Kasich kept his supporters waiting past 1 a.m. for his victory speech while he appeared on the cable channel Fox News, where he had been employed as a commentator.
I’m coming to grips with living in a large Midwestern state that will be “run like a business” by a former Lehman Brothers director and Fox News employee. He’s going to appoint a board of corporate CEOs to run the state and I guess I’m going to be paying them for the privilege. I look forward to that.
Luckily, I’m shallow with a short attention span, so I should recover and regroup by sometime later this afternoon.
I don’t want to add to anyone’s misery on a sad day, but I love you all for working so hard and donating so much, so will deliver what I think is perhaps bad news but is the truth from what I saw.
The Strickland effort was huge and well organized, and we still fell short. The Ohio Democratic Party and the national Democratic Party worked hard. The President, Vice President and former President worked hard. Ohio union members worked hard. There was none of the usual infighting or turf wars or bickering that I’ve witnessed in past efforts. One example of what went on here: the local Democratic group was contacted in March by OFA. I started attending OFA meetings in April. By June, OFA and the ODP were running a full-out coordinated campaign for Strickland. In 2004, as a comparison, we in this rural Ohio County were first contacted by John Kerry’s campaign in June, and that, as you know, was a Presidential campaign.
Ted Strickland didn’t run from President Obama and he didn’t run from or apologize for being a Democrat. He didn’t make any big mistakes and he’s generally a great fit for this state.
It wasn’t a herding cats problem, it wasn’t a hapless, spineless Democrats problem, it wasn’t a “where the hell are the unions?” problem, and it wasn’t a lack of support from the state or national Party or White House problem. All of those are recurring problems with Democratic campaigns and, well, Democrats, one or more of them are usually a factor in a loss, but that’s not what happened here, from what I saw.
This was probably as good as it gets, as far as cooperation and “ground game” in Ohio, so we may not want to place too much faith in any organizational advantages we have going forward. Just keep it in mind.
sherifffruitfly
(shrug) White folks have taken their revenge on the country for electing Obama.
Napoleon
Kay,
Strickland came close and you have to wonder if he would have won if the turn out rate in Cuyahoga County matched the average for the rest of the state. Our voters simply stayed home in bigger numbers.
Just Some Fuckhead
You made a real mess of things in Ohio, Kay. Thanks for nothing.
Citizen_X
UR FUKKIN UP R NARRATIVE!
Koz
You got off cheap.
Violet
Say it over and over again. Send it up the chain. Make sure people know. It’s not just about GOTV and organization, it’s about policy too. And largely, it’s the economy. Stupid.
Question: I’ve heard/read something about Republicans dominating the social networks (Twitter/Facebook) and that Dems are lagging. Is that true? Anyone involved with the Dems have a better read on that than me? Twitter and Facebook are where it’s at right now, so that could be another thing to work on. Although in two years it’s probably something else that’s the hot thing.
JenJen
Great post, Kay.
I have to admit to being a little shell-shocked the day after. I expected some bad results but thought we’d get a few good ones, too. I don’t think I even entertained the thought that Strickland would lose in the end. The other thought I hadn’t entertained was that Dems here in Ohio would lose every single state office.
Mike DeWine is Attorney General? You’ve got to be kidding me; this guy lost his Senate seat to Sherrod Brown by eleven points, only four years ago. What the hell happened?
I agree with you about who not to blame. The unions, OFA and the Ohio Democratic Party worked their asses off during this election, and I was impressed that the President went all-in for Governor Strickland. But in the end, the votes just weren’t there.
Was it a turnout problem? Honestly, I just don’t get it. I can hardly believe this result. It’s horrifying if you’re a Buckeye.
Kay
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Hah! I was going to “call you out” on losing Virginia, had we won. To my way of thinking, you started this tsunami. You and eemom, really :)
Culture of Truth
Ah, so you’re saying it was Rahm’s fault.
Just Some Fuckhead
One of my co-workers who is from Cincinnati told me statewide in Ohio, under 30 voter turnout was 8%.
Dunno if he’s correct or not but it sorta mirrors what I saw at my polling place. The good news is Obama will be on the ballot in 2012 so they’ll have a cool reason to vote.
Kay
@Napoleon:
Right. Cleveland is my favorite Ohio city but I am tired as hell waiting for Cuyahoga to come in. Jesus. Just vote. Why do we have to call you-all fifty times?
Tell everyone there I said that.
ruemara
At what point do we hold the fucking voters accountable? I hope the next 2 years really hurt and trust me, I’ll be there absorbing the pain with the rest of the poors. Maybe even more than most, but there has to be some sort of wake up call for these nimrods that participation is important.
evinfuilt
So I guess Ohio proved it, the Tea Party was all about “giving it to the bankers”, in this case they meant literally giving them a state.
former ohio
the biggest problem with Ohio is all the smart kids left. I was born and raised in Ohio. Let’s say I had 15 close, smart, liberal friends.
You know how many of them still live in Ohio? 3.
80% of the kids moved out, to Colorado, Boston, SF, Chicago.
I’m assuming this is not a rare statistic for Ohio.
Violet
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Will Obama be cool in 2012? Or will he be just another politician. And they don’t have jobs and have to live with their parents, so it’s not like he delivered them anything good anyway. So why bother.
Will it be like that?
Bulworth
That’s nice to hear. We need more of him. We lost a lot of bad Dems yesterday of the variety that did run and apologize. Good riddance.
Kay
@Koz:
We’re going to mount a challenge to paying the Kasich CEOs bonuses, under the state constitution. Surely there’s no legal authority for Governor-elect Kasich to force me to pay unemployed Lehman Brothers directors who are not state hires. I can’t wait to march around holding a poorly-spelled placard. Perhaps you could help us with that!
donnah
I deliberately did not watch the news last night, hoping I would wake up and find out it was all just a bad dream. Then I read the paper this morning. Ugh. Not just a bad dream, but one of those nightmares where you are running in tar and the beast behind you is inches from tearing your head off.
So as a lifelong Ohio resident, I am feeling very low today. I feel like it’s one struggle after another just to do the right thing. I see a good guy like Strickland booted out so a corporate shill like Kasich can come in and fuck this state over. And Ron Portman, really? And now John Boehner is just a heartbeat away from Speaker. Gah.
I campaigned hard for the Dems and Obama and this election was no different. I still cannot believe how badly this went. And we will be paying for this for a long time.
Sigh.
The Grand Panjandrum
The election probably would have turned out better if the President had promised to keep the gummint out of Medicare.
Dennis SGMM
@Violet:
It will be far worse. Republican gains in state legislatures means that Republicans will be redistricting those states. That will have repercussions for years to come.
@ruemara:
November 3rd, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Those darn voters. They were so wise in ’06 and ’08. They just went stupid this time despite the fact that only one in five of them are still unemployed or under-employed. That’s gratitude for you.
The Grand Panjandrum
@Kay: As long as he doesn’t call them a czar of some sort he should be OK.
Michael
Hey, on the fun side, we’ll have bruising confirmation battles come time that Ginsburg finally decides to retire or die.
Remember about me talking about those who think they’re “indispensible” and who want to hang onto positions in politics, the judiciary and the media into their 90s? And how I need to stop being all “ageist” or something?
JenJen
@Violet: Being in the Food & Beverage business, I work with a lot of young people down here in Cincinnati. Anecdotal, for certain, but they were, to a person, completely disengaged from this midterm election. Nobody was talking about it, the way they were the 2008 Presidential, for example. When I would ask the youngsters if they were voting this year, the most common response was “Why bother? Didn’t work last time.”
So, even though it’s only the day after and things can change, it’s going to take an awful lot of convincing from Obama if he wants to get the youth vote back on board in 2012. And I have to say I don’t have a lot of faith in his abilities to do that.
john b
i personally blame fisher for being a lousy senate candidate. i voted for the socialist instead of fisher. at least that guy had some balls.
Maude
@The Grand Panjandrum:
And if the president weren’t a muslim terrorist.
@Kay:
Don’t feel bad, here in NJ we have Christie who has lost $700 million before he’s even been in a year.
MBunge
so we may not want to place too much faith in any organizational advantages we have going forward. Just keep it in mind.
Ohio’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in September was 10%. That’s down from 10.7% in September 2009. What you have to think about is what kind of a result will the same Democratic effort produce when the jobless rate is at 6% or when it’s the GOP being blamed for 10% unemployment?
Mike
john b
(this comment is in moderation because of a mention of a lack of male body parts for a certain senate candidate)
i personally blame fisher for being a lousy senate candidate. i voted for the socialist instead of fisher.
Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle
So what happened with Lee Fisher?
john b
will this get past moderation?
i blame fisher
Kay
@The Grand Panjandrum:
The Columbus Dispatch actually mentioned his promise to balance the budget without raising taxes, and they’re already pestering him on specifics. Strickland had to make some difficult choices, and now blowhard egotistical Tea Partier here will too.
It’s easier to throw a grenade than catch one, right? He’s about to find that out.
Kay
@Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle:
I voted for Brunner, thought she was the more electable, on work ethic alone, but Fisher won. Other than that, I don’t know. Um… he doesn’t work very hard?
mr. whipple
@JenJen:
I was more optimistic when I saw Obama drew 35,000 to OSU. Maybe they just wanted to see him, and didn’t follow up with voting.
martha
@Kay: Kay, I feel your pain. Same here in WI–Scott Walker is going to CUT taxes and balance the budget (well, after vanquishing the over $2 billion and growing deficit…and he’s going to add to it by trying to cut a bunch more stuff). Tommy Thompson started our structural deficits 20+ years ago doing exactly this type of thing, so we’ll see if this new generation of great Republicans can get away with it…not likely. Teachers and public education at all levels and public pension plans will get screwed instead.
The Moar You Know
@sherifffruitfly: Out of the park on the first swing. There is really nothing else about this election that needs to be said.
cintibud
I have to think that having an invisible man (Lee Fisher) running for a top ticket job, the open senate seat, was a huge drag on the party. Fisher was Ohio “Jobs Czar” and Portman’s constant attacks on Ohio job losses rebounded against Strickland while being totally unanswered by Fisher. I never saw A SINGLE TV ad for Fisher, apparently he didn’t put up much to begin with and totally wrote off Portman’s home territory of SW Ohio. Strickland was fighting two opponents and their huge media machine by himself and still nearly pulled it off.
The fact that the Ohio democratic leaders lined up behind this faceless, perennial loser (and current “Job Czar” – could they see where that would lead?) instead of Jennifer Brunner is a crime. The charismatic and hard working Brunner sent me emails not only during the primary fight, but afterward as well, pushing progressive values. Fisher should have had access to the same email list, but I never got anything from him. The party establishment lined up behind him against Brunner because he would raise more money and had solid contacts. HA!
The Ohio Dem party leaders shit the bed on that one, now we get to lie in it.
Linda Featheringill
@ruemara:
I agree. The people understood. They knew what the choices were and they made their decision. I can respect that decision but they will have to live with the consequences of it.
I think this is true of the whole country.
Suck It Up!
The young and the old seem to keep this country stuck in limbo.
JenJen
Oh, yay. Governor-elect Kasich is holding his first press conference this afternoon from (wait for it)… the Ohio Chamber of Commerce offices.
Gonna be a fun few years here in Ohiya.
@mr. whipple: I was encouraged by the crowd at OSU as well, but then I started thinking about the young people I work with in Cincinnati. Most of them aren’t in school, they’re working their asses off just to make a living. A few of them are recent grads that never found work in their field, so bartending and waiting tables remains the best way for them to keep the bills paid. So while the OSU crowds were encouraging, they just weren’t representative, I think.
ETA: I just read that 274,000 fewer Ohioans voted in this gubernatorial election than voted in the 2006 gubernatorial election. And there you have it.
JWL
So. Everything and everyone was hunkey-dorey in democratic land, except you lost to a reactionary tool.
Well, I guess Cole is right.
The fault is with the voters.
cat48
Hi Kay, Sorry for OH’s defeat at the hands of corporatist’s. I’m really upset abt the entire election. I haven’t gone to bed yet, even. I can’t close my eyes. I feel a little better knowing everything worked as it should in OH. Sometimes that just isn’t enough. I was on the OH Sec. State page all nite & it was so close for so long. I thought sure Cleveland would seal it for him. Oh well, life goes on. I don’t live there, but I really thought with all the hard work that was going on; Strickland would pull it out. Thanks for all you did.
I think FL Gov is truly unbelievable! Billions of $$ of Medicare fines for fraudulent claims Scott had to pay & these people elected him anyway. This might have me awake for a couple more days. Just WTF, FL????
Napoleon
@Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle:
@Kay:
One problem I think he had that Portman used to great effect was that he is Ohio’s economic growth director (or whatever the title is). I though that really hurt him.
That aside every single Rep won for state office. Even wack jobs like Husted won. Fisher never had a chance, in retrospect.
Pangloss
The phrase that will stick with me from this election is, “we’ve got to stop this out-of-control spending!” Yet when the people who parrot that line are confronted with the fact that HCR is estimated to save $1.3 trillion over the next ten years, that Obama cut many unneeded defense programs, that 1/3 of the stimulus was tax cuts, that middle class Americans got a tax cut, and that the deficit increased mostly due to declining revenues as a result of the economic collapse under George Bush, all one got was a blank look. And ten minutes later, the mantra would be repeated, proving you had wasted your breath.
I heard that phrase, “we’ve got to stop this out-of-control spending!” at least 85 times this election cycle, and every time I saw one of its utterers patiently corrected, the lesson never once stuck.
If we’re not going to get smacked around just as bad in two years, we’ve got to start taking the offensive on messaging. And we’ve got to get just as motivated, disciplined, and aggressive as the partisan Republicans that started their anti-Obama messaging campaign on November 4, 2008.
Kryptik
Honestly, this election has taught me one thing, if nothing else:
There’s no point to being a ‘progressive’ or ‘liberal’ in this country. Even when you win, you end up losing, and then you end up losing even worse, and then YOU get blamed for losing. And on top of all that, any attempt at bringing things even a minute hop toward the left inevitably ends up with a giant reactive heave rightward that you can never fucking stop, because you’re a liberal, and that means AMERICA HATES YOU WITH THE POWER OF FUCKING SUNS.
Fuck it all. I give up. I’m done.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Bulworth:
Michael Bennet tripped over his own feet and often didn’t seem to know if he was coming or going, couldn’t or wouldn’t make the case for stimulus spending, etc., but managed to stumble over the finish line. Thank god, because Buck was just Sharon Palin with more self awareness and self control. Maybe someone can teach him how to be a mensch in the next six years.
JC
Economy, economy, economy. Especially in Ohio.
Of course, the Republicans have no better answer, so apathy will reign. The sad thing about that is, a lot of the young who turned out and voted in 2008, will simply go more back to apathy, even when Obama is up for reelection. Because there weren’t economically ‘good’ results from voting for Obama and the democrats.
That’s not how it ‘is’ of course, just how it feels, especially in places like Ohio.
gbear
Michele Bachmann didn’t even bother to have her post-election party in her own district. She had it near the MSP airport (Ellison’s district) for the convenience of all of her out-state benefactors who wanted to fly in.
We’re going to have a recount for MN governor. Dayton only has a few thousand vote lead. Hope to gawd that it’s not as drawn out as the Franken recount.
St. Paul & Minneapolis managed to come thru as solidly democratic as we always do, but democrats lost majorities in both the state house and senate. This surprised the fuck out of absolutely everyone, and is going to cause major suckage even if Dayton keeps his lead. The next two years are going to be extremely unpleasant for MN.
Violet
@john b:
No, it was in moderation because you used the word soshulist (spelled correctly). It includes the brand name of an ED drug and therefore goes to mod.
Joe
Hey, look on the bright side: There are no Democrats elected to the Ohio Supreme Court, there are no Democrats elected to executive office, both houses of the legislature are 60% Republican and the state faces a 4 to 8 billion dollar deficit. It is going to be fun watching the Republicans with brains (there are a couple) and the true believers tear each other apart trying to balance that budget without raising taxes while also blaming Democrats for the problems. I bet they try to sell or lease the turnpike and the lottery, and they may try to sell state buildings and lease them back. It’s going to be ugly and painful for a few years, and we can forget about the economy improving for a while, but at least the outcome should prove the folly of Republican economics.
As far as turnout, here in the 5th senate district, the Republicans managed to win the seat which was 2 heavily Democrat inner city Dayton house districts and one suburban and rural Republican district by having 41,000 people vote in the republican district (32,000 to 9,500) and 85,000 people vote in the Senate race (3 districts total 44,500 to 40,600) Nice turnout Dayton.
Kay
@martha:
Kasich is openly hostile to public education, and that may go over well with his Tea Party Nation if they think he’s targeting urban neighborhoods. But the truth is rural areas in Ohio are 1. poor and 2. wholly dependent on state subsidies for education, and schools are more than “schools” in rural areas: they’re the center of the community. There isn’t anything else that everyone shares in the same way they share an intense interest in a rural school district. I don’t think Kasich gets that, and Strickland did, completely.
Elie
JenJen
I agree that Obama has some challenges on the inspirational side of leadership.
That said, why do we need to be goosed from our leader to do what we ultimately already believe in or want?
The administration accomplished a lot but still, it left us cold emotionally since most of the people who stayed home in critical numbers, were the progressive youth etc (still has to be determined and analyzed)
For the left progressives: are we going to be in a perpetual state of needing to be stimulated to vote our values? Why weren’t the horrible and hateful images and words from the right and tea party enough to scare the freakin hell out of us and send us to the polls in record numbers? Why are we passive aggressively waiting to be led by the nose by some leader rather than by our own interests?
We got a lot done. If success isnt enough of a stimulus to vote and stay engaged, what is? Whose fault is that?
Gozer
I can sort of feel your pain Ohio. Here in PA we have newly elected Senator Toomey and Gov-elect Tom “we shouldn’t have unemployment because look at all those help-wanted ads in the newspapers and I’m gonna subpoena Twitter for subscriber information because of critical tweets” Corbett.
It’s time to see if I can finish off the rest of this Southern Comfort before the end of the day.
graeme
Donks don’t stand up for those they expect to show up at the polls.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I would like to modestly propose that what we (who’s “we”, lazy fat man?) have to do is change the Democratic electorate, stop obsessing about top-down politics. (I was just listening to Sam Seder’s new internet broadcast, and I love Seder, but he’s so obsessed with Obama that he can’t see any other factor in politics. Obama wasn’t on any fucking ballots yesterday). I don’t know how to get people who don’t vote in mid-terms, the ones who aren’t rich, white, old and rural. I guess that’s like saying, “You know what we need to put a stop to this drought? Rain!”, but if we can change that midterm electorate, that would be a significant step in changing the way the Senate works and thinks.
Michael
Had progressive activists been working the college campuses, they could have gotten some involvement. My college daughter called in a panic 3 weeks before the election because she needed an absentee ballot and nobody around could tell her how to get one. I immediately remedied it, asked her to talk to the other students, but she reported back that they really didn’t care.
Culture of Truth
I heard Christie lost $750 million.
Plus an additional future $4 billion.
Punchy
I heard on the classic rock radio station today that there were 4 dead in Ohio. Any connection to the elections?
lawnorder
Yet John Stewart proved someone could motivate the voters. There just was no one around.
Elie
@Pangloss:
You have to understand: those lines would not have worked were they not believed not only by the right wing, but by quite a few of the folks that consider themselves Democrats.
We have a complex problem. The Democrats are confused about who they are and what they stand for. The lefties hate the centrists and vise versa and the voter mostly votes more centrist with a good anti government, anti tax spin.
The Democrats do not appear to be true liberal values voters. They are shape shifters, and it makes it hard to count on them in the clutches like the right can count on their tribe.
matoko_chan
I can tell you what worked in Colorado.
Youth vote.
I worked campus GOTV. The fetal personhood amendment being on the ballot AGAIN (lost by 72% in 2008) plus Buck’s stand against abortion rights and against government student loans killed him and Tancredo on the Front Range. The national polls were spoofed by a high cell-only demographic. Tancredo was only ever possible in the landline demographic.
The fetal personhood amendment was a pure turnout gift.
The Red Wave turned to beach break in Colorado.
It is a preview of 2012. Youth votes in the presidential, not in off years.
Redistricting works great in off years, like Giordano said.
But when the youth vote teams with minorities in the district, tip to liberal results. And the greys can’t effectively redistrict ALL the youth vote. :)
We are everywhere.
JMG
Dear Kay: Governors get blamed for macroeconomic conditions beyond their control. Why, I don’t know, but they always do. If the economy still sucks in 2014, Kasich will be out the door, too.
It always hurts like hell to lose. But if you and your team left it all on the field, feel proud as well as sad.
I think you do already.
Sarcastro
At what point do we hold the fucking voters accountable?
At the exact point where you are no longer interested in winning fucking elections.
Culture of Truth
I’m actually inspired by Obama, but I don’t need Obama to inspire me about issues affecting me and my country. I hope to inspire to him to do more.
aimai
@Pangloss:
Pangloss,
This is exactly right. The problem is that people simply can’t believe that you could get Health Care, for example, by carefully balancing priorities and costs and access and still save money. They just can’t imagine it and therefore they can’t believe it. Only wars are free, in this country. We have to fight to change the overall narrative and we have to do it ove rand over and over again at every level or people will continue to vote to cut their own throats while insisting that they are voting their interests.
aimai
FlipYrWhig
On the bright side, by the time the next election comes around, a lot of the toxic good-for-nothing old people who voted this time will be good and dead. Something for me to look forward to.
Elie
@lawnorder:
I think its important not to confuse the motivation to attend a one day rally with the hard work of campaigning and voting for the right thing.
While I do get your point about the need for motivational leadership from time to time, Jon didn’t ask much from the attendees except to show up. If that is all we need, then electoral success would be easy. I am afraid its a lot harder than that but the right formula is elusive
JenJen
@Elie: Well, Kay says that the organizational cogs turned as expected, and everything was in order; yet, 274,000 fewer Ohioans voted in this gubernatorial election than voted just four years ago in 2006.
That’s a lot of disengaged Ohioans right there, and I don’t know how to get them plugged back in, because I believe Kasich is going to bring some serious pain to this state and it’s only going to get worse. It’s going to take a lot of time to figure this out, and day-after analysis is more about venting than fixing problems. But one thing is for certain already: a large portion of the Democratic and Progressive base in Ohio sat this one out. And we’ve gotta figure out why.
HyperIon
@Kryptik:
I don’t know what you mean…that you will not vote again?
If you mean you intend to move somewhere else, then yes, I guess you are done.
But if you stay in the US and “give up”, then YOU may be done but the folks screwing you are just getting started.
The old white people who drove these elections results (along with the young of any color who did not vote) will soon rue this day. With any luck I will be able to observe the coming clusterfuck from a distant shore. But I’ll still vote every time.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Culture of Truth: I watch Obama at those rallies being emotional, and talking about how real people are affected by government policies, saying it’s gonna be hard and we all have to work together and he needs our help, et cetera, et cetera. Then I read the NYT and I see that Obama said something “elitist and condescending” and IMHO dead-accurate at an off-the-record fund-raiser in a private home, and that’s why regular people like Roger Cohen and David Broder feel he doesn’t connect with them.
matoko_chan
@Elie: no elie.
wrong.
the TP is a scam. its just republicans in grassroots clothing that scraped Bush off their shoes by rebranding.
the TP candidates are going to vote with repubs, caucus with repubs, and BE repubs.
The whole nonpartisan bs was just chaff.
The good thing is the 2012 campaign just started.
There will be war over Palin.
365 to 173 is a very steep hill to climb with sarah palin on your back.
Bella Q
@Kay: Kasich’s lack of understanding of the importance of schools to the rural communities is (as you know) only one of his many shortcomings. But he totally doesn’t get what an achor they are in rural areas, and Strickland did, because he was from such an area. It is indeed tragic for OH that we got this result, but as you noted, it wasn’t for lack of GOTV effort. In spite of some medical issues that limit my current mobility, I could do GOTV calls 4+ hours a day from here; the technology allowed me to participate. And it was close. Sigh.
MikeJ
@graeme:
Except for cutting the banks out of student loans, which is nothing but win for students. And allowing kids to stay on their parents insurance until 26. And the Lilly Ledbetter Act, which is great for women. And increased funding for the Violence Against Women act. And the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
But no, I guess the “donks” don’t do anything. Fuckwit.
HyperIon
@Michael:
This is very sad. She couldn’t figure it out for herself?
I hope you aren’t paying for her to go to a private school.
lawnorder
@Linda Featheringill:
You expect people to behave rationally when irrational insanity is being rewarded by our own POTUS ?
After the “death panels” accusations Obama should have completely disengaged from any negotiation with the GOP. But no, the insane were treated with awe and concessions.
Guess what ? Being irrational, cutting your nose to spite your face paid well for the GOP and voters saw it. So when they got their own reasons to be angry at Obama, they didn’t vote Republican. They just didn’t vote.
Is it stupid ? Ya, but it’s in season this fall.
We kept trying to warn Obama, Dems and anyone who we could. And only got abuse for it. Guess what ? I and the other “firebaggers” went and voted. We cared enough to be here taking daily abuse, hence we cared enough to vote.
But a lot of others just stopped caring. And voting
Maude
@Culture of Truth:
What’s $50 mil to a guy like that.
And the $4 bil? pfft.
I really, really want to make a fat joke and am controlling myself.
kay
@Bella Q:
Thanks so much for working. My one laugh of the day yesterday was calling a voter who needed a ride. I’m familiar with her name and she probably did need a ride. I called her, and she told me to “call back later”. I could hear the tv. She’s in her nineties.
Okey doke. I’ll just keep calling you until you’re “ready”, because I live to serve :)
Kryptik
@HyperIon:
I’m going to keep voting but…I just can’t seem to muster anything up but blinding rage and depression the more I try and keep connected with all this bullshit. I understand the apathy now, because it really does seem like the prevailing and unchangable truth of politics in the now is that ‘Democrats only get power long enough for people to forget Republicans fucked up’. The country really simply just fucking hates anyone like me, like you, or anyone who’s anywhere fucking left of Rush Limbaugh.
I just…I just fucking give up honestly, because it feels like we’re not even a center-right nation. We’re a wingnuttyfuck hard right nation that can’t get enough of hippie punching. Oh, it’ll elect Dems sometimes, but again, only long enough for that short memory to do its job and forget how much the fuck-ups fucked up.
Paul W.
Obama is sounding like quite the rube at his press conference today, I have been a staunch defender of a continued “not red-states or blue-states but the United States” approach… but WE NEED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE OBSTRUCTION! I want to see the President using his willingness to work with the other side only when transitioning into how little interest the other side has in compromising.
When he “suspects that” the GOP leaders will sit down and talk with the Dem leadership he is so very very wrong. Oh, and fuck the national press and their idiotic “Do you think yesterday’s vote is against your policies?” Jesus. H. Christ. Most Americans have NO FUCKING IDEA what policies were even enacted (Obama organized TARP and was in office in the 6 months up to Jan 24, 2009 right? He lost all those jobs). Bush’s refusal to take action in his lame duck period is probably one of the smartest things he could do… no one seems to remember that Obama didn’t take office until after the country was in crisis.
Dennis SGMM
@lawnorder:
I see the election results as a victory for Obama. He said that he wanted to work with Republicans and now America has provided him with a shitpile of them with whom to work.
Sarcastro
But one thing is for certain already: a large portion of the Democratic and Progressive base in Ohio sat this one out. And we’ve gotta figure out why.
You won big in the past two elections by courting the young, leftist, anti-war vote. You lost big this time after giving those voters very little of what they’d asked for and compromising what you did give them in a futile effort at misguided bipartisanship.
So, obviously, the answer is to become more centrist, clap harder and just do what you’re told because the Dems’ corporate masters said so that’s why.
Throwin Stones
Kay,
It seemed well disciplined this time.
I believe we had a lack of youth and non-white participation issue, despite the GOTV efforts.
TS
matoko_chan
@aimai: umm. no.
The other side has an unbeatable argument.
But the problem with 50 years of this argument is that all the smart people have left the conservative base. Its like a fitness selection gradient for cognitive ability. The intellectual elite and the cultural elite have left the right, and only the business class elite remain.
The cost of conservative dishonesty is Ross and Reihan’s dreaded “stratification by cognitive ability” from Grand New Party.
That is why Angle and COD lost. They were anti-meritocratic candidates in a democratic meritocracy.
It is also part of why Palin cannot win a general presidential election, even though she could easily win the nom.
lawnorder
@Elie: You are completely off.
All we needed from people was to show up to vote. On their own state, city and neighborhood. Not miles away like the rally. Yet they didn’t.
#66 says
And this is the why. Lack of leadership.
Obama’s party was decimated in IL, his own state ffs! If that doesn’t tell you something is wrong, I don’t know what else will.
Paul W.
@Kryptik: Yeah…. I’m feeling this too. This country seems dead set on throwing itself at the culture wars over and over again, dividing ourselves into ideologically aligned teams and for every time me and people like me try and steer the conversation back towards adult topics or righting the sinking ship that is the USA the rest of the country drags the conversation screaming into little hissy fits.
America feels really fucking petty these last 2 years, I feel like the old shits who control the vote and Congress just don’t give a damn about youngsters like me or what their cynicism will mean for the nation 10 years, and further, from now.
HyperIon
@Dennis SGMM:
My take, too.
But it might require 12 dimensional chess.
Elie
@Sarcastro:
We gave them very little, eh?
Prevented the complete collapse of the economy (which was where we were headed, remember?) Perhaps that should have been allowed?
Health care reform — imperfect but way better than the nothing many had, but I guess that is not enough
No, you are right…could not replace all the lost jobs in two years.
I get your point that there is a price to be paid for hard economic times, but to say that nothing was accomplished by the current administration is not correct
bemused
@JenJen:
Huh. That’s rich considering how baby boomers get periodically trashed by younger generations for sitting back & letting the country go to hell.
matoko_chan
@Throwin Stones: you needed a Fetal Personhood Amendment on the ballot….or maybe legalized marijuana use.
:)
acontra
Cheer up, it’s not so bad. Dems still have the White House and Senate, they were blocked anyways, and a lot of the losses were Blue Dogs. The president’s party almost always loses in a midterm. Long term demographic trends strongly favor Dems.
Also, now that it won’t help the Dems, maybe the Fed will really do something about the economy!
matoko_chan
@Paul W.: the demographic timer will save us eventually.
its going to be tuff from here to 2020 though.
:)
MTiffany
Excellent way of reminding us that no matter how good of a campaign you run, sometimes the other guys wins.
JenJen
@Sarcastro: I appreciate your sarcasm, Sarcastro. :-) And I happen to agree with you that we lost the progressives for exactly the reasons you outlined. If Kay is right, and the GOTV efforts were excellent, then we need instead to figure out why GOTV didn’t work, and the only conclusion I can come to is the same one you did.
And, unfortunately, just listening to the President speaking right now, it definitely sounds like “we’re all centrists now” is the tack he’s decided to take.
@bemused: Maybe young people on political message boards do a lot of boomer-trashing, but in my experience in real life? Not so much. Not at all, to be honest.
If anyone’s being trashed by the young people I work with (as well as the Gen Xers I work with, and I’m in their cohort), it’s the President.
Elie
@lawnorder:
But do you hold just our leadership accountable for the lack of enthusiasm? Are we sheep? At some point, we have to own our own consequences.
I sat in a room of Democrats last night who had many similar views to some of the so called right — anti tax, suspicious of poor people and government…. whose job is it to fix their lazy thinking and their enlightenment.
Sure, there is a big role for leadership and I am not going defend Obama where he has not been as strong. That said, leadership takes hold when there is something inside of people to link to. Right now, I am not seeing a lot to link to in many of our own people and that is what is bothering more than whether Obama or some other guy can “lead” us from the outside.
Why are Democrats so weak in our values anymore? Unlike the right, we seem unable to stand up for what we believe and whine endlessly about some external agent to make things right for us. The right wing voters just go out and do what they believe and vote to get what they want and believe in..
lawnorder
@Dennis SGMM: ROFL
Sad but funny.
And true in a way. Obama was the one that gave respectability to the right wingers. Had he treated them like the insane piles of #$@$#@ they are, they would have not seem so electable.
QFT
Blame the customer never sold more product. Improve the product or fire teh marketing department. We all know the product is good (HCR, finreg, etc..), hence… Fire the customers ? Brilliant… NOT!
MTiffany
@Paul W.:
You’re wrong. They know damn well what it means and what it will do to this country. In fact, their corporate pimps are counting on it.
Kryptik
@matoko_chan:
Yeah, if the GOP doesn’t figure out a master plan to disenfranchise those pesky minorities first. Or hell, work out a mass deportation plan for anyone even tangentally thought to be related or in contact with ‘those illegals’ or ‘those mooslims’ or whoever they decide to cast as a boogeyman.
I’m fully expecting that in all honesty. And I’m not sure how well attempts to stop them will go.
Throwin Stones
@matoko_chan: I’m thinking Medical MJ for 2012. U of Cinci polled it a year or two ago and it was ~ 70% for.
ETA: The 1 man 1 woman marriage thing did work well for bringing out the fundies in 2004 and probably tipped the election to Bush.
Biscuits
We inherited 3 properties in Ohio in 2004 from my father in law. They have since sat on the market without any movement despite price reductions. We live in Seattle so maintaining them is a problem. I especially dread winter and the inevitable repairs that must be tended to. It’s difficult living so far away. Someone further up thread said the kids are leaving the state. I can attest to that. I am a Seattle native. My husband and I chose the west coast. His brother and their friends have all left Ohio. I loved visiting but the Cleveland area just seemed so depressed to me. It has a great history but not much of a future. Sad.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Joe: I think you misunderestimate the magical fiscal powers of tax cuts, deregulation and drilling in the ANWR.
Angela
@matoko_chan: rebuplicans have played that game for years: put the amendment on the ballot that will turn out the vote you want. I’m just glad the Fetal Personhood Amendment turned out more against than for.
Just Some Fuckhead
@JenJen:
What polling evidence do we have that we “lost the progressives”? I haven’t seen any yet.
And really, who cares if we did? It’s my understanding from reading the brilliant commentary here that they don’t represent numbers large enough to make a difference anyway.
matoko_chan
@Kryptik:
but they can’t.
it isn’t possible.
The right has become a sort of ponzi scheme on human capital….its base selection for stupid. But the problem is now that the right is unable to field meritocratic candidates. That is why Douthat is desperately proposing affirmitive action (IQ bussing) for redstate kids and “alternative” meritocratic values.
in 2008 non-hispanic cauc became a minority among american children under five.
in 2020 non-hispanic cauc becomes a minority in the electorate.
i dont see anyway to stop that demographic evolution.
50 years of race baiting has rendered the TP/republican brand toxic to blacks and browns. I dont see that changing anytime soon.
FlipYrWhig
@lawnorder:
By “right wingers” do you mean “conservative Democrats”? Because you and your friends keep saying this thing about working with Republicans, and I don’t remember that happening, apart from needing TO PICK UP A FUCKING VOTE TO GET A FUCKING BILL PASSED, which, to me, you know, is hard to avoid just because you need to make a precious point about how you don’t need Republican help for nothin’, even, um, when you actually do.
lawnorder
@Elie:
We did. You and I gave everything we had in 2008. And bitch slapped the ones who didn’t have our values.
To what result ?
War still on, Gitmo still open, surveillance still on, fat cats still bleeding the middle class dry,…
A few signatures on a few pieces of paper did not change things. Not enough anyway.
People have not turned against Obama and Dems. Not yet anyway. They are just apathetic. Not happy about the results of their 2008 vote and efforts, but unsure what to do next.
Obama can lose real big in 2012. Or win big. It depends mostly on his ability to get voters to believe he can change things. Two years of “the votes weren’t there” when he had majorities have not helped. He has a steep uphill battle to regain disillusioned voters.
john b
@Violet:
oh yeah. that.
Elie
@lawnorder:
Its interesting that you put a marketing and “product” frame on our need for leadership rather than an inspirational/spiritual value…
Productizing values such as leadership — speaking of “firing” leaders — its apt in some ways but forms a set of principles more in line with corporist values and a Darwinian approach to public good – (the strong survive, the weak get killed), rather than what values do we believe in — do we believe in helping the weak, that we are all in this together — how do we take care of our national community?
That isnt the frame you are placing on your argument right now, anyway. Interesting. You focus more on why Obama didnt fight and separate from the opposition. That the fight was the goal, not the end, which was to get something done. Do you actually think if he had spent his time fighting them he would have accomplished more? Really? How?
JenJen
@Just Some Fuckhead: I don’t have any evidence, and in my earliest post I made it clear that what I was saying about young voters, in particular, was purely anecdotal.
But when I hear a bunch of very hard-working young people right here in Ohio who were fired up & ready to go in 2008 say they didn’t vote this year because it doesn’t matter, and when I hear my own progressive friends who are incredibly engaged in politics say they didn’t vote this year because Obama didn’t do this, and he didn’t do that, and he coddled the GOP and he didn’t fight back hard enough… in my own world, it feels as though the party is losing, or has lost, progressives.
It can’t be repeated enough: 274,000 fewer Ohioans voted in the gubernatorial this year than in 2006. Why do you think that is?
ETA: Oh, wait. We agree with each other, don’t we? :-)
Kay
@JenJen:
An example. At the OSU rally, they handed out this bogus “ticket” that had a tear-off section for a phone number. They collected them. It was the price of entry. They needed cell phone numbers for students.
I just felt as if they covered all the bases that could possibly have been covered.
I would also add that the OSU students were engaged, the people I spoke with anyway. They were freaking ranting about Palin, for example.
Pangloss
@lawnorder:
Going into last night’s election, Illinois had a Democratic governor, Democratic state Senate, Democratic state house, two Democratic U.S. Senators, and 14 of 19 Democratic house members. There was nowhere to go but down. We still have all Democratic state control (with the exception of Treasurer and Comptroller), 9 of 19 house members, and a split senate contingent (by 75000 votes out of 3.5 million cast in a three-way race with an African-American third party candidate getting 3% of the vote).
Ruckus
@former ohio:
I worked and yes lived in OH for 11 years and every person I knew that was from OH wanted to leave. The ones that stayed did so because they had family that wouldn’t move or land that they couldn’t sell for much. Overheard in the locker room one evening, 2 fellas having a conversation about family and so on, one says to the other, I thought you were moving, answer, not until the kid graduates but the next day we are moving the fuck out of this hellhole. I heard that attitude a lot.
lawnorder
@FlipYrWhig: You are yelling at the messenger. I care hence I’m here taking abuse and got my butt out to vote yesterday.
But a lot of others just gave up on voting.
To repeat what I said above
I know how they feel Flip. I talk to them, see them, live among them. And I feel just like they do – except I still have “hope” – so I voted. But a lot of them had their hopes squashed.
Saying “the votes weren’t there” and saying all this compromising we saw Obama and Dems do was the right thing to do will make the young voters even more apathetic. Is like giving mathematical proof that voting isn’t worth the effort.
Obama needs to make those voters believe that something can be done. And he can’t do that by pointing at 2 years of tepid watered down compromise, a 2 year period that alienated the young voters, and say he will do more of the same.
He will lose big in 2012 if he fails to convince disillusioned liberal voters that voting can get good results. And he can’t do that by calling disillusioned voters dumb, retarded, whiny insane, etc… like he and his team did leading to the 2010 election.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@lawnorder:
I wonder, outside of the liberal blogosphere and the larger world of political junkies, how many people would have any idea what you’re talking about?
JenJen
@Kay: I absolutely believe you. In earlier threads before the election, I noted over and over that the Ohio Democratic Party really had their shit together this election; I was contacted and contacted and contacted again. I was hit up far more times in 2010 than I was in 2008, and remember, I’m in the Republican part of the state.
But, obviously, GOTV didn’t work. Maybe a lot of people were contacted, but I’m not sure they were reached, you know? Ted didn’t get his ass handed to him; it was actually pretty close. So where were his voters? Or am I making the wrong assumption here that Ohio took a hard-right turn not because of fired-up new GOP voters, but more because of a depressed Dem and Progressive base?
Ruckus
@sherifffruitfly:
Don’t blame all of us.
But you are right, the haters and nut jobs was money well spent by the overlords.
Is it just me or are a awful lot of old white people completely, hopelessly selfish, and just plain ignorant? Should the battle cry be: I didn’t get mine fuck you too?
HRA
I can hardly wait till I get home and see what my one cousin in Columbus who is an avid Conservative has to say about the election. Sadly he was right about OH going R.
Strickland did not join the Obama campaign until after the primary was over. That did not sit well with some of my D relatives in Ohio. BTW, they are located from Cleveland to Cincinnati and stops in between. IOW it’s a lot of voters who did not vote at all.
bemused
@JenJen:
You must have missed the boomer bashings on this blog and others not so long ago which was so annoying because it’s just plain silly.
The “what’s the point in voting” defeatist stance drives me crazy. People are worn out and beaten down trying to get by but it doesn’t take much to vote. There’s no excuse not to do that little thing. I’m totally pissed off and mystified by bonehead conservatives voting against all their best interests but those who call themselves Dems but give up and whine are just as bad.
lawnorder
@Elie: …
You see the results. A large portion of the people who voted in 2006 did not come to vote in 2010.
They didn’t vote Republican. They just didn’t vote. Period.
People are unhappy with the way the economy is going. With the 2 wars still raging. with Guantanamo stil open. DADT still on the books. Wall Street still reaping the billions and houses foreclosing.
And all we hear is that Obama and Dems did everything correctly this past 2 years, and making things better just wasn’t possible. With full majorities.
Would you go out of your routine for more of the same ? You and I would, because we know what hell the Republicans can weave. But a lot of Dem voters just tune out. Give up. Lower their heads and go live their day to day lives and regret the day they ever thought a vote could change things.
Obama inspired people in 2008. He actively demotivated people in 2010. Him and the “bots” kept saying this $#$@ that is out there is the best that can be done. Well guess what ? For this #@#@ a lot of us decided to just forget it and move on with our lives. It is not worth the effort and pain of caring about it. Nothing will ever change for the better, and you guys keep reminding us every single day of how immutable things are. So why bother ?
artem1s
@Just Some Fuckhead:
also,
There was none of the usual infighting or turf wars or bickering that I’ve witnessed in past efforts.
I’m sorry but the state party in OH got left at the gate back before the primaries. they effectively killed the young energized members enthusiasm when they endorsed Fisher over Brunner. She had a movement rolling and the state party pantsed her for an over-the-hill, never was, who had marginal name recognition as someone the party trots out when the cause is already lost and they need a warm body to help fund raise. As soon as Fisher announced I knew they were conceding the seat and that’s exactly how they ran his campaign.
they announced to the world that they had given up then and there and then waited until after the primary to start running ads for Strickland. by that time Kasich had a double digit lead. you can’t make up that kind of deficit in a month. they thought they had that race wrapped and got outspent and caught on the defensive. by the time they had any momentum the mail-in ballots had already been cast.
you can’t blame this on turn out in Cuyahoga county. They should have known with county corruption and the Dimora indictment that they shouldn’t be counting on NEOH to pull their butts out of the fire again. it was a completely unrealistic strategy given the economic situation here.
Also, where the hell was Sherrod Brown? covering his ass for not pushing the vote on the wealthy tax cuts, that’s where he was. not one rally, not one email (and i’m on his list) not one phone call or endorsement.
I did however, get calls from Kasich as did my neighbors, I’m sure.
from my end of the state, the D party looked like the keystone cops.
Kay
@JenJen:
I don’t know. I keep going back to 2004 because it felt like 2004. We didn’t lack a fired-up base in 2004, liberals were rabid, and Kerry had an organization, mess that it was. There were just more of them than us. I know the general comparison is to a midterm, but I can’t shake the 2004 feeling I got.
I got this thank you email from the Strickland campaign that you probably got, where Strickland quoted Woody Guthrie. Jesus. They’re trying to kill me. Reading Woody Guthrie is just brutal. So sad.
Anyway, Strickland was worth the effort. I do feel bad for all of the older union guys who do the work here. They loathe Kasich, and they worked hard.
JenJen
@bemused: I’m with you. I’m the person practically screaming at the young charges I manage to not give up, to please just get out there and vote. I’ve also tried more patiently to convince them of the usefulness of defensive voting, but they think I’m nuts.
They’re just not listening. And they really do blame the President for not “selling” his own accomplishments, and the national Democratic party for failing to have any kind of coherent message. And in my particular line of work, the fact that two years later, DADT is still viable policy, the President still won’t support marriage equality, and immigration reform seemed like nothing more than a gleam in the eye? Well, that stuff depressed the base. It doesn’t matter how many times you explain GOP obstructionism to them. They tend to take that as an instruction to clap louder, and they’re not going to. At this point, the young people I know think this President is weak, and I don’t see how that gets turned around in two years under complete national gridlock.
Sigh.
@Kay: Oh gawd, Kay, got the email too, and it’s the first time I’ve allowed my pissed-off veneer to crack a little.
Do I ever loathe Kasich, and am I ever scared about what’s going to happen to this state. Mike De Fucking Wine won! How does that happen?
By the way, to me, at this end of the state, it didn’t feel like 2004, and like you, I remember all too well the battleground this state was then. There just wasn’t any kind of enthusiasm this year, all I ever got from people was apathy. That 2004 election broke my heart; I’m not yet sure what this election did to me.
FlipYrWhig
@lawnorder:
I think you’re all too neatly linking “young voters” whom you say are disillusioned by “tepid watered down compromise” and “disillusioned liberal voters” aggravated by insults. There are overlaps, I’m sure: young liberals who read enough blogs to feel like they’re part of the activist/”professional left.” But I really don’t think “young voters” pay any attention to this process stuff about “compromise” and negotiation, let alone picayune squabbles about the word choice of Emanuel and Gibbs.
IMHO there are young voters who are frustrated that things haven’t gotten better faster (more so in relation to the economy than the specifics of legislation); and there is a subgroup within “young voters” who share the attitudes of the blogosphere about process, personalities, and Kremlinology. Improving the feelings of the latter group may involve actions that don’t accomplish anything to satisfy the former group, and vice versa.
FlipYrWhig
@Ruckus:
Yes, which is why the most devastating excision from the health care bill wasn’t the public option but the death panels.
FlipYrWhig
@lawnorder:
This is like debating someone who believes in predestination. Yes, you may be going to Hell, and the die may have been cast long before you were born. Do you just drift and wait to die? Or, since you don’t really know, why not try to do something that makes a rotten place slightly less rotten?
bemused
@JenJen:
The young’uns not listening just haven’t been around as long as we have being disappointed over and over again, ha. They need to buck up, get used to it and carry on.
FlipYrWhig
@JenJen:
Jaundiced political observers thought it was a perilous idea for Obama to build up an organization of young people, because they care too little and bore too easily. Hopefully young people take their Bieber-heads out of their asses. Because, seriously, old people are by and large horrible and awful when it comes to politics, and leaving us at their mercy is a hell of a thing.
ETA: I know it’s a serious issue, but every goddamn year one of the biggest topics of political discussion is how old people are going to pay for their medicine. I’m fucking tired of hearing about that. The more young people who engage in politics, the less we have to be bogged down in the niche nonsense that makes old people vote.
lawnorder
@FlipYrWhig: I think the numbers speak for themselves. Seniors citizen vote almost doubled in percent. Youth vote stayed within historical percentage.. and a lot lower than 2006.
Add to this Obama for America’s unfunded confidence that they had the young vote at the same levels they had in 2008 and…
Profit ?
Not quite. First time voters need inspiration to vote. Pretty much everything Obama and Dems did this last two years was to ridicule people’s high expectations and hope. Yup, elected on “hope” and change, the guy told his people to “get real” and “be patient for change”.
Worked out really well with first time voters… NOT!
I say it again, people were so desperate for an inspiring leader that they followed a sincere and inspiring comedian. To make it a point to say they refute the insanity and fear mongering. They crossed state lines to do that. But didn’t cross their street to vote, 2 days later.
FlipYrWhig
@lawnorder:
Maybe that just proves that young people don’t pay any attention when something isn’t the flavor of the moment.
Anyway, my larger point is that I still think you’re lumping together two categories: Obama’s (perceived) slights of liberals, and Obama’s (perceived) neglect of young people. You’re saying that young people were demoralized because they were disparaged by Obama’s rhetoric. I don’t think that happened. I think it’s much more likely that young people are demoralized because the economy fucking sucks and they have things to do. That’s a problem, obviously. But I don’t believe the causality works the way you’re describing.
lawnorder
@FlipYrWhig: Perhaps.
But in my experience, the causes of liberals are the causes of under 30 voters. Is the older more pragmatic voters that want to go center.
And in going center alienate young voters and liberals both.
FlipYrWhig
@lawnorder: Do young people–as a group–particularly care about the civil liberties stuff, how to handle Awlaki, warrantless wiretapping? Foreclosures and cramdown? When I was younger the last thing I cared about was health insurance; it’s a cornerstone liberal cause, but I don’t know if it’s a young person’s one. I was loudly anti-gun as a younger person, but as I aged I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t worth losing elections over.
That’s just off the top of my head. It’s not that they _don’t_ care about these things, but the ranked list is probably very different looking.
Ruckus
@FlipYrWhig:
Because, seriously, old people are by and large horrible and awful when it comes to politics, and leaving us at their mercy is a hell of a thing.
I know of a fella who said he thought he would take more chances in life as he got older but found out just the opposite. The less time he had left the more precious that time became. I think for the most part the only people over 55-60 who take chances are those with everything so it is less of a chance or those with nothing to lose. It’s more than just politics.
We may just have to go through this growing more conservative as a nation until the boomers (and I am one) grow old and die. I just hope the ride is bearable and recovery possible.
Had to take a break for a customer. And Again.
First customer was dismayed that Jerry Brown won. I looked at him like he was deranged. I didn’t know that Jerry Brown and the liberals were why CA is in such a financial mess. He did. He didn’t know Meg’s background, only that she wasn’t Jerry Brown. He didn’t know that Clinton left office with a budget surplus. He thought that no democrat and only rethugs balanced the national budget.
I do think that this country is on the road to extinction. I don’t think we have many more chances to pull out of the mess we are in. And I don’t see anyone with the ability to do just that. The ME generations will run it into the ground.
debbie
I cannot believe Richard Cordray lost to a useless wienny lap dog like Mike DeWine. He really was a great attorney general. I had two consumer-type problems, and not only did his office respond to my e-mails, but they followed through to make sure the issues were resolved to my benefit. How likely is that to ever happen again?
I’ve heard rumors to the effect that Strickland will appoint him to O’Connor’s Supreme Court seat. That would be great for the citizens of Ohio and a final f.u. to the Republicans.
sab
It certainly didn’t help us with independents that most of the Democratic leadership of Cuyahoga county was linked to really serious levels of corruption right after the primaries. We’re talking guilty pleas to life sentences levels of serious. Front page of the area newspapers almost daily between the primary and the election.
Exurban Mom
I apologize for not reading the previous comments, so sorry if someone else said this, but as an Ohioan, I have a slightly different take on this race. I agree with most of what you said, but Strickland is not a dynamic campaigner. He is not charismatic, not a big personality. Now Kasich isn’t either, but Strickland just isn’t able to sell himself very well.
From my point of view (running a local levy campaign in a semi-rural, Red county), the Dems had a good operation, but not a lot of enthusiasm, and not enough hands on deck. What hands there were available were well utilized, but the enthusiasm and excitement of 2008 was not in evidence.
And my levy went down hard, despite all sorts of campaigning, budget cuts, concessions, etc. The economy is just a huge obstacle, and Strickland was painted as the main reason why jobs left the state.
Mr Stagger Lee
@former ohio: Left there in 1982, put it this way, in Ohio voted for W rather than Kerry, because there was an anti-gay marriage initiative on the ballot. I guess they rather live in poverty , with piss-poor job prospects,than the thought of Adam and Steve living in blissful peace somewhere in Meigs County.
Nathanael
@JenJen: There you go. Obama’s choice to be a sellout hurt turnout massively.
Last time this clearly happened was McKinley, but things got improved by rather horrible means which I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
Nathanael
@Kryptik: “I just…I just fucking give up honestly, because it feels like we’re not even a center-right nation. We’re a wingnuttyfuck hard right nation that can’t get enough of hippie punching. Oh, it’ll elect Dems sometimes, but again, only long enough for that short memory to do its job and forget how much the fuck-ups fucked up. ”
Don’t give up. The problem really is corporatist sellouts running the Democratic Party. They make the old Nader accusation too close to true.
We’re ripe for a left-wing populist party to win enormous numbers of votes, sadly it won’t happen until Obama stops acting like a lead weight on the Democratic Party. Maybe we can get rid of the filibuster though. That would be a start and would give the next Democratic President something to *work* with when he got overwhelming majorities.