Posted By:
Jim VBI'm going to try, very hard, to discuss your post without calling you a bigot.
You said: "...it is becoming harder and harder for Republicans to win giving changing demographics of the country. McCain carries white vote by 12% and still loses handily."
So what? As votes were being counted, there were no "white" votes or "black" ones. They were all American votes (and "real Americans" at that.) If the ideology of the GOP is out of step with what the electorate wants, they will continue to lose, handily. I don't think that will be the case. As a life-long Republican, I believe that they will adjust their views and their candidates to that of the voters. Right now, "mainstream Republicans" aren't mainstream.
In almost every national election, 45% of the people vote Republican every time. Another 45% vote Democratic. The whole fight is over the middle 10%. It's as simple as that. Those on both extremes (e.g.- the extreme part of the religious right, or the "socialist" wing of Democrats) will always be unhappy with every outcome, BECAUSE THEIR THINKING IS EXTREME!
You said: "What it all means is higher government spending, higher taxes, a decline for free enterprise and a moral decline for America."
For the last 8 years we have had all of those things except the higher taxes. We have the highest government spending ever. We have our government with their hands in the financial services industry, banking, real estate and mortgages, the auto industry, and the airlines are waiting in the wings. Why weren't you complaining then? Our tax system will revert to what it was under that great "socialist", Ronald Reagan. If we can get the government to stop spending/wasting money on stupid things (see- Iraq), then I'm all for lower taxes too. I agree that hopefully, the GOP minority can clog up the pipeline of government spending for a while, but I've been hoping that for years and am still waiting.
The stock market didn't "react" to his anticipated win with a downward move , the slide ensured his election. Your talk about a march to socialism is silly. Where did you draw that line? 36% income tax is OK, but 39% is socialism?
We've talked the gay marriage thing to death in this thread, so all I will say is that is a discussion that doesn't belong in the field of national politics (nor does abortion.) These are religious, moral, or ethical issues. These things should be addressed by our churches, and mostly by parents, not by some guys in Washington, DC.
Lastly, your stance on Palin continues to shock me. Everything you have ever written on this board shows you to be a pretty intelligent guy. Yet you espouse support for this, clearly, unprepared candidate. She couldn't name the countries in NAFTA (McCain's own aides said she couldn't name the major countries in North America.) She thought Africa was a country, not a continent. She thought South Africa was just the southern part of the country of Africa. This isn't coming from the dreaded "left-wing media." This is coming from the McCain campaign, through FOX.
I'm not sure any Republican could have won this election. McCain might have been the closest. Such was the damage that GWB did to the party. But had he nominated Ridge, or Romney, it would have been a fight right to the end. Instead he selected Palin, which pandered to the extreme right. Why? Was he afraid he would lose their votes? They were never going to vote for Obama. This pick guaranteed him a loss.