News Obama Reelected: Republicans Feel the Schadenfreude

[SixNein]

I must say that I'm getting some serious Schadenfreude from republicans right now.

So I guess the polls were right after all and not some liberal conspiracy.

 

[mathwonk]

i'll celebrate when it is sure, but i am beginning to relax.

 

[rootX]

I don't know if Obama did really well or Romney just goofed off. Romney had a good chance to win but he just failed to prove how he is going to handle economy.

It was a really big challenge for Obama to win and I think Obama deserves some credit for getting reelected in tough times.

 

[russ_watters]

I don't know if Obama did really well or Romney just goofed off. Romney had a good chance to win but he just failed to prove how he is going to handle economy.

It was a really big challenge for Obama to win and I think Obama deserves some credit for getting reelected in tough times.

I'll give a more complete post-mortem tomorrow, but I think the election was - ironically - much more about Romney (and a Frankenstorm) than Obama. There were a number of big moments where Romney came up short.

 

[Angry Citizen]

I'll give a more complete post-mortem tomorrow, but I think the election was - ironically - much more about Romney (and a Frankenstorm) than Obama. There were a number of big moments where Romney came up short.

Considering y'all's shellacking in the Senate, I'm pretty sure the election was - ironically - much more about Republicans.

 

[mathwonk]

I am watching tv now and all the commentators, including republican apologists, are saying that their party cannot survive if it does not abandon its anti - gay, anti - immigrant, stance. this alone is a tremendous advance for america. i hope the day of intolerance and racism is again losing its grip on our politics.

 

[rootX]

Republicans will come more in the TV if they continue making comments like binders full of women, rape etc. They need to have more intelligent people.

 

[Evo]

I am watching tv now and all the commentators, including republican apologists, are saying that their party cannot survive if it does not abandon its anti - gay, anti - immigrant, stance. this alone is a tremendous advance for america. i hope the day of intolerance and racism is again losing its grip on our politics.

Yes, what I'm hearing is that the Republican party is out of touch with the mainstream, younger generation and changing demographics.

 

[SixNein]

I am watching tv now and all the commentators, including republican apologists, are saying that their party cannot survive if it does not abandon its anti - gay, anti - immigrant, stance. this alone is a tremendous advance for america. i hope the day of intolerance and racism is again losing its grip on our politics.

I'm not sure that's possible for the republican party. If it tried to change, it would lose the south and become irrelevant. And the south isn't about to change any time soon. I think a future problem is going to be political stability in the south.

 

[russ_watters]

I am watching tv now and all the commentators, including republican apologists, are saying that their party cannot survive if it does not abandon its anti - gay, anti - immigrant, stance. this alone is a tremendous advance for america. i hope the day of intolerance and racism is again losing its grip on our politics.

If the commentators are saying that, they're being disingenuous, particularly about immigration. Republicans are not anti-immigration, they are anti-illegal immigration.

 

[russ_watters]

Yes, what I'm hearing is that the Republican party is out of touch with the mainstream, younger generation and changing demographics.

I suppose by definition if you are 1% away from the center you are not in the mainstream, but that's a pretty small margin. Also, yes, the Republican party is the party of old people, definitely. But it isn't like that has changed in decades. What changes is the young people that vote Democrat get older and switch to Republican.

 

[gravenewworld]

Romney was a god awful choice.

 

[chemisttree]

I still think Romney's loss had it's roots in the "Stupidest Statement by a Presidential Candidate, Ever".

 

[SixNein]

I still think Romney's loss had it's roots in the "Stupidest Statement by a Presidential Candidate, Ever".

I think the auto bailout won the election.

 

[mathwonk]

actually young southerners are much less racist than us oldsters, or maybe it is just the ones in my neighborhood.

 

[Chronos]

The republicans possibly put up the most inept challenger available in an election that was theirs to lose. Obama was perceived as the lesser of evils, not the great hope for the future. I'd have loved to seen a sincere and pragmatic fiscal conservative as an option, but, americans have an ingrained and historic ability to ignore reality. Assuming we recognize the EU template is not the road to prosperity, politics may change for the better after another 4 years of the less than thinly disguised path toward socialism.

 

[CAC1001]

I wonder how much Hurricane Sandy affected the election. Obama benefited a lot by having that very blunt Republican, Chris Christie, praise him big-time.

 

[Evo]

I wonder how much Hurricane Sandy affected the election. Obama benefited a lot by having that very blunt Republican, Chris Christie, praise him big-time.

Not much, if at all. This is from analysts saying it had little, if any, effect, and being in the midwest, Sandy was a non-event for us. Probably the same for most of the US.

People here don't know who Christie is and the storm was "whatever", we deal with tornadoes and horrendous weather systems every year. People near me are still dealing with the Joplin tornado, 160 dead in just one part of town. The Alabama tornadoes, 350 dead.

 

[Angry Citizen]

So Obama just gave.. a good speech. I think that was the best speech he's ever given.

 

[ParticleGrl]

I wonder how much Hurricane Sandy affected the election. Obama benefited a lot by having that very blunt Republican, Chris Christie, praise him big-time.

According to the poll aggregators like Nate Silver, not very much. The polls correctly predicted every state race, so its probably safe to say they were a decent representation of public opinion.

 

[CAC1001]

Not much, if at all. This is from analysts saying it had little, if any, effect, and being in the midwest, Sandy was a non-event for us. Probably the same for most of the US.

People here don't know who Christie is and the storm was "whatever", we deal with tornadoes and horrendous weather systems every year. People near me are still dealing with the Joplin tornado, 160 dead in just one part of town. The Alabama tornadoes, 350 dead.

According to the poll aggregators like Nate Silver, not very much. The polls correctly predicted every state race, so its probably safe to say they were a decent representation of public opinion.

I see, good to know. One other thing I was wondering is if there is a population of people who in healthy economic times would have voted for Romney, but due to the lack of employment opportunities, and considering how Romney was talking about cutting this and that, were fearful that they might lose their homes and so forth if Romney was elected, and thus voted for Obama.

 

[WannabeNewton]

Congratulations to President Obama! So happy he won!

 

[Angry Citizen]

I see, good to know. One other thing I was wondering is if there is a population of people who in healthy economic times would have voted for Romney, but due to the lack of employment opportunities, and considering how Romney was talking about cutting this and that, were fearful that they might lose their homes and so forth if Romney was elected, and thus voted for Obama.

I'm more curious whether Republicans will accept that this was a referendum against their ideology, and has nothing to do with hurricanes (which, if anything, would suppress the vote), bailouts (which affected only one swing state, which was not necessary in the Obama machine), or the job security of voters.

 

[CAC1001]

I'm more curious whether Republicans will accept that this was a referendum against their ideology, and has nothing to do with hurricanes (which, if anything, would suppress the vote), bailouts (which affected only one swing state, which was not necessary in the Obama machine), or the job security of voters.

I doubt it was a referendum against Republican ideology any more than the 2010 Congressional elections were a rejection of Democratic party ideology.

 

[chemisttree]

I keep hearing Ann Coulter's prediction from 2 years ago in my head... "If we don't run Chris Christie, Romney will be the nominee and we'll lose. And, by the way, I warned you about McCain. Lone voice in the woods..."
http://www.therightscoop.com/coulter-run-chris-christie-or-well-lose-in-2012/

 

[Pythagorean]

So what's his first move going to be? What's he working on tomorrow morning?

 

[Pythagorean]

Well this is disconcerting!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/president/2012-11-07

 

[Ben Niehoff]

So what's his first move going to be? What's he working on tomorrow morning?

You realize that the new term doesn't start until Jan 20? His "first move" will be an inauguration ceremony on Jan 21.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Sandy? That mostly hit NY and NJ that were already in Obama's pocket anyway. No, the cause lies elsewhere. I blame PF and its growing influence in politics and world affairs.

 

[Gokul43201]

The republicans possibly put up the most inept challenger available in an election that was theirs to lose.

Most inept? You think Bachmann, Santorum, Trump, and Cain were more viable options?

 

[BobG]

I doubt it was a referendum against Republican ideology any more than the 2010 Congressional elections were a rejection of Democratic party ideology.

The Romney campaign was a referendum against Republican ideology. Romney started to close the gap after the first debate and it's easy to say the performance of the two candidates were the reason, but the first debate was when Romney tossed the right-wingers under the bus and started playing the moderate Republican.

Some can say it was cynical to change ideologies in the middle of the campaign, but it did give him a fighting chance towards the end.

I'm surprised all three - Colorado, Virginia, and Florida - broke for Obama, but those states were still essentially 50/50 states that could have broken either way. And he at least kept Ohio somewhat in doubt. Romney didn't come up all that short compared to where he was before the conventions.

 

[Jack21222]

I'm surprised all three - Colorado, Virginia, and Florida - broke for Obama, but those states were still essentially 50/50 states that could have broken either way. And he at least kept Ohio somewhat in doubt. Romney didn't come up all that short compared to where he was before the conventions.

Nate Silver says Colorado and Virginia were not 50/50 states, but were 80/20 states. And Ohio was 90/10 for Obama in his simulations.

 

[BobG]

If the commentators are saying that, they're being disingenuous, particularly about immigration. Republicans are not anti-immigration, they are anti-illegal immigration.

The children of today's illegal immigrants are tomorrow's legal US citizens.

I don't know how many legal US citizens are 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation descendants of illegal immigrants, and that doesn't even mean they'd be sympathetic towards illegal immigrants today. People are selfish. Once here, they belong here, and they become more interested in protecting what they have than sharing it with people that come later, so you do have a point. But I'd guess there's still more sympathy for illegal immigrants among the latino population than other groups.

More importantly, the rhetoric creates an atmosphere where having a hispanic name makes a person feel like a target whenever they walk down the street. The subtleties of "illegal immigrant" vs "person of Mexican descent" gets lost. In fact, it creates a feeling that an increase in the latino population is the main reason for the rhetoric about illegal immigration.

 

[russ_watters]

I do agree that Democrats have been successful at selling that rhetoric - with, apparently, help from certain commentators.

 

[Angry Citizen]

I doubt it was a referendum against Republican ideology any more than the 2010 Congressional elections were a rejection of Democratic party ideology.

It was, actually - a rejection of the health care law. And in this awful political environment, we not only reelected the President by a landslide, we had a net gain of at least one, perhaps two seats in the Senate. Would've been three if Shelly Berkeley had been a competent candidate. Point being, this was your election to lose, and you lost it. If it were just Romney's fault, you wouldn't have lost the races in the Senate that were absolutely yours to win. I mean seriously - Heidi Heitkamp, who was polling 4% under Berg, is the new Senator from North Dakota. That should tell you something.

 

[turbo]

Obama's hand is strengthened by the election of Angus King to replace Olympia Snowe in the senate. King is a centrist, who will most likely caucus with the Dems. Obama has to deal with a right-wing supreme court, and a right-wing house, but things could have been much worse for him.

 

[Jack21222]

I find it interesting that Mitt Romney had not prepared a concession speech beforehand, and had to write one (or have one written) after it became clear he had lost. Was he really that arrogant that he refused to entertain any possibility that he'd lose?

 

[dlgoff]

Was he really that arrogant ...

No. IMO, that clueless.

 

[russ_watters]

It was, actually - a rejection of the health care law. And in this awful political environment, we not only reelected the President by a landslide, we had a net gain of at least one, perhaps two seats in the Senate. Would've been three if Shelly Berkeley had been a competent candidate. Point being, this was your election to lose, and you lost it. If it were just Romney's fault, you wouldn't have lost the races in the Senate that were absolutely yours to win. I mean seriously - Heidi Heitkamp, who was polling 4% under Berg, is the new Senator from North Dakota. That should tell you something.

What is your definition of "landslide"? Have any prominent/mainstream commentators used that word here?

 

[Angry Citizen]

Obama's hand is strengthened by the election of Angus King to replace Olympia Snowe in the senate. King is a centrist, who will most likely caucus with the Dems. Obama has to deal with a right-wing supreme court, and a right-wing house, but things could have been much worse for him.

By all accounts, the current landscape in the House is 235/200, +/- 2. Expect the House to become much less partisan, methinks. All it takes is 18 in such a House to put the Democrats into "minority-majority" status.

 

[Angry Citizen]

What is your definition of "landslide"? Have any prominent/mainstream commentators used that word here?

My definition of landslide is losing only two states from the 2008 landslide, one of which was by less than two points.

 

[Jack21222]

What is your definition of "landslide"? Have any prominent/mainstream commentators used that word here?

I'm a prominent commentator on this forum, and I'd say winning by 130 electoral votes is a landslide.

What's your definition of prominent?

 

[russ_watters]

I'm a prominent commentator on this forum, and I'd say winning by 130 electoral votes is a landslide.

What's your definition of prominent?

By "here", I meant in this case, not on PF.

 

[russ_watters]

My definition of landslide is losing only two states from the 2008 landslide, one of which was by less than two points.

So... None, then?

 

[arildno]

Landslide??
Try Johnson '64, Nixon '72, Reagan 80+84 to use THAT word...

 

[Angry Citizen]

So... None, then?

As far as I'm aware, no source is required to use a nonscientific term like "landslide". Clearly, in this landscape, winning nearly every single swing state and beating your opponent by over 100 electoral votes is, indeed, a landslide by any reasonable use of the term. But still, I would cite your desired source, but I've read only two articles so far this morning. I'll keep an eye out to see whether my "claim" is "justified" by the pundit brigade.

I'm sorry your candidate lost, and that it wasn't even close, but you should really avoid disagreeing just for the sake of disagreeing.

 

[Jack21222]

By "here", I meant in this case, not on PF.

I know, the comment was somewhat tongue-in-cheek. I don't particularly care what people you consider "prominent" call the election. This was not a close election. The final score appears to be 332-206. You can call it a "strong win" for Obama if you'd like. A "decisive victory." To me, those are synonymous to "landslide."

 

[arildno]

I know, the comment was somewhat tongue-in-cheek. I don't particularly care what people you consider "prominent" call the election. This was not a close election. The final score appears to be 332-206. You can call it a "strong win" for Obama if you'd like. A "decisive victory." To me, those are synonymous to "landslide."

Well, Nate Silver's formulation "not a big win, but a broad one" seems more apt.
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/live-blog-the-2012-presidential-election/

He has a very intelligent definition of "landslide", namely that it refers to the popular vote, and you need a double digit margin in the popular vote in order to speak about "landslides".

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

One area where liberal and conservative fair-weather friends agree on is Canada. It's the number one destination to threaten us with their moving to.
Yahoo News
I'd help pack their bags, but you and I both know they aren't going anywhere. "What, give up all the benefits I take advantage of here? Never!" I think the reason people say they're leaving is in order to convince other, more honest, people to do it. I'm disappointed that Romney lost, but I'll be staying in the US just the same.

 

[Angry Citizen]

One area where liberal and conservative fair-weather friends agree on is Canada. It's the number one destination to threaten us with their moving to.
Yahoo News
I'd help pack their bags, but you and I both know they aren't going anywhere. "What, give up all the benefits I take advantage of here? Never!" I think the reason people say they're leaving is in order to convince other, more honest, people to do it. I'm disappointed that Romney lost, but I'll be staying in the US just the same.

The conservatives are threatening to escape US liberalism by moving to a country with socialized medicine. Smart.