ELECTION NIGHT COMMENTS
- Thread starter SnakeTom
- Start date
Things going as expected so far. The Florida margin is razor thin. If Romney wins Florida AND Virginia, it will be an interesting night.
The margin in Florida is not budging, it just jumps between the candidates. This is incredible; almost a repeat of 2000.
Obama is doing better than expected in counties in and around the Tampa area. These are considered key bellweather counties.
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9:27 P.M. |The Florida Bellwether
In every presidential election since 1960, the candidate who prevailed in Florida's Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, has also prevailed in Florida. There is no guarantee that the pattern will hold in 2012, but the Tampa region is critical in carrying the Sunshine State (which is why the Republican Party held their national convention there this year).
More than 80 percent of the vote has been reported in Hillsborough, and President Obama leads Mitt Romney by five percentage points. Mr. Obama, as we have written, is likely getting a push from Florida's fast-growing Hispanic community. In Hillsborough, Hispanic residents have grown by 71 percent since 2000, now accounting for a quarter of the county's population."
From Nate Silver's blog
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9:27 P.M. |The Florida Bellwether
In every presidential election since 1960, the candidate who prevailed in Florida's Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, has also prevailed in Florida. There is no guarantee that the pattern will hold in 2012, but the Tampa region is critical in carrying the Sunshine State (which is why the Republican Party held their national convention there this year).
More than 80 percent of the vote has been reported in Hillsborough, and President Obama leads Mitt Romney by five percentage points. Mr. Obama, as we have written, is likely getting a push from Florida's fast-growing Hispanic community. In Hillsborough, Hispanic residents have grown by 71 percent since 2000, now accounting for a quarter of the county's population."
From Nate Silver's blog
Jesse Jackson Jr. and Charles Rangel winning re-election so easily are prime examples of what's wrong with congress. Jackson hasn't even represented his district for most of this year and didn't even campaign. Rangel is probably the most crooked member of congress. But nobody cares and just presses the button next to their names.
The GOP shot itself in the foot by defeating se, Lugar in the primaries in favor of Murdock a more right wing candidate. No way the Dem should win in conservative Indiana. Polls show Lugar would have woin the general election easily. May be the same scenario in Missouri.
TK
TK
The Republican Rape tag team of Mourdock and Akin both lost races they easily should have won. Why they decided to make light of rape is beyond me.
Maine legalizes gay marriage, Colorado legalizes recreational majrijuana use for adults over 21, and Maryland passed the Dream Act. Elizabeth Warren wins her Senate seat. fantastic signs that we're waking up a bit in this country. awesome news for progressives. Now if only Obama was an actual progressive...
Wow, a Democrat in a Senate seat in Mass. Shocker. You obviously haven't been around long enough to understand there are no seismic shifts in politics. An even split of the popular vote, contrary to your "waking up" comment, shows that the heels are dug in more than ever. If Obama was an actual progressive....nothing would get done, ask Bill Clinton. Maybe he can work with a divided Senate and Republican house. I doubt it, and in four years, the Obama people will be blaming Bush, and we'll be electing Chris Christie and a Congress he can't work with.
Gay marriage passed in MD & probably Washington, medical marijuana legalized in Mass, batshit Alan West is gone from the House, and super aggressive (and crazy) Alan Grayson is back in. Now if only Bachmann would lose...
looks like Jill Stein didn't make much of a blip on the radar anywhere sadly.
This post was edited on 11/7 1:20 AM by Bobbie Solo
looks like Jill Stein didn't make much of a blip on the radar anywhere sadly.
This post was edited on 11/7 1:20 AM by Bobbie Solo
The biggest positive about this election is that the two religious fanatics (Aiken & Montgomery) who do not comprehend the meaning of the word "rape" both lost in states where the GOP should normally win easily.
Another positive is that neither Romney's religion nor gay marriage appeared to be factors at all nor should they have been.
TK
Another positive is that neither Romney's religion nor gay marriage appeared to be factors at all nor should they have been.
TK
Tom, I would agree with you there.
IMO, the most dissapointing thing that I see from the results is that we have an extremely polarized electorate, a split Congress that shows no signs of working together and breaking down the gridlock and a President who proved time and time again that he is incapable of bringing the parties together (and I'm not sure he even cares to). I'm not convinced Romney would have been the end all, but I'm not optimistic about the next four years and that Obama's leadership will show us anything different as we continue to face some very tough issues.
Back to my prediction in October, I was on the money with almost everything. Obama would win the Electoral vote by a wide margin and he would win the popular vote within 3 percentage points. I stated that Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin and Florida would go Obama. Only Fla is outstanding.
I made some good money betting this election.
I made some good money betting this election.
We will see the tone of the group pretty soon with whatever happens with the fiscal cliff.
I am happy Obama won both the electoral and popular votes. Congress may have pushed that Obama wasn't what most of the country wanted.
Obama won 2008 in a landslide and claimed a mandate.
The conservatives won 2010 in a landslide and claimed a mandate.
Maybe the split electorate will make both sides realize that compromise is not a dirty word?
So in the end, we're back to where we were before the election. We have a partisan president who doesn't compromise, we have a democrat led senate that doesn't compromise, and we have a republican led house that doesn't compromise. Awesome!
It is nice to see states exercising their rights and making smart moves. Kudos to Maryland, Maine, and Minnesota for passing marriage equalization laws and enhancing rights of individuals in your states. It will be interesting to see how the federal government reacts to the marijuana laws in Washington and Colorado. I think both states took steps in the right direction by passing those measures.
It is nice to see states exercising their rights and making smart moves. Kudos to Maryland, Maine, and Minnesota for passing marriage equalization laws and enhancing rights of individuals in your states. It will be interesting to see how the federal government reacts to the marijuana laws in Washington and Colorado. I think both states took steps in the right direction by passing those measures.
Obama won a rather impressive re-election. It saddens me to see America re-elect such an ineffective, incompetent but that is what we as a country want, that is what we get. Now I know how Michelle Obama felt as not being proud of America.
The House needs to stand firm with what should be their fiscally conservative stance. Here's what should happen:
1) Do not extend the Bush tax cuts; MAKE THEM ALL PERMANENT!!!
2) The payroll tax holiday has to end, it did nothing but make social security more unstable.
3) Reform both social security and medicare to make them sustainable. Not sure the real answer. For social security, perhaps lower the tax rate but lift the earnings cap?? For medicare, Paul Ryan is very much on the right track.
4) Rein in executive abuses. The president's job is to execute the laws NOT make the laws. The DREAM act is a prime example, Sounds like good policy but it needs to be codified in law by the legislative branch, not by presidential diktat.
5) Cut real spending as soon as possible, not just cut the growth in spending. Tired of hearing the liberals scream that conservatives want to cut spending when all they've proposed is cutting the growth in spending. Assholes. Four years of Obama deficits over a trillion dollars is a national disgrace. And 2009 does count towards Obama, see the spendulus bill.
6) Stay out of other countries' business. This usually always ends badly. See recent Libya, see the Taliban attack us with our own weapons.
7) Back to personal and corporate responsibility and consequences. Too big to fail has now been codified into law. You want birth control or other elective health care, you pay for it. You play, you pay.
Enough for now, more to come.
The House needs to stand firm with what should be their fiscally conservative stance. Here's what should happen:
1) Do not extend the Bush tax cuts; MAKE THEM ALL PERMANENT!!!
2) The payroll tax holiday has to end, it did nothing but make social security more unstable.
3) Reform both social security and medicare to make them sustainable. Not sure the real answer. For social security, perhaps lower the tax rate but lift the earnings cap?? For medicare, Paul Ryan is very much on the right track.
4) Rein in executive abuses. The president's job is to execute the laws NOT make the laws. The DREAM act is a prime example, Sounds like good policy but it needs to be codified in law by the legislative branch, not by presidential diktat.
5) Cut real spending as soon as possible, not just cut the growth in spending. Tired of hearing the liberals scream that conservatives want to cut spending when all they've proposed is cutting the growth in spending. Assholes. Four years of Obama deficits over a trillion dollars is a national disgrace. And 2009 does count towards Obama, see the spendulus bill.
6) Stay out of other countries' business. This usually always ends badly. See recent Libya, see the Taliban attack us with our own weapons.
7) Back to personal and corporate responsibility and consequences. Too big to fail has now been codified into law. You want birth control or other elective health care, you pay for it. You play, you pay.
Enough for now, more to come.
Heartily agree with you there, 6711. I'm pro-life, and the comments they made were not only idiotic, but very hurtful to the cause. Anyone that stupid should not be in the legislature; they did their constituents a favor by openly flaunting their ignorance.
The popular vote was essentially 50-50, Congress could still claim that only half of the country wants to go in this (whatever it is) direction. I believe compromise will be even harder to come by; many have dug in their heels. With the media, the internet, and the "my guy" partisanship, the losing side will surely steel themselves for the next election, and the Republicans actually have a rock star for 2016: Christie.
I am laughing SPK... An impressive win by Obama, and congress should do nothing to compromise and Obama should do everything that conservatives want? Come on...
1. Bush tax cuts need to expire for the wealthy. They have done nothing to stimulate the economy and our deficit is larger because of them.
2. The payroll tax Holiday will end soon, and it should be combined with lowering the % and raising the cap as you mentioned in #3 as to not increase taxes on the middle class.
4. The president would not have needed to use an executive order if congress was willing to do their job.
5. The 2009 deficit was 1.4 trillion. The 2009 stimulus spending was about 200 billion and it added economic activity that would otherwise not have been there increasing overall revenue... but I will leave that net effect out of the argument since I don't have the data. Besides the stimulus the deficit would have still been well over 1 trillion.
6. I agree.
7. I agree except for too big to fail. I want the government to be able to step in if a company is so large that it can potentially destroy our economy.
1. Bush tax cuts need to expire for the wealthy. They have done nothing to stimulate the economy and our deficit is larger because of them.
2. The payroll tax Holiday will end soon, and it should be combined with lowering the % and raising the cap as you mentioned in #3 as to not increase taxes on the middle class.
4. The president would not have needed to use an executive order if congress was willing to do their job.
5. The 2009 deficit was 1.4 trillion. The 2009 stimulus spending was about 200 billion and it added economic activity that would otherwise not have been there increasing overall revenue... but I will leave that net effect out of the argument since I don't have the data. Besides the stimulus the deficit would have still been well over 1 trillion.
6. I agree.
7. I agree except for too big to fail. I want the government to be able to step in if a company is so large that it can potentially destroy our economy.
I don't think SPK was saying that only Obama needed to compromise.
But if I remember correctly, Obama said pretty much the same thing on his acceptance speech this time as in 2008 about working together. He said all those nice to hear things and proceeded to do what he wanted anyway.
I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt this time around and hope that he was speaking from the heart when he said yesterday that he wanted to work in a bi-partisan way. So far though, it's been all rehtoric over the last four years and no action on his part. True... Congress needs to cooperate, but he needs to lead the effort. Something I'm not sure he has the capacity to do. He has to show me with actions and not just flowery rhetoric.
That munching sound you hear is me eating humble pie... my predictions were far off.....
I'm hoping that my fears about our country's future are unfounded.
But if I remember correctly, Obama said pretty much the same thing on his acceptance speech this time as in 2008 about working together. He said all those nice to hear things and proceeded to do what he wanted anyway.
I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt this time around and hope that he was speaking from the heart when he said yesterday that he wanted to work in a bi-partisan way. So far though, it's been all rehtoric over the last four years and no action on his part. True... Congress needs to cooperate, but he needs to lead the effort. Something I'm not sure he has the capacity to do. He has to show me with actions and not just flowery rhetoric.
That munching sound you hear is me eating humble pie... my predictions were far off.....
I'm hoping that my fears about our country's future are unfounded.
Laugh all you want. Then learn to read. I said what the House should do, not Obama.
Compromise is what gets us into messes all the time. Compromise accomplishes nothing. The less congress does the better, they are destructive regardless of which party you are for.
The deficit is over a trillion dollars. Letting the Bush tax cuts expire for the wealthy would bring in $70-$80 billion per year if all remained static. It won't, as the wealthy have the means to shift and shelter income so it will bring in less than counted on. If you really want to make a dent in the deficit using revenues, the only way to do that is by having all the Bush tax cuts expire. So what is your real reason then for wanting to tax the rich more?
And how did the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy cause these deficits when they brought in more tax revenues from the wealthy after enacted???
Agree with this, and no one with any sense is laughing today. This was a much closer election than it should have been; Romney was a bad candidate, more of a flip-flopper than Kerry, some of the far right party wingnuts made stupid-inflammatory statements. If Obama has things on the right track, this election should have been a run away. It wasn't, and he won Ohio, VA, and I assume FL (didn't look this morning) by extremely narrow margins. At any rate, it is what it is for 4 more years.
Luckily my ability to read is also matched up with my ability to understand what I am reading... like when you say that congress should make the bush tax cuts permanent that you are saying that congress should pass the law which Obama would sign.
The tax cuts on the wealthy should expire because they are the group that is not still hurting. Raising taxes on the middle and lower classes will slow economic activity. Increasing taxes on the wealthy does not.
Tax cuts can be stimulative given the right circumstances. That is not a vacuum rule.
We also had more revenue when Clinton raised taxes. Taxes need to be adjusted according to the circumstances of our economy.
Reading is still a problem. I didn't say congress I said the House!!! Why is that so hard for you, c'mon, you're way smarter than that!!! As long as the House stays firm, Obama can't put in his radical agenda, that's what I'm talking about.
What does not hurting have to with this other than pure jealousy? It won't help with the deficit and won't help the economy so why do it?
This is where I finally get to laugh!!! Clinton raised ALL tax rates, that's where the real revenue is. And government spending was like 18-19% of GDP. You want to go back to that, fine. Almost as funny as Clinton's speech the other night where he said Romney lies and you can't have a president that lies. What a hypocritical, characterless boob!!! That's what wins elections? And the stupid American people bought it!!! Clinton has huge balls and the American electorate has little brains, LOL!!!
As long as the house stays firm and makes the Bush tax cuts permanent?
Not jealousy. A balance of taxes which will promote the greatest economic output by all.
I would even be in favor of lowering them on the wealthy and increasing them on the middle class if our economy was booming. It is all about balance.
Government spending as a percentage of GDP will go up during a recession and decrease during a boom by definition. We need to increase government spending to come out of the recession and restore our economy. As we recover, and see economic growth, that number will start to shrink again.
One of the biggest problems we have nowadays is too many politicians who think that their obligation is to their political party rather than to those that elected them. In this respect Gov. Christie is very refreshing since he realizes that his primary obligation is to the citizens of New Jersey.
A friend of mine who is a lifelong Dem gave Christie what I would consider the ultimate compliment: He said "I could never vote for him mor any Republican but I'm damn glad that he's our Governor"
TK
A friend of mine who is a lifelong Dem gave Christie what I would consider the ultimate compliment: He said "I could never vote for him mor any Republican but I'm damn glad that he's our Governor"
TK
FWIW if the vote total in Florida holds as it now appears all votes have been counted then Nate Silver (NY Times) will have correctly picked all 50 states. In 2008 he had correctly predicted 49 of the 50 states only missing on Indiana. Combined thats 99 of 100 which is a pretty good record.
Tom K
Tom K
I can't understand all the hard feelings here about how we could elect an ineffective President again. There is no question that Obama was very vulnerable to being beaten this election. However, the Republicans ran a slate of worse candidates and the best of the lot was Romney.
Forget about how bad you think Obama is. What you fail to think of is how bad Romney and all the other candidates that the Republicans ran like, Mr. 9/9/9/ and Mr. I can't remember a damn thing from Texas. The Republicans candidates were a joke. That is why they lost this election. The Republicans should be ashamed of themselves for being hijacked by tea party wing nuts and Birther issues. It's an embarrassment. BTW, let's assume Obama was born in Kenya, he is still eligible to be President because he was an American born citizen at birth due to his mom being an American citizen. This is similar to Mitt Romney's father who was born in Mexico and yet ran for the Republican nomination for President.
Forget about how bad you think Obama is. What you fail to think of is how bad Romney and all the other candidates that the Republicans ran like, Mr. 9/9/9/ and Mr. I can't remember a damn thing from Texas. The Republicans candidates were a joke. That is why they lost this election. The Republicans should be ashamed of themselves for being hijacked by tea party wing nuts and Birther issues. It's an embarrassment. BTW, let's assume Obama was born in Kenya, he is still eligible to be President because he was an American born citizen at birth due to his mom being an American citizen. This is similar to Mitt Romney's father who was born in Mexico and yet ran for the Republican nomination for President.
My feelings are the same. We can do so much better. Obama is not a leader, has little experience and did not bring folks together or do a good job in his 4 years. The Repubs put up a bunch of bad candidates and ran a poor election except for the lift Romney got in his first debate. But then he went back to saying stupid stuff like "binders full of women" etc. I mean common.
And to prove how unexcited folks are I saw a stat today (did not confirm it) that said over 12 million less folks voted vs. the last presidential election. If true that speaks volumes.
IMO the two parties are not working for the American people. They only care about trying to prove who is right and not about fresh ideas or working together. It's sad and this election did nothing to change that. I only hope that in 4 years there are some candidates I can get behind.
And to prove how unexcited folks are I saw a stat today (did not confirm it) that said over 12 million less folks voted vs. the last presidential election. If true that speaks volumes.
IMO the two parties are not working for the American people. They only care about trying to prove who is right and not about fresh ideas or working together. It's sad and this election did nothing to change that. I only hope that in 4 years there are some candidates I can get behind.
