>Of course you need to throw in a ton of money and a heck of an organization and that will always help.

And the 20% of “Conservatives” that voted for obama helped.

The millions and millions of other Conservatives that stayed home probably helped Obama’s situation as well.

>why do they put up with you

Because I’m all that.

>I ask you to look at your spouse or significant other and why do you put up with them,

I just did and I put up with her because I’m afraid of her.

I don’t even know what all that means, Daw-g. Been hittin the sauce on a Sunday?

Fear was not in place Tuesday, unless it was fear of anything resemlbing George Bush. And where do you gete the idea that millions of conservatives stayed home? Trying to put a damper on Obama’s victory? It won’t work.

An excellent post to make us think, Abdul.

Fear was a huge factor in this election, TA. Once again, you know not of what you write.
Every pro-life, pro-capitalist American I know are terrified of an Obama presidency.
You can apparently only speak to the ignorance that was in place last Tues. Unless everyone you know and love are as thoughtless as you are, then I’m certain some are afraid of your messiah and what he hopes to do this great nation.

Again, like a bunch of Americans, I’m in fear of what Senator Obama will or won’t do. He’s somewhat unknown, was methodically prepared that way by his handlers (see ‘Frontline’ documentary), has spend time associating with a more extreme bunch than any other President I know of, and may pursue a very divisive economic policy. Do I want him in there instead of Bush anyway? Hell, yeah. He’s still going to be my President and the prayers have commenced that he governs from the middle. The irony is, I think he might really have the potential to positively “change” American as much as any President in my lifetime, if he goes about it from both ends.

Whether Obama’s campaign was honest or not in getting millions of young new voters and blue collar workers hyped up to vote for him is one thing. Some say he has no experience and he will indeed have to prove himself.
However, the Democrats that crossed over to vote for Mitch Daniels did so with the proof of the success this man has brought to our state. I would imagine that about 95% or more of the Democrats did so based on the property taxes, and getting the 1% property tax cap put in place this year.
I just hope everyone keeps their eyes open and send what ever message necessary to Pat Bauer, Bill Crawford and their party that we are not messing around. Pat Bauer ran on NO property tax cap. This is not what his constituents wanted.
The nonpartisan message was strongly sent to our leaders. We must not let them play their political games with our homes and livelihood.
They are expecting for us to just “assume” that they are going to take care of what we have voted for them to do.
We are too close to be fooled again. Let’s stand together and make sure that they accomplish what WE WORKED so hard for. The message we need to send is, we are not going to go away, do the job we sent you their to do!

Rico, there you go again.

You don’t know what you’re talking about.

I’m pro-life. I know many other pro-life folks who voted for Obama, and many who voted for McCain. I’m as pro-capitalist as you can imagine–I make my money in the corporate world, on a commission-only basis, and have done so for almost 30 years. It’s the old “If I don’t kill I don’t eat” mentality. So don’t preach to me about capitalists being afraid of Obama. You’re dead wrong.

What we all need to do as we evaluate our government, is to stop this insane labeling, and expecting everyone under that label to be for or against something, based only on the label.

And we need to allow that sometimes, our foes on one issue, could be our allies on another issue. Or, that a foe’s explanation and facts on a particular issue, can change my mind or yours.

I learn the most from the people with whom I disagree. Obama represented no fear whatsoever for me, but evidently he did for millions. I can only ask that they do what I’ve had to do for the last eight years–still trust my government. Admitedly, Bush made that difficult, but not impossible.

And try to evaluate President Obama with an open mind. If you can at all.

Or else you’re gonna be miserable for eight years.

My two cents. I did not sense a fear of Obama as much as a fear of what a liberal party domination of two branches of government, the legislative and executive, might do to move us to an extreme left. I really believe that many people who voted for him voted for his personality and his campaign for change vs. just a political ideology. Given the past few years, America has been beaten down by the far left, and mainstream media. Much of this based on valid concerns. It’s one of those, God, I am tired of all this, so change already.
I fear that people have overlooked the exteme nature of Reid and Nancy, and that it is this fear that is reflected by those who are more conservative. Obama has an opportunity to be president for all of America, and not just the extreme left.
Only time will tell. I want to believe he will be his own man. On the other hand, if he wants this country to move dramatically left, he now has the majority to do it. I think he is smart enough to see that we are at the end of the day a country with a majority of people who live within the range of middle left to middle right. Lots of opportunity within these boundaries to make progress.

Great points, Greg. But I don’t fear that–time has a way of tkaing care of these things.

We survived Reagan, who ran as an arch conservative and turned out to be a wild-spending zealot. He damned near spent us into oblivion.

George W. Bush ran as a, well, I’m not sure, because the 2000 campaign was a joke on both sides. He has presided over the one of the greatest expansions of social programs in our nation’s history, in terms of real dollars spent–the Medicare Prescription Plan was dictated to him by the Pharms and ended up being a cruel hoax on seniors…and hugely expensive to boot.

Again, as stated earlier, I’m not sure labels such as “conservative” and “liberal” and “left” apply any more.

The Speaker and the Majority Leader do what they think is best for their caucuses. As leftist as folks think Nancy is, she didn’t allow her caucus to push her into impeachment of W, for which they clammored, and which would’ve been justified, given his outrageous abuses of power.

And one of the most-”left” proposals out there–health care for all–would actually, if solved, become a capitalist bonanza. Ask GM and Ford why they’re almost broke, and they’ll tell you: health care costs. If that playing field were somehow leveled, as is the case with their foreign competitors, it’d be a huge boon to all of industry.

Time will tell.

Obama, or more accuratly his handlers, said exactly the right things i.e. the things people wanted to hear to get elected. Now all that remains is to be seen is what he follows through on. Any one who is fooled by the rock star Obama is just that, a fool. Two words people-CHICAGO POLITICIAN. Look at his early campaigning and how he spoke (remember when he said he had only visited 57 states so far) and handled himself and how he was molded and spit shined. Axlerod and friends did a great job making a viable candidate out him. But don’t be naive and believe all the fluff that is spread in the “news” media. This is politics after all. I know a lot of people that were mesmerized by him and I know a lot of people that are genually afraid of what the next four years will bring. Greg, you said, ‘I want to believe he will be his own man.’ Well, from what I’ve seen, Obama is a puppet and will always be a puppet. To much money changed hands and he owes to much to too many. The AFL-CIO is already demanding that he makes good with them for all the money they spent. Anyway…..time will tell. As his own VP says, he will be tested. Oh, and union rank and file, wait and see how you guys get screwed by your savior.

TA. Regarding universal health care. This is one of the more fertile areas; economically, socially and politically. However, unless major changes are made to our here-to-fore untouchable civil liability plaintiff bar association, costs will continue to outpace our ability to share available capacity. Our legal system is draining us. It causes huge costs in unnecessary procedures just to cover the possibility of being sued; and God forbid something goes wrong, the legal vultures will circle to ensure that more millions come out of our health care system and into their bank accounts. Pharmaceuticals make up but 9% of our total medical costs, but they are an easy target and draws attention away from where the real non-value adding expenses rest. And then there are the insurance companies and the games that go on there. So, all in all, unless some major reforms materialize at the source, then I just don’t know where the money is going to come from. For certain, we can always ration what is available today, but that is not the answer, and not necessary if only we had the political will to make changes….change, kinda what Obama said he was all about. We will see…..

Every election is a popularity contest, people vote based upon their feelings, beliefs, etc. People do not vote (most people, not those who are politically aware) for the candidate who is the most qualified, intelligent or experienced. GWB shewn this to be true in 2000 when he won over AG who easily had him beat on all 3 counts. Al just wasn’t as “likeable” as GWB. (That and he distanced himself from WJC)
People look for a reason to vote their “heart.” They ignore inconvienient facts in order to do so. JM was only an anti- vote, he stood for the established order, calling for more of the same. We see how that turned out. JM was prepared to fight the last battle. (Although he’s a step ahead of our military; we’re ready to fight WWII again but we still can’t win another VietNam.)
As for Obama being “extreme?” Someone’s beer-goggles need adjusting. I wish Obama were extreme (that’s why I didn’t vote for him). Obama is another centrist (i.e., corporate, bought & sold) Democrat just like WJC. Don’t worry, this country still remains right of center. Liberalism has been effectively dead in this nation since the early 70’s.
One thing to keep in mind, people (who are innately stoopid)(yes, I said that, this is something every politician knows but will not say. For obvious reasons. Doubt this? Why did our Founding Fathers make this a Republic instead of a Democracy? They knew what I just said. Political heresy, but I’m not running for nuthin.’) tend to vote for hope over fear.
Abdul is correct when he told you that emotion takes the lion’s share of people’s votes. A politician who tells the unvarnished truth is always bound to lose because he/she will say things that people just don’t want to hear.
BTW, the Dem’s do not have total control. The Rep’s have veto power, which they will use, unlike the Dem’s, who should have used it and let the Rep’s use the “Nuclear” option. I regret that they didn’t call their bluff on that one. But then again, the Dems have never been as politically cohesive as the Rep’s.
And Rico: We don’t pray at some twisted altar to Obama like you do to Regean.(What would Regean do? is a battle-cry I’ve heard repeatedly.) Well, what Regean did was “cut & Run” from Lebanon. What Regean did was give us the largest budget defiect in history. What Regean did was give us the administration with the most indicted upper-level members in history [He beat Nixon's admin. on that one], he enlarged government spending to a ridiculous degree, ignored congressional acts limiting presidential power (found to be Constitutional by the way), and he did all of this (and more) using the infallible advice of an astrolger. Yeah, we need more of that. He was a nice guy, someone most of us liked. Did he do us any good? Not really. The best that we can say about him is that he threw a stack of chips in against the USSR and made them fold.
Wow, that would have happened sooner or later, irrespective of what the US did. Their economy could not support the arms race. We won. And we still woud have won 20 years later without doing anything different, only that we would be able to provide health-care for our middle-class in the meantime.
I honestley cannot see our country progressing much in the next 50 years unless we can provide for all Americans, not just the rich. We have something to brag about, our health-care system. Best in the world, if you have the money. We are last (in re: developed nations) as far as infant mortality rates (ooh, the Rep’s say this is not a good measure), or access to health-care (You have it. Just go to an Emergency-Room and wait. And wait. And praying can’t hurt. Maybe you just didn’t pray hard enough.) Faith-based health care, that’s what I want.

Don’t forget Greg that Obama is a lawyer and a large number of politicians are lawyers so don’t get your hopes up.

No doubt it’s emotional. It isn’t about policy, that’s for sure. I’m convinced that my fellow Libertarians need to become more shallow, vacuous, photogenic, and airy with rhetoric if we want to get anywhere.

Any pro-lifer who voted for Obama is either a liar or an idiot. Which one are you, Think Again?

Rico: I’ve forgotten more about the Constitution than you’ll obviously ever know.

Greg, good points. But in my company’s health care plan, prescriptions are 28%. That ratio has been static for about ten years. You may have the right figure, nationally–I have no way of knowing.

But the fact remains, the Medicare prescription plan was written by their lobbyists. It doesn’t work, and it’s expensive.

Wow. I agree again with something from Rico. Incredible.
.
I have one thing to add to his sentiments: Anyone who voted for a GOP candidate because they expect something to be done about abortion is clearly delusional. The abortion card is one of the most effective tools in the Dem/GOP arsenal. It won’t be off the table until Dem/GOP control of government is off the table.

T.A. I think the difference between your corporate number (which is probably in the range of other corporate health programs) is that when the medicare/medicaid population is factored in, hospital costs go up dramatically for that population, hence lowering the overall Rx costs on a national level. I forget the numbers, but a very large percentage of health care costs are spent in the last year or two of our lives. My point is that the legal system almost ensures that we will continue this imbalance as technology continues to grow, and as lawyers wait outside the ICU’s waiting for someone to make a mistake and not offer the latest of the latest, even when it will not add to quality or quantity of life. This new technology is very expensive, and especially so when it is used for everyone. It’s one thing to use it on someone who will survive and return to a “normal” life and something else when used for someone simply because they are breathing. I am not trying to play God, but at some point tough (and hopefully logical) choices need to be made without the vultures grinning and gaining.

Or, we could have national health care where, if you lived in Denmark, they would use a wooden spoon to listen to an unborn babies heartbeat (true story). Obviously or system is broke and needs to be fixed but socialized medicine is not the answer as some would have us believe.

Apparently, you did forget the due process clause, Think Again? Remember the 14th Amendment?
You say you’re pro-life, right? Well let’s, for a moment, completely disregard the argument of where life begins…okay?
The rights of the babies that were born alive in a Chicago clinic were protected by our Constitution. How about that, scholar?
Your hero Barry thought it acceptable not to protect those lives. Their God-given rights, as enumerated in our Constitution, were completely ignored. So don’t pretend to know the Constitution, and quit pretending to be pro-life. Barry is pro-infanticide. You view him as a vision of hope. Live with that!

Rico, I used to teach the law, so I’m going to disengage here, because this blog is not the place, and you clearly do not understand.

But until the Supremes overrules Roe, it is the law of the land. That’s what I meant. If a future Court overrules it, this Democrat won’t be upset, depending on the vehicle used to raise the issue. I realize, in my party, I’m in the minority. That does not make me, or you, wrong on Roe.

But how dare you define my morality and acceptance of abortion or lack thereof.

A complte lack of class.

“I’m pro-life. I know many other pro-life folks who voted for Obama, and many who voted for McCain. I’m as pro-capitalist as you can imagine–I make my money in the corporate world, on a commission-only basis, and have done so for almost 30 years.”

And you voted for Obama? There is one born every minute…

Think Again… if you knew the Constitution, you would know the power of the purse is controlled by Congress, but yet you say Reagan spent us into oblivion? What party controlled Congress during his tenure, Dems? You must be an idiot.

Say what you will. The simple truth is that Sen Obama is going to be our next president. One part of me is saddened that a very liberal person has been elected pres along with a more liberal House of Representatives. The other part of me is excited that the promise of equal opportunity for all Americans has been shown to actually exist and that that vast majority of Americans today really will judge a man by the quality of his character and not by the color of his skin. I remember the TV pictures of the bridge in Selma and the image of George Wallace at the school doorway. Hopefully, we have entered a new day in race relations in this country. I did not vote for the Sen Obama. I did not vote for him because I disagree with his position on issues. I am a life long conservative and like it or not Sen Obama is now my president elect and I wish him well.

Bob, I with you. However, I do believe it is more of a hope than a reality regarding the entering of a new day in race relations. I get the sense from what I have seen and have heard is that race relations will never see a “new day”. While we will have the usual white bigots, I am hearing from a large number of blacks that there can never be closure. Everything seems to be “due” to them and that there will be no end in expectations. Any challenge to his policies will label you a racist. I think this has only served to bring to light just how fragile our race relations are in the U.S. I wish it were not so, but it is what I see. I think I am beginning to understand why so very many blacks who have tried to make improvements in our social makeup have been marginalized by mainstream minorities. You can go through many names of successful blacks who have been pushed into the background. You have to want to have change before you can participate in change.

Gerg, you may be right. I hope not but only the future will tell. I’m sure we will see some of that mindset. We will always have bigotry and prejudice and no race has the corner on that market even if they do not know it (Frank Gorshin characters in one of the old Star Trek episodes)and won’t admit what it is. I really do think that bigotry and racial prejudice is affecting a shriking segment of our society and that it is becoming less acceptable in general. We can only hope! The important thing is that each of us does what we can to not let it influence our actions or attitudes, that we raise our children to not let it poison their minds and that we treat each other as we want to be treated.

It was the constitutionality that was at issue, Counselor. As far as I know, the Court has not extended a woman’s right to privacy to allow her to kill a child to whom she has already given birth. At what point does a woman give up that right..? When the unbilical cord is cut? When does it stop being okay?

Obama has lied, and will continue to lie.
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He lied concerning campaign funds.
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He lied about lobbyists in his administration.
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His position went from “No lobbyists IN his White House” to “No lobbyists RUNNING his White House”.
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Stay tuned for more and more lies.