Originally Posted by fatbrit (Post 10371052)

It's the stubborn inability to vote for any other candidate than one with an R or a D after their name. Candidates to suit alternative views are out there -- it's just that nobody votes for them despite the fact that many of the electors' views would more closely match with these candidates.

Originally Posted by Nutek (Post 10371182)

Glad it wasn't just me then. there is something really not right about him.

Originally Posted by Bink (Post 10371234)

I agree. I watched the VP debate and whilst Biden may have been slated for laughing, I personally found Ryan a lot creepier and sleazier. I think it was the smugness which he presented as he spoke that really bothered me.

Originally Posted by Hiro11 (Post 10370998)

What, exactly, is so wonderful about Obama? You do realize that he has changed nothing whatsoever about GW's foreign policy towards the middle east? That he has changed nothing about GW's extremely questionable legal framework for dealing with terrorism including the Patriot Act? That he has radically expanded drone usage and state-sponsored assasinations? That he has not even come close to closing Guantanamo, a key campaign promise? That his key legislative "accomplishment", his healthcare act, is an incomprehensible, unsustainable mess and nothing but a sop for the insurance companies? That he essentially gave GM to the UAW, the very same people who were directly responsible for its problems? That he has set the US government on a course for fiscal ruin in the short term? That he has put in place the CFPB, the single most anti-democratic and unmanageable bureaucracy in American history? That he has reneged on all of his "reach across the aisle" campaign rhetoric and is just as much a partisan and party-line guy as GW ever was if not more so? That his "reset" policy towards Russia has done nothing but push that country towards an evermore dictatorial kleptocracy? That he has done nothing to prevent Iran from getting an atomic bomb? That he has allowed an American ambassador to be killed and done absolutely nothing, despite this being one of the few clearly defined acts of war? That he has carefully sidestepped any "tricky" dealings with China, allowing it to run roughshod over its Asian neighbors? That his vaunted "stimulus" package was a giant, ineffectual pork barrel waste that has never been audited or even assessed? That he went strangely silent on campaign finance reform when his own coffers started to overflow?

I didn't like Romney either, but I don't get the swooning over Obama. In my opinion, he's a cynical product of Chicago machine politics. I'm shocked at people's willingness to buy his bullshit.

Originally Posted by Hiro11 (Post 10371220)

A few other reactions I have to this election:

1. The religious right is finished. The Republicans need to move away from this particular part of their base if they want to be elected. Evangelical candidates got their collective ass handed to them in congressional races.

2. Shockingly, Ron Paul had it right. The results of both the election and the various referendums indicate that this country is moving towards the traditional left when it comes to social issues, but staying to the traditional right when it comes to fiscal policy.

3. This country isn't anywhere near as divided as people make it seem. The fringe on either side gets all the press, but they hardly represent the majority. Nobody I know was particularly thrilled with either candidate and I think the polling bears that out. This election was more of a "please let this end" and less of the political death match depicted by the press. Most people have the same concerns: jobs, peace, education, stability, and please fix healthcare.

Originally Posted by fatbrit (Post 10371052)

It's the stubborn inability to vote for any other candidate than one with an R or a D after their name. Candidates to suit alternative views are out there -- it's just that nobody votes for them despite the fact that many of the electors' views would more closely match with these candidates.

Originally Posted by sir_eccles (Post 10371265)

It's a tribal thing. I was talking to someone just yesterday who said "our family has always been a Republican family". I asked her "but do you think that the Republican party of today is the same as the one it used to be? Are you happy with that?". She answered no to both. I didn't bother asking her why she still voted for them then. Blind faith. It isn't a conversation that can go anywhere.

Originally Posted by Hiro11 (Post 10370998)

What, exactly, is so wonderful about Obama? You do realize that he has changed nothing whatsoever about GW's foreign policy towards the middle east? That he has changed nothing about GW's extremely questionable legal framework for dealing with terrorism including the Patriot Act? That he has radically expanded drone usage and state-sponsored assasinations? That he has not even come close to closing Guantanamo, a key campaign promise? That his key legislative "accomplishment", his healthcare act, is an incomprehensible, unsustainable mess and nothing but a sop for the insurance companies? That he essentially gave GM to the UAW, the very same people who were directly responsible for its problems? That he has set the US government on a course for fiscal ruin in the short term? That he has put in place the CFPB, the single most anti-democratic and unmanageable bureaucracy in American history? That he has reneged on all of his "reach across the aisle" campaign rhetoric and is just as much a partisan and party-line guy as GW ever was if not more so? That his "reset" policy towards Russia has done nothing but push that country towards an evermore dictatorial kleptocracy? That he has done nothing to prevent Iran from getting an atomic bomb? That he has allowed an American ambassador to be killed and done absolutely nothing, despite this being one of the few clearly defined acts of war? That he has carefully sidestepped any "tricky" dealings with China, allowing it to run roughshod over its Asian neighbors? That his vaunted "stimulus" package was a giant, ineffectual pork barrel waste that has never been audited or even assessed? That he went strangely silent on campaign finance reform when his own coffers started to overflow?

I didn't like Romney either, but I don't get the swooning over Obama. In my opinion, he's a cynical product of Chicago machine politics. I'm shocked at people's willingness to buy his bullshit.

Originally Posted by Bink (Post 10371234)

I agree. I watched the VP debate and whilst Biden may have been slated for laughing, I personally found Ryan a lot creepier and sleazier. I think it was the smugness which he presented as he spoke that really bothered me.

Originally Posted by zargof (Post 10371296)

Proof that all of Texas isn't crazy: they prefer a dead guy to a Republican in Houston.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/La...v/-/index.html

Originally Posted by robin1234 (Post 10370758)

Go down to Planned Parenthood, the commissars are giving out free vouchers. You have to queue up of course.. but we'll all have to get used to that.

Originally Posted by Hiro11 (Post 10371220)

A few other reactions I have to this election:

1. The religious right is finished. The Republicans need to move away from this particular part of their base if they want to be elected. Evangelical candidates got their collective ass handed to them in congressional races.

2. Shockingly, Ron Paul had it right. The results of both the election and the various referendums indicate that this country is moving towards the traditional left when it comes to social issues, but staying to the traditional right when it comes to fiscal policy.

3. This country isn't anywhere near as divided as people make it seem. The fringe on either side gets all the press, but they hardly represent the majority. Nobody I know was particularly thrilled with either candidate and I think the polling bears that out. This election was more of a "please let this end" and less of the political death match depicted by the press. Most people have the same concerns: jobs, peace, education, stability, and please fix healthcare.

Originally Posted by Hiro11 (Post 10371220)

A few other reactions I have to this election:

1. The religious right is finished. The Republicans need to move away from this particular part of their base if they want to be elected. Evangelical candidates got their collective ass handed to them in congressional races.

2. Shockingly, Ron Paul had it right. The results of both the election and the various referendums indicate that this country is moving towards the traditional left when it comes to social issues, but staying to the traditional right when it comes to fiscal policy.

3. This country isn't anywhere near as divided as people make it seem. The fringe on either side gets all the press, but they hardly represent the majority. Nobody I know was particularly thrilled with either candidate and I think the polling bears that out. This election was more of a "please let this end" and less of the political death match depicted by the press. Most people have the same concerns: jobs, peace, education, stability, and please fix healthcare.