I've spent all morning going back and forth in my head about how to handle today's post. I can't not address what transpired last night because it's like the big white elephant in our proverbial room. It's sitting there, staring at me, waiting for me to say something. It's also smirking at me. Bastard elephant.
We lost. Not by a grand margin with the popular vote- currently, CNN's reporting it at 7% - but by fairly remarkable electoral vote, which has given Obama 349 and McCain 163. I could go on about where I think the campaign went wrong, where voters definitely went wrong, and how terrified I am of the next four years. I could direct you to a couple sites that offer perspectives I agree with and I could rant for many paragraphs about how I really feel about Barack Obama. But I won't. What good would come of it?
So I'll report on how the propositions I was concerned about turned out.
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Proposition 2. Standards for confining farm animals. Initiative statute.
- The long and the short of this is that farm animals raised for food - cows, chicken, pigs, etc. - be kept in larger, roomier cages allowing them to, "...fully extend their limbs or wings, lie down, stand up and turn around..."
Result: Yes. Damn. People just can't seem to think beyond the animals themselves. "Oh, those poor animals who'll be beheaded and butchered in a few months anyway and those awful cages!" Let's see how sympathetic they are when the price of their chicken goes from $2.99/lb. to $5/lb.
Proposition 3. Children's Hospital Bond Act. Grant Program. Initiative Statute.
- It would provide "...$980M in general obligation bonds towards construction, expansion, remodeling, renovation, furnishing and equipping of eligible children's hospitals..." It'll cost the state a LOT of money.
Result: Yes. I'm happy but a little nervous. It's a necessary thing, keeping up with current medical technology and accomodating all the needs of all the children, and one I'm happy to shell out for. But...$980M is a lot of money.
District Measure WW
- I'm assuming it's a measure, since it's not a proposition. All it's heading says is, "District." Anyway, it provides up to $500M to continue restoring urban creeks, protecting wildlife, purchasing/saving open space, wetlands/shoreline, acquiring/developing/improving local and regional parks, trails and recreational facilities in the East Bay Regional Park District.
Result: Yes. Yay! Hooray for nature!
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So my feelings after all is said and done? I'm resigned to the fact that my candidate - who I'll maintain to the day I die was far more qualified than Obama to run this country without running it into the ground - lost the election and that come February, I'll have a man I'm terrified of as my president. I'm resigned to the fact that the Democrats still have house majority and damn near senate majority as well (although, thankfully, not the two-thirds necessary to complete the monopoly and really turn Washington and our great nation on its ear as well as eliminate the extremely-necessary system of checks and balances) and that the next four years will be riddled with liberal agendas, government-sponsored healthcare, and small businesses having to close up shop due to an increase in their taxes. In my mind, I see a very long, very depressing four years ahead of me.
I hope I'm wrong and I hope Obama and his administration prove me wrong. That's the great thing about pessimism: you're never disappointed and occasionally, you're pleasantly surprised. So we'll see. And with that said, congratulations to all my Democratic readers. You won, fair and square. Well, a little superstition never hurts either. *wink*
Posts
Passing The Baton
1 year ago
8 comments:
All we can do is hope that the next four years are better than the last. I know like you, I was terrified of having McCain (as opposed to you with Obama)in the White House... for me, I am selfishly glad I dont have to be terrified any longer.
Now is the time to come together and hope Obama meant what he said here:
"Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too."
do you like being depressingly broke and helpless? that's the position our country is in right now. i don't care who's fault it was, but it happened under the rebulicans watch. the people who bitch the most about bush and the economy -- THEY voted for him 2 elections in a row. this is the same administration that caused a senseless war with thousands of casualties, american and otherwise. are you really that pessimistic? do you honestly believe things are going to be worse under obama?
i'll say the same thing i told my coworkers this morning when all i heard was "bitch bitch bitch!": mccain lost, get over it. better luck in 4 years.
I am glad you put your big girl pants on and decided to take a step back and accept that you'll have to just wait and see what comes of everything, I am also glad your not moving to Canada. I think maybe, I hope actually that he does do a good job, I voted republican, I like my guns, and my rights, and I like being middle class, I also am not opposed to giving the guy a chance, he won by an incredible margin and that says something, as much as you think it, that many voters can't be wrong. this is historical and you should be happy you'll get to experience it, whether it turns out good or bad, because your a part of it. Now stop stressing out and focus on your kids or some sort of Mommy project so we can all move on to something more interesting and less complicated.
Don't you just love Diana?
LMAO
Some of these comments are funny.
McCain lost the election months ago when he decided to run a negative campagin. He decided to attempt to smear Obama by showing video of a flamboyant minister and listing off his neighbors. He failed to present a message and anything resembling a plan. Regardless of who you are and who your opponent is, youwill never win an election without a plan or a message.
Besides, when the current Republican president has an approval rating in the low 30 percent range...is anyone really surprised that a Democrat won?
I also love brad now...
Haha, I didn't even realize that was Diana's Brad, I thought it was just some random Brad.
Hey, we're all entitled to our opinions. I know that among my friends, I'm in the very small minority; that's okay!
And for the record, I'm not all that surprised that a Democrat won, and not just because of Bush's approval rating. Very few times in history has any one party held office more than two sequential terms. Que sera sera!
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