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Well, that's it then. At long last, the nearly two-year presidential election cycle is over, and the last man standing is Obama. McCain was as gracious as usual in defeat, as one would expect. Those who I was liveblogging with were somewhat less gracious, you might say.
And now it is a matter of where we go from here, as conservatives, as the Republican Party, and as Americans. Let's hope that we're somehow able to limit the damage that I believe will come from the impeding Obama presidency. Even more importantly, we need to start finding and advancing people now from within the conservative movement for candidacy in 2012. To be clear, McCain lost this election because he wasn't the right candidate. We cannot afford to make that mistake again in the future.
More in the way of a recap later.
~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL
Showing posts with label election 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label election 2008. Show all posts
The talking heads in the media are once again trying to sculpt the results of the election with their coverage of the electoral race. All of the major media outlets called Ohio some hours ago, with only a scant few percentage of the precincts reporting, when Obama led by a 2-1 margin. But it's not even close to being over yet! The gap has closed to 5% as of this writing, and by the looks of the county electoral maps, may close further yet.
The morons in the media still know nothing. They're already saying things like "roll credits" and talking about "how Obama did it," while many states are still complete toss-ups.
It ain't over 'till it's over, but the media is doing its best to make sure you think it is.
~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL
The morons in the media still know nothing. They're already saying things like "roll credits" and talking about "how Obama did it," while many states are still complete toss-ups.
It ain't over 'till it's over, but the media is doing its best to make sure you think it is.
~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL
Another State and Local update, this time on the offices up for election:
Ohio Attorney General: Democrat Richard Cordray looks to be taking this one home, currently leading with 58 percent of the vote.
U.S. House, 3rd District: Republican incumbent Mike Turner looks to have survived an unexpectedly strong opponent, currently taking home 54 percent of the vote.
U.S. House, 8th District: Republican incumbent John Boehner looks to take a convincing win, bringing in two-thirds of the vote.
More updates as these races become official.
Taking a short break from the national scene, here’s a quick rundown of the State and Local issues being decided tonight:
Issue 1: To provide for earlier filing deadlines for statewide ballot issues. Looks like this one is going to pass, currently leading 70-30.
Issue 2: Authorizing the state to issue bonds (read: go into debt) to pursue environmental interests. Looks as if this one is going to pass as well, ahead 75-25.
Issue 3: A constitutional amendment underlining the water rights of private property owners. This one’s going on the books, currently up 70-30.
Issue 5: State referendum allowing government regulation of the payday lending industry with regards to interest rates and fees. This one looks to be over as well, passing 68-32.
Issue 6: Constitutional amendment to allow a casino to be built near Wilmington, Ohio. This one’s going down to the wire, it looks like. Currently a near-tie, 50.3 in favor, 47.7 opposed.
Issue 52: School levy for Dayton Public Schools. This one is something of a surprise, looking like it’s going to pass, for the first time in 16 years. Currently ahead 58-42
More small-election updates later.
You heard it here first, people! None of these journalistic idiots know anything. Every major news outlet I've been watching (which is to say, nearly all of them) has called states, un-called them, re-called them, and basically thrown their aprons over their heads and run around in circles.
So the first call of the night from THE FREE RADICAL, posting live from Worldview Election Headquarters, is that the media doesn't have a clue what is going on.
So the first call of the night from THE FREE RADICAL, posting live from Worldview Election Headquarters, is that the media doesn't have a clue what is going on.
That seems to be the theme of the media tonight. If I read one more idiot journalist gushing over the "historic election" and the "record turnouts" today, I think I'm going to toss my laptop across the room. These people are really college-educated? Every election is historic, and we've had record turnouts every election for as long as I can remember! Seriously, if the talking heads in the media can't come up with anything better to write about, they really ought to look for another line of work.
~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL
~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL
This from the Columbus Dispatch:
"Nearly half of Montgomery County voters were expected to use paper ballots Tuesday, Nov. 4, which could delay the count, the board of elections director told the Dayton Daily News this morning.
"Nearly half of Montgomery County voters were expected to use paper ballots Tuesday, Nov. 4, which could delay the count, the board of elections director told the Dayton Daily News this morning.
He said paper ballots will take longer to count and "we expect the count to continue into Wednesday afternoon," said Steve Harsman, director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections."
Like I said earlier, if you're too dumb to use the voting machines in Ohio, maybe you shouldn't be voting...
~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL
In the whirlwind of rhetoric and talking points leading up to any election, it is not uncommon to find one side trying to turn around a point often raised by the other side. This election year is no different. We've seen the McCain campaign try mightily to steal the moniker of "change" from the Obama campaign and portray McCain and Palin as the true agents of government reform.
But one rather unnoticed turn has come from the Obama campaign, which has, for some time now, been criticizing McCain for attacking Obama on style, rather than substance. Indeed, this charge has been repeated throughout the left, especially in the liberal media. And yet, whenever the topic of a possible Obama defeat comes up, the only possible reason liberals can come up with is racism. It couldn't possibly be that the American people would look at Obama, disagree with what he says and what he stands for, and vote against him. No, the only reason anyone would ever vote against the Most Merciful Lord Barack Hussein Obama (praise be upon him... er, wait, what?) is that they're evil, backwards racists.
Nevermind that he's half white. Or that the other half is very likely of Arab descent, not African.
But the larger point is that the Obama campaign has, since its inception, been run primarily on style, not substance. The first year or so of his campaign featured nothing but empty speeches and soaring rhetoric, completely devoid of any substantive content. And largely, that theme of campaigning continues today. To be fair, I've been somewhat disappointed that the McCain campaign has not put forth more specific answers to the issues in this election, but how can you criticize someone for attacking Obama's style, when that's basically all he's made of?
Further, almost all of the attacks I've seen from the Obama campaign against McCain have been stylistic in nature. McCain's being too negative, or too personal, or bringing up things too far in the past, or making too big a deal out of Obama's voting record... All of these are stylistic rebuttals, and yet Obama's charge is that McCain attacks only on style?
~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL
One of my vivid memories of the electoral process as a kid was when my mom would take me with her to vote. I remember it because she always would get two of the "I voted today" stickers, one for me, and one for her. Looking back, it was as if she was demonstrating to me, even at an early age, the importance she placed on voting. So every time I go vote today, I still look forward to getting that sticker, and I faithfully put it on my t-shirt, just like I did when I was four.
Voting today was somewhat less of an ordeal than voting in the primary. My polling location is at an elementary school on the not-so-nice side of town. Let's just say I am deeply in the ethnic minority there. In the last presidential election, I made it to the polls after work, about a half an hour before the polls closed, and was stupefied when a DNC campaigner held the door open for me to go in! During this years' primaries, it was clear that the polling personnel had no clue what they were doing, as they struggled to find me on their lists, then tried to make me vote on a Democratic ballot, then tried to tell me that if I voted in the Republican primary, that I could only vote for Republicans in November. Insert face into palm and sigh deeply...
Today wasn't so bad. I didn't endure any of the lines that are being reported nationally, and the poll worker found my registration without incident. My voting machine worked as advertised, and I appreciated the slight upgrades in the software they appear to have made since the last election. If anyone claims that these machines are confusing now, they don't need to be voting (or driving, or dressing themselves) in the first place. The Obama supporters were an adequate distance from the polling center, handing out stickers on the street in front of the school. The worst distraction I experienced was when the school children came in from recess while I was voting, and started singing the Barney song. I hate hearing about all that love and harmony while I'm voting against a school levy...
Stay tuned throughout the day to this blog and Worldview for live blogging throughout the day (and well into the night, I'd guess).
~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL
Voting today was somewhat less of an ordeal than voting in the primary. My polling location is at an elementary school on the not-so-nice side of town. Let's just say I am deeply in the ethnic minority there. In the last presidential election, I made it to the polls after work, about a half an hour before the polls closed, and was stupefied when a DNC campaigner held the door open for me to go in! During this years' primaries, it was clear that the polling personnel had no clue what they were doing, as they struggled to find me on their lists, then tried to make me vote on a Democratic ballot, then tried to tell me that if I voted in the Republican primary, that I could only vote for Republicans in November. Insert face into palm and sigh deeply...
Today wasn't so bad. I didn't endure any of the lines that are being reported nationally, and the poll worker found my registration without incident. My voting machine worked as advertised, and I appreciated the slight upgrades in the software they appear to have made since the last election. If anyone claims that these machines are confusing now, they don't need to be voting (or driving, or dressing themselves) in the first place. The Obama supporters were an adequate distance from the polling center, handing out stickers on the street in front of the school. The worst distraction I experienced was when the school children came in from recess while I was voting, and started singing the Barney song. I hate hearing about all that love and harmony while I'm voting against a school levy...
Stay tuned throughout the day to this blog and Worldview for live blogging throughout the day (and well into the night, I'd guess).
~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL
As promised, I'd like to go into more detail about why I believe the election of Barack Hussein Obama (yeah, I said it) would be dangerous and harmful to our country.
Obama (despite his oft-repeated assertion that he is something new and different) has put forth the same old tax plan that those on the left in this country have been pushing for years. In a typical play on the class envy of the average American, Obama claims that he will be taxing only the "rich", and that Joe Schmoe will not see a a tax increase, but instead will enjoy a tax cut.
As usual, the flowery rhetoric of Obama is completely lacking in any economic common sense. I will put aside the fact that the tax increases proposed by Obama essentially constitute a substantial hike in the taxes on small businesses, since this has been very well covered. But since I am something of a simple man, I will present the matter simply. I can't think of a single middle-class or low-income American who employs a a single worker. It is irrefutable that the responsibility of employing America's workers and creating new jobs is solely the station of those who control the companies, corporations and businesses that make up the U.S. economy. Raising taxes on high-income Americans can only have one effect, and that is to hurt job growth in an economy already struggling with rising unemployment.
[As an aside and speaking of jobs, the most recent Obama propaganda I've seen on TV features a downtrodden auto worker talking about how his friends are losing their jobs, and he's concerned about the future for his grandchildren. The ad goes further to assert that John McCain simply "doesn't get it" and that McCain's friends are getting rich while the speaker's friends are losing their jobs. This is blatant class warfare, untrue, and absolute rubbish. I wish I could speak briefly with the person in the commercial (though I'm sure he's a paid actor), because I would tell him in no uncertain terms that it is his fault alone, and that of their friends, that they aspired no higher than the manufacturing jobs that they are now losing. Manufacturing is a dying industry in America, and has been for decades. If you really, truly want the same crappy jobs for your kids and grandkids that you and your father were able to get as high school dropouts or worse, I would tend to question your benevolence towards your progeny.]
But I digress. What sense does it make to increase the taxes on corporations, investments and the wealthy, in an economy that is already ailing? One mantra of the Obama campaign is that they're going to aid job growth in this country by "ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas." That's sounds great, but then why would you increase taxes for companies who do business here? Somehow, I just can't see how a tax policy even more punitive than our current one is going to spur economic growth.
Allow me to address one other myth: Corporate Taxes. I've got news for all the mindless drones on the left: Corporations don't pay taxes. I know, I know, just when you thought they couldn't get any more evil, now I'm going to tell you they don't even pay taxes?! But it's true, and I'll explain it to you. Unlike private individuals, companies in business to make money don't have discretionary income. They only have two categories of money, which are costs and profits. Taxes are costs, and like any other costs, must be rolled into the price of their products. If taxes on corporations are raised, they must roll that increased cost into the price of their products. This raises the cost of living for everyone else, but has little direct effect on the company, particularly if what they are producing is a staple (read: oil companies). If the price increase required by the tax increase would cause the company to not be competitive in their market, their only other choice is to try and cut other costs, like employee salaries, entire positions, or decrease the quality of their product. Any way you slice it, the average American is still getting hosed by corporate taxes.
Every day for the last several weeks on the news, the lead story has been what the stock market is doing. Record falls in the market indices were used to push for an economic bailout plan that the public didn't want, and if you listened to most of the major news services, you'd have though that the sky was not only falling, but that it was covered in sharp objects laced with anthrax. But in the midst of all this, Obama is advocating a tax plan that will raise the capital gains tax rate to as high as 28%. Investors are already wary of buying anything, fearful of a further market downturn and uncertain what is going to happen, with large domestic companies failing, and an ambiguous bailout plan having just been pushed through Congress. Now Obama's going to tell them that even if they do invest, and are somehow able to make money, the government is going to take nearly a third of their profit. What possible positive effect is that going to have on the stock markets? Further removing any incentive to invest in America's economy, at a time that it is already weakened, is a certain recipe for disaster.
So there you have it. Obama's tax plan is far more than ill-advised, it is dangerous and harmful to our country. It cannot and will not result in any economic growth, but will instead gravely harm the very people it is purported to aid. A vote for Obama this November is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a vote against our country.
~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL
Obama (despite his oft-repeated assertion that he is something new and different) has put forth the same old tax plan that those on the left in this country have been pushing for years. In a typical play on the class envy of the average American, Obama claims that he will be taxing only the "rich", and that Joe Schmoe will not see a a tax increase, but instead will enjoy a tax cut.
As usual, the flowery rhetoric of Obama is completely lacking in any economic common sense. I will put aside the fact that the tax increases proposed by Obama essentially constitute a substantial hike in the taxes on small businesses, since this has been very well covered. But since I am something of a simple man, I will present the matter simply. I can't think of a single middle-class or low-income American who employs a a single worker. It is irrefutable that the responsibility of employing America's workers and creating new jobs is solely the station of those who control the companies, corporations and businesses that make up the U.S. economy. Raising taxes on high-income Americans can only have one effect, and that is to hurt job growth in an economy already struggling with rising unemployment.
[As an aside and speaking of jobs, the most recent Obama propaganda I've seen on TV features a downtrodden auto worker talking about how his friends are losing their jobs, and he's concerned about the future for his grandchildren. The ad goes further to assert that John McCain simply "doesn't get it" and that McCain's friends are getting rich while the speaker's friends are losing their jobs. This is blatant class warfare, untrue, and absolute rubbish. I wish I could speak briefly with the person in the commercial (though I'm sure he's a paid actor), because I would tell him in no uncertain terms that it is his fault alone, and that of their friends, that they aspired no higher than the manufacturing jobs that they are now losing. Manufacturing is a dying industry in America, and has been for decades. If you really, truly want the same crappy jobs for your kids and grandkids that you and your father were able to get as high school dropouts or worse, I would tend to question your benevolence towards your progeny.]
But I digress. What sense does it make to increase the taxes on corporations, investments and the wealthy, in an economy that is already ailing? One mantra of the Obama campaign is that they're going to aid job growth in this country by "ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas." That's sounds great, but then why would you increase taxes for companies who do business here? Somehow, I just can't see how a tax policy even more punitive than our current one is going to spur economic growth.
Allow me to address one other myth: Corporate Taxes. I've got news for all the mindless drones on the left: Corporations don't pay taxes. I know, I know, just when you thought they couldn't get any more evil, now I'm going to tell you they don't even pay taxes?! But it's true, and I'll explain it to you. Unlike private individuals, companies in business to make money don't have discretionary income. They only have two categories of money, which are costs and profits. Taxes are costs, and like any other costs, must be rolled into the price of their products. If taxes on corporations are raised, they must roll that increased cost into the price of their products. This raises the cost of living for everyone else, but has little direct effect on the company, particularly if what they are producing is a staple (read: oil companies). If the price increase required by the tax increase would cause the company to not be competitive in their market, their only other choice is to try and cut other costs, like employee salaries, entire positions, or decrease the quality of their product. Any way you slice it, the average American is still getting hosed by corporate taxes.
Every day for the last several weeks on the news, the lead story has been what the stock market is doing. Record falls in the market indices were used to push for an economic bailout plan that the public didn't want, and if you listened to most of the major news services, you'd have though that the sky was not only falling, but that it was covered in sharp objects laced with anthrax. But in the midst of all this, Obama is advocating a tax plan that will raise the capital gains tax rate to as high as 28%. Investors are already wary of buying anything, fearful of a further market downturn and uncertain what is going to happen, with large domestic companies failing, and an ambiguous bailout plan having just been pushed through Congress. Now Obama's going to tell them that even if they do invest, and are somehow able to make money, the government is going to take nearly a third of their profit. What possible positive effect is that going to have on the stock markets? Further removing any incentive to invest in America's economy, at a time that it is already weakened, is a certain recipe for disaster.
So there you have it. Obama's tax plan is far more than ill-advised, it is dangerous and harmful to our country. It cannot and will not result in any economic growth, but will instead gravely harm the very people it is purported to aid. A vote for Obama this November is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a vote against our country.
~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL
Like many conservatives in this election cycle, I have found myself riding alternating waves of excitement and disappointment over the prospects of the Republican nominee for President, John McCain. He is an admitted centrist, a moderate Republican whose bragging about reaching across the aisle may endear him to voters on the fence, but simultaneously raises the eyebrow (and sometimes plants forehead in palm) of true conservatives. On the one hand, his military service and leadership experience is remarkable, and certainly unrivaled in the current election, but on the other he has advocated and espoused policies on immigration and the environment that are sharply at odds with my own.
Allow me to whine for a moment. It almost seems unfair! Election after election (since I started paying attention to politics at age 7), conservatives are seemingly forced to settle for a candidate that is seemingly reluctant to carry the conservative mantle. Meanwhile, liberals are so fortunate as to have their pick of rock-solid leftists, and are usually also given a heaping helping of charisma as well (the obvious exception being FrankenKerry).
The young idealist in me is inclined to agree and side with those conservative friends of mine who have thrown in the towel in this election, or worse, decided to vote for Obama out of some sort of reverse-psychology protest. And I acknowledge that the last time we had a president as inept as I believe Obama will be, he was followed by one Ronald Reagan, so that ended up pretty well for the country, right?
But when I consider these courses of action, I keep running back up on one giant problem with their reasoning. I love my country. And I don't mean that in the pop-culture, politically expedient manner that most celebrities and politicians say that they love it. I mean I love my country. I go to work every day in her service. I love our history, what we've overcome, what we've stood for, and what we offer to the common man. I love our national compassion, our work ethic, our innovation, and our attitude.
Because I love my country the way that I do, I want nothing but the best for it. I cannot stomach the thought of handing her over to someone who does not have her best interests in mind, or else has ideas that I believe would be harmful to her. And I believe wholeheartedly that Barack Obama fits that description in nearly every aspect.
His stated plans for taxes, health care, defense spending, social security reform and others seem to be looking out not for the best interests of us as a nation, or of the citizens as individuals, but instead for the perpetuation of government. His proposals stand to weaken our security, take more money from the people, hurt our economy, and lay the foundations of a truly socialist state. My posts over the next few weeks until the election will go into these aspects in greater detail.
And so, despite my enthusiasm over the McCain campaign wavering from time to time, my resolve to do what is best for my country remains. Sometimes, doing what is best does not include doing what is perfect, or what you would prefer in an ideal world, but doing what is least bad, in some ways. I retain hope that in a future election cycle, a candidate will arise that will represent what I and millions of other conservatives believe more closely. But in the mean time, we are only given the choices we currently have, and must choose what is best for our country from those choices.
At the end of the day, it seems no matter how much frustration and disagreement I have with John McCain over domestic issues, the alternative presented by the DNC is exponentially worse. And while it may not assuage the idealism of the conservative base to vote for yet another moderate Republican candidate, it is still what is best for the country. I cannot, and will not, vote for someone who I know will harm my country in myriad ways. I ask my fellow conservatives to put aside their idealism for another day, and do what is right and pragmatic, and join me in voting for John McCain this November.
~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL
Allow me to whine for a moment. It almost seems unfair! Election after election (since I started paying attention to politics at age 7), conservatives are seemingly forced to settle for a candidate that is seemingly reluctant to carry the conservative mantle. Meanwhile, liberals are so fortunate as to have their pick of rock-solid leftists, and are usually also given a heaping helping of charisma as well (the obvious exception being FrankenKerry).
The young idealist in me is inclined to agree and side with those conservative friends of mine who have thrown in the towel in this election, or worse, decided to vote for Obama out of some sort of reverse-psychology protest. And I acknowledge that the last time we had a president as inept as I believe Obama will be, he was followed by one Ronald Reagan, so that ended up pretty well for the country, right?
But when I consider these courses of action, I keep running back up on one giant problem with their reasoning. I love my country. And I don't mean that in the pop-culture, politically expedient manner that most celebrities and politicians say that they love it. I mean I love my country. I go to work every day in her service. I love our history, what we've overcome, what we've stood for, and what we offer to the common man. I love our national compassion, our work ethic, our innovation, and our attitude.
Because I love my country the way that I do, I want nothing but the best for it. I cannot stomach the thought of handing her over to someone who does not have her best interests in mind, or else has ideas that I believe would be harmful to her. And I believe wholeheartedly that Barack Obama fits that description in nearly every aspect.
His stated plans for taxes, health care, defense spending, social security reform and others seem to be looking out not for the best interests of us as a nation, or of the citizens as individuals, but instead for the perpetuation of government. His proposals stand to weaken our security, take more money from the people, hurt our economy, and lay the foundations of a truly socialist state. My posts over the next few weeks until the election will go into these aspects in greater detail.
And so, despite my enthusiasm over the McCain campaign wavering from time to time, my resolve to do what is best for my country remains. Sometimes, doing what is best does not include doing what is perfect, or what you would prefer in an ideal world, but doing what is least bad, in some ways. I retain hope that in a future election cycle, a candidate will arise that will represent what I and millions of other conservatives believe more closely. But in the mean time, we are only given the choices we currently have, and must choose what is best for our country from those choices.
At the end of the day, it seems no matter how much frustration and disagreement I have with John McCain over domestic issues, the alternative presented by the DNC is exponentially worse. And while it may not assuage the idealism of the conservative base to vote for yet another moderate Republican candidate, it is still what is best for the country. I cannot, and will not, vote for someone who I know will harm my country in myriad ways. I ask my fellow conservatives to put aside their idealism for another day, and do what is right and pragmatic, and join me in voting for John McCain this November.
~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL
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