Post Election 2004 #1: The Day After

    Oh My! So what really happened here in central Ohio? Well, First, while the wait to vote in suburban and rural areas was measured in minutes, in most urban polling places the wait was very, very long... routinely two to three hours and more... and starting in the early evening the wait was in a very cold monsoon-like rain! Obviously there are many ways to disenfranchise voters, and not providing enough voting machines, particularly in urban areas, is one! Second, the ballot was exceptionally long with up to 40 local issues, thus slowing down the voting. Third, the Rove smear and dis-information machine worked again making someone who volunteered for combat less worthy than someone who refused to take his National Guard physical once it included drug testing, and targeting voters with hot-button cultural issues like gay-marriage and guns. Fourth, Kerry’s campaign was so inept one wonders if some of the ex-Clinton aids were hoping he’d lose so Hillary would have a shot in 2008. Fifth, there was no coordination between the Move-On and other PAC’s working for Kerry, with the result that the volunteers were scattered and very duplicative and failed to focus on the likely voters. And finally, sixth, the Kerry campaign spent all of their time and resources trying to get the traditional Democratic base (minorities and unions) out to vote and, unlike the Bush campaign, totally failed to court voters from the opposite party's bases... and indeed this may well have been the decisive difference since the more educated and wealthy Republican areas showed an amazing amount of “closet” Kerry voters (a fact the herd reporting has yet to discover).

    So where do we go from here? It can be hoped, but not expected, that once freed from the constraints of re-election, and once he has "bested" his father by winning a second term, this Bush will seek a place in history with more reasonable and responsible policies. Some Democrats are hoping that this Bush will be hounded by numerous scandals, including the Haliburton contracts and the CIA intelligence failures. But more likely this Bush (and certainly Cheney and Rove) will take his re-election and Republican gains in the legislature as a mandate to continue to aggressively pursue their agendas with even more smash mouth politics... including several Supreme Court nominations, pushing to make the tax cuts permanent, and pay-backs for corporations and important supporter including the evangelicals, NRA, and businesses. Moreover, all of this will be focused in the next two years.

    Three pieces of “good news.” First, as Bush said, after 2 years he will be “quacking like a duck...” and undoubtedly spending even more time in Texas. Second, as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for... because by increasing their control in the legislature, the Republicans have no excuses for not achieving their agendas... and nowhere to hide from the results. And third, if W's focus on politics over facts continues, his second term could be so catastrophic as to force a new third party for disenchanted Republicans and Democrats, which could finally bring some essential sanity into our political, social, and economic structures.

    Three other thoughts for this Day-After: First while all Americans must support W because he is the only president we have, it doesn’t mean we can’t correct any mis-statements and criticize any faulty rationale.... Moreover the election was close enough to hold all who supported Bush responsible for the results... in short it should be Arnold’s, and Rudy’s, and McCain’s (and each other supporters’) deficits, Supreme Court nominations, foreign policy, wars, etc...
    Second, the election dramatically proved W was right about one thing: our education system is obviously in dire need of reform since so many Americans voted so strongly against their economic interests, and were so easily misled. Indeed the education establishment must take a hard look in the mirror, and consider drastic changes like funding the NCLB and vouchers.... There is a lot to make up!
    And finally third, perhaps George Soros and others will continue their funding for alternatives to this president Bush’s policies... and surely many who got involved in the political process for the first time will remain in the process.... and a loyal opposition is also necessary to remind the world that not all Americans support this Bush.

2004 POST ELECTION #2: Three Days After
to the Elect Hobie Webpage

    For many, the election is even worse 3 days later.... and some are even not taking calls or watching television -- and not just in the USA: an email from Ireland said all 1,000 people in their office building were astounded and depressed Bush won, as the UK Daily Mirror's headline asked "How Can 59,054,087 People Be So DUMB?" (Click here for the image!) And Canada even let it be known that, for any from the USA thinking of emigrating, it would take a year to get a job, and three years for citizenship up in hockey-land!
    A story about Ohio State University's football coach Woody Hayes even comes to mind. Toward the end of his career in 1974 he had significant heart problems, and in the locker room after a last minute, heart-breaking loss to Michigan State, as he was berating the Big Ten Commissioner in a classic rage over what Coach Hayes thought was faulty officiating, one of his assistant coaches urgently reminded Woody "your heart, your heart!" and Woody yelled back "F*** my heart, I want to die!"
    Well things are never that bad. W even had a real press conference, and we'll soon know his Cabinet changes (which are important since W delegates so much). The "Loyal Opposition" as the party out of power is called in Britain, has an important duty to question as well as support the party in power, because (1) power without restraints always leads to excesses and corruption... and (2) someone has to raise important questions and facts since this administration is has so few who will do so. Moreover, behind the pundit's blind acceptance of Rove and Cheney's present election spin are two hopeful signs: first, younger people finally voted in impressive, if not yet decisive, numbers; and second, a surprising number of Republicans particularly in the more affluent and educated suburbs deserted W in this election... and many more Republicans who voted for W will follow if W aggressively follows his second term agenda... As one long time Republican said, he had to hold his nose when he voted for W this time... and many more are already having "W Voter Remorse...."
    Thus the Real Question is, if the Loyal Democratic Opposition, and just as importantly, the moderate Republicans in the House and Senate, cannot restrain W, where will all these Republicans land once the Republican party implodes... And since a Hillary Democratic party won't be attractive, will McCain be the best/only alternative?.... And indeed if Rove and Cheney overreach too much we might even get radical change, like a question hour if not a parliamentary system, reversing gerrymandering, and truth in campaigning...
Click here for more of our analysis and solutions.