I have very mixed feelings tonight as we make it official. Barack Obama will be our next President.
As such, it is a great and historic day for our country. Most importantly, it will demonstrate to our own citizens and to the world for the 43rd time a peaceful transition of power based on the will of the American people.
This transition is unique, of course, because we have chosen as our next leader a man who, roughly two generations ago, wouldn’t have been allowed to drink from the same water fountain as myself. Let’s us not miss this opportunity to mark how this country has progressed since that chapter in our history.
President Obama has succeeded on a mantle of “Hope and Change”. It’s a winning message to a distressed country. It is a message that my favorite President, Ronald Reagan, offered to us during the trying times of the late 70’s. He called it “Morning in America”, but the message was the same. America is the greatest country in the history of the world. And given the challenge and the opportunity, the American people will rise to the occasion.
My mixed feelings I mentioned at the beginning of this piece are because I disagree strongly with many of the policies that President Obama and his strengthened Democrat majority in Congress will advance under the banner of “Hope and Change”. However, elections have consequences, and this time, my team lost.
The bigger, greater team I am on is the American team. And as a member, I will pull for President Obama’s success. I urge my fellow Republicans to do the same. We can and should remain the loyal opposition. We can and should note policy disagreements where we have them. But we must do what our standard bearer urged us to do throughout this campaign: We must put country first.
The Republican Party will undergo significant soul searching over the next few months, and probably years. Significant changes in message and messengers will need to be made for us to become a majority party again. But tonight is not the night for that. There will be plenty of time for that going forward.
Tonight is the night we tip our hat to the other side, congratulate them on their victory, and celebrate that we are still blessed to be part of the greatest country on Earth.
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I would like to echo Icarus and his sentiments, however I do not consider the Republicans “my team” and I do not consider the Democrats “the other team”. They are simply a means to an end of supporting the only team that matters, the United States of America.
My greatest home is that Obama will be the one President to change my opinion of the Democratic party, but the practical side of me knows that this is extremely unlikely.
I would hope that he does not get to caught up in the global warming “fixes” the Dems have proposed, and does not appoint far left wing ideologues to the Supreme Court. I would also hope that he would protect freedom of speech for all people and not limit radio speech like some of the crazy fringe Dems have proposed.
Finally, I would hope that he realizes that above all else, the horrendous increases in government spending have to be brought back under control before we become a third world country the rest of the world hope we become.
Other than that, I say, have at it, Democrats, you have earned it, and the Republican Party has deserved every minute of this defeat.
Hopefully this is the end of John McCain, John Boehner, Blount and pretty much the rest of the Republican leadership.
Dittos to what Icarus said and let me also say that I’ll pray for Obama every day just like I did for Bush. I hope Obama is successful in leading the nation, and reducing the bitter political atmosphere in Washington.
I’ll support him when I can and oppose him when I can’t. Not unlike what I would have done if McCain had won.
Don’t kid yourselves DD and Ic, President Obama will govern from the middle.
BTW Decatur Guy, some of us are not racist no matter what you say or spew.
This election has nothing to do with Republicans and like minded ilk, but everything to do with Conservatism v. Liberalism.
Get a clue Georgia Republicans, it’s coming to you. You have lost your way.
“President Obama will govern from the middle.”
First, you should define what YOUR definition of “the middle” is.
:::grins:::
Obama as president is just a symptom of a much bigger problem. All the hype aside, this country is headed for economic disaster and third-world status. A McCain win would have maybe just delayed the inevitable for a bit longer.
I’m not going down that road with you. So let me say this. GWB tried the center/left. How did that work out?
If the Republican Party is to remain relevant then we must seriously reconsider not only our leadership that has brought us to this place in history where the people of the United States have elected a revolutionary socialist racist as President. The time has come to wake up and recognize that we are now in danger of becoming a second rate world power. This Republic will survive but it is the responsibly of all true, yes true, Americans to fight and resist any and all attempts to further destroy the Constitution of the United States. I remind you of the oath taken by many over the years that have served this great nation.
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
I would like to stress the word domestic.
God bless this nation and protect us in these times. Pray for the United States.
_William John Hagan
Rick Day apparently believes the best way to create jobs is to steal money from the folks earning over $250,000 per year and give it to the folks earning less than $25,000 per year.
Does Rick reside in a minimum-security prison?
Some of you people really drank the Kool-Aid. This guy is just a shyster who was born in Kenya. I’m not going to partake in this affront to my sensibilities. I refuse. Kumbaya my ass.
All the hype aside, this country is headed for economic disaster and third-world status.
Your optimism, Harry, is contagious.
Ah..Ah..Ah..Choo
Game Fan – It is far too late to worry about these accusations against the President-Elect. The time has come for us to worry about the future and not conspiracy. As a Party we failed, this is a reality. We need to direct our efforts to defeating the domestic enemies of the United States and protect the Constitution of the United States. It is my belief that we should adopt as the people of the United States the motto of the Gadsden flag: “Don’t tread on me” and proudly fly this early flag of the colonial America.
Obama ran from the center-left and if he governs from the center-left, he may succeed in 2 things:
1. Pushing the US a little more to the left in its philosophy because there would be a backlash if he tried to knee-jerk us to the far left; and
2. Get himself re-elected allowing him to reshape American policy and the judicial system for more than a generation.
He can only do that by breaking most of his campaign promises. As such, I think he will be a one termer.
The vote total shows one thing, that this is still a very divided country. Obama and the Democrats have an opportunity and the GOP has some serious soul searching to do.
Bill Hagan
Good points. Perhaps our biggest concern should be people who are captivated by speeches…by ANYBODY!!! How could millions of people allow their better judgment be hijacked by a “feeling”? One shudders to think of the implications.
I hope everyone heard the McCain concession and Obama’s acceptance speeches. They were both worth hearing.
This is a watershed election. Karl Rove’s realignment blew up in John McCain’s face tonight. For those on this site who still feel the answer for the Republican party is to attack personal character (see Libby Dole), spread fear (Bill Ayers, Rev Wright, Musslim) and campaign with resentment (the way “real Americans” live and behave) – I can only say your head is an awkward place. Take note of the youth vote and Hispanic vote, and consider your prospects. Check out the Gwinnett split! It wasn’t long ago that county was 75% solid GOP.
I’m disappointed as to how tonight went in that we have President-Elect Obama, but I consider how much worse it could have been in that Republican losses are at the low end of what they were projected to lose (-5 in the Senate and -15 in the House as I write but there are no seat losses in GA).
In addition, I’m keeping my chin up as there is a firewall in the Senate to keep the really nasty stuff from becoming law.
As for how the new President will govern, I think we’ll see Carter-lite in that a few things will pass to make things worse (drilling ban reimposed quickly) but I doubt we’ll see 10+% unemployment and or massive inflation (probably DEflation)–I agree with Shep in that he’ll be a one-termer mostly because much of what he says about change will eventually ring hollow because he really can’t make radical changes legislatively–yet.
What I really fear from Obama are the changes (or lack thereof) he’ll make in government agencies–such as making Freddie and Fannie more unmanageable and using the IRS and the FCC as a political weapon.
I look forward to seeing if the Republicans can learn to stand for something and try to win in 2010.
Interesting comment by Andrew Sullivan.
Andrew Sullivan: I’m watching Fox News now. They insist that America remains a center-right country. I think they’re right. But the GOP is no longer a center-right party. It’s a fringe religious, Dixie-based, big government machine, that relies on fear of others to win elections. And so it lost in a center-right country. And a center-left candidate beat them.
Short of a Rovian realignment scheme that actually works, Obama will be a one-termer. However that is predicated on the GOP getting its act together and creating a message and plan that the American people actually _want_.
That won’t happen till there is proverbial blood in the aisles. I was disappointed that McConnell won reelection. The entire GOP leadership needs to go.
Chris
Who is the next leader of the GOP?
I don’t know. I’d pick Pence or Colburn, but both of them are a bit too much of Jesus freaks for my tastes.
Chris
This is great book on went wrong with the GOP. Joe Scarborough would be very good for the GOP.
Rome Wasn’t Burnt in a Day: The Real Deal on How Politicians, Bureaucrats, and Other Washington Barbarians are Bankrupting America
Synopsis
Scarborough served as one of Florida’s Republican members of Congress from 1994 to 2001, and is now the host of the nightly program, Scarborough Country, on MSNBC. In this critical analysis of Republicans and Democrats alike, he offers an insider’s view of how “the White House, Congress, and Washington bureaucrats conspire to ensure their political survival while sticking American taxpayers with the bill.” No subject index. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland,
OR
Publishers Weekly
Elected to Congress in 1994 as a Contract with America revolutionary, Scarborough spent six years representing the Florida panhandle, and currently hosts the MSNBC political talk show Scarborough Country. His book is part memoir, part political treatise that purports to explain how various “Washington barbarians” are bankrupting America. Full of partisan and reformer zeal, the freshman class of 1994 set out on its crusade to reform Congress and reduce government spending. However, the crusaders met their Saladin in President Clinton and his skillful use of the veto pen. The House freshmen were further disillusioned when their leadership opted for compromise rather than continued confrontation following the government shutdown in 1995. Scarborough bitterly compares the Republican leadership to the pigs in George Orwell’s Animal Farm-indistinguishable from the corrupt Democratic bosses they had ousted. His account of the Republican Congress is well told from the perspective of the House freshmen, but Scarborough never asks the hard questions about why the Gingrich Republicans became so unpopular with voters. Similarly, the book’s promise to reveal the “real deal” about why government spending continues to rise, is nothing more than the revelation that interest groups, lobbyists and politicians collude on government spending because it is in their mutual self-interest. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
I am not on fire or burned
LOL!
“For those on this site who still feel the answer for the Republican party is to attack personal character (see Libby Dole), spread fear (Bill Ayers, Rev Wright, Musslim) and campaign with resentment (the way ‘real Americans’ live and behave) – I can only say your head is an awkward place.”
The TRUTH attacks people’s character and scares people. Had the TRUTH been discussed openly, this election would have been very different. Fears of being labeled politically incorrect obscured the TRUTH, and now we have a president-elect who is an unknown quantity and, as Newt so eloquently stated, has done absolutely nothing but “talk and write.”
Too many Americans think Obama is going to give them something. They’re in for a rude awakening. He can’t deliver. If he governs by his stated policies, America will lose jobs, and businesses will suffer. Our only hope is that he can’t do what he wants to do. We’ll be doing well to hold on to the struggling economy we have now for the next 4 years.
For Republicans, this must be the end of an era. If we are to re-emerge to power, we must elevate leaders who are truly committed to efficiency in government and to the freedom to take risks and be responsible for their outcome. We must reject those who are most interested in their own wallets. Lott, Hastert, Delay, and their crowd must be swept into distant memory as a new generation of leaders in the molds of Jindal, Palin, Crist, Demint, and Coburn lead the charge.
For America to be strong, principle must triumph over emotion.
efficiency in government
Thats exactly the problem. The GOP has gone from Government is the problem, to inefficient Government is the problem. That is why they reorganized DHS to create efficiency. And you got Katrina.
Government will ALWAYS be inefficient. It will ALWAYS be bloated, stupid, and harmful. The GOP needs to purge itself of the big-government ass-cancers that think Government works when Republicans get to pull the levers of power.
Obama is expected to make funding abortions one of his first actions as president and he could overturn the Mexico City Policy on his first day in office. That’s the presidential policy that prevents taxpayers from being forced to fund groups that engage in performing or promoting abortions in other nations.
Senator Obama could also immediately overturn the policy Preside Bush put in place to prevent taxpayer funding of new embryonic stem cell research. That could happen even though embryonic stem cells have never helped a human patient and have had problems when used in animals.
Pro-life advocates are concerned Obama will push through a bill in Congress, known as the Freedom of Choice Act, that would make unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy the national law by codifying Roe v. Wade.
However, the bill would go further by overturning all of the abortion reduction laws in all 50 states — including measures such as informed consent, parental involvement and conscience clauses for medical professionals.
GOPeach has apparently found out how to use control-c and contol-v on her keyboard.
Chris,
The reason I always cringe at the “run government like a business crowd” is that anything the government does that can be run like a business should be run by a business.
When government is bloated an inefficient, it keeps people from wanting things done by the government. When it is efficient and streamlined, you have Nazi Germany.
The real discussion the Republicans are going to have to have, and need to have, is “What is the proper role of government”.
Right now, we’re stuck between those that hate all government and want it to go away, and those that believe government is a proper solution to everything so long as it meets a social conservative litmus test.
I think part of the Republicans becoming relevant again will have to include a discussion of “Is Government action the appropriate solution to this problem”, and secondly “What level of Government should be providing this service”.
I don’t think any Republican wants to privitize our military, or eliminate it. It’s a proper role of the Government, and at the Federal level.
There is honest debate about the appropriateness of the Department of Education. But instead of campaigning on “eliminating the Department of Ed”, why are we not focusing this debate as “Think how much better off your children would be if federal bureaucratic dollars were sent directly to your child’s classroom”.
Government has its proper roles. There are things that don’t need to be privitized. But we have to do a better job of picking our battles, and understanding what it is we supposedly believe.
Well said Icarus!
Icky Woods,
I agree with you and hope you did not think what I said was meant to criticize all government. I am against privatization of things that have no business in private hands, like jails, police, defense, etc.
I think part of the Republicans becoming relevant again will have to include a discussion of “Is Government action the appropriate solution to this problem”, and secondly “What level of Government should be providing this service”.
The problem with most of these elected scumbags is that they will answer “Yes” and “My Level” to pretty much all questions.
While only the libertarian loons think privatized armies are a good idea, there really isn’t much the Federal Government _should_ be doing, and the GOP _should_ be able to spend a good decade or two pairing the Federal Government down to the levels where these questions begin to matter. Alas, instead of that we’ve gotten idiots like Bush, Rove and Gingrich who are all about using Government to win re-election.
Comment wasn’t aimed at anyone in particular, just trying to think through how we build a framework to move forward.
I have no problem with a privitized jail. We actually have quite a few “correctional facilities” here in GA. They tend to operate at a lower cost/inmate yet have a better operational track record than county/state run facilities.
But police forces and national defense should not be run with a profit motive.
Personally, I’m not a fan of privitized toll roads, either. If government is going to use eminent domain to acquire something, I object to the spoils being placed in the private sector.
“The problem with most of these elected scumbags is that they will answer “Yes” and “My Level” to pretty much all questions. ”
By the time they’re elected, it’s too late to ask the question.
Icarus,
Which, in the end, goes back to what I always say. The voters get the government they deserve. If they do not care to ask such questions before the election, they have little justification to complain later.
Icarus – you are being alarmingly sensible! Be careful or your posting privileges here will be taken away!
I completely agree that the question “is government action an appropriate solution to this problem” is something to be *discussed* and decided based on facts and circumstances, not on ideologies (whether Marxist or Objectivist). That’s how we can make progress. I believe people on all sides will be surprised to find that Obama is more of a pragmatist than an idealogue on these questions.
My partisan leanings are means to an end, not a blood oath. I’m an American, and I’m a pragmatist. I won’t seek idealogical purity over a common sense solution. I’ll argue the party line when it supports an end goal I believe in, but I think you’ll find I’m pretty quick to call BS when warranted.
Icarus
You’ve never taken a blood oath. What the heck?
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b70_1175033162
“How’s your salad?”
“I dunno. It’s all like…lettuce”
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