Super-Duper-Tsunami-Tuesday is (thankfully) behind us now. Did anybody learn something uplifting or exciting from all this? ‘Cuz I didn’t.
I have a couple of thoughts, though:
Somehow, 4% of the voters in California and Tennessee, and 10% of Oklahomans (!?!) voted for John Edwards. Is that just from the early-voting? Or did all these people not get the memo that he dropped out?
And what’s with the Huckabee support? I mean… he’s all over the map with his ideas, but he won 4 states outright yesterday, and narrowly lost in several others. Yet this is a guy who thinks we should align the Constitution to the Bible, but simultaneously thinks federal judges legislate from the bench; A guy who says he’ll eliminate all income taxes, but will expand the defense budget and pay for it with the “increase in federal tax revenue that is generated annually as Americans’ incomes rise”.
Hello? Who are you people? Can you explain this to me? What are you seeing in him? Is this all about religion?
Obama and Clinton are going to go right down to the wire, it seems, and the longer the battle goes on, the more depressing the demographic results are to me. The majority of men, both white and black, are voting for Obama, while white women are overwhelmingly in the Hillary camp. And the hispanic voters are displaying a serious ethnic slant.
It feels (to me) as if American society is not nearly as free from racial-, ethnic-, or gender-bias as we’d hoped. Or at least, as I had hoped — and I’m pretty disappointed with “us” this morning, all the way around.
So what do y’all think about the primary results thus far? Any cheerful thoughts? Now would be a good time to share them…
Post-Super-Tuesday thoughts
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“Is it all about the religion?”
Of course, these people are Christian Conservatives who lust in their hearts to become wealthy, and truly believe God wants them to be super rich, for so they are told weekly by the likes of their mega-church pastors, i.e., Joel Osteen. That is why they favor Huckabee and his fair tax plan, which would massively shift the federal tax burden from the rich to the middle class and poor, which they no longer expect to be a part of.
“Any cheerful thoughts?”
Absolutely, for the first time in the history of the nation a major political party will nominate someone to be President who is not a white male. The often bandied about expression that “anyone in America can grow up to be President” may actually take on a modicum of truth. And we will catch up with other parts of the world such as: Great Britain with PM Margaret Thatcher in 1979, Angela Merkel as German Chancellor in 2007, and even “islamofascist” Pakistan with Benazir Bhutto as PM in 1988, (although the Pakistanis appear to have recently taken a step back when B.B. was killed in December of last year.
…for the first time in the history of the nation a major political party will nominate someone to be President who is not a white male
You’re right. Thank you so much for returning my sense of perspective.
“not nearly as free from racial-, ethnic-, or gender-bias as we’d hoped”
“a major political party will nominate someone to be President who is not a white male”
Uh, huh.
“It feels (to me) as if American society is not nearly as free from racial-, ethnic-, or gender-bias as we’d hoped.”
My aunt actually made a post on this subject yesterday — it’s not exactly the most encouraging story, though..
I know several Californians who have voted for Edwards while being full aware that he has left the race. One specifically cited neither Obama nor Clinton being liberal enough for him.
JEEzum, Patrick! I read your Aunt’s post.
::shudder::
Therese — so they used their votes, then, to make a political statement — to voice their displeasure with their options. Interesting. Thanks for sharing that.
It is cheerful that a major party will not have a white male on the ticket.
In some of the states Barack Obama even got a majority of the white Democratic vote. (Have to qualify it with Democratic. For a number of years Democratic presidential nominees have not been getting a majority of the white male vote and I doubt this will change with either nominee.)
I am impressed by the huge turnouts for the Democrats, record breaking. Also by the number of young voters. You can vote for Edwards. He did not withdraw and release his delegates. He only stopped campaigning, like Romney. I was tempted to vote for Edwards in the upcoming caucus and the straw poll vote. I liked his positions the best and polls in the Red states and battleground states showed him the most electable against McCain. I might still do it if it gets him another delegate going into a deadlocked convention as it seems to be.
The gender gap is disheartening. Margaret Thatcher became the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom in 1979. Germany elected Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2005. Ireland elected President Mary McAleese in 1997. Chile elected President Michelle Bachelet in 2006. In 2007, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner became Argingentina’s first elected president. India elected President Pratibha Patil in 2007. Pakistan elected Benzair Bhutto Prime Minister in 1988. If the United States can not elect a female president, it is falling behind countries such as India and Pakistan.
Patrick, your aunt’s experience sounds like a lot of the households I canvassed for the Obama campaign. Nevertheless, Obama came in first in Iowa & the rest is history. Seems a number of these racists don’t vote.