Took me a while to even come back to the computer. I will let others do the talking for me:
The reason Bush won is because he eked out a victory in Ohio, period. That is the only number that matters in this presidential election and it doesn’t represent a gigantic sea change in America. Bush won that small victory in Ohio because an unprecedented number of conservative evangelicals came out to vote. And, the “American Heartland value” that energized them was an amendment to the state constitution that not only defined marriage as between a man and a woman but also barred public institutions, such as universities, from providing health insurance and other benefits to domestic partners.
“This was the issue that delivered Ohio for President Bush,” said Phil Burress, who spearheaded the Issue 1 campaign. “We mailed out 2.5 million bulletins to 17,000 churches. We called 2.9 million homes and identified 850,000 supporters. We called every one of those supporters on Monday and urged them to vote Yes on 1.”
(I guess we now know why they panicked about Mary Cheney, don’t we? )
My question is this. Is there any combination of issues upon which we Democrats could accomodate these people that doesn’t include backing anti-gay measures like that? In other words, as long as the Democratic party believes in equal rights for gay people is there a snowball’s chance in hell that we will be able to tear the religious vote away from the party that doesn’t with outreach to “heartland values?”
I doubt it. In fact, I think that we are talking about a wedge issue that is insurmountable. Civil rights are a fundamental matter of principle, not a position on specific programs or tax cut legislation. And I don’t see any possibility that we will be able to make inroads with people who believe that homosexuality is a sin as a matter of bedrock religious belief. We can field a candidate who runs a campaign like a tent revival, but this is one of those issues that can’t be finessed. As long as we believe in the separation of church and state and back civil rights for gays we are not going to get the conservative Christian vote. We just aren’t.
§
The ever-eloquent David Neiwert speaks to my very real fears about where this country is heading:
So I’m not terribly interested right now in all this talk of “building bridges” either, because it has a distinctly hollow ring.
Sure, I understand that liberals got nasty this year. But then, Republicans have always been eager to dish it out and unable to take it. Let’s not kid around: We all know where this fight started.
But I’ll tell you what, all you conservatives who want us to bow and scrape at the altar of your newfound civility. I’ll maybe start thinking you’re sincere about “restoring civility” and “turning down the hate” when I stop seeing and hearing the following — not just from the bottom feeders like Adam Yoshida, but leading conservatives like Bill Bennett, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter:
— That liberals are the root of all evil.
— That liberals are innately treasonous.
— That they are internal enemies on a par with Al Qaeda.
— That they are responsible for conservative failures.
— That electing a liberal president would bring the end of the republic.
— That the nation would be better off if liberals were just eliminated.I’ll start to believe you’re sincere about civility when I’m no longer reading books with titles on these subjects, and seeing them reach the bestseller lists.
Most of all, I’ll think there might be something to this civility thing when I see actual conservatives start standing up for basic human decency — which at one naïve time in my life I actually believed conservativism stood for — and publicly repudiating these people.
But when I read and hear these things, and I look around for supposedly decent conservatives to say something, what do I hear?
Silence.
That speaks all the volumes that need be spoken between us. And will be, for the foreseeable future.
§
And, lastly but certainly not leastly (except in the electoral vote count), Adam Felber in ’08, baby!
[Former candidate Felber, flanked by his family and supporters, steps up to the podium in the bright autumn sunlight. Cheers and applause are heard.]
My fellow Americans, the people of this nation have spoken, and spoken with a clear voice. So I am here to offer my concession. [Boos, groans, rending of garments]
I concede that I overestimated the intelligence of the American people. Though the people disagree with the President on almost every issue, you saw fit to vote for him. I never saw that coming. That’s really special. And I mean “special” in the sense that we use it to describe those kids who ride the short school bus and find ways to injure themselves while eating pudding with rubber spoons. That kind of special.
I concede that I misjudged the power of hate. That’s pretty powerful stuff, and I didn’t see it. So let me take a moment to congratulate the President’s strategists: Putting the gay marriage amendments on the ballot in various swing states like Ohio… well, that was just genius. Genius. It got people, a certain kind of people, to the polls. The unprecedented number of folks who showed up and cited “moral values” as their biggest issue, those people changed history. The folks who consider same sex marriage a more important issue than war, or terrorism, or the economy… Who’d have thought the election would belong to them? Well, Karl Rove did. Gotta give it up to him for that. [Boos.] Now, now. Credit where it’s due.
I concede that I put too much faith in America’s youth. With 8 out of 10 of you opposing the President, with your friends and classmates dying daily in a war you disapprove of, with your future being mortgaged to pay for rich old peoples’ tax breaks, you somehow managed to sit on your asses and watch the Cartoon Network while aging homophobic hillbillies carried the day. You voted with the exact same anemic percentage that you did in 2000. You suck. Seriously, y’do. [Cheers, applause] Thank you. Thank you very much.
There are some who would say that I sound bitter, that now is the time for healing, to bring the nation together. Let me tell you a little story. Last night, I watched the returns come in with some friends here in Los Angeles. As the night progressed, people began to talk half-seriously about secession, a red state / blue state split. The reasoning was this: We in blue states produce the vast majority of the wealth in this country and pay the most taxes, and you in the red states receive the majority of the money from those taxes while complaining about ’em. We in the blue states are the only ones who’ve been attacked by foreign terrorists, yet you in the red states are gung ho to fight a war in our name. We in the blue states produce the entertainment that you consume so greedily each day, while you in the red states show open disdain for us and our values. Blue state civilians are the actual victims and targets of the war on terror, while red state civilians are the ones standing behind us and yelling “Oh, yeah!? Bring it on!”
More than 40% of you Bush voters still believe that Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11. I’m impressed by that, truly I am. Your sons and daughters who might die in this war know it’s not true, the people in the urban centers where al Qaeda wants to attack know it’s not true, but those of you who are at practically no risk believe this easy lie because you can. As part of my concession speech, let me say that I really envy that luxury. I concede that.
Healing? We, the people at risk from terrorists, the people who subsidize you, the people who speak in glowing and respectful terms about the heartland of America while that heartland insults and excoriates us… we wanted some healing. We spoke loud and clear. And you refused to give it to us, largely because of your high moral values. You knew better: America doesn’t need its allies, doesn’t need to share the burden, doesn’t need to unite the world, doesn’t need to provide for its future. Hell no. Not when it’s got a human shield of pointy-headed, atheistic, unconfrontational breadwinners who are willing to pay the bills and play nice in the vain hope of winning a vote that we can never have. Because we’re “morally inferior,” I suppose, we are supposed to respect your values while you insult ours. And the big joke here is that for 20 years, we’ve done just that.
It’s not a “ha-ha” funny joke, I realize, but it’s a joke all the same.
Being an independent candidate gives me one luxury – as well as conceding the election today, I am also announcing my candidacy for President in 2008. [Wild applause, screams, chants of “Fel-ber! Fel-ber!] Thank you.
And I make this pledge to you today: THIS time, next time, there will be no pandering. This time I will run with all the open and joking contempt for my opponents that our President demonstrated towards the cradle of liberty, the Ivy League intellectuals, the “media elite,” and the “white-wine sippers.” This time I will not pretend that the simple folk of America know just as much as the people who devote their lives to serving and studying the nation and the world. They don’t.
So that’s why I’m asking for your vote in 2008, America. I’m talking to you, you ignorant, slack-jawed yokels, you bible-thumping, inbred drones, you redneck, racist, chest-thumping, perennially duped grade-school grads. Vote for me, because I know better, and I truly believe that I can help your smug, sorry asses. Vote Felber in ’08! Thank you, and may God, if he does in fact exist, bless each and every one of you.
[Tumultuous cheers, applause, and foot-stomping. PULL BACK to reveal the rest of the stage, the row of cameras, hundreds of unoccupied chairs, and the empty field beyond.]
Good morning, Diane. I read your blog periodically, and enjoy it very much, even when I disagree with some of your views. The excerpts in today’s entry got me a little riled however. The overarching sense I got was that the 59,000,000-ish people who cast their vote for Bush are all fools, “homophobic hillbillies,” and dupes of the right-wing conspiracy.
No, they are, by and large, average, everyday people who happen to disagree with what the Democrats had to offer, and had sound, well-considered reasons for doing so. They are the people who’s sons and daughters are fighting in Iraq, they are the people who’s retirement funds and health insurance benefits are hanging in the balance. They are people who put $2-a-gallon gas in their cars on the way to work, just like everyone else. To imagine that the election was decided by a handful of crazed Bible-beaters who went haring off to the polls to stamp out the gay marriage amendments is to fail to give 59,000,000 adult Americans credit for their intelligence or values.
That’s neither fair nor tolerant.
Yeah, that’s the way to win the hearts and minds of Americans. Insult them!
Let me tell you something: you lost this election before you began. John Kerry was a shitty candidate. He talked a good talk about being tough on terrorism, but this is a man who voted against liberating Kuwait. If ever oh ever there was a war that passed a “global test”, that was it. And he was still against it. His Vietnam activities were horrid and nothing to be proud of. If you had run someone who could’ve split the active military and veterans’ vote, you’d be looking at a new president-elect today.
Clinton won reelection in 19966 even though most of the voters thought the country was on the wrong track. This is because the Republicans ran a candidate that was Not Clinton. You didn’t learn this lesson, and ran a candidate who was Not Bush. Surprise: history repeated itself. Well, mostly; Clinton didn’t even get a majority in 1996.
There are so many ways you could have won this election, and it would have been by winning over Bush voters like McCain and Schwarzenegger. It would have meant winning over Democrat Ed Koch, who voted for Bush despite disagreeing with every single aspect of Bush’s domestic policy. Instead, the Democratic party caved to it’s “anti-war” minority. And that’s why you lost.
So what if 40% of Republicans think Hussein had a role in 9/11? You couldn’t win those votes anyway, just like Bush couldn’t win people like you who think Hussein had nothing to do with terrorism, and that stopping Hussein was another small step in preventing a future 9/11. This election was won in the middle, and you lost that middle. You lost people who think Iraq isn’t going well because we aren’t striking hard enough. Imagine that.
Three years ago, Osama bin Laden masterminded a horror. Last week, Osama bin Laden (or a body double) masterminded a videotape where he whined about how badly al Qaeda’s been neutered. He also offered a truce with any state that didn’t vote for Bush. So, congratulate yourself on voting for Osama. Your blue state is safe.
Oh, you don’t like being lumped in together with Isalmic terrorists, Kim Jong Il, and the remnant of the Taliban? Well, I don’t like being lumped in with homophobes, chritofascists and attorneys general who’d rather spend federal funds stamping out porn. Think about that the next time you make sweeping generalizations. Think about that the next time you want my vote.
To imagine that the election was decided by a handful of crazed Bible-beaters who went haring off to the polls to stamp out the gay marriage amendments is to fail to give 59,000,000 adult Americans credit for their intelligence or values.
Well, I hate to tell you this — but it pretty much was. If one hundred thousand votes in areas primarily blanketed by anti-gay propaganda had gone the other way, we’d be hearing about the failure of the Republican culture wars. (Actually, given our media, we wouldn’t, but that’s another topic.) I doubt the turnout would have been so high for Bush had anti-gay amendments been on the ballot in 11 states.
Given the screw-ups of this administration over the past 4 years — you’ve heard them all before, no need for me to list them — that 59m. Americans voted for this guy is terrifying. No, I don’t understand why people would vote for him. The first rule of holes is: when you’re in one, stop digging.
We’re going to keep digging for 4 more years.
Yeah, that’s the way to win the hearts and minds of Americans. Insult them!
Um, considering the starting point of the right-wing is to call me a traitor and un-American, and the starting point of Republican politics is to say that my voice and opinions do not count at all, I’m not really much in the mood for rapprochment.
So what if 40% of Republicans think Hussein had a role in 9/11?
“So what?” “So what?”You don’t think it’s a problem that Republicans are that ignorant? You don’t think it’s a problem that the Administration went out of its way to link the two and not correct that impression. Wow, do we live in different worlds.
This election was won in the middle, and you lost that middle.
This election was lost by two hundred thousand votes. (Maybe. But I won’t go there.) Two hundred thousand. And yet we’re going to be told for years that Bush had a mandate.
Oh, you don’t like being lumped in together with Isalmic terrorists, Kim Jong Il, and the remnant of the Taliban? Well, I don’t like being lumped in with homophobes, chritofascists and attorneys general who’d rather spend federal funds stamping out porn. Think about that the next time you make sweeping generalizations.
Please show me an elected Democratic official who has been identified with Isalmic terrorists, Kim Jong Il, and the remnant of the Taliban. Because I can do the opposite with your list quite easily.
Well, I hate to tell you this — but it pretty much was. If one hundred thousand votes in areas primarily blanketed by anti-gay propaganda had gone the other way, we’d be hearing about the failure of the Republican culture wars.
Stop and think for a second, Diane. Do you honestly think that Kerry ever had a shot at these homophobes you’re so pissed at?
You shouldn’t be worried about them. You shouldn’t be thinking about them. You should wonder how you lost everyone else. If Pat Robertson ran against Kerry, Kerry would have won in a landslide.
Look at these demographics. Quit focusing so hard on that one group you hate, and quit lumping in the real swing voters with them. That’s not the way to win them over.
“So what?” “So what?” You don’t think it’s a problem that Republicans are that ignorant?
You shouldn’t, because you can’t get those votes. Try focusing your efforts on people you can actually influcnce.
And anyway, I’d like more information before jumping to any conclusions about that 40%. Maybe they’re like Condoleezza Rice, who was so badly misquoted in Michael Moore’s last lie-fest.
But to come back to something: You don’t think it’s a problem that so many Democrats are ignorant? that so many can’t see why stopping Hussein is a victory against further terror?
You call a bunch of people ignorant because of their anwer to one question. I at least have studies that show that 1) Democrats are more prevalent in the inner cities, 2) Republicans are more prominent in suburbs, and 3) The schools in inner cities are consistanty rated poorer than suburban schools. I can infer from that that a Democrat is more likely to be ignorant than a Republican. But somehow, I think that would be as bad as calling people ignorant based on one question, badly worded.
This election was lost by two hundred thousand votes. (Maybe. But I won’t go there.) Two hundred thousand. And yet we’re going to be told for years that Bush had a mandate.
You’re splitting hairs, only looking at Ohio. I see three million nationally. Why not look at Florida? That could’ve flipped the election.
I see Pennsylvania, where Kerry eked out a win that was smaller than Ohio’s, yet in a state with a larger population. I see similar happenings in Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Oregon and Minnesota. I see Bush solidly carrying 27 states, and Kerry only 16. I see the Congress becoming more Republican. I see Bush gaining in every demographic except for gays and 18-to-29-yr-olds (down a meagre 2% and 1% respectively). He even increased his share of self-described liberals, moderates and Democrats. I don’t see how that’s not a mandate.
Please show me an elected Democratic official who has been identified with Isalmic terrorists, Kim Jong Il, and the remnant of the Taliban
You missed all those glowing endorsements of Kerry from the North Korean media? You missed Osama offering peace to any state that votes Kerry? Do you honestly think any of these people are happy that Bush got reelected?
I admit, the connections are tenuous, but no more tenuous than the ones being made by the left about the victors in this election. And I’m sick of them.
A majority of Americans believe in a woman’s right to choose. A vast majority of Americans don’t want to create an American theocracy. If we all work together, we can hammer home these basic values and ensure they’re respected. But if you go off and become stubbornly obstinate, refusing to give way on other issues that Republicans want, well…. they have the power, and they’ll run over you without your permission… and possibly throw in the things we fear the most just to spite you.
You missed all those glowing endorsements of Kerry from the North Korean media? You missed Osama offering peace to any state that votes Kerry? Do you honestly think any of these people are happy that Bush got reelected?
Jason, do you actually read what you post? What you said was:
Oh, you don’t like being lumped in together with Isalmic terrorists, Kim Jong Il, and the remnant of the Taliban? Well, I don’t like being lumped in with homophobes, chritofascists and attorneys general who’d rather spend federal funds stamping out porn. Think about that the next time you make sweeping generalizations.
and what I said was:
Please show me an elected Democratic official who has been identified with Isalmic terrorists, Kim Jong Il, and the remnant of the Taliban. Because I can do the opposite with your list quite easily.
So, in your mind, Kim Jong Il is an elected Democratic official?
I can show you REPUBLICANS (that is, Americans right here at home) who are “homophobes, chritofascists and attorneys general who’d rather spend federal funds stamping out porn.” Please show me DEMOCRATS (that is, Americans right here at home) who fall under the rubric “Isalmic terrorists, Kim Jong Il, and the remnant of the Taliban.”