# The official post-Election Day thread:11/7/12 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 7, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177 "2012-11-07T05:00:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/61 "2012-11-07T15:25:19Z")
It hurts YOU and doesn’t help YOU? Are you the only member of this society? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/62 "2012-11-07T15:28:17Z")
Just wondering, are we through with Suffolk University polls now, after they announced Romney had Virginia so totally sewn up that there was no more need to poll there? That’ll take a long time to live down. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/63 "2012-11-07T15:28:28Z")
It hurts MOST OF US and doesn’t help MOST OF US. “US” being defined as normal people who actually work for a living and aren’t Public Sector Pinkie Ring Union Thugs ™. There. You happy? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/64 "2012-11-07T15:34:38Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Yep. I know a lot of people who look at it the same way. They are doing ok in life, and just want the government (whoever is in power) to just leave them the fuck alone. They aren’t dogmatic for either side, they just want to live their lives in peace and to hell with everybody else. > [@Debaser](#): > > I’m in this camp. If I could vote for “no new laws” instead of a Senator or Congressman I would. Gridlock is preferable to them actually doing things, since most of what they do hurts me and doesn’t help me. These views are frankly idiotic to the point of being dangerous. All they show is that the people who believe them have no idea just how much their lives that they want to get on with rely on government doing its job. It’s just typically too subtle and behind the scenes for you to notice. But tell me this: what do you think the response would be if the government had just “let people get on with their lives” and “left them the fuck alone” after Sandy? ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/65 "2012-11-07T15:36:14Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Am I the only one who hates [Tom Brokaw’s granny glasses](http://c498390.r90.cf2.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/TomBrokaw-500x364.jpg)? I couldn’t stop laughing at them every time I switched to NBC (I don’t normally watch network news, has he had those for a while?). What about Wolf Blitzer’s glasses? No suprises in _The New York Times_ today: > [@](#): > > FOCUS IS ON ECONOMY AS VOTERS CHOOSE; DEMOCRATS SEEN AS KEEPING THE SENATE > Close Race For President > Long Lines at Polls as a Bitter Campaign Ends - Outcome Is Expected to Turn on 7 States That was on the front page for the National Edition. I think that they might have printed versions with a headline reflecting the results of the electoral vote. Everyone knew what the headline should be - OBAMA - and those who want a souvenir copy of the newspaper with that headline can probably find one. I did not get a copy of _The New York Times_ today to save as a souvenir - I got a copy of _The New York Times_ today to read and recycle. What I took away from reading _The New York Times_ today - Thomas Friedman’s column, [Filtered Or Unfiltered](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/07/opinion/friedman-filtered-or-unfiltered.html?ref=thomaslfriedman). ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/66 "2012-11-07T15:41:24Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > It hurts MOST OF US and doesn’t help MOST OF US. “US” being defined as normal people who actually work for a living and aren’t Public Sector Pinkie Ring Union Thugs ™. > > There. You happy? Oh, [these guys](http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-fox-news-romney-blame-20121107,0,1461426.story)? > [@](#): > > “The white establishment is now the minority,” O’Reilly said. “And the voters, many of them, feel that the economic system is stacked against them and they want stuff. You are going to see a tremendous Hispanic vote for President Obama. Overwhelming black vote for President Obama. And women will probably break President Obama’s way. People feel that they are entitled to things and which candidate, between the two, is going to give them things?” Since O’Reilly meant the White _Male_ Establishment, I’m free to ask "What do you mean by US, Paleface? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/67 "2012-11-07T15:41:38Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve find the red / blue map so depressing. Not because O won. This map looks too much like 2000,2004, and 2008. > > What bothers me is the clear division in this country. Basically the East and West coasts elect the President. Once in awhile someone like Bush comes along and grabs a few key battleground states and wins. But the fracture in the country remains. > > I hope Obama does reach out to both parties. We got big problems to solve. The ugly partisanship has got to end. Somehow this country has to find a way to make the two party system work again. What, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa don’t count? But the larger point is that most people live on the east and west coast. Wyoming has the population of a small city. Shrubbery doesn’t get a vote. Go have a sad and figure out how to help your party appeal to more people. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/68 "2012-11-07T15:43:27Z")
I confess to being curious as to who Romney would have picked for his Cabinet. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/69 "2012-11-07T15:45:59Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > It hurts MOST OF US and doesn’t help MOST OF US. “US” being defined as normal people who actually work for a living and aren’t Public Sector Pinkie Ring Union Thugs ™. > > There. You happy? Ah, the 53 Percent. Gotcha. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/70 "2012-11-07T15:50:47Z")
> [@storyteller0910](#): > > Oddly enough, though, I don’t think it’s as rare as you’d hope it would be. I’ve heard more than a few people - intelligent people, some of them, including my own father - say that they _prefer_ a gridlock-heavy situation, and that they’ll vote to try to create one. My dad, a pretty staunch Republican, is thrilled this morning because he figures with Obama in the White House and Republican obstructionism still entrenched, things will be just about exactly as he likes them. I find it strange because President is the only truly national election. While individual Senate and Rep races affect the nation, they in and of themselves are regional. Your father, a staunch Republican, is voting FOR REPUBLICANS not for gridlock. He doesn’t want gridlock, he wants Republicans. When he can’t have that, he is _content_ with gridlock over the alternative of a Democratic majority. Gridlock is a result, NOT a goal. Reviewing the quotey quote I see that whoever that was did say what you say here as well. The perspective I was referring to as strange was the idea that, “as far as I can tell, America voted the way I did: splitting its ticket to maintain status-quo gridlock.” Which is what I found to be an odd perspective. As if, the voting were done for the goal of gridlock. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/71 "2012-11-07T15:52:52Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Since O’Reilly meant the White _Male_ Establishment, I’m free to ask "What do you mean by US, Paleface? Do you think that I’m Bill O’Reilly? ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/72 "2012-11-07T15:54:16Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I hope Obama does reach out to both parties. I don’t. He did that last time, and it was a huge mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/73 "2012-11-07T15:54:19Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Ah, the 53 Percent. Gotcha. 😉 Sadly, yes. It does seem these days that the Pigs and the Dogs outnumber the Chickens and the Horses. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Dord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@The\_Dord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Dord)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/74 "2012-11-07T15:55:17Z")
Pretty cool vid [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLIJc7YE\_jw&feature=plcp](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLIJc7YE_jw&feature=plcp) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/75 "2012-11-07T15:59:24Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > I don’t. He did that last time, and it was a huge mistake. So, you haven’t heard about the “Grand Bargain”? Obama is gonna betray his Democratic base as surely as the sun rises in the east. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/76 "2012-11-07T16:12:34Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > It does seem these days that the Pigs and the Dogs outnumber the Chickens and the Horses. Yeah, no, the _non-rabid_ animals outnumber the _rabid_. The Republican party is frothing at the mouth. Stop trying to pretend its leadership has anything worthwhile to offer. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/77 "2012-11-07T16:13:13Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Basically the East and West coasts elect the President. I don’t understand this. As someone said, how about IL/WI/MI/OH? Or do you mean to add the “fresh” coast of the Great Lakes? Obama won the popular vote AND the electoral college. The electoral college increases the influence of less populated states. What on earth are we to come up with which reaches a better result than BOTH/EITHER of those? While I hope Obama reaches out to the interests of all Americans, I will be extremely disappointed if he repeats his past mistakes of thinking Republicans in Congress will support any reasonable and constructive outcomes that differ from their extreme (and constantly moving) positions, or will be motivated by anything other than a desire to defeat a Democratic incumbent. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/78 "2012-11-07T16:36:22Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Go have a sad and figure out how to help your party appeal to more people. I don’t think the people who completely convinced themselves that all the data was wrong and asinine predictions of Romney landslides were correct are going to honestly re-evaluate their party. Already the excuses are Sandy, walks on the beach with Christie, Romney not being conservative enough, etc. No one seems to be willing to say “What we’re selling, a majority isn’t interested in buying”. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/79 "2012-11-07T16:39:18Z")
So will Mitch McConnell announce today that his only priority is to ensure that Obama is a two-term president? Legislatively, it’s now all about the Fiscal Cliff. Obama has a great hand that he doesn’t even want – the Bush Era Tax Cuts will expire. He can bargain away some part of those cuts in exchange for spending…if sanity prevails. In the realm of political punditry – it would be nice if this means we’ve seen the last of Karl Rove. He made a spectacular fool of himself last night, and wasted millions of Koch Bros money. And it would also be nice if there was a bursting of the bubble. If the Republicans became a reality-based loyal opposition; if their partisans woke up and realized that not all things they don’t want to hear are the result of cover-ups and conspiracies. But I wouldn’t bet on it. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177/80 "2012-11-07T16:40:44Z")
The Republican Party is like the dog food company that blamed their advertising for their lack of sales, all the while ignoring the simple truth that dogs didn’t like their product. Stirring up racial fears and homophobia may have been a winning strategy in the past, but the nation, unlike the Republican Party, has grown up quite a bit in the last decade. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-post-election-day-thread-11-7-12/640177.md?page=5)