This is the best post-election analysis of Elephants I’ve come across so far.
… John McCain lost because the country was suffering from Bush backlash, a reaction against a deeply damaged Republican brand, which had become associated with low and divisive attacks, arrogance and ineptitude in office.
… more troubling for Republicans is the fact that their base is shrinking: older traditionalist white voters in rural areas are not a growing demographic, almost by definition. Preaching to this choir might draw populist crowds but it’s a long-term loser.
… Great parties have to be willing to grow, and in the GOP’s case, become more diverse. But if socially conservative activists and cynical play to the base politicians continue to impose rigid social conservative ideological litmus tests, the Republicans will be in the wilderness for a very long time.
Read it in its entirety.
Then of course, you have responding comments like these from some dude called Chuck Pelto attacking the author:
…obviously have no real grasp of Christianity. Let alone any bedrock form of morality.
And that my friends is one example of the rigid mentalities screwing up the Elephant party from within.
I’m not sure where the commenter stands on abortion but he sure does sound like those who want to ban it in all cases including rape and incest because you know, that’s what Christianity “demands.”
Less Sarah Palins please.
SudaneseThinker
SudaneseThinker
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Evangelicals have no monopoly on the use of the word “Christian”.
That’s the first thing that should be clear.
However, George Bush didn’t really follow the “Christians” too much. Neo-conservative policies were not about banning abortion, making homosexuality illegal, or teaching religion in science class. Those are the key positions of the Evangelicals and George Bush didn’t pay much attention to any of them.
Sarah Palin is a different animal though. Having heard her way of making sure not to be seen as a Creationist, I cannot say that I trusted her not to try to introduce religion as a science (or to understand why science is not religion).
George Bush’s policies in the middle east certainly did not support the homophobes and Creationists of the region.
People are now looking for excuses for why the Republicans did so badly.
Here are mine:
1. The selection of Sarah Palin as vice-presidential candidate was supposed to shut up Republican opposition to John McCain and unfortunately rallied his opponents among Democrats instead. (I have heard few people actually say that there was something deeply wrong with John McCain. Everyone seems to respect him, even in Europe.)
2. The media loved Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton and John McCain had to suffer for it.
3. The media never did report about the situation in the middle east outside Israel and post-2003 Iraq. Nobody knew what kind of regime George Bush replaced, what Arab governments did and do to minorities (outside of Jews in “Palestine”), and what George Bush did in Sudan. According to the view one gets from the media Israel is a hotbed of violence in the middle east and the only place worse is Iraq since 2003. Both are simply not true and if people realised it, George Bush’s policies look quite different.
4. Obama outspent McCain. The “rich boys” simply outspent the poor dudes. Popular opinion is that Republicans represent “the rich” while Democrats represent “the poor” (and downtrodden). In reality Democrats have the support of many of the super-rich and powerful and Republicans represent the common people in the mid-west. Because of popular belief Obama outspending McCain was seen as a miracle rather than buying an election. And despite reports about Sarah Palin’s massive spending on costumes (Sarah Palin spend too much money on cloths, Michelle Obama always looked nice; that was how the media put it. Both are true.) she was actually of the three the one with the closest to a normal income.
McCain was simply too sane for many Republicans just like Hillary Clinton was too sane for many Democrats.
When the primaries started I didn’t think that extremists like the crazy uncle (the only man who can save America, Ron Paul) or the Messiah (Obama) could make it. But while the Republicans had their weirdo shield switched on, the Democrats did not.
And there we are.
Luckily Obama’s positions seem to be changing by the minute and he miraculously turned from a left-wing extremist with a hatred for certain races into a president who will most likely not withdraw from Iraq and who now has advisors like Colin Powell and Rahm Emanuel, which makes me feel a lot safer.
At this rate, in time, he will probably see why America invaded Iraq and will use the opportunity to sponsor a peace agreement between Israel and the PLO (which Hamas will hate) that Arabs might actually support.
He has two advantages that former presidents didn’t have: Someone removed the PLO’s last powerful supporter from power for him, and the terrorists celebrated him as their saviour and will find it difficult to explain now that he might protect Israel instead.
I wish him the best of luck in Afghanistan and Pakistan (why not attack Pakistan if they shelter terrorists, he has a point).
But what will he do about Iran and Syria?
Oh, and it would be nice if Obama did something about the mad Saudis. George Bush, I understand, had excellent business connections with them. Obama might be more independent.
I don’t know if there is a “Zionist lobby” in Washington (outside the people who keep telling the President that middle-eastern Jews should have a right to remain alive, even if everyone calls “death to the Jews”), but there sure is a Saudi lobby.
Here’s hoping that Condi Rice will run in four years and change half-black and half-white Obama from the first black President into the last white President for eight years!
1. Changing demographics…That does not mean liberalism. The biggest change here is Mexican/Latin and they tend to be rather conservative and can be quite patriotic (Mexicans love joining the marines). It is also very Chinese and Korean…and they tend to be VERY conservative and tend to be much more racist than white people, though not as racist as most African-Americans…who by the way Drima…tend to not like Africans.
2. Palin was a freaking awful choice. What the HELL was McCain THINKING…that was the nail in his coffin.
3. Yes…the voters were punishing the Republican party because they have, overall, made a mess out of us…particularly the economy.
4. I certainly agree that the Republican aka Born Again Christian party, better take a good look at themselves. There platform is not that attractive to the average Lunch Bucket Joe.
I liked McCain more than any politician I had been familiar with except maybe the ex-mayor of L.A. Richard Rhirdon. I think he lost himself trying to re-shape his image to “win”…and then he lost. He seems like a decent man.
I don’t know who Barak Obama is. I am with AB…what is this crap about the “first black president” and that dick Jesse Jackson weeping in the audience…Barak is just as white as he is black. I like what Tiger Woods says when people claim him as the greatest black golfer or whatever…but that aside…B.O. (hehe…) is apparently a camillian and certainly has been changing “colors” from his far more radical days…well good for him…he is the president of the USA…not just a few pissed off groups.
I will say this about B.O. He is charismatic, brilliant, astute, calm and cool dude. I do believe he is a man who COULD make some positive changes in the USA and the world…but mark my words…he will be heavily hated and ripped apart by this time next year…and ultimately the fucks like Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Sharpton will soon be calling him “that whiteass Uncle Tom” once they find they can’t get their way with him.
So let’s all cut the emotion…the Messiah has not arrived…we will soon see his faults, weaknesses, confusions and we will also see that in his position, no matter how good and fair you try to be, several BILLION people are going to hate your fucking guts.
Good luck B.O.
By-the-way…with a name like Obama…is he not possibly the first IRISH president since JFK?
“most African-Americans…who by the way Drima…tend to not like Africans.”
Yup, I’ve noticed that the last time I was in the States from peoples’ conversations.
Apparently it has something to do with Africans enjoying affirmative action benefits even though African-Americans were the ones who went through the hardships of slavery.
African-Americans dislike how African immigrants to America are enjoying those benefits when “they don’t deserve them.”
And yes, Palin was a horrendous choice. Completely turned me off, and pushed me further towards Obama’s side.
Drima…
Don’t be so naive…
Chris Rock said it best:
“who is more racist, white people or black people? Well…it is black people and I will tell you why. White people don’t like black people. Black people don’t like white people, but they don’t like black people either”.
But joking aside…if you take the definition of racism as “making assumptions about people’s behavior and values based on their race”…then African Americans are the most racist group of people I have encountered since my youth living in kind of a redneck white trash town.
Howie,
maybe African-Americans only in LA where you live.
Drima…
I don’t go to LA…too many Jewish people…they scare me.
“By-the-way…with a name like Obama…is he not possibly the first IRISH president since JFK?”
See this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/us_elections_2008/7718583.stm
I very much think that the republicans did a bad job (and have for a while) of being innovative and appealing to younger people. The illuminati DID do a good job of that and even though a candidate shouldn’t achieve votes based on being “trendy”, it really helps- or Obama wouldn’t have won
I look at it as having been a referendum on whether Americans are in a 9/10 state of mind or a 9/12 state of mind, as we used to say for several years after the twin towers fell. That is, whether they perceive the world as threatening or benign.
The people have indicated that they now think the outside world lives in a 9/10 state of mind, as Obama is the 9/10 candidate. McCain - and the Republicans and conservative America in general - can conceive of Evil existing in the world, which requires real fighting or else it will really harm you. Liberal America has great difficulty taking the notion of a threat seriously. That’s just part of their state of mind. They are quick with relativistic rationalizations of those with evil intentions toward others. Naivete was our electoral choice.
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