in the US.
David at 12:42 pm.
I understand that Governor Romney polled about two and a half million votes than Senator McCain did last time out.
I remember the elaborate statement of that Senator as he threw a loyal talk show host Bill Cunningham under the bus. Bill had used the middle name of Barack, which was Hussein. McCain virtually endorsed Barack Obama while campaigning. Saying the American people would have nothing to fear from a “good man”.
The Senator looked desperate and worn toward the end. That being said, having resigned myself take things in good spirit. Now I do wonder about less than the McCain vote going to Romney. Perhaps the experts can tell us.
Whoops!
Governor Romney polled less that two and a half million votes than did Senator McCain.
just posted a comment on Michael Manns facebook page. Comment will be removed in 3,2,1,0 seconds…
The usurper didn’t win he stole.
So if I understand many people’s argument regarding Romney, it amounts to cut off nose, spite face.
If people think staying at home because Romney isn’t perfect and handing the election to far, far worse is a good idea you deserve Obama – I hope he taxes you at 90% and puts you in chains. You helped elect him.
NO F’ing WHINING ABOUT SOCIALISTS, LIBERTIES OR MUSLIMS. YOU LOST THAT RIGHT THE NIGHT YOU SAT ON YOUR ASSES AND LET OBAMA WIN.
Moral authority: GONE
Profoundly disappointed but not completely surprised.
I will take Shamrock’s family analogy a step or two further.
Mom and Dad live in a large house with their seven adolescent sons. Three of the brothers have part-time jobs and contribute as best they can to the household finances. The remaining four lay about all day and alternate between watching TV and napping.
Mom and Dad call a family meeting to explain that the credit cards are maxed, the utilities are on the verge of being cut off and the bank is making noises about foreclosure. Dad suggests applying for a new credit card and, in the meantime, heading down to MoneyMart to snag a payroll loan so that things can remain as they are. Mom has a radically different approach. She suggests that getting their financial sh*t in order is the more logical approach. Of course this means making small sacrifices. Back to basic cable, less eating out, a temporary suspension of allowances and … yes … the four unemployed brothers must get a job. A family vote is called for but brother # 1 announces that he has to leave since he will be late for work. Brother # 4 declines to vote because he is right in the middle of a video game. Dad announces that he will vote and if he votes for Mom, he will get the crap beat out of him. Brothers # 5 and # 6 threaten to trash the house if Mom wins the vote.
The stage is set. Guess who wins?