Sorry to dampen the celebrations but what have Americans learned from Tuesday’s elections?
Oh yeah, Barack Obama “won” and the comedians will now be deprived of Mitt Romney. Plus, David Letterman can now tell Romney, “I told you so,” chalking up Mittens’ loss to refusing to appear on the Late Show.
If a plurality of American voters were so fed up with Big Money trying to buy the elections, the congressional Republicans’ obstructionism and the Tea Partiers’ right-wing madness, how come Republicans are still a majority in the US House of Representatives and more Democrats weren’t elected to the US Senate to give them 60 seats in order to break the Republicans’ roadblocks in that chamber?
Moreover, why were John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan (who was running for both vice president and his House seat) and Michele Bachmann reelected if Americans were so angry about their antics?
Yours truly watched the election returns on MSNBC and to hear the pundits there, after Obama was declared the winner, the Republicans are finished as a credible party if they fail to change their ways. Even the Washington Post went along with that one (Republicans face murky political future in increasingly diverse U.S.): “Republican leaders awoke Wednesday to witness their grim future. Without a makeover, a party that skews toward older, white and male voters faces political peril in an increasingly diverse and complex America.”
That message didn’t get through to the likes of Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). According to the WP, Rubio, “a Cuban American Republican viewed as a potential presidential candidate in 2016, declared after Obama’s victory that Republicans ‘need to work harder than ever to communicate our beliefs’ to minorities and immigrant communities.” Work harder to cram more “free market” and right-wing nonsense down people’s throats?
Nor did it get through to the Tea Partiers who have declared they have just begun to fight. And their guru, the ridiculous Donald Trump, tweeted, “This election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!” and “More votes equals a loss . . . revolution!” The only thing the Donald is correct about is that we are not truly a democracy, but that is another issue.
And while the MSNBC pundits heaped praise on Obama for his accomplishments, not a word was mentioned of drones, kill lists, the loss of freedoms thanks to the USAPATRIOT Act, the NDAA and the TSA, among others.
The worst, though, was the MSNBC pundits’ trumpeting that despite the efforts of Karl Rove (interestingly the Koch brothers weren’t mentioned), Big Money (of which Obama also received a large share, but that wasn’t mentioned), voter suppression and intimidation, the Romneys owning vote tabulation equipment, it proves there is no election theft by the people behind the curtain. They even went so far as to deny the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections were stolen for George W. Bush. See, it’s all conspiracy garbage as NBC’s Chuck Todd declared. Nothing needs fixing (pun unintended), move along.
Yes, it is possible that the powerful people behind the curtain kept their hands off this election—despite Wall Street taking a dive yesterday—however, that does not fix the problem of easily rigged e-voting equipment. Plus, it leaves those Americans who voted for Obama reveling in a victory they may or may not have achieved. We’ll never know.
Now let’s see what their heroes of the night do: Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Baldwin, Angus King and Tammy Duckworth.
The truest thing that came out of Chris Matthews’ mouth was that it is time for Obama to tell the congressional obstructionists to either get on board with programs to help the people or get out of the way, not continue to play the insane bipartisan game hoping for compromises that are dreadful. But from Obama’s victory speech about reaching out to the Republicans, he hasn’t learned you can’t appease or compromise with mad dogs.
Regarding ballot initiatives, the good news is that Maryland and Maine voters legalized same-sex marriage; Colorado and Washington state legalized recreational marijuana; Florida voters rejected the worst of the 10 constitutional amendments stuck on the ballot by the legislature and backed by Governor Rick Scott; the bad news is that California voters defeated propositions requiring GMO food labeling and abolishing the death penalty.
Bev Conover is the editor and publisher of Intrepid Report. Email her at editor@intrepidreport.com.
One might add to the sparse “good news” of this election that Montana and Colorado passed measures against the Citizens United decision. So far, eleven states have passed such measures, including California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Bev, Thank you for your always insightful, truth filled, and to the point view at our political climate.
In my own mind, this morning I’d made an assessment about Obama and his acceptance speech. An assessment which I put down on paper, then mailed to a friend: a staunch Obama supporter, and then went on to put it on my FB home page.
I am pasting it here … but first before I do that, I have to say, there is no more idiotic, less insightfully gifted, or what some of us Cubans and Cubans/Americans call a true SOB than Jeb Bush’s pretty boy: Marco Rubio.
So with that, here are the thoughts that were/are in my mind regarding Obama’s acceptance speech.
“”This part of Obama’s speech is disturbing to me:
1)“ In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.”
IT SO SEEMS TO CONTRADICT THIS OTHER PART OF HIS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH.
2) “But despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America’s future. We want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers.
A country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation, with all the good jobs and new businesses that follow. We want our children to live in an America that isn’t burdened by debt, that isn’t weakened by inequality, that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. We want to pass on a country that’s safe and respected and admired around the world, a nation that is defended by the strongest military on earth and the best troops this — this world has ever known. But also a country that moves with confidence beyond this time of war, to shape a peace that is built on the promise of freedom and dignity for every human being. We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America, in a tolerant America, open to the dreams of an immigrant’s daughter who studies in our schools and pledges to our flag. the young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner. To the furniture worker’s child in North Carolina who wants to become a doctor or a scientist, an engineer or an entrepreneur, a diplomat or even a president — that’s the future we hope for. That’s the vision we share. That’s where we need to go — forward. That’s where we need to go.”
Making me and many others thing: Obama finally got the message. Finally he is focusing on we the people … only to hear him say:
In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.
Only to have my heart sink when it registered the reality of his “sitting down with Romney to see how THEY can move this country forward.! WHAT In a THE HILL BEANS DOES OBAMA HAVE TO TALK TO ROMNEY ABOUT HOW THEY CAN WORK TOGETHER TO MOVE THIS COUNTRY FORWARD …What in the h*ll does he have to talk to Romney for?. Romney got shoved out of power. People did not want him ( perhaps the 1% did) while the rest of the people, the 99% and the “47%” did not …
When Obama said he would sit down with Romney and those words sank intomy heart, my very own heart, filled with tears, said to itself: OBAMA HAS SHOWN HIS TRUE COLORS AGAIN … EVEN BEFORE THE LIES ON ACCEPTANCE SPEECH GOT A CHANCE TO LEAVE AN IMPRINT, HIS LYING SOUL MANAGED TO PROCLAIM HIS TRUE COLORS–and with that I further, Obama is a man who does not like to accept responsiblity and is always looking for a skirt, or a pair of pants to hide his lazy, irresponsible self.
However, in the end, on November 6th, and after a great debate with my own self, about whether I wanted to vote, not, about whether I wanted to voted for Jill Stein or for Obama if I had a sliver of hope that he would not cut medicare or turn it into a voucher program, I with my ileostomy bag which leaks anytime it wants to, I stood in line at the voting precinct for 45 minutes to ultimately vote for Obama and the entire democratic (except for the Republican Sheriff Al Lamberti who I did vote for–only to have the dirty tricks and revenge politics of Lamberti’s political enemies and of his democratic opponent run Lamberti right out of office. It seems to me not a good way to start a top cop career–but anyhow, I am digressig a bit.
Anyhow., I, in the hopes that he won’t turn medicare to a voucher system, cut social security funds, bring back public affordable education through taxing the rich and wealthy, and on .. I, for a magic moment,when I listened to his acceptance speech, thought, HE GOT THE MESSAGE… it sounds like he is going to start taxing the rich, filling social programs that need to be filled with collected money from their taxes .. replenish the social security and medicare funds. Bring back affordable education, bring back jobs, federal and otherwise. Close loopholes for corporations stealing our money. Zero privatization of any federal or state services down the road … and etc, etc.
(That is until his: In the weeks ahead I look forward to talk to Romney about where we can move the country forward, struck a reality chord in my mind and heart.
I am now left with,WHAT THE HELL IS HE THINKING. HIS TRUE COLORS CAME OUT WITH THE STATEMENT.
Duped one more time by Obama, even before his acceptance speech got a chance to dry its kink on paper and otherwise.