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Tag: Democrats

  • Random thoughts on the election

    Random thoughts on the election

    Yesterday I said I just wanted the election to be over. That was a lie. I wanted a certain result, a different result. I just couldn’t imagine this result. To help myself process, I jotted down a few random thoughts.

    • The pollsters missed on Brexit and now this election. Are we in a post-poll world? I know we never answered a poll this entire season. “Sorry, we don’t do polls here. Thanks for your call…” I imagine others did the same or maybe just lied for kicks. If we can prove with an election that pollsters get it wrong, how much credence should we give them for other opinion issues that are not validated with an election?
    • That surveillance state some trusted Obama with? We just gave the keys to Trump, a man with a history of striking back for even the slightest slight. Watch those who stand against him—they are being very brave.
    • Racism is about to get much worse. As I was recently told with a wistful tone, “I remember when being black was wrong…” Or, as I was just told at Starbucks, “It’s good that a white person is the president again.” What?!
    • All the ‘isms are about to get much worse. We must stand up for those who are different.
    • Pray for the health of our supreme court justices. And their stamina. ;-)
    • Those that are expecting checks and balances to operate need to realize that the Republicans also control congress.
    • Many have said that Trump doesn’t mean what he says, that it’s bluster or negotiation or hyperbole. Now we will see. And hope they were right.
    • I remember when Evangelicals questioned whether they could vote for Romney, an honorable man, but a Mormon. The religious test is clearly gone. And maybe that’s a good thing.
    • Both parties nominated candidates so disliked that they only had a chance of winning because of who their opponent was. Expect soul searching by both parties as to how to run a primary. Maybe the primaries would experiment with different voting systems.
    • The Republicans proved that they could win, at least one more time, with just the white vote. That’s a small tent that needs to fold.
    • Trump promised to put Hillary in prison. This could get very ugly and would set a bad precedent in American politics. Obama could pardon Hillary, like Ford pardoned Nixon. But what’s the quid pro quo? Hillary can’t resign. I know one thing: the healing can’t begin if Trump is prosecuting Hillary. And do only losers ask for the healing to begin?
    • Trump who has only recently shown the ability to take advice. Now he has a job that will be impossible to do without taking a lot of advice. May he choose good advisors and listen to them. Based on who he chose to help run his campaign, I’m not hopeful.
    • I’m proud to be in Oregon, where we have 100% vote by mail. No long lines, no voter intimidation. Just lots of time to research the candidates and issues and feel confident that we voted for the best available. It’s time for the rest of the nation to follow suit.

    Elections have real results. Here they come…

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  • Feeling Blue

    Florida’s Democratic Party announces no re-vote; Florida feels blue. Michigan still deciding…

    Yeah, yeah, nothing groundbreaking here. I was looking for an excuse to try out Google Chart API’s new chart types.

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  • A Message of Hope

    Funny how in a campaign where every Republican candidate is trying to be the second coming of Ronald “Morning in America” Reagan, it’s Barack Obama who inspires hope.

    …And not John McCain.

    Why aren’t Republicans the party of hope?

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  • Did Someone Say al-Qaeda? Part II

    After the first Democratic Presidential Debate, the blogosphere made a big deal that the Democratic candidates mentioned al-Qaeda only twice during the entire debate. I joined in the fray.

    So how did the Republican candidates do in their first debate? I counted five times in the transcript plus moderator Chris Matthews’ one mention.

    Five times isn’t a lot for ten candidates, but it is 2.5 times as many as the Democrats.

    Yup, moving along…

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  • Word Tag Clouds for Republican Debate

    Word Tag Clouds for Republican Debate

    As I prepared for the Democratic debate, here are the word tag clouds for the Republican Presidential Debate. Click on the image to see a larger view of Rep. Duncan Hunter’s tag cloud. Anything pop out at you? ;-)

    Too bad we couldn’t do the same for the candidate’s gestures. McCain’s finger jabbing would fill the box.

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  • Did Someone Say al-Qaeda?

    Democratic candidates said “al-Qaeda” a combined total of twice during the recent presidential debates. (Get out the electron microscopes to see it on their Word Tag Clouds.)

    No global war on terror, here. Move along…

    Update: It will be interesting to see the count for the Republicans. I just listened to (most of) their first debate, and I’m not sure I heard al Qaeda any more…

    Hat tip: Hugh Hewitt.

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  • Word Tag Clouds for Democratic Debate

    Word Tag Clouds for Democratic Debate

    Pollster.com shows “tag clouds” displaying the Democratic candidates’ words. The sizes of the words correlates to how often they were used during the Democratic Presidential Debate of April 26, 2007.

    Senator Joe Biden’s tag cloud is shown above. Click on it for a larger view. Visit Pollster.com to see all of them. What can you learn about the candidates’ agenda from the distribution of their words?

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  • Religion in the 2008 Presidential Election

    Religion is playing a large role in the 2008 presidential election. Recently:

    • Mainstream media has noticed that Mitt Romney is Mormon and is doing its best to alert everyone that Romney’s great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather had more than one wife. (By the way, it’s interesting to note that candidate Romney has had only one wife, while McCain has been married twice and Guiliani has been married three times.) Polygamy in Romney’s family tree is about as relevant as Barack Obama’s ancestors owning slaves. In fact, it’s less relevant because polygamy is just not that big an issue these days. White guilt over slave ownership is. Obama might be able to bring a different view to the issue.
    • Hillary Clinton and Obama preached in Selma. While the faked southern accents of both garnered respective (but not respectful) blogstorms, their presence in a church would not have been overlooked (crickets here) had they been Republicans. Or not, but that’s my perception. Please prove me wrong.
    • Obama’s membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ and his relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. has attracted attention with its “liberation theology.”
    • John Edwards channeled Jesus this week. Okay, that’s a little strong. He attempted to answer for Jesus. His answer was actually pretty good–Jesus would be appalled at the selfishness in America in light of the incredible wealth of some individuals. But who am I to judge? The blogosphere handled that one as well.

    My prediction? Expect to see the Democrats continue with more public displays or religion while Republicans distance themselves from the issue. Don’t be fooled either direction — watch to see how their proposals align with their (non)displays, their parties’ platforms, and your values.

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  • Lieberman Leaving the Democratic Party?

    Lieberman says leaving the Democratic Party is a “very remote possibility.” But even that slight ambiguity — and all his cross-aisle flirtation — has proved more than enough to position Lieberman as the Senate’s one-man tipping point. (Source)

    And the issue that could tip Lieberman to the Republican side? According to The Politico: defunding the war. I wonder how remote that vote is.

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  • The only issue this election day

    There is only one issue in this election that will matter five or ten years from now, and that’s the War on Terror.

    And the success of the War on Terror now teeters on the fulcrum of this election.

    If control of the House passes into Democratic hands, there are enough withdraw-on-a-timetable Democrats in positions of prominence that it will not only seem to be a victory for our enemies, it will be one.

    Unfortunately, the opposite is not the case — if the Republican Party remains in control of both houses of Congress there is no guarantee that the outcome of the present war will be favorable for us or anyone else.

    But at least there will be a chance. (Source.)

    So starts an essay by Orson Scott Card, a Democrat, on the 2006 election. Whether you agree with Card or not, you owe it to yourself to read the rest of his essay.

    Hat tip: Little Green Footballs.

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