6 posts tagged “election”
I've put off writing my obligatory election post, because I simply lack the eloquence to do it justice. All I can say is what everybody has been saying, that I'm proud of my country. Yes, because we elected a bi-racial president, but mainly because we elected a smart person!
I admit I was worried. I know some very conservative people, and I heard the socialist-Muslim-antichrist line more than once. I heard expressions of veiled racism and overt xenophobia. I heard contempt for intellectuals, including a withering statement against Ivy League schools. I started thinking that the fear and anger I heard every day was the "real America." Apparently not. Maybe real America is tired of a politics that deliberately divides people for the sake of winning elections. Maybe the real America is hungry for a leader who will unite us. A leader with a keen intellect and a cosmpolitan upbringing.
I know the country is facing some daunting problems, but surely we have a better chance at solving them with Obama at the helm. The Republicans heaped scorn on Obama for his background, but as for me, I'm thrilled. Having worked as a community organizer, maybe Obama will show some affinity for the poor. Having taught constitutional law at a prestigious university, maybe he will honor the people's constitutional rights (how refreshing).
Tomorrow I'll start biting my nails over the Franken recount, and gnashing my teeth over Prop 8. For tonight, though, I'm happy.
Like every other progressive, I'm a nervous wreck tonight. I've been obsessing over poll numbers for weeks now; the Votemaster at electoral-vote.com is my best friend. All the pundits are predicting an Obama victory. The statisticians are calling it, too. Even Doonesbury is calling it; he already shipped his Wednesday cartoon with a theme of an Obama victory. I'm freaking scared, though. Too many of the battleground states are uncomfortably close. I don't necessarily trust the voting machines. I worry about punitively long lines and sneaky voter suppression tactics, and I just worry that in their heart of hearts most Americans will not vote for a liberal.
I wish I could go to sleep right now and wake up Wednesday morning. But that wouldn't work, because I have to vote tomorrow, and help others to vote as well. I hope all of my jittery friends are doing the same.
Darragh Murphy, founder of the anti-Obama and supposedly pro-Hillary PUMA Pac, gave $500 to McCain during the 2000 campaign. Doesn't look like she ever gave money to Hillary. So much for being a life-long Democrat, as she claims. This fact is easy to uncover just by searching opensecrets.org, the site that provides a user-friendly way to search the FEC Info database.
I was a Hillary supporter until the 11th hour. Well, I'm still a Hillary supporter. But I'm not a stupid puma. If McCain thinks I will vote for a conservative, anti-choice, anti-gay pro-drilling candidate just because of her ovaries, he is wrong. And hopefully he's wrong about all the other 11th-hour Hillary supporters.
I'm voting for Hillary because of the breadth and depth of her experience, because her health care plan is the best one out there, and yes, because she's a woman. I wouldn't vote for her just because she's a woman, but my goodness, doesn't it help?
It's the morning after, and the Democrats have definitely won the House and probably the Senate as well. According to pollsters, opposition to Bush and particularly to his course in Iraq was the prime motivator this time around. The "values" crowd is perhaps discovering that peace is a value, too. It was particularly sweet watching Rick Santorum concede.
Sometime early in the year, Howard Dean was on The Daily Show predicting a Democratic win in November; Jon Stewart was skeptical. Seems only fair to make Mr. Stewart eat his words:
