Category Archives: US Election 2012

Obama’s Second Inauguration: A Great Time To Not Be Republican

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On a brisk Monday in our nation’s governmental node, a vast crowd of people gathered on the damp mall, waving flags and cheering the second inauguration of President Barack Obama. After an extremely hard-fought, expensive, and divisive campaign, the result was finally made official as President Obama swore the oath of office. Considering his level of success on advancing social causes like healthcare and equal rights, the nation can look forward to four more years of expert stewardship. There has never been a better time to root for the left. 

president obama sworn in for second term

Hope is back

While the tone was much more subdued than the fervor that surrounded his first inauguration, Obama did not disappoint. For the first time in history in an inaugural speech, the President mentioned gay rights, and likened their path to that of other civil rights movements. He heavily pushed the cause of collective good. And, most importantly, he affronted the conservatives.

Baffled at their own demise, Republicans have been grasping at anything that even resembles an opportunity to make it seem like they are still doing anything at a national level. Obama’s speech rebuked the conservatives and particularly the puddle of the agitated far right from where the likes of Paul Ryan spawn. John McCain hypocritically whined that Obama didn’t talk enough about working together. However, no one in the nation believed the Senator, because no one heard him.

TO THE LEFT

The noise of the right was drowned out by the hopes of the left. Obama, who stayed too far to the center for the preferences of many a liberal, might buck the trend of past Presidents going into their second terms. History states that a President tends to gravitate towards the center the second time a nation elects him. With the Senate set (today) to vote on changing the rules of the filibuster, Obama might take the opportunity to move to the left instead and push through reforms on gun control and immigration.

If he succeeds at pushing through major legislation on these points (which seems probable considering the attention some in the Republican rank are getting by promoting reform), by the end of his second term and eight years in office he will have reformed healthcare, gun control, and immigration. But perhaps the most exciting part of his inaugural speech was his frank mention of climate change, and what the US must do to counteract it. This was a breath of fresh air (pun intended). It could mark the beginning of a substantial national shift in energy policy towards renewables for which many have been waiting decades.

Whatever your viewpoint, it is clear that despite the contrary claims, hope is alive and well.

Math Republicans Do To Make Themselves Feel Better

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Reality, we have seen — time and time again — does not include everyone. Throughout the entire election campaign, we have argued that Republican visions for America were not in line with what the nation was actually facing. All of the Republican heads were wrong leading up to Tuesday’s election. The race wasn’t even close, Obama cruised to a decisive victory. How could they all have got it so wrong, when Nate Silver predicted everything with perfect accuracy?

math republicans do to make themselves feel better

It’s not just Tuesday, you have been wrong for a long, long time

On Tuesday night, we got confirmation that what Republicans try to make themselves believe, and what is really happening in America are in fact two different things, solely because the reality of America depresses some Republicans. When the belief came face to face with reality, it exploded.

Karl Rove, one of the top Republican operates, was on Fox when the media called Ohio for Obama. It was the finishing move of the campaign, the beheading and de-intestining of Romney’s bid, and Rove couldn’t accept it. He doubted the claims, tried to bring in false information until he was called out by one of the anchors, who asked Rove pointedly, “is this just math republicans do to make themselves feel better?”

Jon Stewart sums it up better than we ever could on the Daily Show from November 7th. Watch the whole episode to hear from Nate Silver, who might’ve just completely changed the way that elections work:

 

Legitimately Finished: Republican Candidates Can’t Escape Rape Comments

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The victory of Barack Obama yesterday was the result of nearly sweeping the crucial battleground states. But in the various Senate races up for grabs across the country, where Republicans were hopeful that they might be able to wrest control of the senate from the Democrats for the coming term, the party of the people showed up in a big way, handing some major upsets to the GOP and retaining power over the Senate for the next two years at least. Of those who failed to reach their goals; two men who had made it clear that they were not fit to create policy.

legitimate rape comments cost akin senate seat

Down and out

In Missouri, disgraced politician Todd Akin, whose comments about female biology during instances of “legitimate rape” made him a target for equality advocates across the nation, had already been cut off from the Republican party. Even former candidate (how good does it feel to say that!) Mitt Romney spoke to him amidst the controversy asking him to drop out of the race. The former presidential candidate was keenly aware of the War on Women and the negative view of the GOP held by anyone in the USA with a vagina, and everyone else in the USA who cares about them. Romney and Republican party officials wanted Akin out to calm nerves and maneuver in a candidate who might have had a chance at winning.

Headstrong, Akin decided to stay in, polls had him remaining competitive. But his support evaporated, and the opposition materialized. He was successfully kept out of the Senate and most likely will never surface again in politics. Good riddance.

Akin was not the only man to reveal that he has no idea how female (or human) biology works while at the same time trying make the case to enact laws to control reproductive rights. Richard Mourdock, the former treasurer of the state of Indiana, got into trouble when he made comments about pregnancy resulting from rape being the will of God. While his blatant ignorance and disregard of reality was on display for the entirety of his campaign, it was this that pushed him over the edge and eroded the incredible amount of support he was able to amass during his beginning of his campaign.

will of god rape comments cost mourdock senate race

There’s no room for you here either

Mourdock was a Tea Party favorite, whose anti-Washington, anti-government, and anti-tax message caused him to defeat Republican Senator Dick Lugar — who served 36 years in the Senate — by over 20 percentage points during the Republican primaries. He looked like a shoe-in for victory in a Republican state with a popular Republican governor (Mitch Daniels). He fell to Democrat Joe Donnelly, whose biggest asset was simply that he wasn’t a religious radical who wanted to control women while understanding nothing about reality.

The fall of the Tea Party darlings is probably the nail in the coffin for the radical right wing group that has cannibalized the Republican party. Their hypocritical, sexist, and entirely ignorant beliefs are becoming increasingly marginalized, and thanks to the velocity that news can morph and travel on the internet, it is impossible to escape any questionable comments. Society is too modern for these time-traveling chauvinists.

To dismiss these comments from both men as simply “errors” of speech would be to classify them like Mitt Romney’s “Binders full of women” comment. Romney’s comment caught fire because of the potential comical images that come to mind immediately. Akin and Mourdock actually believe what they said. They actually believe that access to contraceptives, abortion, and family planning are against the will of God. They fail to accept that as a progressive society we need a standard of health that is identical between men and women, and that this standard must be based on science and common morality, not the Bible. They represent an older, radical demographic that is quickly shrinking into irrelevancy. Hopefully the results from yesterday mean that at least two more men are out of the game for good.

Barack Obama Wins: Victory Speech [VIDEO]

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President Barack Obama has won the 2012 election. Reelected comfortably for four more years, the election was over quickly, avoiding the horrible nightmares of provisional ballots, lawsuits, and recounts. When the dust settled, Obama cruised to victory in the majority of the battleground states, including the bell weather state Ohio.

barack obama michelle obama

Hope.

Elation abounds across the nation. Everywhere, those who voted for Obama are excited to see the man who reformed health care, took our nation out of a decade of war, opened up society for everyone, advanced the cause of all groups, and most importantly earned the trust of the nation that when a difficult decision needs to be made, he is the one to do it, can continue America’s crusade towards the future. We deserve it.

But the single biggest reason to be proud of America today is that even when corporations and special interests are able to do and say whatever they want — to drown the voices of actual citizens, to compromise equality, fairness, and our physical safety, to yield disproportionate influence over those who make policy — when it comes to the polls, we each get one vote. And we all voted. We voted to say that as a society we are equals as humans. We broke the teeth of the rich donors and businesses who wanted to profit at the expense of our nation, not for our nation as they so claimed.

And it is reckoning time for the Republican Party, whose fracturing divisions and increasingly marginalized positions will mean that if it remains unchanged, it will rapidly lose influence. They must accept that the majority of Americans want a better place to live, not a place that removes obstacles for some people to succeed, while leaving everyone else outside the gate. They must accept that religious influence to the point of clouding reality has no place in real political debate. They must accept that compromise is the only way forward.

As Obama says in his acceptance speech, we are hopeful. Sing it, Mr. President:

Battleground States: Poll Closing Times

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The election mechanism is in full swing as voters across the country proudly (or grudgingly) perform their constitutional duty. There have been reports of finicky computers miscounting votes, of less-than-adequate voting officials, and of exceptionally long lines and confusion over where one’s polling place is, especially in the aftermath of Sandy. But despite the negative reports, the nation is getting it done. It might not be pretty, but it’s democracy. 

As the nation (and to an extent, the world) waits for the results, let’s take a moment to outline when the polls in the battleground states close, and when we can start to look forward to seeing some of the early results come in:

  • Colorado: Polls close at 7:00 PM Mountain Time, or 9:00 PM Eastern Time
  • Florida: The most delegates at stake: Polls close at 7:00 PM Eastern Time
  • Iowa: Polls close at 9:00 PM Central Time, or 10:00 PM Eastern Time
  • Nevada: Polls close at 7:00 PM Pacific Time, or 10:00 PM Eastern Time
  • New Hampshire: Polls close at 8:00 PM Eastern Time
  • North Carolina: Polls close at 7:30 PM Eastern Time
  • Ohio: The second biggest prize: Polls close at 7:30 PM Eastern Time
  • Virginia: Polls close at 7:00 PM Eastern Time
  • Wisconsin: Polls close at 8:00 PM Central Time, or 9:00 PM Eastern Time

Of course, if the final numbers are too close to call, the results of the election might not be clear until days or weeks. But at least by the end of the night, we will have a much better idea, if not a victory speech on our hands.

American Voter Trends, The Past 20 Years [INFOGRAPHIC]

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On Election Day, when everyone is urging one another to make it to the polls, we thought it would be interesting to take a quick look at the past twenty years and how the overall population has voted with this simple infographic:

The percentage of eligible voters who actually vote has improved slightly each year for the past three elections. Will the trend continue today? Or will fewer voters actually get their votes counted?

And if you want a state-by-state breakdown of each election for the past 40 years, check out this cool timeline and interactive map from Archives.gov!

3 Ways Republicans Try To Steal The Election

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Voters hit the polls today to elect the next crop of legislatures, and of course, the President of the United States. Even though the American democratic standard is revered around the globe, there are still sinister forces at work. Republicans know that it is more difficult tonight for Romney to win than Obama. So they are going to use all of the tools at their disposal, even when those tools are immoral and illegal.

There are three primary ways that Republicans have already, will today and will in the coming days attempt to manipulate the outcome of the election:

  • Voter ID laws were the first attempt at suppressing the Democratic vote, and its history goes back a few years. Republican officials enacted rules requiring voters to present valid photo ID, something that not everyone has, disproportionately those who vote Democrat. The Republican politicians tried to apply these laws selectively, to areas that go blue in elections. Courts saw right through this and a number of rulings deemed these laws unconstitutional.
  • Today, people posing as election assistants or officials will try to spread misinformation at polling places, in an illegal attempt at tricking voters out of their right. It’s truly depressing to think that people would resort to this, but again, when viewed against the Republican platform, it is not uncharacteristic: control others who disagree with us, make decisions for them. If you see anyone suspicious call the police immediately. If enough of these people can get caught, it could lead to better voting conditions in the future.
  • And then, there is of course the favorite: legal challenges to vote counting. It worked for W Bush in 2000, and will certainly come up if the race is close. There are too many angles to count that Republicans will try to exploit, like the window that an early vote ballot was kept in a certain place, or doublechecking the voter registration numbers. Anyway possible to exclude votes from the Democrats.

Democrats have not used any of these tactics. What does that say about Republicans? Keep vigilant at the polls today, and make sure that everyone who goes to vote can.

Election Day: Facing The Ballot

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The darkness of night will soon crack over the United States on the first Tuesday in November. Giving way to the light of dawn, millions will head to the polling stations. Some will be proud of their country, of their right to vote. Others will be angry that the nation is so divided, and that their vote is not how they truly feel. And some will look at a ballot blankly, not sure who to select. There is a danger to this. 

election day 2012

Yes, but do you know for whom?

Everywhere in America today people will be wearing “I Voted” stickers, proudly adorning their jackets and sweaters. Efforts have already begun to remind people of the importance of voting. Make no doubt, it is crucial, but it is not crucial that everyone vote. There are many people in the United States whose level of knowledge regarding government is so inadequate that they might actually vote for the wrong person. People who watch Fox, for example, who have been brainwashed into thinking we are an entitlement society, might vote for Romney, even when they depend on those very same social programs that Romney wants to cut. On a geo-political international level, there are even fewer people who can make an informed decision as to which man would be better at steering America through the complexities of international relations. Throw in the rash of negative attack ads broadcasted for the past six months and you have swirling misinformation left and right.

However much the average citizen might be expected to understand about each of the presidential candidates, as the pen drops further down the ballot, it moves into elections for post like Trustees for the local community college. It is guaranteed that almost no one outside of the direct circles of the candidates knows about what’s at stake in those elections. The ballots don’t provide us with any information other than name and party affiliation. This is unfair. On a hyper local level, party affiliation is not the same thing as the national stage. There are certainly some similarities, but the range of Democrats and Republicans increases at a local level. There could be a Republican who wants lower taxes but would never do anything to suppress gay people, women, minorities, or the disabled. There could also be a Democrat who wants lower taxes and less government regulation, but agrees that equal rights are more important right now than the percentage of profit margins. The point is, not knowing anything about the candidates for smaller elections means that a voter is much more likely to vote for the wrong candidate.

The voter then has three options, vote for the party and select all Democrat or all Republican; not vote for elections that the voter knows nothing about; or rely on a different system to select the candidates, for example, voting only for female candidates. Some might say that there is no difference between voting for candidates randomly or by another measure, but we disagree. Women are so underrepresented in politics and elections that simply getting more of them into office would be a step in the right direction, whether they are Republican or Democrat. But if you’re not sure, leave it blank, these candidates have worked hard to be elected, and it is unfair that their fates are in the hands of the average voter.

Tomorrow, The Election

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Tomorrow the United States of America votes. At stake, the control of the most influential country in the world, and the application of a vision of how America the country should operate itself. One candidate has the possibility to continue the progress that has been made over the course of our history to keep our nation great. The other has the ability to take us back into that history, as if the past 50 years never happened. We cannot let ourselves make the wrong choice.

Political theory is abstract, disconnected from time. Political reality is linear, each year building upon the one that came directly before it. Republicans today fail to realize that energy spent fighting time is wasted, squandered on a directive with an impossible end. The only thing that we can do, that we can or will ever be able to do, is control what we do today. The past is gone, the future is our responsibility. What we do today is our character.

Millions of Americans will vote tomorrow, in an exercise of the greatest right that society has ever created. Around the world people sacrifice their lives everyday to get anywhere close to where democracy for America is today. We take it for granted, we often feel disenfranchised, that the mechanism is too big for our little arms, our singular voice.

But there is nothing without a vote. There is no progression, there is no adaptation, there is no collective voice that is not started by one, and amplified by many. The vote is not merely a bit of ink and stock paper. It is a decision, one that we make for ourselves, which determines the leader of our collective wills.

The Possible Paths To Victory

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The Electoral College is a funny thing, and thanks to the format of the American election apparatus, Tuesday’s vote comes down to nine battleground states. How these states end up voting might not align with the numbers of the popular vote. But the winner of a few key states will win the election. The states are: Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado, New Hampshire, and Nevada.

Far more money has been spent on campaign advertising in these states. In fact, there are some areas of the country that were nearly spared from the onslaught of negative attack ads that flooded these states. Some experts have even said that the election comes down to a handful of counties, which could go either way and carry an entire state. When the political landscape is as divided as it is today, this is no surprise.

Thankfully, The New York Times has created an interactive graphic of the possible outcomes of each battleground state and the effect that winning combinations of states has on the overall election. In the grandest terms, Obama has many more paths to victory than Romney, who needs to muster wins in the big states, Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida, to stand a chance.

It is truly coming down to the wire. Less than 48 hours to go until Election Day.