Election Day Marathon

[rwcrooks]

Serenity,

It doesn't matter which one got elected. Half of the country would still disagree with the winner.

[mmichaelson]

LOL. You're right Rich. We live in interesting times, that's for sure.

[OperaTenor]

Yes, four more years of growing intolerance, flagrant greed, massive disregard for social justice, and rape of the environment.

Of course, shrub/crook will see this puny victory as a sweeping mandate for their agenda.

I read a story a couple of days ago where the FBI is initiating an investigation into Halliburton's no-bid contract with the US government. I suppose that'll be back-burnered or dropped now.

(Shap, Haggis, SB, et al, I promise to stop whining once all the votes are counted.)

[mmichaelson]

OT, for some reason, I don't believe you.

[Serenity]

Get with the program OT! Pick up yer Bible and ask for forgiveness...traitor.

[OperaTenor]

Nope, I always wanted to visit Cuba...

BTW, as it looks right now, I do believe Haggis and Shap will have to do some donating at some Democrat's behest. The margins aren't as wide as Haggis predicted.

That is, unless he went & turned yella.....



<small>[ 11-03-2004, 10:49 AM: Message edited by: OperaTenor ]</small>

[Serenity]

Rich,
At least Kerry would look into the camera and say, "I hear you and I'm trying to do the best I can. I'm sorry I've dissapointed some of you."

Bush would say, "I hear you but I know I'm right. And, I'm gonna do this regardless of what you think. Besides, I'm the president and either you join the ranks or pray for yer sins and watch yer back. Nyah, nyah, nyah........LOSER!"

[OperaTenor]

That's what I mean. He'll take this smallest of majorities and turn it into a sweeping mandate for his agenda.

A leader with his head in the world of reality would recognize this for what it is and try to moderate his agenda to accommodate the disenfranchised OTHER HALF of the population.



<small>[ 11-03-2004, 10:54 AM: Message edited by: OperaTenor ]</small>

[OperaTenor]

Is there any time limit for starting an impeachment process after a person is newly (re)elected?

New hope.

[Serenity]

I'm afraid he'll appoint Kerry Ambassador to Iraq!
"So let it be written, so let it be done"

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Originally posted by OperaTenor:
...time limit for starting an impeachment process ...

I don't recall one. Of course, you have to convince the House to vote the bill of impeachment. Somehow, I don't expect that you'll see it this week.

<small>[ 11-03-2004, 11:23 AM: Message edited by: Selma in Sandy Eggo ]</small>

[mmichaelson]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u=/ap/20041103/ap_on_el_pr/eln_election_rdp

Kerry concedes according to Yahoo, MSNBC, CNN and Fox News.

[OperaTenor]

Perhaps he conceded to try to build solidarity, but I think he should've waited since the race was so close.

A 3% victory margin. A clear statement for staying the course if I ever saw one.

We don't even have Nader to blame on this one. His candadacy was inneffectual at best.

[Shapley]

OT,

RE:BTW, as it looks right now, I do believe Haggis and Shap will have to do some donating at some Democrat's behest. The margins aren't as wide as Haggis predicted.

I'm ready to send in my check. I've relist the available charities a little later and send my check once the votes are in.

I think I owe $50 for the win and Haggis owes $50 for the margin, but I'll probably send the additional $50 in honour of Daschle's defeat!

Happy days are here again!

V/R
Shapley

[OperaTenor]

Oh yeah, since Bush won, you get to pick your charities. However, since Haggis "lost" we must find a Dem to pick the charities, right?

It ought to be GC, since he was the one with the chutzpah to actually respond to the challenge.

"Happy days are here again!"

With such a small margin, do you really feel it's gloating time? Don't you think both parties ought to interpret this as a message for reform?

Jim "they haven't finished counting in Ohio yet, so I can still whine" B.

[Shapley]

I'm not gloating, but I am happy, and I am happy to express my happiness.

Republicans added to their margin in the House, added to their margin in the Senate, and retained control of the White House. Here in Missouri they have elected a Republican Governor.

President Bush won the popular vote by about 3,500,000 votes, and looks to have about 282 electoral votes when Iowa and New Mexico are factored in. Sen. Daschle, who has blocked many Senate nominees and much action in the Senate, is on the way out, which should be a signal to other obstructionists that the people are tired of it.

When President Bush won his first term, we were told that he "doesn't have a mandate" because he lost the popular vote. That impediment has now been erased. The majority of the people and the majority of the states have spoken, and they prefer the direction President Bush will take us to the direction that Kerry wanted to go.

Does that mean that President Bush shouldn't listen to the opposition? No, but it does mean that he shouldn't pander to them. He should (as he has) invite discourse and make decisions based on the best information available. I believe he has done that, and that he will continue to do so.

I hope the Democrats will take notice of this and attempt to bring their party "back to the mainstream", as they are so fond of saying. Their coalition of the extremes has failed too often now to continue to blame in on anomolies. America is tired of the decay, tired of the obstruction, and tired of the rhetoric. President Bush has chosen a definite direction in which he wants this nation to move, and has made clear what that direction is. That is the kind of decisiveness that America is looking for, and that is why Kerry failed.

Kerry was able to say why he disagreed with President Bush, and offer non-specific plans that offered no clear direction, and no clear leadership. He offered opposition to the movement initiated by President Bush, but did not specify the direction he wanted to pull us in. He was full of statements about what he "would have done" had he been in charge during Tora Bora, during the decision to go to war in Iraq, etc. He wants to "undo" the tax cuts that were put in place. He was always looking backwards, and Bush was looking forward. That is why I'm happy about our President's re-election, and the Republican gains it has fostered.

I'm sorry if this sounds like gloating. It is heartfelt and sincere. I wish Senators Kerry and Edwards well. I disagreed with them, and I'm glad they lost, but I don't dislike them.

V/R
Shapley

BTW, the "Happy Days are here again" reference was to the song sung by Barbra Streisand when Clinton won, with a Democrat house and Senate (which he wasn't able to maintain for long). I'm not sure if [i]she[i] was gloating.

[shostakovich]

From Serenity: "Looks like the country is evenly divided. Bush is gonna have to "fix" the mess he created around Iraq and he'll be under greater scrutiny knowing that half the country doesn't really support his policies. On the other hand, I don't think he cares, he has that "determined" quality that Shos describes under "evil people".

------------------------------------------------------------
I agree with Serenity's "other hand". He does not need to consider the voters in his second term. Expect what you saw in 2000-03: tax cuts, increased deficits, exploited environment, dismantling of Medicare and SS, and continuing war. There will be some form of draft.
That 2004 George Bush you saw on TV making nice nice to the general public was fiction.
Shos

[mmichaelson]

Shos, we've gone through and through the discussion of the draft. What makes you say that Bush will enact one? Everything I have seen says that this administration is against the draft and that a few senators (extremist) are the ones who are trying to re-instate the draft.
Where is your proof that a draft will be instated?
I'm really interested to know where you get that, since I've seen conflicting data.

[shostakovich]

Hi Saxy. No politician who really wants to win would have said "We'll have a draft soon". That goes for Kerry, too. But Bush is proud to be a "war president". A war president needs a war to feel important. The Iraq war will continue. There's more to Bush's "axis of evil" in case Iraq should appear to settle. Now that the vote is over there will be a decent waiting period, but sometime in 2005 some form of increasing military numbers will be needed. Bush does not know the difference between a war on terrorism (covert) and a military campaign (where we have superior firepower).

Serenity posted: "But hey, if you can't find a job, you can always join the military..."

Maybe a worsening in quality jobs will be sufficient to bolster military numbers, but I'm guessing it won't be. My natural pessimism and increased contempt for our leader could be driving my prediction. I would love to be wrong on all counts, but -------
Shos

[RC]

Can't prove the future - pure speculation...based on the current trend.

Proof would require the action having been taken and I think we'd like to avoid that.

If it is a possible scenario for the future it can't be discounted. Make decisions and judgements based on evidence.

A good trending statistic takes the current path into the future. Try it and see what happens...
Try to isolate variables and see what effects the outcome.

Then ask someone with an opposing perspective to ensure you haven't biased your own findings.

Words are hollow especially from politicians. Personal preconceived notions, hopes, and emotions are extraneous.
1+1 still equals 2.

I post a lot of personal opinion but I don't form those opinions haphazardly. I'm not a fad kinda gal and I'm pretty suspiscious by nature.

Serenity posted: "But hey, if you can't find a job, you can always join the military..."

actually, that was me. And I was only being marginally facetious. The entire scenario is feasible and should therefore not be discounted.

If you're kid COULD reach up and grab the boiling water off the stove, you SHOULD take action to prevent that happening or you're negligent.

If it CAN happen, you are negligent for discounting the possibility.