Racketboy Political Discussion Thread

[J T]

Congrats, America.

Ack, thank you for your thoughtful, passionate, and articulate post. I am sorry that you have the political pain of knowing that the election did not go the way that you wanted it to go. I know if Romney had won, I would be very upset and anyone's celebration of him would twist like a knife in my stomach. I imagine you feel somewhat the same way about Obama's election.

I lament the fact that, as such a divided country, we always have a a sizeable portion of the country feeling incredibly depressed and angry every time poll results come in.

With that sentiment, I don't want to get into a debate right now about the points where I disagree with you. Instead, I want to highlight that despite our differences in who we voted for, you and I actually care about many of the same issues. I also want to see Wallstreet be taken to task. I also want solutions in energy. I also want to see real solutions to our economy. I also want to see us carefully handling our international relations, particularly with warring countries in the middle east and temperamental powerhouses like China.

Our difference is in whether we think Obama or Romney is better for the plan of the big picture, but we share some common goals aside from that. Many of us Democrats were not entirely happy with Obama's first 4 years, but just didn't see Romney as a better option. Now is the time for us to hold Obama accountable. Now that the electioneering is over, it's time for everybody to get some work done.

[BoringSupreez]

Our difference is in whether we think Obama or Romney is better for the plan of the big picture, but we share some common goals aside from that. Many of us Democrats were not entirely happy with Obama's first 4 years, but just didn't see Romney as a better option. Now is the time for us to hold Obama accountable. Now that the electioneering is over, it's time for everybody to get some work done.

But we can't, that's what I've been saying. Democrats control the senate and presidency, the GOP has the house. It's going to be the same as it has been since 2010. No budgets, no real solution to the debt problem, no nothing.

Democrat supporters don't realize it yet, but their victories yesterday were far smaller than they realize.


On the upside though, my choices for county sheriff and state representative won.

[Luke]

Now that the electioneering is over, it's time for everybody to get some work done.

That would be great if there were jobs available. Hi-oh!

Full disclosure, I like Obama. I absolutely hate the idea of unemployed people who receive no unemployment benefits being forced to spend on health insurance. That's a tax disguised as a benefit. I'm not crazy that American businesses are getting grants (in the millions) to move their jobs overseas. Hopefully the house will down obamacare, but whatever figurehead is in office you can't stop businesses being businesses. During elections people seem to have convenient amnesia when it comes down to corporate greed. Rich people being rich isn't going to change anytime soon.

It would be great if our Commander in Chief would have said, "Thanks for giving me a second chance". That's how I see this term being.

But complaining about who is/was elected doesn't do any good unless you're just getting things off your chest. What's done is done. You can't deal with "what ifs". Much like when turning in a term paper, there is no turning back. If we find out we should have studied more, so be it, but that doesn't change the current circumstances.

Time to move on and with the grace of God/Buddha/Santa Claus/etc we will move forward.

My name is Luke S. Preston Esquire, and I approve this post.

[Blu]

Hey, I'm Blu, and I'm an independent voter who voted for Romney. To briefly summarize, I chose him on the basis that while social justice issues are always at the front of my mind, we can have no progress in these areas without a successful economy. That being said, I respect our president-elect and will have faith he acts in our best interest as POTUS.

I know you can play what-ifs all day, but does anyone see the possibility of capital flight if we try and hold Wall Street accountable? How much clout do we as a federal government have in making reforms in the private sector?

Ack, I agree with you on several accounts. I believe something needs to be done about Mexico's cartels as their violent actions permeate through our nation's border. Perhaps in an unintended way, the legalization of marijuana takes the money out of the cartel's pockets.

The Arab Spring has not gone as Obama intended. Democratic elections have elected officials who want to consolidate power and lash back out at their former oppressors. However, the roots and causes of such movements date back to Western influence way before Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, and Carter, but even further back. While regimes in these countries have favored our interests, domestically they are responsible for starving, torturing, and inflicting harm on their people. There's no wonder why there is a shift in the opposite direction, and why there is anti-US sentiment carried through these movements. As a parting thought, I hope Obama can facilitate dialogue that acknowledges the faults of our foreign policy in days past, but that he has a backbone in the sense that we're not going to stand having our consulates and embassies attacked and still expect our foreign aid dollars to flow to their countries.

What I'm more upset about is all six of our proposals on the ballot in Michigan failing. There were some that were legitimately not in the best interest of Michigan's citizens. However some extreme misinformation campaigns were conducted to sway the vote that truly affect working families and renewable energy initiatives. Due to the confusion, some proposals that would have allowed progress in these areas were defeated.

EDIT: I'm just checking in, but I haven't been responded to on the past few of these posts. Is that because we're in agreement, and there isn't anything more to add? Or am I outlandish?

[prfsnl_gmr]

I am generally pleased with the results of yesterday's election.

We will likely see the effects of the policies enacted during Obama's first term while he is serving his second, and if - as I suspect - they are largely positive, President Obama will rightly take credit for them.

(Likewise, if they are disasterous - as some other members suspect - then he can take the blame.)

[DinnerX]

The state stuff in IL couldn't have gone much worse in my opinion. No resolution is in site for this state. I expect the state government to continue delaying payments, to drive even more businesses away with taxes, and to continue releasing criminals early.

[MrPopo]

continue releasing criminals early.

When I live in IL we called them "politicians".

[DinnerX]

continue releasing criminals early.

When I live in IL we called them "politicians".

[StuntDouble]

I really don't have much to add, other than it's nice to see folks with differing opinions having intelligent, rather than belligerent, conversations. It gives me hope for the future.

[o.pwuaioc]

Another thing I'm wondering about is the future of the Republican party. Except for Bush's re-election, we haven't won the popular vote in a presidential race since 1988. Either we're going to be making some changes to our stances (shifting more towards Libertarianism, so as to encompass Ron Paul and Gary Johnson supporters), or we're going to fade away like the wigs and join a new party. Either way, I have no fear that the Democrats are going to become the only relevant party in America. There's always a party of dissent.

Fun fact: in no state where Obama won would the votes from Gary Johnson have led to a Romney win instead, even in Florida where it would have been even closer, but Obama still would have edged out Romney.

But we can't, that's what I've been saying. Democrats control the senate and presidency, the GOP has the house. It's going to be the same as it has been since 2010. No budgets, no real solution to the debt problem, no nothing.

This is only a problem if the Republicans decide to continue to obstruct governance. The McConnell priority was voted down by the American people. Now is the time for Republicans to finally — finally — compromise.

Full disclosure, I like Obama. I absolutely hate the idea of unemployed people who receive no unemployment benefits being forced to spend on health insurance.

If you are unemployed, you can get government subsidies. Hasn't this already been pointed out to you several times before?