MSNBC just announced their prediction that the Republicans have won the house. Now Obama and his administration have go to come out swinging. Forget bipartisanship.
Now we can look forward to Orange Man as Speaker of the House. Will it be a red senate, too, with extremists like Rand Paul, Marco Rubio…. Tea Party people. What fun, huh?
May democracy rise once again, like the phoenix, from its ashes.
Applause, Sansego! I must add one note, however, and hope it doesn't offend anyone. After watching President Obama for the past two years, it's my considered opinion that he needs to stop being Mr. Nice Guy, stop trying to solve every problem by talking things over,(that hasn't worked!), and start playing hardball. Charisma and oratory skills are great in a leader, but sometimes a leader, like a parent, can be too easy on the errant "child". Mr. Obama MUST start taking a hard line and come to the understanding that unfortunately, in this terrible time, kindness and words of cooperation won't work. I don't mean he should institute another war. I mean he should begin to use stronger tactics and a sturdier backbone, because otherwise the republicans are going to roll over him like a bug. He's the Commander-in-Chief, and it's past time for him to step up to the plate like a Five-Star-General and get his troops in DC and elsewhere on the ball and in action. Nice is good, but he's tried that. It simply isn't working. As a pacifist with a powerful astro Cancer influence, I am not ordinarily combative. But there are occasions when a leader, (again, like a parent), must get firm and MEAN it and follow through. I want to see our president grow a pair. (Sorry for the crudeness but I don't know any other way too express that.)
Step up his game immediately and PUSH. Stop trying to be 'just one of the guys', mingling among the masses and shaking hands. The campaign is over. We elected him. He ISN'T just one of the guys. He's the designated Leader, for goodness sake. Winning Mr. Compatibility and Mr. Popularity isn't the role of the President of the United States. He accepted the role of the most powerful position on this planet, and that role requires guts and work work work. I notice in the polls, he wins high scores in terms of the majority of the country liking him as a PERSON, but not liking his job perfomrnance. He needs to take note of that and fix it. He has the capability, and needs to use it or we are doomed as a country. cj
Hate to be blunt here, but I think Americans are ignorant and that is no excuse to vote for the very party that caused this mess to begin with. I get sick and tired of seeing my fellow citizens get snookered by a political party that knows how to play the Democrats for fools. That the Republican party can spend the entire Bush years running up huge deficits, waging two expensive wars, and passing two tax cuts on borrowed money from Chinese bankers, then walk away from the damage in 2008 without being held accountable, then put all the blame on Obama because he hasn't been able to clean up quickly enough is just plain EVIL!
Americans remind me of an abused wife who keeps falling for her husband's pleas for another chance when she should know better after getting beat up everytime she gives him another chance.
I am a Democrat, but it frustrates me that Democrats are spineless and won't stand up for principles. The Republican Party is a bunch of bullies and Democrats keep cowering in a corner instead of standing up and fighting back. Bullies run and hide when people stand up to them. Cowering in fear only makes the bully feel powerful.
CJ, I totally understand how difficult it is to be among Bush lovers. Just the other day, on my Facebook, I had made an analogy that I thought was appropriate. I wrote that Obama was like a Doctor who stopped the bleeding of a hemorrhaging America and how much sense does it make to allow the Republicans to reopen the wounds before they had a chance to heal?
Well, two ladies from my church said that they disagreed with me and couldn't believe that I believed what i believe, because they saw Obama as "divisive." Divisive? His problem is that he's too conciliatory. He wants a bipartisanship with a political party that said on Day One that they wanted Obama to be a failure, a one term president, another Jimmy Carter.
If Americans really think that voting the Republicans back into power in the U.S. House is going to help us get our economy back on track, they truly are the stupidest people on the planet. Why would Republicans want the economy to be booming in 2012? They have a vested interest in keeping the economy sluggish to ensure that Obama is another Jimmy Carter. Only keeping a Democratic majority in Congress would have ensured a better economic chance, because the Democrats would have a vested interest in getting the economy booming for the 2012 election. Now, we can expect to see personal investigations, possible impeachment, government shutdowns, a repeal of the Health Care legislation, etc.
Its a sad day in America. If any Teabagger ends up as president in 2012, I think it will seriously be time to leave the country for good. When people are willing to bring back the party that got us into this mess a mere two years after turning them out, it says something rotten about the American mindset and our level of ignorance and forgetfulness. If America truly wants to self-destruct, I don't want to live here and watch it happen. Let me live in a social-democracy like France or the U.K. with the other ex-patriots, lamenting about the downfall of America.
wv: clowaker
I do hope and pray no one this blog thought I was supporting the republicans, or supporting those who put this country back in the Red, LITERALLY deeper into the Red. My comments were simply to acknowledge that hundreds of thousands of folks were unfortunately casting their votes in the dark, so to speak, without thinking about it and without having any idea what they were doing. I didn't, and don't, support it. I just was acknowledging the fact that complacency among the masses combined with a lack of awareness in a sleeping America, has created these issues we are facing and will continue to face. I was, and am, mortified by what happed on Nov 2. But I am more mortified by
the fact that so many people who voted didn't have a clue what they were doing. THAT was the point of my comments. I'm married to a staunch, dyed-in-the-wool southern Republican, and believe me, it's a challenge every single day of my life to keep peace in this house with him because our ideas are so opposite. He hasn't got the foggiest notion what the repub agenda is, and doesn't care to educate himself in that regard, and I am unable to get through to him. So please, guys, understand that I wasn't being supportive of this country spinning deeper into the Red in every way. I was just acknowledging the deaf and blind ignorance that is pervasive and that has put us here. I'm not mocking them as individuals. I simply can't comprehend such lacks of awareness, and unfortunately that does include my own husband. I refuse now to discuss the issues with him because it isn't going to change his ideas, which have no basis in the facts. He's following the dictates of his having grown up in a GA mountain home where the repubs were Kings of the World, and he shuts his mind to the voice of reason. So, I quietly went and cast my vote, and then spoke my opinions here on the blog after encountering such ignorance among the people around me who were also voting. In the name of keeping the peace I don't speak my opinions in my home or among my husband's family, because as a Democrat, I'm outnumbered here and ridiculed, and don't want to tolerate that. Can any of you imagine living among a family that likes George W. Bush? Well, imagine it. Then you will understand I'm not supporting what happened in this country on Tuesday, simply acknowledging the presence of ignorance without trying to make that word "ignorance" an insult. Interesting WV: "dedem" cj
That's right. I forgot about unemployment. Yes, cross that off the list of public services. And fire departments and police departments. Let's privatize those, too, so we'll have mercenaries like Halliburton answering 911 calls. Wow, that's going to work well.
trish, yes, vitter, republican, did win here! for me, i cannot in any way fathom anyone voting for the party that initially put us into this horrific situation, regardless of whether they are mad or whether they are not happy with the present administration – the point for me is that it took way more than two years to get us here – and yes, there have been mistakes made by this administration – but – how in the world returning the power to those we KNOW got us here in the first place is going to solve the issues is beyond me – and i totally agree with dpage's assessment of the TP movement – the damage is done now – again – all of those who weren't thinking when they switched party vote will have plenty of time to do their thinking in the unemployment line – oh, but wait – that won't be a problem either, because those benefits will be cut sooner rather than later – and there won't be a line to stand in anyway –
well, that's my take, anyway!
wv here is emettoci?
Anger is not necessarily a negative emotion. Sometimes righteous anger is a catalyst for positive change. Perhaps that's what is needed in our country as a means of instilling courage and overwhelming the plague of complacency that has brought us to this point. Perhaps the anger will wake up the sleeping masses and move them to action. Let's hope.
cj
Agree with Nancy, Trish, and Rob.
cj
The real problem is that there're only two parties. Other countries have numerous parties. In many ways, that seems more democratic than our system.
I think everyone is right. Many of our friends went to the polls MAD. Mad that Obama promised to cut the pork but didn't, mad that he caved to the Republicans, mad that the banks were bailed but continued paying out big bonuses, mad that their jobs are gone, and they are losing their homes. They're mad about who Obama had on his team, i.e. the Goldman Sachs gurus, and they don't feel he's strong enough to lead the nation out of this hell hole.
They will vote these guys out next time. I heard one person say they voted against all incumbents. I think the tea party was very well funded with people that have ulterior motives – especially the Chamber of Commerce, but the average guy – he's just MAD. If these Republicans think they're safe in two years, they need to think again. Many people that I talk to do not see any difference between the parties anymore.
NO, Trish. I strongly disagree. Every agenda is NOT a political agenda. That's equivalent to saying every agenda is a religious or spiritual agenda. I saw people around me at the polls yesterday voting for people whose agendas they had no ideas about, so those people did NOT have a political agenda. Yes, the parties and the politicians all have agendas. But every citizen who votes does not have a "political agenda", unless it's an agenda to SURVIVE. I, personally, have no political agenda at all. My personal agenda does exist, but it isn't political. My agenda is to want my family to be happy and to be healthy. That has ZERO to do with any political anything. Zero. I won't argue this point. Politicians and their parties and affiliations have agendas. Private people most often have agendas that ARE NOT political. I just stated mine. It isn't political unless one wants to get into some huge elaborate debate of how political policies, protocols, etc etc etc affect my family's happiness and health. I won't go there. I hate the way the country turned RED yesterday. I've made that clear. But I also will not make a mockery of my fellow citizens when I spoke with so many yesterday who didn't have a single clue what they were doing except they thought they were going to change their situations by voting red. Few people pay any genuine attention to politics, which is the problem. They cast votes without ever knowing what they've done. (I cite the double Bush fiasco) If you don't believe me, walk around a shopping mall and asked different people to explain to you the Obama/Democrat agenda, and the Republican agenda. They'll look at you and go "uh….I have no idea." And therein, my dear friend, lies the problem. This is the very reason I make it a practice to avoid political discussions, and should have done so today. Peace. cj
Well said, Debra.
As a country, we've lost the ability to connect the dots. People who are losing jobs, homes etc, who previously voted democratic, are just not connecting the dots if they voted republican.
Every agenda is a political agenda, connie, of some kind, in some shape. Now the obama administration will really bend over backward to work with the repubs, who never wanted to work with them. Just watch what happens now. It's not going to be pretty.
P.S. It is eye-opening to get out there and talk to people, and to discover that they cast their votes without even knowing what the agenda is of the party or person is that they cast their votes for. It's like a drowning person who grasped at a log floating by without realizing there's a water moccasin sitting on the log. Sad. Sad. But true. This country is filled at the moment with just such desperate folks, and they aren't thinking. cj
My faith still remains in the American people, guys. Call me naive. I just don't think there are that many stupid brainwashed citizens in this country unless someone is poisoning the drinking water. I think Americans are trying very hard to find answers for the serious problems that are being encountered in everyday, mundane lives, and they chose the wrong way to go about doing that yesterday. I've spoken to a lot of friends who, unfortunately, voted repub when they were originally dems, and when I asked them WHY, they cited disapproval of the lack of progress, and of having no where else to turn. Many folks don't even have an inkling what the repub agenda is. They just know they are losing their jobs, incomes, homes, insurance, savings, everything across the board that constitutes everyday American life, and they are blaming the current,(dem) and past(rep) adminstrations without looking beyond their noses in terms of what they have done. For me, this election reflects a country that is immersed in fear and desperation, and that is what I'm hearing from my friends. They aren't posing a political agenda, but an agenda of deeply personal loss and they're struggling to find recovery. I wasn't saying I agree with what happened. Only that I don't for a single moment think it's what it seems. cj
I have to agree with Rob & Trish.
And…if the Tea Party truly was a separate/grass roots movement, their wins last night would not have counted as Republican seats in the House or Senate. The would have been a third party's seats.
wv= craterts, crater T's???
I don't buy that, Connie. People voted for the very party that created the economic mess to begin with. The republicans aren't going to solve anything. In fact, if they have their way, social programs – but never defense – will be the first programs to bite the dust. Like your Medicare and Social Security? Bye-bye, those programs and Medicaid will be on the chopping block first.
If Obama had gone farther to the left in his policies, if he'd had an economist like Paul Krugman on his team, if he hadn't been so concerned with bipartisanship, we would be in better shape.
Under the repubs, the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of americans will continue. The only way they can make up the $700 billion shortfall is by cutting programs – what one of these idiots called discretionary spending – i.e., social programs, but never defense. Public schools? Hmm, sure, let's privatize everything. Even social security. That would've worked well in 08, right?
And they may put impeachment on the table just as quickly as Pelosi said impeachment of bush was off the table.
Too many people are way too easily brainwashed into thinking the tea party is some grass roots movement. It's funded by corporate america.
wv: shout! 🙂
It's 11-3-2010, and I've been watching the returns, and looking at a map of the entire United States that is overwhelmingly RED today. Ordinarily I don't get into political discussions, but do want to make just an observation that is based more on intuitive sensing than on anything political. It is by no means argumentative. I don't feel that Americans have gone over to the Republican party, altho the results appear that such has happened. I honestly believe, and sense, that on the whole, Americans are good, decent, hard-working folks who are trying their damnedest to somehow find a way out of an increasingly devastating hole for ordinary people. Two years ago America elected a new president, and in the interim since that election, due to the horror that Obama inherited from BushCo, but ALSO due to perhaps wrong decisions and policies on Obama's part, the average American citizen yesterday was saying, "the frying pan, or the fire?" America isn't happy with either party, and it seems to me their unified voice was saying, "the current direction isn't working, so what do we do?" And they voted not so much FOR the Repubs, but against Dem policies that so far haven't brought the safety net that was promised and in too many ways have tightened the strangling net. Obama himself just admitted, on TV, that he needs to push "the re-set button" and make some big changes in his previous decisions. Again, I don't think America was voting Repub out of any allegiance to the elephant party, but were trying to express FEAR of where we are going if situations don't begin to significantly change, and those changes must start with our leader and the current administration. He said as much himself just now. So, I don't look at this as a Republican victory, or as a Democratic defeat, or as Americans being stupid followers of a republican party agenda, but more of a statement from our citizens that SOMEONE must bring us into a positive space. I personally think Americans would have voted for some kind of yellow Goat-party if they thought it would help….any kind of party that might speed up recovery instead of being on an elevator that is constantly falling floor by floor deeper and deeper into black holes. The average American family is suffering horrendously. Everyone knows that. So they grasp at any available straw and it just happened to be the opposing party.
Let's hope it will soon level off and somehow, some way, laws and decisions will be made that will bring us back to our feet. My vote is for THAT, in the name of ANY party: red, blue, or purple. cj
Midterm elections are weird, Mike, you're right. I woke up feeling…blue, weighted.
Gypsy – who won in La?? Vitter? Is he from your state?
Have been reading the UK press today about the election. Must admit it seems strange to have a mid term election which could hamper previous plans and promises – but, maybe that's a good thing.
a dark dismal day here – in louisiana – and even more so nationwide after yesterday – and so true on the distance thing –
wv – parowl – prowl or low rap or owl rap???
>>While we may not be able to see everything in our lives as being synchronous, we can certainly use hindsight to be more aware of how the universe guides us.
That's from today's Daily OM. Well, it will take some distance to see how the universe is guiding us after yesterday's election results.
https://www.dailyom.com/articles/2010/25928.html
Well, at least I can be proud of my state – returning Harry Reid to the Senate. Having met Harry a few times at different functions over the years, I can attest that he is a decent man. (He and I were on the same side over the nuclear dump proposed for Nevada.) He may not be exciting, but I do believe he works hard behind the scenes. I just wish I had more confidence in our government to actually solve problems.
Lawrence O'Donnell brought up a vital point. Early on in the new congress, a vote will happen about raising the debt ceiling for this country.
If Rand Paul stands on his principles – and filibusters such a vote – then the U.S. defaults on its vote – and, as O'Donnell puts it, the world spirals into worldwide depression.
wv: raiessef – raise if?
*SIGH*
wv = spaysitr