we choose to have an election thread and and do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard
November 6, 2012 3:37 AM Subscribe

Finally, it's almost over. Obama and Romney tie in Dixville Notch, Obama landslide in Hart's Location. Interactive Infographic: 512 Paths to the White House. More election 2012 infographics. And still more. How to tell who is winning Ohio. Ohio recount plan could take election into overtime. Gandalf speaks: Late Poll Gains for Obama Leave Romney With Longer Odds. Final estimates from Votamatic and Sam Wang at the Princeton Election Consortium. Google's voting education page.

Last time the thread got Drudge sirens. Will the mods bestow their favor this year?

posted by gerryblog (8095 comments total) 152 users marked this as a favorite

Special thanks to my beautiful baby for her wise decision to wake up at 5 AM so we don't miss a minute.
posted by gerryblog at 3:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [77 favorites]

Hah, mine too! 5am on the dot.
posted by OmieWise at 3:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Voting opened 40 minutes ago here (Arlington VA) and the line is already out the door. Yikes.
posted by troika at 3:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

A link that didn't make it into the thread, troika: Romney Struggles to Lock Down Virginia. Ohio is the ballgame, but Virginia is too. And Florida, but god, please don't let it come down to Florida.
posted by gerryblog at 3:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Well at least a typo will be immortalized forever in the title. Whatever else happens, at least that.
posted by gerryblog at 3:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

As I said in the last "it's almost over" thread: I won't believe it's over till the next president is sworn in.
posted by dubold at 3:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

well then, Let The Games Begin
posted by lampshade at 3:45 AM on November 6, 2012

Oh, you better believe I'll be watching. I hope Obama gets back in, I really do.
posted by h00py at 3:47 AM on November 6, 2012

Elections are both exhilarating and depressing. I hope today is more of the former and less of the latter.
posted by maxwelton at 3:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

If that utterly bizarre-o plastic gazillionaire with all kindsa CRAZY money in off-shore accounts and Swiss banks gets voted in by a buncha Wal-Mart denizens who are just barely keeping their heads above water and whose jobs haven't moved to China YET, and by a buncha weirdo paranoid open-carrying-their-guns-to-the-grocery-store suburbanites who are the next in line to go down in the voracious feeding frenzy of the ultra-rich, it'll be a sad-ass day for America.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [154 favorites]

Don't worry, baby parents, it gets better. My three year old made it all the way to 5:45 this morning.

Happy election day!
posted by mbd1mbd1 at 3:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

The Real Loser - Truth.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:51 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Nate Silver just tweeted his final Senate prediction: Our final Senate forecast has Dems at 52-53 seats (net loss of 0-1) and a 95% chance to keep the majority. The other day Chris Hayes said, rightly I think, that one of the most underreported stories of this election is the GOP blowing its chance to retake the Senate two cycles in a row by nominating crackpots in key states.
posted by gerryblog at 3:52 AM on November 6, 2012 [52 favorites]

Don't worry, baby parents, it gets better.

Yeah, until you get a dog, then it starts all over again.... (Husky complaining that I wouldn't walk her at 5:30 this morning.....damn daylight savings time changes!)
posted by HuronBob at 3:53 AM on November 6, 2012 [29 favorites]

I'm working on a campaign right now and my job is to take calls from people in the field with problems - so hopefully I'll be bored today, in which case this thread is right where I wanna be!
posted by lunasol at 3:53 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Also: I just came in to say [airplane joke goes here].
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:55 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

11/6/12 - the day on which my Facebook feed becomes insufferably hilarious at 11:30pm or so.
posted by Sticherbeast at 3:55 AM on November 6, 2012 [18 favorites]

And like last election, this will be the only thread I obsessively refresh throughout the work day.
posted by Hesychia at 3:55 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

HuronBob, did you tell that dog you ate all its Halloween candy or something? That's quite the stink-eye you got at the end there.
posted by olinerd at 3:56 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

There are really few guys for whom I'll wake up at six-thirty, so Barack Obama: this one's for you.

(Suburban PA, 12 people in line. First time getting to vote for a real senator/electoral votes!!!)
posted by jetlagaddict at 3:57 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

The Stock Market Is Telling Us Obama Will Win In A 'Landslide'

Based on past correlations between index performance and election results, a threshold of +20% is enough to create a likelihood of a landslide. The DJI is up 35% the last four years.
posted by estuardo at 3:57 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

So I guess this is when I start drinking.
posted by johnpowell at 3:57 AM on November 6, 2012 [33 favorites]

God, this is going to be a loooong day (and thread).
posted by Red Loop at 3:57 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

the GOP blowing its chance to retake the Senate two cycles in a row by nominating crackpots in key states

Yesterday on MSNBC, Republican (and former McCain/Palin) strategist Steve Schmidt said the Republicans are going to lose four or five Senate seats because of the "whack-a-doodle caucus".

On preview: Nothing, really. Just previewing while I still can.
posted by Room 641-A at 3:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

Damned 2-party collusion kept my candidate off the ballot in PA. I'm still voting Lizard People though.
posted by Mister_A at 4:00 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Shoot, it's raining here and I have to go vote. Where is that umbrella?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:00 AM on November 6, 2012

Feeling ever so guilty that I did zero campaigning this year considering that I put hundreds of hours into the '08 Obama campaign so I'll really feel like crap if he loses Pennsylvania. Heading out to vote in a few minutes, wonder if that 90 year old lady is still looking up the registration cards at my polling place? She's dear but stone deaf and can't see very well so sometimes it takes two or three minutes of my yelling my name at her and her squinting at the file box of registration cards and asking if my name is something totally different than what I just said.
posted by octothorpe at 4:01 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have a feeling that I didn't leave enough time for voting this morning.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:03 AM on November 6, 2012

Has anyone heard the current chance of the popular vote/electoral college discrepancy? I think I heard that was more possible after Sandy. I may end up being thankful for the electoral college after today, much as I hate to say it.
posted by Red Loop at 4:03 AM on November 6, 2012

Obama wins and the People they say: hope and change.
Romney wins and the People they say: hope you can spare some change.

I just made that joke up right this minute I did not have it banked I swear that's not the way I play man. It's not a great joke, but it's mine.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:04 AM on November 6, 2012 [45 favorites]

This morning, I woke up to see news which calmed my troubled, worried soul. What would the last major block of undecided voters opt for, the Motörhead Faithful. Now Lemmy has spoken to the nation through Rolling Stone:

Interviewer: When I interviewed Chuck [Berry], I mentioned the segregated venues he used to play in the South when he was younger. He teared up and recalled, "My dad said, 'I don't know if we'll live to see it but one day we will [have an African-American President] – and I thank God that I have."

Lemmy: I would have said America wasn't ready for it. And I don't think they were, because they're trying to drag him down now. I mean, the poor fucker's only just gotten rid of all that George Bush shit that he left, or is trying to. And he's being stonewalled by the fucking Congress all the time. I don't know how he's gotten anything done. They should be glad. I mean the alternative is Mitt Romney. Please, please don't vote for Mitt Romney. Fuck him. Repeal abortion law is the first thing he'll do. Fucking monster.

As Lemmy goes, so goes the nation.
posted by Kattullus at 4:05 AM on November 6, 2012 [157 favorites]

The gf and I mailed our absentee ballots off a while ago. We're voting in Maryland, so our votes don't exactly have a huge chance of affecting the presidential, senate, or congressional race there ...

BUT WE GOT TO VOTE FOR GAY MARRIAGE!
posted by kyrademon at 4:06 AM on November 6, 2012 [45 favorites]

Republicans will hate the Electoral College if it's a squeaker in the popular vote, but a significant win for Obama in the EC.

It'd be hilarious if Republican pressure is what dismantles the EC.
posted by Sticherbeast at 4:06 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

On behalf of the world: try to fuck this up in the least way possible, Americans.
posted by Mezentian at 4:06 AM on November 6, 2012 [37 favorites]

According to Nate:

Obama wins popular vote 87.3%
Romney wins popular vote 12.7%
Obama wins popular vote but loses electoral college 0.6%
Romney wins popular vote but loses electoral college 4.9%

I think I heard that was more possible after Sandy. I may end up being thankful for the electoral college after today, much as I hate to say it.

My recollection is that the last few weeks have brought the chances down as Obama has generally recovered from his first debate dip. I've heard a few people say that Sandy (and the various disruptions caused by it, including the rather dubious vote-by-email and just-vote-anywhere amelioration schemes being tried in NJ and NY) proves the Electoral College is a good thing, because it smooths out local disruptions. I still think the Democrats could run up the score a lot easier if the popular vote mattered; their power centers are where all the people are.
posted by gerryblog at 4:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Its not even my country and I'm nervous...
posted by marienbad at 4:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

It'd be hilarious if Republican pressure is what dismantles the EC.

Really, whatever it takes. It'd be nice to have a vote that counted.
posted by davidjmcgee at 4:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

I'll be watching from London, hoping that my fellow Floridians manage not to fuck this one up. I have my doubts.
posted by Optamystic at 4:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I may as well ask here. My wife voted by email (Oregon) but the website doesn't show her ballot as having arrived. Is there anything she can do now, or is it too late?
posted by dhruva at 4:09 AM on November 6, 2012

Of course Republicans can't really argue for the popular vote, because if each vote is exactly equal, isn't that SOCIALIZED ELECTIONS?
posted by davidjmcgee at 4:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [24 favorites]

As Lemmy goes, so goes the nation.

I like Lemmy and all, but the dude hangs out with the Suicide Girls.
And he has two good songs.
And he's English.

On the other hand, he's right. Man, we just got rid of Bush.

When Obama was elected, my former housemate (she was drunk) and I (had just got up and pledged to party) partied at 5am on through when Obama was sworn in.
Not because Obama! but... not Bush.

I still boggle that y'all voted for Bush once.
posted by Mezentian at 4:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

God, this is going to be a loooong day (and thread).

I'm a hippie artist Democrat who works as a secretary on the Equities trading floor of a bank.

Y'all are the only people I even want to TALK to today.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [61 favorites]

Has anyone heard the current chance of the popular vote/electoral college discrepancy?

Yeah, from just about any talking head newsie that breathes.

Seriously, it has been a huge talking point and the basic takeaway is nobody knows. And at this point, it would be irresponsible for a news source to speculate other than to say "it is going to be a tie".

Just going to have to wait this out until the polls close. Nobody is going to publish hard numbers for another 16~18 hours.
posted by lampshade at 4:12 AM on November 6, 2012

When Obama was elected, my former housemate (she was drunk) and I (had just got up and pledged to party) partied at 5am on through when Obama was sworn in.

Wow, for two and a half months straight? Intense, man.
posted by olinerd at 4:14 AM on November 6, 2012 [35 favorites]

538 has the probability of Texas going for Romney at 100%. I don't care. I'm hopping in the shower and driving to the polling place in about 20 minutes.
posted by King Bee at 4:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [56 favorites]

I still boggle that y'all voted for Bush once.

Some of us didn't, and remain unconvinced that we as a whole did.

I will just be glad when it's over. My anxiety has been steadily creeping upward like Obama's poll numbers over the last few weeks.
posted by winna at 4:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [21 favorites]

Australians. We Go Hard.
(Or we go home).
posted by Mezentian at 4:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

On preview: Nothing, really. Just previewing while I still can.

Why, does your edit window face Sesame Street?
posted by mintcake! at 4:15 AM on November 6, 2012

I'm still voting Lizard People though.

Always appreciated.
posted by Lizard People at 4:16 AM on November 6, 2012 [203 favorites]

um my polling place DOES NOT PROVIDE THE AWESOME LITTLE STICKERS

but that's cool, taxation and representation and hope and change are okay, I guess
posted by jetlagaddict at 4:17 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Why, does your edit window face Sesame Street?

Can someone tell me how to get to Sesame Street?
I think I can vote there.

Oscar/Grover!
posted by Mezentian at 4:18 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fired up, Mr. President!

In South Korea of all places, but hey, I voted early and sent you 100 bucks. Now let's win this one for the good guys.
posted by bardic at 4:19 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I still think the Democrats could run up the score a lot easier if the popular vote mattered; their power centers are where all the people are.

I agree with this, but I also wonder how crazy the voter suppression would become. It took me about an hour and fifteen minutes to early vote in Miami Beach, and I was pretty lucky. But there were folks locally who waited six to seven hours, and Gov. Scott still refused to extend early voting. Not to mention, the Miami-Dade County incompetence that happened on Sunday.

Then in Ohio, there's only one early voting place per county, which favors the small, rural counties over the highly populated ones.

I'd hate to see what a 50 state voter suppression strategy would look like, instead of the pockets of voter suppression in big cities in swing states.

That said, I completely understand the desire to feel that your vote counts in non-swing states and the wish for decent third party options and so on.
posted by JustKeepSwimming at 4:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

As crazy fucked as American politics are, let's not forget that it was shocking -- absofuckinglutely shocking -- that a black guy could be elected president of the US a mere four years ago.

Just a little less shocking than the fact that America might elect a guy who wants to start a third war against brown people that we will lose horribly and who has Swiss and Caribbean bank accounts and is quite possibly a robot.

Seriously America, don't fuck me on this one.
posted by bardic at 4:24 AM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

As Lemmy goes, so goes the nation.

God willing, Kattulus.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:25 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

it would be irresponsible for a news source to speculate other than to say "it is going to be a tie".

That speculation in itself is irresponsible since it presupposes a situation that (a) none of the evidence so far has indicated and (b) is broadly upsetting to the maximal number of people.
posted by psoas at 4:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Just a little less shocking than the fact that America might elect a guy who wants to start a third war against brown people that we will lose horribly and who has Swiss and Caribbean bank accounts and is quite possibly a robot.

Aaaand the robophobes jump in. That didn't take long.
posted by indubitable at 4:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [22 favorites]

NOT ROBO-IST
posted by bardic at 4:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

I hope that one day a website like the Google voting page will be a place to vote from.
posted by Renoroc at 4:29 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

In a rare Beevis and Butthead moment, I realized that replacing the "l" in the word Election with an "r" will make ALL of the news you read today much more amusing.
posted by HuronBob at 4:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [21 favorites]

"That said, I completely understand the desire to feel that your vote counts in non-swing states and the wish for decent third party options and so on."

Vote-swapping is a perfectly legal strategy for combating the idiocy of the Electoral College.

I swapped votes with a nice Democrat in Massachusetts, so y'all have me to thank if Virginia squeaks blue by one vote. :)

Hmm, this is the second time that MetaFilter has gotten me to vote for a Democrat. (The first time was for Reid in 2010, to keep Ms. Batshitcrazypants out of the U.S. Senate) Y'all are a bad influence!!! :P
posted by Jacqueline at 4:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

In the future, we won't have to vote. The Nate Silver projection will be taken as gospel truth (more than now, even!). Every four years some historical data will be thrown into a computer and a President will be announced. It's gonna be great.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 4:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

ROBO-IST AND PROUD
They're robots ffs

I hope that one day a website like the Google voting page will be a place to vote from.

BREAKING : Shock as moot wins in a landslide.
posted by fullerine at 4:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [20 favorites]

Some of my students have professors who are giving them extra credit if they can provide proof of voting
posted by angrycat at 4:36 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Vote Doctor Doom! (you know it makes sense)
posted by schoolgirl report at 4:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

marienbad: "Its not even my country and I'm nervous.."

You should be.
posted by Red Loop at 4:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I was listening to some Florida-based commentator (a Latina activist, but I don't recall the name) a couple of days ago saying that the non-stop barrage of hateful political ads even had her longing for the Cialis ads to return

I'm voting for Levitra.

Also, for medical marijuana and the right to die with dignity. And possibly an openly-gay Republican congressperson, who I really wish would stop being Republican, but he's a Massachusetts Republican, which means that anywhere else in the country, he's a Communist.
posted by xingcat at 4:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

In a rare Beavis and Butthead moment, I realized that replacing the "l" in the word Election with an "r" will make ALL of the news you read today much more amusing.

Kim Jong Ilin' on the golden path to juche erection victory!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

[not DPRK-ist]
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

ROBO-IST AND PROUD

I bet you're the person responsible for all those "robots.txt" files on the internet, telling all the robots what they may and may not read, sometimes directing them to segregated, robots-only pages.
posted by indubitable at 4:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [33 favorites]

The wife and I voted by mail again (in Ohio) and they made the process a little more cumbersome than previous years. Still, very nice feature. We voted a month ago, and so never really paid attention to the talk about polling places and lines. I'm typically the first person in the office, but today a co-worker beat me in because he got up early to get to the polls when they opened and had a 30 minute wait; when he left the polling place the line was already four times as long as when he went in. This is in a white upper-class section of Columbus, not the usual reported urban locations that the news focuses on.
posted by Old'n'Busted at 4:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

An Obama victory will make me feel relief.
A Mourdock defeat will give me renewed faith in my fellow Hoosiers.
Gregg defeating Pence for Governor will...well...First two rounds are on me!!!!
posted by Thorzdad at 4:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

In a rare Beavis and Butthead moment, I realized that replacing the "l" in the word Election with an "r" will make ALL of the news you read today much more amusing.

You're not the first to think so!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:40 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I am so happy I held The Great Tea Party Purge in my Facebook friends list last year. Not a single pro-Romney post to endure this am on my weekly FB check. Trudging ever onward, in the Great March Towards Progress.
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:40 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

I'm taking my son with me to our (OUR!) polling place - this is his first ever "I get to cast a ballot" election and I'm getting all teary-eyed every time I think of it.
posted by ersatzkat at 4:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

I am so happy I held The Great Tea Party Purge in my Facebook friends list last year. Not a single pro-Romney post to endure this am on my weekly FB check. Trudging ever onward, in the Great March Towards Progress.

but think of all the schadenfreude you're giving up if Obama wins tonight
posted by indubitable at 4:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

I forgot that the Plutocrat vs. Plutocrat Pre-Scripted Wrestling Extravaganza 2012 was today, until I opened Facebook. I don't understand why America doesn't just make this a bank holiday, it's clearly not like anyone is going to be getting any work done.
posted by cmonkey at 4:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Nice to note that the Intrade odds have finally broken through the 70% barrier, after what seems like a long effort by some people to keep it low. Now edging on 74%... I guess there's just too much money to be made now!
posted by adrianhon at 4:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

get to the polls when they opened and had a 30 minute wait; when he left the polling place the line was already four times as long as when he went in.

This is mind-blowing to me. I've voted in three different polling places in NY and, I think, two in MA, and I don't think I've ever, ever waited more than ten or fifteen minutes.

(Although the poll worker this morning doing check-ins seemed to be actively trying to not find names in the book. Lady, if I can read it from six feet away, upside-down, you should be able to find it.)
posted by uncleozzy at 4:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

And my husband called his Tea Party brother this morning and had a long, mostly patient conversation with him about why posting that "Obama says vote on Wednesday for your FREE IPHONE" picture on Facebook was such a not-good thing to do.

"But I thought the iPhone part was funny!"...
"but voter suppression is a THING"....
"but...funny!!"....
"no...."
posted by ersatzkat at 4:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [26 favorites]

Riverside Church, UWS, NYC, polling place: The line for my district is at least 20 deep.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Looks like I picked the right day to start drinking hot, caffeinated beverages."

- Mitt Romney
posted by jeremias at 4:45 AM on November 6, 2012 [52 favorites]

45 minute wait at 6 AM this morning in Fredericksburg VA.
posted by COD at 4:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mefi Chat room for Election Day

login using lowercase.

More info from pb Here.
posted by marienbad at 4:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [23 favorites]

So going into polling day, my feelings are kind of the inverse of this time in 2004. Then I was thinking "I'm sure Kerry isn't going to win. But maybe... there's always hope". This year it's more "I'm sure Obama's going to win. But maybe... there's always fear".

My wife lodged her absentee ballot a few weeks ago, so there's nothing to do now but wait. She did say that if Romney wins she'll become an Australian citizen, so maybe I, just personally, come out ahead either way. :)
posted by adamt at 4:50 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I hope that one day a website like the Google voting page will be a place to vote from.

Part of me wants that too, but as the years go on and I see more of how people behave online, I sour more on the idea with each passing day. At least for now.

I think that the physical act of voting (traveling to the polling place, standing in line etc) puts a measure of accountability into the mix for the individual. It makes us more aware that we are doing something important as opposed to voting on whether we think the recent Star Wars sale to Disney was valid via TMZ. It also forces people to stand up in person for the vote they should be considered a near sacred right. And it deters drunk-voting...at least to some degree.

So, while the technology would be nice to have available to use(and actually exists already anyway) , peoples' maturity about their responsibility to vote and the intersection of that with a relatively new technology needs a little time to flesh out. Looked at another way - we are not adult enough to vote online yet at least in terms of conducting ourselves like adults should online.
posted by lampshade at 4:50 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

I ain't even worried. Looking forward to an early night and a fresh start on the first post-Romney-acting-dumb-in-public morning with a big pile of pancakes.
posted by Ad hominem at 4:51 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I just want to wish you all good luck; we're all counting on you.
posted by zardoz at 4:54 AM on November 6, 2012 [27 favorites]

All this talk of 45 minute to 90 minute waits (on work days, no less) makes me wonder -- with voluntary voting no less -- the fuck you people are doing.
I have voted in lots of elections, and I think the longest I have had to wait was around 20 minutes (four songs).

I remember, because we voted Howard's Liberal party out, my my T-shirt said "Un-Australian", and I felt every of those long, long minutes.

But 45 minutes? And you have push-button machines. I had to number 1-110 boxes and all at the end of it, in pencil.

You need to fix the electoral system there. I am curious: is that possible?
posted by Mezentian at 4:55 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

It really pisses me off when jobs and unemployment numbers come up and Republicans say that the new jobs are only part-time. As if Obama is telling the Wal-Marts of the country not to hire full-time people so they don't have to pay their employees benefits.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:56 AM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

You need to fix the electoral system there. I am curious: is that possible?

I think the problem is that states control aspect and get decide how voting will occur. A few of them have little incentive to fix the problem or make voting easer.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Dear Americans,

If you fuck this up, don't think you can just establish residency in Canada by showing up at the border. Take a look at the permanent resident visa requirements at http://www.cic.gc.ca.
posted by thewalrus at 4:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [27 favorites]

Turnout seems to be really high in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties right now, by the non-scentific data of friends posting pictures of lines on facebook. As a general rule for Florida, if there's large enough turnout in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties, we turn the state blue.

The efforts of that skeleton-looking Governor of yours may be producing an effect opposite of what he intended. The stories of those who were denied their vote early, or who had to wait 6 hours to vote, got a lot of people fired up to make damn sure their vote was counted.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 4:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

If you fuck this up....

Personally I still haven't quite got over the feeling of relief and gratitude that Sarah Palin cannot be elected.
posted by Segundus at 5:01 AM on November 6, 2012 [21 favorites]

From Salon:

“The method of execution chosen,” for this effort, notes March in his affidavit for the Fitrakis/Arnebeck injunction lawsuit, “is unspeakably stupid, excessively complex and insanely risky. In medical terms it is the equivalent of doing open heart surgery as part of a method of removing somebody’s hemorrhoids. Whoever came up with this idea is either the dumbest Information Technology ‘professional’ in the US or has criminal intent against the Ohio election process.”
posted by bigZLiLk at 5:01 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

In the off chance Romney does win, Australia is open to American election-refugees, just don't approach from the west by boat. You'll be wishing you were Republican.

We can be a little brutal ourselves.
posted by de at 5:01 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

But 45 minutes? And you have push-button machines.

Yes, but, we also have this fetish for cutting budgets. The result is that, while we may have push-button machines, many polling places will only have a tiny handful of machines, which causes a back-up and long lines...or people giving-up and going home without voting (which would count as "mission accomplished" for a certain side of the political spectrum)
posted by Thorzdad at 5:01 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Finally!
posted by chinston at 5:01 AM on November 6, 2012

OK, I'm awake.

Gotta go vote NO.

Gotta vote NO twice.

And I get to vote for Keith Ellison! Which is always nice.

I've got my cheat sheet with the judicial and soil and water candidates picked out so I can steer away from the Randians and Teabaggers.

And hey, free sticker.
posted by louche mustachio at 5:01 AM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

Me, I feel pretty confident that Mr Obama will win. I'm less thrilled about the prospect than I was 4 years ago. It's surely a better thing, but.

What my dream is -- and it's totally unlikely -- is that the Republican party loses so comprehensively and decisively and humiliatingly this time that the party breaks up into a party of actual, real conservatives, conservatives of actual ideas and dedication to principles and stuff, and a new evil twin party of crazy lunatic teaparty rape-crazed lunatic god-struck assholes, Rusty Venture stylee.

That would be great, because a real, honest, ethical conservative Republican party might just correct the worst excesses of the Democrats, and the loopy bastards could rally around the Loopy Flag, and things would still be entertaining without being terrifying so much any more.

Ain't gonna happen, I know: but I can dream. So hey, if you're American, and confident about Obama winning, and therefore why-bothering: get up, go, vote, and increase the chances of CRITICAL HITS.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:02 AM on November 6, 2012 [48 favorites]

"You need to fix the electoral system there. I am curious: is that possible?"

The people who have the power to fix the system were all elected under the current system and thus generally believe it works just fine because the "right" people (i.e., them) are the ones winning.
posted by Jacqueline at 5:02 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

OMG OMG OMG ONLY FOUR MORE DAYS UNTIL THE 2016 CAMPAIGN SEASON OMG
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:03 AM on November 6, 2012 [37 favorites]

ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
posted by thewalrus at 5:03 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

If you fuck this up, don't think you can just establish residency in Canada by showing up at the border.

What if I go through with my plan to marry The National Film Board of Canada?

I know lots of Stan Rogers songs.

I'm already in Minnesota. I AM PRACTICALLY THERE

Please?
posted by louche mustachio at 5:04 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Whoever came up with this idea is either the dumbest Information Technology ‘professional’ in the US or has criminal intent against the Ohio election process.

I'm sorry, Ohio, but you're not finished quite yet. Y'all need to recall that fucker Husted.
posted by Room 641-A at 5:05 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

In the off chance Romney does win, Australia is open to American election-refugees, just don't approach from the west by boat. You'll be wishing you were Republican.

But seriously, what Australia is doing with its (mostly Hazara) refugee seekers is a travesty. Prison camps? You have to be pretty desperate to get in a shoddily maintained boat and brave the open water crossing from Indonesia, considering the hundreds who have recently been killed doing so, and then you get thrown in a prison camp when you arrive?
posted by thewalrus at 5:05 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Got in line here in Arlington VA. At 7:30, I was #350-something.
posted by zombieflanders at 5:07 AM on November 6, 2012

I CAN'T DRINK TODAY

help
posted by louche mustachio at 5:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Voted last week, now suffering grimly through the stupid tea party posts on my Facebook. Can't block 'em, they're family. Hope they all go silent and sad by early evening and I can drink in celebration and not to drown my misery. C'mon America, I know you're fucked up but do this thing so we can stay in this century.
posted by emjaybee at 5:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Also important to me: the senate race in MA. As a "Masshole" I can assure you all I'm doing my bit to rid the senate of Scott Brown. Also, I truly love Elizabeth Warren and want to vote for her for ALL THE THINGS.

Serious question: when can I expect the shortest lines at the polls (in Boston, if it matters) - I have a toddler with less patience for waiting around than your average gnat.
posted by sonika at 5:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

The idea that voter suppression efforts in Florida have had the opposite effect and are driving Dem turnout is nice. (Isn't it pretty to think so?) I really hope that turns out to be true and that everyone involved learns a good lesson about obvious.
posted by gerryblog at 5:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

when can I expect the shortest lines at the polls

Two questions: (1) Why isn't this a national holiday? (2) Isn't there a federal law that allows you to take a half or full day off work to vote, with protection from any adverse action from your employers as a result of taking the time off?
posted by thewalrus at 5:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

One year at Gen Con, during the nomination speeches for the Cthulhu party, two people gave an impassioned speech why "Fur-Bearing Trout" should win the nomination... And it did! Cthulhu was mighty pissed.
posted by drezdn at 5:12 AM on November 6, 2012

I'm in a long line here in south Minneapolis. This is a deep blue precinct, so that's nice to see.
posted by Area Man at 5:12 AM on November 6, 2012

Why isn't this a national holiday?

I've become curious if turning Election Day into a national holiday would depress turnout in some places by turning it into a late-fall long weekend. Maybe the regime of week- or month-long voting periods we've been experimenting with is actually better.

Isn't there a federal law that allows you to take a half or full day off work to vote, with protection from any adverse action from your employers as a result of taking the time off?

Not a full day, or even officially a half day, but employers are required to let you go vote. Whether they actually do or not is another question; enforcement in employment law is spotty at best.
posted by gerryblog at 5:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think it's interesting that employers told people to vote for Romney, but none of them seemed to give people time off for voting. (Maybe they did and I missed it though)
posted by drezdn at 5:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you want to see a surprised reaction, show the map of an aggressively gerrymandered congressional district to a Canadian. Canadian MP ridings look like this.
posted by thewalrus at 5:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

voted in queens.
IT IS HAPPENING
posted by qnarf at 5:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

There seems to be a new check in process here at my Michigan polling place that has all the hallmarks of having been designed by consultants to increase efficiency. In consequence it's taking twice as long to even get a ballot.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 5:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Surely this...

is the election thread?

Anyone got any links for snazzy fullscreen dashboard interactive map type things (like the Daily Kos scoreboard that doesn't appear to have a new version) I can obsessively refresh? Bonus points for iPhone apps.
posted by Happy Dave at 5:15 AM on November 6, 2012

"ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn"

lupDujHomwIj luteb gharghmey lupDujHomwIj lubuy'moH gharghmey!
posted by Jacqueline at 5:16 AM on November 6, 2012

"Because these surveys had large sample sizes, the trend is both statistically and practically meaningful. Whether because of Hurricane Sandy, the relatively good economic news of late, or other factors, Mr. Obama appears to have gained ground in the closing days of the race."
posted by marienbad at 5:17 AM on November 6, 2012

The Massachusetts ballot will let me vote for for legalized marijuana, legal assisted suicide, and a hotly-contested senate seat. On top of that, I vote-swapped with another MeFite to move a D vote to Virginia. I'm feeling pretty good about this election.

We'll reconvene to discuss this further at 8:30, me with bourbon bottle in hand, as Pennsylvania and Ohio and Virginia and Florida start reporting.
posted by Mayor West at 5:17 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Polls are open from 7AM - 8PM here, presumably allowing time to vote before/after work unless you work longer than 12hrs.

Seriously though, my question about the lines still stands. I'm thinking after nap, about 2ish... but could also go this morning.
posted by sonika at 5:17 AM on November 6, 2012

A friend of mine reported an hour wait on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:18 AM on November 6, 2012

If you're missing Dan Rather's analysis, here's a collection of his wisdom from 2004.
posted by qnarf at 5:18 AM on November 6, 2012

Voted less than a half hour after the polling place opened. Let's get to work on another four years, Mr. President! Crush that robot!
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 5:19 AM on November 6, 2012

Voters of Brentwood and Bel Air Treated to Luxury Voting Experience

[Hotel-turned-polling place] Luxe Sunset Boulevard has announced, "In true Luxe fashion, the hotel will be offering voters in precincts 9001354A and 9001364A a unique voting experience."

[...]

Voters will be treated to complimentary valet parking and hors d'oeuvres throughout the day including coffee, muffins and delicious finger foods. The hotel's Luxe Lounge will feature live election results on its two flat screen televisions and every voter will receive a voucher for 10% off a future dinner at On Sunset restaurant and special room rates.

I fully expect my polling place in Santa Monica to be handing out Obama yoga mats.
posted by Room 641-A at 5:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

I was soooo looking forward to declining to show any identification (PA resident), but apparently since I am voting for the first time at this location I actually do have to show it. At least that's what they insisted, and I was too lazy / suddenly unsure I was right to go back home and look it up. Took all the fun out of it.

I was in the poker room a few days ago at the local casino, and listening to the ambient conversations around me suddenly realized that about 80% of the card players were probably Romney supporters. One of them at my table offering the sincere opinion that should Obama win there will never be another election in America. Very tempted to spend a couple of hours playing poker tonight as the returns come in, I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of people on tilt.
posted by the bricabrac man at 5:21 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

will be listening to Ace Of Spades on repeat all day now.

So a day like most other days, then!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:21 AM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

Today is my wedding anniversary. We woke up at oh-dark-thirty to go vote together. It was good.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:22 AM on November 6, 2012 [30 favorites]

Do other places have buttons for "Vote Straight Democrat" and "Vote Straight Republican"?

There are some places, I hear, where you can "Vote Gay Democrat," although there are not so many that offer the "Vote Gay Republican" option. But times, thank goodness, they are a' changin'.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:25 AM on November 6, 2012 [22 favorites]

In line, should only be about half am hour. Family behind me is educating their daughter, clearly for the nth time, on women's rights.

Good day.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

octothorpe: Only some states do. When I was voting in Pennsylvania, though, I also liked pressing all the buttons.
posted by beryllium at 5:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Voted. Do other places have buttons for "Vote Straight Democrat" and "Vote Straight Republican"? I almost always end up voting all Democrat but never hit the straight button since I like to click on all the names.

Those buttons are also sometimes really screwed up; In North Carolina it records no vote for president, for instance, basically as a deliberate voter suppression tactic.
posted by gerryblog at 5:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

My little brush with fame every four years happens when they count the votes in Dixville Notch. My wife's college friend and her husband are the official reporters of the vote, and in that very first link in the post, you can see her writing the vote totals on the boards while her husband, sitting behind the ballot box, takes her picture. They've been doing it for the last several presidential election cycles.
posted by briank at 5:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I missed Colbert last night (he had Nate Silver on!). Speaking of conservative idiots like Mourning Joe Scaroborough complaining about Silver's math, he quipped "Even a stopped clock is right 98 percent of the time" (Silver's record from 2008 was 98%).
posted by spitbull at 5:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

If you want to see a surprised reaction, show the map of an aggressively gerrymandered congressional district to a Canadian. Canadian MP ridings look like this.

Ain't got nothing on my district, sometimes lovingly referred to as "the earmuffs"
posted by theodolite at 5:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Do other places have buttons for "Vote Straight Democrat" and "Vote Straight Republican"? I almost always end up voting all Democrat but never hit the straight button since I like to click on all the names.

Here in Texas we do. I don't vote straight ticket. The Dems didn't run an opponent to my Republican congressman, so I got some perverse pleasure voting for his Libertarian opponent. There were also one or two state offices where the choice was Republican, Libertarian or Green. In Texas, the judges are partisan elections, but in some jurisdictions, voting straight ticket will not select any judicial races (you'll have to do those one-by-one), as discussed in the recent West Wing reunion video.
posted by audi alteram partem at 5:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Those buttons are also sometimes really screwed up; In North Carolina it records no vote for president, for instance, basically as a deliberate voter suppression tactic.

Not saying you're wrong, just curious. How is that voter suppression tactic? Are Democrats more likely to vote straight ticket than Republicans or something? I grew up in North Carolina and if voting straight ticket keeps your presidential vote from counting basically my entire family's votes aren't being counted and they're all Republicans.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:29 AM on November 6, 2012

I voted 3 weeks ago, and I can report that there was no line then.
posted by MtDewd at 5:29 AM on November 6, 2012

Why isn't this a national holiday?

I prefer some sort of national federally-standardized vote by mail or extended vote peroid. Even if we made election day a "national holiday" it's not like the whole country can shut down. Hospitals must be staffed. Utility companies, police, firefighters, other public services. Most restaurants would probably not close. Bars would certainly not.

So we have a holiday where all the banks and big companies are closed, but for all the nurses, firefighters, homeless shelters workers, bus drivers etc. it is just another workday. Doesn't seem ideal to me. Let's just have an "election week" so everyone can vote conveniently and focus on partying as the results come in.
posted by mikepop at 5:29 AM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Ain't got nothing on my district, sometimes lovingly referred to as "the earmuffs"

Exceptional!
posted by fullerine at 5:32 AM on November 6, 2012

It's bedtime in Korea. I'm just going to trust you guys that I won't wake up to a smoking rubble-strewn post-apocalytic, robo-mormon corpocrat hellscape.

I can trust you, can't I? Please tell me I can trust you.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [18 favorites]

Not saying you're wrong, just curious. How is that voter suppression tactic? Are Democrats more likely to vote straight ticket than Republicans or something? I grew up in North Carolina and if voting straight ticket keeps your presidential vote from counting basically my entire family's votes aren't being counted and they're all Republicans.

Well, it's a voter suppression tactic no matter which party it targets, but this kind of weird you-have-to-be-told-about-it loophole almost always disproportionately affects low-information and marginal voters.
posted by gerryblog at 5:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just voted!!!

Obama! Fuck yeah!

Voted for two Republicans, the incumbent in the Public Service Commission v. a Libertarian (for PSC... yikes!) & the Clerk of Superior Court, who does a good job.
posted by JKevinKing at 5:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

45 minutes in line, in Suburban Atlanta
posted by JKevinKing at 5:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I just want to say: I am drinking for you all. At least for the next few hours.
We might need to tag team after that.
posted by Mezentian at 5:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I will personally send a sticker to everyone who votes against Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:34 AM on November 6, 2012

It's bedtime in Korea.

And, as ol' Ronny Reagan said, It's Morning In America.

Goodnight, America, from Tokyo. And... what stav said.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

> Ain't got nothing on my district, sometimes lovingly referred to as "the earmuffs"

Bizarre. Who was in that think tank?
posted by de at 5:35 AM on November 6, 2012

I got to cast a vote for Joe Donnelly and against Richard Mourdock!

I've pretty sure God intended it to happen.
posted by leotrotsky at 5:35 AM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

Oh, I want a sticker!
posted by leotrotsky at 5:35 AM on November 6, 2012

I prefer some sort of national federally-standardized vote by mail or extended vote peroid.

I actually like the communal nature of having one election day where everyone stands in the same lines and does their civic duty; I'd make it a holiday so that could happen for as many people as possible. On the other hand, I live in DC so my vote is really more a symbolic gesture about civic duty than an actual influence on governing. Actually, I feel like my most important selection is my designated "seems like the least crazy Statehood Green Party candidate" who I always vote for.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Well, it's a voter suppression tactic no matter which party it targets, but this kind of weird you-have-to-be-told-about-it loophole almost always disproportionately affects low-information and marginal voters.

The poll ladies at my precinct were explicitly warning people about it, and there's a sign, too. I live in a prime area for that kind of thing, but they seemed to be (as always) making sure everyone knows. It's dumb, but dumb isn't always in purpose.
posted by winna at 5:37 AM on November 6, 2012

I had the pleasure of taking my daughter to vote in her first presidential election on the first day of early voting here in Florida. There is little in life that can top my paternal pride in doing this.
Forty years after I proudly cast my first ballot for a war hero who didn't win, I am even prouder to have supplied two ballots for my favorite Kenyan socialist tool of Wall Street gay Muslim candidate ever. Eat your heart out, Rick Scott and Marco Rubio.
posted by rdone at 5:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

My favourite sticker (from uni) was "Back off, man, I've voted".

Since Aliens I hear it in Hicks' voice.
posted by Mezentian at 5:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

If you're in NYC and Sandy's impacted your ability to get to your polling place, you can vote for president at any polling place in the city.
posted by qnarf at 5:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's dumb, but dumb isn't always in purpose.

If it weren't on purpose they'd fix it after multiple years.
posted by gerryblog at 5:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Voted a week and a half ago in Florida. It would be nice if Obama pulled out a win here, but Nate's calling it for Romney. Ah, well.

Best to everyone - hope your voting experience is as smooth as possible.
posted by Mooski at 5:40 AM on November 6, 2012

I actually like the communal nature of having one election day where everyone stands in the same lines and does their civic duty

I like this too, and it's why I still almost always go to my polling place on election day, instead of going to city hall and voting early or getting an absentee ballot. But I recognized that I am fortunate in that my employer doesn't care if I get in late, or that I don't have to get to a second job in the evening. Given that everyone tends to procrastinate I think you would still have large crowds on the last day of elections but I think having well-managed other options makes it more fair than making election day a "national holiday" where plenty of people will still be working. Maybe do both!
posted by mikepop at 5:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Don't blame me, I voted for McGovern.
posted by thewalrus at 5:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

From reddit/r/nyc: The wife and I just went to vote at PS 158 on York Ave. It was the most disorganized voting experience I've ever been through. There is a line to get your ballot, a line for privacy booths to bubble-in your vote and then a line to scan your ballot. When we got in line to scan our ballots, 3 of the 4 scanners were already down and poll workers were getting upset. Then, with 3 people ahead of us, the 4th scanner jammed. They have now opened the "emergency ballot boxes" where you just slip your ballot in and it gets scanned later. I don't feel so confident about the process. Everyone get out and vote early today or make sure you give yourself enough time. It took about an hour. We actually heard a poll worker say, "It's not my problem!"
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I thought about voting over the weekend at City Hall, but I love going to our polling place on election day. It's in someone's garage.
posted by rtha at 5:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

An affectionate fist bump or a terrorist fist jab?
posted by tapeguy at 5:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

[Airplane joke goes here]
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:43 AM on November 6, 2012

...and I guess I needed to refresh my browser, 'cause Nate's now calling Florida for Obama. Man, information moves fast these days.
posted by Mooski at 5:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Voted a week and a half ago in Florida. It would be nice if Obama pulled out a win here, but Nate's calling it for Romney.

He's actually favoring Obama with a 52.5% chance there
posted by mikepop at 5:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Voted a week and a half ago in Florida. It would be nice if Obama pulled out a win here, but Nate's calling it for Romney. Ah, well.

As of this morning it was light blue on 538.
posted by zombieflanders at 5:44 AM on November 6, 2012

Double jinx!
posted by zombieflanders at 5:45 AM on November 6, 2012

Done voting. I even voted for the County Soil and Water Conservation Board members.
posted by Area Man at 5:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

It's dumb, but dumb isn't always in purpose.

If it weren't on purpose they'd fix it after multiple years.

Just to clarify, I don't think this was conceived as a voter suppression tactic; my assumption was that it was an artifact of the transitional period in which Southern conservatives supported Democrats at the state level and Republicans at the national level. But it has a suppressive effect today, which is why poll workers in Durham have to tell every single person who walks in how it works.
posted by gerryblog at 5:48 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Obama! Fuck yeah!

Should have been his actual campaign slogan.

Thanks for voting, everyone. The rest of the world is counting on you today.
posted by Defying Gravity at 5:48 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Just heading out to cast my vote in Ohio, knowing that I might be single handedly deciding our next president. Cheers!
posted by neversummer at 5:48 AM on November 6, 2012 [19 favorites]

Florida's looking a little hypoxic hanging off Georgia. Hope Georgia's not fracking away at the border.
posted by de at 5:50 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Voted in MA, voted my conscious, voted Green, feeling so cliche...
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 5:51 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

As Lemmy goes, so goes the nation.

If you like to watch the polls, I tell you I'm your man
You're up some, down some, it's still the same to me
The pleasure is to follow, it makes no difference what you say
I don't share your hate, I just want to aggregate
Five Thirty Eight!
Five Thirty Eight!

Watching for the flyer, dancing with the devil
Going with the flow, it's all just math to me
Up seven or down eleven, all the internet watching you
Rassmusen or Pew, Gallup or Quinnipac U.
Five Thirty Eight!
Five Thirty Eight!

You know I'm born to crunch, national poll's for fools
But that's the way I like it baby
I don't want to blog forever
And don't forget Unskewed!

Pushing up the margin, I know you've got to see me
Read 'em and weep, Ohio's changed again!
I see it in the exit surveys, take one look and die
The only thing you see, you know it's gonna be,
Five Thirty Eight!
Five Thirty Eight!
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:52 AM on November 6, 2012 [28 favorites]

99.5% chance of Romney win in my state. So there's still a chance! Take that Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkanasas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Utah, North Dakota, and Idaho. We're bluer than you!

Also, about 2/3 of the seats I'm voting for are unopposed, mostly held by Republicans. I need to find a good name to write in for those seats
posted by This Guy at 5:52 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Conservative Byte just sent me an e-mail that says: Everything – Except the Polls – Points to a Romney Landslide

Uh, thanks, guys. Also, unsubscribe.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:52 AM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

I never get a sticker!
posted by octothorpe at 5:53 AM on November 6, 2012

Per Twitter, the Black Panthers are making their first appearance on Fox. Drink!
posted by gerryblog at 5:55 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

I will be in the air tonight around 8pm, flying from DC to NC. I mentioned to my wife last night that if Obama is named the presumptive winner by then I really hope God holds off on the Rapture at least until my plane lands, in case my pilot is taken.

She said I shouldn't worry, because I'd probably be taken in the Rapture as well, but Fox News tells me I voted for the Anti-Christ this election, so I'm not so confident.
posted by jermsplan at 5:57 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Mailed in my ballot last week. Washington has mail-in only. It's pretty awesome! I sat down late at night when I'm most awake and thoroughly read through everything and even did a bit of research on some of the people and stuck a stamp on and there you go. Done and dusted.

Except I don't get a sticker. I want a sticker!
posted by Mizu at 5:57 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

cmonkey: "I don't understand why America doesn't just make this a bank holiday, it's clearly not like anyone is going to be getting any work done."

You're assuming that people in power want to make it easier to vote and it's often just the opposite.
posted by octothorpe at 5:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Living in Bluelandia, I'm spared the barrage of presidential political ads that most people have to deal with; until yesterday I could recall seeing one Obama ad, although there may have been a few more. Since yesterday morning I've seen six or seven Romney ads. I know the PACs have to use it or lose it, but I have no idea why they would run Romney ads here.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:00 AM on November 6, 2012

I swapped votes with a nice Democrat in Massachusetts, so y'all have me to thank if Virginia squeaks blue by one vote. :)

Hmm, this is the second time that MetaFilter has gotten me to vote for a Democrat. (The first time was for Reid in 2010, to keep Ms. Batshitcrazypants out of the U.S. Senate) Y'all are a bad influence!!! :P
posted by Jacqueline at 12:33 PM on November 6 [1 favorite +] [!]

The Massachusetts ballot will let me vote for for legalized marijuana, legal assisted suicide, and a hotly-contested senate seat. On top of that, I vote-swapped with another MeFite to move a D vote to Virginia. I'm feeling pretty good about this election.

We'll reconvene to discuss this further at 8:30, me with bourbon bottle in hand, as Pennsylvania and Ohio and Virginia and Florida start reporting.
posted by Mayor West at 1:17 PM on November 6 [2 favorites +] [!]

I claim my prize!
posted by Reggie Knoble at 6:01 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

...the Black Panthers are making their first appearance on Fox.
I just checked the Fox website and saw nothing about that. There was a headline that said: "Obama Poised to Win Financially." I guess that's true like every day for Romney, hence it is not news.
posted by marxchivist at 6:01 AM on November 6, 2012

Voted early in Maryland: Obama for President, Cardin for Senate, John Delaney for Congress, and Yes on marriage equality and the DREAM Act. And I feel pretty good about the chances for all of them.
posted by Cash4Lead at 6:02 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Results Maps:

New York Times
BBC
CNN
Fox
Bing
Google - no results map up yet.
posted by Happy Dave at 6:02 AM on November 6, 2012 [21 favorites]

I have no idea why they would run Romney ads here.

This came up in... something I was reading yesterday, and the most likely explanation I saw was that they are just blanket national ad buys, since the swing state markets were already fully saturated and bought-out.
posted by Kosh at 6:02 AM on November 6, 2012

In a rare Beevis and Butthead moment, I realized that replacing the "l" in the word Election with an "r" will make ALL of the news you read today much more amusing.

Starting with the thread title.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:03 AM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

I voted on Friday (the last day of early voting here). I know my national and statewide votes aren't going to help much, but every time I vote for Lloyd Doggett, it feels like a personal fuck-you to all the bastards who keep trying to gerrymander him out of Congress.
posted by immlass at 6:03 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

That was sweet. It actually took me longer to get home (due to traffic) than it did to wait in line to vote. First time in 12 years, feels good to be back in the game.

Now I must try to actually work today instead of just constantly refreshing this thread.
posted by King Bee at 6:05 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

#128 at my polling place. They are having a bake sale.

Democracy... NOW WITH PIE.
posted by louche mustachio at 6:06 AM on November 6, 2012 [24 favorites]

ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES CHANGE VOTES FOR ROMNEY INTO VOTES FOR OBAMA

A sample of my inbox this morning. . .I really need to get off my ass and unsubscribe to all of the wackdoodle stuff that I never subscribed to in the first place.
posted by Danf at 6:06 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

And I got a free sticker!
posted by louche mustachio at 6:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Today is going to be an exciting and only a little nervewracking day. If the polls and the aggregates are correct I think we'll get Obama elected 332-206, gain 1 democratic seat in the senate (no small feat given that Dems had to defend a ridiculous number of seats this year), and gain about 5-10 seats in the House. I'm not going to predict Speaker Pelosi but the sheer rage that would cause in Redlandia (where I live) would be delicious.

Oh well I guess I have to content myself with replacing 2 liberal justices to the Supreme Court and hoping beyond hope that the sheer amount of bile that Thomas and Scalia produce will force them to step down for health reasons during the next 4 years.

Of course I'll probably stay up to see election results well into the night just on the off chance that we have another 2000. No way in hell am I waking up to that. But Hawaii and Alaska are on their own.
posted by vuron at 6:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

marxchivist: "...the Black Panthers are making their first appearance on Fox.
I just checked the Fox website and saw nothing about that. There was a headline that said: "Obama Poised to Win Financially." I guess that's true like every day for Romney, hence it is not news."

I just checked foxnews.com and saw: "UNIONS UNDER FIRE: Accused of Trying to Force Illegal Immigrants to Vote"

I love it when they manage to get multiple unrelated knee-jerk topics together in one headline.
posted by octothorpe at 6:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Voter #71 in my town. w00t!

And my awesome father-in-law, who has already been a teacher, town councilman, and other volunteer, is a poll worker today. He rules.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

since the swing state markets were already fully saturated and bought-out.

Thanks, kosh. Also, wow.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:07 AM on November 6, 2012

Data point of one: Voting lines are OUT THE DOOR this morning in Louisville, KY. I've never seen that before, never. Not even close. Is there possibly, maybe, remotely a chance that my vote will actually count this time?
posted by jbickers at 6:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Just finished voting and it was concerning. They had paper or machines (only 2 mind you). Some woman put in her paper ballot and they said fine so she left. Then they noticed the machine jammed. I know machine or paper, technical difficulties always happen but this was disconcerning (and reminded me of Gore/Bush all over again).
posted by stormpooper at 6:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm thinking after nap, about 2ish... but could also go this morning.

Go vote in the middle of the day. Everyone with day jobs is out early and late waiting to vote, so take advantage of the lull in the afternoon.

Polls opened at 7:00 in MA, I got to the local fire station at 7:15, and it took me about 45 minutes to get through the line. They weren't kidding about record turnout. I think we just had a surprising number of "significant" elections and questions on the ballot - Senate seat, doctor-assisted suicide, legalized medical marijuana, and oh yeah don't let the ex-governor take over the White House.
posted by backseatpilot at 6:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Mitt Romney: Hilarious or Terrifying?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

There was a bake sale at my polling place in Watertown, MA, too! Also a 50 person line for precinct 4, which I got to skip because I live in precinct 5. I was also pleased to see optical scan ballots. Sadly, I did not get an "I Voted!" sticker to give to Ocean Child, who very patiently waited for me to vote.

Now to obsessively refresh the internet for the rest of the day.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 6:09 AM on November 6, 2012

I will personally send a sticker to everyone who votes against Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin.

I, for one, legitimately voted for Claire McCaskill.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 6:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [27 favorites]

Each time I hear a report of higher than normal voter turnout I'm glad, a) because it means that despite cynicism people actually think this election matters and b) because that generally means that Democrats are going to do better than expected.

Come on Obama coattails.
posted by vuron at 6:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Woo Hoo! My dear, sweet mother has decided she dislikes Romney so much she wants me to take her to vote for Obama. (She was going to sit this one out for age related reasons.)
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 6:11 AM on November 6, 2012 [43 favorites]

Wife and I walked our mail-in ballots to our county's election office two weeks ago. Oregon really has this down, IMO.
posted by Danf at 6:11 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Michiganders and Michigeese, don't forget to fill out the non-partisan section of your ballot.
posted by infinite intimation at 6:11 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I, for one, legitimately voted for Claire McCaskill.

You think our nation has a way of shutting that whole thing down?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:12 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

I just checked foxnews.com and saw: "UNIONS UNDER FIRE: Accused of Trying to Force Illegal Immigrants to Vote"

... at abortion clinics!
posted by uncleozzy at 6:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Getting a sticker is nice and all, but . . . "When twenty-four-year-old George Washington first ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses, he attributed his defeat to his failure to provide enough alcohol for the voters. When he tried again two years later, Washington floated into office partly on the 144 gallons of rum, punch, hard cider and beer his election agent handed out—roughly half a gallon for every vote he received."

I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK!!
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 6:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [61 favorites]

Past bed-time for me, echoing Stav and Flapjax. I'm fully planning to wake up to good news in about six hours.

Good. News.

Don't let me down, folks.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:13 AM on November 6, 2012

My polling station is just outside Porter Square in Somerville, MA; I got there at about 6:55 and was done by around 7:30. All in all, not too bad. I arrived before the line really started forming, though... there were quite a few people in line behind me, especially by the time I left. It was a sub-freezing morning, too, so it was nice to see so many people out.
posted by Kosh at 6:15 AM on November 6, 2012

TPM Livewire:

Is this the last time you will vote for yourself?

"No, I don't think so," he said with a grin.

Biden plans to vote three more times before lunch.
posted by tapeguy at 6:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Don't let me down, folks.

I voted as hard as I could.
posted by louche mustachio at 6:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

I voted yesterday by absentee ballot in Minnesota. Obama/Biden, Keith Ellison and Amy Kloubuchar. And of course a big fat NO on both the anti marriage amendment and the voter ID amendment.

I would urge all Minnesotans who haven't voted yet to be careful on the judges. There are some seriously crazy people up for election.

COME ON Minnesota! Let's defeat those amendments! Vote no TWICE!
posted by triggerfinger at 6:16 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

I got to cast a vote for Joe Donnelly and against Richard Mourdock!

Interestingly, in the past few days, I received quite a few political calls imploring me to "remember to vote for Mitt Romney and Richard Mourdock". Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if those were for the Republicans or against the Republicans, trying to subtly paint Romney with Moudock's slime.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:16 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm absolutely certain this thread is going to win the nomination for Election Thread.

It has real momentum.
posted by Happy Dave at 6:17 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

This is your last election to feel young. The next time around, people born on the same day the immortal words "Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos" were aired will be able to vote.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:17 AM on November 6, 2012 [33 favorites]

Just voted in Cleveland and got an awesome “I (Ohio) voting!” sticker. Several voting machines at the location were already jammed/switched to manual mode by 8:30 AM.
posted by vkxmai at 6:17 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I think the longest I have had to wait was around 20 minutes (four songs).

If you would listen to my band, you could get through the line in just one song.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:18 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Is this the last time you will vote for yourself?

"No, I don't think so," he said with a grin.

Someone alert that guy in the pimp costume!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:19 AM on November 6, 2012

Since Biden has been so awesome at VP, I'm hoping that he automatically gets added to the Democratic ticket in 2016 as Veep. Clinton/Biden has a nice ring to it.
posted by vuron at 6:19 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

My boyfriend and I got up early and got to our (Brooklyn) polling place just as it opened. We were fourth and fifth voters in our district (for our polling place). I was surprised at how little line there was; we basically just walked in and voted.

A little over an hour later, I passed a different polling place on my way to school. The line to vote was out the door and round the corner going down the block, and more people were coming to join the line than were going through the door.
posted by ocherdraco at 6:20 AM on November 6, 2012

Hey, just stopping in to remind anyone in Maine that:
1) We have same-day voter registration;
2) You don't need a photo id, just something official with both your name and address on it (utility bill, debt collection notice, what have you).

If you're in Maine, and you're reading this, there is NO EXCUSE. Go vote.

I did both! Took me about 2 minutes tops to register. There was a long line at 8:00 a.m. but it moved very quickly.

I also believe we have the prettiest polling place in the country.

Yes on 1!!!! Gawd I hope it passes this year.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 6:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

indubitable: "I bet you're the person responsible for all those "robots.txt" files on the internet"

Actually, that's Metafilter's Own™ cstross.
posted by namewithoutwords at 6:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

If Romney wins, I worry less about any policies his administration may enact (although I worry a lot about those, too) than I do about the long-term implications of the fact that it will have been proven that you can just straight-up fucking lie your way to the Presidency. That's not good for anyone.

It's bad enough (and deeply demoralizing, personally) that he wasn't hissed out of the race and shunned by decent people everywhere. The ultimate demonstration of Straussian political thinking.
posted by winna at 6:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Alphabet City: my brother complained about the lack of stickers at the polling place, so a poll worker made him one.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Those buttons are also sometimes really screwed up; In North Carolina it records no vote for president, for instance, basically as a deliberate voter suppression tactic.

I know several NCers have already weighed in on this but I wanted to mention that the first thing you see on the ballot is the Presidential race (which in NC includes Obama, Romney, and Johnson) and below that section in a separate space is the straight ticket vote. Also I was physically handed a strip of paper that reminded me that the straight party vote did not include the President. You would have to be really blind, deaf, and dumb to miss that.

I have a sticker rolling around in the bottom of my purse...wish I could send it to y'all who need it! I have no small children in the home.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:21 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Mr. Burns Endorses Romney, another opus from some embarassed Fox employees
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:21 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Is it bad that I'm secretly really tickled by the fact that a high percentage of my Republican coworkers and friends, who've I've had a number of discussions with about the election are deciding not to go vote today because "we're in Texas so it doesn't really matter"? I mean I gave them a token "everyone should vote", but I'm not gonna do Romney's ground game for him.
posted by DynamiteToast at 6:21 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Nice miscalibrated touch screen.
posted by thewalrus at 6:22 AM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

I am in a boiler room in THE battleground state (Florida is the New Florida Again, Again!) doing tech support for the field organizers, who are getting their volunteers out to pound doors and keep people in line at the polls and start calling West once the polls close here. We're getting up-to-the-second turnout information precinct-by-precinct. You guys want some inside info, here it is: this fucking thing is tight. No joke, it's going to be won or lost by maybe fewer than 15,000 votes in Florida. If you're in Florida, go vote if you haven't. Then go do knocks and turn out more votes. And then help us call west. Romney Can Not Win If We Win Florida. You've all seen that math. It's All Hands On Deck. Put some hours in. You know what's at stake. Let's do this.
posted by Cookiebastard at 6:23 AM on November 6, 2012 [81 favorites]

Thnx, backseatpilot. My young friend is growing restless, so I think I'll check out the lines on our way to the playground. Maybe democracy will bore him into a nap... I can only hope.

If it looks super crowded, we'll just try again around 2.
posted by sonika at 6:23 AM on November 6, 2012

All this talk of 45 minute to 90 minute waits (on work days, no less) makes me wonder -- with voluntary voting no less -- the fuck you people are doing.

The long lines are probably the result of a lot more people turning up to vote instead of blowing it off. Seriously, we have one of the worst voter turnouts of any democracy; I think the New York State democratic primary had only an 11% turnout. Typically we have about 50-60% voter turnout at national elections.

So the long lines make me think that this may be "more people are finally voting for a change," and that makes me REALLY happy.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:24 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I will personally send a sticker to everyone who votes against Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin.

I will be heading to the polls soon to place my vote for Claire McCaskill, and I know my relatives in Indiana will be voting against Mourdock, so you've got my family behind that statement.
posted by jferg at 6:24 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Please, oh please, Nate Silver, be right.

And that's all I have to say. I need to work, and after work, I need to do battle with the Republican partisans scaling my Facebook wall.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 6:24 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

You guys want some inside info, here it is: this fucking thing is tight.

Hey that's pretty helpful, but to satiate my thirst for election coverage I'm gonna need you to report back with numbers, preferably every five minutes. Thanks.
posted by DynamiteToast at 6:25 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Those buttons are also sometimes really screwed up; In North Carolina it records no vote for president, for instance, basically as a deliberate voter suppression tactic.

The Board of Elections here passes out slips of paper AND tells you verbally AND has signs up that you need to vote for president separately. Don't fret. That and everyone's facebook is nagging about it too.

Let's not get paranoid.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:25 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I need to do battle with the Republican partisans scaling my Facebook wall.

Thank you for this mental image as well as for the turn of phrase. I will be stealing it. That is all.
posted by RolandOfEld at 6:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

God speed Cookiebastard, I'd love for Florida to dash Romney's hopes completely. I'm not counting on it but 332 would be awesome.

I'm just waiting to see if the Republican blame game will settle on Romney being too "liberal" as his fatal flaw. I'd love for them to put up some total clown like Santorum in 2016 even though I think Rubio will probably be the consensus pick.
posted by vuron at 6:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

As my contribution to subscribe to this thread, here's a link to yesterday's Diane Rehm show, a concerning analysis of the voter suppression, harassment and intimidation that's going on around the country. AS far as I'm concerned this is the most disgustingly unAmerican thing of all, and it should be roundly deplored by people on all sides.

I hope it's really not too long before we can have secure votes by email. There could still be stations for those without access to a computer, but it seems as though it has everything to offer: it would prevent fraud, generate however many receipts you want to create a cross-check, be fast to tabulate, and be convenient for people who can't get around easily. We could have a week during which to submit. The speakers on the show point out that most advances in American voting - such as the absentee ballot, introduced during the Civil War - are first implemented for people serving in the military. Perhaps soon we'll all be submitting an e-ballot as many of them do now. It could only be an improvement over this BS about fighting over poll hours and locations and ID.
posted by Miko at 6:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

I also believe we have the prettiest polling place in the country.

That is very pretty but ours is nice too AND THEY HAVE PIE
posted by louche mustachio at 6:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I actually live at my polling station, so I thought I could run downstairs and vote before work. No such luck. Here in southeastern PA the line was already out the door when the polls opened. At least after I wait in the madness of the after work lines, I'm already home!
posted by gladly at 6:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Iowans!

You can register today, with ID!

If you're already registered you don't need ID to vote!

You can check your polling place or registration here!

Inform your peeps
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I early voted. Mostly because early voting was held in an actual city government building, while election day voting was moved a few weeks ago from a city government building to this Baptist church. Practically begging for some poll worker to have an 'attack of conscience.'

Good luck, all. We're going to lose this one.
posted by jinjo at 6:27 AM on November 6, 2012

I'm just waiting to see if the Republican blame game will settle on Romney being too "liberal" as his fatal flaw.

Oh, please do.

I'd love for them to put up some total clown like Santorum in 2016 even though I think Rubio will probably be the consensus pick.

Rubio's dead in the water for the national ticket or he would have been running this year. I think his opposition research just uncovered too much for him to be viable.
posted by Miko at 6:28 AM on November 6, 2012

I already voted early here in MD, so I kind of feel like I'm sitting on the sidelines, but I saved my sticker just so I could wear it again today. There's no doubt that the state is safely blue, so I'm mainly worried about Questions 4 and 6. I'm an ordained reverend, darn it (Universal Life Church); I wanna marry some gay people!
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Romney Mega Prayer. . .courtesy of my daughter.
posted by Danf at 6:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

No offense, Cookie Bastard, but that sounds a lot like this. I do hope you're right, though.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 6:29 AM on November 6, 2012

I am sure it is the spirit of revenge speaking, but I keep thinking about how many elderly Florida voters are likely to vote against the black guy but not if they have to stand on a 3 hour line to do it, because my bunions.
posted by spitbull at 6:30 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Email voting sounds good in theory Miko but I work with tech people that struggle with the concept of captchas. How do you ensure that only the authorized voter is voting and not some malware that is intercepting outgoing SMTP traffic?

I think HTTPS is probably more doable but you'd still need to make sure people don't forget their password or use password123, etc.
posted by vuron at 6:30 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just now on Facebook, a hillbilly (his words) guy from Arkansas I know from another message board, the biggest damn gun lover I've ever met, just said he voted for Obama. This brings me hope.
posted by bondcliff at 6:31 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

The excitement of a new thread is always so great. I'm favoriting everything.
posted by DynamiteToast at 6:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

This thread is too busy for so late at night (here), so I will leave you all with the hope that your voting comes with pie (if you must), or a good old democratic sausage sizzle.

Good luck everyone. We're counting on you.
posted by Mezentian at 6:32 AM on November 6, 2012

As mentioned in chat, if everyone here is not following #romneydeathrally on Twitter, they may be missing the apex of Western civilization.
posted by Shepherd at 6:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [22 favorites]

A list of a large number of pundit predictions.
posted by OmieWise at 6:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

See you in 8 hours, USA! I'm all agog.
posted by h00py at 6:33 AM on November 6, 2012

Obama 1, Romney 2
posted by growabrain at 6:34 AM on November 6, 2012

Kos has 500 Reasons to Vote Obama
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:35 AM on November 6, 2012

Here's a fantastic wingnut rant from Facebook that got posted today. I can assure you it is not satire - this guy posts stuff like this all the time. Remember: if you don't vote, you're letting people like this decide the election.

Before You Vote... Let Me Explain This To You... Up Until 1871 We Had A Constitutional Republic Called The United States (Notice Spelling) Representing And Represented By We The People... BUT In 1871 They Moved Our Capital From Pennsylvania (A State In Union And Leaving Us Without A Government) To Washington DC (A Foreign District) And Formed A Corporation Called The UNITED STATES (Notice Spelling ALL CAPS) Declaring To Be The Government (And Threw Our Constitution Out The Window And Starting Writing Laws To Which We Were To Follow Of Their Own Not The Unalienable Rights Our Constitution Gave Us) And Was To Only Govern In Washington DC For 1 Year But Was Never Reversed! As Time Went By Alot Of Things Happened But Then In 1913 The Corporation SOLD The Power Of Coining And Regulating Money Away From The Congress To ANOTHER Corporation We Know As The Federal Reserve (Unconstitutional). A Few More Years Went By And In 1933 They Took YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE And Formed A Corporation Around Your Name To Back The Loans From The Central Banks (Commonly Referred To As A STRAWMAN Look It Up) And Made Adhesion Contracts For That Corporation To Tie You Into Their Jurisdiction Such As Drivers License, Social Security Cards, Checking Accounts, Federal Reserve Notes (Money), Mortgages, Anything With Title (Look At Them All They Are In CAPS Which Denotes Corporation Gramatically) Then In 1944 The Corporation Took All Of Its Assets (Building, Strawmen, Titles, EVERYTHING They Owned) And Deeded It To The International Monetary Fund ANOTHER Foreign Corporation (IMF Brenton Woods Act Of 1944 For Research) Soooo If You Think Your Vote Counts Think Again Because The Government Is A Corporation Run By A Foreign Corporation!!! Example: If McDonalds Buys Burger King Who Is Gonna Control??? Think About It!!! Who Do You REALLY Thinks Calls The Shots??? NOT WE THE PEOPLE!!! The Corporation Owns You, Everything You THINK You Own, Your Children, EVERYTHING!!! So In Closing No Matter Who You Vote For Obama, Romney, Paul, Johnson, ANYONE They Will Not Answer To You Because The IMF Is Still Gonna Call The Shots And They Are After One Thing And One Thing Only ONE WORLD ORDER It Doesnt Matter What Person We Elect He/She Will Be Part Of Carrying Out The Master Plan!!! Any Questions???

posted by 0xFCAF at 6:36 AM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

What Is It With Nut Jobs Capitalizing Every Word?
posted by bondcliff at 6:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [28 favorites]

I voted weeks ago (woohoo 100% mail-in voting! They're expecting over 80% turnout in my state!) in a state that Silver has as a 100% obama victory, but we have some really important downticket races. The race for Governor is really important this time around. But what will truly just break my heart is if we reject R-74, the vote to retain our state's (brand-new, suspended until the election) policy of extending the protections of marriage to all couples. As I said on Facebook, the only thing that threatens my marriage is the idea that the government gets more of a say about whom I marry than I do.

I wish I could say that I'll just be peaceably ignoring the whole thing, secure in my knowledge that I've done what I can, but the reality is that I'll be relentlessly refreshing this page and many others all day long, breathing into a paper bag and coming up with snarky election-themed cocktails. (My favorite so far: the Tied Electoral College. 151 and bitters -- lots and lots of bitters. What would be in a Blue State besides blue curacao?)
posted by KathrynT at 6:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Just finished a 4AM lit drop. Ready for this to be over.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 6:37 AM on November 6, 2012

Just now on Facebook, a hillbilly (his words) guy from Arkansas I know from another message board, the biggest damn gun lover I've ever met, just said he voted for Obama. This brings me hope.

No shit. I told this story a while back, but one of my oldest friends and musical mentors is a self-described "hillbilly redneck" hunter, country musician, and tractor mechanic in the Arkansas Ozarks who voted for Obama in 2008 and will do so again.

This is a guy who left *Texas* in the late 1990s (where I had played in his band for several years) because it was getting too cosmopolitan for him. He lives so far off the grid we hunt deer from his back porch and you need to rent an SUV to make it to his house on the 5 miles of dirt road it takes to get there.

For one reason: Bush the Crusader sent his kid to Iraq and fucked him up for life.

I hope there are many more of these guys than anyone suspected. I never hear stories like his in the media, but I know they are out there.
posted by spitbull at 6:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [17 favorites]

Romney Death Rally:

What is Kali Ma? Staffers at #RomneyDeathRally won't explain anything. Chanting grows louder. Dogs are howling. My kids just want to go home

One by one the stars are winking out, while the dark fires in Mitt Romney's eyes burn ever brighter. The end is nigh.

Trump's hairpiece grows. It seethes. It demands. We comply. Our birth certificates. Our school transcripts. Our souls.

"I can be slain by no man," Romney bellows, breath of rot and sulfur. Hillary Clinton raises her sword. "I am no man!"

The sun is out yet no light shines. A locomotive bourne of sinew and flesh belches sulfer. The Cain train has arrived.

Palin, frothing from her maw, screams "I CAN SEE R'LYEH FROM MY BACKYARD!"

Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul have now disrobed. Upon one chest is "laissez." Upon the other, "faire." Their bodies merge.

"I will bring Reagan back to America!" Mitt opens his shirt to reveal the face of Reagan sewn to his belly. Its eyes open.

posted by crayz at 6:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [85 favorites]

the GOP blowing its chance to retake the Senate two cycles in a row by nominating crackpots in key states

They nominated crackpots in every state.
posted by moammargaret at 6:40 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I just came here to say we're counting on you USA. Please don't screw this up.
posted by arcticseal at 6:40 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

That screed sounds like it might have some overlap with the "Freeman on the land" nutjobbery. Those are the people who believe that if their name is used in all caps in a court document it doesn't count, and the presence of gold fringes on the flag in a courtroom means the court is illegitimate by some kind of law of the sea.
posted by Rhomboid at 6:40 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

This was my voting experience in Savannah, GA:

The polling place was a Lutheran church. First you had to check-in, then get in line. Since the actual line to vote snaked outside, those in the line were constantly reminding new comers to go check-in.

Check-in involved filling out a short form with your name, address and signature, which was then checked by a poll worker, to make sure the name and addresses matched. Then you took said form and got in the big line to actually vote.

But, since the line to vote actually snaked past the check-in table, I just got in line and filled out the form when I passed the table. Efficiency is good.

Anyway, once in line, I was sandwiched between a guy talking on his phone and a family taking their 11 year old daughter with them to vote. The family was sweet, as they educated their daughter for what was clearly the nth time on the importance of voting and women's rights. The girl was nice , though a bit bored at times, which was understandable. But she had an her cell phone with a few games to keep her occupied when the adults would not shut up.

Once the line was inside the voting place, the layout of the voting process was a bit clearer. The line we were in wasn't the exact line to vote, there was a final check in, where your Georgia driver's license or ID card was scanned and checked against a database to make sure you were...something. I'm assuming it was that you were at the right polling place and legally able to vote.

While waiting to get to his point, the line passed a poll watcher who was, well, watching the room. There was sign at the entrance to the polling station which said talking or texting was forbidden once you were inside. In conversation with the watcher, she said she didn't care whether people were texting or talking, just if they were bothering other people. Fair enough.

Just before I was about to be checked in for the second time, the computer system on the voter databases seemed to go down. There was that familiar sign of people checking computer connections, then workers called out to the lead poll watcher that the system was down. She asked if they had checked the connections, they replied that they had and she implored them to check again, all of them. They did, including the cable leading to the wall and verified everything was alright.

Then the lead poll watcher came over and did something and figured out that it wasn't the system, just a single computer. Since there were only two computers, that meant the line could continue, just at a slower pace.

When I reached this check point, I handed over the form I had filled out, along with driver's license. The poll watcher marked off a something on my form, picked up a yellow ballot card and handed it and my license to me.

Then I went and cheerfully voted for socialist kenyan who is stealing our freedoms. When done, I turned the ballot card back in, got my sticker and left. All of this took about 30-40 minutes. This particular process would have been much quicker if there had been more computers at the final check out, that seemed to be the big bottle neck, ever before one computer started acting up. There were 5 actual polling booths and at times, only 1 or 2 were being used, due to the final check-in being slow. That might have been do to what I assume the voter database being overwhelmed with the entire county dialing in.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:40 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

What Is It With Nut Jobs Capitalizing Every Word?

Often (definitely not always) poor mastery of literacy skills points to other language processing issues which can cause convoluted thinking.
posted by Miko at 6:40 AM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Some good Chris Matthews here
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

It Doesnt Matter What Person We Elect He/She Will Be Part Of Carrying Out The Master Plan!!! Any Questions???

Yes. Would you like orange or cherry jello with your hospital lunch?
posted by moammargaret at 6:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

KathrynT: What would be in a Blue State besides blue curacao?

I can't help you on ingredients, but whatever is in there, there should be equal parts of each liquor.
posted by King Bee at 6:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

You could volunteer to get out the vote!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"...Paul Ryan's back on stage calling for all unborn children to chew their way out"

#RomneyDeathRally is gonna kill me today. :D
posted by Jacqueline at 6:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Also, I took two "Georgia Voter" stickers. Just because.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I spent several hours Sunday crafting a long and (hopefully) convincing email to get my dad, a mythical undecided Ohio voter, to vote for Obama. I don't know if it worked, but worst case, I know my mom will be there to cancel him out.
posted by gueneverey at 6:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I didn't vote today and I DON'T INTEND TO!
posted by mazola at 6:45 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I just came here to say we're counting on you USA. Please don't screw this up.

I find these exhortations from "the rest of the world" pretty condescending.
posted by OmieWise at 6:45 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

At the two and a half hour mark in line here. Someone just came around offering granola bars, which is nice. Someone else passed by and asked what we're all in line for, which, 0_o.
posted by troika at 6:45 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

What Is It With Nut Jobs Capitalizing Every Word?

I've always thought it was an Attempt to Imitate the way Ye Olde Docu-ments were Written.
posted by Rat Spatula at 6:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

> It Doesnt Matter What Person We Elect He/She Will Be Part Of Carrying Out The Master Plan!!!

Credit where credit's due: He/She?
Nice to read.
posted by de at 6:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

snarky election-themed cocktails

"The 99%" is any liquor heated in an open pot. You inhale the vapor.

Please don't do this.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I didn't vote today and I DON'T INTEND TO!

So you're the reason why Obama is behind in Alberta!
posted by King Bee at 6:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

troika, you rock. Thank you for waiting.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I can't help you on ingredients, but whatever is in there, there should be equal parts of each liquor.

A bartender friend of mine suggested something drinkable, which is an Aviation made with curacao instead of creme de violette. That would be gin, maraschino, and blue curacao.

From my other spitballing with her, a Green Party is absinthe, St. Germain, and soda: a bunch of things that all sound good in theory, but in practice combine to form something kind of unsettling. A Libertarian Party is moonshine and goldschlager; halfway through the party, you switch the moonshine for Sterno, and anyone who didn't bring a gas chromatograph to verify the composition of their drink should have planned better. A Democratic Party is vodka and soda; no lime, color, flavor, or substance, but at least it doesn't have Sterno in it. And a GOP is just an Old Fashioned with a different name.
posted by KathrynT at 6:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [43 favorites]

Took about 50 minutes in Somerville MA (8:20-9:10). I've moved a few blocks since 2008 but I think the wait was similar then.
posted by dfan at 6:48 AM on November 6, 2012

Fox News sees a black man—and they're scared!

The best part? Note how that scary, scary black man intimidates the women by greeting them and holding the door. Run for your lives!

posted by zombieflanders at 6:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

I find these exhortations from "the rest of the world" pretty condescending.

Why? When our country's elected leader has a massive amount of sway in world matters (such as Bush being the reason a whole lot of military servicepeople in a lot of nations have been serving and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan), and the outcome of this election could determine whether or not they're going to go die in Iran as well, I feel they have a vested interest and every right to express their opinions to us.

It's not just us today.
posted by olinerd at 6:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [30 favorites]

What would be in a Blue State besides blue curacao?

Organic blue agave tequila.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Just voted and bought a lottery ticket. I am hoping that I get a BIG winner between the two.
posted by jadepearl at 6:51 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I find these exhortations from "the rest of the world" pretty condescending.

I don't. They have every good reason to worry about who's running the show over here, and this is the nation that re-elected Dubya.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:51 AM on November 6, 2012 [21 favorites]

Welcome everyone, to a day of careful favorite rationing.
posted by JHarris at 6:52 AM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

I am gonna get no work done today. I've already warned my boss.
posted by DynamiteToast at 6:53 AM on November 6, 2012

I was 31st in line when the polls opened in my precinct this morning. I was also the youngest person there. Evidently my fellow upper 20 year olds don't get up at 6:15am to vote.
posted by royalsong at 6:53 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

For LA-area residents who need a way to get to the polls:

Cab Companies Offering Free Rides to the Polls for November 6 Election

From 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, local taxi companies will help Angelenos in Los Angeles, South Bay and Long Beach "Roll to the Polls" for free.

posted by Room 641-A at 6:54 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The robot lobby is tired of you organs trying to pawn Romney off on us.
posted by curious nu at 6:54 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

https://twitter.com/fivethirtynate

Nate Silver becomes one with The Model.
posted by qnarf at 6:55 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

What Is It With Nut Jobs Capitalizing Every Word?

I've always associated it with the way German capitalizes all nouns. It makes everything sound like it's the ideal, theoretical Platonic form of a thing, rather than simply a specific, flawed instance thereof. I think there's an appeal to it for folks with a loose purchase on reality, as it exists.
posted by Strange Interlude at 6:55 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

The best part? Note how that scary, scary black man intimidates the women by greeting them and holding the door. Run for your lives!

But he's in semi-military garb!
He could be the next Unabomber, Oklahoma Bomber or Batman shooter... but less white!
posted by Mezentian at 6:55 AM on November 6, 2012

Empath, if you were in NC I could tell you exactly what to do. If you moved less than thirty days ago I think the old precinct is fine. Otherwise you might need paperwork from them anyway. Worst case scenario this is what a provisional ballot is for.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:55 AM on November 6, 2012

My younger son turns 1 year old today (this happy chappy) and instead of helping him help himself to a faceful of cake tonight I am going to be babysitting the posting of election results on the website of the government entity for which I work. Grumble. There better be good news at the end of the night, is what I'm saying.
posted by dirtdirt at 6:57 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

For all of you, just show up at the polls. If there is a problem re address or whatever, there should always be a process to make sure you can at least vote provisionally. Poll workers are trained to make sure everyone has the right to exercise their privilege of voting.

(But if you haven't registered, what the heck were you thinking????? THAT it's too late to fix.)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:58 AM on November 6, 2012

Obama campaign sent me a text last night asking me to reply with "CALL" to get the number of an undecided swing state voter. Hell yes. So I called 19 year old Cody in West Palm Beach. After I gave him shit for being undecided, we talked for about 20 minutes about our lives, families, and hopes. I think he'll vote Obama, but you never know. The apathy was kind of strong in this one.

I would have made these calls all night but somehow Obama's texting app stopped responding. It was a great idea.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 6:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [25 favorites]

300 comments and it's not even 10AM EST.

*goes out to buy more RAM*
posted by gwint at 6:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Question, I'm in Virginia, and apparently I forgot to update my address when I moved, so my drivers license doesn't match my registration. Do I just vote at my old precinct and will I have problems if I do?

As long as you have a photo ID, you're good to go, but you should probably bring a utilities bill just in case.
posted by zombieflanders at 6:59 AM on November 6, 2012

But if you haven't registered, what the heck were you thinking????? THAT it's too late to fix.)

Unless you're in a state with same-day registration! Like Maine!
posted by KathrynT at 6:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

"Question, I'm in Virginia, and apparently I forgot to update my address when I moved, so my drivers license doesn't match my registration. Do I just vote at my old precinct and will I have problems if I do?"

empath: I'm in Virginia and my drivers license doesn't match my voter registration address (although in my case my voter registration is the correct address and my license the old address) and I had no problem voting. I just had to tell them my full name and address and have the address I tell them match the address they had in their book.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:00 AM on November 6, 2012

My polling location doesn't give out "I Voted!" stickers. womp.
posted by likeatoaster at 7:00 AM on November 6, 2012

I just voted in New York so I have no idea if my vote counted or not, only that my ballot was scanned. Plus the scanner guy saw or could have seen what party I voted for with a casual glance.
posted by gubo at 7:01 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Okay, I watched the Wakandan citizen scarily opening doors videos, so I must ask:
do you not have exclusion zones there?

"Poll watcher" or not (and he is a bit intimidating), should he not be kept back 100,200,300 metres from the polling location?
posted by Mezentian at 7:02 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

My conservative husband voted Democrat for the first time in his life. It's been one hell of an election cycle.
posted by bayliss at 7:02 AM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

We have the scantron sheets here in CT and voting took about five minutes. I miss the old lever machines but this new system scales really well. This little polling place, one of eleven in town, had seven table-booths to work at, where they would never had more than one or two machines. And at 8:30, 450 people had voted already, assuming the counter on the ballot reader was correct.
posted by smackfu at 7:02 AM on November 6, 2012

Bugs Bunny's contingency plan if Florida causes any (more) problems.
posted by obscurator at 7:02 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

"Poll watcher" or not (and he is a bit intimidating), should he not be kept back 100,200,300 metres from the polling location?

Did we see the actual polling place? What if that's the front entrance to a church, and 150 m down the hall is the auditorium?
posted by DynamiteToast at 7:03 AM on November 6, 2012

Voted in Hendersonville, NC, about 7:30 am. No line. 8 voting machines, less than 8 people there when I got there. Went to the table marked "A-L", gave the nice old lady with the big binder (full of women AND men!) my name. She flipped through, found it, asked me to confirm my address. No ID necessary. Voted, verified my selection on the paper spool behind the little window on the machine. Did not get a sticker. Thought about taking one from the "kids vote!" table set up in the corner, but decided against it. Went to work.

That's how it's been every year I've voted here (since 2004). In 2010 I was literally the only non poll worker there when I walked in. I don't know if Hendersonville has low voter turnout, or people just vote later in the day, or what. There are a lot more names in those binders than you'd think, being there.
posted by Roommate at 7:04 AM on November 6, 2012

Biden waited in line to vote, like a normal.
I love Joe.
posted by qnarf at 7:05 AM on November 6, 2012 [36 favorites]

I voted so hard, it's gonna take 4 poll workers to count it.

Number 418, and I was there when the polls opened. Long line....
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:05 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Empath - I'm in VA too, here's a photo from my registration card pamphlet. I think as long as you have one of those and vote at your old polling place you're fine.
posted by troika at 7:05 AM on November 6, 2012

Obama bomaye!
posted by kirkaracha at 7:06 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Plus the scanner guy saw or could have seen what party I voted for with a casual glance.

They are supposed to have "privacy sleeves" but they were missing at my place, now that I think about it. But there was no scanner guy here, just a sticker guy.
posted by smackfu at 7:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I voted two weeks ago, and I still feel like I need to vote. I missed seeing Obama, for the first time, in Wisconsin, and I'm now heading to Chi..to feel that tangible love that's going to be in the air tonight. Or, I will throw up and want the half of America to spontaneously combust. This election is about so many things, I really love what's at stake here. Do we believe math? That's all. Sales people hate the information age. National polls, over land lines? Please! I install landlines for a living. These people are old, OLD, saving by bundling(so the never use it), on the bracelet, or no cell service. Even if the Damien wins, they won't make it another election. I see young adults more concerned with the direction we are going then I ever was as that age. So this is like Star Wars, only we have greater numbers, and a constitution, and information.

And for those who wake from fox's machine. Tell me it ain't like being sick for ten years and finding out it's your mother poisoning you.
I love this shit
posted by Flex1970 at 7:07 AM on November 6, 2012

Voted last week. Been haranguing people to vote nearly every day since. I'm in Ohio. If Obama wins the state, you know who to thank.
posted by jscalzi at 7:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [22 favorites]

I'm getting ready to go vote. Is there a site that has illegal electioneering practices I can keep an eye out for?
posted by codacorolla at 7:07 AM on November 6, 2012

biden biden biden biden biden biden biden biden biden
romney? romney?
biden biden biden biden biden biden biden biden biden
romney? romney?
VOTE! VOTE!
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

I voted on Saturday in NJ by absentee ballot - delivered in person to the county clerk's, which was open over the weekend. I had no idea where the polling places would be, and figured I'd better vote early. Mine didn't move, as it turns out, but a number of others in town did - several of our schools don't have power yet. I think my sister is voting by email.

When I get out of work tonight, I shall settle in for the night with snacks and the TV and my spreadsheet. Really wish I didn't have work today, kind of, but I just went back yesterday after an unexpected week off, so I can't really complain too much.
posted by booksherpa at 7:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

We want vote suppression stories! If your voting machine is suddenly running LoseThos, let us know!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I will personally send a sticker to everyone who votes against Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:34 AM on November 6 [+] [!]

I voted against Akin. I want a sticker!

I came home the other day and my neighbor had placed an Akin sign in their yard. I said 'screw that' and went and acquired a whole slew of signs for various democrats (7 in all.) Later that day, I see my neighbor pull into his driveway, look over at my yard, shake his head and back out. He came back 45 minutes later with 3 Romney signs.
posted by Jacob G at 7:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [27 favorites]

Did we see the actual polling place? What if that's the front entrance to a church, and 150 m down the hall is the auditorium?

Depends entirely on the state law. Here it is 75' from the entrance to the building.
posted by smackfu at 7:09 AM on November 6, 2012

Did we see the actual polling place? What if that's the front entrance to a church, and 150 m down the hall is the auditorium?

It has been almost 20 years since I handed out how to vote gumpf, but here we count the polling location as any building within which the booths sit. It seems to work for us, with your compulsory voting on randomly decided Saturdays.

The only people I can recall within voting locations are electoral commission workers, and hands-off scruitineers.

Man, I want to sleep, but I can't look away.
posted by Mezentian at 7:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

i'm sorta anxious. but i think i'd actually cry if that rich liar wins. which he won't but still..
posted by ninjew at 7:11 AM on November 6, 2012

That's not how it worked for my place in Texas. That video is from PA though so who knows. I'm gonna air on the side of he's probably not in the wrong.
posted by DynamiteToast at 7:11 AM on November 6, 2012

I feel they have a vested interest and every right to express their opinions to us.

Sure, but I find the tone of them "Don't disappoint us now" to be condescending. It's good you don't, since I don't see my preferences putting a stop to them.
posted by OmieWise at 7:11 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Scantrons ... I waited half an hour for a Scantron reader to work recently when having tests graded for an American Govt. class I teach. The machine ended up having to be sent off to Nebraska for repairs. I ended up taking my students' cards home and grading them in all of 15-20 minutes. Might as well just with the hand count.
posted by raysmj at 7:12 AM on November 6, 2012

Also, about 2/3 of the seats I'm voting for are unopposed, mostly held by Republicans. I need to find a good name to write in for those seats
posted by This Guy at 5:52 AM on November 6 [1 favorite +] [!]

How about "This Guy"?
posted by madcaptenor at 7:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'm in a tiny town in Texas, and I've been in line for more than 30 minutes, and probably have another 30 before I get to the polls. Crazy. I mean all of the electoral votes will go to the republicans even if they ran cthulhu...I don't get it.
posted by dejah420 at 7:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Voting absentee is awesome and all, but I miss the ceremony of Voting. It's just not the same when you do it in your underware while sitting at the computer.
posted by aspo at 7:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Metafilter: As Time Went By Alot Of Things Happened
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 7:14 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Why? When our country's elected leader has a massive amount of sway in world matters,...

It's condescending because we know this already.

Also because it implies that we have the power to control or sway other people's votes. We just don't. I know it makes me feel impotent, and I'm sure that's true for others, but I've been on a long slow process of recgonizing that America does get the government it wants. I wish we were consistently better, but the demons of our national history and character can't be just wished or willed away. It takes work. We're doing it, a lot of us, but we're met with equally passionate work on the part of those whose vision for this nation is significantly different, and they have just as legitimate a right to push for it, no matter how much I, we, you deplore it.
posted by Miko at 7:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [21 favorites]

but I miss the ceremony of Voting.

I put on a jacket and tie to go vote. I've been trying to make important events more memorable by looking nice, it feels good.
posted by backseatpilot at 7:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [20 favorites]

Have I mentioned how much I love the word scrutineer? It brings to mind famous nautical movies like Scrutiny on the Bounty & The Caine Scrutiny.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:17 AM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

backseatpilot ... I run a small red-carpet roll-out hire start up, MeMail me. We also offer brass bands, flashing lights, and the odd "super-model".

Nothing you do need ever be boring again.
And for an extra fiddy, there's a Kardashian sex tape package.
posted by Mezentian at 7:18 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Was #79 at the ward in my polling place at 8 am. It was busier than during the recall election, but I went much earlier than I usually go. The whole thing took 5-10 minutes in a mostly white dem. area.
posted by drezdn at 7:19 AM on November 6, 2012

And great bands, like Scruttini Politti.
posted by OmieWise at 7:19 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Election thread come on grab your friends
The page will go to distant lands
With jessymn the mod and cortex the other mod
The favs will never end
Its Election thread
posted by hellojed at 7:19 AM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

Post your polling place!
Here's mine. It's the local school corporation office.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:20 AM on November 6, 2012

From Silver's twitter: current projections for FL are Obama 49.797%, Romney at 49.775%.

I think if that turns out to be the case, out to five significant digits like that, the entire country owes Nate Silver a beer.
posted by KathrynT at 7:21 AM on November 6, 2012 [18 favorites]

Election thread come on grab your friends

Wait, so I should get really stoned and watch this thread all day? I think I can handle that.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:21 AM on November 6, 2012

Proud to be a part of the blue ultramegasupermajority in DC, the nation's bulwark against Romney winning the popular vote.

I hope.
posted by SugarAndSass at 7:22 AM on November 6, 2012

I'm voting after therapy, which I dearly need because my anxiety is through the roof this morning. I will be such a wreck if Romney wins.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:22 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

KathrynT, holy crap, how many votes is that?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:23 AM on November 6, 2012

Line down the block here at my polling place in Central Harlem.
posted by davidjmcgee at 7:24 AM on November 6, 2012

Proud to be a part of the blue ultramegasupermajority in DC, the nation's bulwark against Romney winning the popular vote.

A couple weeks ago, my wife asked the bartender at our local bar(in DC) if she'd decided who to vote for. The bartender gave her a look like she'd asked if the bartender was considering cannibalism.

Of course, my wife was still locked in her "Obama or Jill Stein" debate so when that was clear, all was forgiven.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:24 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Here in rural PA, our county sent out "ID Required to Vote" signs by "accident" that were posted at many voting sites. Apparently, they're now working on getting them taken down but don't even have phone numbers for all the polling places. With all the coverage on the PA voter ID law, how can an accident like that happen? In a Republican-dominated county of course!
posted by dellsolace at 7:25 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

KathrynT, holy crap, how many votes is that?

Rough math, but about 8,000,000 voted in 08 in FL, and at a margin of about 25 vote difference out of every 100,000, that's a 2000 vote difference.
posted by DynamiteToast at 7:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Guardian have the road to this election in comic novel form.
posted by Wordshore at 7:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I was a little surprised to learn that only 27 states + Washington DC allow no-excuse voting by mail. I could never figure out why people would stand in line to vote when they could just mail it in, but I suppose that's because I've always lived in states where that's an option.

Because mail ballots are only a viable solution for people who will be unavailable our out of town. It is extremely important to encourage people who can vote in-person to do so because there's no chain of custody for absentee ballots. No monitoring of the casting of the ballot to guard against intimidation. The only solution to long lines is more capacity at polling places, not tossing away the vital protections a carefully monitored and conducted polling place has.

Additionally, there are myriad ways to toss an absentee ballot that can't occur in-person. Stringent signature verification standards for example, and there is no machine that checks for over-votes like an optical scanner at an actual polling place.

Who do you trust, a volunteer poll worker monitored by observers from both parties in a neutral space, or ballots scattered to the winds where voters might be intimidated into signing or watched while casting?
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 7:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

I voted absentee/grace period last week (forgot to change my address within a month of the election, whoops). One of the big foreseeable problems with mailing an absentee ballot is postage, e.g. nowhere on the envelope or in the literature have they denoted the cost to mail the dang thing. Imagining a lot of poor folks are going to get their ballots with red post office stamps all over them this week, unless USPS makes an exception though the govt certainly isn't doing them any favors.
posted by obscurator at 7:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here's mud in yer eye and scrutineer.
posted by fleacircus at 7:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

(But if you haven't registered, what the heck were you thinking????? THAT it's too late to fix.)

No, not everywhere: look here for a list of states offering election-day or "same-day" registration --- and North Dakota has no registration requirement at all!

If you have not registered yet, you may still be eligible to vote today.

And it's typically quick and easy. Heck, some unregistered voters in line with me this morning got registered, handed a ballot, and led to a booth in the brief time I was still standing in line. (And I don't begrudge them the line-jump AT ALL: if its their first time, let's make it as quick and pleasant as possible so they'll come back next time!)

If you have questions about your polling place or eligibility to vote, or to report problems or irregularities in the voting process, you can call the non-partisan Election Protection coalition at 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
posted by Elsa at 7:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Voted for Dr Evil in VA. Sorry guys, but I have my reasons that at least some of my pro-Obama friends say are sound. I voted Obama last time around. I know there's at least a few of us who share my thought process in VA.
posted by monkeymcgee at 7:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

DynamiteToast, pulling from all registered voters, it's about a 2600 vote difference, so I'd say your math holds up.
posted by KathrynT at 7:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I voted before work this morning. No lines at my polling place in the Avondale neighborhood in Chicago. I was asked for ID, which I showed: 1) because I have it 2) I didn't have time to argue. Illinois does NOT have a voter ID law, no idea if my refusal would have disenfranchised me.

Hey, you live right by me! Is that twig still hanging onto the power line on the east side of Sacramento just north of the overpass? I swear that thing's been there for six months.
posted by theodolite at 7:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm really kicking myself about something now.

I'm not an American, but I live here and definitely want Obama to win. A few weeks ago I was talking to one of my fellow TAs for a class at my grad school. He's a black guy, from Florida, an undergrad. Even though I can't vote here, I'm a political junkie and I said something about the election coming up. Only to find out that this super nice, funny guy said he doesn't follow politics at all and wasn't going to vote as he didn't know anything about the two candidates. I mentally face-palmed and then briefly debated talking to him about this but eventually decided that since Florida looked pretty safe for Obama at the time and it wasn't really my place to argue with him about it, that I should just keep silent. If it does come down to a handful of votes in Florida, I'm going to be kicking myself for a while :(
posted by peacheater at 7:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Haven't voted yet, and have already decided on the presidential and senate races.

I always try to consider at least ONE Green Party Candidate, so I looked at the House race. It's a pretty solid lock for the Dems - Hakeem Jeffries has introduced a lot of bills I support, but he also supported the Atlantic Yards/Barclay Center behemoth (pre-rusted for your convenience), so I got issues with that.

And then I got all excited when I saw the Green Party candidate was the No-Impact Man. And then my confidence was dashed when I saw that, on the front page of his blog right now, he has mis-spelled the word "Hurricane".

I have no idea.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

One of the big foreseeable problems with mailing an absentee ballot is postage, e.g. nowhere on the envelope or in the literature have they denoted the cost to mail the dang thing.

My ballot would have been postage-paid if I'd mailed it in the U.S.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 7:28 AM on November 6, 2012

I notice the bars are closed. Must be something going on.
posted by philip-random at 7:29 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Alot Of Things Happened

I miss Allie Brosh.
posted by JHarris at 7:29 AM on November 6, 2012 [27 favorites]

My line to vote was an hour and twenty minutes. If Obama loses the popular vote it won't be because Massachusetts didn't show up.
posted by Diablevert at 7:29 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

My ballot was a buck fifty to mail.
posted by Comrade_robot at 7:29 AM on November 6, 2012

Look guys, I'm not an American, so I can't participate in your wonderfully crazy election today. But I just want to say, on behalf of your friend and neighbour to the North:

Good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by never used baby shoes at 7:29 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

If Obama wins, then there are going to be a lot of pissed off white people. If only white people voted, then Romney would win in a walk.

The days of only wooing white voters are officially over.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:30 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Voted by mail-in ballot in Colorado. Was up with the birds anyway, a nervous fucking wreck.
posted by mynameisluka at 7:30 AM on November 6, 2012

black guy, from Florida, an undergrad

If that's him, and he doesn't know enough to vote, there's nothing you can do.
posted by Rykey at 7:30 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU GOOD LUCK. WE'RE ALL COUNTING ON YOU.
posted by jokeefe at 7:31 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I voted against Akin. I want a sticker!

Me too! I love Claire McCaskill, but really, I was voting for science.
posted by almostmanda at 7:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

On why stand in line instead of mailing your vote in, it's an opportunity to connect with people, to physically participate in Democracy, which with all its dents and dings is still something very special to have. Plus you frequently get A STICKER.
posted by JHarris at 7:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Please keep posting snippets here as they roll out so I don't have to ALSO watch this unfold on twitter!
posted by Theta States at 7:32 AM on November 6, 2012

If Obama wins, then there are going to be a lot of pissed off white people.

Yeah. The crazy that will come spewing-forth from the right after an Obama win will be mind-boggling. Frankly, I can't imagine how the right will be able to top the level of crazy they've already hit, but I'm confident they can clear the bar with ease.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

AND DON'T CALL ME SHIRLEY
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Wait, so I should get really stoned and watch this thread all day?"

No, you should get really stoned and hang out in this chat room all day.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I voted. Twice.
posted by Sailormom at 7:33 AM on November 6, 2012

Voted! Fuck you Mitt! Oh, and screw you, too, Scott Brown!

Come on over here Obama and Elizabeth Warren. Gimme some of that sugar. Aw yiss.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 7:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

If Obama wins, then there are going to be a lot of pissed off white people.

Except for all the ones who voted for Obama.

Most of the pissed off white people dislike him personally + believe that some sort of apocalyptic economic meltdown will occur if he's elected. Since he's only going to be around for 4 more years and said meltdown will not occur (probably) they'll just go back to grumbling and living in their white people bubble, and also taking whatever sweet new government benefits come their way without giving Obama credit for them.
posted by emjaybee at 7:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

dellsolace, color me shocked. I don't know when PA started imitating a banana republic, but it must have happened sometime in the last 30 years. What a nuisance.

My mom is in assisted living in PA. The admins at her facility took the initiative to get their residents' voting ID papers all set for the election, bless them. (Then again, if I were an admin there, I wouldn't want to be beset by swarms of grumbly old people who were turned away at the polls, not to mention their families!)

Meanwhile, back in the bluest state in the union, I whooshed in and out of my polling place at 7:15 this morning and got to work on time. The place was already hopping, though. Glad I voted early, if not often.
posted by Currer Belfry at 7:33 AM on November 6, 2012

I could never figure out why people would stand in line to vote when they could just mail it in, but I suppose that's because I've always lived in states where that's an option.

I like the process of voting in person. The old ladies with the registry books. The booth. It feels like ceremony, and as an agnostic, I have very few opportunities for ceremonies that mean something.

I was pretty horrified when I lived in Florida for a year and instead the process felt like chaos and madness.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

We early voted but here's our polling location if we hadn't.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:34 AM on November 6, 2012

I voted for some Greens in some of the local judge races that the Democrats don't even bother contesting (being Texas you basically have to be Republican to get elected to Judge outside of Austin, Dallas or Houston). I couldn't bear to vote for Libertarian third party candidates even in the cases where it was Republican vs Libertarian.

Actually given that the majority of influence a trial level judge is going to have will be on criminal cases, many involving drugs and/or search and seizure, I would totally vote libertarian for a judicial election.

I would never give them control of the fisc, but I'd be perfectly happy to see them getting their cop hate on from the bench.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

The crazy that will come spewing-forth from the right after an Obama win will be mind-boggling

Yeah, I wish there was a way to vote for giving the Secret Service a raise.
posted by elizardbits at 7:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

believe that some sort of apocalyptic economic meltdown will occur if he's elected

As opposed to the one that caused him to be elected?
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 7:34 AM on November 6, 2012

My little one has her three monthly MRI today so hoping like fuck for some non-partisan good news as well as some fuck off Romney extremely partisan good news.
posted by Rumple at 7:35 AM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

wait, how do I log into the chat room again?
posted by KathrynT at 7:37 AM on November 6, 2012

Rumple, best wishes for your kid. Puts in perspective.
posted by spitbull at 7:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

One for any over-confident Obama supporters... #ItAintOverTillItsOver
posted by Wordshore at 7:37 AM on November 6, 2012

Of course that perspective is "Obamacare, Fuck Yeah!"
posted by spitbull at 7:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I just voted! This was my first time voting in person; in the 2008 election, which was just two months after my 18th birthday, I had to send in an absentee ballot from college. Those machines are so fun and patriotic!

(If any of you are worried about tonight's outcome, rest assured that I have NEVER voted for a losing candidate. Trust The Streak.)
posted by Rory Marinich at 7:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Like Louce Mustachio way upthread, I just voted NO (twice), got to vote for Obama as well as Keith Ellison, and did I mention NO (twice)?

Better than that, sometime today I plan to tell my boss with publicly crackpot political views that I successfully cancelled out his vote today. That's gonna be sweet.

Not worried about Obama. Very worried about these dumbass MN constitutional amendments on Voter ID and Marriage restriction.
posted by mcstayinskool at 7:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

wait, how do I log into the chat room again?

Mefi Chat room for Election Day

login using lowercase.

More info from pb here.

Ping us on email or in the MeTa thread if you need more help. There are 73 people there now.
posted by jessamyn at 7:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Apparently friends are seeing huge lines in Northern Virginia. Hooray.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:40 AM on November 6, 2012

pulling for good news for your kid, rumple.
posted by qnarf at 7:40 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

KathrynT: "wait, how do I log into the chat room again?"

chat.metafilter.com

Username: kathrynt@chat.metafilter.com
(must be all lowercase)

Password: [your MetaFilter account password]
posted by Jacqueline at 7:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I voted this morning and a "sweet white granny" was ILLEGALLY giving out evil homophobic fliers right at the door to my polling place (I am in Maryland). She is no longer there, which makes me happy (I spoke to the poll monitors). Remember, you have the right to help enforce polling zone rules! This is our political process in action!
posted by anya32 at 7:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [24 favorites]

Our line was the my wife and our three neighbors who all went to vote together, here in Hartford, CT. The voting machine said mine was the 158th ballot at 7:55 this morning. Painless.

Our neighborhood coffee shop was giving free coffee to anyone with an "I Voted" or "He Votado Hoy" sticker so we had pastries and coffee afterwards. Also, the Hartford library is forgiving the late fees of anyone with such a sticker, today only. More like this please.
posted by gauche at 7:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

KatherineT, I asked them to give you my seat over there.
posted by Danf at 7:42 AM on November 6, 2012

Some advice via text this morning from one of my best friends --

"Vote. Eat Chocolate. Wait."

It's like some kind of mantra.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Oh, yeah, and it was one of our neighbor's first time ever voting! (She's an immigrant.)
posted by gauche at 7:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Held my nose and did my part to protect Ohio and thus the nation.

This is also my first election as a home owner, so going down the list of tax levies was like grocery shopping with my wife. Watching one thing after another go in the basket and feeling more and more uncomfortable as the cost totaled up. I'm putting my money where my mouth is, though, and voted to support my public services. I don't think the school levy has a good chance, though. They're asking for five times as much as any other tax issue and when that one rang up even I was given pause. I was also amused how the wording in the school levy issue included GIANT EMERGENCY OH MY GOD VOTE YES OR WE WILL DIE oversize text.

So, held my nose for president and did the deed, voted myself some higher taxes, mostly gave the D's support where contested and laughed at Joe the Plumber.

And then I had pie.
posted by charred husk at 7:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Not that I expected otherwise, but 9:15am lines here in beautiful Independence, MO were short enough that it only took me 15 minutes to cast my vote to shut down the case of legitimate idiots running for office that we have.
posted by jferg at 7:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

COME ON, BARRY
posted by Chutzler at 7:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Maybe libertarians in other areas are more universally good about the criminal justice system but many candidates in this area just seem like Republicans with even more insane conspiracy theories. The libertarians that espouse drug reform or criminal justice reform positions are rarely the actual candidates but are instead the pot smoking college students with a Rand fixation.
posted by vuron at 7:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Voted at 6:45 this morning, number 18 in the line for people in my state senator's area at that polling place. No line, took all of 5 minutes.

I miss voting on important things and I really miss voter guides where each candidate writes a small bit about themselves (like they have in OR). Several of the judges were listed as being Republican, Democrat and Conservative, so I voted for the guys from the Working Families Party. Not that I think they'll win. But it's Brooklyn, so all I'm doing is adding to vote totals.

The fact that New York does not have early voting blows my mind. I don't really understand why.

As for those who object to voting by mail, you can do what I did when I was in Oregon- fill out the ballot and then drop it off at the library in the week leading up to the election. I assume most places have drop off spots.

I'm hopeful, but worried and scared. On the other hand, if Obamam wins, I'm expecting street parties in New York again. If Romney wins, well, I've got two bottles of good single malt and I'm buying beer to watch the election with the roommates.
posted by Hactar at 7:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

So, held my nose for president and did the deed, voted myself some higher taxes

So you voted for Romney? Unless you make seven figures a year that is...
posted by WinnipegDragon at 7:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Don't worry, there are unlimited seats in the chat room now -- pb got us the hookup. :)
posted by Jacqueline at 7:45 AM on November 6, 2012

Because mail ballots are only a viable solution for people who will be unavailable our out of town.

Tell that to the residents of Oregon and Washington, where all voting is done by mail, and where coincidentally the voter turnout rates happen to be 8.5% and 4.6% higher (resp.) than the national average.

Additionally, there are myriad ways to toss an absentee ballot that can't occur in-person. Stringent signature verification standards for example, and there is no machine that checks for over-votes like an optical scanner at an actual polling place.

That's just nonsense. For one thing, mail tampering is already a serious crime, and there are established systems to enforce it. In Washington there have been 15 million ballots cast by mail since 2000 and only nine convictions of voter fraud. 9/15,000,000 are pretty good odds, and the increased turnout surely makes up for the infinitesimal risk increase. Besides, you can track your ballot online and verify that it has been counted. Every signature is most certainly verified, and they feed the ballots into the same optical scanners that in-person voters use.
posted by Rhomboid at 7:45 AM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Oh and no voting sticker. I am disappoint
posted by Hactar at 7:45 AM on November 6, 2012

My wife and I voted in Cary, NC at about 7:30 am. Very busy but the enthusiastic poll workers were running a tight ship. I was number 155 at that station. We were going to vote Saturday but a friend said it was a madhouse so we waited.

Right after that we went to my kid's second grade parent-teacher conference and saw their hallway election display with post-its where the kids had done a mock election. Obama had about 75% of the vote. Yay kids!
posted by freecellwizard at 7:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

So, held my nose for president and did the deed, voted myself some higher taxes

So you voted for Romney? Unless you make seven figures a year that is...

A lot of people vote themselves higher taxes in local matters - school levies, community pools and activity centers, etc.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 7:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Good morning from Massachusetts (which I flew into last night so I could go to my boyfriend's election party tonight - I voted in-person absentee in Virginia a couple weeks ago)! My dad reported that he was around #75 in line at 6:10 this morning in Alexandria, VA, all of my Northern Virginia friends are posting pics on Facebook of big lines, and my mom reported a loooooong line around 10 am in Dayton, OH. My boyfriend had only about a 5 minute wait here in Cambridge (Harvard GSD polling place, around 9:30 am) though. I am about to die of nervousness and am probably going to head out to volunteer for Elizabeth Warren in a few minutes here so that I can do something other than read blogs and have panic attacks all day.

Also, here's a bit of inspiration from a friend who is currently backpacking in Peru:
"Yo. I spent $180 to have my ballot shipped to a small town in the Peruvian Andes, never got it, printed off an emergency ballot online one week ago, traveled some five hours to get to Cuzco, and spent another 275 soles (~$100) to three-day ship it back to Virginia. Don't tell me you can't take an hour off today to go vote."

Happy Election Day, everybody!
posted by naoko at 7:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

Our neighborhood coffee shop was giving free coffee to anyone with an "I Voted" or "He Votado Hoy" sticker so we had pastries and coffee afterwards. Also, the Hartford library is forgiving the late fees of anyone with such a sticker, today only. More like this please.

As much as I agree with the sentiment, this is actually illegal.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah you know little C's treatment would have cost 500,000 dollars if we lived in the states, and she would have a preexisting condition from the age of 20 months. That would have caused us financial ruin and made her a slave to whatever health care she could get.

As it is, We're out of pocket about a thousand bucks over two years of treatment as of next week, and we're currently siting on a ferry to the hospital. Government health care is paying for the ferry too.

C. is a dual USA Canada citizen so it's not just theory. If she is ever to live in the USA she has to have something like obamacare. It's that simple.

she's doing fine BTW tho not put of woods yet
posted by Rumple at 7:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

In the future, we won't have to vote. The Nate Silver projection will be taken as gospel truth (more than now, even!). Every four years some historical data will be thrown into a computer and a President will be announced. It's gonna be great.

Multivac and Nate Silver, what a team!

(actually, Franchise was set in 2008.)
posted by zamboni at 7:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I voted at 8:45 this morning. I was voter #118. I wore my USA Flag pin (just like all of the politicians) and my Big Gay Rainbow Scarf. It is pouring rain and about 35 degrees outside.

My polling place is literally 20 feet from my front door. There was no line, but I live in a town of 2,000 so that wasn't a surprise. The octogenarian election judge showed me how to fill out the ballot by hovering his pen over the Romney/Ryan oval and saying "You fill in the oval completely." I thanked him, went into the little booth, voted with my conscience, got my sticker and was on my merry way.

Now I wait.
posted by Elly Vortex at 7:50 AM on November 6, 2012

My sister in law posted the below on Facebook last night:

--

Why phone banking matters. Convo I just had with man in Ohio:
Me: Have you voted yet?
Man: No, I don't know where to go.
Me: Oh, sure. Your voting location is at X.
Man: Don't I need ID? I lost my license so I thought I couldn't vote.
Me: Not true. All you need is one form of ID, which could be a paycheck, a bank statement, a utility bill, or any other government document that shows your name and your address.
Man: Really? Wow, thanks so much for the call.

--

https://call.barackobama.com
posted by AwkwardPause at 7:50 AM on November 6, 2012 [42 favorites]

LET'S DO THIS!!!!
posted by grubi at 7:52 AM on November 6, 2012

(I'm so excited.)
posted by grubi at 7:52 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Talking about "condescending" rest-of-worlders is reading far too much into a couple of one-liners that come from exactly the same nervous anticipation that many of you are feeling today. It's the online equivalent of clasping your hands, looking to the heavens and saying please, please let X win. Nobody is assuming that you personally are going to vote for a particular candidate, so why take it personally?
posted by rory at 7:53 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

The chat room is not for the faint of heart or slow of fingers. You have been warned.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:53 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY! I took the day off of work because I knew I would be so full of anxiety that I would be refreshing this page all day instead of working. I am very happy that this is a day when friends will be buying me free drinks.
posted by Alison at 7:53 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I also saw relatively long (for our district) lines at the polls. And this in a solidly democratic town. Also, the train in to Philly was not at all crowded- I think many commuters faced longer than expected lines and were delayed. So, I'm pretty stoked that everybody and her uncle are out voting!
posted by Mister_A at 7:53 AM on November 6, 2012

Yes, AwkwardPause! I made 50 or so calls last night, and for every person who said, "You have the wrong fucking number" or "I'm sick of these phone calls," I got a person who didn't know their polling location yet, and I got to be the person to tell them!
posted by pineappleheart at 7:54 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

So.... I got a sticker for voting. And an influenza inoculation.

That's what they told you it was. Expect the zombie apocalypse shortly.
posted by jferg at 7:54 AM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

So am I just supposed to sit here all day, bouncing aimlessly between this endlessly updating thread and the superscroll speed chat? Is that what you want? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN
posted by SomaSoda at 7:54 AM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

You don't need early voting or voting by mail to have a high turnout rate. Minnesota frequently leads the nation and we don't have either except for people who are going to be out of the district on election day.

It would, theoretically, be easier to sell your vote with a vote by mail system.
posted by Area Man at 7:55 AM on November 6, 2012

I early voted here in Maryland, and the turnout was heavy. On the way to work this morning I passed several polling places, and turnout looks to be very good today, too. I'm not sure if that just correlates with voting-on-the-way-to-work or what. There are several important downballot issues here, including Marriage Equality and the Maryland DREAM Act. I did my part for the cause, but my sticker fell off my jacket, so I feel a little empty inside.
posted by wintermind at 7:55 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

So am I just supposed to sit here all day, bouncing aimlessly between this endlessly updating thread and the superscroll speed chat?

That and Twitter, yeah.
posted by grubi at 7:55 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

So am I just supposed to sit here all day, bouncing aimlessly between this endlessly updating thread and the superscroll speed chat? Is that what you want? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN

You're supposed to eat chocolate too. And maybe drink some water. Or chocolate milk, to be extravagant.
posted by anya32 at 7:55 AM on November 6, 2012

Just got done here. Took about an hour all told. Most of the ballot was unopposed republicans...Texas, whatcha gonna do. Voted green everywhere I thought the dems didn't stand a chance, just because I'd love to see some greens take local races. It's not like my vote matters on the national scale. Most liberals in the south have been disenfranchised by the electoral college. Still, I hope Jill and company get enough votes to push the idea of third parties.
posted by dejah420 at 7:56 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Please, oh please, Nate Silver, be right.

A Schrödinger's-cat-like quantum superposition of 86% Obama + 14% Romney?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:56 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Us rest-of-the-worlders should be allowed to vote.
We could get like, 1 elector between all of us, just so we don't feel left out.
posted by signal at 7:57 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

So, Quantum Romneybama would only lower taxes for rich gay people?
posted by wintermind at 7:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I've cheerfully done my duty regarding Todd Akin and Billy Long, may each of them eat a sack of dirty doorknobs. Poll lines were short here in SW MO, as our polling places are mostly at Baptist churches, as far as I can tell, of which there are many.
posted by Capybara at 7:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

You're supposed to eat chocolate too

Well, I did put cocoa nibs in my french press this morning, so guess I'm doing it sort of right.
posted by SomaSoda at 7:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Does Clark County, NV still give out these huge "I Voted" stickers?
posted by audi alteram partem at 7:58 AM on November 6, 2012

You need to fix the electoral system there. I am curious: is that possible?
This thread is too busy for so late at night (here), so I will leave you all with the hope that your voting comes with pie (if you must), or a good old democratic sausage sizzle.

Mezentian, they don't even have sausage sizzles. It's barbaric.
posted by zamboni at 7:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Well, I did put cocoa nibs in my french press this morning, so guess I'm doing it sort of right.

Oh my goodness, what an amazing idea! SomaSoda 2016 on the nibs platform?
posted by anya32 at 8:00 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Most of the ballot was unopposed republicans...Texas, whatcha gonna do.

Texas? Sounds like suburban Indianapolis. I had 19 races on my ballot, 12 of which were Republicans running unopposed. At least we have open primaries so that anyone who realizes the Republican primary is the de facto election for a lot of local races can vote in it.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:00 AM on November 6, 2012

This disturbing video that appears to be depicting voter fraud is being shared by George Takei. Based on the local candidates in the 2nd part of the video, you see Elizabeth Summers, and Eugene Depasquale. The area in question is for York County Pennsylvania.
posted by Blasdelb at 8:00 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Short line, lots of good vibes. My son and I checked in right next to each other and I leaned over to the poll worker helping him and said 'that's my little pumpkin and he's VOTING' and she and I had a little cry. Here he is.
posted by ersatzkat at 8:01 AM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

Borrowed from the other thread: Keep Calm and Trust Nate Silver
posted by saturday_morning at 8:01 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

> This disturbing video that appears to be depicting voter fraud is being shared by George Takei. Based on the local candidates in the 2nd part of the video, you see Elizabeth Summers, and Eugene Depasquale. The area in question is for York County Pennsylvania.

Jesus, can we just go with scantron forms for everything, even if folks don't want to do vote by mail.
posted by mrzarquon at 8:03 AM on November 6, 2012

This disturbing video that appears to be depicting voter fraud is being shared by George Takei.

That is disturbing, but wouldn't voter fraud be soooo much better perpetrated by not letting on to the Obama voter what's actually happening?
posted by mcstayinskool at 8:03 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Living in Tarrant county I at least have a competitive State Senator race between the Dem and the Republican so that's pretty much been my hope for this election cycle. I don't mind adding to Obama's vote totals but it can definitely get depressing when so much of Texas is effectively a one party state.
posted by vuron at 8:03 AM on November 6, 2012

The crazy that will come spewing-forth from the right after an Obama win will be mind-boggling

I'm OK with it. Bring the crazy. In fact, the more spittle that flies from the angry red-faced sector, the more reasonable but misled/befuddled people will look again and think "you know, I'm not sure I want to be aligned with these jerks." We saw a hint of ship-jumping after the 47% video, and I'd expect more. The GOP is going to have to rethink itself.
posted by Miko at 8:04 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Voted at 6:30 am in central Indianapolis. There was hardly any line and no hassles. This state is a foregone conclusion in the presidential race, but there are plenty of downticket races -- including a crucial Senate seat -- that are real contests.

Now I have my little sticker and I'm waiting for the returns with great anticipation.
posted by Gelatin at 8:04 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I just voted for DONALD TRUMP because I don't want ALIENS putting MIND-CONTROL JUICE in my MOUNTAIN DEW
posted by fungible at 8:04 AM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

Voted green everywhere I thought the dems didn't stand a chance

I did the exact same thing when I voted a couple of weeks ago.
posted by PuppyCat at 8:05 AM on November 6, 2012

This disturbing video that appears to be depicting voter fraud is being shared by George Takei.

Reddit just picked it up. Person that claims to be the video poster says NBC and BBC have just contacted him. Someone on Reddit claiming to be from CNN was also looking for him.
posted by FJT at 8:05 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I just voted for DONALD TRUMP because I don't want ALIENS putting MIND-CONTROL JUICE in my MOUNTAIN DEW

Mountain Dew? You fell right. Into. Their. Trap.

Fool!
posted by grubi at 8:06 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Election mad libs! I just voted for CANDIDATE because I don't want OUTSIDER GROUP putting SUBSTANCE in my TREASURED POSSESSION
posted by saturday_morning at 8:06 AM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

It took me 90 minutes to vote in Baltimore this morning. I think turnout is going to be very strong due to all the referendums on the ballot this year. Most important of course is approving same sex marriage and the DREAM Act. Also important (but I'm conflicted about it) is the gambling expansion question which has seen more money spent on ads than the last three governor's races combined.
posted by postel's law at 8:06 AM on November 6, 2012

The GOP is going to have to rethink itself.

Nobody tells the GOP what to do!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Nobody puts the GOP in a corner. Except the GOP.
posted by OmieWise at 8:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Yeah, I think that video is fake.

Look at his finger moving towards the screen in the beginning, the shading on the top half doesn't change. Also the color palette of the finger is really off, color/brightness correction for cell phones won't have such a saturated bright color for the finger. Try it out yourself on your cellphone camera by putting your finger in front of your monitor.

I know this sounds too much like "i can tell by the pixels", but it comes off as fake as fuck.
posted by amuseDetachment at 8:08 AM on November 6, 2012

Election mad libs! I just voted for CANDIDATE because I don't want OUTSIDER GROUP putting SUBSTANCE in my TREASURED POSSESSION

I just voted for JOHN COLTRANE because I don't want WHITE PEOPLE putting MAYONNAISE in my CORNHOLE.
posted by grubi at 8:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Nobody tells the GOP what to do!

Nobody puts Romney in a corner!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:09 AM on November 6, 2012

Nobody tells the GOP what to do!

'specially not the womenfolk!
posted by Miko at 8:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wait until no-one cares who you elect for president. That's when you're gonna find out what "condescending" looks like.
posted by howfar at 8:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Although there's a new Bad Lip Reading out, built from all the debates, I recommend the epic previous one for everyone. I personally will watch (listen!) it every hour until the results are in or until I pass out from the election night wine I just bought.

As a Finn and and not an American, I'll agree with the sentiment that it's not my business to ask anyone there to vote that way or the other, but I will say that I hope for a good, smooth election day for all of you!

ANCHOVIES! GO!
posted by Anything at 8:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Election mad libs! I just voted for CANDIDATE because I don't want OUTSIDER GROUP putting SUBSTANCE in my TREASURED POSSESSION

I just voted for PONYBOY because I don't want THE SOCS putting BOTTLE KNIVES in my JOHNNY.
posted by FJT at 8:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

> The GOP is going to have to rethink itself.

Or not, and remain in the political wilderness until the Greens (or some such) fill some seats.
posted by de at 8:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I really, really should turn off my internet when I get home from work and just spend the night in Skyrim. At least there I can slaughter people whose opinions I don't like, and I don't feel bad about it 'cause they're just electronic. But instead, I will likely wind up obsessing and screaming at people over the internet, because clearly that's the way to a better America...
posted by scaryblackdeath at 8:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I just voted for KERMIT THE FROG because I don't want DECEPTICONS putting KRYPTONITE in my ELEMENTS OF HARMONY.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Line in my city ward had about a 20-30 minute wait early this morning; the state is projected to have over 70% voter turnout for this election. A trivial but unsettling thing happened to me; my name was nowhere to be found in the voter registry book. The official (who happened to be a close neighbor) even checked the archive of purged voter names, and nothing. Why is this unsettling? I've been voting in this city for 20 years now. Thank gods for same day registration; all of this took longer than I'd allotted time for, but I was able to vote. No answer as to why or how my name came to be dropped, though.

And now I'll be as nervous as a cat all day. I am still baffled (and frankly more than a little embarrassed in front of the rest of the world) that this presidential race is even close. Tonight, my TV will get its standard turn-on-every-four-years run.
posted by vers at 8:10 AM on November 6, 2012

Don't forget to get your receipt.

(from Wired 2004, but they chose today's date to be the "future".)
posted by mikepop at 8:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Wait until no-one cares who you elect for president. That's when you're gonna find out what "condescending" looks like.

I really don't understand what this means.

1. What conditions would mean that no one cares who we elect for President? Can you describe the conditions you are envisioning and how they will come about?
2. What forms of condescenion do you expect we would be experiencing then that we aren't today?
posted by Miko at 8:11 AM on November 6, 2012

90 minute wait in the west village. HIsssssss
posted by elizardbits at 8:11 AM on November 6, 2012

Did anyone else hear the "undecided voter" they interviewed on Marketplace last night? The "undecided voter" who was a lifelong registered Republican, also ex-military, also very concerned about "government handouts"?

What is it about hardcore right-wingers that makes them self-describe as "undecided" until the last possible minute? Do they just enjoy the attention?
posted by ook at 8:12 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

In the spirit of full disclosure, this turns out to be fake.
posted by Danf at 8:12 AM on November 6, 2012

Arlington, VA. I drove by two polling places this morning, both with lines out the door. My boss said his Maryland voting location was a zoo, as well. Boy am I glad my company encourages us to take time out of the day to go vote when it's convenient. Will vote this afternoon, hoping that lines will be shorter. A naturalized citizen, this is my third presidential election. I'm still super excited about going to vote! A friend of mine is bringing his Chinese friend to the polling location, and said he is so excited he's bouncing off the walls this morning. Makes me happy!
posted by gemmy at 8:12 AM on November 6, 2012

The forms of condescension that go along with not being the most powerful nation on Earth. I'm British, I know what this feels like.
posted by howfar at 8:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

What is it about hardcore right-wingers that makes them self-describe as "undecided" until the last possible minute? Do they just enjoy the attention?

Well, yeah. I assume lying on teevee gives them their first legit boner in many years.
posted by elizardbits at 8:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have been recently told (or rather, screamed at) that if I vote for Obama and he wins I have to start paying $400 in rent.

Still voting for him anyways.
posted by littlesq at 8:14 AM on November 6, 2012 [17 favorites]

15-20 minutes in Brooklyn Heights, no sticker, but I did see the lead guitar player for They Might Be Giants headed to the polls as I left.
posted by JBennett at 8:14 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

ook: got it in one.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:14 AM on November 6, 2012

The GOP is going to have to rethink itself.

Yea but they'll probably just rethink themselves even more right-wing. If Romney loses, they'll say that it's because he was a RINO squish who never really believed in all the evil shit he said. They'll nominate Erick Erickson next time.
posted by octothorpe at 8:14 AM on November 6, 2012

So.... any exit polls?

*twitch*
posted by Theta States at 8:14 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I have been recently told (or rather, screamed at) that if I vote for Obama and he wins I have to start paying $400 in rent.

Still voting for him anyways.

My reply would be: "Well, if he wins, I'll be able to afford it!"
posted by grubi at 8:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

The forms of condescension that go along with not being the most powerful nation on Earth. I'm British, I know what this feels like.

But we do care who you elect. And your country remains pretty important.

There are a lot of people that would actually like the US to be less the upholder of the free world and all.
posted by Miko at 8:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well, yeah. I assume lying on teevee gives them their first legit boner in many years.

Damn it, there's nothing wrong with people who say teevee. I also say uum-brella. I'd a redneck, but that doesn't automatically mean I'm crazy.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:15 AM on November 6, 2012

I hope they let this woman cut to the front of the line.

Malone, 21, voted about 8:30 a.m. in Precinct 88 at the aptly-named New Life Celebration Church, in south suburban Dolton. Her water had broken, yet she made the detour to vote in her first Presidential Election.

posted by gladly at 8:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [33 favorites]

Yea but they'll probably just rethink themselves even more right-wing.

Well, you're right that there's an extreme right that isn't really going away soon. So maybe this would in fact give the Greens breathing room. Would be interesting.
posted by Miko at 8:16 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

What is it about hardcore right-wingers that makes them self-describe as "undecided" until the last possible minute? Do they just enjoy the attention?

Well, and worse, to my mind, they try to have it both ways. The talk about the "oversampling" of Democratic voters this cycle really only makes sense if you ignore the going vogue among Republican voters calling themselves "Independent." You can't both have the same number of Republicans you used to have, and have substantially more Independents. It's a very weird kind of subterfuge.
posted by OmieWise at 8:16 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

....i say teevee all the time.
posted by elizardbits at 8:16 AM on November 6, 2012

What is it about hardcore right-wingers that makes them self-describe as "undecided" until the last possible minute? Do they just enjoy the attention?

They are making a principled and thoughtful decision to vote for any and all republicans no matter what.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:16 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Washington's state superintendent of public education is running unopposed... so two of my friends wrote my name in. (WA is all mail-in ballots now.) After I heard that, I had to do it myself.

Yay, me! I've gotten a plurality of the vote!
posted by scaryblackdeath at 8:17 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Okay false alarm. I'm just locked in a decade long fight with my wife about my pronunciation of these words that makes me sensitive.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:17 AM on November 6, 2012

This morning I walked out of my apartment to go vote and for some reason my first thought on stepping out into the cold morning was "weird, Mitt Romney is also awake somewhere, living, breathing, plotting, sentient..." and then after after a few seconds of ruminating on that last point I said to no one in particular, "...nah."
posted by invitapriore at 8:18 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

so much waiting...........................

On the bright side, I'm going to an election-result-viewing party at the US embassy in Nairobi at like 5am tomorrow. So that's kinda cool. My first ever party at an embassy!

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Americans in Kenya seem to overwhelmingly favor the candidate from Nyanza province.
posted by kaibutsu at 8:18 AM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

15-20 minutes in Brooklyn Heights, no sticker, but I did see the lead guitar player for They Might Be Giants headed to the polls as I left.

Tell Flans I said hi!
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:18 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

You can't both have the same number of Republicans you used to have, and have substantially more Independents. It's a very weird kind of subterfuge.

This thought never occurred to me until you pointed it out.
posted by Miko at 8:19 AM on November 6, 2012

Yay, me! I've gotten a plurality of the vote!
It would be very interesting to get hold of the official tally to see if your name shows up and, if it does, if you got at least three votes. If not...FRAUD AT POLLS!
posted by Thorzdad at 8:19 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The map on Facebook is actually kind of interesting. It shows when people click the "I voted" button in real time.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 8:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Voted at 7:30 this morning in Nashville, about a 30 minute wait. Chatted with the guy behind me about how Tennessee bans phones in polling places because damn it, if being bored standing in line was good enough for the founding fathers it's good enough for us. As is my usual habit I wrote in my partner's name against anyone running unopposed. Sticker acquired, mission accomplished.
posted by ghharr at 8:20 AM on November 6, 2012

Chrysler workers were given the day off to vote.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [17 favorites]

I voted!

I noted with interest that on our ballot we had candidates from the newly-formed Descendents of American Slaves party. Wish I'd known more about them before I voted. While I'm a little discomfited by what I perceive as their lack of separation of church and state, I find myself intrigued by their ideas.
posted by magstheaxe at 8:21 AM on November 6, 2012

Line *looked* reasonable, so we went to vote. Unfortunately, it was one of those super snaky lines that masked its true horror. Hour and a half.

Which would have been marginally less, but we accidentally got in the wrong section of the line to deposit the ballot and someone complained to te election official that my tot and I were cutting in line. Yes. My tot who had been in line for over an hour already and was now late for nap and showing it. But apparently, holding toddlers to the rules was very important to somebody.

Somebody else would have you know that DEMOCRACY IS THE WORST!
posted by sonika at 8:21 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

That is awesome, Chrysler. Because you know, fuck Romney.
posted by spitbull at 8:21 AM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

I waited an hour in Dumbo/Vinegar Hill Brooklyn,and would have waited longer if our building hadn't magically come up as belonging in the smaller line.

It was a mess, and I'm unhappy about it, not because of personal inconvenience but because it must be confusing for first time/low information voters and there was a lot of room for error.
posted by sweetkid at 8:21 AM on November 6, 2012

But we do care who you elect. And your country remains pretty important.

There are a lot of people that would actually like the US to be less the upholder of the free world and all.

Yeah. Was largely joking. But the point is that people aren't condescending, they're responding to US power. People don't say "don't disappoint us" 'cause they think that the US electorate is stupid, they say it because it profoundly matters to them whether it is. You might not like being the most powerful country in the world, but you are. It has its disadvantages, but there are also disadvantages that will emerge as that position wanes.
posted by howfar at 8:21 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

It shows when people click the "I voted" button in real time.

Hmm, are we supposed to have an "I voted" button in FB? I do not.
posted by smackfu at 8:22 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

It would be very interesting to get hold of the official tally to see if your name shows up and, if it does, if you got at least three votes. If not...FRAUD AT POLLS!

So I should note... this guy whom I'm apparently now running against for WA Super of Public Ed stood in a (very fine) HS science classroom where I've subbed many times and talked about getting teachers to pull their weight literally the morning after he was popped for drunk driving.

But I'm not running a negative campaign! No, sir! I haven't paid for a single campaign ad.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 8:22 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Bumoto Ako (ballot 18 at my polling place).
posted by infinitewindow at 8:22 AM on November 6, 2012

Since someone asked me earlier this is a helpful page for voters in Minnesota. Find your polling place, get a sample ballot, find information on the candidates via links to their websites (including tricky judicial and other "non-partisan" races) all that good stuff.
posted by louche mustachio at 8:22 AM on November 6, 2012

Hmm, are we supposed to have an "I voted" button in FB? I do not.

It seems to be inconsistently appearing at the top of people's news feeds.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 8:24 AM on November 6, 2012

Chrysler workers were given the day off to vote.

Message: don't lie about corporations, they fight back and they fight dirty.
posted by gerryblog at 8:25 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

SCARYBLACKDEATH 2012: Because the other guy is just that much worse than scary black death.
posted by grubi at 8:25 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Corporations are voters, my friend.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Election Day: A Light at the End of Our Obstacle Course
posted by homunculus at 8:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney's Intrade odds went to 28.5 around 10am, 28.2 45 minutes later, now at 27.5%.
OH GOOD.
posted by Theta States at 8:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

if you vote but you don't vote on facebook does that count?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Election AM in Florida: A Line, a Machine, a Conspiracy
posted by homunculus at 8:29 AM on November 6, 2012

Voted at 10:17 this morning, at the neighborhood community center. Voting at the center covers three different wards. According to Mr. theBRKP there was a line at 7am, but it was almost empty while I was there.

I went in ready to refuse to give my ID and ended up handing it over so the election officials could figure out where I needed to go to sign the little card and get my voting stub. On the way out I saw a man putting up yard signs.

Now I'm off to renew my passport.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 8:29 AM on November 6, 2012

I think it does this year, but not in 2016?
posted by Elementary Penguin at 8:29 AM on November 6, 2012

There were innumerable reports of CEOs who were also big GOP donors sending memos to their employees basically threatening them with their jobs if Romney didn't win so you'd better go vote nudge nudge wink wink. Chrysler using that power in the service of actual truth? Priceless.
posted by spitbull at 8:31 AM on November 6, 2012

A Line, a Machine, a Conspiracy

Ycaripsnocaenihcamaenila!
posted by phl at 8:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

I got THREE "I Voted" stickers today (one for me, 2 for my children who came along). VOTE FRAUD IN CONNECTICUT!
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 8:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

I was voter #112 at my precinct. No waiting, but this is a tiny Kansas town with a population of about 1,300, so that's to be expected.

Only two Democratic options on the entire ballot; this area is a conservative's dream. (Want to vote for Jill Stein? Then you'd have to write her in.)
posted by rewil at 8:33 AM on November 6, 2012

I get my American citizenship one fucking week too late to vote! If Obama loses because of my Virginia non-vote, I will regret paying my rent instead of saving to pay my $700.00 immigration fees a week sooner.
posted by Tarumba at 8:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's only fraud when you stick your stickers to facebook.
posted by Chutzler at 8:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Vote. ~~Eat Chocolate~~ Drink heavily. Wait."
posted by Mayor West at 8:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Waited an hour and 15 minutes, about an hour longer than usual. I was primed and ready for voter intimidation, since I live in sort of a Northern VA "border town" that's half old-school conservatives and half immigrants and liberals who can't afford to live in the closer-in suburbs. Didn't see anything though, except for the usual redneck stink-eye at our Obama magnet.
posted by JoanArkham at 8:35 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Tarumba: $700? Is that special circumstances or standard?
posted by SomaSoda at 8:35 AM on November 6, 2012

Oh, right: I spent some time planning what to do with my I Voted sticker since I don't work in journalism any more and won't be preserving them on my AP Stylebook as according to custom, but there were no stickers.

OUTRAGE!
posted by rewil at 8:35 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I wish I lived near Sonika and Snickerdoodle and other people with small kids. I'd love to have a drop in "come finger paint and have cookies with Holly's kid while your parents stand in line" type thing.
posted by hollygoheavy at 8:36 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Worcester, MA 1-4 reporting in. 45-minute wait as of ~10am.

Voted 'yes' on all three questions, though I don't really hold out much hope for any of 'em to pass.
posted by xbonesgt at 8:36 AM on November 6, 2012

It's actually about 680, they also have the expedited fees, but I didn't ever bother finding out about those.
posted by Tarumba at 8:36 AM on November 6, 2012

So far all the right places from which MeFites report are reporting light turnout, and all the right places are reporting heavy turnout. For example, it's to the Dem's benefit if there is low turnout almost anywhere but an urban neighborhood in Missouri. Akin's only hope is a wave of last minute motivated Romney supporters going to the polls even though the presidency appears uncontested there.

Liking it. Keep them anecdotes a coming!

Around Air Force bases you sometimes see signs of support that say (with respect to jet noise) "That's not noise pollution! It's the sound of freedom!"

Those lines are the sight of freedom.
posted by spitbull at 8:36 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Just got back from voting here in Los Angeles.

Did we win yet?
posted by SLC Mom at 8:36 AM on November 6, 2012

VOTE FOR BRAIN SLUG PARTY
posted by schmod at 8:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Drink heavily

May have to start soon just so that time goes faster. Stupid slow time.
posted by SomaSoda at 8:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

On my way out to vote. Yeah!
posted by ericb at 8:37 AM on November 6, 2012

Kaine's people in VA are quite confident they are going to win. I have it from the top of the top of the campaign.
posted by Ironmouth at 8:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I have not gotten an "I Voted" sticker since 2000, when I was ten years old and therefore did not vote; I've been faintly bothered by this ever since. I do hope this changes this year!
posted by beryllium at 8:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Voted 'yes' on all three [MA] questions, though I don't really hold out much hope for any of 'em to pass.

I believe they've all been polling pretty well.
posted by dfan at 8:38 AM on November 6, 2012

VOTE FOR BRAIN SLUG PARTY

Brain Slugs are wrong on taxes. All glory to the hypnotoad.
posted by drezdn at 8:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

Tarumba: $700? Is that special circumstances or standard?

The filing fee for Form N-400 is $595, plus an $85 biometrics fee. (Source: I'm a paralegal in an immigration law firm, and there's a chart of fees thumbtacked right in front of my desk.)
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

There seem to be an awful lot of Virginians posting in this thread. Do Virginian MeFites ever have Meetups? I moved here a year ago and hardly know anyone. :(
posted by Jacqueline at 8:39 AM on November 6, 2012

I'm an American living overseas and I'm registered in the most Democratic of Democratic states (no complaints, though!), and so I wasn't feeling like I had anything in the game. So, drunkenly, I put perhaps more than I should have into a (legal, don't worry) online betting website.

C'mon high electoral vote result for Obama!
C'mon Ohio dems! I REALLY BELIEVE IN YOU!
C'mon Florida dems! I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY BELIEVE IN YOU!!!

sheesh as if it wasn't nerve-wracking enough
posted by barnacles at 8:40 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Biometrics fee, the fuck?
posted by spitbull at 8:40 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I work from home, so I can take my damn sweet time in getting to the polling station, for which there's never been any sort of line at any previous election and the only real delay is due to poll workers having difficulty finding my name on the list. At the primary earlier this year, they had "I Voted" stickers in a truly amazing variety of languages: I think they had English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Chinese. I get the Chinese one for extra irony, especially if Romney ends up pulling it out.
posted by LionIndex at 8:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Biometrics fee, the fuck?

yeah, I assume it's some kind of anal probe searching for communism.
posted by elizardbits at 8:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Biometrics fee, the fuck?

Fancy word for ID photo and fingerprints.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:41 AM on November 6, 2012

There seem to be an awful lot of Virginians posting in this thread. Do Virginian MeFites ever have Meetups? I moved here a year ago and hardly know anyone. :(

They're called DC meetups for convenience, and to avoid embarrassment.
posted by OmieWise at 8:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Oh, right. Or that.
posted by elizardbits at 8:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Suddenly worried. Who would George Lucas vote for?
posted by Wordshore at 8:41 AM on November 6, 2012

So, what's the verdict on the gambling thing in Maryland? I've only been COMPLETELY INUNDATED with constant advertising about it for the past 3 months, and I still don't completely understand the argument against it...

'cause life is precious... and God... and the Bible.
posted by grubi at 8:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'd say there's a better than average chance that this inspirational music video about voting will make you laugh. (friendlink)
posted by davidjmcgee at 8:42 AM on November 6, 2012

In all seriousness, fuck Mitt Romney and everyone behind him that thought they could buy an election and win on hate. I am reminded of a line from Bliss (the film based on the novel by Peter Carey) that basically goes "I curse you all for all eternity and without exception".

This is the guy I voted for in 2008, and this is the guy I voted for 2 weeks ago with tears in my eyes because I knew it would be a long time until my next opportunity to vote for someone I value and respect.

That being said, this is still my national anthem. For everyone else sitting in their comfortable lives with their smug selves who don't really know what it means to struggle and to suffer, fuck them too. For everyone hungry kid in this country, for every person with no place to live or a hellhole they try to call home, for everyone with addictions they can't get help for, for everyone with no real chance to pull themselves out of the ditch, for every person looked over for even the shittiest of jobs because they're the wrong color/age/gender, for every person that can't get lifesaving medical treatment or has had to file bankruptcy because they *could* get it, for everyone who knows first hand just how fucked things really are in this country, I tried to vote for the guy I pray can turn the dial at least a degree or two in the right direction.
posted by PuppyCat at 8:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [22 favorites]

SCARYBLACKDEATH 2012: Because the other guy is just that much worse than scary black death.
posted by grubi

I have no words for how happy this makes me. Thank you.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 8:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

>I believe they've all been polling pretty well.

really? good to know!
posted by xbonesgt at 8:42 AM on November 6, 2012

Greenwich Village, waited in the four separate lines: 1. Find your electoral district, even though it's on the card they mailed us; 2. Get your voter card and ballot; 3. Wait for a desk at which to fill out your ballot; 4. Scan your ballot. Oh, and 5. Bake sale muffins! Still, less than 40 minutes all told - but thanks to my enlightened employer for Election Day off, so I can spend the day reloading this thread and Electoral Vote Predictor without having to pretend to work. As the viral GIF says, Keep Calm and Trust Nate Silver!
posted by nicwolff at 8:43 AM on November 6, 2012

Biometrics fee, the fuck?
You have to go get your fingerprints and palm prints taken, and they now have these amazing machines that do it really frelling fast - I was so impressed I had to go home to look up the company that made them! Becoming a citizen was really expensive, but worth it.
posted by gemmy at 8:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

How come nobody talks about the third party candidates?

Everyone should run for President at least once in their life.
posted by mazola at 8:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I believe they've all been polling pretty well.

Yeah, of the three (Right to Repair, Death With Dignity, Medical Marijuana) only the Death With Dignity question has a bit of a hill to climb. The medical marijuana question actually gets a bit of a bump from people going No on #2 as voters absolve themselves from forcing another to live a life of pain by letting them have a bit of weed.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have no words for how happy this makes me. Thank you.

I'll be expecting massive contracts when you're elected, of course. Thank me then.
posted by grubi at 8:43 AM on November 6, 2012

Went to my Pittsburgh-area polling place with my wife this morning. Was asked to show a photo ID, declined, and was told "well you don't need it this time but you will next time", to which I said "yeah, we'll see about that."

Got to the electronic voting machine, same style as the one shown earlier in the thread with the touchscreen calibration problems. No such problems with mine, but the poll workers did have problems getting my machine (which had just been used seconds earlier by another voter) to come up with the initial screen. They plugged a large hard-token type thing into it to get it to initialize, and some sort of white boot screen came up. The one worker asked the other one if it had already recorded a blank vote, and the other guy said "no, I don't think it does that until the last screen." Comforting!

Eventually the main screen came up, I made my selections, and said a silent prayer (our polling place is a Lutheran church) that my vote actually gets counted.

As Charlie Pierce says, "This is your democracy America -- cherish it."
posted by tonycpsu at 8:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm pretty sure the only reason anyone is in my office today is so they don't have to drink alone.
posted by elizardbits at 8:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

So, what's the verdict on the gambling thing in Maryland? I've only been COMPLETELY INUNDATED with constant advertising about it for the past 3 months, and I still don't completely understand the argument against it...

The main argument against Question 7, and it's a good argument, is that there's absolutely no guarantee that the school system will see a single dime (in the words of the state Comptroller, no less) of the promised income. Also, many people find it peculiar that the casino owners haven't even built all the casinos they said they'd build the last time we did something like this, so why should we give them even more money now? Add to that any normal objections to casinos or gambling, and you have a solid opposition bloc. I voted against, for what it's worth, because I trust the Comptroller more than big business.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:45 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Suddenly worried. Who would George Lucas vote for?
I just voted for DONALD TRUMP because I don't want ALIENS putting MIND-CONTROL JUICE in my MOUNTAIN DEW
I came in here to post that.
posted by George Lucas at 8:45 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Had the LONGEST LINE EVER at my polling place here in Los Angeles this morning. I am not a kid person, really, but it was sososo awesome to see a woman there with her 3 or 4 year old, letting him hold the ballot after she voted and turn it in for her.

This, on top of hearing Leonard Cohen sing "Democracy" at the Nokia last night, has warmed my cold cynical heart on this lovely Election Day. Plus, I got a sticker.
posted by OolooKitty at 8:45 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

As far as anecdotes go, I waited about an hour to vote for McCaskill this morning. I resisted the temptation to cross out Todd Akin's name and write "Shitbeak 'Dead Eyes' McEvilfuck" in its place on the optical scan sheet, so I think that probably all went smoothly enough.
posted by invitapriore at 8:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [23 favorites]

"They're called DC meetups for convenience, and to avoid embarrassment."

OK, so are there every any Meetups down here in the "real" Virginia? :D
posted by Jacqueline at 8:46 AM on November 6, 2012

I live in Washington so I voted last week through the mail.

After all this build up it feels ... anti climatic. I didn't even get a sticker.

Democracy blueballs, I suppose. The perils of our modern world.
posted by Tevin at 8:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

So, what's the verdict on the gambling thing in Maryland? I've only been COMPLETELY INUNDATED with constant advertising about it for the past 3 months, and I still don't completely understand the argument against it...

There are a few arguments: #1 - the money will not go into education as promised - it's just another empty promise; #2 - taxpayers should not subsidize an expensive private business - another example of giving big tax breaks/money to the rich owners; #3 - the folks who will build the casino likely will not be Maryland residents, so the promise of jobs is not exactly accurate.
posted by anya32 at 8:46 AM on November 6, 2012

Texas is regressive in oh so many ways but the extended voting period is awesome. Walked in last Tuesday at 5:30, no line to speak of.

Though it's not like my vote counted for anything. It is still Texas.
posted by Runes at 8:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

In suburban Detroit. Recently moved to Richie Rich lake-property /old conservative white folk country. (Where people drive trucks with bumper stickers reading: “My other auto is a Glock 9mm.” And lots of R-Money signs are blighting my beautiful scenic roads.)

All my local govt. officials are Rs, and there’s very gerrymandered state/national districts. My state rep is a tea party nutter, married to another elected TP guy. And my US Congressional district is the now infamous MI-11, former job of Thaddeus McCotter.

I’m trying to be hopeful the Dem candidate will take the latter post, but probably the crazy Repub (is that redundant at this point?) will win. And I’m sure TP lady will be reelected. So my goal is to stay somewhat active in politics, and get one/both the hell out of office next time.

Yesterday I voted absentee ballot and then made a token GOTV effort, driving my poor old car around, trying to drop off lit to homes that I think were union people. (Who probably didn’t need the reinforcement at this point!)
posted by NorthernLite at 8:47 AM on November 6, 2012

Well, I was pleasantly surprised by an item on our ballot to add language to the town charter that would prevent city officials from appointing relatives to city offices. (Significance: this is Providence, RI.)
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 8:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

So, what's the verdict on the gambling thing in Maryland? I've only been COMPLETELY INUNDATED with constant advertising about it for the past 3 months, and I still don't completely understand the argument against it...

I think the argument against it is basically "don't vote for it because of education" which is probably right. The gambling for education thing is generally a ruse since no amount of gambling revenue keeps the state legislature from appropriating less to education to account for gambling revenue.

I also grew up in North Carolina back when we didn't have a lotto and was raised to believe that lottos were an evil Yankee invention, like toll roads, that should be opposed at all costs. I'm not anti-gambling (I am anti-state run lottery), but I still hate the gambling revenue for education argument.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sometimes I hate living on the East Coast because I have to wait THREE EXTRA HOURS from when my polls close to start seeing the returns.
posted by zizzle at 8:47 AM on November 6, 2012

it's coming through a hole in the air, and all those nights down in Tienanmen square... it's coming from the feel that this ain't exactly real, or it's real but it ain't exactly there...
posted by kaibutsu at 8:48 AM on November 6, 2012

the fingerprints expire if they take to long to process your case, mind you. Which means you have to pay again!
posted by Tarumba at 8:48 AM on November 6, 2012

OmieWise: "They're called DC meetups for convenience, and to avoid embarrassment."

I can't count how many times people who live in Leesburg have told me that they're from "DC."

That's like living in Pennsylvania, and saying that you live in NYC.
posted by schmod at 8:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

How come nobody talks about the third party candidates?

First thing on my list once I can stop worrying about the out-and-out sociopaths getting into power.
posted by curious nu at 8:50 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

I voted here in the giant Red Sea of Kansas. I got to walk right in and vote, except, of course, I had to get by the vote-suppressing id checking machines. In addition to my pre-existing issues with them, seeing them in person made me realize how expensive the system must be. What had previously been a pile of old green and white daisy wheel paper print outs was now three computers with scanners and electronic signature pads. What a horrible vote suppressing waste!
posted by girl scientist at 8:50 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Palin/Ryan 2016 - Cause it'd be freaking hilarious.
posted by HannoverFist at 8:50 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

You guys with your Jill Steins and your Gary Johnsons. Here in NJ we have a far better third party candidate on the ballot. Jeff Boss. Take a look at his stances and views, and I think you'll all be writing him in instead of voting for Romney or Obama.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 8:50 AM on November 6, 2012

'I tell ya, this generation is worse than the hippies, the flappers, and the Nazis combined...at least the hippies gave us those fat watchbands, and the flappers could dance, and the Nazis had that song "Eight Days a Week".'
posted by grubi at 8:50 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

mazola: "How come nobody talks about the third party candidates?

I guess 'cos we've studied some game theory and math?
posted by barnacles at 8:51 AM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

So am I just supposed to sit here all day, bouncing aimlessly between this endlessly updating thread and the superscroll speed chat? Is that what you want? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN

you can also make calls to get out the vote by going to "certain candidate" webpages. they give you all of the information online. i have friends working phones all day and MANY have talked to people who were unsure of where to vote or who needed some support. could be worth it to take your lunch hour to help with GOTV.
posted by anya32 at 8:52 AM on November 6, 2012

Tarumba, congrats on citizenship! This is for you.
posted by thirteenkiller at 8:53 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I like to vote without showing any ID, just because I can. Today the nice poll worker looked at me standing before her, empty handed, and sighed just a litt bit.
"It's a little easier if we have something with your name on it." Then she looked up my name, crossed it off, had me sign, and sent me on down the line to get my ballot.
I should really be nicer to my poll workers.
posted by SLC Mom at 8:53 AM on November 6, 2012

The MD gambling expansion referendum would send money to education, but it is likely to be offset by cuts to education funding from other sources. My boss wrote a policy brief about it (full disclosure, I edited it, and yes I know our website sucks. I'm a policy analyst, not a web designer, no matter what my boss thinks).
posted by postel's law at 8:53 AM on November 6, 2012

Here in NJ we have a far better third party candidate on the ballot. Jeff Boss. Take a look at his stances and views, and I think you'll all be writing him in instead of voting for Romney or Obama.

Oh, man. I wish I hadn't already voted. That guy had me at "The NSA changed my website to make me look bad."
posted by gauche at 8:53 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Voted this morning in Columbus in a pretty diverse neighborhood heavily trafficked by graduate students. Lines were disconcertingly short and they ran out of stickers, but the mean guy who made me file a provisional ballot in 2010 wasn't working the polls this year, and I got flirted with by an enormous man passing out sample ballots for Democrats. My only other duties today are to go teach about the interbreeding between humans and Neandertals, and maybe get into an argument with the Alliance of Ohio Christian Voters who have been passing out flyers on the Oval for the past couple of weeks about how contraception coverage is the same thing as religious oppression. Cross your fingers, drink some beer, and eat a cookie. Hooray USA!
posted by ChuraChura at 8:53 AM on November 6, 2012

This, on top of hearing Leonard Cohen sing "Democracy" at the Nokia last night, has warmed my cold cynical heart on this lovely Election Day.

Nice idea for an election day playlist! To this, may I add: John Prine, Your Flag Decal
posted by Runes at 8:53 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Here in NJ we have a far better third party candidate on the ballot. Jeff Boss.

Holy shit - two years ago I was working in Weehawken and remember seeing his notices plastered on the streetlights all around the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel.

One of the MANY reasons I begged my temp agency to get me back into working in New York again after a year.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:53 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

This, on top of hearing Leonard Cohen sing "Democracy" at the Nokia last night, has warmed my cold cynical heart on this lovely Election Day.

Saw him in Austin last week. The whole crowd san along with that song. It was a truly inspiring amazing show.

Sail on, O mighty ship of state! To the shores of need, Past the reefs of greed, Through the squalls of hate.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:54 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sincerely yours,
Website.

I mean, Jeff Boss.
posted by Wolfdog at 8:54 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Palin/Ryan 2016 - Cause it'd be freaking hilarious.

I'm holding out for Bachman/Zoidberg.
posted by Rhomboid at 8:55 AM on November 6, 2012

I pledge, before the night is over, I will find a way to shoehorn PONY into this.
posted by JHarris at 8:55 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

anya32: "There are a few arguments: #1 - the money will not go into education as promised - it's just another empty promise; #2 - taxpayers should not subsidize an expensive private business - another example of giving big tax breaks/money to the rich owners; #3 - the folks who will build the casino likely will not be Maryland residents, so the promise of jobs is not exactly accurate."

So, basically the argument against it is that the legislature does a bad or inconsistent job of appropriating money from the general fund?

I fail to see how preventing gambling expansion would make this any worse. The legislature would just have less money in the budget to work with. How exactly does that help education?

I'm certainly sympathetic to Argument #2, although I'm not quite sure how gambling is being subsidized any more than anything else in National Harbor has been. Wouldn't the casinos be a large and reliable revenue stream for the state? Sounds more like an investment than a subsidy (as opposed to, say, sports stadia, which rarely recoup their initial investment).

Argument #3 makes less sense. Why exactly should we care about which one-percenters own the casino? They'd be paying taxes in Maryland, and the workers at the casino would presumably mostly be living in the state.
posted by schmod at 8:55 AM on November 6, 2012

To this, may I add: John Prine, Your Flag Decal

Saw him at the same venue as Cohen a month ago. Yes, same reaction -- whole crowd san along.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:56 AM on November 6, 2012

My polling place is this cool little building.

It's a lot better than my last polling place, when this guy was staring at me the whole time I waited in line.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:56 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Jacqueline, you can come hang out with me in Hampton Roads! We'll go to one of the very many fast food restaurants here, make obscure MeFi references and exclude everyone else!
posted by Tarumba at 8:56 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

MA 5-2, voted in the shadow of Fenway Park. Four people in line, about 20 voting. Reasonable turn-out for 11 AM. Voted "yes" on all three ballot questions, plus there was a surprise 4th question, which was a non-binding advisory question on how to balance the budge.

I was interviewed by a reporter on my way out. He was specifically interested in Brown/Warren. I told him I voted against Brown because he acted like a dick during the campaign (he asked me to re-state it). But I probably won't get published anyways, as the reporter was from the Boston Herald, and they love Scott Brown.
posted by benito.strauss at 8:56 AM on November 6, 2012

Ha, last time I voted in person in Iowa I was proud to decline to show ID as well. We don't have a voter ID requirement, but they have some new ID scanning thing that's supposed to make check-in easier. No can do, people!
posted by thirteenkiller at 8:56 AM on November 6, 2012

One more thing - while Nate Silver has become a media darling, don't forget about The Votemaster over at www.electoral-vote.com. He's got the history and the data and he's got a wickedly dry sense of humor that brightens my darker moments of political despair. His projections are in step with Silver's, but I dig him because he's a math geek who also happens to be interested in politics.
posted by PuppyCat at 8:56 AM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

Just want to point out that the #RomneyDeathRalley tag on Twitter is a thing of beauty:

Originally Posted by @epomorski
"I have a clear and unequivocal message..." We hear a roar of static and ear-splitting feedback. There is no microphone.

Originally Posted by @PierreTheMime
Terrible noneuclidean forms rise beyond the horizon and fill the blood-red skies. Endless laughter carries in the wind.

Originally Posted by @bizmarkiedesade
What is Kali Ma? Staffers at #RomneyDeathRally won't explain anything. Chanting grows louder. Dogs are howling. My kids just want to go home.

Originally Posted by @sea_trash
Hooded guard at east gate won't say why monoliths are being erected at the four corners of stage. Air smells of smoke.

LOST: My right femur. Last seen near the fleshmother. Reward if found. #RomneyDeathRally

Ceremonial drums reach fever pitch. Paul Ryan chants from a pulpit. "I want to go home, mommy" "There is no home anymore" #RomneyDeathRally

The first celebrity guests have arrived: the nazis whose faces melted off at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. #RomneyDeathRally

After Ryan summoned the dark entity Atl'as-Shrug'nigur'th, I tried to privatize my sanity, but it was too late. #RomneyDeathRally
posted by magstheaxe at 8:57 AM on November 6, 2012 [22 favorites]

This is just a little reminder: if you are approached while beyond the perimeter of a polling place by a rightwinger or GOP-affiliated election monitor, be nice. Be really nice. Have a full conversation about the weather, the local sports teams, anything. Every minute of theirs you waste is valuable.

Just saying.
posted by spitbull at 8:57 AM on November 6, 2012 [29 favorites]

It's a lot better than my last polling place, when this guy was staring at me the whole time I waited in line.

Why have you FRAUDULENTLY tagged that photo as "puppy"?
posted by elizardbits at 8:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I voted in a rec center in the projects near where I live and there is a big sign outside that says you can't get in the building without ID. I thought this was for voting so got mine out, but then of course didn't need any ID to vote, though there was a thing that matched my signature. The ID sign was probably just for the regular rec center use.

It's just really frustrating, how many people maybe didn't come in because they didn't have ID, thinking it was for the voting.

So stupid.
posted by sweetkid at 8:58 AM on November 6, 2012

Oops. I didn't know there was a live thread.

I voted this morning. On one of Mitt Romney's touch screens with no paper backup.
posted by dirigibleman at 8:59 AM on November 6, 2012

While we wait for the results to come tumbling in, let's take a HeartSmart© trip back to a magical and bygone era: The Nineteen Hundred and Nineties!

Let's Rock the Vote with Madonna, Michael Stipe, Anthony Kiedis, Dee-Lite, Jellyfish, Lush, Ozzy and more!
posted by Senor Cardgage at 8:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

If you're in the Somerville, MA area, they're still short of poll workers. Head over to City Hall and they'll swear you in.
posted by backseatpilot at 8:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Glad to finally be living in Portland proper, but I just remembered seeing signs for a guy named Paul WARR-KING and now I am forever sad for not being able to vote for someone named WARR-KING.

WARR-KING.

I mean, c'mon.

What are some other great names in your local races?
posted by curious nu at 9:00 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Felicity Green ‏@mygothlaundry

Tentacles emerge from the stage as hideous gibbering emits from the mouths of #romneydeathrally oh wait no that's just Fox election coverage
posted by Danf at 9:00 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I live in Texas. One of our local judges was named Sam Texas. I had to vote for him.
posted by DynamiteToast at 9:01 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

As to Maryland's Question 7, I just wanted a casino that was easier for me to get to. The same reason I'd vote for liquor stores to be open seven days a week. Vice, uh, ease.
posted by josher71 at 9:01 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Voted shortly after 8 in rural, red PA. Packed parking lot, a fast-moving line, and many upbeat people. *And* I bought a couple of doughnuts (for the kids, of course) to support holiday lights on Main Street, as the stand was set up at the exit. I feel so American!
posted by MonkeyToes at 9:02 AM on November 6, 2012

Why have you FRAUDULENTLY tagged that photo as "puppy"?

FIXED! MORTIFIED!
posted by Room 641-A at 9:02 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The lady checking everyone in demanded a second form of ID, even though it says right there on the registration card that the card itself is acceptable.

Please, please report this to your board of elections.
posted by uncleozzy at 9:02 AM on November 6, 2012 [40 favorites]

Kaine's people in VA are quite confident they are going to win. I have it from the top of the top of the campaign.
posted by Ironmouth at 8:38 AM on November 6

Should I take the absence of a Presidential prediction in this comment as a sign to FREAK OUT about Virginia? Because that seems to be what I'm doing today, strangely. Seeking out information that points to an Obama defeat, since everyone else seems so confident.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 9:04 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Voted at 7:25 this morning in San Francisco. Waited for ten minutes in line - not bad at all for pre-work voting! - then had to cast a provisional ballot (I registered at the last minute). I didn't get a sticker. But we had signs outside that said "100 PIES", because you're not allowed to electioneer within 100 feet of a polling place.
posted by madcaptenor at 9:04 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Massachusetts voters - who else was surprised by the Citizens United ballot question 4? I thought there were only 3 ballot questions this time around.

A coworker of mine also had no idea about it, nor does she have any notion what the issue is. I subscribe to RSS feeds for at least 3 political Mass-based blogs and I don't remember any mention of it.

I won't be surprised if the "Nos" prevail just because most people will have no idea what the question is asking. (Not sure that better notice solves that problem, sadly.) I don't think that getting ballot questions in under the wire does anyone any favors.
posted by Currer Belfry at 9:06 AM on November 6, 2012

Should I take the absence of a Presidential prediction in this comment as a sign to FREAK OUT about Virginia? Because that seems to be what I'm doing today, strangely. Seeking out information that points to an Obama defeat, since everyone else seems so confident.

I have called 8 voters today and the 3 that I reached are all voting for Obama. Keep up hope AND do something about it - you still can! As I said above, calls can be made through the website and people who did not know where to vote before do know now!
posted by anya32 at 9:06 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

But we had signs outside that said "100 PIES"

And that's terrible.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

zizzle: "Sometimes I hate living on the East Coast because I have to wait THREE EXTRA HOURS from when my polls close to start seeing the returns."

Mostly we just need to know the returns in from Florida, Virginia, PA and Ohio all of which close at 8.
posted by octothorpe at 9:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Me too, Arsenio! I am doing the same thing!

It's nice to know I am not carrying the anti-jinx duty on my own!
posted by Tarumba at 9:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I voted two weeks ago and grabbed two I Voted stickers, one for that day and one to wear today. My state is one of those that passed an onerous voter ID law, presumably in an effort to disenfranchise the poor, working-class and elderly. There was some commentary about the fact that my state's ID law allows voters to use handgun carry permits, which was seen as a way to re-enfranchise conservative voters.

When I showed up at the county rec center to vote, I showed my carry permit and then voted for Obama. Take THAT, Republican Voter Suppression Machine!

I did not vote a straight Democratic ticket, though, because this this clown is our Democratic nominee for Senate. I voted for Martin Pleasant, Green Party, instead.
posted by workerant at 9:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Man, if I showed up at a polling place and they were rebooting the voting machines, I would freak out inside. Have they just thrown out the votes cast before the reboot? Will a system error necessitate another reboot in the afternoon, throwing out my vote? Without a paper trail, who can even tell?
posted by ceribus peribus at 9:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

What are some other great names in your local races?

We've had a Marianne(?) Lawless, who I think was running for sheriff, and congressman Gerry Studds. I did once see a car with bumper stickers saying "Lawless Studds".
posted by benito.strauss at 9:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Helicopters going bananas over downtown Boston. Romney-bot must have beamed in.
posted by sonika at 9:09 AM on November 6, 2012

Got to the electronic voting machine, same style as the one shown earlier in the thread with the touchscreen calibration problems. No such problems with mine, but the poll workers did have problems getting my machine (which had just been used seconds earlier by another voter) to come up with the initial screen. They plugged a large hard-token type thing into it to get it to initialize, and some sort of white boot screen came up. The one worker asked the other one if it had already recorded a blank vote, and the other guy said "no, I don't think it does that until the last screen." Comforting!

Yeah, this is what i had (rural Western PA). I didn't have any problems, except it took me a while to realize the big red flashing "vote" button was what you needed to push to finish the vote.

This is the first election where I've felt my vote won't be counted.
posted by dirigibleman at 9:09 AM on November 6, 2012

"What are some other great names in your local races?"

Someone with the last name Hurt is running for Congress, so the entire area is filled with "HURT CONGRESS" signs. They make me giggle.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

>Massachusetts voters - who else was surprised by the Citizens United ballot question 4? I thought there were only 3 ballot questions this time around.

I only had three questions on my ballot. Where are you? Was this a Boston-only thing?
posted by xbonesgt at 9:10 AM on November 6, 2012

I have heard the arguments about being "implicated" in a "system of compromise" and therefore "not wanting to vote." To you, I say: EAT DICKS IN SPACE.
posted by rewil at 9:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

But we had signs outside that said "100 PIES"

Same, but I live in an area with a lot of Latinos, so there was another sign that said "100 PASTELES"
posted by theodolite at 9:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

The one I helped build for Facebook isn't on the list and I'm modest enough to mention it here now.

America Votes 2012 on Facebook Stories

It'll be responsible for some of the spam on your Facebook timelines :-p
posted by 13twelve at 9:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

But we had signs outside that said "100 PIES"

And that's terrible.

It is terrible! I was promised pie and I didn't get it.
posted by madcaptenor at 9:12 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

We were out shopping for a new bed on Saturday, and a salesman at one store told us a HILARIOUS joke about how we needed to remember to change our clocks on Sunday and our President on Tuesday.

He didn't make the sale, and he's going to be pissed about the results of the election, too.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

"What are some other great names in your local races?"

Someone I'm facebook friends with was list their votes and included

1st CD: Rush*

Which garnered a lot of "Prog Rock sucks!" type comments.

*Illinois First Congressional District's Bobby Rush
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 9:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Massachusetts voters - who else was surprised by the Citizens United ballot question 4? I thought there were only 3 ballot questions this time around.

Wasn't that one of the non-binding questions? There was one at the end of my ballot (Somerville), explicitly listed as non-binding, about asking the rep from my district to vote in favor of a federal constitutional amendment stripping corporate personhood and allowing Congress to place limits on campaign contributions.
posted by Kosh at 9:14 AM on November 6, 2012

A question about early voting and vote-by-mail in general, which isn't really offered in my state: Shouldn't there be concerns about someone's boss, spouse, or corner mobster forcing or paying you to vote a certain way - which they can now validate took place?

Interesting. My gut response is that it is balanced out by more people voting. But that's a new question for me to all of you - is voter turnout higher in states where people vote-by-mail?
posted by anya32 at 9:14 AM on November 6, 2012

madcaptenor: It is terrible! I was promised pie and I didn't get it"

PIE!
posted by barnacles at 9:14 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

What are some other great names in your local races?

There is a candidate named Mark McCracken who is running for ... oh hell just watch the ad.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 9:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

West coast here, just waking up. Skimming through this frantic thread is making me anxious. You folks need to chill. The scroll is dizzying.

That said, I MISS the voting booth and sticker experience. My first Washington state vote was mailed in last week - the only way we vote here.

Back to sipping my espresso ... trying to catch up to your energy level.
posted by Surfurrus at 9:16 AM on November 6, 2012

HERE WE GO AMERICA, HERE WE GO *CLAP CLAP CLAP*
posted by bleep at 9:16 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

We voted at 8:15 this morning in Alameda, CA. Roseanne Barr was the first option on the ballot. It was tempting, but I voted for Obama once again.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:16 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The map on Facebook is actually kind of interesting. It shows when people click the "I voted" button in real time.

It is, but not so interesting as its counter with only eight digits. It can register a total of 99,999,999 votes, or about 32% of the population of the USA.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:16 AM on November 6, 2012

Nice idea for an election day playlist! To this, may I add: John Prine, Your Flag Decal

Funny, I was just singing Paradise thinking about the critical environmental issues in this election.
posted by winna at 9:17 AM on November 6, 2012

In Boston some ballots had four questions, others five or six. Only 1-3 are statewide and binding. Mine had four: the original 3, plus one on supporting social security.
posted by sonika at 9:18 AM on November 6, 2012

My phone died while I was waiting in line, but it took me three hours, fifteen minutes. The lady checking everyone in demanded a second form of ID, even though it says right there on the registration card that the card itself is acceptable. Good thing I had, like, six forms of ID on me just in case.

Attention everyone: If a poll worker or poll watcher attempts to deny you a ballot, call the National Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) immediately.
posted by tzikeh at 9:18 AM on November 6, 2012 [28 favorites]

Drove a couple people to the polls early this morning. Then waited an hour to vote myself in Uptown Minneapolis (very smooth going as always, thanks Temple Israel volunteers!). Got my sticker.

Now I have to bake my kid a birthday cake. She asked for red velvet, and I considered doing blue velvet instead, but I've decided to split the difference. Non-partisan purple velvet cake tonight!
posted by padraigin at 9:18 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

RELEASE THE MCCRACKEN!
posted by Jacqueline at 9:18 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

It can register a total of 99,999,999 votes, or about 32% of the population of the USA.

Yeah, but the entire population of the US is not eligible to vote.
posted by elizardbits at 9:18 AM on November 6, 2012

Voting in New Jersey a "catastrophe".

Voters were being asked for I.D. even though the state has no law requiring it, voting locations opened late and some locations didn't have ballots, she said. "In a word, there's just one word to describe the experience in New Jersey, and that is catastrophe," Arnwine said.

While the state is allowing voters to return their absentee ballots electronically, servers in at least three counties had shut down.

posted by dirigibleman at 9:19 AM on November 6, 2012

We were out shopping for a new bed on Saturday, and a salesman at one store told us a HILARIOUS joke about how we needed to remember to change our clocks on Sunday and our President on Tuesday.

I heard it as "Set your clocks back on Sunday. Don't set your country back 50 years on Tuesday."
posted by vacapinta at 9:19 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

It's still a lower number than the 2008 turnout, which was around 125 million.
posted by enn at 9:19 AM on November 6, 2012

I find these exhortations from "the rest of the world" pretty condescending.

LMAO....and there goes the air raid siren again.
posted by srboisvert at 9:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

What are some other great names in your local races?

My husband and I have been giggling like simple schoolchildren at the Gina Mitten signs all over our neighborhood for the last few months.
posted by teleri025 at 9:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

RELEASE THE MCCRACKEN!

There's actually another ad (that I can't find) all about his opponent "Whackin' McCracken". He's sure to lose, but I hope he had his fun.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 9:20 AM on November 6, 2012

OH ... and Lemmy story (!): My sister was in one of Mtrheads videos in the 80s and my activist mother was visiting her shortly after. Then my mom met Lemmy again on the plane on her return to the states. She told about her long chat with him, "Lovely boy." (I need to find out more about the details of that conversation ... wonder if she got him to sign up with her anti-nuke campaign!)

Grandmother power!
posted by Surfurrus at 9:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

And with that, I'm going to start drinking. Will check in later and see if space-time has collapsed yet. #RomneyDeathRally
posted by kaibutsu at 9:21 AM on November 6, 2012

xbonesgt: I reside north of Boston.

Kosh: that's the one.

Ballotpedia doesn't know about question 4, either...
posted by Currer Belfry at 9:21 AM on November 6, 2012

Fired Go! Ready To Up!
posted by vibrotronica at 9:22 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

dirigibleman:
"Voters were being asked for I.D. even though the state has no law requiring it"

Yeah, I was asked for ID in Ohio, too. But that is mainly to make it easier to look up your name in the list, I believe.
posted by charred husk at 9:22 AM on November 6, 2012

Are they still using the old mechanical voting machines in Brooklyn?
posted by griphus at 9:23 AM on November 6, 2012

No, I scanned mine in Dumbo griphus.
posted by sweetkid at 9:23 AM on November 6, 2012

I had to just refresh the 259 comments I hadn't read or I never would have gotten to the bottom.

Just got back from voting in my suburb to Raleigh NC. The whole process from beginning to end was about 15 minutes and on the ballot counting machine was 1115. I suspect that after-work voting will be much busier. I got my I VOTED sticker, so I'm all proud and stuff.
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 9:25 AM on November 6, 2012

Google searches for "who is running for president" spiking.
posted by DynamiteToast at 9:25 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Okay. You people sit tight, hold the fort and keep the home fires burning. And if we're not back by dawn... call the president.

And the president is Barack Obama.
posted by Kurt Russell at 9:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Yeah those amazing non-hackable easy to use mechanical machines have been out for awhile. In favor of voting on paper like a bunch of pioneers.
posted by bleep at 9:26 AM on November 6, 2012

We had the fourth ballot question in Franklin, Massachusetts too.

I skipped it; it isn't binding.
posted by Curious Artificer at 9:27 AM on November 6, 2012

What are some other great names in your local races?

I voted against Ron Swanson.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 9:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Huh, they asked my name, and I spelled it for them, and when I saw my page come up said "There I am!". That's all it needed. I've never been asked for ID in New Jersey.
posted by Karmakaze at 9:27 AM on November 6, 2012

uncleozzy and tzikeh - just filed a complaint on the VA SBE website and called Election Protection! I can't speak for the online form, but the Election Protection woman was very helpful.
posted by troika at 9:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

What are some other great names in your local races?

I voted against Ron Swanson.

I did too, one more dead town's last parade. You're not in Tallahassee by any chance, are you?
posted by grubi at 9:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oregonian voters: Drop your ballot off at one of approx. two million* ballot boxes in your area. With our mail-in/drop off ballot system, there's zero reason not to vote. Be there, or be a complete and total doofus (harsh words, I know)! Here: http://www.sos.state.or.us/dropbox/#

*Give or take a few.
posted by but no cigar at 9:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

For those of you thinking of joining in the Metafilter chat room, you are now required to present ID in the form of a photo of a pet. So be sure to bring that with you to the jabber server.
posted by tzikeh at 9:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

We have a Dr. Bengali on the ballot for our school board - his campaign posters are black and orange and have pictures of tigers on them, and his slogan is "A scientist, not a politician".
posted by ersatzkat at 9:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

The other day Chris Hayes said, rightly I think, that one of the most underreported stories of this election is the GOP blowing its chance to retake the Senate two cycles in a row by nominating crackpots in key states.

Everything is underreported on TV. That GOP/Senate problem story has been a persistent no-news-day story for a long time now. Politico, 10/18.

Election AM in Florida: A Line, a Machine, a Conspiracy

CPP is killing it.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:29 AM on November 6, 2012

...and in Maryland, I have never, not once, been asked for ID to vote. My son wasn't asked for ID either, even though the posted state rules at the door said "first time voters may be asked to provide ID".
posted by ersatzkat at 9:30 AM on November 6, 2012

Talking heads on CNN are already starting the face-saving, "The Sandy storm bounce was significant for the President."
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 9:30 AM on November 6, 2012

You're not in Tallahassee by any chance, are you?

Nope. Toronto, actually.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 9:30 AM on November 6, 2012

Voting Machine in Pennsylvania Isn’t Accepting Votes for Obama

"...video one Pennsylvania voter captured of an electronic voting machine refusing to accept a vote for President Obama, instead repeatedly selecting "MITT ROMNEY" for President when the voter clearly intended to vote for Barack Obama.

This glitch is even more chilling when you consider the fact that Pennsylvania's governor, Republican Tom Corbett, told attendees at a Mitt Romney rally on Sunday that he was confident the state's electoral votes would go to Governor Romney, despite the fact that Obama's got a relatively safe lead in most state polls."
posted by HopperFan at 9:31 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

The Sandy Storm Bounce is the hottest new dance move from uptown.
posted by griphus at 9:31 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Voted at 10 AM, no lines, got a sticker. Was profoundly grateful to the local Republican party for having someone electioneering at my polling place. Here in NC judges are elected in non-partisan races, so the Republicans hand out a handy-dandy sheet listing the names of the Republican-approved candidates. It was extremely useful to have a guide telling me who not to vote for.
posted by Daily Alice at 9:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

You're not in Tallahassee by any chance, are you?

Nope. Toronto, actually.

BE ADVISED: SWANSON HAS CROSSED THE BORDER. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND SURLY. ARMED WITH INCREDIBLE MUSTACHE.
posted by grubi at 9:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you didn't get an "I Voted" Sticker, I put on on mlkshk for you

Or, direct Image URL
posted by jazon at 9:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I voted in TN and goddamn did I need some ID.
posted by WidgetAlley at 9:32 AM on November 6, 2012

I can't count how many times people who live in Leesburg have told me that they're from "DC."

I live in Fredericksburg and we usually say we are from DC. It's much easier than explaining where the hell Fredericksburg is. Also, I can see the Washington Monument from my office...
posted by COD at 9:33 AM on November 6, 2012

why is joe biden going to cleveland
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 9:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

HopperFan, I'm inclined to think the glitch is a glitch, although the lack of interest shown by the poll workers is concerning.

If you want to steal the election, you wouldn't show the voter "Hey! I'm stealing your vote!" If machines are being set up to divert votes to Romney, it will happen in the quiet innards.
posted by maudlin at 9:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

"The Sandy storm bounce was significant for the President."

Which really means, "People were reminded what the government does for them in times of trouble, severely undercutting the Republican argument." So it isn't like it was some (as I heard a douchebag call it on some station this morning) "gift" to Obama.
posted by OmieWise at 9:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

You just give the poll worker your street address

I'm curious how they handle people with no street address, since you can register by just giving vague directions to where you live ("down by the river, about a hundred yards from the tire dump").
posted by backseatpilot at 9:34 AM on November 6, 2012

Helicopters going bananas over downtown Boston. Romney-bot must have beamed in.

But wait, I thought he was a Michigander. I'm sooo disappointed he won't be spending election night here, where the trees are just the right height.
posted by NorthernLite at 9:34 AM on November 6, 2012

Kittens voting.
posted by mazola at 9:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

The GOP is going to have to rethink itself.

I would love to believe that this is the case, but I fear that at least some of them will double down.

It will be up to liberals in America not to sacrifice the momentum and organisation that they have built up in the course of the campaign. Liberalism in America needs to be evangelised and grown, almost like a religion, during the times when a specific liberal president is not running for office. Unless liberal candidates can be supported by strong liberal institutions, they will be less likely to get into office and less likely to keep their promises when they do.

Remember how in 2008 the Republican party - despite being for years dominated by a powerful religious voting block - was quick to accuse Democrats of forming an "Obama Cult"?

In my experience, Republicans always talk, quite openly, about what they fear - they do it by accusing their enemies of doing whatever it is they are most afraid of, in the hope that their enemies will get embarrassed and disclaim it. In this case, Republicans were clearly terrified of the idea of a large, lasting liberal community with the integrity, sociability and vigor of a religion (but with a much more open-minded social agenda).

So I guess what I'm saying, in a long-winded way, is that I hope Americans who can, vote today - but that after today is over and the time comes to move forward, the liberal side of the aisle doesn't make the mistake of 2008 and demobilise. Win or lose, they have to keep spreading the good word.
posted by lucien_reeve at 9:35 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

What are some other great names in your local races?

I voted against Ron Swanson.

I wrote in Leslie Knope as a representative from my district on the Governor's Council. Ben Wyatt will have to do with being Register of Deeds in my county.

( Both seats were being sought by uncontested Democrats )
posted by RonButNotStupid at 9:35 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Republicans love democracy... until someone tries to practice it.
posted by grubi at 9:35 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

This campaign has taken two years off my life.
posted by ob1quixote at 9:35 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

(Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates:
"why is joe biden going to cleveland"

To console grieving Browns fans.
posted by charred husk at 9:35 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

MA non-binding question 4 was on the Berkshire County ballot too. Must've been a late addition; the carefully-positioned-just-outside-the-no-signs-beyond-this-point point "Yes On 4" signs were handwritten magic marker affairs.
posted by ook at 9:36 AM on November 6, 2012

OK, so are there every any Meetups down here in the "real" Virginia? :D

There have been meetups in Richmond.
posted by COD at 9:36 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Liberalism in America needs to be evangelised and grown, almost like a religion, during the times when a specific liberal president is not running for office.

wow, no, it absolutely, 100% does not.
posted by dubold at 9:36 AM on November 6, 2012

Man, today is like Christmas for trolls...

Just walk past a line at a polling place and comment audibly to a friend, "What a bunch of idiots. Who would wait in line to vote?"

"One vote will never make a difference" or is another good one to dust off for some classic fun... ah, to be 13 again.

I always like to throw in a "you know they throw those provisional ballots in the trash, don't you?" comment to a fellow voter when I see the pink (or green) folder.

There's a fine fine line between practical joking and trolling, I suppose...
posted by mrgrimm at 9:36 AM on November 6, 2012

True The Vote Barred From Ohio Polling Stations

The right-wing group True The Vote has been prohibited from monitoring elections in voting stations around Columbus, Ohio, and may soon find itself under investigation for fraud, the Columbus Dispatch reported Tuesday.

posted by Room 641-A at 9:36 AM on November 6, 2012 [26 favorites]

"the lack of interest shown by the poll workers is concerning"

Yes!

Also, I love the phrase "quiet innards."
posted by HopperFan at 9:37 AM on November 6, 2012

Aww man I have been a permanent Absentee voter in Cali for ages, but now I'm thinking I should start doing it old school to ~~indoctrinate~~ teach my kids some civics.
posted by ambrosia at 9:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

...although the lack of interest shown by the poll workers is concerning.

I went to a poll worker orientation back before the '04 election. It was maybe 95% senior citizen ladies who did not remotely come off as having an interest in preserving the Democratic Process as much as they were bored and it was good pay for a day's work.
posted by griphus at 9:38 AM on November 6, 2012

I'm curious how they handle people with no street address, since you can register by just giving vague directions to where you live ("down by the river, about a hundred yards from the tire dump").

I think in most (all?) states you have to give an address, whether it's a shelter or a park, etc.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:38 AM on November 6, 2012

So, just so somebody here says it (as if I've read all 700+ comments)... both Obama and Romney ran inexcusably shitty campaigns. I honestly think only a fool (or an unfeeling millionaire) would vote for Romney, but even so -- both of them came in against an opponent with glaring weaknesses, and both of them did a crappy job of selling themselves.

It's kind of a crime that this election turned into such a nail-biter.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:38 AM on November 6, 2012

Upper West Side. 10 minute wait to vote. Poll worker asked for the spelling of my last name three times before telling me my name wasn't in her book and I must be in the wrong district. I told her that Sh comes after Se and then pointed out to her where my name was.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:39 AM on November 6, 2012

This campaign has taken two years off my life.

To be fair, that's because it's lasted for two years.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [22 favorites]

I'm curious how they handle people with no street address, since you can register by just giving vague directions to where you live ("down by the river, about a hundred yards from the tire dump").

Most people who are homeless have an address that they use, because you need one for so many documents and resources. It may be a shelter at which they sometimes stay, an aid agency, or a relative or friend's house,a PO box or a Mailboxes Etc. box.

If your house is gone (like in the storm) you still have that as a legal address.
posted by Miko at 9:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

why is joe biden going to cleveland

Because Cleveland Rocks!
posted by drezdn at 9:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Mittens is indeed spending Election Day in Boston, despite the trees being the wrong height.

And despite his earning six total votes in the whole city.
posted by sonika at 9:40 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

scaryblackdeath:
"So, just so somebody here says it (as if I've read all 700+ comments)... both Obama and Romney ran inexcusably shitty campaigns."

It's what happens when the best you can do is demoralize your opponent's base into not voting or voting third party. Sad, really.
posted by charred husk at 9:40 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's kind of a crime that this election turned into such a nail-biter.

Aside from the silly bump Romney got from Debate #1, it has not been a nail-biter at all. If you believe in quantitative analysis, that is. Which I do.

I'm strongly of a mind that there is one path for Romney to the White House now, and that is a fixed election. Sadly this is a non-zero probability.
posted by mcstayinskool at 9:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I have the coolest polling place ever. At least in Hampton Roads, anyway. Chrysler Museum of Art.
posted by sephira at 9:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Kaine's people in VA are quite confident they are going to win. I have it from the top of the top of the campaign.
posted by Ironmouth at 8:38 AM on November 6

Should I take the absence of a Presidential prediction in this comment as a sign to FREAK OUT about Virginia? Because that seems to be what I'm doing today, strangely. Seeking out information that points to an Obama defeat, since everyone else seems so confident.

No. Not at all. Literally I know the top guy in his campaign personally. I live in DC.
posted by Ironmouth at 9:42 AM on November 6, 2012

Most people who are homeless have an address that they use,

When we registered to vote after our move, the registration form actually had a small diagram of a street intersection you could use to describe in pictures where you lived. So I'm curious what happens if you use that instead of giving a valid street address.
posted by backseatpilot at 9:42 AM on November 6, 2012

Every time you forget to vote Ann Coulter Eats a Kitten.
posted by NorthernLite at 9:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Oregonian voters: Drop your ballot off at one of approx. two million* ballot boxes in your area. "

I like being able to vote from the comfort of my Oregonian kitchen. I dropped the ballot in the mail box a week ago and a couple days later, checked online to make sure my ballot got to the election office. Seems like a pretty efficient and voter-friendly approach, IMO.
posted by Phyllis Harmonic at 9:42 AM on November 6, 2012

I signed up for Twitter just so I could do this:

As Romney speaks, visions of a crumbling Earth swirl in front of us. "FILTH SHALL SURGE AS LIGHT ONCE DID FROM A NEW SUN" #RomneyDeathRally
posted by invitapriore at 9:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Took me 90 minutes to vote in my densely residential neighborhood of Somerville, MA, just north of Boston. Waiting 'til 10 AM to avoid the morning rush did not work.

Somerville had 7 ballot questions, BTW. Three state wide, three on directing our state reps to vote on something or other, and a city-wide question, IIRC.
posted by maryr at 9:43 AM on November 6, 2012

Destroyed by Total Capitalism America Has Already Lost Tuesday's Election
posted by shothotbot at 9:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

At my SF polling place this morning, there was a line. And the machine you feed your ballots into was broken. So we left our ballots in their little privacy folders on top of the machine, to be fed in later when the machine is not broken. I'm a little suspicious that I'm not more suspicious, but honestly, what insane person is going to try voter suppression in a city as blue as SF? Still, I'm keeping my receipts!
posted by rtha at 9:43 AM on November 6, 2012

(Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates:
"why is joe biden going to cleveland"
To console grieving Browns fans.

Because this campaign plays to win and leaves nothing to chance.
posted by Ironmouth at 9:43 AM on November 6, 2012

I voted absentee in MA and I don't remember there being a 4th question about Citizens' United on the ballot. Looking into it more it seems like it wasn't available for my precinct, which is a shame.
posted by Peccable at 9:43 AM on November 6, 2012

Well the talking heads really don't have any incentive to keep pressing the "razor thin" narrative anymore and have some incentive to actually call the election correctly or else people like Nate Silver might begin to push them out of the way.

It's not like the media affiliates are going to get any more add buys at this point either so the need for NBC and ABC, etc to push the virtual tie meme is no longer as compelling from a financial standpoint.
posted by vuron at 9:44 AM on November 6, 2012

There's a fine fine line between practical joking and trolling, I suppose...

....Just as fine as the line between trolling and just being a jerk.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'm curious how they handle people with no street address, since you can register by just giving vague directions to where you live ("down by the river, about a hundred yards from the tire dump").

My experience when I lived on a boat and had no street address was that no you cannot, you have to just make one up and register fraudulently, even when you make a fuss about it and bring in a bunch of printouts of Supreme Court case law establishing the right of homeless people to vote.
posted by enn at 9:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mittens is indeed spending Election Day in Boston, despite the trees being the wrong height.

He also has his campaign headquarters in Boston, which raises the question of why he maintains such a presence here. He could have set up shop in New Hampshire (swing state!) or somewhere else, but he chose Boston.

My hypothesis is that he remains in-state because here he's King of The Republicans (what few we have anyway) and that if he based his operations somewhere else he'd have to deal with party officials who wield considerably more influence than he does.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 9:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The right-wing group True The Vote has been prohibited from monitoring elections in voting stations around Columbus, Ohio, and may soon find itself under investigation for fraud, the Columbus Dispatch reported Tuesday.

Can you smell which way the wind is blowing?

Er ...

A list of a large number of pundit predictions.

The rise of the poll quants. (Sam Wong says Obama has a 99.8% chance of winning?)
posted by mrgrimm at 9:44 AM on November 6, 2012

Destroyed by Total Capitalism America Has Already Lost Tuesday's Election

"The Winner Makes No Difference to Europe"

I think the Nihilists from The Big Lebowski are now writing for Der Spiegel.
posted by griphus at 9:45 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

I voted absentee in MA and I don't remember there being a 4th question about Citizens' United on the ballot

Yeah, we had that question (first I'd heard of it was reading my ballot, but that's my fault for not researching the ballot questions ahead of time). it's non-binding though.
posted by Miko at 9:45 AM on November 6, 2012

It's not like the media affiliates are going to get any more add buys at this point either so the need for NBC and ABC, etc to push the virtual tie meme is no longer as compelling from a financial standpoint.

But the pundits have been talking like it's a horse race for MONTHS. Even they believe it now.
posted by dobi at 9:45 AM on November 6, 2012

Just got a lovely call from a Lloyd Doggett volunteer and we had a nice chat in which she thanked me for voting for him. He has a strong GOTV operation.
posted by immlass at 9:45 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Destroyed by Total Capitalism America Has Already Lost Tuesday's Election

That is basically my feeling in a headline. I also agree with the article. My uncle wrote a bit for Daily Kos about how to manage having radical political beliefs at a time when everyone's pressuring you to go vote for the least-bad guy: What is 'Resistance' in a Unified Field? I've been thinking about those ideas a lot these past few months.
posted by jessamyn at 9:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [21 favorites]

Voting Machine in Pennsylvania Isn’t Accepting Votes for Obama

Beyond the Freedom Curtain - HP voter suppression compilation video
posted by mrgrimm at 9:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I can't wait to hear Romney's concession speech. Maybe he'll get Al Franken (in the guise of Stuart Smalley) to write it for him.
posted by perhapses at 9:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm doing voter protection in Wisconsin. Couple minor issues so far, but there has been a line of between 15 & 100, including same day registrants, since the polling place opened. I very much need coffee.

One young woman was too poor to afford eye glasses, could not read the ballot. Lots of people let her try theirs, but a poll worker assisted her properly eventually.
posted by crush-onastick at 9:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Lloyd Doggett is the best.

I had a very cute, very gay young man knock on my door to give me Democratic Party literature. He said "Are you voting?" I said yes. He looked at me. I looked at him. "Democratic?" "...yeah."
posted by restless_nomad at 9:48 AM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Also, I love the phrase "quiet innards."

I would pay money for quiet innards.
posted by srboisvert at 9:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Hope you can get on the Board, snickerdoodle.

That Diane Rehm show from yesterday which I posted waaayyy upthread made some interesting points about voting, and how our biggest concern should not be fraud (though that is big) but simple incompetence, which is widespread and responsible for a lot of issues like poor communication, not enough ballots, improperly handled ballots, ill trained poll workers, etc. Unpreparedness, bad leadership, poor projections, laziness, lack of planning and organization. It does make me want to find some way to improve the elections process locally.
posted by Miko at 9:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Lloyd Doggett is the best & he has great staff. I had a stupid question about the I9 work elligibility form some years ago when I was a small business owner, and after getting stonewalled & voice-mailed & hung up-upon by all branches of the federal govt. I could think of to call, I called Doggett's office to complain, & the person who answered the phone, on the first ring, had worked at INS and knew the answer to my question.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

OMG I just voted for this guy.
posted by charred husk at 9:50 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

if you're in election district 84 or 85, expect a looong wait

W13th street is an election PARTY.
posted by elizardbits at 9:50 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The partisan Republican pundits aren't going to say that Romney was a bad candidate until after the election results are tallied and Democratic pundits have no incentive to reduce voter turnout when many lower ticket races are still definitely in doubt.

Of course shitheads like Dick Morris won't own up to their bloviating nonsense after the election, they'll just transfer the blame to Democratic Chicago style shenanigans rather than put forth the idea that the Republican party needs to transform itself unless it wants to be a regional opposition party.

Old school Republicans from the Northeast made that transformation in order to remain relevant in national elections and now the new breed of southern social conservative Republicans are going to have to come to some hard decisions about the type of party they want to present to the electorate.
posted by vuron at 9:51 AM on November 6, 2012

My uncle wrote a bit for Daily Kos about how to manage having radical political beliefs at a time when everyone's pressuring you to go vote for the least-bad guy

There are also those of us who are more "climate-aware" than either of the 2 evils, wondering, "what are we going to do to save our planet?" and getting awfully frustrated.

The DK article was interesting, but ultimately unfulfilling.

You don’t have to surrender to an ideologue to notice that high-fashion, expensive consumer toys, cars and houses and status-competition are the building blocks of the Empire everyone says they loath. So why don’t we, as best as we are able, simply let them go?

Sure, but I think most of us are there already. What now? Or what about us who are there already?
posted by mrgrimm at 9:51 AM on November 6, 2012

My husband is on the Board of Elections here. He was appointed by the county chairman of his party and signed off on by the State board of elections. That is how NC does it. He says other states do differently so I would ask your precinct chairman or somebody in your local political party of preference.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 9:52 AM on November 6, 2012

I can't believe how long it's taking people to vote. I'm glad I stuck out the three hours it took me to do early voting on Saturday. I had visions of being in that city park facility at 10 pm, still waiting to vote. It just seems wrong.
posted by halonine at 9:52 AM on November 6, 2012

"I told her that Sh comes after Se and then pointed out to her where my name was."

"Democracy for Dummies"- warning or book?
posted by Phyllis Harmonic at 9:54 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

There's a fine fine line between practical joking and trolling, I suppose...

....Just as fine as the line between trolling and just being a jerk.

In the many many levels of my persona hierarchy, "Troll" is a subset of "Jerk" - my jerkiness alone contains multitudes.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:55 AM on November 6, 2012

Heading out to go vote. I'll check in when I get back.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:55 AM on November 6, 2012

"The Winner Makes No Difference to Europe"

I think the Nihilists from The Big Lebowski are now writing for Der Spiegel.

But ... regardless of whomever Americans choose (or their corporations select, to be more accurate) as King Plutocrat For The Next 4 Years, it really won't have any impact on Europe. Sure, if Plutocrat Romney is revealed as the lucky winner, he'll probably give a long harangue about how European countries must join America in the quest to bomb the shit out of Iran, but that's about it.

Obama is popular in ~~Europe~~ the rest of the world because he doesn't come across as being a stereotypical American, that's really all there is to it.
posted by cmonkey at 9:55 AM on November 6, 2012

There are also those of us who are more "climate-aware" than either of the 2 evils, wondering, "what are we going to do to save our planet?" and getting awfully frustrated.

I vote on environmental issues to a large degree, & here's a persuasive argument: http://www.mittromney.com/issues/environment
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:55 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Also, it may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but I was really proud to cast my vote for this guy, who is a serious fighter in the face of Tennessee's hatred of racism and immigrants and even had the-- gasp!-- stones to mention the GOP's war on women and labor. Go get 'em, Credo!
posted by WidgetAlley at 9:56 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Ugh. Had to fill out a Provisional ballot in Colorado Springs because my name wasn't on the rolls (I moved to another address in the city two years ago). If the state goes red, it's my fault, y'all.
posted by bibliowench at 9:57 AM on November 6, 2012

Should I take the absence of a Presidential prediction in this comment as a sign to FREAK OUT about Virginia? Because that seems to be what I'm doing today, strangely. Seeking out information that points to an Obama defeat, since everyone else seems so confident.

Kaine is running ahead of Obama, but not by too much. If Ironmouth's source is solid, then being confident now is a good sign.

BTW I saw some tweets a couple hours ago from a reporter who's been following the Obama campaign since early 2007 and who claims he's familiar with their body language and mannerisms, and he thought they looked pretty confident and excited. It's not much to go on, but it makes me feel just a little bit better.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:57 AM on November 6, 2012

What now? Or what about us who are there already?

Well, I think in the issues he identified before talking about the consumer goods - full federal funding for elections, keeping corporate money out of it, etc. Occupy in its earliest days had a winning formula of talking not about policital races but about commonalities - economic inequality and policies favoring the kind of growth most people really don't approve of ideologically. I think keeping and building focus around civic issues of common interest regardless of party is a wise move for revolutionaries. Meanwhile, the people in office make the policies we live under, so it makes sense to express preferences - if not ideals - there, where they are happening now.

Too many people, I think, imagine the Presidential vote as their only opportunity for protest or alternative political visions. But that's silly. Change doesn't start there - it starts on the ground, in grassroots movements, local coalitions, municipal and state committees, offices, and policies.I don't understand why more of my radical friends don't engage with the system in places where the system is actually built, but only at the very last domino, where it's really too little too late to achieve more idealistic goals.
posted by Miko at 9:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

BTW I saw some tweets a couple hours ago from a reporter who's been following the Obama campaign since early 2007 and who claims he's familiar with their body language and mannerisms, and he thought they looked pretty confident and excited. It's not much to go on, but it makes me feel just a little bit better.

Just overheard one of the guys a couple rows over from me say that he was looking at some exit polls and getting "sick to his stomach."

Consider where I work. Consider why this would be a good sign.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

My roommate commented on why Oregon's voting system is vastly superior*:

I got high, then went and handed my vote to a librarian. Why doesn't the rest of the country do it this way?

*In Oregon all ballots are mailed weeks in advance, and you drop it off any number of official places or mail it at your convenience.
posted by wcfields at 9:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Voted in Massachusetts earlier this morning - brisk turnout, but no wait to speak of in my smallish town. No question 4 in Worcester County.

backseatpilot: I put on a jacket and tie to go vote. I've been trying to make important events more memorable by looking nice, it feels good.

Now you've got me feeling guilty for going to the polls in jeans. I do usually try to dress up for civic events like town meeting. I hated being made to dress up for things as a kid, but as I get older I've come to understand that dressing up for an occasion is a way of saying, "Hey, we live in a civil society and this is my show of respect for my fellow attendees/participants."
posted by usonian at 9:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

So my wife and a friend were discussing the election during playdate a week or two ago, and my four year old son asked them what they were talking about. In trying to explain why they don't like Romney's tax and economic policies, she resorted to a metaphor about sharing: we think Romney's ideas are like giving most of the toys to just some kids, Obama's we think would be like sharing more of the toys with more of the kids who don't already have toys.

My son's takeaway interpretation of this, which he's repeated many times since and has clung to despite many attempts on my part to clarify, is that ROMNEY WANTS TO STEAL ALL THE TOYS FROM ALL THE KIDS.
posted by ook at 9:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [42 favorites]

Man what do you wear to a voting booth? Sweater vest? Bomber jacket?
posted by The Whelk at 9:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Since its 2012 and we live in the future I was able to vote via email from Sao Paulo Brazil almost a month ago. I really hope that when the polls close things are clear so I dont have to stay up crazy late to find out who won... or go to bed without knowing.
posted by Glibpaxman at 10:00 AM on November 6, 2012

Oh, hai, guise, if yr sitting around waiting and eating chocolates, feeling anxious and stuff, I have an idea.

If you're for Obama, try the following. (If you're for Romney stay home with your chocolate and anxiety.)

Take Action!

If you are in a Battleground State, go to your local Field Office or Staging Location, grab a walk-pack, and go do some knocks! For every fourteen doors you knock, you get one new vote for the candidate. So in a two hour canvass shift you can get maybe five new votes. Florida is going to be decided by a few thousand votes. If you each get five friends to join a canvass, and we're dead even like the polls say, then that will be enough to cover the spread. We can win this. It's crunch time. You can be in control. It's in your hands.

If you're not in a battleground state, make phone calls into one. Click Here and get on board!
posted by Cookiebastard at 10:00 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Man what do you wear to a voting booth?

FREEDOM
posted by elizardbits at 10:01 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Man what do you wear to a voting booth?

Outrage Fatigues
posted by dubold at 10:02 AM on November 6, 2012 [32 favorites]

Cookiebastard:
"Oh, hai, guise, if yr sitting around waiting and eating chocolates, feeling anxious and stuff, I have an idea.
...
Take Action! "

What if you're sitting around and eating chocolates, feeling anxious and stuff while configuring a Cisco router at work?
posted by charred husk at 10:02 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Man what do you wear to a voting booth?

FREEDOM

I really hate people that wear their freedom on their sleeve ;)
posted by COD at 10:02 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The anxiousness doesn't come from the election, though. I'm just not comfortable with CLI.
posted by charred husk at 10:03 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Are phone calls really considered to be productive at this point? I'm already sick of getting them and I'm in one of the un-swingiest of not swing states. I can imagine one more phone call to someone in Ohio might be enough to make them snap and vote the other way purely out of spite....
posted by ook at 10:03 AM on November 6, 2012

The doobie that came with my Oregon mail-in ballot was a bit smushed so I didn't do the get high part. Also, I'm avoiding the library because I checked out a DVD and when I opened it at home about a dozen live cockroaches jumped out! I dropped my ballot in a mailbox.
posted by perhapses at 10:03 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Now you've got me feeling guilty for going to the polls in jeans. I do usually try to dress up for civic events

This is the one thing that makes me feel a little sad about voting by mail or electronically. Going to the polling place and seeing your neighbors and fellow citizens gather the purpose of representation gives me this little "civic glow," the same thing I feel making donations or giving blood. It's one of the small rituals that still keeps some of us bound together. A little sorry that our trend toward doing everything separately via devices would cut a little more into that.

Take Action!

Some friends of mine in NH are advertising on FaceBook that they'll give rides, and/or driving around asking people if they need rides.
posted by Miko at 10:03 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"The Winner Makes No Difference to Europe"

I think the Nihilists from The Big Lebowski are now writing for Der Spiegel.

Really, how will the president (elect) make any different to Europe? That place has plenty of problems of its own without getting into America's messes. Look to Norway and Sweden, I guess.

If you're for Obama, try the following. (If you're for Romney stay home with your chocolate and anxiety.) ...

What if you're for Jill Stein and you have to work all day then pick up the kids after school and make dinner and then do the dishes, make lunch for tomorrow, and balance the budget?

My second vote is for Stein, but my first vote is making dinner on time and getting the kids to sleep. If the polling line is longer than an hour, I'm not gonna be able to do it. Sure, I should have voted early, or absentee. I should do a lot of things. Sorry, America, you'll have to live without my worthless opinion again.

Back to work ...
posted by mrgrimm at 10:03 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

My husband and I were voters 905 and 906 in our tiny Western Massachusetts town. Fetus Nibs didn't get a ballot, but this still counts as his/her first election, right?

There was a short line and the place was packed. We didn't get stickers but we did get Halloween sized boxes of Nerds! The polling place is in an elementary school, and usually the PTO has a bake sale on election days. I was disappointed they were only selling t-shirts today. No brownies for me and Nibs.
posted by apricot at 10:04 AM on November 6, 2012

> Obama is popular in ~~Europe~~ the rest of the world because he doesn't come across as being a stereotypical American, that's really all there is to it.

Oh he does!
posted by de at 10:04 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Now you've got me feeling guilty for going to the polls in jeans.

My cabdriver this morning was an older Cuban man in a three piece suit who could barely contain his gleeful exuberance at having just voted; he kept bursting into song and exclaiming SI SE PUEDE and he got a really big tip.
posted by elizardbits at 10:05 AM on November 6, 2012 [37 favorites]

A friend in Brooklyn writes: 1.5 hours. And was asked for ID. Wow.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:05 AM on November 6, 2012

how will the president (elect) make any different to Europe?

NATO, to take the obvious starting place.
posted by Miko at 10:05 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

man, I am getting nothing done at work today.
posted by xbonesgt at 10:06 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

If the polling line is longer than an hour, I'm not gonna be able to do it. Sure, I should have voted early, or absentee. I should do a lot of things.

If you had time to troll, you had time to vote.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:06 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Asking for ID in Brooklyn isn't anything new, honestly. I haven't heard of anyone being disenfranchised, but when you've got an hour-long line with "Qing," "Ciccorelli," "Dmitriyiev," et. al. on it, it's just faster and easier to look it up that way.
posted by griphus at 10:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Man what do you wear to a voting booth? Sweater vest? Bomber jacket?

Oh man you're still thinking this out?
posted by Anything at 10:07 AM on November 6, 2012

man, I am getting nothing done at work today.

work-related things i have done so far today:

- showed up
- turned on computer
- [footage not found]
posted by elizardbits at 10:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [32 favorites]

I told her that Sh comes after Se and then pointed out to her where my name was."

"Democracy for Dummies"- warning or book?

In fairness to the poll workers they get there very early, they are very busy, they are tired, and having been one myself I can confirm it's easy to get a brain fart occasionally.

Be nice to them.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 10:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

Are phone calls really considered to be productive at this point?

Yes. There are some stories above of people making calls this morning, and ending up telling the person where they can go vote, and what documents were permissible as ID, theoretically getting that person to go vote.
posted by inigo2 at 10:07 AM on November 6, 2012

My second vote is for Stein, but my first vote is making dinner on time and getting the kids to sleep.

So you are going to vote for Stein but don't think it's important to do so? If voting for Stein is
less important than not getting one evening on schedule, how is it more important than, y'know, voting against Mitt Romney for president?
posted by howfar at 10:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I just found the article by the guy I mentioned upthread who was talking about Obama's campaign team and how confident they were (emphasis mine):

The Obama campaign's confidence extends well beyond Pennsylvania. In conversations with an array of top advisers this morning, a clear picture emerged that Chicago believes it has Nevada, Iowa, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire more or less in the bag; that it feels nearly as certain of carrying Ohio; and that Obama is just a tad ahead in Virginia. As for Colorado and Florida, Team Obama believes they are both too close to call, but thinks they could well win both; they are forthrightly pessimistic only about North Carolina among the nine battlegrounds. This could all just be spin, of course — or they could simply be proven wrong. But having known and reported on these people for a solid six years now, my sense of their tone and body language is that their self-assurance is for real.

posted by zombieflanders at 10:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

QUESTION

Ok, so my girlfriend and I moved last year and just updated our voter registration a couple of weeks ago. We both got cards, and I checked the Chicago Board of Elections site when we did and found both of our names on there and our proper polling place, which is right around the corner from our apartment.

We both have bills, etc. showing our proper address (my driver's license has an old address and hers is from out of state), BUT I've just been told by my coworker that they redistricted Chicago and the huge lines we're seeing are largely due to the voter rolls not being properly updated, so I wanted to print out the page from the Board of Elections site showing our polling place, but it's down, and apparently has been for two days. -_-

So, the question is, if they try to deny me a ballot (going after work, a bit less than two hours before they close), is there anything I can do, materially, to make sure I get to vote today?
posted by adamdschneider at 10:08 AM on November 6, 2012

Just got back from voting, downtown Austin. In addition to pretty comprehensive early voting Travis County has finally implemented 'vote anywhere, any time' which make it easier. I waited about an hour, but everything went smoothly. The line was nearing twice as long when I left as when I got there.

My sticker says "Yo voté", which is nice.
posted by dirtdirt at 10:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks to the economy I don't have to work on Tuesdays anymore. My laundry got done and my husband got a hot lunch on his break but that's about as productive as it's probably going to get today. That and I am making sure I don't come down with the family cold.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 10:09 AM on November 6, 2012

Since I can never get to the bottom of the thread without another hundred or so comments to read...

While we have all mail voting here in Washington, where we are going to legalize gay marriage and recreational marijuana and elect Barak Obama, and it is very convenient, I totally miss actually going to the voting place. Seeing our democracy in action, and the nice little old people running the election always has made me feel like I'm a part of the solution.

Plus, no stickers :(
posted by Windopaene at 10:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

man, I am getting nothing done at work today.

and it's so frustrating, because nothing is even happening! There's no news! But I keep checking a dozen sites every 6 minutes anyway.
posted by something something at 10:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

My husband and I were voters 905 and 906 in our tiny Western Massachusetts town. Fetus Nibs didn't get a ballot, but this still counts as his/her first election, right?

I wrote in my nine-year old for president in the same tiny Western Massachusetts town (voter 202) because today is his birthday.

(hi neighbor)
posted by ennui.bz at 10:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Romney Mega Prayer. . .courtesy of my daughter.
posted by Danf at 2:28 PM on November 6 [+] [!]

Battle of Lepanto represented by a guy in full armor? I'm not saying that nobody wore armor at that battle, but it seems like an odd choice.

The map on Facebook is actually kind of interesting. It shows when people click the "I voted" button in real time.

Is that lawful in the US? It seems kinda near to exit polling, which in other countries is unlawful to make known before the polls have shut.
posted by Jehan at 10:10 AM on November 6, 2012

God speed, everyone. I am counting on you to do your best.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 10:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I was amused that a lot of the campaign robocalls were hijacked by the storm. For example, one of the local candidates sent out a robocall before the storm hit with information on evacuation areas and multiple ways to access emergency information and barely mentioned the election at all. Another came in last night to the effect of "We're recording this on behalf of the candidate because he's too busy working on disaster relief to campaign. If you need help getting to a polling place, or even general storm assistance, feel free to call..."
posted by Karmakaze at 10:11 AM on November 6, 2012

>and it's so frustrating, because nothing is even happening! There's no news! But I keep checking a dozen sites every 6 minutes anyway.

I know! It's y'all's fault. Every update you people post about standing in line and filling in bubbles and twisting knobs and pulling levers and having ELECTION PARTIES and everything else gives me happy little civic-shivers.
posted by xbonesgt at 10:12 AM on November 6, 2012

Now you've got me feeling guilty for going to the polls in jeans.

I'm pretty sure I wasn't even wearing pants. Go Oregon!
posted by cortex at 10:12 AM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

I just voted around an hour and a half ago. There was no line and I wasn't asked for ID, though they did ask me for my address and full name. I'm in San Francisco.
posted by yaymukund at 10:12 AM on November 6, 2012

Copying my own Facebook update from earlier today: Maybe it's time to become American. Voting by proxy through wife is hard when she has her own damn opinions.

posted by zeikka at 10:12 AM on November 6, 2012

charred husk, if you can do GOTV calls while configuring a Cisco router, CLICK HERE.

Or there's this handy dandy Facebook whatchamadoogle on the internets.
posted by Cookiebastard at 10:12 AM on November 6, 2012

I wonder if the inventor of virtual desktops realized how useful they are for looking like you're working. I've got my one with two panes open in Vim so that I look super-productive and then you can imagine what the other five are being used for.
posted by invitapriore at 10:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Is that lawful in the US? It seems kinda near to exit polling, which in other countries is unlawful to make known before the polls have shut.

If somebody wants to proclaim who they voted for, and where they voted at, I don't see how anybody in the govt can stop them. Free speech and all that. The prohibition on exit polling today in the media is I believe, a self-imposed thing to make sure the media doesn't unduly influence the election by announcing results while polls are still open out west.
posted by COD at 10:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Please, oh please, Nate Silver, be right.

I'm pretty confident that Mr. Silver's analysis of the correlation between polls and outcomes is good. The question is if there's other factors in play that could make a disconnect between historical polls and outcomes.

The obvious thing to point to is vote suppression/tampering shenanigans. They're not exactly new, but there are some new twists this year, and I think the GOP may even be desperate enough to push the envelope.
posted by weston at 10:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

griphus, it doesn't seem to have been a spelling issue. My friend told the poll worker it was illegal to ask, and the poll worker then said that she didn't ask for ID. Several others in line confirmed my friend's story, and the poll worker said they were all wrong, and she was sorry, and let my friend vote.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:13 AM on November 6, 2012

Oh Fox News...

FUNNY BUSINESS IN PHILLY
GOP officials booted, Black Panthers return — and Obama at polling site?
New Black Panthers Return to Scene of 2008 Polling Station Confrontation

OMG BLACK PEOPLE IN PHILLY!
posted by Theta States at 10:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

The map on Facebook is actually kind of interesting. It shows when people click the "I voted" button in real time.

Is that lawful in the US? It seems kinda near to exit polling, which in other countries is unlawful to make known before the polls have shut.

It's a button you have to click on Facebook (opt in, obviously) and it doesn't show who you voted for, just that you voted.
posted by Flamingo at 10:13 AM on November 6, 2012

Hey, Cookiebastard, what's up? Been working hard lately?
posted by grubi at 10:13 AM on November 6, 2012

It seems kinda near to exit polling, which in other countries is unlawful to make known before the polls have shut.

True, you could probably scrape people's posts and social networks and figure out who they are voting for in real time. That sounds like fun, actually. Anyone have access to the FB api?
posted by shothotbot at 10:14 AM on November 6, 2012

Ok, voted in MA. No lines.

Aside from voting for people it felt really good to vote for assisted suicide and medical marijuana. It almost felt like common sense and science was winning out against emotion and religious agenda.
posted by bondcliff at 10:14 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

I've decided on a red/white/blue checkered dress shirt and khaki pants, FYI
posted by The Whelk at 10:14 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

GOTMFV, grubi!
posted by Cookiebastard at 10:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Heh. I heard that. I early voted Saturday.
posted by grubi at 10:16 AM on November 6, 2012

But ... regardless of whomever Americans choose (or their corporations select, to be more accurate) as King Plutocrat For The Next 4 Years, it really won't have any impact on Europe.

Europe trades quite a bit with America, so it would be nice if the current president stays instead of the guy with no economic plans and a penchant for military endeavours.
posted by ersatz at 10:16 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

So, the question is, if they try to deny me a ballot (going after work, a bit less than two hours before they close), is there anything I can do, materially, to make sure I get to vote today?

You should still be able to get a provisional ballot, I think?
posted by elizardbits at 10:16 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've decided on a red/white/blue checkered dress shirt and khaki pants, FYI

Yeah, I think the ascot might give the wrong impression.
posted by shothotbot at 10:17 AM on November 6, 2012

I voted in Cambridge, MA. Waited an hour at my precinct in Cambridgeport. Mood was quiet, anticipatory and friendly. They *did* give me a sticker, thank goodness.

Now I am having the most spectacularly unproductive day at work.
posted by Cygnet at 10:17 AM on November 6, 2012

Oh ferchristsakes...
An Inquiring Nation Wants to Know: 'Who Is Running for President?'

posted by Theta States at 10:17 AM on November 6, 2012

and then you can imagine what the other five are being used for

it's butts, right
posted by elizardbits at 10:17 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

This whole thing about the "rest of the world's" comments being condescending strikes me as pretty funny. Who is in government in the US actually has an impact on who is in government in a bunch of other countries. So the citizens of those countries are pretty anxious. And they are UTTERLY impotent. They don't even have the luxury of that single vote.

I'll repeat the content of my comment again.

It's condescending (a) because we already know this. So people are telling us "this is high stakes you guys!1!!1!," which is something we already know.

And it's condescending (b) because it implies we can do something about it and are choosing not to. Which isn't the case. Most of us who agree with you are doing/have done everything we can do. The last and most significant thing we can't do is control the nervous systems of other people when they go uin to pull the lever.

Our perpsective is just like yours. We know a lot is at stake. All we can do, after all the volunteering and miserable conversations and research and postering and arguing and donating and canvassing and visibilities and letter-to-editor-writing is, like you, watch the outcome.
posted by Miko at 10:18 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I've decided on a red/white/blue checkered dress shirt and khaki pants, FYI

I wore a long green dress with a high collar, so as to appear: 1.) as imperial and unquestionable as possible (being white helps) and 2.) GREEN PARTY.
posted by WidgetAlley at 10:18 AM on November 6, 2012

Yeah, I think the ascot might give the wrong impression.

it's a cravat!
posted by The Whelk at 10:18 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Can I just say this is the first time I've been on television?
posted by Capt. Renault at 10:18 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Voted my conscience for potus, voted for warren (with a silent hope that if she is elected she finds a hairdresser who doesn't hate her) happily. Wrote some pets and local weirdos in for all the unopposed county clerk slots, voted yes to the car thing, the death with dignity thing and the reefer thing. And cast some nonbinding corporations are not people vote. Yay!
posted by Divine_Wino at 10:19 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Poll worker asked for the spelling of my last name three times before telling me my name wasn't in her book and I must be in the wrong district. I told her that Sh comes after Se and then pointed out to her where my name was.

True story: When I showed up to give my name at a recent election, a poll worker had this very helpful piece of paper in front of her: "A B C D E F G H I J..."
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 10:19 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Aside from voting for people it felt really good to vote for assisted suicide and medical marijuana. It almost felt like common sense and science was winning out against emotion and religious agenda.

I totally agree! After reading through the 4 questions I thought "well these are at least some cool, sensible ballot initiatives: voluntary euthanasia, medical marijuana, and repeal of Citizens United.

There was also something about data sharing for auto mechanics which I skipped based on the advice of the Boston Globe. But still.
posted by Miko at 10:19 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Can I just say this is the first time I've been on television?

No, you may not.
posted by grubi at 10:19 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm back!
1:00pm - Backed out of my garage. Drove 1.5 miles to polling place. Voted. Drove back home.
1:17pm - Pulled into my garage.

My polling place was quiet. Two machines. One empty and waiting for me. In and done with no fuss.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh ferchristsakes...
An Inquiring Nation Wants to Know: 'Who Is Running for President?'

I was one of those people. I was looking for who the third party candidates are as I suspect many of those searches may be doing.

(End result: I can say with certainty that any of those candidates would like fine on US currency in the future).
posted by mazola at 10:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

If Black Panthers are "guarding" polling places in Pennsylvania, I bet Romney's local polling place in Massachusetts is being guarded by Rafalca.
posted by tapeguy at 10:21 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

OMG BLACK PEOPLE IN PHILLY!

I see FOX has re-edited the video clip of the scary Black Panther to remove the part where he politely holds the door open for the little old white ladies.
posted by ook at 10:21 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

When I showed up to give my name at a recent election, a poll worker had this very helpful piece of paper in front of her: "A B C D E F G H I J..."

Would you rather they didn't? Around here, the only requirement for being a poll worker is "show up to orientation, pass the written test, and show up for election day." The written test involves writing down what was told to you during orientation.
posted by griphus at 10:22 AM on November 6, 2012

I voted for the stuff that counts today in Maryland, and the stuff that's a sure thing. I'm really hoping 5, 6, and 7 all pass. I'm also rooting for the recreational marijuana ballot initiatives in other states in the hopes that starts a nation-wide trend.
posted by codacorolla at 10:22 AM on November 6, 2012

Washington's all-mail-in voting is demonstrably better for getting out the vote. It makes it easier to get through a long ballot while feeling confident in one's choices, because there's no pressure to get done quickly. Still, I genuinely do miss physically going to a polling station. It made me feel like I'd actually done something with my day.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:22 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I imagine anyone might start to mess up their alphabet after looking at names all day. You know that weird feeling you get when words just look wrong? Orthographic incredulity, right?
posted by thirteenkiller at 10:23 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I voted during what was apparently Mommy Hour. Every other person at my polling place was a toddler. The stickers, they were flying off the roll.

Walking home, I remembered the gut-churning excitement I felt on voting day four years ago. I was so full of hope that Obama would win, and so sure that there would be a giant exhale after the results were announced. There was.

At 9 or so that night, after the election had been called, I could hear people whooping and cheering and loads of horns honking. We were so excited then. I actually got in my car and drove around the block, honking the whole way, just so I could be a part of it.

I've got some butterflies today as well. It's not the same kind of hope it was four years ago. I don't things are going to improve drastically and immediately if Obama is re-elected. But I think that if Romney were elected things would go to hell very quickly. So, yes, there's hope..

To make matters worse, I'm home in bed with a fever. Going to be a looooooong, anxious day.

Godspeed, y'all.
posted by mudpuppie at 10:23 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

If Ironmouth's source is solid, then being confident now is a good sign.

My source is the top strategist for the campaign.
posted by Ironmouth at 10:23 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I should also note that in addition to calling people, you can also help people get to the polls. The nice older lady I spoke with in Virginia said she had arranged with the Obama campaign to get a ride to the poll at 1:30. Friends of mine are in Richmond now and are asking for anyone with a car to help get folks to the polls. There is still work you can do!
posted by anya32 at 10:24 AM on November 6, 2012

"My name was Barack Obama, y'know, the President..."
posted by philipy at 10:24 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's nothing but comments, all the way down
posted by SomaSoda at 10:24 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ironmouth, is that based off of last-minute polls, or some other secret metric?
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 10:25 AM on November 6, 2012

> It's condescending (a) because we already know this. So people are telling us "this is high stakes you guys!1!!1!," which is something we already know.

No Miko, it's one of those things that has to keep being said until there is change, like any drive for liberation.
posted by de at 10:25 AM on November 6, 2012

Jessamyn, thanks for the DailyKos article you linked to. As a citizen who simultaneously agrees with a lot of radical liberal ideas and disagrees with the extreme "vote your conscience or become the Enemy" mindset, that article did a good job expressing why that attitude frustrates me so.

I don't think it's either cynical or pessimistic to say that human civilization is not our species' natural state. Civilization is artificial. But civilizing, on the other hand, is at the core of our very nature. What is conscious thought but the ability to seek order?

I feel that certain people whose politics are close to mine feel the exact opposite: that we should take civilization for granted, but people are savages who are ruining it for the rest of us. They conceive of an ideal society and get upset that reality doesn't match it. But why should it? The world does not exist for our convenience. That includes other people, all of whom think we should be convenient for them and not the other way around. It's just as absurdly entitled to believe that everybody ought to be loving and just as to believe that, say, gay people shouldn't be married cos God says so. Maybe even more entitled, since love and justice are so hard to obtain.

I wish the world was getting better at a faster pace. I doubt I'll live to see the society that I wish I could live in. But except for when I'm in an especially bad mood, I don't hold others responsible for not helping to create that society for me. The fact that I can envision something better means I'm responsible for sharing my vision, piece by piece, person by person. It's up to me to help others dream for my dream.

This doesn't stop me from hating the hate and bigotry that would deny my friends rights which they clearly deserve. Doesn't stop me from acting sometimes like the right-ness of the world I long for is so self-evident that only imbeciles would fail to think it worthwhile. But I try not to get mad at political process and compromise, weakness and corruption, setbacks and failures. The system fails to live up to my ideals, but it emerged from literally nothing not super long ago, and it's comprised of faulty human beings who don't have a perfect idea of how to deal with the vast faultiness which makes rationality and order so difficult.

I think Obama's been a great president and I voted for him today without hesitation. I expect another great four years. Is he great by the standards of my imagined society? No: in the world of my ideals he's too moderate, too willing to compromise, too okay with drone attacks and economic injustice and a whole plethora of other wretched things. But he faced the reality of 2008's America, and in four years he's made that reality considerably better in many ways, and worse in very few. If every president I vote for could cause as much progress as Barack Obama, then I'll die loving my country.

They probably won't, and that's okay. Maybe we'll get a chance to push real radical change sometime in the future – the world's changing quickly, so who knows? But we work with what we've got, and judge the world by what it is rather than by what we'd rather it be. One can dream of a better society without wholly rejecting the one we've got.
posted by Rory Marinich at 10:25 AM on November 6, 2012 [45 favorites]

Remember the week where the press pretended Michelle Bachmann had a chance? Herman Cain's smoking ad? The "let him die" scream? Those were more innocent times.
posted by drezdn at 10:25 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

True story: When I showed up to give my name at a recent election, a poll worker had this very helpful piece of paper in front of her: "A B C D E F G H I J..."

That's just mean. What about the voters with names later in the alphabet?

Seriously though, I'll take my volunteer poll workers as I find them and appreciate their effort.
posted by jaduncan at 10:25 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

An Inquiring Nation Wants to Know: 'Who Is Running for President?'

I wonder what would happen to election results if they actually made you write in the name of the candidate you were voting for? (Let's assume the results checking would be reasonably tolerant of typos and not immediately hijacked for partisan voter suppression). Presidential results would hopefully stay similar, but I wonder just how many of the local races would be left blank.
posted by Gary at 10:26 AM on November 6, 2012

While I was voting, the poll workers were discussing the futility of the vote, since the Mayan calendar says we're gonna die anyway.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Regardless of who wins, can we just take a moment to consider the fact that for the last couple of weeks, Kid Rock has been performing at Mitt Romney rallies? Why has this not been discussed more?
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 10:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

No Miko, it's one of those things that has to keep being said until there is change, like any drive for liberation.

Yeah, I don't think it does. Really, nobody gets it better than us.

I can understand saying "We really really hope you guys choose [NAME] for [OFFICE] because [REASONS!]" But I can't understand saying to voters in another nation "don't screw this up" as if the command could make it so. Or even as if we who you are talking to could make it so.
posted by Miko at 10:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

The rest of us will make an effort not to condescend to the "leaders of the free world" during their election.
posted by ceribus peribus at 10:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I was so much less crazy on Election Day in 2008. I was still in college so I could successfully distract myself with classes and holing up in the library with my wireless turned off until 6:00ish, and then the result was announced at 8:00, so I had less time to spend frantically refreshing news sites and freaking out. Now I'm at work, not busy enough, and dying of anticipation and pointless anxiety. I really, really hope it's an early night, my nerves can't take it.

(Also, I voted by mail and checked to make sure my ballot was received by the LA County Registrar on the CA Secretary of State website. That made me feel better about my ballot not disappearing into the maw of the USPS.)
posted by yasaman at 10:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

When you go into your polling place... Ask yourself, "Why not Zoidberg?"
posted by drezdn at 10:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Is that lawful in the US?

Yup.

It seems kinda near to exit polling, which in other countries is unlawful to make known before the polls have shut.

Most/all media won't report exit polls until they're closed, but doing so would be lawful in the US. Under the 1st Amendment it is very, very difficult for the government to actually stop you from disseminating truthful information or punish you for doing so after the fact.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm at the polling station
All dressed in blues
If you can't read my ballot
Just look at my shoes
posted by koeselitz at 10:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

We both have bills, etc. showing our proper address (my driver's license has an old address and hers is from out of state), BUT I've just been told by my coworker that they redistricted Chicago and the huge lines we're seeing are largely due to the voter rolls not being properly updated, so I wanted to print out the page from the Board of Elections site showing our polling place, but it's down, and apparently has been for two days. -_-

So, the question is, if they try to deny me a ballot (going after work, a bit less than two hours before they close), is there anything I can do, materially, to make sure I get to vote today?

I suspect you'll be fine. If you've got the registration card they mailed you, and you do go to the correct polling station, I think you'll be ok. Worst case, you'd fill out a provisional ballot.
posted by dnash at 10:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

> Kid Rock has been performing at Mitt Romney rallies? Why has this not been discussed more?

I think a large part of America is just happy with whatever keeps Kid Rock from performing anywhere else within hearing.
posted by Panjandrum at 10:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [23 favorites]

If everyone who thought their poll workers were not doing a good job called tomorrow to volunteer to be a poll worker, that would be a great outcome.

When you're processing hundreds of people a day in a relentless stream, and feeling the pressure to do it right, it's possible to miss a few, get confused or distracted or momentarily cross-eyed. But they're giving their time to perform a public service for their town. Chances are you really could do it better. Try it, it's fun.
posted by Miko at 10:29 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Kid Rock has been performing at Mitt Romney rallies? Why has this not been discussed more?

Because LEMMY IS ON OUR SIDE! What else matters?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:29 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Remember the week where the press pretended Michelle Bachmann had a chance?

I know you are talking about the presidential race, but FYI there is an outside chance she loses her house seat today. Extremely outside, sure, but the polls in that conservative district are way tighter than you'd expect. Apparently even right wingers can grow weary of 100% batshit insane.
posted by mcstayinskool at 10:30 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

> "don't screw this up"

That's not a command, Miko, it's a plea.
posted by de at 10:31 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Ironmouth, is that based off of last-minute polls, or some other secret metric?

I'm assuming its the internal polling.
posted by Ironmouth at 10:31 AM on November 6, 2012

For what it's worth, I'll be watching the election coverage on Al Jazeera. Even its pre-election coverage is turning out to be far superior and less partisan (probably as close to non-parisan as you can get) than any media I can find from the US media.
posted by Talez at 10:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I for one have complete faith in Ironmouth's ability to share the Obama administration's perspective with Metafilter

This was the Kaine campaign. Although last time a buddy shared the Obama exits with me. They were spot on.
posted by Ironmouth at 10:32 AM on November 6, 2012

Kid Rock has been performing at Mitt Romney rallies? Why has this not been discussed more?

Apparently, while the boss and hova were warming it up for the president, romney locked up that crucial marshall tucker endorsement.
posted by ndfine at 10:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Heh, Koeselitz. I am wearing almost all blue, on purpose, today.
posted by NorthernLite at 10:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh -- forgot. I handed my driver's license to the poll worker because my last name is difficult for some people to spell, and it's just easier to have them read it. "You don't need that," she told me. I told her I knew that -- just thought it would make things easier. "It does not make things easier," she said, "it sets a precedent!"

Good for your poll worker. I absent-mindedly got my driver's license out too because it just felt like all the other times I've been in line for something where they would ask my name, which is uncommon and oddly difficult for people to get on the first couple of tries. The guy took my license right away and still had trouble finding me.

But now I think about voter ID and feel bad about getting my license out.
posted by gauche at 10:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Re the Fox News stuff on Philly...not that I want to give Fox any credence, but is there really an Obama mural in a polling place? That strikes me as problematic.
posted by dry white toast at 10:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

KID ROCK, LIVE AT ROMNEYCON '12

Presented to you by the Committee to Re-Elect Barack Obama
posted by griphus at 10:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

30 minute wait in downtown Oakland this morning. I got my sticker! Yay!
posted by brundlefly at 10:35 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm at the polling station
All dressed in blues
If you can't read my ballot
Just look at my shoes

Funny. I always wear red on election day, but I suppose most people take it the wrong way. If anyone asks, I tell them it's for the blood of the workers.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:35 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I voted, in MA. You just give the poll worker your street address, they look it up in their big book, ask you what your name is, and if they match you're good to go. No ID or anything needs to be shown. And the ballot is paper, and you get to feed it into a neato giant scanner thingy. The whole country should be doing this. It's incredibly easy to understand, and it leaves a paper trail.

Yeah, that's how we do it in my county in California. Easy, leaves a paper trail, and the final machine will not accept spoiled, overvoted or blank ballots- you have to do it again. No bubbles to fill out either, you just connect a long arrow that points to your choice by filling in the middle. It's much easier for people without fine motor skills to color in, and instantly communicates "I WANT THIS ONE". Every voter should have it this easy.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:36 AM on November 6, 2012

Damnation. After climbing gradually through the morning, the Intrade percentage on Obama winning has been falling steadily for the last hour or so. Hmmm.
posted by Wordshore at 10:37 AM on November 6, 2012

What are some other great names in your local races?
Lon Johnson. Whenever my girlfriend or I see one of his signs, we have to break into "Oh long johnson..."
posted by Dr-Baa at 10:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Hampton, New Hampshire here. Long line of cars entering the elementary school polling location around 11:30. We parked on a side street and walked. Crowded, but no line at all at the "S" table. In and out in five minutes, so fast I worried I'd made a mistake. Glad to see a good crowd in line for election day registration. I'm hoping to make some calls/knock/etc later this afternoon.
posted by schoolgirl report at 10:38 AM on November 6, 2012

Voted early last week in Harris County Texas (Houston). Love my little blue corner of the state! The parking lot was packed! The local performing arts high school was doing an awesome flash mob of Thriller zombies. And best of all: a 1978-ish Good Times Van was BLARING Queen's We Will Rock You. So much fun.

Oh and thanks Austin peeps for voting Lloyd Doggett! I'm not in his district but love him so much. An awesome Texas democrat who I volunteered for in 1984 when I was in high school and he was in the Texas Senate.

Looking forward to the day we are a swing state (lemme dream Texas haters Let me DREAM). Happy Voting everyone!
posted by dog food sugar at 10:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

is there really an Obama mural in a polling place?

Sure, it's probably a rec center or something like that. Pres. Obama is the President of the United States of America, it's OK to have a mural of him in a public place. There are also murals of Julius Erving!
posted by Mister_A at 10:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Oh, and my favorite local candidate name is Fred Rice. His name was kerned just tight enough on his signs so at a glance it looked like Fried Rice.
posted by schoolgirl report at 10:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Voted absentee from Dubai (a, uh, non-democracy), got a sticker in the mail with my ballot and wore it today. It got some looks and questions. Everyone who asked, from a number of different countries, was happy I voted for Obama.
posted by ambient2 at 10:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

As usual, there will be battle among the TV networks for the Election Gimmick Award. CNN looks to be well ahead on the gimmick-o-meter with its plan to use the lights on the Empire State Building in New York to demonstrate the results. Blue and red bars will snake up the tower as states are called. And then CNN projects a result, the top of the tower will turn red or blue. We can't imagine how excited Wolf Blitzer will be about this
posted by ersatz at 10:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

its plan to use the lights on the Empire State Building in New York to demonstrate the results. Blue and red bars will snake up the tower as states are called. And then CNN projects a result, the top of the tower will turn red or blue.

This is so comic booky I can;t even deal
posted by The Whelk at 10:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Re: Kidrock: I'm less interested in his motivations, which I assume are completely venal, and more in the motivations of Romney, who must know what Kidrock stands for. Oh, oh, wait, I guess Romney's motivations are completely venal too.
posted by OmieWise at 10:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Why isn't this a national holiday?

Did you ever read Harpo Marx's description of Election Day in his autobiography "Harpo Speaks!"? It's great. He lived in Manhattan, in the shadows of Tammany Hall. All the neighborhoods had bonfires in the streets to celebrate. His grandfather, who was not legally eligible to vote, voted anyway and nobody stopped him.
posted by Melismata at 10:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Wolf Blitzer won't be happy until he enters the TRON universe on election night.
posted by Theta States at 10:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

>We can't imagine how excited Wolf Blitzer will be about this

ah shit, really? I was hoping they'd have him talking to a sweet hologram again this year.
posted by xbonesgt at 10:42 AM on November 6, 2012

Apparently, while the boss and hova were warming it up for the president, romney locked up that crucial marshall tucker endorsement.

As someone who enjoys Southern Rock and Country, I've long since made my peace with the fact that they frequently have terrible politics. I would, however, point out that what's touring under the name now is not the original Marshall Tucker band.

So I'm not worried that the fact that I'm listening to "Can't You See" right now will somehow be taken as an implicit Romney endorsement.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:42 AM on November 6, 2012

I am declaring comment bankruptcy and skipping down here
posted by shothotbot at 10:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

By the way, when I vote here in Boston, not only do I not have to show ID, they usually don't even ask for my first name. And my last name is fairly common. Maybe it's just another perk of being a white middle-class male?
posted by benito.strauss at 10:43 AM on November 6, 2012

EmpressCallipygos: Beware the exit polls
posted by shothotbot at 10:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The rolls in MA are organized by address first. I guess unless you are in a giant apartment building they can see that you're the only one with your last name.
posted by Miko at 10:44 AM on November 6, 2012

Making election day a national holiday instead of extending early voting would disenfranchise the working class. Do you think Wal-Mark would let their employees have Election Day off? Where will all the middle class folks go to purchase their Election Day party supplies if they close?
posted by charred husk at 10:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

God damn CNN. I get tired of people complaining about cable news (but only because I don't watch it probably) But criminy- why don't you just ask Ryan Seacrest and Khloe Kardashian to host your coverage.

adamdschneider -- I have never, ever been asked for any id when I have provided the registration card which is what my partner also uses because he doesn't have an Illinois ID. (And if you have the whole printed sheet it came on, it should have your polling place on it.)

However, I don't know if the change might affect that. I haven't voted today yet (also had an MRI to attend oddly and we forgot our polling place had changed so it wasn't on the way as we were planning) but being a few blocks from Obama campaign HQ, I definitely feel part of the process -- with the cops and the snowplows re-directing traffic. (This post has been sitting in my text box for a while as I try to upload the pics from my phone.)

(P.S. The fact that I can spell 'Khloe Kardashian' correctly without looking it up is not something I'm proud of -- though I did have to look it up to check if I was right.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

what Kidrock stands for

There is nothing inherently wrong with liking beer, guns, and boobs, though.
posted by elizardbits at 10:45 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Then I'm wrong.
I'll STFU.
posted by de at 10:45 AM on November 6, 2012

Voting took an hour-fifteen this morning. Got in line by 7:20... Voting in MD, so I'm crossing my fingers for gay marriage and the MD Dream Act.
posted by pointless_incessant_barking at 10:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

God I would kill for a Ryan Seacrest/Khloe Kardashian-covered election news cycle. Especially if they forced them to go through the entire thing, from pre-poll-open to post-result.
posted by griphus at 10:46 AM on November 6, 2012

There is nothing inherently wrong with liking beer, guns, and boobs, though.

Agreed! With extreme prejudice! It is not, however, the Romney platform.
posted by OmieWise at 10:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Voted in Randolph Vermont. Walked to the polls from my house. No line. No ID. No address asked for. No stickers. Could see on the list which of my neighbors have/have not voted. Voted for Bernie Sanders and myself (I am running for Justice of the Peace) among other people. Paper ballots got filled in with pens. Some were eaten up by the scantron machine and some local stuff ballots (should we combine school districts?) got put into a big wooden voting box. Saw some people outside who I thought were exit polling but they were only trying to get signatures to get on to the "stuff we vote to fund" list come town meeting time.
posted by jessamyn at 10:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [17 favorites]

Voting booth ware.
posted by The Whelk at 10:48 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Agreed! With extreme prejudice! It is not, however, the Romney platform.

As a Mormon I'd expect the only part he supports is guns, and without beer, what's the point of guns?
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:48 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

God I would kill for a Ryan Seacrest/Khloe Kardashian-covered election news cycle. Especially if they forced them to go through the entire thing, from pre-poll-open to post-result.

But then states would be announced reality show style... "We have the new results from Ohio...right after this commercial break." (though I'm not unconvinced CNN and the rest wouldn't do that as is.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

(At around 6 P.M., Seacrest starts to pretenaturally age because he hasn't had his infant blood transfusion, and Khloe has to remove her shoes making the show brought to you by the Picture of Dorian Gray and A Forehead.)
posted by griphus at 10:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Any time you can score an endorsement from the man SPIN Magazine once called "America's Greasiest Pimp," you've gotta jump on that with both feet.
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:49 AM on November 6, 2012

I don't want to spoil anything but I feel like there's some chance this thread will blow through the previous record.
posted by gerryblog at 10:49 AM on November 6, 2012

jessamyn, I always love your dispatches from Vermont, but I'm amazed that you can so consistently post to the internet from the 19th century. (Neat story!)
posted by OmieWise at 10:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Lon Johnson. Whenever my girlfriend or I see one of his signs, we have to break into "Oh long johnson..."

I always wanted to start a band called Oh Don Piano
posted by SomaSoda at 10:50 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

(I am running for Justice of the Peace)

That is awesome.
posted by bardophile at 10:50 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Beware the exit poles
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:50 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Voting took an hour-fifteen this morning.

Yeah, it took me about an hour, and that has never ever happened before. I don't bother voting early any more because my election-day polling place is literally a drunken stagger across the street, and there has never been more than a five-minute wait.

This is the first major election where people can vote at any polling place in the county, though, so the election workers' theory was that it was just an unusually popular site. I am totally hoping it turns out to be record turnout instead.

(I live in one of the bluest districts of maybe the bluest county in the state, so record turnout here would be very nice.)
posted by restless_nomad at 10:51 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Linda McMahon Gives Master Class In False Flag GOTV: "McMahon’s [R-WWE] campaign is closing out the cycle with an appeal to urban and minority voters that looks and feels much like a Democratic campaign effort."

The Republican candidate for governor in Washington (McKenna) has been doing the same thing here in Seattle, in order to confuse voters about his party affiliation and personal ideology, which is largely unfriendly to said voters. Kind of a scumbag move, really, but then Republicans just don't feel any shame.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:52 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Multnomah County (Portland, Ore) is totally lagging in ballots received statewide as of yesterday with 53% turned in! you better vote 'cause I already wasted mine on the Progressive Party thinking Oregon was safe!!!!! (but I'm more worried about the "death tax" repeal winning and the corporate "kicker" measure losing.)
posted by vespabelle at 10:52 AM on November 6, 2012

I put on a jacket and tie to go vote.

I put on my robe and wizard hat.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 10:52 AM on November 6, 2012 [19 favorites]

I didn't get exit polled, either! Which is in keeping with not being phone polled or canvassed. There were some people milling around outside and I asked if they were exit pollers but, no. They removed the post-Sandy toppled flagpole, too, so I didn't even see an exit pole.
posted by troika at 10:53 AM on November 6, 2012

I voted! My little brother was sadly not on the registry though, so we'll have to take him to city hall and fix that. Can't get same-day voting, though.
posted by flatluigi at 10:54 AM on November 6, 2012

I went out for a run this morning. It was a beautiful Election Day morning. Vivid blue skies, puffy white clouds, and a wave of red that washed over everything for about ten minutes as the sun came up. I went past the elementary school where I used to vote before Washinton State switched to vote-by-mail exclusively. It's a little sad to not have that few minutes of real community on election day with the other neighbors lined up to vote and the volunteers at their alphabetical tables with their giant books of voter names. It's also a lot more convenient to be able to vote on my sofa in my underwear.

By the time I returned home, got showered and dressed, and headed out the door for work, the sky had grayed over for what is sure to be another dreary day in Seattle.

If the yard signs on my street are any indication, Ron Paul has this one wrapped up.
posted by Balonious Assault at 10:54 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Wow. Not to fuel any paranoia about election fraud, but check out this video a Pennslyvania voter provided to MSNBC: Machine turns vote for Obama into one for Romney.
posted by saulgoodman at 10:55 AM on November 6, 2012

I know that later on today all of the networks will be calling states one way or the other "based on projections from 29 districts", and of course the most reliable information will probably be from this thread itself, but is there any official, government backed online source for election results?

Not expected to be available until all the polls close across the country, of course. I just prefer raw data to the anonymous expert models from the talking heads. More fun to add it up myself.
posted by ceribus peribus at 10:56 AM on November 6, 2012

Oops. Should have looked further upthread. Guess that's already been covered.
posted by saulgoodman at 10:56 AM on November 6, 2012

POLITICO: Fox News obsessed with lone Black Panther

Fox News's "Fox & Friends" kicked off the coverage of the New Black Panther Party today at 8 a.m. with an interview with Get Out The Vet's Ben Brink about how Navy SEALs and other veterans will "fight back" against such voter intimidation from the New Black Panther Party. About ten minutes later, Fox News's Gretchen Carlson introduced video of the man standing outside the polling place.

posted by Theta States at 10:56 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

My Republican VP down in Texas sent this out this morning tagged at the end of a monthly results email:

"For those in the States - happy election day! If you are having a hard time deciding which candidate to vote for, give me a call….I have a few opinions : )"

Whilst it's nice he's encouraging everyone to vote, I do wish he'd kept his opinions to himself over the past few months.
posted by arcticseal at 10:58 AM on November 6, 2012

Purple Velvet Cake update:

I used both red and blue food coloring to concoct this wonder of culinary science, but when I looked in the mirror afterward, only the blue food coloring managed to get itself all. over. my. face.

I'm going to email Nate Silver and see what he makes of that.
posted by padraigin at 10:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

saulgoodman, they have been showing voting machines doing the same thing but reversing from Romney to Obama. That means they need recalibration. I vote on a touchscreen and there is a paper on they left side of the machine where you can confirm your vote and if there is a problem you can let the poll workers know. I don't like machine voting-I always liked the paper ballots myself-but if one pays attention -and one should-the vote should be okay.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 10:58 AM on November 6, 2012

Here's a nice trip down memory lane.
posted by sparklemotion at 10:59 AM on November 6, 2012

Linda McMahon Gives Master Class In False Flag GOTV: "McMahon’s [R-WWE] campaign is closing out the cycle with an appeal to urban and minority voters that looks and feels much like a Democratic campaign effort."
posted by audi alteram partem

I would be extremely disappointed if Linda McMahon, of all people, actually ran a clean campaign. She needs to go heel or go home.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

What are some other great names in your local races?

Evidently, if you don't vote for this NYC congressional candidate, he will drain a level (assuming you fail your save).
posted by The Bellman at 10:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

vespabelle: "Multnomah County (Portland, Ore) is totally lagging in ballots received statewide as of yesterday with 53% turned in! you better vote 'cause I already wasted mine on the Progressive Party thinking Oregon was safe!!!!! (but I'm more worried about the "death tax" repeal winning and the corporate "kicker" measure losing.)"

Haven't checked Washington County, but I voted no on the "Death Tax" measure (just because my Tea Party boss has a Yes sign outside the business) and Yes on Corporate Kicker.
posted by jgaiser at 10:59 AM on November 6, 2012

Voted in Maine. Hell yes on 1 (our marriage equality ballot question)! We lost last time (a people's veto of a law enacted by a democratic state majority and democratic governor), so here's hoping second try's the charm.
posted by that's candlepin at 11:00 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

...is there any official, government backed online source for election results?

Your state should have an official election results page somewhere on the web, although it will likely lag the network projections by hours, if not days.
posted by COD at 11:00 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"POLITICO: Fox News obsessed with lone Black Panther"

As always, never read the comments
posted by Blasdelb at 11:00 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wolf Blitzer won't be happy until he enters the TRON universe on election night.

Can we just leave him in there while we're at it?
posted by ook at 11:00 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Meanwhile, in one of Florida's most critical battleground counties, voters are getting robocalls saying Election Day is Wednesday.
posted by _superconductor at 11:01 AM on November 6, 2012

I'm in a very long line to vote! This morning I volunteered with Election Protection (a nonpartisan org) at a call center, it was really interesting. If you notice polling place irregularities or have a question about voting, give them a call at 1-866-OUR-VOTE. I actually just made a report myself about confusing signage and long lines at my polling place.
posted by insectosaurus at 11:01 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

saulgoodman, they have been showing voting machines doing the same thing but reversing from Romney to Obama.

I haven't seen a single video showing that, only accusations (generally on right wing sites). Anyone have a link to one?
posted by inigo2 at 11:02 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Evidently, if you don't vote for this NYC congressional candidate, he will drain a level (assuming you fail your save).

NY Councilman Dan Halloran is running for the representative seat in District 6 and openly Theodist.
posted by griphus at 11:03 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

insectosaurus, thanks for volunteering with Election Protection! You're doing the Lord's work, my friend.
posted by magstheaxe at 11:03 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

insectosaurus - I called Election Protection earlier today! You guys rock. Thank you for, well, protecting elections.
posted by troika at 11:03 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Meanwhile, in one of Florida's most critical battleground counties, voters are getting robocalls saying Election Day is Wednesday.

Disseminating objectively false information about the election (e.g. ID requirements, polling times and places) should be a serious crime.
posted by jedicus at 11:04 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

> Haven't checked Washington County, but I voted no on the "Death Tax" measure (just because my Tea Party boss has a Yes sign outside the business) and Yes on Corporate Kicker.

I see a lot of people in the office with their ballots today, so they are planning to drop off at the ballot space during lunch.

Folks in rural counties might have mailed them in already. (I mailed mine in, and checked online that yes it was received).
posted by mrzarquon at 11:04 AM on November 6, 2012

From last night's Daily Show: Jon Stewart Tears Apart Cable News Pundits For Pre-Election ‘Musical Chairs’ Game Of Predictions
posted by homunculus at 11:04 AM on November 6, 2012

How and when are concession speeches written? Does each candidate have a person who writes them in advance, or are they written on the fly as the outcome becomes clearer?
posted by Ollie at 11:05 AM on November 6, 2012

The Ohio news just makes me sick. The worst thing is there's no way to prove that it's not insanity. Why the fuck aren't there paper ballots? Why do people allow this shit to happen?
posted by aspo at 11:05 AM on November 6, 2012

What are some other great names in your local races?

There's a Goering running for County Treasurer in Cincinnati.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:05 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Inigo2, it's been reported here in NC in regular news sources, and they went into detail to explain about the recalibration issues. Again, I have been a poll worker, and they are good people. If there is any voter fraud on anyone's part it won't be those people.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 11:05 AM on November 6, 2012

Prop. 30 support slips, Field Poll finds

POLL: PROP. 30 SUPPORT SLIPS

If anyone out there in California supports prop 30 and wasn't solidly planning on voting, please consider making the effort. It is really close, and if it fails could result in big teacher layoffs and higher college tuition.

I voted for at least three tax raises. I guess I'm a liberal.
posted by Golden Eternity at 11:05 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Disseminating objectively false information about the election (e.g. ID requirements, polling times and places) should be a serious crime.

It should be treated on approximately the same level as treason. For fucking serious.
posted by elizardbits at 11:05 AM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

Citation needed
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:05 AM on November 6, 2012

Voted on UWS of New York at 7:45 a.m. with my now-4-year-old for the first time (the last time around I didn't make it to vote, as I was in the hospital having just given birth to said 4-year-old). Line looked about 40 minutes long, but they were letting people who were registered in that district jump the line so it only took us about 20 minutes once I realized hey, wait, we're in district 99! There were a couple of really nice people with iphones walking along the line and offering to look up your district for you, just to be helpful.

I asked for a sticker for my very patient little guy, and the poll worker said, "Honey, we don't have stickers here. I'm just hoping we still have pens!" Sure enough, the lines for the private voting boxes were clustering around about 5 out of the 15 -- the ones that still had working pens attached.

Am debating going back and bringing a box of pens.
posted by Mchelly at 11:06 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Disseminating objectively false information about the election (e.g. ID requirements, polling times and places) should be a serious crime.

I don't disagree, but that sounds like a legitimate accident (Monday's message going out on Tuesday for half an hour) rather than fraud.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:06 AM on November 6, 2012

Here's a mainstream link to the machine issues in NC.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 11:07 AM on November 6, 2012

> Meanwhile, in one of Florida's most critical battleground counties, voters are getting robocalls saying Election Day is Wednesday.

Disseminating objectively false information about the election (e.g. ID requirements, polling times and places) should be a serious crime.

Actually, it's a little more complicated - the Board of Elections had 12,000 people signed up for a series of robocalls reminding them that they had until "7 pm tomorrow" to turn in their ballots. Those calls were all scheduled to go out on Monday, where "7 pm tomorrow" would be 7 pm on Tuesday.

But for some reason, a number of those 12,000 calls got rescheduled to go out TODAY - making "7 pm tomorrow" 7 pm on WEDNESDAY.

I mean, it sucks, but this looks more like "wacked-out computer glitch" as opposed to "someone intentionaly playing dirty pool." (Although, the articles' reports that two staff workers scoffed when people called to alert them to the problem - "that's impossible," they said. Then when they got a ton more calls they finally looked into it and realized "whoa shit" and started making human-type calls to fix the error.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:08 AM on November 6, 2012

NY Councilman Dan Halloran is running for the representative seat in District 6 and openly Theodist.

District 6, apparently, is where he's a Viking.
posted by The Bellman at 11:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Shit Rappers Tweet.

I especially like Killer Mike's contribution:

My Grandma Ms. Bettie Clonts Trained me to vote. I cast my ballot today in her honor. Thank u "Mama". Thank u. Becuz of u I aint a sucka.

posted by chrchr at 11:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

So even though I'm a big believer in numbers and math and Nate Silver and not woohoo -- just as I went outside to smoke -- a presidential motorcade went by. And I sent them all my positive energy.

(I also made a silent promise that I would quit smoking immediately if my overly optimistic prediction yesterday wins me the Joe Biden cutout.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Not sure if this has been posted...
USA Today has a great slideshow timeline of when polls close
posted by Theta States at 11:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

St. Alia of the Bunnies: "Again, I have been a poll worker, and they are good people. If there is any voter fraud on anyone's part it won't be those people."

Who's blaming the poll workers? The idea that a touchscreen in 2012 needs to be "calibrated" is absurd. When was the last time you had to calibrate your cell phone or tablet's touchscreen? The touch targets are large enough on these things (or should be) that the calibration at the factory should be all that is needed.

It's the design of these machines that would allow this kind error (whether caused through human error at the polls or dirty tricks somewhere in the chain) to occur.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:09 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Does each candidate have a person who writes them in advance, or are they written on the fly as the outcome becomes clearer?

Of course they write a concession in advance! You want to tempt the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing?

(actually, I don't know)
/goes outside, turns around three times and spits

posted by ceribus peribus at 11:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Exit Poll of Early Voters Shows Obama Support Slips In South Florida
posted by Golden Eternity at 11:10 AM on November 6, 2012

So I guess this is when I start drinking.

Aw, sweetie, you're late. I started last night with the Jim Beam Black.

Who can blame me? I live in Ohio. I have turned off the phone, the TV is off limits until my husband gets home from work, at which time we intend to watch The Amazing Spiderman, and drink ourselves comatose.
posted by MissySedai at 11:11 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

tonycpsu, what most folks are talking about is the strip of paper on the side of the machine that is a confirmation of your vote. I think it would probably be very easy for that mechanism to screw up. But I am no mechanic. But I agree that paper ballots are better.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 11:11 AM on November 6, 2012

We use the wheel-and-buttons voting machines here, and they're weird but at least they make satisfying clicky noises.
posted by restless_nomad at 11:11 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

@MCMikeNamara I am a wee bit tempted to swing by the Prez's house tonight. Though he'll be up at McCormick Place.
posted by halonine at 11:12 AM on November 6, 2012

Does each candidate have a person who writes them in advance, or are they written on the fly as the outcome becomes clearer?
Eisenhower had this in his pocket on June 6, 1944
posted by shothotbot at 11:12 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Obama's (step-)grandmother wishes him well from Kenya, says he doesn't visit often enough.
posted by gauche at 11:13 AM on November 6, 2012

Waited in line for two hours here in Somerville, MA. Voters are out in force and they've already ran out of stickers.

Don't they know that the only reason I vote is to get a sticker?
posted by lydhre at 11:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wolf Blitzer won't be happy until he enters the TRON universe on election night.

Can we just leave him in there while we're at it?

If he wins the light-cycle and disc competitions and THEN escapes, he'll be far too powerful!
posted by Theta States at 11:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I've also heard some reports that some people, after selecting a candidate for president on the touch screen, have said that a message pops up reading, "People who voted for [CANDIDATE] also voted for these candidates..."
posted by perhapses at 11:13 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

tonycpsu: "The idea that a touchscreen in 2012 needs to be "calibrated" is absurd. When was the last time you had to calibrate your cell phone or tablet's touchscreen?"

I'm not so sure. I recently did some work for a company that does touch screen installations for conferences and other events, and they often had to be calibrated when they were set up.
posted by brundlefly at 11:14 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

But for some reason, a number of those 12,000 calls got rescheduled to go out TODAY - making "7 pm tomorrow" 7 pm on WEDNESDAY.

Maybe I'm crazy, but this seems like it could have been avoided just by the message saying "7PM on Tuesday" rather than "7PM tomorrow".
posted by adamdschneider at 11:14 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The idea that a touchscreen in 2012 needs to be "calibrated" is absurd.

Having worked for a company that produces point-of-sale systems (hardware and software), I can assure you that touch screens do need to be calibrated. I can also attest to the fact that they can be so badly out of whack that touching button "a" registers a click on button "b".

The technology behind large, cheap touchscreens is not the same technology as the touchscreen on your phone.
posted by DWRoelands at 11:14 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I would, however, point out that what's touring under the name now is not the original Marshall Tucker band.

According to Wikipedia, there have been 27 members of the MTB over the years.
posted by octothorpe at 11:15 AM on November 6, 2012

(I am running for Justice of the Peace)

A friend of mine got elected marshall of Telluride some years back, so if you win, I will know a Marshall Marsha and a Justice Jess. Good luck!
posted by Devils Rancher at 11:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Maybe I'm crazy, but this seems like it could have been avoided just by the message saying "7PM on Tuesday" rather than "7PM tomorrow".

Absolutely it could. And I suspect that someone is talking to the robocall script writer about that very thing right now.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:16 AM on November 6, 2012

*sigh* so I get to the bottom of the thread - 700+ comment. & there are 225 new comments. It's cutting into my nap time.

Also, there is http://videothevote.org/, in case anyone is harassed or see someone being harassed at the polls today.

And if it's buried somewhere in the previous comments, well, there it is again.

Lastly, voted a couple of weeks ago with little fanfare. Though I fear we'll be stuck w/ squinty eyed Pat McCrory as our next governor in NC. Ugh
posted by yoga at 11:18 AM on November 6, 2012

(why I didn't vote last election)
posted by Mchelly at 11:18 AM on November 6, 2012 [17 favorites]

Golden Eternity: That Sherwood dude's informal "exit poll" was a straw poll, and his info about enthusiasm was all anecdotal. Yeesh.

I think I'll just tune in for election reports tonight.
posted by raysmj at 11:18 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Latest tumblr rumour spreading like fiendfyre is that anyone filming any problems they're having in the voting booths will somehow magically render their votes invalid.

sigh
posted by elizardbits at 11:19 AM on November 6, 2012

> I'm not so sure. I recently did some work for a company that does touch screen installations for conferences and other events, and they often had to be calibrated when they were set up.

That is in part because the touchscreen element is actually a separate usb HID device that is laid over the screen in many cases. So the screen is really a giant transparent touchpad that sites over the monitor, then is sending element actions to portions of the screen. Since I am sure a good chunk of these machines are running windows of some sort, so the finger press on the screen is correlated to a mouse button press on a specific x,y coordinate on the same screen.

The ridiculous thing is that because there has been money funneling into these custom devices, 12 years ago, all of their functionality could probably be replicated using iPad's and their kiosk mode, along with a secure sandboxed application, and cost $600 a pop.
posted by mrzarquon at 11:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Does each candidate have a person who writes them in advance, or are they written on the fly as the outcome becomes clearer?

McGovern wrote his together with writer John Holum on election night.

Gore's concession speech was written by Eli Attie a few days before the election.

Lincoln wrote one (that he didn't have to deliver) in the summer of 1864 because the war was going so badly that he thought he would lose the election.
posted by jedicus at 11:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Shameless plug for voters in Oakland -- my boyfriend Mick Storm is running for the At-large council seat against De La Fuente and Kaplan. I'm hoping his name alone gets him a decent number of votes.
posted by waitangi at 11:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

So, I live in upstate NY. At one level, I'd really, really like to vote for Jill Stein, in symbolic support of more ambitious environmental and social justice policies and ending drone warfare, corporate influence in politics, and corruption.

I know that even in the aftermath of Sandy, people have been saying that New York will still go for Obama, but I can't help worrying that this won't happen, or that Obama won't win the popular vote or that I ought to enlarge that margin, or that I should vote for Obama because there are voters who won't get to do so because of voter suppression or because of Sandy--or because, when it comes down to it, he's quite possibly done the best he can do given the circumstances he has to navigate, and I would unquestionably prefer to see him lead the nation over Romney.

And yet I can't quite get myself to do the sensible thing and vote Obama, even though I know I might well regret it if I don't. I know that I need to escape being an anxious wreck over this and go vote for someone (who isn't Romney) already before the polls get too crowded. But I'm not there yet.
posted by beryllium at 11:20 AM on November 6, 2012

I will personally send a sticker to everyone who votes against Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:34 AM on November 6 [+] [!]

I generally don't discuss who I vote for with anyone except my wife, but I, too, want a sticker. Legitimately.
posted by mysterpigg at 11:24 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Anyone who wants a sticker please send me a MeMail.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:25 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

And yet I can't quite get myself to do the sensible thing and vote Obama, even though I know I might well regret it if I don't.

I would import the idea of a carbon offset to this scenario. You want to support the greens, but you don't want Romney to be elected. It's much like you want to fly to Florida, but you don't want to contribute to global warming. So identify some action - a donation, a local party action you can take, a local race you can support a Green in, attendance at next elections Green convention - and use that as your political "offset" while you vote for the person you would prefer to actually lead the nation for the next 4 years.

Plus, whatever your offset is could help make the Greens stronger and more viable overall.
posted by Miko at 11:25 AM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

beryllium, I voted for Nader in 2000 (I was living in Texas, so there was no point at all in voting for Gore, and supporting the Green party seemed sensible) and while I still don't think my logic was flawed, emotionally I sort of wish I hadn't done it. (I voted for Kerry in '04, which was just as pointless but felt better.)
posted by restless_nomad at 11:26 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

If anyone out there in California supports prop 30 and wasn't solidly planning on voting, please consider making the effort. It is really close, and if it fails could result in big teacher layoffs and higher college tuition.

I voted yes, and I know a bunch of other people who will be voting yes.

On preview: I do not live in the OC.

My Grandma Ms. Bettie Clonts Trained me to vote. I cast my ballot today in her honor. Thank u "Mama". Thank u. Becuz of u I aint a sucka.

This kind of made me tear up a little. I like it when people honor their grandmothers.
posted by Room 641-A at 11:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Over a 1,000 comments before there is a single result. I, as a Canadian, am inexplicably glued to this thread. It's like a giant internet magnet for my face.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 11:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Man Who Eats Breakfast At Dunkin' Donuts Every Morning And Enjoys The 'Saw' Films Allowed To Vote (Onion)
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:27 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

beryllium - if you can't do it for Obama, think about some of the things Joe Biden has done, like drafting the Violence Against Women Act.

He prompted Obama to come out in favor of gay marriage. My sister and I are both native Upstate New Yorkers. She (a MD resident now) just texted me to say that she got a little choked up voting for gay marriage. Like his slogan says: Forward. Under Obama's administration, we're moving ever forward. Progress may be slower that we'd like, but it is progress.
posted by troika at 11:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

Today I brought my proudest achievement with me to the polls here in Virginia: my son, a brand-new 18-year-old Obama voter.

"Romney's a lying tool," he said. Too much hate in the ads. Too many bald-faced lies. Too smarmy a snake-oil-salesman grin. Too much contempt for people who don't have piles of money to piss away on car elevators. He might not otherwise have cared much one way or the other, and under normal circumstances he is convinced that most human endeavors are pointless, but the relentless negative campaigning backfired and he was happy to get up at 7 a.m. and wait in line for an hour to vote with mom.
posted by headnsouth at 11:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [25 favorites]

Here's a mainstream link to the machine issues in NC.

Appreciate the link. Still no video of the issue, but it's something.

Out of curiosity, anyone know if the machines in NC are the ones from Romney's family?
posted by inigo2 at 11:29 AM on November 6, 2012

Did my part in Indy against Murdock. Hoping we don't also end up with a yahoo for a governor, but that might be a long shot. I was in and out of my polling place in about ten minutes, but there was a line out the door as I was leaving. And I got three "I Vote, I Count" stickers! Here's hoping.
posted by percolatrix at 11:29 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow, St. Alia, I didn't realize parts of NC had those crappy touch screen things. I voted in Wake County and we have the paper forms that you feed into the big scanner box. I am pretty happy with those.
posted by freecellwizard at 11:30 AM on November 6, 2012

I voted this morning. It took about an hour. The woman in front of me in line complained at one point that the process was "so primitive." I looked around at the school gym we were all standing in. There were several hundred people waiting patiently in various lines and diligently bubbling in their votes, all of whom had woken up early or rearranged work to come in and participate in the election of our government. I'm not blind to the problems. The older I get, the more problems I see around me. I know our country is often terrible and that injustice is pervasive. I know that the voting process itself has serious flaws. But all of my usual cynicism just wasn't there in that moment for some reason. Instead I had tears in my eyes. I texted my mom (in case she was asleep, not because I am lame) "thanks for bringing me to this country - voting." Today is the opposite of primitive. Today is hopeful. The enterprise we are engaged in is hopeful. My mom brought me out of a country with no democracy in which non-anonymous sham votes could be cast in favor of the only candidate running for each office. I didn't say anything to the woman because, you know, morning, and also I don't like strangers, but in my imagination I kept saying "primitive? This is what it looks like to be civilized! If we can build on moments like these incrementally, anything is possible! America is possible!" We live in a nation founded on an idea with an aspirational constitution that we may never achieve, but what we're striving for is a vision of equality and freedom that I am proud of and that I love. Bit by bit, I hope to see it realized in my lifetime. Voting is making me cry because I live in an almost free country and I am happy and grateful.
posted by prefpara at 11:30 AM on November 6, 2012 [41 favorites]

Californians: I have a vote by mail ballot that I am going to drop off after work. Will I have to stand in line or can I just show up and chuck it at somebody? Or does it vary by polling place?

And will I get a sticker?
posted by elsietheeel at 11:31 AM on November 6, 2012

I recently moved to Orange County from Los Angeles, and voting here was a trip. It's still Southern California, but it might as well be Arizona. People were voting against 30, for 32, and for Romney. WTF Orange County?

Which part of the county are you in? Folks talk about the "Orange Curtain" between LA and OC, but the real Orange Curtain is between the northwest and southeast portions of the county. SE Orange County is as Yuppie Republican as they come.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:32 AM on November 6, 2012

If Obama wins Wisconsin, can we please stop referring to it as a "swing state?"
posted by drezdn at 11:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

And yet I can't quite get myself to do the sensible thing and vote Obama, even though I know I might well regret it if I don't.

Flying Spaghetti Monster, when I was a young whippersnapper I voted for John Anderson. Ask me how that 12 years of Reagan/BushI worked out.

Just keep saying out loud, “President Romney, President Romney, President Romney.”

Or President Ryan.

And get your ass to the polling place.
posted by NorthernLite at 11:32 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

I remember exit polls very fondly, from the day President Kerry got elected in a landslide.
posted by gimonca at 11:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

I wish I could get one of those "I kick men's asses AND I vote" stickers that Ray Smuckles' dad has.
posted by A Bad Catholic at 11:34 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Someone on Facebook is trying to convince me that the media is not allowed to report ANY returns until all the polls have closed in California.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:34 AM on November 6, 2012

St. Alia of the Bunnies: "Again, I have been a poll worker, and they are good people. If there is any voter fraud on anyone's part it won't be those people."

Not for nothing, and I love that people volunteer to be poll workers, but: Oregon election worker fired for altering ballots to Republican straight ticket.
posted by dejah420 at 11:35 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Someone on Facebook is trying to convince me that the media is not allowed to report ANY returns until all the polls have closed in California.

That's not true. It's not even true in Canada anymore.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 11:35 AM on November 6, 2012

I am 500 messages back in this thread and will never catch up. So...

I voted at 12:30 today at the elementary school I attended (and learned to square dance at). It took about 30 minutes to get through an efficiently run line. This is Virginia, and I live where a liberalish outpost meets a more traditional and conservative region. People were really engaged in the election, and I saw multiple families and one poor first-time voter whose mother was VERY concerned he didn't know what he was doing or how computers worked or that he knew anything about the electoral choices. He had to wave her away three times and assure her he'd be home after work twice before she let him alone.

I voted for one candidate, against one candidate, and against a party and their super-annoying ads in the third race. I split my votes on the two referenda (no need for a constitutional change when there's a perfectly good and unchallenged state law on the books doing the same damn thing). I quadruple checked that my electronic votes were indicating who and what I wanted them to indicate and was out of there in 90 seconds.

I miss voting by lever. I did that in my first in-person vote, and it was awesome.
posted by julen at 11:35 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Which part of the county are you in? Folks talk about the "Orange Curtain" between LA and OC, but the real Orange Curtain is between the northwest and southeast portions of the county. SE Orange County is as Yuppie Republican as they come.

Irvine! Where the streets are wide, the stores close early, and the only options for food at 1am are Dennys or Korean. Why do I have to drive to Santa Ana for a Taco?
posted by Arbac at 11:35 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Who's blaming the poll workers? The idea that a touchscreen in 2012 needs to be "calibrated" is absurd. When was the last time you had to calibrate your cell phone or tablet's touchscreen? The touch targets are large enough on these things (or should be) that the calibration at the factory should be all that is needed.

The capacitive touch screen technology used in tablets/cell phones is expensive to make on larger screens typically used in POS type devices. Conductors are actually fabricated into the glass, as I understand it, and don't have a great yield. The larger the glass, the worse the yield. POS terminals may use less expensive technology that doesn't need to be as accurate, and may need to be calibrated. (I think they sometimes use acoustic waves to detect touches. Not sure if this is the case for these voting machines, but it may be. It does seem like a touch screen problem to me, except why is it only the Romney-Obama race that reportedly has a problem and not the other races?
posted by Golden Eternity at 11:36 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The ridiculous thing is that because there has been money funneling into these custom devices, 12 years ago, all of their functionality could probably be replicated using iPad's and their kiosk mode, along with a secure sandboxed application, and cost $600 a pop.

....or we could just use plain old pen and paper, which actually works, and costs like fifty cents a voter. Voting is great here in Washington, where we all get paper ballots in the mail with weeks to spare, and we can vote at home with a pen, and where there are no crazy overcomplicated high-tech wacko machines to change our votes for us. Y'all should try it.
posted by Mars Saxman at 11:36 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Yeah, "poll workers are good people" is a "not even wrong" statement.
posted by adamdschneider at 11:36 AM on November 6, 2012

I have one long time, uber-radical friend in particular who refuses to vote because Obama is "mediocre" and she has no other options on her ballot to believe in. In searching for something to use as a way of talking to her about it, I came across this quote from an article in The Feminist Wire.

"Yesterday, we read a number of eloquent arguments about why some people are choosing to abstain from voting. And while we respect our friends and the decisions they are making, we are troubled by the suggestion that abstention from voting marks a step toward an ethical higher ground. In our view, this is simply not the case.

Voting, in and of itself, is neither wholly system-changing nor inherently conciliatory; it is one available gesture in the series of actions through which those of us committed to an anti-oppressive politics live our lives."

How have you been successful in talking to people about voting who hold similar views? It is a struggle I frequently face because of the politics of my communities.
posted by anya32 at 11:36 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

A bunch of you guys seem to think I was making a positive statement when I was trying to make a normative one. We have technology for touchscreens that should not require post-factory calibration to be accurate enough to properly register a dozen or so touch zones on such a large screen. The fact that we're using cheap touchscreens that do need this calibration does not undermine my point that it's ridiculous that we're using older, shittier technology for something so important.

With what money? There's tens of thousands of precincts in the US; changing each state's voting technology is a multimillion dollar project for something that gets used, max, a couple times a year. There's about three companies making this stuff, there's only 50-odd customers, and those customers only buy new product once every twenty years.
posted by Diablevert at 11:36 AM on November 6, 2012

Ask me how that 12 years of Reagan/BushI worked out.

Ask some Pakistanis, Afghans, or Somalians how 4 years of Obama have worked out. Not that Romney would be any better. Either way it will be 4 more years of shadow war and unreported atrocities.
posted by AElfwine Evenstar at 11:36 AM on November 6, 2012

Someone on Facebook is trying to convince me that the media is not allowed to report ANY returns until all the polls have closed in California.

I think it's more of an agreement than a rule, because I vaguely remember when I was a kid people concerned that calling the election before the polls close in the West Coast would depress turnout.

Sorry, Hawaii, nobody seems to care about you.
posted by ambrosia at 11:37 AM on November 6, 2012

elsietheeel, I dropped my ballot off at one of Santa Clara County's drive-through drop-off sites yesterday. There was no line. I drove up to a box, dropped my ballot in, and somebody gave me a sticker. Pretty easy.
posted by Serf at 11:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Today I got to vote on whether we should legally require porno actors to wear condoms. Yay democracy?
posted by Justinian at 11:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Waited 30 min or so at 10 AM; long line and only getting longer.

Signs at polling place say you cannot use electronic devices including phones inside. I can understand this as preventing bad guys from intimidating people by videoing them, tho it also means voters can't video problems they are having with the process/machines.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:38 AM on November 6, 2012

Ohio GOP Secretary of State orders secret, last minute, unaudited software updates to voting machines
posted by shothotbot at 11:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

My place is already out of stickers by 2 so I didn't get my sticker :-(
posted by The Whelk at 11:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just to say good luck guys and we know you'll do the right thing.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 11:39 AM on November 6, 2012

ambrosia, this person, who claimed to be a journalist, wasn't even talking about calling the election. They said no results would be released at all.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:39 AM on November 6, 2012

Instead I had tears in my eyes.

I voted in a rec center with posters made in the shape of ice cream sundaes by little kids, and each sundae had quotes on it about why they want the rec center to stay open. "The rec center keeps us out of trouble" "A place to play basketball after school" "Somewhere we can do our homework" "A safe place to play." I waited for an hour in line and was looking at those signs the whole time.

I voted for Obama. With tears in my eyes, for those kids.
posted by sweetkid at 11:39 AM on November 6, 2012 [25 favorites]

Diablevert: " With what money? There's tens of thousands of precincts in the US; changing each state's voting technology is a multimillion dollar project for something that gets used, max, a couple times a year. There's about three companies making this stuff, there's only 50-odd customers, and those customers only buy new product once every twenty years."

This is the part where I talk about another absurdity, which is our federalism fetish that leads us to having thousands of counties in 50 states making their own decisions about what the voting machines or ballots look like. One federal competitive-bid contract, with the requirement that the code be open source for everyone to see, and a verifiable paper trail for the inevitable recounts. That solves the money problem.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:41 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

If Obama wins Wisconsin, can we please stop referring to it as a "swing state?"

Not really -- Wisconsin is still half Democrats and half Republicans, and as long as that's the case, we will remain a swing state. It's only six months since we voted by a 7-point margin to retain our GOP governor.
posted by escabeche at 11:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Regardless of who wins the election, we U.S. types, as a group, should push for massive, national election reform. To quote David Frum (and he's not a person I'd normally quote):

Almost everywhere else, elections are run by impartial voting agencies. In France, elections are the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior, which establishes places and hours of voting, prints ballots (France still uses paper) and counts the votes. In Germany, an independent federal returning officer oversees a complex state and federal voting system. In Canada, federal elections are managed by a specialized agency, Elections Canada. Mexico, emerging from a sad history of electoral manipulation, created in the 1990s a respected independent agency, the Federal Electoral Institute. Brazil has nationwide electronic voting, producing instantaneous, uncontested results...

But here's what doesn't happen in other democracies:

Politicians of one party do not set voting schedules to favor their side and harm the other. Politicians do not move around voting places to gain advantages for themselves or to disadvantage their opponents. In fact, in almost no other country do politicians have any say in the administration of elections at all.

The whole opinion piece is worth a read. Nothing new to most folks, but it does put it in one place.

Anyhow, yeah, voting methods, hours, locations, etc. shouldn't be controlled by partisans.
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

Ask some Pakistanis, Afghans, or Somalians how 4 years of Obama have worked out. Not that Romney would be any better. Either way it will be 4 more years of shadow war and unreported atrocities.

Don't forget to ask them how fun it is living under the Taliban and Al Shabbab.
posted by Golden Eternity at 11:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Not for nothing, and I love that people volunteer to be poll workers, but: Oregon election worker fired for altering ballots to Republican straight ticket.

Fired? Why does this not say immediately arrested?
posted by jaduncan at 11:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

And yet I can't quite get myself to do the sensible thing and vote Obama, even though I know I might well regret it if I don't.

Hey beryllium! If you're in upstate NY, you probably have the option of voting for Obama under the Working Families Party line. This will give your vote to Obama but also to the WFP, which is far more progressive than the Democratic party. It's a good way to support progressive policies & third parties without feeling like you might throw away an important vote. I wish fusion voting were possible in more states!

Working Familes Party
How Fusion Voting Works
posted by ourobouros at 11:42 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

what America's embarrassing election system can learn from voting around the globe
posted by gaspode at 11:43 AM on November 6, 2012

Image of a pamphlet urging you to "Vote NO on Woman Suffrage" from the National Association OPPOSED to Woman Suffrage.
posted by ob1quixote at 11:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

roomthreeseventeen, if the results are that Obama carries VA,FL, and OH, it's pretty much over and done. The game is up, and even if they aren't calling it officially, it's the same thing as calling it.
posted by ambrosia at 11:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I just want to tell you all good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:43 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.
posted by Slap*Happy at 11:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Someone on Facebook is trying to convince me that the media is not allowed to report ANY returns until all the polls have closed in California.

Regarding exit polls, "before 5 pm there are no exit polls."
posted by Flamingo at 11:44 AM on November 6, 2012

In my country(but not my precinct thankfully) there was a split precinct where voters from 2 different areas could vote. That sounds like a dangerous idea. And it was. The poll workers failed to code some of the machines for precinct 1 and some for precinct 7, thus causing some unknown number of voter so vote in the wrong congressional race. The error was caught and they have decided to invalidate the congressional votes of 189 ballots, as they have no confidence that the voters were voting on the correct race. The presidential votes will still count.

It's a human error, it happens. However, I'm more concerned that roughly 90 (assuming even distribution) voters voted for Congressional candidates that don't represent them, and didn't even notice. Given my locale, it's a fairly safe bet they were voting straight Republican.

Part of me thinks it's a travesty that they have essentially been disenfranchised. Another part thinks they shouldn't be voting in the first place if they are checking off names they don't even recognize.
posted by COD at 11:44 AM on November 6, 2012

This is the part where I talk about another absurdity, which is our federalism fetish that leads us to having thousands of counties in 50 states making their own decisions about what the voting machines or ballots look like. One federal competitive-bid contract, with the requirement that the code be open source for everyone to see, and a verifiable paper trail for the inevitable recounts. That solves the money problem.

It seems to me that any procedure where Step One is "Amend the constitution to allow for the federalization of national elections" is not the most simple solution.
posted by Diablevert at 11:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Northeast Minneapolis: showed up at the elementary school to vote. Line doesn't look bad at all. Weather outside is cold and damp, so I'm happy I won't be waiting outside for an extended time.

Then after you get inside and round the corner, you can see that the election workers have let the line snake over way, way down a long side hallway and back again. Cue sad trombone effect.

The fun part was getting to the front of the line and watching new people come in, round the corner and realize the line was 3-4 times longer than they thought it was.

Only 45 minutes to get through everything though, and it seemed even faster. We have good elections workers and judges here.
posted by gimonca at 11:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Today I got to vote on whether we should legally require porno actors to wear condoms. Yay democracy?

I'm kind of sorry I don't live in LA just to be able to watch news coverage of the voting on that proposition. Maybe we'll get some coverage down here in San Diego - some of the outlying communities have more local things on the ballot, but our only local one is Prop Z, a school bond issue, that takes up 90% of the pages in my sample ballot.
posted by LionIndex at 11:44 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

oh yeah, I know that. I just thought the idea of Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz staring at their laptops and being unable to report anything until 10pm was too hilarious.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:44 AM on November 6, 2012

should have shared this instead:

"It’s not like the floodgates open at 5 p.m., either: Networks are prohibited from releasing information that could be used to project the race until after polls have closed. It won’t be until 7 p.m. that projections get the green light on the East Coast."
posted by Flamingo at 11:45 AM on November 6, 2012

And, Minneapolis has used good, honest optical scanners for a couple of decades now. Fill in the ovals, slide your ballot into the scanner, get a sticker. Any questions? You've got a paper trail to back it up. None of that touchscreen idiocy around here.
posted by gimonca at 11:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I can't believe I just now realized that

"Republican money" = "R Money" = "Romney"
posted by freecellwizard at 11:47 AM on November 6, 2012

This election for skrozidile:

My head in the sand i hate politics let's just not talk about it kid sister has started actively engaging with friends and family on healthcare, foreign policy, and social issues after doing her own research. She calls me to talk about it now. She is voting for the first time today at age 24 (for Obama! in Virginia!).

My southern baptist George W Bush loving uber conservative mom has reversed her stance on gay marriage (thank you Matthew Vines) and filled out an early ballot casting another Virginia vote for Obama.This is her first democratic vote in all of her 56 years.

My dad also had to fill out an early ballot for Obama in Virginia because his company is run by an evil texan republican bazillionaire who whisked his company of disgruntled sales people utterly dependent on the auto industry off to a performance seminar in Arizona this week.

My crazy white racist grandparents cast two votes in Ohio for Obama.

I am hopeful.
posted by skrozidile at 11:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [24 favorites]

How have you been successful in talking to people about voting who hold similar views?

I don't know that I've been successful, but my line with these guys is, "Yes, voting for the lesser of two evils is still evil. But don't pretend that you don't choose lesser evils every day of your life, you car-that-runs-on-petroleum-driving, house-built-on-Native-lands-living, white-privilege-accepting American. It's not digging a fucking ditch--get in there and pull the lever!"
posted by Rykey at 11:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Not really -- Wisconsin is still half Democrats and half Republicans, and as long as that's the case, we will remain a swing state.

But when's the last time a Republican won the presidential election in Wisconsin? (Please don't be this year... Please don't be this year)
posted by drezdn at 11:47 AM on November 6, 2012

people concerned that calling the election before the polls close in the West Coast would depress turnout.

Also, "exit polls" and "returns" are different things.

It seems to me that any procedure where Step One is "Amend the constitution to allow for the federalization of national elections" is not the most simple solution.

Ah, but it's a "states' rights" issue! States run the elections, and the righties like it this way, because then you can use your wingnut state legislators to pass laws that make voting confusing, unpredictable, and difficult, with the added bonus that it's totally different state by state in such a way that no one can send a coherent national message about voting rights and access, making the whole thing a giant mess and thus exluding a lot of people who probably wouldn't vote for your guys.
posted by Miko at 11:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I voted this morning on my way into work. I'm a new voter - became a citizen last year - and this was the first major election I have had a chance to vote in (I voted in some very small local elections last November). Because of the (soooo bullllshittttt) California proposition system and my need to be an informed voter, it took me about six hours of reading and research to figure out how to vote. But I think it's worth it. It's quite simply the least I can do for my new home.

I'm signed up to vote by mail but wanted to drop my ballot off so I could see my actual polling place so I did that this morning. It's at a senior citizen center so it's nicely heated to approximately 105F. I arrived around 8:45 (polls open at 8am here) and found myself in a line of about 20 people. The man behind me said it was the only time he's ever seen a line to vote for anything. We discussed a bit how horrible it is that people have to wait in lines over an hour long in some places (basically, shit-talking Florida a bit).

It turns out that I could have just skipped the line, so when I found that out, I went over to the dropoff place, put my ballot in the box and got my sticker. San Mateo County's sticker game is patriotic realness. Waved bye to my new friend and headed out to pick up some bagels for my coworkers. I could hear a few other people in line exclaiming how they'd never seen anything like it.

And no lie: I cried a little. It was an amazing feeling to finally be able to join with my community - for real, in person, with my actual neighbours - to engage in this process. I would have happily stood in that line all day to do it.
posted by marylynn at 11:48 AM on November 6, 2012 [31 favorites]

if the results are that Obama carries VA,FL, and OH, it's pretty much over and done. The game is up, and even if they aren't calling it officially, it's the same thing as calling it.

Romney can have FL. If Obama carries OH and VA, it's over.
Romney would need NH, WI, IA, CO AND NV. Not going to happen.
posted by Theta States at 11:48 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm sure I'm speaking for more than one person working in news today when I say thanks, Iowa Secretary of State's Office, for changing your election data feeds at the last minute to remove the two fields per candidate I was concatenating into unique identifiers! Today was the best day to do that kind of thing!
posted by jason_steakums at 11:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Now you've got me feeling guilty for going to the polls in jeans.

My cabdriver this morning was an older Cuban man in a three piece suit who could barely contain his gleeful exuberance at having just voted; he kept bursting into song and exclaiming SI SE PUEDE and he got a really big tip.
posted by elizardbits at 10:05 AM on November 6 [17 favorites −] [!]

This brought a tear to my eyes earlier.
posted by Golden Eternity at 11:51 AM on November 6, 2012

Image of a pamphlet urging you to "Vote NO on Woman Suffrage" from the National Association OPPOSED to Woman Suffrage.

I already saw Romney's debate strategy.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 11:51 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

San Mateo County's sticker game is patriotic realness.

That clinches it- next time, I vote in person so I can take my kids and get one of those stickers.
posted by ambrosia at 11:52 AM on November 6, 2012

A couple comments removed. I swear to christ, if you find yourself warning people that you just linked to photos of dead kids, just go do something else instead of hitting post on that comment. Thank you.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:52 AM on November 6, 2012 [60 favorites]

The lady checking everyone in demanded a second form of ID, even though it says right there on the registration card that the card itself is acceptable.

So, my dog (literally) ate my voter registration card. What he didn't eat he shredded up into a million tiny bits. This is it taped back together.

I voted in Chicago this morning, with this bedraggled card. Some (but not all) of the ID information is missing. I offered my driver's license so they could compare, and the poll worker said, "nope, we don't want to see it, you have your card--this is great!"
posted by phunniemee at 11:52 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

This is useful for today.

And this is more legitimately useful for when results start rolling in.
posted by codacorolla at 11:55 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

I voted in a rec center with posters made in the shape of ice cream sundaes by little kids, and each sundae had quotes on it about why they want the rec center to stay open. "The rec center keeps us out of trouble" "A place to play basketball after school" "Somewhere we can do our homework" "A safe place to play." I waited for an hour in line and was looking at those signs the whole time.

My local library does something similar and it depresses me to near-suicidal levels.

I'm going to the gym right after work- I figure that working out for two hours will make the long grind from eight pm onward less terrifying.
posted by winna at 11:56 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

So, my dog (literally) ate my voter registration card.

Sounds like your dog is a Republican. Voter suppression!
posted by grubi at 11:56 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

AElfwine, cut this out or take the day off.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:57 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

> This is useful for today.

wat
posted by The Devil Tesla at 11:57 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I voted early weeks ago.

Sunday, I was out canvassing for the Obama grassroots campaign, and the turf they sent me to was a particularly ratty set of apartment complexes on the north edge of the city. I brought my 15-year-old daughter with me, in the spirit of teaching her about democracy.

Little could have emotionally prepared me for the experience; wandering through dingy hallways over brown-stained floors and knocking on thin, faded hollow-core doors with the apartment numbers scrawled on them with a hasty sharpie. Bleary-eyed children in diapers answered the doors and stared at me blankly as I asked for their parents. Hunched adults pushed past me, not daring to make eye contact or stop when I asked them if they planned to vote on Tuesday. Aside from a couple of alert, enthusiastic ladies in a corner apartment, everybody seemed defeated.

As we walked through a courtyard from one building to another, a group of children played with a broken shopping cart. I smiled and waved and they gave me wary looks until we passed.

I knocked on more doors, trying to turn out the black, Hmong, Latino, the elderly fading into poverty. I thought to myself that if only half would come to the polls, then if only a third would come to the polls, and then if only a quarter would come to the polls. Even if only those two alert, enthusiastic ladies in the corner apartment make it.

Somebody just tell me even the smallest difference can be made for these people. Raise my taxes so they can catch a breath or a break or something. Anything. Just tell me these people have something to look forward to.
posted by rocketman at 11:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [63 favorites]

Hello memory hole.

As long as we're slinging accusations of forgetting the victims of US policies, remember the 600,000 people The Lancet said died during the US invasion of Iraq? Drone strikes are barely a blip compared to what we're gonna get should Bush Mk III take office and we suddenly need to attack Somalia, North Korea and Iran like RIGHT NOW!
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 11:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Bob Dylan on Facebook: "Here's pretty close to what I said last night in Madison. I said from the stage that we had to play better than good tonight, that the president was here today and he’s a hard act to follow.Also, that we’re not fooled by the media and we think it’s going to be a landslide."
posted by Miko at 11:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

map showing the times polls close.

So Ohio is 7:30, Virginia is 7pm. Once those 2 are called for Obama, I can go to bed happy.
posted by Theta States at 11:58 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

This is useful for today.

They didn't alpha out the mouths and it is driving me insane.
posted by jason_steakums at 11:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Diablevert: As if the status quo is simple? You want to talk wasted money? Look at the phalanxes of lawyers we have out there trying to rig elections or prevent elections from being rigged. Look at the resources that go into these antiquated, closed-source electronic systems. I recognize that amending the constitution is a high bar, but this is a major problem in our democracy, so I think it's worth trying.

My personal feeling is that, pragmatically, you'd get a lot further with a state-by-state grassroots campaign to convert touch screen states to optical scanners. The praises that people have been singing in this thread for pptical scanners are non-partisan convincers --- in an election environment where both sides have been hurling claims of voter fraud at each other, I think the idea of having a clear paper trail to turn to in the event of a recount is something that the vast majority of people would support.

Whereas, as Miko points out, trying to set up a federal body to run elections would attract hardcore opposition in a large swathes of the country --- state's rights! Etc. --- that would almost certainly doom any constitutional amendment, which requires a large supermajority of states. Plus, if you want to talk dollars and cents and waste and effort, a successful constitutional amendment would like take decades to pass and cost tens if not hundreds of millions. Local good governance reform's a lot cheaper.
posted by Diablevert at 11:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

So, several years back, we had our BOE elections and because I hadn't done any research, I voted for names I recognized.

Turns out the reason I recognized one of those names is because the candidate was a nutso "teach the bible in biology class and make sure to use the word 'Fag' a lot" sort of person.

I voted for her because I knew her name but didn't bother to do any research.

The Presidential election isn't all that's at stake here today. Indeed, the Federal Races aren't all that is at stake today. The people you vote for in your state and city elections are going to profoundly impact how you live in a much more tangible way than the feds.

So, what I'm saying is, don't be a moron like I was. Do your research on your local candidates and ballot issues and make some smart choices. And, west coast people, don't be discouraged by the results of the national races. The difference you make locally trumps the national results.
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:59 AM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

>This is useful for today.

that is useful for EVERY DAY
posted by xbonesgt at 12:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Is it legal to instagram your vote? A state by state guide.
posted by shothotbot at 12:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Whew, I'm feeling much calmer now. I really needed to get that out of my head and get some outside reason. Miko, your suggestion is helpful, and I will be thinking about appropriate offsets. restless_nomad and NorthernLite, I also really appreciate your sharing your experiences.

I'm going to walk over to my polling place and vote now (thanks for the reminder about fusion voting, ourobouros!). Thank you so much, guys.
posted by beryllium at 12:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Iowa prohibits the use of cameras, cellular telephones, pagers, or other electronic communications devices in the voting booth

I wonder how that applies to absentee voting.
posted by thirteenkiller at 12:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Anyhow, yeah, voting methods, hours, locations, etc. shouldn't be controlled by partisans.

I can't help but picture a polling station manned by stoic, swarthy men in berets and bandoliers.
posted by Flashman at 12:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Ladies and gentlefolk, I present to you the most pressing breaking news rocking the nation right now:
MURAL GATE
posted by Theta States at 12:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Republicans on my Facebook feed are all freaking out about the Blank Panther in Philly and the Obama mural in Chicago. THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA WON'T REPORT THIS!!!! REPOST!!!!
posted by Curious Artificer at 12:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wolf Blitzer won't be happy until he enters the TRON universe on election night.

I hear he's already called it in favor of Vanellope Von Schweetz.
posted by JHarris at 12:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Oh, they're both in Philly.
posted by Curious Artificer at 12:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Bob Dylan on Facebook: "Here's pretty close to what I said last night in Madison. I said from the stage that we had to play better than good tonight, that the president was here today and he’s a hard act to follow.Also, that we’re not fooled by the media and we think it’s going to be a landslide."

So THAT'S what he was saying!
posted by Floydd at 12:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Jerry called it Murinal Gate.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm totally a Blank Panther.
posted by adamdschneider at 12:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

The Lamestream Media is also not talking about these roving gangs of GOP dogs eating voter registration cards and ballots. SOMEBODY STOP THEM
posted by grubi at 12:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

//The Republicans on my Facebook feed are all freaking out ..//

You still have Republican friends on FB? I had to hide their updates from my wall months ago.
posted by COD at 12:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney Megaprayer is interesting because it's a hoax, but people are taking part in it anyway.

"A month ago I found a site: literallyunbelievable.org/ It’s people who think stories from The Onion are real.

It got me thinking a lot about Poe’s Law - the idea that two people can see the same thing very differently.

I wanted to create something that would be satirical to one group and be taken seriously by another.

On Tuesday, October 30th I put up a site:
RomneyMegaPrayer.com

I've have a few observations from watching it percolate across the Internet.

1) Conservative Christians aren't as chatty as atheists on Twitter, but they do sign up. There are more than 1,700 people praying for Romney to win Monday night. This means that the Romney Mega Prayer is the Schrödinger's cat of political websites. It's both real and satire at the same time.

2) Liberal/Non-theistic people were far more susceptible to believing it was real than I ever expected. I think their expectations of Christian Conservatives is so low that they were ready to accept that this was real.

3) Even though the science and the history citations were of low credibility, few people (or fewer than I had hoped) would just come right out and call it a hoax. Almost no one questioned who was behind this or why the site had no authorship or attribution. This one bothers me the most. Why didn't people ask or look for this?"

(I think see: 2 answers this one myself, and the kind of people that would take it seriously are not rigorous fact checkers by nature.)
posted by tardigrade at 12:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

the Blank Panther

Now picturing The Pink Panther, but with no face. You cannot hear the theme song, but you know that it plays in worlds beyond our own.
posted by Sticherbeast at 12:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

honestly, people in Philly have too much other stuff to do besides intimidating white people.
posted by Mister_A at 12:08 PM on November 6, 2012

Stealing Blank Panther for a band sideproject.
posted by Theta States at 12:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

honestly, people in Philly have too much other stuff to do besides intimidating white people.

There is an Eagles joke in there somewhere but I'm just not feeling it.
posted by shothotbot at 12:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

julen: I miss voting by lever. I did that in my first in-person vote, and it was awesome.

Admit it, you just miss shouting IT'S ALIVE right after pulling it.
posted by JHarris at 12:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

While it will undoubtedly be blown way out of proportion by the right, I can kind of see where they are coming from with the Obama slogan and logo literally as a backdrop to the polling booth. I certainly would raise a stink if it was a Romney mural.
posted by Think_Long at 12:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm an Obama supporter, but someone should have covered that mural.
posted by ColdChef at 12:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

As a proud liberal and born-and-raised Philadelphian now living on the other side of the state for employment reasons, it warms the cockles of my heart to see my Philly peeps trolling the right-wing noise machine into a frenzy of racist disgust. You stay strong, Philly!
posted by tonycpsu at 12:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Big deal, get a Romney poster and slap it beside him. Or drape the wall temporarily. Or figure, since most people KNOW he's president right now and won't be unduly persuaded by, I don't know, HIS FACE maybe chill out and go vote and then go get coffee?
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 12:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

I'm an Obama supporter, but someone should have covered that mural.

Agreed.
But at the same time, people that don't have a problem with all the shenanigans being played by Republican PA and OH and FL election officials get approximately zero sympathy from me.
posted by inigo2 at 12:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, when I voted in true-blue Brooklyn, someone was wearing an Obama logo shirt, and that annoyed me. I think they eventually told her to zip up her jacket.

Big deal, get a Romney poster and slap it beside him. Or drape the wall temporarily. Or figure, since most people KNOW he's president right now and won't be unduly persuaded by, I don't know, HIS FACE maybe chill out and go vote and then go get coffee?

I hear you, but I don't think I'm being too pharisaic when I say that rules are rules. No campaign material within however many feet of the polling place.
posted by Sticherbeast at 12:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I guess what I am wondering about is that at some point, if only by accident, the Democrats will nominate a white male. What is the GOP plan then?
posted by shothotbot at 12:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Really! I mean, the guy is the president, it's OK for his image to be in a public place!
posted by Mister_A at 12:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

beryllium I was going to apologize if I sounded a little hot-headed before. It’s just that over a period of time all the talk here of voting third-party kind of build up my aggravation. (And I'm someone whose politics are probably closer to Stein's.)

Pure idealism is beautiful, but not very pragmatic. We need it to fuel our soul, but then we have to go into the real world and make those practical choices that are before us today.

Good luck at your polling place.
posted by NorthernLite at 12:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The GOP is going to have to rethink itself.

Point may have already been made, but I feel like the GOP has remade itself by focusing on the house, senate, governors' mansions, and state senate/house/assembly. This small ball approach seems very very effective.
posted by IndpMed at 12:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Oh dear god. Twitter Users Threaten Mitt on #RomneyDeathRally. "The hashtag quickly became popular on Twitter with hundreds of Democrats sharing their own sentiments and plans to kill Romney should he win and become the next president of the United States."
posted by jokeefe at 12:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Be right back, laughing myself into hysterical tears.
posted by jokeefe at 12:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

This is the thread where we post our fave @fivethirtynate tweets

"Correlation is not causation," I tell the Narrative as the Redskins fall. Trailing anger and wrath, it flees in ontological terror.
posted by The Devil Tesla at 12:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Here in NC it is legal to wear a campaign shirt or logo in a polling place but only if the person wearing it is in the actual process of voting. AFAIK they don't have to cover unless the rules have changed since I worked the polls-and I don't think they have.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 12:18 PM on November 6, 2012

Today I brought my proudest achievement with me to the polls here in Virginia: my son, a brand-new 18-year-old Obama voter.

Reminds me of the most personally discouraging scuttlebut in my immediate family: 21-year-old brother, utterly uninterested in politics, completely unmoved by how important I consider it to be (I was willing to move to Florida over the summer as paid OFA staff, but juuust missed the qualifying threshold), and yet he's out of the blue registered and planning to vote for Romney... apparently because his new girlfriend (from Texas!) told him to. Probably can't even name the running mates, much less the radical things one of them has in store for his future, yet hung up on me ~30 seconds into my first and only attempt at a "Hey, this is kind of important, I want to talk to you about this" conversation. The birth of close-mindedness is an ugly, ugly thing.

Good thing our stage is set in Alabama and this is all therefore MEANINGLESS (he said as he prepares to leave for the polling place).
posted by Rhaomi at 12:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Black Panther isn't allowed to vote in the U.S., I think.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:18 PM on November 6, 2012

The GOP is going to have to rethink itself.

I recommend the GOP embrace The Tea Party even more tightly.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 12:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

//The birth of close-mindedness is an ugly, ugly thing.//

You give your brother too much credit. His sudden interest is clearly all about sex.
posted by COD at 12:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Someone with the last name Hurt is running for Congress, so the entire area is filled with "HURT CONGRESS" signs. They make me giggle.

VA-05! Beautiful country, crappy Congressman Hurt - sigh.

To my fellow non-real-Virginians: I'm hearing reports of power failures affecting machines in Fairfax County - anyone experience this firsthand? What's going on out there?

Interesting day up here on my Massachusetts visit - canvassing for Warren felt good, witnessed some LONG lines at the polling place in Davis Square in Somerville.

Obama phone calling tool is available here if folks are feeling like they need something useful to do for a few minutes.
posted by naoko at 12:21 PM on November 6, 2012

All I can say is that as a Canadian, watching this thread is much less stressful than watching all my fellow Canadians freak out on Facebook. Can only imagine what it's like when you and yours actually have a say. Good luck, all. The next few hours are going to be long enough up here.

Tell me about it. I hadn't even known about Proposition 6 in Michigan until today, and it's just one, huge braincramp. You're not in favour of Canada footing the whole bill? Because Matty Maroun bought more people off again? Wasn't that guy still in jail? Shouldn't he be?

Deep breaths, deep breaths... C'mon, Michigan. Do Canada a solid. TAKE OUR MONEY.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Really! I mean, the guy is the president, it's OK for his image to be in a public place!

The Obama campaign logo is not our President. Whether it's for election or re-election, you're not supposed to display campaign material in a polling place.
posted by Sticherbeast at 12:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, man the story about the Black Panther intimidating voters in Philly just made me mad.

Really, Fox? Really? You think people who live in Philly are so terrified of black people that they aren't going to walk past one black dude to vote? Do you even know who lives in Philly? Look for Fox' breaking investigative reporting showing how the Black Panthers also intimidated voters in Harlem, Compton, Detroit, and the South Side of Chicago.

And the headline is priceless, besides. "Black Panther spotted at polling location." Like, what would a black dude be doing at a polling location on election day? Clearly he's up to no good. I mean, there's no other possible explanation.
posted by gauche at 12:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Sam Wang's final final: As I wrote late last night, Florida is a hard case. Several new polls came out this morning, making the median basically zero. As a tie-breaker I resorted to mean-based statistics. I will be unsurprised for it to go either way. Nate Silver and Drew Linzer went the other way. We are all tossing coins. I am prepared to lose the coin toss.

In Florida, a recount is triggered by a margin of 0.5% or less (recount rules, Brennan Center for Justice). I estimate that there is a 50-50 chance of a recount. We might not know the exact outcome for some time.

The next-closest state is North Carolina, with margin of Romney +1.0%. All other margins are 2% or greater.
posted by OmieWise at 12:24 PM on November 6, 2012

Ladies and gentlefolk, I present to you the most pressing breaking news rocking the nation right now:
MURAL GATE

The REPUBLICAN Secretary of State put the polling station there. Blame her.
posted by Talez at 12:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

We just got back from voting in NW Indiana. Hope the polls are wrong and we turn my state blue again. At the very least, I did my part to keep Gift from God Mourdock out.
posted by AstroGuy at 12:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Mefite developed FB app that records people who click the "I voted" button in their timeline just rolled 4 million votes. (Sorry I can't scroll back up and find the post with the username, but neither of my phone's browsers seem to have a "find in page" option. I'm sure it's there, but damned if I can find it.)
posted by dejah420 at 12:26 PM on November 6, 2012

The REPUBLICAN Secretary of State put the polling station there. Blame her.

There's every possibility that no one in the real world really gives a crap about it, even if that mural was technically against the rules. There isn't much to be done about it now.
posted by Sticherbeast at 12:27 PM on November 6, 2012

Warren Ellis: My Last Column About the Presidential Election (Really)
posted by homunculus at 12:27 PM on November 6, 2012

Kimberly: "I was kind of shocked at the amount of soliciting at my polling place. There were people knocking on our car windows as we were parking to hand us pamphlets. I've voted in California more than any other state where that kind of thing is strictly verboten so it was very unsettling to me."

In 2008, I voted in Berkeley and there were several people in Obama shirts handing out stuff to people in line outside. I was pretty shocked, and in retrospect I should have reported it.

Nothing like that in Oakland this time around.
posted by brundlefly at 12:27 PM on November 6, 2012

In Florida, a recount is triggered by a margin of 0.5% or less

Hmm. See, I get the rules wrong. I thought that if the Florida margin was 0.5% or less it just went to the party that had appointed the most Supreme Court justices.
posted by tyllwin at 12:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Illinois woman votes while in labor
posted by magstheaxe at 12:28 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm fascinated that that Facebook app shows women outvoting men 2:1.
posted by ook at 12:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Someone with the last name Hurt is running for Congress, so the entire area is filled with "HURT CONGRESS" signs. They make me giggle.

There's someone in our area that was running for school board whose name was Denise Fears. So all her signs said: Denise FEARS for Independence School Board. I always read them like headlines instead of campaign signs.
posted by jferg at 12:29 PM on November 6, 2012

In VA they only have to be 40 feet from the door - so you are accosted right up until you walk into the building.
posted by COD at 12:29 PM on November 6, 2012

His sudden interest is clearly all about sex.

Amusingly, something you could say just as accurately about a sizeable fraction of the GOP base.
posted by Rhaomi at 12:30 PM on November 6, 2012

Anti-Obama infomercial runs instead of World News Tonight / Nightline in Columbus, OH.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm fascinated that that Facebook app shows women outvoting men 2:1.

I bet that women post or check FB more than men do
posted by shothotbot at 12:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Oh holy crap. I was starting to feel pretty relaxed about the results until I saw this linked above.

Really, GOP? Really?
posted by ook at 12:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

tardigrade: Romney Megaprayer is interesting because it's a hoax, but people are taking part in it anyway.

I'm not saying I don't believe this is true. I am saying I'd like a link to that blog post so I can link it elsewhere.
posted by ob1quixote at 12:31 PM on November 6, 2012

Anybody else have Girl Scouts doing a brisk cookie business at their polling place?
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

How many people voted today in a building with a big mural of Obama?

How many people voted today in a church with a very particular political viewpoint?

I don't think either is a good thing, but C'MON.
posted by mcstayinskool at 12:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney Megaprayer is interesting because it's a hoax, but people are taking part in it anyway.

And the effect is the same either way. So.
posted by grubi at 12:32 PM on November 6, 2012

Reporting from Cleveland Heights, a dark blue dot in the light blue wash that is North East Ohio, the bluest of the Five Ohios.

96 houses on the block; only three have Romney and/or Mandell (Senator Sherrod 'Scratchy' Brown's opponent) yard signs -- up from two sets of GOP signs in 2008.

One house on my block has an actual, official, professionally printed, not-crayons-on-cardboard "Gary Johnson for President" yard sign -- the only one I've ever seen.

But all-in-all, this is pretty safe Dem / Obama territory.

They moved our polling place again. In 13 years, we've voted in four different locations. Voting took almost an hour. There was a bit of a line, but mainly chaos, incompetence, and no-one being in charge. Poll workers, like the neighborhood, were ethnically diverse, which is nice to see. Not the most chaos, worst lines, or longest wait -- that was 2004.

There was one creepy guy in a suit and flag-themed tie holding a clipboard and chatting amicably with the poll workers whom I assume was a GOP 'poll monitor'. There was no trouble. Just the usual disorganized asynchronous polyphony.

Data point: Meanwhile, down in Boehner's district, my 88 year old father (who voted for Nixon three times and James F-ing Rhodes [see: May 4, 1970] countless times) is voting disgustedly against Boehner again and cheerfully for Obama again. So here's one old white guy and one very old white guy to confound the demographers.

= = = = =

I'm curious how they handle people with no street address, since you can register by just giving vague directions to where you live ("down by the river, about a hundred yards from the tire dump").

My experience when I lived on a boat and had no street address was that no you cannot, you have to just make one up and register fraudulently.

I was able to vote once in the 1970s when my address was 1964 Electra Parkedway, apt. #225.

posted by Herodios at 12:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I voted in a rest home under a giant bingo board. Clearly the election has been bought by Big Bingo.
posted by brundlefly at 12:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I was kind of shocked at the amount of soliciting at my polling place. There were people knocking on our car windows as we were parking to hand us pamphlets. I've voted in California more than any other state where that kind of thing is strictly verboten so it was very unsettling to me.

I think it was in '96 or '00 - I was still living on the Lower East Side, anyway - and some dude showed up at my polling place wearing a huge Clinton t-shirt, and over that was a jean jacket to which he'd sewn a Clinton patch, and he also had a Clinton bumper sticker pinned to his backpack and another one slapped on his bike helmet. He got into line to vote dressed like that, and for several minutes people were just giving him dirty looks, but then one person finally said something and he snapped back and then everyone else in the damn room jumped all over him because "you aren't supposed to be campaigning so close to the polls." I think people actually chased him out to the lobby so he could take off his jacket and turn his shirt inside out and put his helmet in his bag or something.

Pretty much everyone else was also voting for Clinton too anyway, but people knew the rules, dammit.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

When I voted in Park Slope, two unrelated men were reading Žižek books in line. They were the only people reading paper books in line. It was an odd coincidence.

Also, right by the polling place, there was a cafe that had only been open for a week. They were thoroughly overwhelmed by the caffeine demands of our myriad, voting Park Slope Moms.
posted by Sticherbeast at 12:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh holy crap. I was starting to feel pretty relaxed about the results until I saw this linked above.

Why on earth do we need complex/sophisticated software to count votes?
posted by Theta States at 12:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Anybody else have Girl Scouts doing a brisk cookie business at their polling place?

PTA bake sale, with bought, not made, baked goods. UWS for the lame win.
posted by shothotbot at 12:35 PM on November 6, 2012

Why on earth do we need complex/sophisticated software to count votes?

Math is hard!
posted by grubi at 12:35 PM on November 6, 2012

There's every possibility that no one in the real world really gives a crap about it, even if that mural was technically against the rules.

FOX News viewers care. *fake sniffle*
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:35 PM on November 6, 2012

I voted in Brookline MA and the only people I saw representing candidates were people carrying Warren signs. Of course, If MA is the bluest of states, Brookline is off in the ultraviolet portion of the spectrum
posted by vicusofrecirculation at 12:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sticherbeast,
I live in Park Slope but realized yesterday that I was still registered in the East Village. So I had to go there, it was mayhem, and not a Zizek book in site.
posted by Liquidwolf at 12:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Pretty much everyone else was also voting for Clinton too anyway, but people knew the rules, dammit.

If everyone else was voting for Clinton, I think I figured out if it was '96 or 2000.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

bake sale, with bought, not made, baked goods. UWS for the lame win.

That's not even a "bake sale," it's just a "sale!"
posted by uncleozzy at 12:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Why do I have to drive to Santa Ana for a Taco?

You're within driving distance of Baja Fish Tacos, and you're complaining?

... the real Orange Curtain is between the northwest and southeast portions of the county. SE Orange County is as Yuppie Republican as they come.

Northeast OC is still republican, it's just not rich. I used to tell people I grew up in a small conservative Ohio town that happened to be 30 minutes south of L.A.
posted by benito.strauss at 12:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Kinda feel like @fivethirtynate and #romneydeathralley are all part of some hilarious, as-yet-to-be-named culminating metanarrative. Electonomicon? Apollcolypse?
posted by SomaSoda at 12:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Hm, getting back to the nationalized elections tangent -- I'm not a lawyer, but it was pointed out to me that Article I vests Congress with the power to regulate elections for the Senate and House. It would obviously be a massive inconvenience for the states to hold separate elections for President using separate machines / ballots / whatever, right? So, couldn't Congress exercising its Article I power to regulate these elections create and end-around approach to nationalizing the Presidential elections?
posted by tonycpsu at 12:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I was kind of shocked at the amount of soliciting at my polling place.

I was surprised at the complete lack of anyone outside the polling place here. No one at all. That was very strange compared to years past. In fact, I've been struck by the relative lack of yard signs in my neighborhood this year. In '08, the streets were festooned with McCain/Palin signage with the two or three lone Obama signs mixed in. This year, I think I've seen exactly one Romney sign on my street and, maybe, one Obama bumpersticker.

I'm not sure what that means, but it sure doesn't look like much support for Romney in this corner of bright-red state.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:38 PM on November 6, 2012

I voted in Park Slope this morning and there was a guy screaming at the person in charge of the polling place because the line he had to wait in was so long. C'mon, guy.
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 12:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

If everyone else was voting for Clinton, I think I figured out if it was '96 or 2000.

Um. By "clinton," of course I meant -

Hey, look over there, a distraction! (runs away)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:40 PM on November 6, 2012

I'M LATE FOR THE FOOD COOP BOARD MEETING GODDAMMIT I'M A BUSY MAN THINGS TO DO
posted by griphus at 12:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I voted in Park Slope this morning and there was a guy screaming at the person in charge of the polling place because the line he had to wait in was so long. C'mon, guy.

AW, COME ON BRO, MAKE THERE BE LESS PEOPLE THAT EXIST
posted by Sticherbeast at 12:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I was surprised at the complete lack of anyone outside the polling place here. No one at all. That was very strange compared to years past. In fact, I've been struck by the relative lack of yard signs in my neighborhood this year. In '08, the streets were festooned with McCain/Palin signage with the two or three lone Obama signs mixed in. This year, I think I've seen exactly one Romney sign on my street and, maybe, one Obama bumpersticker.

Let's just say... they asked TOO MANY QUESTIONS
posted by grubi at 12:41 PM on November 6, 2012

ob1quixote: Sorry, I should have linked. Here's an interview with him.
posted by tardigrade at 12:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I voted in Park Slope this morning and there was a guy screaming at the person in charge of the polling place because the line he had to wait in was so long. C'mon, guy.

LOOK YOU ARE MAKING ME WASTE VALUABLE BEARD-GROWING TIME HERE
posted by grubi at 12:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

A kid in my daughter's middle school class was so outraged that Mitt Romney lost the school's mock election that he had to go to the counselor's office. Knowing the father, I was delighted.

Another child, in my 10-year old's class, said that Obama wants to "take away all the guns." I started to teach my son to say, "Don't be stupid, it's a Constitutionally protected right" but I just got tired.

Come on, Ohio & Florida!
posted by wenestvedt at 12:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

AW, COME ON BRO, MAKE THERE BE LESS PEOPLE THAT EXIST

well, you start with the good ole days when if you didn't own property, you didn't get a vote. Hell, we wouldn't even have to discriminate against women and people of non-pink skin tone. Yet.
posted by philip-random at 12:43 PM on November 6, 2012

Rocketman: ...brown floors and knocking on thin, faded hollow-core doors with the apartment numbers scrawled on them with a hasty sharpie.

Save us from the tyranny of hollow-core doors and hollow-core pols.

/shiver
posted by Skygazer at 12:43 PM on November 6, 2012

I was kind of shocked at the amount of soliciting at my polling place.

Yes, the "No on N" people are insane in Richmond, Calif. Measure N is a tax on sodas, and it's being fought with a bazillion dollars by the soft drink companies. I sort of wonder if Richmond has ever seen this much money and complete bullshit slung over any other Measure. Total mob scene with posters and vans full of people bused in to vote No on N (and get a free T-shirt with "No on N!" written on it!)

I hate nanny state measures. I hate regressive taxes. The guy who wrote it is every annoying stereotype about sanctimonious and patronizing leftists, and campaigns entirely by means of the false dilemma fallacy. But what I hate most of all is when the people on "my" side are the sort of odious, corrupt, and shameless liars that these "No on N" fuckers are.
posted by small_ruminant at 12:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

How many people voted today in a church with a very particular political viewpoint?

A friend's Facebook post:
"Excited to walk into a Catholic church with a bunch of Mexicans and vote for a black president, a Muslim state representative, the end of marriage as a religious institution, and the preservation of universal suffrage. Gonna be hard to walk out of there and not tell them their god is dead and chaos reigns."
posted by nickmark at 12:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [24 favorites]

When all of this election stuff is done, can we get back to the Mayan Apocalypse coming next month?
posted by Theta States at 12:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

This year, I think I've seen exactly one Romney sign on my street and, maybe, one Obama bumpersticker.

Campaigns are realizing that yard signs and bumper stickers make supporters feel good but don't do much to change minds. The money is better spent on ads, canvassing, phone calls, etc.
posted by jedicus at 12:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

When all of this election stuff is done, can we get back to the Mayan Apocalypse coming next month?

Next month? Oh god. Seems like it comes earlier and earlier every year.
posted by grubi at 12:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [18 favorites]

is there really an Obama mural in a polling place?

There is a mural at my polling place that includes Obama, along with Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Marther Luther King Jr. and Eudora Welty.

Obama is the only one who is regularly vandalized. Right now I believe it says "Obomba Pakistan" and his eyes are blacked out.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:47 PM on November 6, 2012

I haven't even started my Apocalypse shopping yet.
posted by ceribus peribus at 12:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

The Real Loser - Truth.

Related: The Long Con - Untruth and Consequences
posted by homunculus at 12:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

How many people voted today in a church with a very particular political viewpoint?

Quite a few in Minnesota, sadly.

Report just in: It [a posted sign/prayer of some kind] asks God to "Grant to us all the gift of courage to proclaim and defend your plan for marriage, which is the union of one man and one woman in a lifelong, exclusive relationsiop of loving trust, compassion, and generosity, open to the conception of children." The report is that it's within the prohibited 100 feet of a polling place.

The biggest Catholic church in my area has had "Vote Yes" campaign signs up for weeks. I think it's blatantly illegal, but apparently that's only my personal opinion. My understanding is that State of MN isn't pursuing cases like this that don't involve candidates specifically, and the IRS has been generally hopeless in responding to complaints based on tax-exempt status.
posted by gimonca at 12:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hey, did the cravat guy also comment in the fedora thread? BRB, exhuming the past...
posted by wenestvedt at 12:48 PM on November 6, 2012

"No on N"

There's something wrong with this palindrome.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Shopping? You have disposable income?
posted by de at 12:48 PM on November 6, 2012

There is a mural at my polling place that includes Obama, along with Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Marther Luther King Jr. and Eudora Welty.

Now I want to find this place and spray paint "FLANNERY O'CONNOR 4 LYFE" over the picture of Eudora Welty.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Ohio Dem Party Chair:

Volunteer shifts are very heavy in Cuyahoga County (Cleve) with voting reaching 51% turnout at 3p. 41/2 more hours! (total in 2010 44%)

Lucas County (Toledo) long lines in central city and east suburbs w goals being met for 3p Elected officials mobilizing rapid response teams

Cleveland+Cuyahoga County has 4 hours to hit 2008 turnout numbers. Twice as many vols getting it done! We will get there!

Also hearing everywhere that the youth vote is up, perhaps above '08.
posted by Ironmouth at 12:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

I haven't even started my Apocalypse shopping yet.

Black Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday is just around the corner.
posted by grubi at 12:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"No on N"

There's something wrong with this palindrome.

Easy fix: "N? No on N!"
posted by jedicus at 12:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

My polling place is the elementary school from "The Wire," now a Montessori school. Was joking earlier with a neighbour about how they should move it to a corner that was also in "The Wire" a lot, where you'd have your choice of blue caps and red caps to purchase in order to register your vote.
posted by QIbHom at 12:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

When all of this election stuff is done, can we get back to the Mayan Apocalypse coming next month?

Next month? Oh god. Seems like it comes earlier and earlier every year.

Thank you grubi. I nearly lost my coffee all over my screen when I read that!
posted by vac2003 at 12:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I voted in a Masonic lodge today. More evidence that Freemasons control the government!
posted by entropicamericana at 12:51 PM on November 6, 2012

So I celebrated Participatory Democracy Yay! Day by walking down to Joe's Pizza in the village and having an old fashioned glass-bottle Coke ad as I finished it on the corner I noticed a gaggle of (German? sounded like german) tourists had taken my picture and then I realized I was wearing a red white and blue shirt with a slice of pizza in one hand and a glass coke-a-cola in the other and was basically living out a dictionary entry for "American."
posted by The Whelk at 12:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [53 favorites]

Campaigns are realizing that yard signs and bumper stickers make supporters feel good but don't do much to change minds. The money is better spent on ads, canvassing, phone calls, etc.

This was in Ask a while back, and I can't find it now, but the gist was that the single most effective thing a candidate can do is motivate people to knock on the doors of their neighbors and have conversations with them. I wish I could find the post because I remember the OP ranking the activities by cost-effectiveness.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Campaigns are realizing that yard signs and bumper stickers make supporters feel good but don't do much to change minds.

Wait—does this mean all those people honking at me were already horny?
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

So I celebrated Participatory Democracy Yay! Day by walking down to Joe's Pizza in the village and having an old fashioned glass-bottle Coke ad as I finished it on the corner I noticed a gaggle of (German? sounded like german) tourists had taken my picture and then I realized I was wearing a red white and blue shirt with a slice of pizza in one hand and a glass coke-a-cola in the other and was basically living out a dictionary entry for "American."

Only if you were wearing jeans and a pair of Chucks.
posted by grubi at 12:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Whelk, that's awesome. Now I regret not doing that. Will try to remember it for next election.
posted by small_ruminant at 12:53 PM on November 6, 2012

The Detroit News: Southfield Twp. voter appears to die, then asks 'Did I vote?'
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 12:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Wait—does this mean all those people honking at me were already horny?

Oh stop acting so coy. You know you love it.
posted by grubi at 12:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well, that's a new spin on the whole "dead people voting" thing.
posted by yasaman at 12:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Minnesota does not allow campaigning of any kind within the polling place, not even wearning a button.

However, the school where I voted was in the middle of some sort of student election, so there were lots of 8.5 by 11 paper printouts taped up that said things like VOTE VICTOR FOR BETTER LUNCHES AND RECESS. So, it still felt like an election.
posted by gimonca at 12:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Only if you were wearing jeans and a pair of Chucks.

Jeans and Sebago Docksides
posted by The Whelk at 12:55 PM on November 6, 2012

The biggest Catholic church in my area has had "Vote Yes" campaign signs up for weeks. I think it's blatantly illegal, but apparently that's only my personal opinion. My understanding is that State of MN isn't pursuing cases like this that don't involve candidates specifically, and the IRS has been generally hopeless in responding to complaints based on tax-exempt status.

I don't know anything about the legality of this, but I think in the Cities at least, the churches with huge ass "Vote NO" signs far outnumber the "Vote Yes" churches.
posted by Think_Long at 12:55 PM on November 6, 2012

So I celebrated Participatory Democracy Yay! Day by walking down to Joe's Pizza in the village and having an old fashioned glass-bottle Coke ad as I finished it on the corner I noticed a gaggle of (German? sounded like german) tourists had taken my picture and then I realized I was wearing a red white and blue shirt with a slice of pizza in one hand and a glass coke-a-cola in the other and was basically living out a dictionary entry for "American."

Only if you were wearing jeans and a pair of Chucks.

And carrying an AK-47 and wearing a full bandolier. Also waving a bible.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

My ESL students here in Chile were cracking up at a ballot from 2008 we looked up. Particularly the vote for Railroad Commissioner.
posted by saul wright at 12:56 PM on November 6, 2012

The Whelk, that's awesome. Now I regret not doing that. Will try to remember it for next election.

Next election? Let's do it next Saturday! And every one after that forever and ever, Amen.
posted by goHermGO at 12:56 PM on November 6, 2012

He should have an AR-15 not an AK-47.
posted by Mister_A at 12:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

The Detroit News: Southfield Twp. voter appears to die, then asks 'Did I vote?'

Okay, we have this, and we have the woman who voted even though she was in labor.

Now we just need a story of a couple who visit the polling station to vote while they're on their way to go get married and we'll have the grand slam.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

More evidence that Freemasons control the government!

Well, not entirely.
posted by Curious Artificer at 12:57 PM on November 6, 2012

However, the school where I voted was in the middle of some sort of student election, so there were lots of 8.5 by 11 paper printouts taped up that said things like VOTE VICTOR FOR BETTER LUNCHES AND RECESS. So, it still felt like an election.

That Victor sounds like he's got the pulse of the people.
posted by grubi at 12:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

More evidence that Freemasons control the government!

Well, not entirely.

Well, all the good parts.
posted by grubi at 12:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Also, though my presidential vote won't mean anything, it felt great to vote against that ratfuck Todd Akin.
posted by saul wright at 12:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Didn't Nate Silver put his final projection out at noon last year? Where's the post? WHERE IS IT? DOES THIS MEAN HE'S WORRIED? WHAT DO WE DO
posted by saturday_morning at 12:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

He should have an AR-15 not an AK-47.

Beat me to it - the AK is a pinko commie socialist assault rifle that hates our freedoms.
posted by phl at 12:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

In 2008 I was part of a Catholics United movement that guarded RC church parking lots and warned pamphleteers that it was illegal to distribute campaign literature at a tax exempt church. Then we would follow them around and remove the fliers they put on cars. I don't know if that was specifically legal for us to say & do that, but it was something our family enjoyed doing together on crisp fall Sundays.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Hallucinating Peruvian Shamans Predict the Election Winner
posted by homunculus at 12:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

My ESL students here in Chile were cracking up at a ballot from 2008 we looked up. Particularly the vote for Railroad Commissioner.

Bonus fact: In Texas, the Railroad Commissioner is actually fairly important and fairly powerful. The anachronistically-named Railroad Commission oversees all oil and gas production/regulation in the state.
posted by mudpuppie at 12:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Didn't Nate Silver put his final projection out at noon last year? Where's the post?

I wonder if that has something to do with the New York Times not releasing things the same way. Just spitballing.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:59 PM on November 6, 2012

They (NYT) are taking down their paywall at 6EST. Maybe they're waiting for that?
posted by mudpuppie at 1:02 PM on November 6, 2012

Whenever my girlfriend or I see one of his signs, we have to break into "Oh long johnson..."

Pretty sure that was Lyndon.
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 1:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

The last two Presidential elections, in 2004 and 2008, I volunteered as an attorney poll observer, making sure people got to vote (not a huge issue here in WA, particularly in Seattle) and it felt good to be part of that. I miss it this year, with everything being vote by mail. Maybe in four years, when I have no toddlers, I can volunteer to go someplace like Ohio or Florida that actually needs that kind of help.

And this sitting around waiting for SOMETHING TO HAPPEN is going to KILL ME.
posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 1:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I don't know about this Mitt Rombley. There were some pretty scathing reviews on Angie's List.
posted by grubi at 1:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

VA turnout up from 2010, may exceed '08.
posted by Ironmouth at 1:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bonus fact: In Texas, the Railroad Commissioner is actually fairly important and fairly powerful.

This is also true in Monopoly.
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

stupidsexyflanders, I bet you're thinking of this comment:

The larger the elections, the less important yard signs are.

[...]

Some general vote getting effectiveness guidelines are:
Direct mail: gets one vote for every 500 pieces of mail sent when targeted at undecideds.
Phone banking: gets one vote for every 400 calls when targeted.
Canvass visit from a stranger: gets one vote for every 300 door knocks when targeted.
Personal canvass visit from a neighbor: gets one vote for every 12 visits.
Partisan voter guides/cheat sheets handed out at the polls: gets one vote for every 10 handouts.
The most effective vote getting mechanisms are the things most people are least likely to do: visit their neighbors and be outside their polling place talking to their neighbors.

(The comment is much longer than this, and interesting. Later in the thread, the poster pops back in to comment on where those numbers came from.)
posted by metaBugs at 1:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

They (NYT) are taking down their paywall at 6EST. Maybe they're waiting for that?

This makes entirely more sense than my "Nate Silver Is A Conservative Mouthbreather Who Has Been Trolling Us This Whole Time" concerns
posted by saturday_morning at 1:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Note, Nate Silver just posted that this thread has a 94.2% of becoming the longest MeFi thread ever.
posted by Ironmouth at 1:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

jokeefe, you could power ten states with that much WOOSH.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 1:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I don't know about this Mitt Rombley. There were some pretty scathing reviews on Angie's List.

Yea, his binders are pretty crappy.
posted by RolandOfEld at 1:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think a post disappeared off 538. I know I saw a projection of 315/92% at 11am-something and now it's back to 313 at 10:10 am.
posted by AstroGuy at 1:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

This is the first time since I moved back to the States (in 2004) that I voted by mail. I do miss going to the polling place and joining in the shared public ritual of enacting democracy, but I knew today would be hectic and I didn't want to risk not being able to make it there in Imelda.

My plan is to set myself up with a couple of bottles of wine, old episodes of The West Wing, and this thread on my iPad when I get home in an hour or so. I'll spend the rest of the afternoon, evening, and late night hours trying to get some work done while multitasking with my election obsession.

Tomorrow morning I have to give a talk on social media and electoral politics to a bunch of international journalists, so it's a mostly legit way to spend the time, right? The wine is just civilization.
posted by Superplin at 1:10 PM on November 6, 2012

A guide to when key state polls close - in that article, all times are Eastern. Below, I'm going to use Pacific time because that's more relevant to me.

3pm - Kentucky (most), Indiana (most)
4 - Virginia, Florida (most)
4:30 - Ohio, North Carolina
5 - New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Missouri, Texas (most)
5:30 - Arkansas
6 - Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, Arizona
7 - Iowa, Nevada
8 - California
10 - Alaska
posted by Pronoiac at 1:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Will be picking up a bottle of wine on my way home. I suspect I won't be the only one.

I have a bottle of Chivas I've seen saving JUST FOR TODAY
posted by The Whelk at 1:10 PM on November 6, 2012

It's my birthday (a big one, at that) so pleasepleaseplease let me get what I want*!

* - Oh, is this the election thread? I was just hoping for a pony.
posted by ooga_booga at 1:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Note, Nate Silver just posted that this thread has a 94.2% of becoming the longest MeFi thread ever.

If we have to recount Ohio or FL that goes up to 100%
posted by DynamiteToast at 1:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

And the headline is priceless, besides. "Black Panther spotted at polling location."

Rilly. Everyone knows a melanistic panther has no spots.

posted by Herodios at 1:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

*snerk* - the talk of yard signs has reminded me of something from my hometown. The patriarch of the family who was friends with my family for years ended up in Connecticut state politics (did quite well, in fact); even though he had the rather difficult-to-spell-or-pronounce surname "Pawelkiewicz". One year, another Democrat on the state legislature had the similarly-long surname "Vertefeuille".

My neighbor kept a record of some of the creative mis-spellings of both names, and reported that at some point she saw a yard sign on someone's house that read "Vote for Walter P-something and Dan V-something".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Any Romney supporters here?
posted by b33j at 1:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

My normal precinct is an episcopalian church and they're always on the side of the angels. They were so No on 8 (the NC anti marriage amendment) that I thought about going to church as a weird thank you. I voted early last week so I didn't go to the regular place.
posted by winna at 1:12 PM on November 6, 2012

I have a bottle of Chivas I've seen saving JUST FOR TODAY

And an extra liver he's been saving JUST FOR TOMORROW
posted by Jahaza at 1:12 PM on November 6, 2012

Note, Nate Silver just posted that this thread has a 94.2% of becoming the longest MeFi thread ever.

Unlike the election, this thread is guaranteed to be over 30 days from now.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

It's past 4 PM EST. Where are the fake exit polls? This is no way to run an election.
posted by gerryblog at 1:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I have decided in the interest of bi-partisanship that 2 bottles of wine from the blue states of California and Washington and a bottle of bourbon from the red state of Kentucky were in order.

Nate Silver told me I have a 95.3% chance of hangover.
posted by cmfletcher at 1:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I have a bottle of Chivas I've seen saving JUST FOR TODAY

don't forget all the homies we've lost
posted by grubi at 1:15 PM on November 6, 2012

The inauguration was the last time I've been a) drunk on champagne and b) drunk before noon.
posted by griphus at 1:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Now put your hands up.
posted by ColdChef at 1:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's past 4 PM EST. Where are the fake exit polls? This is no way to run an election.

Hell, where is Jimmy Carter? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN
posted by grubi at 1:16 PM on November 6, 2012

Any Romney supporters here?

How soon they forget....
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 1:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Now put your hands up.

That is somehow really off-putting.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

My only concern is what happens to polling data during the count. Voter suppression is occurring but by and large I see a lot of push back and increase in voter turnout due to it (nothing like firing up somebody by telling them they can't do something).

But with the judge rejecting the lawsuit on Husted's installation of experimental software that, as per the Salon article, exports unencrypted plain-text ballots, I'm rather anxious about the possibility of the vote being stolen.
posted by linux at 1:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

How Canadians would vote.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 1:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

There's every reason to think that this will be an early night. If Obama wins Virginia it (almost) doesn't matter what happens in Ohio or Florida. Fingers crossed, fingers crossed.
posted by gerryblog at 1:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sorry, St Alia of the Bunnies - as a foreigner, I can't keep track sometimes. Just wanted to sympathise (not with your politics, as I couldn't be much further left) but with the unevenness that will be here.
posted by b33j at 1:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

How Canadians would vote.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 3:18 PM on November 6 [+] [!]

So... proud... *sniff*
posted by WinnipegDragon at 1:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fox News Says Halo 4 May Keep Gamers From Voting
posted by homunculus at 1:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Just want to pop in to note that we're all going to think it was so cuute that we thought the debate threads were long...
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 1:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

mudpuppie--I noticed up above you mentioned the poll worker not wanting to look at your ID. I just saw in an article on MN's election that our poll workers are specifically instructed not to look at IDs, and maybe yours are, too. We have a proposed amendment to add an ID requirement to our constitution right now, so it's a hot button issue. Many states are grappling with this issue, so they are probably overly sensitive about it.

...I am usually too shy to actually post anything substantive, but perhaps this is a place to share the open letter I wrote on Facebook about MN's proposed Voter ID amendment:

Hi friends,
Today I volunteered for Our Vote Our Future to call people and chat about the proposed Voter ID amendment. I know when I first heard about this proposal, it didn't seem like that bad a thing to me--after all, most people have IDs, right? But when I learned a little more I realized it's more complicated than that:
1. There are actually a lot of groups of people for whom it's more difficult than you might think to get an ID or to make sure it's current. Someone like my grandmother, who doesn't drive, doesn't need a current drivers license. 20% of people born before 1930 have never had a birth certificate, and would have a difficult time getting the necessary documents together to get a new ID. Many older people would also have a difficult time finding transportation to the DMV and putting in the time to go through the renewal process, and the same is true for people with physical disabilities. College students or other young people with shifting addresses might not have their current residence listed on their ID, and the same would be true for anyone with housing instability. City dwellers who rely on public transportation might not have drivers licenses, which means this will affect low income people disproportionally. People of color are also more likely to be affected by this restriction, as are immigrants. People who live in rural areas, for whom the nearest DMV is a couple hours' drive, will have a much harder time renewing their IDs. Other states that have passed similar legislation have made exceptions for certain groups of people--elders and overseas military, for example--but the proposed amendment for our state does not. All these people have the right to vote.

2. The permanence of a constitutional amendment is extreme and inappropriate. This is not just an ordinary law--it would be permanently added to our constitution, where it would be very difficult to amend or repeal. We would stand with Mississippi as one of only two states to actually amend the constitution over this issue.

3. The language that would actually be added to the constitution is much longer and more complicated than what you will see on your ballot. It is also vague and leaves a lot to be decided later. For example, they say that they will pay for valid voters to get an ID, but don't define where the money to do so will come from, what the process would be for applying, or whether they would also cover the attendant costs that come with application (like the transportation for the rural person mentioned above). We also don't even know who will be in the legislature when these decisions are being made, so we don't know who will be making these decisions. I am not comfortable voting for something without knowing what the end product will be.

4. Implementing this amendment will be expensive: Local elections officials and the Secretary of State’s office estimate that it would cost state and local governments $50 million or more to implement a complicated new system. It is an unfunded mandate that doesn't specify how to cover costs of implementation.

5. Minnesota's voting system is nationally recognized for being clean and fair. The idea that we need to prevent voter fraud is a solution for a problem that does not exist. The only fraudulent voting that I have heard of is occasional cases of convicted felons voting, but they have access to IDs and would not be affected by this amendment. In my mind, preventing the legitimate voters I mentioned above from voting is a much larger concern. There is every reason to protect our existing system and no reason to make such a costly and harmful overhaul.

6. This amendment would effectively end election day registration and absentee mail-in voting (both of which I myself have used in the past!), and would set up a complicated two-step system of provisional balloting where votes would only be counted in the case of a very close election. The details are still hazy on how it would work.

I am very proud that Minnesota has the largest voter turn out in the country; this amendment would give us one of the most restrictive voter policies.

Please vote no, and talk to your friends and family to make sure they know about the unintended consequences of this amendment. It might sound simple at first, but when you look closer it's clear that this is not the right choice for our state. Vote No!
posted by ialwayscryatendings at 1:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [20 favorites]

I'm working late tonight, but we're swinging out to grab some beer and pizza to nosh in the office while working and checking polls.

Should be fun.
posted by Imperfect at 1:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Yeah, since I expect Obama to win, I WANT TO SEE EXIT POLLS NAO!

The Internet has destroyed my already short attention span or something. Why can't I see DATA!!!

But my soccer game will end at 7:30 PM PST, and then we will sit around, relishing our victory with many beers, and watch the returns on the TVs at the arena. But so many hours to wait yet...
posted by Windopaene at 1:21 PM on November 6, 2012

Well gerry, here's a VA citizen waiting in line right now trying to make it an early night.

Everything seems to be chugging along smoothly here in Blacksburg, anyway.
posted by The demon that lives in the air at 1:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Don't be surprised if the networks call it for Obama by 8:15 EST. Seriously.
posted by grubi at 1:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'd be okie-dokie with that
posted by Windopaene at 1:24 PM on November 6, 2012

Problem is it really doesn't matter who wins. That fiscal cliff is out there and only God Almighty can keep us from tipping over it.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 1:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Problem is it really doesn't matter who wins.

Yes, yes it does.
posted by inigo2 at 1:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [36 favorites]

Fox News Says Halo 4 May Keep Gamers From Voting

Choice quote from that article: “The idiots who can't get a date and look at the women's breasts in the games will definitely find Halo 4 more interesting than something that requires thinking,” [says Jon Peddie, a gaming analyst].
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 1:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I think there are probably some smart people down here who can help with that as well.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

And it won't take god to stop from hitting the fiscal cliff, it'll take a congress willing to actually work with a president.
posted by inigo2 at 1:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

linux: But with the judge rejecting the lawsuit on Husted's installation of experimental software that, as per the Salon article, exports unencrypted plain-text ballots, I'm rather anxious about the possibility of the vote being stolen.

That fiscal cliff is out there and only God Almighty can keep us from tipping over it.

Well, that, or compromise.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 1:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

St. Alia of the Bunnies:
"Problem is it really doesn't matter who wins. That fiscal cliff is out there and only God Almighty can keep us from tipping over it."

Either that or the Eurozone goes to pot and the world goes with it. Once blogger noted the whomever is elected will be one of the most constrained presidents in history in terms of what he can do. I think I'd rather have someone who's willing to help with the suffering in that situation, though.
posted by charred husk at 1:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wait. You're right.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 1:27 PM on November 6, 2012

And it won't take god to stop from hitting the fiscal cliff, it'll take a congress willing to actually work with a president.

That would take an act of God right there.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 1:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I don't know anything about the legality of this, but I think in the Cities at least, the churches with huge ass "Vote NO" signs far outnumber the "Vote Yes" churches.

This is my reminder that I must get over to the southside more often, I guess.

When the "Vote Yes" signs sprouted at my neighborhood Catholic church (not naming names directly here, but you'll know which one it is--the big one on Stinson just over the city limit in St. Anthony), on a corner that I drive past constantly, I was royally peeved. It was a weekend afternoon, so I took 20 minutes or so to drive around and see if any of the other Catholic churches in this part of town had them. At that time, the other ones (the little quirky Slavic or Lebanese ethnic ones closer to the river) were sign-free. I haven't checked since September.

Lots of "Another Catholic Voting No" signs in people's front yards within a block or two of the big church, so there's that, too.
posted by gimonca at 1:27 PM on November 6, 2012

There were three people ahead of me in line to vote this afternoon. Due to a snafu with my registration, it took a while before I could get my ballot (first name was entered as my last name, oops). I ended up being #933, which is pretty good turnout around here. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing for the candidates I want. I live in a fairly Democratic-leaning part of the city, but the state is as red as it gets.

While I was there getting my name confusion worked out, no fewer than three people were sent to other precincts.

Others reported 30 minute to an hour waits at other precincts throughout the city this morning.
posted by wierdo at 1:28 PM on November 6, 2012

Turmoil Follows As Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Meets Reality

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
posted by tonycpsu at 1:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

No "I VOTED" stickers here, because it's all mail-in in Washington, but a few weeks ago I found a roll of them in a recycling / art-supply store. My mother-in-law, the only liberal where she works, has been wearing a new one every day since early October.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Problem is it really doesn't matter who wins. That fiscal cliff is out there and only God Almighty can keep us from tipping over it.

There is a lot more at stake than the economy, though.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

No "I VOTED" stickers here, because it's all mail-in in Washington,

They should mail you one back like a receipt.
posted by shothotbot at 1:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

For the record it's not ballots but totals. Furthermore the report wasn't encrypted before the change. The modification outlined in the article changes the format of the export from XML to CSV.

How do you know that, ob1?
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 1:31 PM on November 6, 2012

Wa-a-a-y upthread, like 45 seconds ago, someone mentioned the site that is my obsession in these times, electoral-vote.com.

This evening, the Votemaster will blank out his maps and switch to live-blogging the election results via the maps:

Live Blogging of the Election Tonight
Starting around 6 P.M. EST or so, the main page and Senate pages will switch to blank maps that will be updated throughout the evening as election results come in.

But be aware that very early reports can be confusing. If Austin happens to report first, Texas might be dark blue for a little while. If problems in New York City due to the storm delay reporting until after upstate districts report, New York might be dark red for a while.

But it will be interesting to see the colors spread out from east to west as the results come in. Come back tonight.

I love maps and I love info-grafix. It's gonna be sike-oh-delick, man.
posted by Herodios at 1:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Problem is it really doesn't matter who wins. That fiscal cliff is out there and only God Almighty can keep us from tipping over it.

Tell you what. You can sit over there and wait for God Almighty and I'll be over here trying to actually help.

Let's see what helps first. I'm pretty confident over here because Perry is still waiting over in his corner.
posted by Talez at 1:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

My mail-in packet in San Diego county had a sticker in it. I saved it to wear today.
posted by Lyn Never at 1:33 PM on November 6, 2012

This is my reminder that I must get over to the southside more often, I guess.

If you want to feel hope for humanity, drive the neighborhoods south of Lake Calhoun and count the Vote No signs. Don't bother counting the Vote Yes signs, there literally aren't any.

I wish churches wouldn't put political signs of any flavor on their property, but at least with the Vote No signs the message is "government shouldn't restrict this", whereas the Vote Yes signs distill down to "I don't like teh gayz and therefore I'm willing to allow my government to overtly discriminate". Outside of the opinion on the issue itself, it speaks volumes on what someone with this viewpoint is willing to allow a government to do to enforce their narrow mindset.
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

> And it won't take god to stop from hitting the fiscal cliff, it'll take a congress willing to actually work with a president.

That would take an act of God right there.

One thing that a lot of people seem to miss is that a President on their 2nd term does not face reelection. That means the NEXT presidential election will be a fresh slate. THAT means that both parties will be running on what they accomplished or can take credit for over the past 4 years. Gridlock is not a big accomplishment.

Therefore, what you could expect to see is a lot of compromising and then trying to take credit for stuff from both sides. (Yeah, I'm looking at you True Immigration Reform). If the Republicans don't get out in front with Dems on that you are looking at a Blue Texas very soon and on into the indefinite future. (not to mention a few other states)
posted by spock at 1:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I'm feeling sick to my stomach after reading that Salon piece on the unverified software patches Husted had installed for 39 counties in Ohio.

I'd known about it for a few days now and kept hoping a major story would come out about it, and took as a sign that it wasn't very alarming to "those in the know" or it would've splashed bigtime across the bigger papers...

It's just so ugly and slimy on so many levels, and I wouldn't doubt it being some sort of mindfuckery on this Husted guys part as to create even more doubt about the soundness of the vote if this is close and a recount is ordered. I honestly cannot believe thought that those counties wouldn't have raw CSV files that would undo any tampering that might be a "man in the middle" attack.

I just hope it's not close for that guy to game it. It seems mostly a way to tabulated the results in more specific ways. I guess that could be a cover though, if the patch allows writing, yes?

Any Mefite have some knowledge on this stuff?
posted by Skygazer at 1:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Man, I want a sticker in my mail-in packet! I feel cheated.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The patriarch of the family who was friends with my family for years ended up in Connecticut state politics (did quite well, in fact); even though he had the rather difficult-to-spell-or-pronounce surname "Pawelkiewicz". One year, another Democrat on the state legislature had the similarly-long surname "Vertefeuille".

When I was a kid in NC, one of my first political memories (well before being able to vote, mind you), was of Nick Galifianakis running for Senate against Jesse Helms. They had some fun with the long name--they stretched it across two campaign buttons.

(Trivia: Nick is, yes, the uncle of Zach.)
posted by gimonca at 1:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

For the record it's not ballots but totals. Furthermore the report wasn't encrypted before the change. The modification outlined in the article changes the format of the export from XML to CSV. Which is not to say that the whole thing isn't bullshit. They could have just converted the file at the central office on election day.

That's even worse. Altering totals takes way less effort than altering ballots. I saw the part where they changed the format from XML to CSV (which is also perplexing as an "upgrade"), but that's only what is stated. The installation of a patch onto the county tabulation systems introduces new code that could carry so much more than a format change. As you said, they could just create a central format converter that took all the XML from the counties and created a CSV to feed into the state tabulation system -- why compromise county systems with new software for a format change?

I cannot conceive of even the stupidest programmer I know of coming up with something as inane as what they say the patch is supposed to do.
posted by linux at 1:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Print your own "I Voted" stickers
posted by EvaDestruction at 1:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Campaigns are realizing that yard signs and bumper stickers make supporters feel good but don't do much to change minds. The money is better spent on ads, canvassing, phone calls, etc.

The one piece of evidence in that article is pretty minimal and of dubious relevance. Signs don't stay up for 11 hours on election eve, they slowly spread through a campaign. Also, making supporters feel good is not a bad idea. People who campaign like to feel that they're getting somewhere. Signs are a good physical marker of territory covered.
posted by howfar at 1:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Also, making supporters feel good is not a bad idea. People who campaign like to feel that they're getting somewhere. Signs are a good physical marker of territory covered.

That may be true but that doesn't mean that signs are a more efficient use of resources than, say, ads or phone calls.
posted by jedicus at 1:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Problem is it really doesn't matter who wins. That fiscal cliff is out there and only God Almighty can keep us from tipping over it.

But it does. This "cliff" was not caused by some mysterious unknown. It was created by people. Systems or institutions of people, supported by other people (often in government). And it can be addressed, but it will take time and takes leadership with that same goal in mind. Now I am not one of those "Democrats" are perfect people - I have complaints, just like many others do. But the choice is clear that Obama and Romney will try to take the government and economy in different directions. "Try" because Republicans are excellent obstructionists and perhaps, someday, Democrats will learn a thing or two about it. (Also, not ignoring third party candidates, but the reality is that they are not winning highest office this year - many have great ideas). What I keep saying to people is this - have you ever had problems with your finances and balancing your books? Had a lot of debt? ("Yes, but I finally resolved them, paid of my debt, etc."). Were you able to fix it immediately, save winning the lottery, or did it take a long-term strategy and life changes to move forward? How could a complicated financial market be turned around quickly? It can't. It takes time. It takes new policies. It takes addressing the actual causes of the current economic woes - and that includes holding people accountable, in my book. The economy has slowly been inching forward. Obama had some great ideas that Republicans did not allow to move forward. The big picture needs to be taken in. And that, I believe, clearly shows that voting does matter.
posted by anya32 at 1:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

That may be true but that doesn't mean that signs are a more efficient use of resources than, say, ads or phone calls.

Yeah you might be right, but the data to show it would be more complicated than that mentioned in the particular article you linked. The problem is that it's incredibly hard to do decent research on something like this.
posted by howfar at 1:43 PM on November 6, 2012

St. Alia of the Bunnies: "Problem is it really doesn't matter who wins. That fiscal cliff is out there and only God Almighty can keep us from tipping over it."

The fiscal cliff is not a cliff. It would take weeks or even months for the spending cuts to make their way through the budgetary process of various government agencies. The depth of the cuts are savage enough that we shouldn't be too cavalier about it, but we also shouldn't rush to get a deal done by December 31 if it's a bad deal. Doing a deal after January 1 means a more level playing field for negotiations and a more balanced resolution to the problem.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama losing ground on Intrade in the last hour. WHAT GIVES. By the way, insider trading encouraged there.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 1:44 PM on November 6, 2012

It took me nearly two hours to vote this morning; I think it took about 45 minutes in '08. Anecdotally, the line looked longer than '08's, but that was probably the result of a broken machine more than turnout. Apparently there were a lot of broken machines in my area.

Intellectually, I know Obama has the odds, but I'm not nearly as confident as I was in '08. I'm terrified of the known unknowns and even more so of the unknown unknowns. Election eves are brutal on me, always like a cross between Christmas Eve and a final exam I'm not prepared for.

Anyway, Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by octobersurprise at 1:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

St. Alia of the Bunnies: "I have been a poll worker, and they are good people."

I've been a poll worker, too. The Republican who was chief election judge the last time I was there succesfully railroaded everyone, except me, into signing all the end-of-the-night documents (like the list of handicapped voters who needed assistance from a judge to complete their ballots) ahead of time, "so we could finish up quick tonight".

I objected that I wasn't going to sign anything until I was happy with the contents of it. She turned away in a snit, saying that unlike me, she was brought up to trust people.

So, no, they aren't good people - they're people, just like all the other people.
posted by Rat Spatula at 1:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

ultraviolet catastrophe: For the record it's not ballots but totals. Furthermore the report wasn't encrypted before the change. The modification outlined in the article changes the format of the export from XML to CSV.

How do you know that, ob1?

Well, I guess I don't. I'm relying on the report in the Salon article.

It’s not entirely clear how the new version of EXP will differ from the existing one, though the contract specifies the older version created XML-formatted files instead of plain-text CSV files.

Both XML and CSV are plaintext formats, so I'm not sure why the reporter felt the need to draw that distinction. None the less, neither format is encrypted by default.
posted by ob1quixote at 1:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Electoral-Vote.com has a more complete list of poll closing times, with swing states in bold. This list waits until the state fully closes the polls.
posted by Pronoiac at 1:44 PM on November 6, 2012

And it won't take god to stop from hitting the fiscal cliff, it'll take a congress willing to actually work with a president.
---
That would take an act of God right there.

A large portion of the problem is that one half of the governmental base caters to people who think politics should operate based on the acts of a god. Hopefully we can get past ridiculous things like that sometime in the near future.
posted by FatherDagon at 1:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Obama losing ground on Intrade in the last hour. WHAT GIVES. By the way, insider trading encouraged there.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates

People who watch Fox News and don't believe polls might be thinking they're getting EASY MONEY. Or also the possibility of some people who bought in earlier taking guaranteed gains now, rather than waiting for the result and a possible loss.
posted by haveanicesummer at 1:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Someone is messing with inTrade again. Don't sweat it. It's meaningless.
posted by gerryblog at 1:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Standing in line to vote in Arlington, Virginia right now. Been here since before 4pm, and I'm still only about halfway to the actual school/gym entrance. Looks like they are letting in people in batches, but no idea if there's a line inside too (there was in 2008).

Everyone is very quiet and patient, despite the temperature dropping and it becoming rather chilly. No heavy electioneering at all, only a few people handing out sample ballots (Dems, Repubs & Greens so far). Looks like the garden signs have been carefully placed so they are not too close to the building. A bunch of kids here with their parents too, and a decently diverse crowd.

Pretty much a model election so far, guess we'll se how it holds up on the inside!
posted by gemmy at 1:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Obama losing ground on Intrade in the last hour. WHAT GIVES.

Most likely people who bought Obama cheap, offloading at the highest zero-risk price they'll receive. I don't think they know anything we don't know at this point.
posted by howfar at 1:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Election eves are brutal on me, always like a cross between Christmas Eve and a final exam I'm not prepared for...
posted by octobersurprise

I'm pretty sure you've got nobody to blame for that but yourself.
posted by gauche at 1:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I voted weeks ago, like I said (go Washington!) but I want to thank everyone who didn't have that option, who has stood in line for hours in horrible weather to have your vote counted and your voice heard. Thanks. Democracy only works when We The People make it work.
posted by KathrynT at 1:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Obama losing ground on Intrade in the last hour. WHAT GIVES. By the way, insider trading encouraged there.

You should take a breath and walk away from the 'puter. I have a hard time coming up with a less reasonable predictor for an election result than Intrade.

For a reference point, in sports gambling over the long haul one very good bet to make is anyone who is playing the Dallas Cowboys, because they are chronically overvalued because they have a myopic fan base, and in parimutuel betting that drives the odds incorrectly in one direction. Seriously.
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Also Intrade has the problem of not being very easy for Americans to access. If the volume was higher and Americans could easily access it, I think it'd be more meaningful than it is.
posted by haveanicesummer at 1:48 PM on November 6, 2012

Both XML and CSV are plaintext formats, so I'm not sure why the reporter felt the need to draw that distinction.

I think the CSV is the compatible format with other voting systems in place in the state but that still begs the question: why install a patch on multiple county systems rather than convert the XML to CSV at the central input?

The likely answer for me is also the really scary one: to hide something in the patch at the source tabulator.

Having all tabulators agree in their tabulation means any alteration won't be detected unless a manual count of the ballots is performed.
posted by linux at 1:49 PM on November 6, 2012

Also, the early exits are meaningless. Don't even bother! Just wait until the polls close and we start getting actual facts.
posted by gerryblog at 1:49 PM on November 6, 2012

The Looming GOP Civil War -- Whether Mitt Wins Or Not.
posted by ericb at 1:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

*Obama losing ground on Intrade in the last hour. WHAT GIVES. By the way, insider trading encouraged there.*

There's somebody with deep pockets keeping the price above 30.

The order book is crazy.
posted by grudgebgon at 1:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Meanwhile, in one of Florida's most critical battleground counties, voters are getting robocalls saying Election Day is Wednesday.

And in Arizona: Robocalls from GOP Congressman Send Democratic Voters to Polling Places Miles Away from Their Precinct
posted by homunculus at 1:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm pretty sure you've got nobody to blame for that but yourself.

You're right. I should've studied more.
posted by octobersurprise at 1:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Looks like turnout will exceed 2008 in Virginia.
posted by Ironmouth at 1:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Check out the Iowa Electronic Markets, Obama is at 75-80.
posted by Area Man at 1:55 PM on November 6, 2012

The fiscal cliff isn't so much a cliff as a downslope slope towards more reasonable levels of taxing and spending. For example half of it is defense spending cuts, but the spending cuts are just reductions in the rate of defense spending increases.
posted by humanfont at 1:55 PM on November 6, 2012

Voting Machine in Pennsylvania Isn’t Accepting Votes for Obama

PA Machine That Changed Obama Vote to One for Romney 'Recalibrated' and Put Back in Service.
posted by ericb at 1:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

How do you know that, ob1?

Well, I guess I don't. I'm relying on the report in the Salon article.

Yeah, sorry, I couldn't tell what article you were referring to. Thanks.
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 1:56 PM on November 6, 2012

Holy shit, MeFi just burped up a JRun error.

MATT, PLEASE HOPE ME!
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:56 PM on November 6, 2012

Looks like turnout will exceed 2008 in Virginia.

Any thoughts on locations where turnout has increased? Dem vs Repub strongholds?
posted by inigo2 at 1:57 PM on November 6, 2012

Just voted in DC. My boss saw (he says, I'm guessing he "saw" them on the radio in his car) long lines to vote, so he let us out an hour early. Despite having to change my address and vote my weird special ballot for same day address changers, I was able to commute home, bring in the trash cans/hurricane debris the trashman refused to take for some reason, vote, and get home before I would have normally left work.

Sadly, I was hoping for a long line so I would have excuse not to make dinner, but no such luck.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 1:58 PM on November 6, 2012

I wonder which will happen first: this thread surpassing the motherthread or the election being called?
posted by perhapses at 1:58 PM on November 6, 2012

When they say "recalibrated", they mean it. Touchscreens can get off-calibration so your touch is registered offset from where you actually touched. My old Palm Pilot used to get off-calibration all the goddamn time.
posted by BungaDunga at 1:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I love that NY Law regarding disclosing the ballot "anyone who shares anything about who you voted for..."

"I'm not SAYING I voted for Obama, but I think you should vote for Obama, but that's just like, my opinion, man."
posted by symbioid at 1:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Looks like turnout will exceed 2008 in Virginia.

Any thoughts on locations where turnout has increased? Dem vs Repub strongholds?

Hearing NOVA pretty heavy.
posted by Ironmouth at 1:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

There is a bald eagle living down the road from me, in some woods along the river. He flew over our car yesterday and I was hoping to see him again today when we drove into town to vote, but alas we didn't. That would have been some crazy poetic patriotic shit, right?
posted by apricot at 2:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I've had the recalibration problem occasionally with pub quiz machines. Sometimes it's the machine. Sometimes it's the pub.
posted by tigrefacile at 2:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Can someone explain to me why these computer voting systems are even in use? Here in Arizona I just drew lines on a sheet of paper. Seems cheaper and more tamper-proof.
posted by reductiondesign at 2:01 PM on November 6, 2012

More about politicking in MN churches that are polling places today. This update includes a photo.
posted by gimonca at 2:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Cartman Has Something in His Room That Can Change the Outcome of the Election: VIDEO.
posted by ericb at 2:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Holy shit, MeFi just burped up a JRun error.

I shouldn't be telling you this, but that's actually a fake error message we generate periodically to up the drama and create a sense of narrative to keep the userbase more engaged in their reloading.
posted by cortex at 2:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [53 favorites]

There is a bald eagle living down the road from me, in some woods along the river. He flew over our car yesterday and I was hoping to see him again today when we drove into town to vote, but alas we didn't. That would have been some crazy poetic patriotic shit, right?

Yes, and I firmly believe that with alcohol and will power you can convince yourself that you did see him. It will make a good story.
posted by Area Man at 2:01 PM on November 6, 2012

I, for one, am thrilled that the fate of democracy rests on the same touchscreen technology that we use for drunken Photo Hunt games at the corner pub.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

And in Arizona: Robocalls from GOP Congressman Send Democratic Voters to Polling Places Miles Away from Their Precinct

Why Arizona? Is Arizona in play?
posted by gauche at 2:02 PM on November 6, 2012

Will the touchscreen recalibration of 2012 be the hanging chad of 2000?
posted by perhapses at 2:02 PM on November 6, 2012

I just got back from voting in Alphabet City -- took an hour, when usually I don't have to wait more than about 20 minutes in the middle of the afternoon. According to the poll worker I talked to, turnout is definitely up but I suspect it's mostly about the new electronic voting. This is the first year we haven't used the old-skool lever machines and I miss 'em. Now we have to sign in, get a ballot, fill it out, then have it scanned. They hadn't thought through the different stations very well so it's all a snarl of intersecting lines. But everyone is pretty cheerful nonetheless.

I did hear things were worse at other polling places, including one near Union Square, where 13 poll workers just didn't show up.

Before I voted, I was volunteering with Occupy Sandy out in Staten Island so I'm very, very grateful to have a warm, dry place to wait out the results.
posted by dogrose at 2:02 PM on November 6, 2012

That order book for InTrade is hilarious.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 2:02 PM on November 6, 2012

Hey now, they're *nudie* photo hunt games. We're not completely wasting our time.
posted by restless_nomad at 2:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Don't be surprised if the networks call it for Obama by 8:15 EST. Seriously.

Aw, come on. It's not enough that you East Coasters get baseball and hockey playoff games to start before us West Coasters finish work, but you wanna call the election before we get off work too? That's no fun!
posted by TwoWordReview at 2:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yes, and I firmly believe that with alcohol and will power you can convince yourself that you did see him. It will make a good story.

And if your candidate loses, embellish the story by saying the bald eagle shat on your car as you were driving to the polling place.
posted by perhapses at 2:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Just voted in DC. My boss saw (he says, I'm guessing he "saw" them on the radio in his car) long lines to vote, so he let us out an hour early.

Lines were def long this morning. Hour and a half or so for me, bit under 3 hours for a buddy. Guess it just comes down to location.

A friend just emailed, said it took him about an hour in Arlington.
posted by inigo2 at 2:04 PM on November 6, 2012

And in Arizona: Robocalls from GOP Congressman Send Democratic Voters to Polling Places Miles Away from Their Precinct

Why Arizona? Is Arizona in play?

Not for the presidential race, but we have a hotly contested senate seat in play.
posted by Superplin at 2:04 PM on November 6, 2012

Who Remixed It Better: Jay-Z and Cory Booker Have 99 Problems But a Pun Ain’t One
posted by homunculus at 2:05 PM on November 6, 2012

One nice thing about voting in a place where our votes barely count? Instead of crazy people pestering me outside, I was politely handed one flyer for an independent city council candidate. The person who handed me the flyer was gone by the time I got out.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 2:05 PM on November 6, 2012

Oregon election worker fired for altering ballots to Republican straight ticket.

"If convicted of a Class C felony for ballot tampering, Swenson could face five years in prison and a fine of up to $125,000."

I say: throw the friggin' book at her. Send a message!
posted by ericb at 2:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

How Astronauts Vote From Space
posted by Golden Eternity at 2:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Didn't know that, Superplin. Thanks! (Too busy watching to see whether McMahon can buy a Senate seat at any price here in CT.)
posted by gauche at 2:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Don't be surprised if the networks call it for Obama by 8:15 EST. Seriously.

That early? It was called at about 8 PM PST in 2008. At least, that's when it was certain enough that people started literally celebrating on the streets. What's changed from 2008?
posted by yasaman at 2:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Bonus fact: In Texas, the Railroad Commissioner is actually fairly important and fairly powerful.

They'll be interested to hear this! And I can teach them what an anachronism is! Thanks!
posted by saul wright at 2:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Touchscreens can get off-calibration so your touch is registered offset from where you actually touched.

In the article I read the voter said he specifically checked for that:

Being a software developer, I immediately went into troubleshoot mode. I first thought the calibration was off and tried selecting Jill Stein to actually highlight Obama. Nope. Jill Stein was selected just fine. Next I deselected her and started at the top of Romney’s name and started tapping very closely together to find the ‘active areas’. From the top of Romney’s button down to the bottom of the black checkbox beside Obama’s name was all active for Romney. From the bottom of that same checkbox to the bottom of the Obama button (basically a small white sliver) is what let me choose Obama. Stein’s button was fine. All other buttons worked fine.

posted by NailsTheCat at 2:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Was the origin of the #RomneyDeathRally stream—still going strong by the way—the rally the other night where people were complaining about not being allowed to leave?
posted by ob1quixote at 2:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

That order book for InTrade is hilarious.

Can someone please explain it in simple terms to me? My head hurts.
posted by inigo2 at 2:07 PM on November 6, 2012

My son is attending Election Day festivities dressed as a healthcare bill. His own, in fact. Front of onesie. Back of onesie.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [35 favorites]

How Astronauts Vote From Space

I hope orbital lasers are involved!
posted by Celsius1414 at 2:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Being a software developer, I immediately went into troubleshoot mode. I first thought the calibration was off and tried selecting Jill Stein to actually highlight Obama. Nope. Jill Stein was selected just fine.

Much like I wish I could see video of the alleged machines in NC selecting Obama when clicking Romney, I really wish this guy had recorded this part of his test.
posted by inigo2 at 2:09 PM on November 6, 2012

How Astronauts Vote From Space

I hope it's for Obama!
posted by Room 641-A at 2:10 PM on November 6, 2012

TPS, he is ADORABLE! As is his onesie.
posted by dogrose at 2:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Basically, the prices on the left are prices that people are willing to buy shares of Romney winning tonight, and the size of the buy order. So, for example, 10000 shares at 28.0 means a purchase order where each share is worth $2.80 (100% = $10, 0% = 0). So that is $28,000 worth of purchases. So it looks like someone spent roughtly $100,000 keeping Romney shares above 28%.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 2:10 PM on November 6, 2012

I can't watch any more of the Al Jazeera coverage of the US election. Why is this all partisan hackery, narrative pushing, navigating by feel bullshit spreading to what's supposed to be informative, by the numbers style, non-partisan affair. Putting one side's talking head up and then the other side's talking head up doesn't make it non-partisan. It just makes it partisan to whoever is strongest in pushing their narrative.

If I see any more fucking bullshit like "Democratic analyst" or "member of Republican think tank" talking about things they have no knowledge or expertise about I swear I'm going to have an fucking aneurysm.
posted by Talez at 2:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

How Astronauts Vote From Space

“The election folks count it and tabulate it just like any other vote,”

Astronaut votes should count as 5 regular votes.
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 2:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

To be filed under ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY: Minnesota Gay Marriage Ban Amendment Supported By College Students (PHOTOS).
posted by ericb at 2:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Don't be surprised if the networks call it for Obama by 8:15 EST. Seriously.

They will not call it until the polls close at 10 EST in California.
posted by Ironmouth at 2:11 PM on November 6, 2012

That early? It was called at about 8 PM PST in 2008. At least, that's when it was certain enough that people started literally celebrating on the streets. What's changed from 2008?

Well, essentially Obama has 237 electoral votes that are, for want of a better word, guaranteed. That means he needs 33 more to win. Of the in-play states, if he wins any two or more of Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, or Florida, then game's over (since New Hampshire's 4 EVs are likely his as well). There will be no math that can get around that.

Granted, networks love viewers to stick around all night and watch, so they might not want to call that early. But essentially this election could be totally decided by 8:15 PM EST.
posted by grubi at 2:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

ultraviolet catastrophe: "Astronaut votes should count as 5 regular votes."

...to account for relativistic effects.
posted by schmod at 2:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Everyone citing calibration issues regarding that touchscreen fraud video should read the description from the person who made it: (bolding is mine)

"I initially selected Obama but Romney was highlighted. I assumed it was being picky so I deselected Romney and tried Obama again, this time more carefully, and still got Romney. Being a software developer, I immediately went into troubleshoot mode. I first thought the calibration was off and tried selecting Jill Stein to actually highlight Obama. Nope. Jill Stein was selected just fine. Next I deselected her and started at the top of Romney's name and started tapping very closely together to find the 'active areas'. From the top of Romney's button down to the bottom of the black checkbox beside Obama's name was all active for Romney. From the bottom of that same checkbox to the bottom of the Obama button (basically a small white sliver) is what let me choose Obama. Stein's button was fine. All other buttons worked fine."

I'm not sure if the video is 100% genuine, but if it raises awareness and generates a public outcry for verifiable, tamper proof voting mechanisms then I hope it gets as much media attention as possible.
posted by ceribus peribus at 2:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Looks like turnout will exceed 2008 in Virginia.

What do you think the spread will be -- 1005 Obama/1003 Romney, or bigger?
posted by dhartung at 2:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

They will not call it until the polls close at 10 EST in California.

If so, then they will call it at 10 exactly, because if Obama has 215 before then, it's just a matter of waiting for the exact minute. They did this in 2008.
posted by grubi at 2:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

They will not call it until the polls close at 10 EST in California.

But that's like 5 HOURRRSSSSSSS.....

major sulking
posted by SomaSoda at 2:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

To be filed under ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY: Minnesota Gay Marriage Ban Amendment Supported By College Students (PHOTOS).

Those are students at Northwestern College. Billy Graham used to be president. It is a small, conservative bible college.
posted by Area Man at 2:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I swear they called it before then last time. I remember having a lot of food and drink untouched when they called it.
posted by Bookhouse at 2:14 PM on November 6, 2012

Heh. Fast moving thread.
posted by ceribus peribus at 2:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

But yeah, if they call Virginia and/or Ohio for Obama, it's going to be four hours of pretending to not know what the deal is.

I am okay with this.
posted by Room 641-A at 2:14 PM on November 6, 2012

To be filed under ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY: Minnesota Gay Marriage Ban Amendment Supported By College Students (PHOTOS).

Well yeah, students in the photos are enrolled at Northwestern College.

Demographically in Minnesota, the younger you are, the more likely you are to be against this stupid amendment.
posted by mcstayinskool at 2:15 PM on November 6, 2012

Next I deselected her and started at the top of Romney’s name and started tapping very closely together to find the ‘active areas’. From the top of Romney’s button down to the bottom of the black checkbox beside Obama’s name was all active for Romney.

The fingers you are using to vote with are too fat.
To order a special voting wand mash the touchscreen with the palm of your hand.
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

ericb To be filed under ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY: Minnesota Gay Marriage Ban Amendment Supported By College Students (PHOTOS).

They all go to Northwestern College, which is a small Christian college near the Twin Cities.
posted by sararah at 2:17 PM on November 6, 2012

I cast an early vote on Friday; the line at that library was not as long as they'd been to vote early in 2004, but still about a half hour wait. The part of me that gets superstitious at hockey games was spooked about voting there again after 04, so I called a friend to de-jinx me. There was a news truck parked outside the building, and while I waited in line a news helicopter circled overhead.

That seemed very topical somehow, getting filmed standing in a voter waiting line while on the phone with my friend in NYC who still had no power.

I got a text during my wait: "Channel 28 is showing the voters! What are you wearing?"
I wrote back: "My ugly sweater."
The reply I got: "Which one?" Okay, that's fair.

My Awesome Hippie Mom, meanwhile, did her ballot by mail and has since been bemoaning the lack of ritual involved in voting. She misses the curtain, and she especially misses the lever, because it made her vote feel so decisive and solid.

"I want my lever of democracy!" I love my mom.
posted by cmyk at 2:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

I sent in my ballot last week, when Florida was looking pretty solidly Romney, but I've been vaguely nervous/giddy all day, after seeing 538 put Florida a basically a perfect tie. Being the only American it's felt strange being so excited while everyone else has an ordinary day.

Anyway, time to catch a bit of sleep so I can wake up in time for the results.

Also, would an Obama victory be a legitimate excuse for a victory drink before class?
posted by Karmeliet at 2:17 PM on November 6, 2012

Bookhouse, I was at the 1st District Democrats headquarters when they called it, literally at 8:00 PM PST on the nose. I know, because at 7:51 I was doing math, and I chased my husband down screaming "HOW MANY ELECTORAL VOTES DOES OREGON HAVE?!" and he screamed back "DO NOT DO IT! DO NOT DO THE MATH! JUST WAIT! DON'T JINX IT!" and then I hopped from one foot to the other for nine minutes, and then they called it, and then I turned to the guy next to me (who was black, and in his sixties, and from New Orleans) and said "Did we just elect a black President?" and he said, with a giant smile and tears streaming from his eyes, "Yes ma'am, I believe we did." And then we hugged.
posted by KathrynT at 2:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [30 favorites]

A little funk to ride us through: ~~Think~~ Vote! It Ain't Illegal Yet! and let's all hope for four more years of Chocolate City.
posted by klangklangston at 2:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I swear they called it before then last time. I remember having a lot of food and drink untouched when they called it.

In 2008, I remember them holding off until the last poll closed, but then it took an excruciatingly long 13 seconds to broadcast the winner. It was horrible.

Seriously...it was clear that after about 30 seconds after the polls had closed, they had known the winner a couple of hours earlier. This one might be different if the sliver of a difference is real as opposed to the larger gap between Obama and McCain.
posted by lampshade at 2:19 PM on November 6, 2012

Wait, am I wrong? Did they close it at 10:00 PM? Do the CA polls close at 10? It was literally RIGHT when the polls close, I remember that.
posted by KathrynT at 2:20 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm counting on you east coasters to start drinking and liven up this thread to keep my west coast anxiety at manageable levels until I get off work.
posted by perhapses at 2:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

They will not call it until the polls close at 10 EST in California.
posted by Ironmouth at 2:11 PM on November 6 [+] [!]

Polls here actually close at 8, or 11 EST.
posted by mudpuppie at 2:21 PM on November 6, 2012

heh....I just got a donation request from Wasserman-Schulz.

We're in the 11th hour, and we're still about $2,500 from our $5,000 Election Day mark.

I think I am donated out for this cycle.
posted by lampshade at 2:21 PM on November 6, 2012

Seriously...it was clear that after about 30 seconds after the polls had closed, they had known the winner a couple of hours earlier. This one might be different if the sliver of a difference is real as opposed to the larger gap between Obama and McCain.

I actually watched Fox for the call. It was amazing. Rove and co. fell all over themselves congratulating the President. I got the feeling they really did think it was an important and significant event in our history.
posted by Ironmouth at 2:21 PM on November 6, 2012

Riots will likely have to happen and dozens will have to lose their jobs over it.

More likely that we are brainwashed into blaming this election year's equivalent of Nader voters.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I CAN'T DRINK TODAY

I CAN! And, just made myself a cocktail!
posted by ericb at 2:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's my birthday (a big one, at that) so pleasepleaseplease let me get what I want*!

* - Oh, is this the election thread? I was just hoping for a pony.
posted by ooga_booga at 4:10 PM on November 6 [+] [!]

ooga_booga my 50th was yesterday so I salute thee & want my bday wish granted likewise.

cheers
posted by yoga at 2:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Let us talk about the Roseanne Barr/Cindy Sheehan ticket for a moment. HTF did that happen??
posted by mudpuppie at 2:23 PM on November 6, 2012

They payouts on Betfair and Sportsbet have had Obama at 75% to 85% probability to win, all day today, while the odds on Intrade have been around 68% to 72%. Surely there is someone who can arbitrage this and take a ton of free money from the Romney backers on InTrade...
posted by mbrubeck at 2:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wait, am I wrong? Did they close it at 10:00 PM? Do the CA polls close at 10? It was literally RIGHT when the polls close, I remember that.

Let's be honest KathrynT, you were wasted. Yeah sure the bit with the old guy happened, but the only headquarters it happened in was the police headquarters.
posted by howfar at 2:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

That fiscal cliff is out there and only God Almighty can keep us from tipping over it.
You may be familiar with the joke that ends, "I sent you a helicopter!"
posted by Wolfdog at 2:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

The lady is sitting in her massive kitchen with granite countertops, recessed bay windows, and French doors as she watches the President speak on her flat-screen kitchen television … and then watches him again on her iPad. In the next installment, we’re pretty sure she’s going to whip out her iPhone 5 in the middle of the ad and say, “Excuse me one moment, I really need to take this call. It’s my chef — who, by the way, we can no longer afford full-time because of Obama’s failed economic policies. My family can’t take four more years of this.”
posted by Senor Cardgage at 2:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

Why You Should Consider Vermin Supreme in 2012
posted by homunculus at 2:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

The problem is that God keeps sending black helicopters.
posted by perhapses at 2:26 PM on November 6, 2012

.. .although there are not so many that offer the "Vote Gay Republican" option.

But(t), there's this .... Masochistic Closeted Power-Bottoms For Romney.
posted by ericb at 2:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

My son is attending Election Day festivities dressed as a healthcare bill. His own, in fact. Front of onesie. Back of onesie.

Am I reading that right? Childbirth cost over $55,000? Was he delivered by blind virgins on the heights of Mount Olympus or something? That's utterly unbelievable.
posted by Jehan at 2:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

That was what my hospital & providers billed my insurance company for a straightforward c-section + 3 day stay in "semi-private" (i.e. not) room here in NYC.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, hey, it's martini o'clock!
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:29 PM on November 6, 2012

Why You Should Consider Vermin Supreme in 2012

I considered it. And decided I'd no longer be eating at Taco Bell.
posted by mudpuppie at 2:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's totally believable if you've had a child in the US :(
posted by Elementary Penguin at 2:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Am I reading that right? Childbirth cost over $55,000? Was he delivered by blind virgins on the heights of Mount Olympus or something? That's utterly unbelievable.

Amazingly, we in the US have exactly the same reaction when we see the bill.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

The payouts on Betfair and Sportsbet have had Obama at 75% to 85% probability to win, all day today, while the odds on Intrade have been around 68% to 72%. Surely there is someone who can arbitrage this and take a ton of free money from the Romney backers on InTrade...

This has been the case for the last few weeks, it seems. Obviously, it depends on the vig. I get the feeling arbitrage has been holding intrade up, while less experienced American bettors, and maybe manipulators, are weighing it down.
posted by Golden Eternity at 2:29 PM on November 6, 2012

Relax, our babies are just worth more than your babies.
posted by Think_Long at 2:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

stoneweaver: "Of course, what the networks are really holding out for is a toss-up in one of the major states with days of manual recounts. For the sake of my sanity, I hope it doesn't come to that."

I think there's a pretty good chance of that in Florida and I think that Obama will have well over 270 EV even without Florida, so it won't matter.
posted by wierdo at 2:29 PM on November 6, 2012

The problem is that God keeps sending black helicopters.

Helicopters should rebrand. Pink I think.
posted by srboisvert at 2:30 PM on November 6, 2012

That was what my hospital & providers billed my insurance company for a straightforward c-section + 3 day stay.

You forgot "+ baby."
posted by mudpuppie at 2:30 PM on November 6, 2012

You forgot "+ baby."

True, though he was $20, SAIT.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

Am I reading that right? Childbirth cost over $55,000? Was he delivered by blind virgins on the heights of Mount Olympus or something? That's utterly unbelievable.

Completely believable. My straightforward no-intervention-except-for-the-epidural released-the-next-day birth was over twelve grand six years ago. Triple the hospital stay and throw in a major surgery on top of it, and that sounds about right.
posted by KathrynT at 2:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

They sell the baby to the mother?
posted by Area Man at 2:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Do these babies come with hats?
posted by ceribus peribus at 2:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

All the hats I could steal!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:33 PM on November 6, 2012

Do these babies come with hats?
Tradition in the US is to remove the hat soon after birth.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

If you buy this baby, I'll throw in a free hat.
posted by Area Man at 2:33 PM on November 6, 2012

The baby didn't cry in the car today and I'm wearing my lucky socks so that means Obama will win.

On preview: my emergency c-section and five days in a Portland hospital (in a private room) was over $20K...
posted by Specklet at 2:33 PM on November 6, 2012

That $12K was, of course, just for the delivery. Prenatal care was about another $3K-$5K, depending on whether you count my six months of physical therapy visits.
posted by KathrynT at 2:33 PM on November 6, 2012

Based on some of the comments on Intrade, it seems like people have been making a killing arbitraging Intrade and other prediction markets. Why am I so lazy?

In reply to Ralph Topping's comment on Nov 06, 2012 22:19:54 who wrote: Spread continues to widen. Romney 32% here, while you can...

the potential arb profits between this market and all the other offshore markets over the last few weeks has been simply ridiculous
posted by Golden Eternity at 2:34 PM on November 6, 2012

Tradition in the US is to remove the hat soon after birth.

Although this is less common nowadays, it is still A Topic That MetaFilter Does Not Do Well.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 2:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I'm going to go home soon and eat a small mountain of tacos and drink an ocean of booze while rattling the windows with Robert Siegel's voice and hitting F5 on like twenty web pages.
posted by rocketman at 2:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Do these babies come with hats?

Only if it's the first one of the year, according to this documentary.
posted by jedicus at 2:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

In a free market, all babies born in a hospital on the same day would be displayed in the room where they display babies. Parents would then get to bid on the baby of their choice. Highest bidder takes home each baby.

I would have gladly paid an extra $10-20k for the silent model. Or the model that sleeps past 5am.
posted by furnace.heart at 2:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Just voted in CA and got my Tagalog "Bumoto Ako" sticker. As predicted, no line, and the poll workers were on their game today and had no trouble finding me in the list or getting me a ballot (for the primary, it was a bit complicated because I'm registered Green, and they didn't think they had any Green ballots). One other guy voting at the time; took me ~2 mins to fill in my bubbles and walk back home.

Aside from the Prez, I voted for school taxes/bonds on three occasions; with apologies to THE BLOOD GOD, voted to end capital punishment; voted more against the sociopathic mayoral candidate than for the Dem one; voted pro-union; and otherwise voted pretty straight Dem ticket.
posted by LionIndex at 2:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Also, in the first two weeks of a baby's life, you should have the option to trade it in for a variety of durable goods.
posted by perhapses at 2:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm heading down to the bar to play some patriotic songs on the jukebox, any requests?
posted by The Whelk at 2:37 PM on November 6, 2012

This baby price is scary. My babies were free. Problem with free stuff (like advice) is you tend to value them in line with what you paid for them.

/not really - but i feel a little guilty that my babies were free.
posted by b33j at 2:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Isn't there a lemon law for babies? There oughta be.
posted by grubi at 2:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

James Carville: If a play were opening tonight, I think the title should be “The Ass-Whuppin’ Cometh.”
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

any requests?

Lee Greenwood
posted by Sreiny at 2:38 PM on November 6, 2012

In a free market, all babies born in a hospital on the same day would be displayed in the room where they display babies. Parents would then get to bid on the baby of their choice. Highest bidder takes home each baby.

And when the kids get to be 7-8 years old they become free agents and can bid their parents against prospective adopting parents.
posted by Golden Eternity at 2:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

This baby price is scary. My babies were free

Oh, you'll pay
posted by shothotbot at 2:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

"Keep on Rockin' in the Free World"
posted by rocketman at 2:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Requesting Toby Keith, but only if you play it ironically. "Don't you tell me not to worry 'bout Bin Laden" indeed.
posted by terrierhead at 2:39 PM on November 6, 2012

shothotbot - I did. They're in their 20s now.
posted by b33j at 2:41 PM on November 6, 2012

any requests?

"Down By the O-Hi-O"
posted by perhapses at 2:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Completely believable. My straightforward no-intervention-except-for-the-epidural released-the-next-day birth was over twelve grand six years ago.

My birth in 1971, (emergency C-Section, with 3 (?) weeks in neonatal ICU, and a few days' stay in regular semi-private room for Mom) came to $2,000. I just found the bill a couple years ago.
posted by small_ruminant at 2:43 PM on November 6, 2012

In case anyone wants another thing to follow along, the Washington Post liveblog is pretty complete.
posted by troika at 2:43 PM on November 6, 2012

In a free market, all babies born in a hospital on the same day would be displayed in the room where they display babies. Parents would then get to bid on the baby of their choice. Highest bidder takes home each baby.

I think you've just described the Catholic Charities home I was adopted from.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Message: don't lie about corporations, they fight back and they fight dirty.

Hey Mittens: Corporations aren't people.

Corporations are made up of people! And, quite alot of those people despise you!
posted by ericb at 2:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

That was what my hospital & providers billed my insurance company for a straightforward c-section + 3 day stay in "semi-private" (i.e. not) room here in NYC.

Wow, you would literally get ten babies on the NHS for the price of one there. Just staggered. I don't think I've appreciated just how problematic healthcare costs are in the US. But I guess that nobody who actually sees your son's bill is going to be surprised right?

I hope Obama gets re-elected, and that you all get Obamacare. Because you're too good as a people not to have that.
posted by Jehan at 2:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I just found the bill a couple years ago.

I can't believe they haven't sent it to a collection agency yet!
posted by perhapses at 2:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Romney charges journalists to cover tonight's party.

The Romney campaign cover charge appears to be hitting student journalists particularly hard, but is also likely to shut-out independent bloggers and smaller news organizations.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Google's election coverage is up on Google News. Obama currently has a massive 65.1% of the popular vote, albeit with a not-entirely-representative 43 total votes.
posted by jedicus at 2:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

In a free market, all babies born in a hospital on the same day would be displayed in the room where they display babies. Parents would then get to bid on the baby of their choice. Highest bidder takes home each baby.

Yeah I've never inquired about my price tag but I'm not at all sure it didn't work like that back in '81.
posted by restless_nomad at 2:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Voted, West Village, maybe 30-40 people on one line, but only 5 or 6 on my precinct's line.

Have to say 2 of 3 pollworkers encountered may have been nice people, but they were functional morons or drunk or both. But it's always like that in NYC in my experience.
posted by spitbull at 2:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I too am in this thread.
posted by Jofus at 2:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I can't believe they haven't sent it to a collection agency yet!

They considered seeking possession of the property concerned, but it turns out that children actually go on costing money long after their expensive births. The cheap fucks.
posted by howfar at 2:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Requesting Toby Keith, but only if you play it ironically. "Don't you tell me not to worry 'bout Bin Laden" indeed."

Toby voted for Obama in '08, though he does seem likely to switch.
posted by klangklangston at 2:47 PM on November 6, 2012

The cheap fucks.

n.b. actually the most expensive fuck you'll ever have.
posted by howfar at 2:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

This "baby cost" derail is freakin' annoying.
posted by spock at 2:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Are there any good sites doing live video streams of election coverage?

http://www.youtube.com/politics lists all the livestreams on YouTube. Right now Al Jazeera English is streaming, more sites (NYT, WSJ, etc) will be starting up their coverage soon.
posted by wildcrdj at 2:48 PM on November 6, 2012

Dr Eponysterical
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

This "baby cost" derail is freakin' annoying.
posted by spock at 10:48 PM on November 6 [+] [!]

Epony...oh I don't have the heart. I'll stop.
posted by howfar at 2:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Arcadia (Duran Duran side project) Election Day with bonus fashion and interiors inspiration! Loopy horsehead motif appropriate for both Olympic dressage and Gangnam Style.
posted by tardigrade at 2:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Heh, Obama delurked on Reddit for a quick GOTV.
posted by cortex at 2:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

> Childbirth cost over $55,000?

:0

Surely that's got to be the everything thrown-in deal, immunisation, bassinet, pram/walker, car seats, trikes, bikes, fisher paykel starters kit, childcare, 1st laptop, assorted software, education ... clothing not included.

Australian parents get paid to have children: baby bonus plus maternity/paternity leave. Best not say too much, it's verging on communism.
posted by de at 2:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I prefer to think of myself as Mr. Spock and not Dr. Spock, ThankYouVeryMuch
posted by spock at 2:50 PM on November 6, 2012

The Whelk: I'm heading down to the bar to play some patriotic songs on the jukebox, any requests?

"Common People"—William Shatner (featuring Joe Jackson), Has Been
posted by ob1quixote at 2:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

This "baby cost" derail is freakin' annoying.
posted by spock at 2:48 PM on November 6 [+] [!]

This is the part after the pre-show reception and before the main attraction where everyone hangs out in the lobby and makes small talk.
posted by mudpuppie at 2:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Obama won his basketball game, that's gotta be a good omen right?
posted by DynamiteToast at 2:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Scott Brown: A Day Late and a Few Poll Numbers Short

Scott Brown On Elizabeth Warren: “You Think She Has Anything In Common With You?”
posted by homunculus at 2:51 PM on November 6, 2012

This "baby cost" derail is freakin' annoying.

We have another 9 minutes until the first polls close. How do you expect us to entertain ourselves until then?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Another poll worker story. I went with a friend who has a silly last name which is somewhat lewd if pronounced the wrong way. The poll worker said, "Angelica LAAAASSSTNAME???!!" and started laughing uncontrollably. He then stopped laughing at her name, waited a minute, and started laughing again. "Really, that's your name?! Bwahahahahah!" In front of everyone.

She hasn't been made fun of that much since the 3rd grade.

(Small price to pay for participating in democracy, though!)
posted by kellybird at 2:51 PM on November 6, 2012

In a free market, all babies born in a hospital on the same day would be displayed in the room where they display babies. Parents would then get to bid on the baby of their choice. Highest bidder takes home each baby.

My wife and I make monthly payments to not have a baby. It's like some sort of threatening unborn mafia collecting protection money.
posted by srboisvert at 2:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Australian parents get paid to have children

My company pays its employees to not have company-sponsored health insurance. Seriously.
posted by Melismata at 2:52 PM on November 6, 2012

robocop is bleeding: "This is your last election to feel young. The next time around, people born on the same day the immortal words "Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos" were aired will be able to vote"

Uh, the last time I felt young was probably the same day those immortal words were uttered.

gilrain: "Are there any good sites doing live video streams of election coverage"

Wired has a pretty good list put together; it seems most don't start until 7:00 PM Eastern.
posted by Red Loop at 2:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Heh, Obama delurked on Reddit for a quick GOTV.

Do we have to hate him now? I am so conflicted!
posted by shothotbot at 2:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I prefer to think of myself a Mr. Spock and not Dr. Spock. ThankYouVeryMuch

I thought Mr. Spock wasn't burdened by emotions such as 'annoyance.' He may find baby bidding to be perfectly logical, actually.
posted by Golden Eternity at 2:53 PM on November 6, 2012

Drudge claiming exits showing 275-235 Obama with CO, VA, IA toss ups. NC, FL for R, the rest for Obama.
posted by Ironmouth at 2:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm heading down to the bar to play some patriotic songs on the jukebox, any requests?

Kids in America
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

We have another 9 minutes until the first polls close. How do you expect us to entertain ourselves until then?

Pocket pool?
posted by humanfont at 2:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Darwin Supporters Take Their Message To the Streets, Again, to Defeat U.S. Rep. Paul Broun: Supporters of the famous theorist believe that even dead, he's far superior to Rep. Paul Broun.
posted by homunculus at 2:55 PM on November 6, 2012

Heh, Obama delurked on Reddit for a quick GOTV.

He probably just remembered that there was an election today.
posted by FJT at 2:56 PM on November 6, 2012

I put on The Internatinale right after this land is your land.

No one noticed.
posted by The Whelk at 2:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Massachusetts voters - who else was surprised by the Citizens United ballot question 4? I thought there were only 3 ballot questions this time around.

Ballot Questions Intended To Send Leaders A Message

... in a pair of little-noticed, nonbinding ballot questions, some Massachusetts voters have the opportunity to tell the newly elected officials what they would like them to do when they get to Capitol Hill.

In much of Greater Boston, voters will consider an antiausterity measure that would call on elected officials to prevent cuts to social insurance programs by instead reducing military spending and raising taxes on the wealthy.

A second question, on the ballot in about one-third of the state, urges support for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case, which struck down campaign finance restrictions on corporations, labor unions, and advocacy groups. The amendment would declare that Congress and the states may place limits on political contributions and that “corporations are not entitled to the constitutional rights of human beings.”

... The nonbinding questions are meant as barometers of public opinion, and carry no legal force.

Each question will appear on the ballot in more than 30 legislative districts, an unusually high number for nonbinding questions. In a grass-roots effort, proponents of each collected signatures district-by-district, so some ballots will include one question but not the other.

While the measures have received little attention, proponents say they are more than symbolic and deserve consideration.

posted by ericb at 2:57 PM on November 6, 2012

Pocket pool?

I'll be in my pool hall...
posted by CrystalDave at 2:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I thought Mr. Spock wasn't burdened by emotions such as 'annoyance.' He may find baby bidding to be perfectly logical, actually.

Fascinating.
posted by spock at 2:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Wait, there's a jukebox with the "Internationale" on it? In New York?

Can I get absinthe there too?

Alright, now I'm so antsy I can't sit down. I'm posting while walking around the apartment.
posted by spitbull at 2:58 PM on November 6, 2012

They considered seeking possession of the property concerned, but it turns out that children actually go on costing money long after their expensive births. The cheap fucks.

AKA 'Red Chief's Law'.
posted by Room 641-A at 2:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Four more beers! Four more beers!
posted by kirkaracha at 2:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Drudge claiming exits showing 275-235 Obama with CO, VA, IA toss ups. NC, FL for R, the rest for Obama.

President Kerry knows how awesome exit polls can be!
posted by Justinian at 2:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Polls have closed in Indiana.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Please jesus say Richard Mourdock isn't going to Washington.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Polls have closed in Indiana.

Only in the Eastern time zone.
posted by AstroGuy at 3:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The parts of Indiana in EST. Parts in CST, including "The Region" are open another hour.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 3:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yes, well, we don't consider the NW part to be "real" Indiana. And Evansville...well...it's Evansville.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Obama on Reddit: "Go vote. Think of it as upvoting."
posted by msalt at 3:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

hey romney heard u in pittsburgh come to philly so we can say HI
posted by angrycat at 3:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Periodic service reminder: feel free to redirect some of your free-floating anxiety to the official mefi chatroom.
posted by cortex at 3:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I recommend the Sharon jones and dap kings cover of "this land."
posted by mrzarquon at 3:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The VERY blue Region, DevilsAdvocate.
posted by AstroGuy at 3:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I put on The Internatinale right after this land is your land.

No one noticed.

In a country where Barack Obama is frighteningly left wing, I'm not sure The Internationale would register. You could also play Robert Wyatt's version of The Red Flag. People would probably think Christmas was coming early.

By the way, as a filthy foreigner, I can highly recommend the pieces-of-paper-and-a-pencil method. All you need in the polling station are booths and sealed boxes, and they're fairly cheap. Of course, you don't get to syphon money off to the people who bankrolled your campaign, but other than that, it's a pretty good method.
posted by Grangousier at 3:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

> My company pays its employees to not have company-sponsored health insurance. Seriously.

You're going to love Obamacare.
posted by de at 3:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

metaCHAT causes anxiety
posted by ninjew at 3:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

'cause we love you in Philly will give u a big big kiss COME HERE YOU $%*#$%
posted by angrycat at 3:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

"Cam Cameron" reporting on Fox News that Romney has only one speech prepared: an acceptance speech.

Bad move, chief.
posted by King Bee at 3:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yes, well, we don't consider the NW part to be "real" Indiana

That pleases me to no end.
posted by AstroGuy at 3:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I will miss these election threads once Obama wins and presidential elections become a thing of the past.
posted by perhapses at 3:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Heh, Obama delurked on Reddit for a quick GOTV.

Linking to BarackObama.com. That would get him banned in these parts.
posted by Gary at 3:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yes, well, we don't consider the NW part to be "real" Indiana.

Normally we don't, but I have a feeling we may want to count them just for today.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 3:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

According to Drudge, here are the exit polls:
EXIT POLL BOOM FOR O
R: NC, FL
O: OH, NH, PA, MI, NV
TOSS UP: VA, CO, IA

If you give the toss ups to Romney, that leaves it at 275 Obama, 263 that other guy
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

OK guys, her MRI was all clear and we made the best ferry home. So c'mon Obama make this the perfect day!!
posted by Rumple at 3:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [39 favorites]

Politico's John Martin:

A senior GOPer w close ties to Romneyland emails a single word: "worried."
posted by Ironmouth at 3:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Normally we don't, but I have a feeling we may want to count them just for today.

Boy howdy! Still hoping for a miracle and Gregg keeps Pence out of the Governor's mansion.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

"Cam Cameron" reporting on Fox News that Romney has only one speech prepared: an acceptance speech. -- King Bee

Sounds like a repurposed Chuck Norris joke to me...
posted by Fezboy! at 3:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Polls have closed in Indiana.

Only in the Eastern time zone.

TOBY
What kind of schmuck-ass system could this possibly...

JOSH
That's good! That's perfect!

TOBY
How did...? I don't understand.

JOSH
Perfect. Just the break I'm looking for.

TOBY
What do...? What do...? People, they just... They reset their watches when they commute?

JOSH
I can't take working here.

TOBY
They just change their watches every time they cross a time zone? What is this, a joke?!

JOSH
Serving my country.

DONNA
Okay, this is a whole new thing now. My guys are going to need to walk this off a bit before they can regroup.
posted by mightygodking at 3:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

OK guys, her MRI was all clear

best news I could have possibly gotten.
posted by KathrynT at 3:08 PM on November 6, 2012

Voted here in Honolulu. No problems at the polls - in and out in a snap.

Today's music around my office and car has been Talking Heads '77. I find this song to be somehow especially Election Day worthy.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Let us talk about the Roseanne Barr/Cindy Sheehan ticket for a moment. HTF did that happen??

I dunno, but I voted for it!
posted by elsietheeel at 3:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Thorzad, long odds on that one. I'm hoping Reske keeps out Susan Brooks. Again, not a prayer. I'm liking my Senate odds, though!
posted by percor at 3:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, Chuck Todd has the colorful map out. It begins.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Checking in to say voting in Bed Stuy has been a disaster. I voted midday, got there about 1:45 p.m. and got home about 4:30 p.m. For some reason, several of the precincts were unexpectedly closed within the last few days -- meaning people were coming in from myriad election districts, and there was a line snaking through the elementary school halls of people didn't know which district they were supposed to vote in.

If you did know which district you were voting in, you were directed to a line and told to wait there, which took about forty-five minutes. It was like a victory when we finally got into the gymnasium. Except ...

Inside the gym, there were no signs, no taped off areas to keep folks within specific lines, and there was no way of being certain you were waiting in the right place. The lines were pretty single-file near the back of the gymnasium, but as one approached the check-in tables it became apparent that the front of the room was a mob scene. People who had been told to get in one line were actually supposed to be in another line. Two of the lines were reversed, and though poll workers were told repeatedly, they neither directed people to switch lines nor switched places themselves. The result was chaos. People were shouting at poll workers, because they'd just spent two hours or more standing around and had plenty of time to get agitated.

As we waited, many of the folks around me said they felt that today's mess was a sign of voter suppression. I heard at least half a dozen people say something to the effect of, "They don't want us to vote, they want us to stand here and get discouraged and walk out, but we are going to stay as long as it takes and we are going to VOTE."

But some people did walk off the line. And others jumped the line. And we were all of us very grouchy.

I wasn't in this district four years ago, so I asked an elderly man in line behind me whether it was like this then. "No," he said. He told me that four years ago folks walked in, waited in orderly lines for ten or fifteen minutes tops, voted and walked out. "They're trying to tell us it was the storm," he said.

Anyway, I was so upset by the time I got home that I had noted the name of the supervisor, and I called up the city board of elections to complain. Do you know what they said? They said I should go back to the school and tell them to deputize me as an emergency poll worker. Which I would have done, except that place is a war zone. And I had a previous commitment, to come back here and read this thread, now showing 883 new comments since I last refreshed.
posted by brina at 3:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

Hey guys, mightygodking is actually Aaron Sorkin!
posted by spock at 3:11 PM on November 6, 2012

When this thread gets unwieldy and crashes Firefox, I'll be keeping an eye on IsMittRomneyThePresident.com.
posted by humph at 3:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Ballot #140 this morning in Bloomington MN Precinct 1, in and out with no fuss.

Voted No twice.
posted by strange chain at 3:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Where are the 5500 votes on Google's election results from? Popped up at 6 eastern, but no states other than the NH midnight voters show.
posted by AstroGuy at 3:12 PM on November 6, 2012

"Cam Cameron" reporting on Fox News that Romney has only one speech prepared: an acceptance speech.

Bad move, chief.

Missed it by THAT much.
posted by spock at 3:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Reporters asked what Romney would have for his last meal.
posted by angrycat at 3:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

percor...Sorry to hear that about the guv race. Agree about the senate, though. Mourdock really stepped in it. I just wish his opponent wasn't a Dem in name only. The guy's a solid Republican, really.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I hit my Favorites limit for the day. That's never happened before. You guys might want to hold off being smart and funny until after midnight.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

If you guys are really stressed there's always the mashup thread.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 3:13 PM on November 6, 2012

"Cam Cameron" reporting on Fox News that Romney has only one speech prepared: an acceptance speech.

Bad move, chief.

Yep. Romney tempts the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing.

Yeah, I know ceribus peribus already made that reference in this thread. Deserves to be made again.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 3:13 PM on November 6, 2012

Do we get holographic will.i.am this year? Or would that be rendered unnecessary because we have a Romn-E on the ballot?
posted by Dr. Zira at 3:14 PM on November 6, 2012

Thorzad: It's Indiana. We're not going to elect Barney Frank. Donnelly voted for Healthcare Reform and he'll caucus with the Dems. That's good enough for me.
posted by percor at 3:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Reporters asked what Romney would have for his last meal.

Two slices of white bread and a glass of water for dippin'.
posted by dobie at 3:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

Not a prediction, more of a yearning (I swear, that Texas balloon would not come across without a fight!)
posted by humph at 3:17 PM on November 6, 2012

Thorzad: It's Indiana. We're not going to elect Barney Frank.

True. But I'm old enough to remember we sent Birch Bayh to Washington year after year. So, you know...hope.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Where are the 5500 votes on Google's election results from? Popped up at 6 eastern, but no states other than the NH midnight voters show.
posted by AstroGuy at 6:12 PM on November 6

Indiana and Kentucky, I think.
posted by ceribus peribus at 3:18 PM on November 6, 2012

For nostalgia's sake: Barack Obama is your new bicycle.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Something I hadn't realised, until Andrew Sullivan quoted a Slate post: New Hampshire has a good chance of being the first US state to pull a New Zealand and elect an all-chick slate to the top slots --- both US Reps, both US Senators, and the governor. Go Granite! Let your Knope out!
posted by Diablevert at 3:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Where are the 5500 votes on Google's election results from?

Their map is lagging behind the vote totals.
posted by snofoam at 3:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Galveston County (TX) voting hours extended two hours due to problems with voting machines.
posted by immlass at 3:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Tucson, AZ

I never got my early ballot; I figured I'd forgotten to check the box for early voting when I changed my address last year. I showed up at the polling place, and had to cast a provisional ballot.

I heard from the poll workers that they'd had over sixty people saying the same thing; there was a wait for the table where people were filling out the provisional ballot forms.

Either they never got sent out, or someone went around stealing them from mailboxes.
posted by MrVisible at 3:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

If New Hampshire elects Ovide Lamontagne, the world will explode. That man is fucking insane.
posted by ChuraChura at 3:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

glmonca The biggest Catholic church in my area has had "Vote Yes" campaign signs up for weeks. I think it's blatantly illegal, but apparently that's only my personal opinion.

The Cathedral has a giant banner hung over the entrance. I'm pretty sure it's the only "church" in my neighborhood that is taking a yes stance.
posted by nathan_teske at 3:21 PM on November 6, 2012

I just woke up. How's it going?
posted by Artw at 3:21 PM on November 6, 2012

According to Google's totals, Romney is STOMPING Obama with 67.4% of the vote*.

* - Vote consists of a handful of rural districts in Indiana and Kentucky.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 3:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

How The Republicans Lost Another Black Supporter (Gawker link, but really quite good)
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Non-American here.

What's the preferred news network for watching returns tonight? I get the impression it's CNN?
posted by dontjumplarry at 3:21 PM on November 6, 2012

I just woke up. How's it going?
The Giants won the series!
posted by Thorzdad at 3:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

all-chick slate

Clearly a high water mark for feminists everywhere.
posted by spock at 3:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I just woke up. How's it going?

Robot uprising. Giant ants attacking. Best to stay indoors.
posted by Celsius1414 at 3:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [18 favorites]

@ KevinOzebek : #BREAKING results may not be tabulated until tomorrow morning for some South Florida precincts due to massive lines. From @dt007
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:22 PM on November 6, 2012

What's the preferred news network for watching returns tonight? I get the impression it's CNN?

If you're an 87 year old white guy maybe. I think MSNBC is probably the way to go.
posted by Justinian at 3:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

New Hampshire has a good chance of being the first US state to pull a New Zealand... and elect an all-chick slate to the top slots

Damn! I thought they were going to build a fence made out of toothbrushes!
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:23 PM on November 6, 2012

I am going to be watching Fox News for a good portion of the night. I want to hear all the falsehoods they spout throughout the evening.
posted by King Bee at 3:24 PM on November 6, 2012

CNN claims moms +10 for Obama.

Don't listen to any of the exits I'm posting.
posted by Ironmouth at 3:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Where's the best online streaming coverage right now?
posted by flippant at 3:25 PM on November 6, 2012

What's the preferred news network for watching returns tonight?

Depends on what you want. For holograms and other silliness, CNN is fine. If you want down-the-middle non-partisan, Al Jazeera maybe? PBS will be very tame and not the first to call anything.

Me, I'll be watching MSNBC.
posted by ambrosia at 3:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

somehow i got to 5pm central and just now realized i don't know where to watch the results online - i have new york times open just because they were at the top of the google search.
posted by nadawi at 3:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

PBS/MSNBC are where I am.
posted by ChuraChura at 3:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Now who ordered the bacon-crusted rolls?
Bad Lip Reading highlights of the debates.
posted by Flashman at 3:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Another choice, nadawi
posted by Danf at 3:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I bet this morning Mitt put on "Eye of the Tiger" and made a staffer run up a bunch of stairs for him.
posted by perhapses at 3:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [19 favorites]

It's PBS or C-Span for me.
posted by vverse23 at 3:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Had to step away for a job interview and to vote. Quite crowded and the poll worker said it had been hopping all day.

Maine election law trivia: if your polling place did not have home-made blueberry pie, you may have been disenfranchised. Call 1-800-PIE-BGON.
posted by mikepop at 3:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Are Comedy Central doing a live show tonight? That's where I watched it being called last year. It was awesome
posted by IanMorr at 3:30 PM on November 6, 2012

Two slices of white bread and a glass of water for dippin'.

Mormons call that the Sacrament.
posted by elsietheeel at 3:30 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm following the results until I hear a concession. Even if it takes days, I want to get a concession out of one side or the other.
posted by ceribus peribus at 3:31 PM on November 6, 2012

Yes Comedy Central said they will do a live show for Stewart and Colbert, and streaming on the website too for the first time.
posted by shortfuse at 3:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

wow the end of the thread how did i get here
posted by elizardbits at 3:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

MSNBC says that Mr. Romney has not written a concession speech. Uh, so if he loses, it'll be off the cuff.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Live streaming on the website. . .as in tonight, not tomorrow?
posted by Danf at 3:32 PM on November 6, 2012

I just woke up. How's it going?

BRRAAAAIIINNSSS!!!
posted by Skygazer at 3:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

I'm frying up obligatory election bacon.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 3:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

From a FB friend: "Waiting in line for 3 hours to vote is essentially a poll tax."

Fuckin' right on.
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

What's the preferred news network for watching returns tonight?

In the spirit of outsourcing, don't forget about the BBC.
posted by Rykey at 3:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have no idea how reputable this is:

Here are exit polls being circulated by Republican staffers. They are based on waves one and two, except where noted.

Provided for your enjoyment only. It's probably best to ignore them.

7:00 - Virginia - Tied

7:30 - North Carolina - Romney +1

7:30 - Ohio - Obama +4

8:00 - Florida - Romney +1

8:00 - New Hampshire - Obama +3

8:00 - Pennsylvania - Obama +4

9:00 - Colorado - Tied

9:00 - Minnesota - Obama +4

9:00 - Wisconsin - Obama +4

10:00 - Iowa (wave 1) Obama +3

10:00 - Nevada (wave 1) Obama +5
posted by Golden Eternity at 3:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Now who ordered the bacon-crusted rolls?

Oh god. Breathe.
posted by cromagnon at 3:33 PM on November 6, 2012

MSNBC says that Mr. Romney has not written a concession speech. Uh, so if he loses, it'll be off the cuff. #RomneyDeathRally
posted by fullerine at 3:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

Obama is up 28 votes to 14 in New Hampshire!
posted by dfan at 3:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I wouldn't be surprised by an off the cuff Romney concession speach that basically amounted to "Obama cheated we're getting the lawyers out."
posted by Arbac at 3:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

MSNBC says that Mr. Romney has not written a concession speech. Uh, so if he loses, it'll be off the cuff.

Mitt Romney: Bringing jobs to America's unemployed comedy writers.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

My proposed Romney concession speech:

"FUUUUUUUUUUUU...."

(cut to commercial)
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Since Biden has been so awesome at VP, I'm hoping that he automatically gets added to the Democratic ticket in 2016 as Veep. Clinton/Biden has a nice ring to it.

What America Needs Now: Clinton/Booker 2016
posted by homunculus at 3:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Danf - If you were asking about Stewart/Colbert, CC will be live streaming tonight at 11 EST which they have never done before.
posted by shortfuse at 3:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

(returning from commercial break)

"...UUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"
posted by letourneau at 3:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Provided for your enjoyment only. It's probably best to ignore them.

7:00 - Virginia - Tied

I'm still going! I'm still making calls to VA and just spoke to someone who thought they had until 8 pm. You can help get those last votes out, too!
posted by anya32 at 3:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Actually, it would probably be "...UUUUUUUUUUUUUUDGE!"
posted by Gary at 3:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Uh, so if he loses, it'll be off the cuff.

"Uh, I'd like to congratulate President Obama on his re-election. And-uh...

"...Oh beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,"

"C'MON, EVERYBODY!"

"For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!"

"Hey, you in the back! You gotta sing too!"
posted by FJT at 3:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Is there a MSNBC stream that's different from the NBC News stream (currently hosted by Brian Williams)?
posted by shortfuse at 3:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Thank you short fuse. . .
posted by Danf at 3:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Provided for your enjoyment only. It's probably best to ignore them.

Ohio and Wisconsin both O+4 and Nevada O+5? We're done here.

Republican staffers just publicised Obama election winning numbers.
posted by Talez at 3:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

MSNBC says that Mr. Romney has not written a concession speech. Uh, so if he loses, it'll be off the cuff.

...like the 47% comments were?

I look forward to jumping up and down with undignified glee while I stuff my face with popcorn.
posted by kagredon at 3:39 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney should give the victory speech even if he loses. For the lulz.
posted by davidjmcgee at 3:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

A snippet from the phone banks -- this from a 71 year old gentleman in Ohio.

"My name is Franklin Delano -- that's my real name -- and my dad would turn over in his grave if I EVER voted for a damn Republican."
posted by ourobouros at 3:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [22 favorites]

God. It's going to be hard, here in London. Will I have to actually pay for a VPN with enough bahdwidth for CC? Will I be able to stay up until things shape up? Last time I swore to myself I'd not go to bed until there was a result was Dubya v Gore, and how did that work out for me...

But. I. Have. To. Know.
posted by Devonian at 3:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Romney concession: Romney out. *drops mic* *powers off*
posted by drezdn at 3:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

We're counting on you, Virginian Mefis. Second place is a set of steak knives.
posted by Justinian at 3:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I think the thread is broken, there's no Show button
posted by fullerine at 3:40 PM on November 6, 2012

MSNBC says that Mr. Romney has not written a concession speech. Uh, so if he loses, it'll be off the cuff. #RomneyDeathRally

throw Romney::ElectionResultsException("should not get here, killing process!!!")
posted by strange chain at 3:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Yes Comedy Central said they will do a live show for Stewart and Colbert, and streaming on the website too for the first time.

Wait, what? I was gonna go watch Wreck-it-Ralph to be entertained tonight as I cut the cable and therefore lost CC -- but a live internet stream?

I just changed my entertainment plans.
posted by linux at 3:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The first presidential candidate flameout ever? Please?
posted by perhapses at 3:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

God. It's going to be hard, here in London.
Devonian: I am here with you, from Paris. Can't do anything about it, have a hellish week at work with 16 hour days and a 9am presentation, and I figure I lay in bed with the laptop until I fall asleep on it.
posted by whatzit at 3:42 PM on November 6, 2012

My election day strategy: curling up in bed, watching Ghibli flicks (Arrietty right now), and pausing them every five minutes to check on the news and the Mefi because hot damn am I nervous.

It's not just the Presidential election, though that's big. I'm worried about whether the FL justices will be kept or if Prick Scott will get a chance to ruin the courts as well. I'm worried that somehow Connie Mack will wrest Bill Nelson's seat out from under him. Nelson is a mensch. And I'm really worried about fucking fucking amendment six, the abortion-restrictions one, because I might just have to go storm some barricades or something if that shit gets passed.

I love my state, it's just the people in it that make me all crazy and paranoid. Somebody hold me.
posted by cmyk at 3:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

From HuffPo. Take it for what you will:

Experts predicted record Latino voter turnout this year, and according to exit polls, they were right. CNN reported that Latino voters made up 10 percent of the overall electorate in early exit polls.

Latinos made up 7.4 percent of the overall vote in 2008, according to Pew Hispanic Center, and helped propel President Barack Obama to victory. Last time around, Obama won 67 percent of the Latino vote, and it's possible he'll win an even larger percentage this year. A tracking poll released Monday by Latino Decisions found that 73 percent of those voters support Obama, versus 21 percent who support Mitt Romney.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm working at a poll site. (As a librarian, not a poll worker.) A truck with a loudspeaker just came by exhorting people to vote for particular candidates. Is this legit, considering you can hear it from the poll site? Is there somebody I should contact about this? I'm in NYC.
posted by Jeanne at 3:43 PM on November 6, 2012

Just read a report over at Kos that the Libertarian Senate candidate in Indiana is holding steady at 5% of the vote. That's bad news for Mourdock and good news for Donnelly.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:43 PM on November 6, 2012

7:00 - Virginia - Tied

7:30 - North Carolina - Romney +1

7:30 - Ohio - Obama +4

8:00 - Florida - Romney +1

8:00 - New Hampshire - Obama +3

8:00 - Pennsylvania - Obama +4

9:00 - Colorado - Tied

9:00 - Minnesota - Obama +4

9:00 - Wisconsin - Obama +4

10:00 - Iowa (wave 1) Obama +3

10:00 - Nevada (wave 1) Obama +5

wait, and that's the alleged Republican numbers? If that's true and assuming no surprise turnover, isn't it pretty much a straight-up Obama win? All of the electoral college projections I've seen seem to say that Romney pretty much had to take at least 2 of Pennsylvania/Virginia/Ohio to win.
posted by kagredon at 3:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Republican staffers just publicised Obama election winning numbers.

Which could (theoretically) make Dems who were waiting till the end of the day to vote feel overconfident and not actually show up at the polls. Eyes on the prize, peeps. The only exit polls that matter are coming soon enough.
posted by saturday_morning at 3:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Or it's all lies.
posted by smackfu at 3:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Never fear, Devonian, there's now Comedy Central UK where tonight you'll be able to watch all of the election night ... South Park, Two and a Half Men, Friends, Friends, and 30 Rock.
posted by phl at 3:45 PM on November 6, 2012

The first presidential candidate flameout ever? Please?

Nixon did that in his concession speech back in 1960.

Then he became President in '68.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I recommend actually being in work for it. I'm passing the time by reminding my SO that I'm getting paid for reading this thread.
posted by fullerine at 3:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

There's an awful lot of lies, and confident ignorance masquerading as predictions. Patience is hard.
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 3:46 PM on November 6, 2012

CNN is reporting Romney's internal polling showing Obama +5 in Ohio.
posted by Dr. Zira at 3:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

The politics of failure have failed; we must make them work again!
posted by Renoroc at 3:47 PM on November 6, 2012

Nixon did that in his concession speech back in 1960

Note that was his loss in the California 1962 gubernatorial. But if you want US flameouts, that's the golden ticket.
posted by dhartung at 3:47 PM on November 6, 2012

Whatzit - yeah, this is a week and a half right now, with at least two weeks tucked into the next three days. Would have taken tomorrow off, except that this is not a thing that can happen. If I were twenty five years younger, I'd be preparing the fine pharmaceuticals that make all things possible.

But no. It's me, two tins of Polish lager and MeFi.

Bring it on.
posted by Devonian at 3:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Then he became President in '68.

Yeah, but it's still a pretty typical flameout. You know, constantly claiming you're leaving the thread for good but always coming back for me.
posted by Justinian at 3:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Going to bed...I hope that when I wake up tomorrow new President is same as the old President.

(trying to go to sleep right now is akin to closing one's eyes, falling off the bow and hoping I miraculously end up on the warm, sandy beach.)
posted by iamkimiam at 3:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

"Cam Cameron" reporting on Fox News that Romney has only one speech prepared: an acceptance speech.

My fondest wish for this election is for the above to be true and that Romney loses very badly and gives the most petulant self-pitying rambling mess of a concession speech anyone's ever seen.

That would be some good television right there.
posted by wabbittwax at 3:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

2 responses to Obama comment on reddit:

-I'm British so obviously can't vote. Although if Romney wins rest assured we'll send redcoats.

Resonse to the Brit:

-Pro-tips:

Don't attack in formation.
We have fewer horses and bayonets this time.
We're really scared of black people.
posted by futz at 3:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [24 favorites]

fuck it, I'm starting the drinking now.
posted by Justinian at 3:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

My wife thinks that we are both going to yoga, 0530 PDT. . . I think not. . .
posted by Danf at 3:49 PM on November 6, 2012

*ommmm*
posted by yoga at 3:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

Sooo... no official final projection from Nate Silver, eh? Weird.
posted by saturday_morning at 3:51 PM on November 6, 2012

fuck it, I'm starting the drinking now.

The only reason I'm not is because I need some beers to chill out in the freezer first!
posted by King Bee at 3:51 PM on November 6, 2012

an hour of sleep, then I'm off to the election party. it's so totally 3am here.
posted by kaibutsu at 3:52 PM on November 6, 2012

MSNBC says that Mr. Romney has not written a concession speech. Uh, so if he loses, it'll be off the cuff.

Well, if we learned anything from the debates it's that he's great at improv, so no worries there.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney hasn't written a concession speech because if he loses it's Flavor Aid and cots for everyone.
posted by klangklangston at 3:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Candy, Candy, Candy.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Info for those who want to watch streaming coverage. (Sorry, have no idea how these links work if you're not in the US.)
posted by mudpuppie at 3:53 PM on November 6, 2012

Okay, who put together that Kermit with human eyes with the "U mad?" underneath? I've cut the teapartiers out of my life, so I mostly want to look at the picture and laugh and laugh. Because I am a dick. Sorry.
posted by angrycat at 3:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just got back from voting in Austin at Brykerwoods elementary. Took just under an hour, all told. They were having a computer problem when I got there, but they cleared it up after a couple minutes. Someone had kicked the power supply loose from the laptop that had the voter rolls on it, & it had finally shut down after running on battery power most of the afternoon, but they sorted it out.

The poll workers were all very pleasant & helpful, and the mood was relaxed and happy. Lots of smiles, & quite a few of us pointedly thanked them for doing a great job.

Everyone in line in front of me that I could see presented their driver's license along with ther voter's registration card, but I did not, & they didn't ask me for any more ID than that. There were 4 races that had a republican, a libertarian and a green, but no dem, so I took the opportunity to vote green in those races. Voted dem in all the races that had a dem on the ballot, & demurred in the republican & libertarian only races. Voted for all the bonds -- voted the hardest for parks!

The lady who seemed to be running the show said she'd been doing this for 10 years, and that turnout today was the highest she's ever seen. She said the line had remained steady at about an hour wait since they opened at 7 am.
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:53 PM on November 6, 2012

fuck it, I'm starting the drinking now.
I'm a Two-Hearted Ale ahead of you.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:53 PM on November 6, 2012

Q: Are you thinking of your father? ROMNEY: I think about my dad from time to time.

WHY ARE MY EYES LEAKING
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Romney hasn't written a concession speech because if he loses it's Flavor Aid and cots for everyone.

DAAAAMMMMNNNNN
posted by OmieWise at 3:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

MSNBC says that Mr. Romney has not written a concession speech. Uh, so if he loses, it'll be off the cuff.

Am I the only person who expects Romney to declare himself the victor regardless of outcome?
posted by Mister Fabulous at 3:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

They are actually showing people at Romney headquarters drinking, which surprises me for some reason.
posted by OmieWise at 3:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Private Jets Line Up At Logan As Romney Backers Arrive For Campaign Party
posted by Diablevert at 3:56 PM on November 6, 2012

Bain Capital Announces Election Night Investment In Outsourced Call Center In China
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm glad I fired up our lava lamp early so it'd be good and calming as the numbers roll in.
posted by yoga at 3:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

What cable network should i watch? I usually watch CNN but i only have antenna cable at this point in my life. Suggestions?
posted by DynamiteToast at 3:57 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama finally broke 70% on Intrade. I guess Romney's backers ran out of cash to prop it up.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Voting against Mercury Insurance, Monsanto, and the Mungers felt good. No line, my daughter got a sticker, and she'll get another when she goes with my wife to vote in an hour. STICKERS FOR VICTORY.
posted by RakDaddy at 3:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Are they drinking KoolAid, OmnieWise?
posted by mareli at 3:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Electoral Vote's map has gone blank, waiting for state results to fill in.
posted by octothorpe at 3:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney's victory speech is only 1,118 words? He's never gonna finish NaNoWriMo at this rate.
posted by cortex at 3:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

Alas, electoral-vote.com appears to be borked at the gate as Tanenbaum starts his liveblogging.
posted by dhartung at 3:58 PM on November 6, 2012

Private Jets Line Up At Logan As Romney Backers Arrive For Campaign Party

It's too bad it's too late for this to be a campaign ad.
posted by OmieWise at 3:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

DirectTV has a thingie on channel 102 showing 8 news channels at once. Although apparently they ran out of news channels and are showing The Weather Channel as one of them.
posted by smackfu at 3:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Skim milk, surely. Kool-aid is the Devil's beverage.
posted by trunk muffins at 3:58 PM on November 6, 2012

The lady who seemed to be running the show said she'd been doing this for 10 years, and that turnout today was the highest she's ever seen. She said the line had remained steady at about an hour wait since they opened at 7 am.

Related.....when I did my registration a few weeks ago, the person I spoke with at the election board (who was really helpful and knowledgeable) also had been doing it for a couple of decades and said she had never seen this much interest in all those years.

She suggested early voting which I did about 2 weeks ago (or something like that). I was in and out in less than 15 minutes. Took me longer to drive there than actually stand in line and vote.
posted by lampshade at 3:59 PM on November 6, 2012

My proposed Romney concession speech:
"FUUUUUUUUUUUU...."

Actually, it would probably be "...UUUUUUUUUUUUUUDGE!"

Nope. Chocolate contains caffeine.
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Republicans pretending they think they're losing (or admitting it) as a voter suppression tactic to get people to leave lines? We need to fix this absurd situation.
posted by gerryblog at 3:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney concession speech draft: "'Love is the only weapon.' Shit! Bullshit! Martin Luther King died with love! Kennedy died talking about something he couldn't even understand, some kind of generalized love, and he never even backed it up. He was shot down. Bullshit! 'Love is the only weapon with which I've got to fight.' I've got a hell of a lot of weapons to fight! I've got my claws. I've got cutlasses. I've got guns. I've got dynamite. I've got a hell of a lot to fight! I'll fight! I'll fight! AHOUHOUHOUHOUHOUHOUHOUHOUHOU!!!!!!!!!! I WILL FIGHT! I WILL FIGHT! I WILL FIGHT! I WILL FIGHT! I WILL FIGHT!"
posted by klangklangston at 3:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Indiana: Mourdock only up by 3% with the heavily Democratic NW yet to report.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:00 PM on November 6, 2012

Barack Obama is projected to win Vermont! He has 3 electoral votes!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Please god, I mean, nothing against India, but I honestly do not want to have to move this soon. Dammit, I just started putting up the shelving.
posted by aramaic at 4:03 PM on November 6, 2012

Best thing about being in London? Big Ben striking midnight on the wireless to the headline "The polls have closed in many East Coast states... " (well, that and the cheap Polish lager)
posted by Devonian at 4:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Actually, the day after election day should be a holiday.
posted by perhapses at 4:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Chat crash makes me sadness
posted by SomaSoda at 4:05 PM on November 6, 2012

In Massachusetts -- I'm excited about the probability of an Obama reelection; I'm excited about the possibility of an Elizabeth Warren victory (I looooooove her). I'm also pretty excited about the ballot initiatives (right to repair, assisted suicide, and medical marijuana). I really wish there had been an "exclamation mark" box I could have checked next to some of these -- particularly the fourth, nonbinding "companies aren't people" question!
posted by theredpen at 4:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Barack Obama is projected to win Vermont! He has 3 electoral votes!

Well, he did that thing where he got that town out of the lake.
posted by dhartung at 4:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

STRESS EATING HAS BEGUN.

So happy to see my home state first for Obama. Vermont makes me proud!
posted by sonika at 4:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

What happens if the poll closing time arrives and there are still people waiting in line to vote? Is there law that dictates what happens then? Is that another case where every district makes it's own independent decision about what to do?
posted by ceribus peribus at 4:07 PM on November 6, 2012

NPR (All Things Considered?) had a segment this afternoon about concession speeches. They said that even though it may not be mentioned out loud to the candidate (paraphrasing) it is always taken care of by someone(s) because a good concession speech is part of your political legacy. And it better be good and gracious dammit because history does not forget.
posted by futz at 4:08 PM on November 6, 2012

JRun threatening to ruin my bid to have the top two threads on the site. Hold together, baby.
posted by gerryblog at 4:09 PM on November 6, 2012

I've got to say, watching the Virginia numbers, a state where one of the major roads is Lee Highway, and another major road is Jefferson Davis Highway, were Obama a white man, this would be a fucking blowout. I know we're not supposed to talk about racism in the electorate, but C'MON!
posted by OmieWise at 4:09 PM on November 6, 2012

STRESS EATING HAS BEGUN.

4:09 PM PST: I have taken my first TUMS of the evening.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Californians: I have a vote by mail ballot that I am going to drop off after work. Will I have to stand in line or can I just show up and chuck it at somebody? Or does it vary by polling place?

I'm not sure whether it varies by polling place, but if it's like mine, you can bypass the line and chuck it in the box (not at somebody).

And will I get a sticker?

Yup. I took a Ya Voté one.

Because of the (soooo bullllshittttt) California proposition system and my need to be an informed voter, it took me about six hours of reading and research to figure out how to vote.

Welcome to the insanity. 2/3 of the both houses of the legislature required either to raise taxes or to pass a budget, but just 50% of the electorate to amend the state constitution.
posted by Zed at 4:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

What happens if the poll closing time arrives and there are still people waiting in line to vote? Is there law that dictates what happens then? Is that another case where every district makes it's own independent decision about what to do?

As long as you are in line at the time of closing you are allowed to vote.
posted by linux at 4:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

What happens if the poll closing time arrives and there are still people waiting in line to vote?

I keep seeing that you should stay in line and that you will get to vote. But that may be different depending on the location.
posted by lampshade at 4:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

So, what did I miss?
posted by mollweide at 4:09 PM on November 6, 2012

As a side point, claws and cutlasses are core to Romney and Ryan's defense budget.
posted by klangklangston at 4:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The NYTimes has a very sexy live-updating returns map. Things are staring to come in.
posted by Miko at 4:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

NPR (All Things Considered?) had a segment this afternoon about concession speeches.

Talk of the Nation. I thought the characterization of Kerry's dedication to having the votes being counted and knowing for sure before conceding as "not gracious" was a little grating.
posted by audi alteram partem at 4:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ohio and Wisconsin both O+4 and Nevada O+5? We're done here.

Republican staffers just publicised Obama election winning numbers.

Exit polls are notoriously unreliable, especially early ones. There's a chance that "leak" is fake, perhaps they're hoping Obama voters will stay home.

1. The first rule of exit polls is this: Before 5 p.m., there are no exit polls. That’s when the “quarantine” lifts on the exit poll data, collected by interviewers stationed at polling places across the country, that major television networks use to project outcomes.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:10 PM on November 6, 2012

What happens if the poll closing time arrives and there are still people waiting in line to vote? Is there law that dictates what happens then? Is that another case where every district makes it's own independent decision about what to do?

In Missouri, at least, you're supposed to get to vote if you're in line by 7 p.m. (closing time).
posted by limeonaire at 4:11 PM on November 6, 2012

Things are staring to come in.

Don't let them in, good god!
posted by cashman at 4:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

I am very proud that Minnesota has the largest voter turn out in the country; this amendment would give us one of the most restrictive voter policies.

Please vote no, and talk to your friends and family to make sure they know about the unintended consequences of this amendment. It might sound simple at first, but when you look closer it's clear that this is not the right choice for our state. Vote No!

Here is my Voter ID rant on FB:

The problem with saying "what's the big deal, just get an ID" is that it's just a recycled tactic to put barriers up for people who may have a harder time fighting back than you or I would. It used to be in the form of a poll tax - "what's the big deal, just pay a small tax" - except that while that seemed like not a big deal to a lot of people, it disenfranchised large swaths of people who could not even afford a small amount. Poll taxes were smacked down with the passage of the 24th Amendment to the US Constitution. The same thing happened in the form of "literacy tests" which were outlawed with the Voting Rights Act. In fact, the US has a long and ugly history of trying to keep people from voting (and a similarly long history of outlawing these tactics) based on supposed "common sense" ideas, but these are nothing but efforts to keep otherwise eligible voters from voting. Poor people and minorities are usually the most affected. Voter ID is the latest of these tactics.

Democracy is based on everyone having a voice in the process. This is something that should be protected and this is why it's different than opening a bank account or driving a car. If we want to ensure that the integrity of the electoral process is upheld, there are much better ways to do it than changing our constitution. Vote No Twice

Here's the best thing I've seen on the anti-marriage amendment, from the Vote No Twice page:

"Your vote NO on Tuesday will NOT make gay marriage legal. It will NOT force your church to perform gay weddings. It will NOT cause your hetero marriage to fall apart. It will NOT force schools to teach children about "being gay". And it will NOT make it okay for a man to marry 12 women. And nothing will EVER make it OK for me to marry my dog or you to marry your horse.

Your YES vote, however, will forever codify discrimination into the state constitution and pave the way for further erosion of your rights. It's a step backwards in time --- to when it was illegal for inter-racial couples to marry. To when it was illegal for women to vote. To when it was legal to own slaves. We've been there, done that as a society. We should be forever progressing forward as a nation.

If your reason for voting YES is because of your religion, I urge you to set that aside because we can't write YOUR religion into the constitution unless we're willing to do it for EVERYONE. And I pledge that I will fully respect your right as a religious person to only perform rites for people who ascribe to your particular dogma. I only hope that your beliefs allow for the same tolerance and acceptance."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

This is my reminder that I must get over to the southside more often, I guess.

If you want to feel hope for humanity, drive the neighborhoods south of Lake Calhoun and count the Vote No signs. Don't bother counting the Vote Yes signs, there literally aren't any.

Fwiw, I've seen more churches than not with Vote No signs and messages. Both around the Uptown area, North Minneapolis and South Minneapolis. And of course the most visible church - United Methodist on Hennepin - has a very large "People of Faith Vote No" sign out front. Right across the street from the hundreds of Vote No signs outside the Walker Art Center.
posted by triggerfinger at 4:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Anyone know of a Canadian friendly Comedy Central stream? The Comedy Network's site does not look promising.
posted by yellowbinder at 4:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

but just 50% of the electorate to amend the state constitution.

Yeah, and I recently found out "electorate" just means the yes votes just have to exceed the no votes. You don't really need a majority of registered voters.
posted by FJT at 4:13 PM on November 6, 2012

Howard Fineman saying turnout high in Hampton Roads. That's what I wanted to hear.
posted by Ironmouth at 4:13 PM on November 6, 2012

It's just past his bedtime and my son can hear me watching the TV and so wants out of confinement. Son, this is gonna be a long fucking night for both of us.
posted by sonika at 4:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Time to crack open the beers and get to drawing.
posted by hellojed at 4:15 PM on November 6, 2012

Man, this BBC coverage is as traditionally brilliant and bonkers as normal. Right now, Jeremy Vine is crouching down behind a CGI representation of minority voting stats going all the way back to Carter.

Dimbleby, obviously, is looking bored, because that's what he does. No nutjobs on the talking heads panel, though I'm holding out for them having someone as unhinged as talking moustache John Bolton back in 2008.
posted by Len at 4:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Talk of the Nation. I thought the characterization of Kerry's dedication to having the votes being counted and knowing for sure before conceding as "not gracious" was a little grating.

Completely agree! I didn't agree with much of their commentary (seemed totally "off" to me) but took note of the "there probably is a concession speech prepared".
posted by futz at 4:16 PM on November 6, 2012

8 minutes until I can take the first IPA out of the freezer.
posted by King Bee at 4:16 PM on November 6, 2012

Follow Chris Redfern on twitter. Not just because he has a skull and crossbones for an avatar. Also because he's the Chair of the OH Dems.
posted by Ironmouth at 4:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wooo, left over wine and candy from Halloween!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:17 PM on November 6, 2012

Turns out a Canadian Passport is not an accepted form of identification. You all are going to have to pick a prime minister without my input. Good luck!
posted by srboisvert at 4:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

First metafilter, now the chat server. Why? WHY?
posted by percor at 4:17 PM on November 6, 2012

I just remembered I have to go mail a few letters and I'm having so much trouble getting away from the computer. God help me.
posted by gc at 4:18 PM on November 6, 2012

I think they're using a fish-eye lens on CNN, it's a bit like I'm watching the Dagon News Network... admittedly, the fish-eye lens is not the only thing that makes CNN seem Dagonesque.
posted by Kattullus at 4:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's just past his bedtime and my son can hear me watching the TV and so wants out of confinement. Son, this is gonna be a long fucking night for both of us.
posted by sonika 1 minute ago [1 favorite +]

Time to crack open the beers and get to drawing.
posted by hellojed Just posted [+]

These two comments need to be merged.

Son, this is gonna be a long fucking night for both of us. Time to crack open the beers and get to drawing.
posted by philip-random at 4:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Crap. I've already made some headway into this (first?) bottle of wine, and I just remembered I have to write a quiz. Oops.
posted by Superplin at 4:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wooo, left over wine and candy from Halloween!

You give out wine at Hallowe'en? SHit, I'm trick or treating at your place next year.
posted by grubi at 4:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Anyone know of a Canadian friendly Comedy Central stream? The Comedy Network's site does not look promising.

Avoid the South Park coverage. Not at all Canadian friendly.
posted by srboisvert at 4:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Listening to a stuttering Democracy Now live feed stream. It's like hearing Max Headroom cover the election.
posted by audi alteram partem at 4:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

According to the New York Times, the swing states are a focus! THANKS GUYS HERE I WAS WATCHING VERMONT LIKE A HAWK
posted by Shepherd at 4:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Another song on my "for some reason it feels right for Election Night '12" playlist is Ministry's The Nature of Love. Something about the "there were no anti-cruelty laws" refrain puts me in mind of Seamus.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:19 PM on November 6, 2012

Apparently Miami Beach is known for art deco architecture and neon lights*. Thanks, BBC correspondent!

*And also Miami fratboys wandering behind the camera and yelling "Hi Mom!"
posted by Len at 4:19 PM on November 6, 2012

Netroots Radio has a good stream going tonight. Good numbers and reporting.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Call going out on Twitter from the Obama campaign that if you're on line in VA you stay on line and VOTE!
posted by Skygazer at 4:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Voted on the way home from work. I was required (as noted on the signature line) to provide ID in PA but it's my first time in this particular polling location. As I recall, this has always been the case according to PA law but they did have my signature existing on the confirmation line.

10 minute wait for the booth and on my way with a He Votado Hoy sticker. They only had about a dozen of those left and all the I Voted Today were already gone. I was voter 780-ish at my location.

Time to crack the bourbon and flip obsessively between the news channels!
posted by cmfletcher at 4:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Mitt has just finished writing his victory speech. It's "about 1,118 words". So somewhere between 1,117.5 and 1,118.4 words, then.
posted by Len at 4:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

The NYTimes has a very sexy live-updating returns map. Things are staring to come in.

Sitting here watching Florida flip from red to blue to red to blue....
posted by kettleoffish at 4:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

CBS' exit poll suggests President Obama will get 52% of the national vote.

Specifically, they said that "thirty-nine percent said (the economy) is getting better" and that "three in four Obama voters say the economy is getting better". Do the math and that's 52% who are Obama voters.

Meanwhile, CNN apparently reported that Romney's latest internal poll of Ohio shows him trailing by 5 points in that state.
posted by markkraft at 4:21 PM on November 6, 2012

Early Florida returns (4%) has Obama ahead 54-46. This will probably change.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:21 PM on November 6, 2012

No, it's just a list of his favorite 1,118 words.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

I managed to reach the end of this thread, so I'll leave you with this thought:

Romney laughs off the idea of global warming. "There will be no warmth on this planet ever again." #RomneyDeathRally
posted by ersatz at 4:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Bernie Sanders has been projected to keep his senate seat in Vermont. Double triumph for socialism in Vermont!
posted by Kattullus at 4:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Mit has just finished writing his victory speech. It's "about 1,118 words". So somewhere between 1,117.5 and 1,118.4 words, then.

He just needs to run a simple Find/Replace function to turn it into a concession speech.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Another song on my "for some reason it feels right for Election Night '12" playlist

I hadn't thought about election-night music, but the ice cream truck is currently making its pre-dusk crawl through the neighborhood, and it's playing Pop Goes the Weasel.

I think it's an appropriate soundtrack.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

538 just put up their live blog.
posted by FJT at 4:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Tell anyone you can to ignore the reporting and stay in line.
posted by gerryblog at 4:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

No, it's just a list of his favorite 1,118 words.

So like a tag cloud?
posted by Celsius1414 at 4:22 PM on November 6, 2012

Paul "evolution is a lie from the pit of hell" Broun won in Georgia.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:22 PM on November 6, 2012

So, Dixville Notch. Who's got the skinny on why turnout dropped 60% from 2008 (27 to 10)?
posted by dhartung at 4:22 PM on November 6, 2012

Yay, I've got this thread open, Twitter up, Facebook up, and Netflix open on the side. I'm set!
posted by limeonaire at 4:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NYT has Florida as blue!!!
posted by Windopaene at 4:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Sitting here watching Florida flip from red to blue to red to blue....

Thank God, for Mefi. I clicked frantically over here after I pulled up the NYT website and Florida was pink and I felt sick to my stomach. So it's still flipping back and forth there then?
posted by jeanmari at 4:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

MITT MITT MITT!
TOO LEGIT TO QUIT!
OBAMA'S THROWIN' FITS!
THE SERPENT RISES FROM THE PIT!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MITT!!!!
posted by clarknova at 4:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

So like a tag cloud?

No, a Tagg cloud.
posted by dhartung at 4:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm half tempted to go outside and pat the ground approvingly. Goood Florida. Very good.
posted by cmyk at 4:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

this lady called Brian Leher and said
--Obama will be a dictator if he gets 4 more years
--can't take 4 more years of being called a racist

U MAD??
posted by angrycat at 4:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

(I don't have the stomach for elections anymore.)
posted by jeanmari at 4:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Preliminary exit polls in Virginia show that voters are defining themselves as 39% (D) 33% (R) and 28% unaffiliated. This is looking to be a tight contest in VA for sure.
posted by jeremias at 4:23 PM on November 6, 2012

voted at 6 pm in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn - a big line for one voting district, no line at all for mine. I was in and out in 15 minutes.

For the Whelk, political songs --

They Might Be Giants, of course.

And another song - I mentioned this in another thread: presenting, the actual campaign song for our 27th President, "Get On The Raft With Taft."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:23 PM on November 6, 2012

perhapses: "I bet this morning Mitt put on "Eye of the Tiger" and made a staffer run up a bunch of stairs for him."

As a native Philadelphian, I am obligated to point out that "Eye of the Tiger" isn't the song from the Rocky runs up the Art Museum steps scene. That would be "Gonna Fly Now." "Eye of the Tiger" is from Rocky III.

Also, Paul Ryan ran up the steps for him -- in about eight seconds, according to his watch.
posted by tonycpsu at 4:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

So like a tag cloud?

Which is, coincidentally, the name of one of Romney's grandchildren.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

So, Dixville Notch. Who's got the skinny on why turnout dropped 60% from 2008 (27 to 10)?

Zombie apocalypse.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:24 PM on November 6, 2012

So, Dixville Notch. Who's got the skinny on why turnout dropped 60% from 2008 (27 to 10)?

Apparently the big resort hotel has been closed for renovations.
posted by restless_nomad at 4:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

man, my swing state is totally lacking in swinging parties, and I can see both the Republican HQ and the Obama folks from my bedroom window

does it count as drinking alone if I'm doing it while watching the map with y'all and keeping an eye on the elephants below?
posted by jetlagaddict at 4:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I can't imagine what it would take to unseat Sanders in Vermont. Vermonters wouldn't even be likely to vote for G-d himself.
posted by sonika at 4:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Am I bad for not feeling really optimistic about that? I mean I get trying to keep spirits up but that doesn't bode well.

You want to make sure until the last dog dies. No chances, especially with the GOP basically willing to burn the country down to win.
posted by gerryblog at 4:25 PM on November 6, 2012

dhartung, the interesting thing about Dixville Notch and election law is they can only close the polls early if everyone has voted. The turnout is still 100% but a net 17 people must have moved.
posted by cmfletcher at 4:25 PM on November 6, 2012

does it count as drinking alone if I'm doing it while watching the map with y'all and keeping an eye on the elephants below?

No. Go drink!
posted by insectosaurus at 4:25 PM on November 6, 2012

Every time I click back to the NYT map Florida's a different color.
posted by workerant at 4:26 PM on November 6, 2012

Florida was pink and I felt sick to my stomach.

It is again! As is VA. But they're both still under 1%
posted by kettleoffish at 4:26 PM on November 6, 2012

Mourdock continues to lag behind Donnelly in Indiana.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I had to turn the maps off. They were making me ill.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here in Somerville MA, someone from the Warren campaign just rang my doorbell (30 minutes before our polls close) to make sure I voted. They're taking this seriously.
posted by dfan at 4:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

OK, screw it, I'm going to bask in the awesomeness and pointedly ignore the small sample size while I still can:

South Carolina: Obama 85.9%, Romney 13.5%
posted by Flunkie at 4:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

You give out wine at Hallowe'en? SHit, I'm trick or treating at your place next year.

If you put a Martha Stewart label on it, it's legal to pour straight into the trick or treater's mask-holes.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Why is Vermont blue on the NYT map when it says 0% reporting?
posted by reductiondesign at 4:28 PM on November 6, 2012

The nytimes realtime results page also shows South Carolina as being 85.9% to 13.5% in Obama's favor, which should tell you pretty much all you need to know about paying attention to results when "<1%" results are in.
posted by Rhomboid at 4:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

The NYT map has South Carolina as blue as NH right now. I'm starting to think they're just testing the web app...
posted by FreelanceBureaucrat at 4:28 PM on November 6, 2012

I had to turn the maps off. They were making me ill.

If you're on NYT, just to COUNTIES level view.
posted by FJT at 4:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here in Somerville MA, someone from the Warren campaign just rang my doorbell (30 minutes before our polls close) to make sure I voted. They're taking this seriously.

I coincidentally got a call from the Warren campaign five minutes after I got home from voting. It was... a little creepy. But also, I got to tell the nice man that I already voted!
posted by sonika at 4:29 PM on November 6, 2012

I just want to wish you all good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by zardoz at 4:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Why is Vermont blue on the NYT map when it says 0% reporting?

You wouldn't bother asking if you were in Vermont. They don't need to count votes to know who will win here.
posted by meinvt at 4:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Get on the raft with Taft? Not until he puts down that knife and fork.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Voting: A Love Story
posted by homunculus at 4:29 PM on November 6, 2012

All y'all are starting map watching too early. Just keep your browser set to Metafilter where you know you're going to be seeing all blue.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

OH, NC too close.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:30 PM on November 6, 2012

Looks like Ohio is being called by ABC for Obama...and that's the election folks
posted by AElfwine Evenstar at 4:30 PM on November 6, 2012

My wife and I are having a few friends over to watch this go down. We have two types of beer, two types of wine, and 4 different whiskys. This info adds nothing to the thread except, perhaps, to explain my posting output down the line.
ROMNEY TOOK WVA. HOLY TOTALLY EXPECTED THING BATMAN.
posted by qnarf at 4:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

ABC says WV for Romney.
posted by xbonesgt at 4:31 PM on November 6, 2012

NBC just gave WV to Romney....no surprise there.
posted by lampshade at 4:31 PM on November 6, 2012

OMG who else is listening to WNYC with their "just decided" call-ins? "Romney isn't flip-flopping, he's problem-solving." "I'm very socially liberal but pro-life so I'm voting Romney."
posted by dogrose at 4:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

ABC exit polls are saying that four years after Obama was elected, more voters -- 51 percent -- still blame George W. Bush for the weak economy rather than Obama. The exit polls found that 40 percent of voters blamed Obama for the state of the economy.

Obama beat Romney 52 to 44 percent on the question of who is more in touch with the public.
posted by markkraft at 4:31 PM on November 6, 2012

If you put a Martha Stewart label on it, it's legal to pour straight into the trick or treater's mask-holes.

I swear I'm a rational, level-headed human being who managed to vote and all today without messing it up. But if I put a "CYANIDE" label on a wine bottle, I would immediately feel really weird about ever drinking anything out of it, even if I'd been drinking the wine right before applying the label.
posted by limeonaire at 4:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

If I had a dollar for every time someone on MeFi has said "I just want to wish you all good luck. We're all counting on you." I could have established my own SuperPAC and bought oh, at least Iowa, and maybe Virginia.
posted by Len at 4:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Driving home from work now. Please don't break the country while I'm out.
posted by arcticseal at 4:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Why would ABC call a state that NBC is holding off on?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:32 PM on November 6, 2012

Don't jump Brian (Lehrer)!
posted by Jahaza at 4:32 PM on November 6, 2012

hoooooly crap, obama leading in Florida with 23% in! Never expected him to be winning there and losing Virginia, but I'm happy for the swap!
posted by Theta States at 4:33 PM on November 6, 2012

I just refuse to believe all of the "romney will win the popular vote" hype. I want to believe that Americans aren't so gullible that they'd note against their own self interests. I'm in a red state and it is already hard enough for me to look at my co-workers and folks in the line at the grocery store and not think that they have been brainwashed...because black man. I'm sure that they think the same of me.
posted by futz at 4:33 PM on November 6, 2012

Each network has a closed room of analysts who make decisions with no access to what the other networks are doing. That is to prevent another debacle like 2000.
posted by Justinian at 4:33 PM on November 6, 2012

Why would ABC call a state that NBC is holding off on?

They use different models.
posted by Jahaza at 4:33 PM on November 6, 2012

Confirmation about that ABC call?
posted by gerryblog at 4:33 PM on November 6, 2012

All y'all are starting map watching too early. Just keep your browser set to Metafilter where you know you're going to be seeing all blue.

cortex: turn MetaFilter red!
posted by Mister Fabulous at 4:33 PM on November 6, 2012

That said I see no evidence ABC is calling Ohio for anyone.
posted by Justinian at 4:34 PM on November 6, 2012

"I just want to wish you all good luck. We're all counting on you."

My mother and I this morning, on our ways to our respective polling places:

"May the Force be With You."
"And also with you."
posted by sonika at 4:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

NYT has FL and SC colored blue at the moment.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:34 PM on November 6, 2012

Sorry I mistyped projected not called...

So ABC is projecting Ohio for Obama.
posted by AElfwine Evenstar at 4:34 PM on November 6, 2012

hoooooly crap, obama leading in Florida with 23% in! Never expected him to be winning there and losing Virginia, but I'm happy for the swap!

Misleading. The Republican heavy panhandle is still voting. Precincts reporting now are in the east.
posted by Jahaza at 4:34 PM on November 6, 2012

That is to prevent another debacle like 2000.

Out of all the debacle there, surely the news reporting that night was the most extremely unimportant part.
posted by kiltedtaco at 4:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

CNN just went to a camera that they call "BALLOT CAM".
CNN is such a delightful joke.
posted by qnarf at 4:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

NBC called SC for Romney.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:35 PM on November 6, 2012

AElfwine, are you sure? Are you talking about exit polling or actual results?
posted by gerryblog at 4:35 PM on November 6, 2012

SC called for Romney.
posted by sonika at 4:35 PM on November 6, 2012

NBC: SC goes to Romney
posted by lampshade at 4:35 PM on November 6, 2012

Ok, I see no evidence ABC is projecting Ohio for Obama.
posted by Justinian at 4:35 PM on November 6, 2012

This page shows the calls the networks have made and none have called Ohio yet.
posted by Rhomboid at 4:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

obama leading in Florida with 23% in

Where do you see this? The websites I'm watching only have 1% in for Florida (NPR, NYT).
posted by insectosaurus at 4:35 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm watching ABC and seeing no such projection.
posted by spitbull at 4:36 PM on November 6, 2012

Local news in Indiana has Donnelly up by 2% with 7% reporting
posted by FreelanceBureaucrat at 4:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Still nothing called that wasn't obvious from Silver's model. I remain unfazed.
posted by King Bee at 4:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND AS THE THREAD GOES ON: The order in which votes are counted tells you nothing unless you have detailed demographic information almost no one here has at hand. Wait until the experts weigh in.
posted by gerryblog at 4:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Christ. To hell with ABC news, they've got every irrelevant micro-smidgen of new metric up and what looks like Bowling for Pundits up there nattering their low information voter bullshit.

So back to PBS for me.

Although looks like their going to also project SC for Romster now..
posted by Skygazer at 4:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Mourdock continues to lag behind Donnelly in Indiana.

Some suburban Indianapolis voters still waiting in line as of ~7:20, 80 minutes after polls closed. They'll lean Republican, but I'm hoping not so much that they'll break much for nutjob Murdouck. I'm less optimistic about the governor's office, though.

If Pence takes the governor's office, the other thing to watch is whether Republicans can get a quorum-proof supermajority in the statehouse (67 of 100 seats in the State House of Representatives; I understand it's pretty much a foregone conclusion in the State Senate). If they do, Democrats won't be able to stop "right-to-work" (anti-union) legislation with a walkout.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 4:37 PM on November 6, 2012

They just said based on exit polling that they projected Obama would win. It was like 5 or 10 minutes ago and I haven't heard anything since.
posted by AElfwine Evenstar at 4:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Yeah, I have confidence Obama will win Ohio and thus the election but Aelfwine is just wrong. They have made no projections on ABC with regard to the state.
posted by Justinian at 4:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

man, my swing state is totally lacking in swinging parties, and I can see both the Republican HQ and the Obama folks from my bedroom window

As long as you're sure it's not Russia. That never ends well.
posted by Superplin at 4:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Yeah, everyone please be careful about your language.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Despite the use of electronic voting machines, it doesn't feel like the results are coming in any faster than they did in the 80s. (Not that I was paying very close attention back then.) Is it just me?

I'm assuming the electronic-machine results are still filtered through various state- and county-level livers/kidneys before they're reported.
posted by dogrose at 4:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Where do you see this? The websites I'm watching only have 1% in for Florida (NPR, NYT).

http://edition.cnn.com/election/2012/results/main
They say 26% reported, 3% lead for Obama. But as was mentioned above, that is Florida East.
posted by Theta States at 4:39 PM on November 6, 2012

MSNBC is giving Obama a big lead with 26% in, FL.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:39 PM on November 6, 2012

Cory Booker (Mayor of Newark, NJ) is on ~~MSNBC~~ NBC News. I like that guy.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 4:39 PM on November 6, 2012

On the night of the 2004 election, I got carried away and nearly promised that if Kerry won, I'd sleep with the first Democrat voter who knocked on my door. I spent the night of the 2008 election watching the coverage and knitting a pair of socks, pausing only to fist pump whenever another state declared for Obama. This time I'm knitting a pair of slippers and doing no fist pumping or making of rash promises, just coping with a dread fear. I must be getting jaded. Or old. Or old and jaded. At least my knitting projects turn out well.
posted by orange swan at 4:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

electoral livers

I suspect there will be quite a few of those tonight.
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've got time for a schvitz before this gets serious, right?
posted by Capt. Renault at 4:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bad Haircut Convention behind the Virginia Governor on NBC right now.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Lol very weird on BBC just now. They were calling SC for Romney but they "looked into the data" and it showed Obama with 77%. She quickly dismissed it and repeated that SC was going for Romney but there was a bit of awkward tittering from the panel.
posted by like_neon at 4:41 PM on November 6, 2012

NYT map for FL still says <1% reported, but reporting over 2.1 million votes. The % reported is clearly wrong.
posted by AstroGuy at 4:41 PM on November 6, 2012

3 : 24 currently WHICH IS NOT MAKING THIS ANY LESS TENSE
posted by radiosilents at 4:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

SC called for Romney

Lol

*******BREAKING ELECTION PREDICTION********

California called for Obama
posted by triggerfinger at 4:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

FL: Obama up 51-48 with 28% reporting
posted by Thorzdad at 4:43 PM on November 6, 2012

NBC news guys on the ground in Virginia says it might be another hour, hour and a half until they all results are in. People are still in line, though obviously the polls have closed.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

On the BBC they're discussing how brutal the campaign ads are, with a kind of "how dare they?" shocked-ness, because that sort of thing is just Not Done over here. They showed the Obama-supporting SuperPAC ad featuring that guy who worked for a Bain company and whose wife died of cancer.

Dimbleby: that's kind of a harsh, shocking ad, isn't it?
Dem pollster: God, no, that's mild.
posted by Len at 4:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Don't forget IL, triggerfinger. And Poland.
posted by AstroGuy at 4:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yes, sweet jeebus please be careful with how you pass on information, there are many tender souls out here right now.
posted by Red Loop at 4:43 PM on November 6, 2012

It's 4:43 here on the West Coast and I've already got one of those clenched-jaw headaches. I really need to try and breathe.
posted by jokeefe at 4:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

A lot of Indiana counties that are voting for Romney are being carried by Donnelly. Hope springs eternal!
posted by wierdo at 4:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

*******BREAKING ELECTION PREDICTION********

Will DC go 90% Democratic....or 95%?!?
posted by jetlagaddict at 4:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

How the hell does Romney have 13 electoral votes already? What's going on? I'm so confused.
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 4:45 PM on November 6, 2012

It may be 33 to 3 at the moment, but just like any good 80s movie, the hero has to take his licks before he realizes he's the hero and he's going to win.
posted by Rhomboid at 4:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Will DC go 90% Democratic....or 95%?!?

Too close to call!
posted by grubi at 4:45 PM on November 6, 2012

CNN is still reporting Obama ahead by a wide margin in SC, but have called it for Romney anyway. How does this happen?
posted by Eumachia L F at 4:45 PM on November 6, 2012

Len: "On the BBC they're discussing how brutal the campaign ads are, with a kind of "how dare they?" shocked-ness, because that sort of thing is just Not Done over here. They showed the Obama-supporting SuperPAC ad featuring that guy who worked for a Bain company and whose wife died of cancer.

Dimbleby: that's kind of a harsh, shocking ad, isn't it?
Dem pollster: God, no, that's mild."

I'll never tire of the look on my American friends and family faces when I explain Party Political Broadcasts.
posted by Happy Dave at 4:45 PM on November 6, 2012

NYT apparently stopped proofreading.
posted by insectosaurus at 4:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Google election results map is showing Romney with 13 EV, Obama with 3.

Time for more wine.
posted by Superplin at 4:45 PM on November 6, 2012

huh I just remembered my very first Mefite meetup ever was for the 08 election.

memories
posted by The Whelk at 4:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yes, sweet jeebus please be careful with how you pass on information, there are many tender souls out here right now.

I AM ONE OF THOSE TENDER SOULS. I want to run around screaming right now. Too bad I am still nominally "working."
posted by yasaman at 4:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Here in Somerville MA, someone from the Warren campaign just rang my doorbell (30 minutes before our polls close) to make sure I voted. They're taking this seriously.

10 minutes to 7:00 we had an Obama guy show up at our door. I was stunned. Our houses are so far apart we don't even get any trick-or-treaters. He was about to jog off to the next house but he asked me to call two friends and then he was away into the night!

That is some GOTV right there.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

NYT apparently stopped proofreading.

You're assuming they started.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 4:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

How the hell does Romney have 13 electoral votes already? What's going on? I'm so confused.

Some states lean heavily Republican, so it's not mystery in calling them, once the polls close.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:46 PM on November 6, 2012

CNN is still reporting Obama ahead by a wide margin in SC, but have called it for Romney anyway. How does this happen?

Demographics, and which precincts have reported and which are still to come.
posted by xbonesgt at 4:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Okay - is Dan Rather guest-appearing on the CBS broadcast? Trying to decide who to watch here.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh, man, Tom Brokaw just won the election for President of Being an Old Fuddy Duddy.
posted by COBRA! at 4:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

CNN is still reporting Obama ahead by a wide margin in SC, but have called it for Romney anyway. How does this happen?

Depends on what areas are reporting first. Could be the strong Republican counties haven't reported yet.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow, shocked how much of a trouncing Virginia is. I know only 4% reported, but still!
posted by Theta States at 4:47 PM on November 6, 2012

Where is the Apple election results map?
posted by srboisvert at 4:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

CNN is still reporting Obama ahead by a wide margin in SC, but have called it for Romney anyway. How does this happen?

They have tracking polls and exit polls and they know that those few percent that have reported are not representative of the whole in any shape or form.
posted by Rhomboid at 4:47 PM on November 6, 2012

electoral livers

I suspect there will be quite a few of those tonight.

Including mine! (Six Points Bengali Tiger IPA, with cheap vodka and cranberry juice as a backup.) And I abused the edit.
posted by dogrose at 4:47 PM on November 6, 2012

How the hell does Romney have 13 electoral votes already?

I'm digging the NYT Big Board which puts the results into some perspective.
posted by ceribus peribus at 4:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

CNN is still reporting Obama ahead by a wide margin in SC, but have called it for Romney anyway. How does this happen?

The Obama-leading districts have reported in, but the whole state is still projected to go for Romney.
posted by Sticherbeast at 4:47 PM on November 6, 2012

2nd PA voting machine "miscalibration" video
posted by radiosilents at 4:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

CNN is still reporting Obama ahead by a wide margin in SC, but have called it for Romney anyway. How does this happen?

CNN is probably using exit polls, and SC was widely expected to go to Romney. Only reported numbers are from 2 districts, totalling ~2500 votes. Hardly a big enough sample.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 4:47 PM on November 6, 2012

So those tender souls should probably stay away from CNN's coverage, because they're already projecting 33-3 for Romney instead of the 13-3 I see everywhere else.
posted by Imperfect at 4:48 PM on November 6, 2012

STOP CALLING THEM ALL "GREAT STATE OF..."
posted by grubi at 4:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wow, shocked how much of a trouncing Virginia is. I know only 4% reported, but still!

It's a very divided state (Northern Suburbs of DC vs basically the rest of the state outside the bigger coastal cities) so you really won't know until various precincts from those different areas are in.
posted by cell divide at 4:48 PM on November 6, 2012

Dan Rather has been showing up quite a bit on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show lately, so you might want to look for him there.
posted by raysmj at 4:48 PM on November 6, 2012

CNN is still reporting Obama ahead by a wide margin in SC, but have called it for Romney anyway. How does this happen?

Because you don't win South Carolina when you're expected to lose by 13.
posted by Talez at 4:48 PM on November 6, 2012

Vermontttttttt
posted by whorl at 4:48 PM on November 6, 2012

How the hell does Romney have 13 electoral votes already? What's going on? I'm so confused.

KY and WV, apparently, which were already expected. There's always been this red-states-in-early effect in US elections which gives the GOP a lead even when the Democrat eventually wins big.

CNN is still reporting Obama ahead by a wide margin in SC, but have called it for Romney anyway. How does this happen?

There's a huge difference in how quickly rural and urban districts report their votes. Same thing as above -- the cities with all the Dems report later, sometimes very late (like after midnight).
posted by dhartung at 4:48 PM on November 6, 2012

Out of all the debacle there, surely the news reporting that night was the most extremely unimportant part.

I disagree completely. I think that the media, in their hunger to get the story, get in the way and become part of the story. In 2000, NBC called Florida for Bush waaaaay too early, before a lot of polls even closed. And that sealed the fate of the election in many people's minds. It was, in reality, an undecided contest, a contested contest, but anyone on Gore's side saying so was being a sore loser because hey, NBC said Bush won!

NBC was wrong. The media outlets should STFU for the next 10 hours. We can have all this madness LATER.
posted by zardoz at 4:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Great state of DESPAIR
posted by hellojed at 4:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

srboisvert: "Where is the Apple election results map?"

They're still crowd-sourcing good data.
posted by Happy Dave at 4:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Where is the Apple election results map?

http://unskewedpolls.com/
posted by Mister Fabulous at 4:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just chill for a few minutes; once NY gets called for Obama in 15 minutes it'll be off to the races.
posted by Justinian at 4:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Powertie: look at which states close their polls earliest.

Poll closing times
posted by cmfletcher at 4:49 PM on November 6, 2012

Happy Dave: I'll never tire of the look on my American friends and family faces when I explain Party Political Broadcasts.

I can only imagine how horrible UK general elections would get if we had US rules on political advertising. "If you want a nigger for a neighbour, vote Labour!", as Peter Griffiths said, wouldn't be the half of it.
posted by Len at 4:49 PM on November 6, 2012

Justinian, New York closes at 9.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:50 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm watching CNBC for my election coverage. This should be fun!
posted by Lemurrhea at 4:50 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama is at 52% in florida, 35% reported.
posted by Theta States at 4:50 PM on November 6, 2012

The media outlets should STFU for the next 10 hours.

Ha, ha, ha!

The media outlets should STFU.
posted by Mars Saxman at 4:50 PM on November 6, 2012

I am also medicating my cat this evening, so I am assuming that means something.
posted by angrycat at 4:51 PM on November 6, 2012

if George Stephanopoulos calls Times Square "the crossroads of America" one more time...
posted by xbonesgt at 4:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Justinian, New York closes at 9.

Ouch. Okay, add an hour to the suspense.
posted by Justinian at 4:51 PM on November 6, 2012

So - what tabs to have open? 538 live blog, NYT map, BBC TV news... and MeFi, obvs. What else?
posted by Devonian at 4:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Okay... I'm tracking the NYTimes stie, but I was having trouble understanding the map. Big Board makes more sense.

So I'm not allowed to panic for another hour or so?
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 4:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Dunno what is going to happen here in the fighting 15th but in 2008 Obama got 93% and the Socialist Workers party candidate got 2.3%

I'm personally calling NY for Obama, fuck the lamestream media.
posted by Ad hominem at 4:52 PM on November 6, 2012

So - what tabs to have open? 538 live blog, NYT map, BBC TV news... and MeFi, obvs. What else?

Twitter, National Review, Facebook
posted by Jahaza at 4:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

IN: Indianapolis returns starting to come in...Donnelly stretches to 49-45 over Mourdock. Pence leading Gregg by only 2%. Pence was widely expected to crush. Heavily Democratic lake counties yet to report.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:53 PM on November 6, 2012

So, was turnout higher than normal, and if so, was that expected?
posted by Mavri at 4:53 PM on November 6, 2012

When I see the county maps, almost every large city is overwhelmingly democratic. Is this true across the country? Is maybe a place like Dallas going red, or does every urban area go blue?
posted by King Bee at 4:53 PM on November 6, 2012

grubi: "STOP CALLING THEM ALL "GREAT STATE OF...""

They should just make them state-specific.

"The well-armed state of Arizona"

"The deep-fried state of Iowa"

"The secession-ready state of South Carolina"
posted by tonycpsu at 4:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [43 favorites]

Kids asleep: Check
Five Thirty Eight Loaded: Check
NBC Live Coverage with Tom The Amazing Brokaw: Check
Serving of Tequila: Check
Opened Beer: Check
White knuckles: Check

CONDITIONS FOR ELECTION RESULTS ARE MET!

REPEAT: CONDITIONS FOR ELECTION RESULTS ARE MET!
posted by zizzle at 4:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

if George Stephanopoulos calls Times Square "the crossroads of America" one more time...

Especially seeing the Crossroads of America is Indiana.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 4:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Right, I can't bear it, getting up in five hours, time for this Scot to leave it to the fates. Hopefully it will be like the Scottish rugby team, who I inevitably jinx by watching them play, and Obama will storm home and I'll get woken up by a soundbite from his acceptance speech. Good luck America!
posted by Happy Dave at 4:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

So I'm not allowed to panic for another hour or so?

The only time to start to panic is if two out of Florida, Virginia, and Ohio have been called for Romney and the third hasn't been called for Obama.
posted by Justinian at 4:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Urban areas are generally blue, yeah.
posted by restless_nomad at 4:54 PM on November 6, 2012

tabs not yet mentioned: drudgereport.com for the lulz
posted by cmfletcher at 4:54 PM on November 6, 2012

Wahey, Jeremy Vine and his CGI Roadshow are back, this time on unemployment stats. Every sitting president who lost has a big fat cross right through their head, as if they've been targeted for assassination, like the secret agents who are marked "retired" in the opening credits of The Prisoner.
posted by Len at 4:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I invited my friends over for moral support but they are apparently still at work. Despite all the poll aggregators, I'm still freaking out. Does beer count as moral support?
posted by Serf at 4:54 PM on November 6, 2012

Fox News calls Georgia for Romney -- no big surprise there.
posted by Rhomboid at 4:54 PM on November 6, 2012

Re the various "OMG, 55k for a baby? WTF America?", to further add to this anecdote by ThePinkSuperhero: That was what my hospital & providers billed my insurance company for a straightforward c-section + 3 day stay in "semi-private" (i.e. not) room here in NYC. , I'll add:

My son's birth, almost exactly 10 years ago; 27 hours in a "birthing suite", emergency c-section, 3 days in the hospital,...$96,000. We had "great" insurance, and only had to pay about 10,000 of that...plus the 5+k in prenatal...and the $1000 a month insurance premiums. That was in Dallas in 2002, I cannot imagine it's gotten less expensive.

I told my husband we'd probably just finish paying off Boy's birth in time to pay for college...
posted by dejah420 at 4:54 PM on November 6, 2012

Sooooooooo... is anyone going to volunteer to bite the bullet and periodically dive into the fever swamp over at Free Republic to let us all know the latest wacky shenanigans?

not it
posted by Flunkie at 4:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

REPEAT: CONDITIONS FOR ELECTION RESULTS ARE MET!

I'VE GOT MAC AND CHEESE WE'RE ALL SET TO GO
posted by The Whelk at 4:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

MSNBC also calling Georgia for Romney.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:56 PM on November 6, 2012

My tabs:
Prediction map: http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/
Interactive map: http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/ecalculator#?battleground
Overall results: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/
Network totals: http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/president/network-calls
NYT: http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/live-coverage?hp
posted by Theta States at 4:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Drudge front page:

ENOUGH! LET'S COUNT!
R 50% O 49%

No. I'm not kidding.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 4:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Can I ask for y'all to recalibrate the colours? Over here, red is left, blue is right. Makes the maps a bit weird. We'll consider changing the whole driving thing in return, 'k, but we'll give up our 240 volts AC when you prise them from our smoking, twitching fingers...
posted by Devonian at 4:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

MSNBC calls GA for Romney, so if you had 500 or greater EVs for Obama, you can now tear up your claim ticket.
posted by tonycpsu at 4:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Okay just got home from work. I'm not even American and I'm nervous. Can't turn on the TV either. Our networks cover it just like it was our own election.
posted by Jalliah at 4:56 PM on November 6, 2012

They should just make them state-specific.

"The well-armed state of Arizona"

"The deep-fried state of Iowa"

"The secession-ready state of South Carolina"

The civically-engaged state of Minnesota!
posted by triggerfinger at 4:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Kids asleep: Check

Ugh. If I can achieve this at all tonight, it will be good news for John McCain. Or something.

Son, the only thing more painful than your whining is the stress of waiting for Ohio to be called.
posted by sonika at 4:56 PM on November 6, 2012

Stupid daycare let my kid nap today so she's gonna be up until 10 or 11. damn it.
posted by gaspode at 4:56 PM on November 6, 2012

The football dominating state of Alabama.
posted by RolandOfEld at 4:57 PM on November 6, 2012

tonycpsu: They should just make them state-specific.

State of the Whopper
State of the Tucks Medicated Pad
State of the Trial-Size Dove Bar
State of the Perdue Wonderchicken
State of the Whisper-Quiet Maytag Dishmaster
State of the Yushityu 2007 Mimetic-Resolution-Cartridge-View-Motherboard-Easy-To-Install-Upgrade For Infernatron/InterLace TP Systems For Home, Office Or Mobile [sic]
State of Dairy Products from the American Heartland
State of the Depend Adult Undergarment
State of Glad
posted by Len at 4:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

I'VE GOT MAC AND CHEESE WE'RE ALL SET TO GO

Ben & Jerry's AmeriCone Dream ice cream here. Bring it.
posted by headnsouth at 4:57 PM on November 6, 2012

That NYT map is ridiculous.

You can't scale up early polling results to provide a state-wide prediction, because the counties reporting early will often be skewed blue or red.

But what you CAN do is report on the relative swings in those counties -- eg if traditionally weak-blue Florida counties are strong-blue, that's very significant.

For the life of me I can't understand why we aren't seeing more specific reporting on the swings in these early-reporting counties. At least in Australian elections, this is precisely what the main networks always focus on early in the night.
posted by dontjumplarry at 4:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

NBC is projecting Ohio for Obama.
posted by zizzle at 4:58 PM on November 6, 2012

Devonian, I was hoping electoral-vote.com, but I haven't been able to get it to load.

King Bee, yes, because places like Houston and Austin are the only parts of Texas liberals can stand. ;-) Seriously, this is a big tendency for broad demographic reasons -- young professionals with families, etc., are concentrated in urban areas; retirees and heavily self-sufficient business owners/farmers are clearly rural. The suburbs in many metros used to be a GOP "collar", but this has been changing and they are more purple these days.
posted by dhartung at 4:58 PM on November 6, 2012

item, except for that puking part, I think you're on to something there.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:58 PM on November 6, 2012

Gahhh NPR call in shows are just completely pointless.
posted by The Whelk at 4:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'VE GOT MAC AND CHEESE WE'RE ALL SET TO GO

I just finished my mac n cheese. What the fuck, Whelk?

(Annie's, orange, in the shape of Arthur characters. Prefer trad purple box, but Sandy scavengers scoured shelves.)
posted by Diablevert at 4:59 PM on November 6, 2012

I voted early for Jill Stein, and then for local Democratic candidates because at the local level they're really pretty decent.

At one point there was a Republican Justice of Probate running unopposed, so I wrote in Julian Assange.
posted by dunkadunc at 4:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

BRING ME THE HEAD OF ANDY HILLER'S TOUPEE!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

MSNBC calls GA for Romney, so if you had 500 or greater EVs for Obama, you can now tear up your claim ticket.

My prediction was killed right after Romney got 2 states an hour ago, so the anticipation has been long removed.
posted by lampshade at 4:59 PM on November 6, 2012

zizzle, where are you getting that?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:59 PM on November 6, 2012

What? I've got it on NBC right now and they're talking about Romney in Boston.
posted by Justinian at 4:59 PM on November 6, 2012

The NYT map does have a "shift from 2008" view.
posted by mbrubeck at 4:59 PM on November 6, 2012

When I see the county maps, almost every large city is overwhelmingly democratic. Is this true across the country?

Yes, and it seems to be consistent from year to year. Looking at the data from 2008, it looks like Dallas leaned less strongly Democratic than other cities its size, but still ended up going "blue".
posted by Mars Saxman at 4:59 PM on November 6, 2012

The Obama 3 Romney 33 Graphic on MSNBC is making me twitchy.
posted by anastasiav at 4:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The only site I'm finding with fast and reliable updates is CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/election/2012/results/main

Everyone else is lagging, it seems.
Obama with 3% lead in Florida, 41% reporting
Obama with 25% lead in Ohio, 7% reporting.
posted by Theta States at 5:00 PM on November 6, 2012

Netroots Radio just reported that Northern Virginia polls are still swamped with lines running out the doors.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

zizzle's OH statement is incorrect.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Can people stop the OHIO CALLED FOR OBAMA trolling?
posted by Justinian at 5:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Virginia 58-40 but Fairfax, Loudon and Prince William haven't reported at all.
posted by Talez at 5:00 PM on November 6, 2012

This little page on the NY Times website is fun to play with: Paths to the White House. It maps out the various ways Obama and Romney can win.
posted by Kattullus at 5:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

King Bee, yes, because places like Houston and Austin are the only parts of Texas liberals can stand.

Heh, I live in the magic corridor between Austin and San Antonio, so I know what you're talking about. It's just been about a dozen years since I paid attention to any of this, so I was wondering if this is a new thing or if it's just always been that way.
posted by King Bee at 5:00 PM on November 6, 2012

Sorry....that's not what they said. I did in fact mishear. Sorry!
posted by zizzle at 5:01 PM on November 6, 2012

CNN predicts Conn, Del, DC, MD, Mass, NY, and Illinois for Obama.

Shocking development!

Although only 3/4 for Maine, the last is unpredicted.
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Not good enough, zizzle. We're gonna have to use the pillory.
posted by Justinian at 5:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Does Drudge believe the shit he spouts? I've never been sure.
posted by COBRA! at 5:02 PM on November 6, 2012

CNN will not call AL, MS, or TN yet. Nail-biters, those...
posted by FreelanceBureaucrat at 5:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

What is shocking is CNN not coming out the gate with projections of Romney win in a place like Alabama.
posted by meinvt at 5:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NBC calling a slew of states, nothing surprising at this point. Toss ups are still to close to call.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:02 PM on November 6, 2012

There's a big difference between "[network] projects [state]" and "[network] calls [state]".
posted by Rhomboid at 5:02 PM on November 6, 2012

NBC may not call NJ at all until Friday.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:02 PM on November 6, 2012

Some nice leftwing news to help tide everyone over: Bernie Sanders was handily re-elected to the Senate. Yay!
posted by marylynn at 5:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

The crazy thing to me about Republicans being identified as Red is that identifying things as Red LITERALLY MEANS COMMUNIST. I mean, sure, the Cold War is over and I guess that frees the color up somewhat, but if you're going to still call people communists and socialists.. I mean, really!
posted by absalom at 5:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

BREAKING: FOX NEWS CALLS ALABAMA FOR ROMNEY

/hamburger
posted by King Bee at 5:03 PM on November 6, 2012

BBC just reporting that polls in Virginia have extended reporting by an hour (ie as long as you were in line at 7pm, you get to vote).
posted by Len at 5:03 PM on November 6, 2012

I'VE GOT MAC AND CHEESE WE'RE ALL SET TO GO
Speaking of which, I miss fourcheesemac.
posted by vac2003 at 5:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Woo Sheldon Whitehouse
posted by likeatoaster at 5:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The NYT map just flipped to light blue for the IN Governor's race. PLEEEEEEEEEEAAAAASSSEEEE let that hold true!
posted by Thorzdad at 5:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Talking Points Memo: The second round exit polls show a party ID number in Ohio similar to the polls: D +7.
posted by schoolgirl report at 5:04 PM on November 6, 2012

MSNBC characterizes PA as "Too early to call but Obama has a lead."
posted by Justinian at 5:04 PM on November 6, 2012

What does it mean that NJ is too early to call?
posted by kettleoffish at 5:04 PM on November 6, 2012

MA, RI, ME, CT all called for Obama.

I knew it would happen, but Romney's former state going for Obama brings me great, GREAT joy. Wonder about the mood down the street having a party in a state wherein he won about twelve votes.
posted by sonika at 5:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

So I'm not allowed to panic for another hour or so?

got your towel?
posted by futz at 5:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sandy problems
posted by DynamiteToast at 5:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

kettleoffish, it means NJ is such a clusterfuck because of the hurricane that they aren't going to count the votes for days.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

What does it mean that NJ is too early to call?

That voting in NJ is completely effed up because of the storm.
posted by waitingtoderail at 5:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Too early to call" just means they have no actual polling information yet, I think.
posted by King Bee at 5:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Someone interviewed on CNBC just predicted a Romney win with at least 300 EVs.

WHEEE!
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Angus King wins in Maine. I'd hate to be his UPS driver with all of the expensive gifts that Harry Reid will be sending his way.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

What does it mean that NJ is too early to call?

Too early to call usually means they don't have enough returns in to make a call even if one candidate has a big lead in the returns they do have. NJ is a special case this year because of Hurricane Sandy and may not be called for days as more votes trickle in by carrier pigeon or mule rider or whatever.
posted by Justinian at 5:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The NYT big board is giving me conniptions.
posted by ooga_booga at 5:06 PM on November 6, 2012

I hope Todd Akin doesn't get the election, I've gotten to experience some of his campaign ads and one of them literally said "You don't have to agree with everything he says"

aaughg
posted by hellojed at 5:06 PM on November 6, 2012

Kentucky is seriously on the ball - how on earth do they have 40% of ballots counted already? Did they close early or something?
posted by Mars Saxman at 5:06 PM on November 6, 2012

I just heard Ohio exit polls mention 50% turnout on the day for Romney.

I guess those are the tax payers.
posted by Mezentian at 5:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

When my state polls are finalized I've getting out the Chivas.
posted by The Whelk at 5:06 PM on November 6, 2012

TOO EARLY TO CALL!
Doesn't mean there isn't an advantage, just that there isn't enough "information". Yeah.
posted by whorl at 5:06 PM on November 6, 2012

NJ may not be officially called until the weekend, but my HUGE LEAP is that we're blue.
posted by InsanePenguin at 5:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Betfair odds: 12:1 for Romney to win. Basically, it's over.
posted by adrianhon at 5:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I just want to be able to click one box on the '512 Paths to the White House' interactive thingy.
posted by Room 641-A at 5:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

538 liveblog says that there's a party ID advantage to the Dems in exit polls (specifically in Ohio).
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:08 PM on November 6, 2012

CNN Pennsylvania exit poll: Obama 52%, Romney 47%
posted by schoolgirl report at 5:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The fat lady is warming up, people.
posted by Justinian at 5:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Twitter indicates that the Fox line is that it's all Christie's fault.

Christie is a pigheaded SOB. I could see the Republicans actually chasing him out of the party.
posted by gerryblog at 5:08 PM on November 6, 2012

Florida's EARLY voting went 50% to 49%, for Obama. Obviously the voting done today will have to counted.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:09 PM on November 6, 2012

MSNBC is calling several Senate races (MA, MO, CT, PA) "too early to call" but that the Democrats are leading in all of them. I'm assuming that means a lead that isn't just the result of blue precincts coming in before red ones.

Encouraging.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:09 PM on November 6, 2012

The big splash graphic on CNN.com with the candidates in silhouette makes Romney look like he's going to Hulk out.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:09 PM on November 6, 2012

NPR also has a Big Board.
posted by box at 5:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Warren ahead! Too close to call! Hold me! Can't breathe!
posted by sonika at 5:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Bill O'Reilly: "America is not a traditional America anymore. The demographics are changing. The white establishment is a minority. People feel they are entitled to things, and they are choosing the candidate who will give them things."

I'm glad your reign is coming to an end, white establishment.
posted by King Bee at 5:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [40 favorites]

I just want to be able to click one box on the '512 Paths to the White House' interactive thingy.

Hopefully you'll be able to do New Hampshire pretty soon.
posted by dfan at 5:09 PM on November 6, 2012

Interesting point from some random voter interviewed by the BBC: the whole "Romney as CEO" motif is all about the President being someone who tells people "i know what's good for you, and I am going to implement it no matter what the fuck you think because I AM THE BOSS". It's a top down thing. Whereas the standard/traditional conception of the US government is that it's a bottom-up thing, and that the government is there to exercise the will of the people.
posted by Len at 5:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Data point:

The diehard repubs at my NYSE trading company have taken the day off tomorrow. They call themselves "political junkies".
posted by futz at 5:09 PM on November 6, 2012

Wasn't Christie just recently one of the Republican's darlings? How one's fortunes can change...
posted by Noms_Tiem at 5:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

So at High Dudgeon School, where I get to vote. In high dudgeon. They split the lines to A-M and N-Z. They give two elector books to the poll workers corresponding to the letters of the alphabet. Apparently the N-Z's never vote. There's never a line for those fuckers. Last name Nimrod? Straight to the front. Last name Foont? To the back of the enormous line. The poll worker said to me "It's karma. You front of the alphabet folks have gotten to sit in the front of the class for all these years." I said "I don't believe in karma. I believe in stupidity. This is stupid. If there was only some way we could divide the electorate equitably! But no! Let's just split 'em down the middle alphabetically!"

Grrr.
posted by Floydd at 5:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

aaaaaaaand Scott Walker still looks and acts like he was sculpted out of feces.
posted by COBRA! at 5:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Second US election I've watch from Korea. Kind of strange, but I got a good solid seven hours of sleep last night and I'll be sipping tea this afternoon to see if America has gone and fucked itself by electing Romney.

I certainly hope not.

Honestly, I can't eat. My stomach is doing perpetual flip-flops.
posted by bardic at 5:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Kentucky is seriously on the ball - how on earth do they have 40% of ballots counted already? Did they close early or something?

Yep, KY closes at 6pm. split between eastern and central times. You're prolly seeing eastern results.
posted by oneirodynia at 5:10 PM on November 6, 2012

"Chuck has been replaced with an animated map!" - Maddow on MSNBC
posted by hellojed at 5:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Sonika, if you come up here, we can hold each other. Your babe can sleep next to mine. There's room for, like, two more babies on that bed.
posted by zizzle at 5:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Shep Smith is launching into an extended gold mining analogy on FOX.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:11 PM on November 6, 2012

Scott Walker looks like he's on serious painkillers.
posted by qnarf at 5:11 PM on November 6, 2012

CNBC commenting that there are 2-hour lines at the University of Ohio, who will still get to vote since they were in line when the polls closed.
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:11 PM on November 6, 2012

hellojed: ""Chuck has been replaced with an animated map!" - Maddow on MSNBC"

Now if they could just replace Morning Joe with an actual cup of joe.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh man, zizzle. I so want to hop on one of these helicopters and take you up on that.
posted by sonika at 5:12 PM on November 6, 2012

What's up with Indiana being all stripey red on the NYT map?
posted by jason_steakums at 5:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Has anyone heard anything about the marriage votes in ME or MD?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wasn't Christie just recently one of the Republican's darlings?

Yes, but that was before reality crashed into his state.
posted by Flunkie at 5:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Is there a live stream for Rachel Maddow? I nearly barfed listing to Scott Walker.
posted by funkiwan at 5:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Florida knows hurricanes. Obama just pulled through like a boss on hurricanes. Hopefully that created a bit of pull there.
posted by Shepherd at 5:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

What's up with Indiana being all stripey red on the NYT map?
Indiana went for Obama last time. It's going for Romney this election. Thus, it's a pick-up.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:13 PM on November 6, 2012

Bill O'Reilly: "America is not a traditional America anymore. The demographics are changing. The white establishment is a minority. People feel they are entitled to things, and they are choosing the candidate who will give them things."

I'm glad your reign is coming to an end, white establishment.
posted by King Bee at 8:09 PM on November 6 [9 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]

Bill O'Reilly needs to take a social sciences class and learn what the word Minority means in this arena. The white establishment still makes the bulk of the decisions and holds the vast amount of property....

oh. I see the choir is here. I'll shut up now.
posted by bilabial at 5:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

jason_steakums, it's a pickup from 2008 for the Cons.
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:13 PM on November 6, 2012

"University of Ohio"

Which is in the southern/Kentucky deep red part of Ohio, but it's young people voting.

So that's a little good news.
posted by bardic at 5:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ohio here, deep in the heart of über-Dem Cuyahoga County and still FREAKING THE FUCK OUT here despite liberal doses of gin, potatoes and sausage (the English-Irish-German's Comfort). Someone tell me it's all gonna be ok, please.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 5:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

University of Ohio

Ohio University, in fact. I hope so--my alma mater is incredibly liberal.
posted by girlmightlive at 5:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

So looking forward to not having have to think about Mitt Romney ever again.
posted by delmoi at 5:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Interesting point from some random voter interviewed by the BBC: the whole "Romney as CEO" motif is all about the President being someone who tells people "i know what's good for you, and I am going to implement it no matter what the fuck you think because I AM THE BOSS".

Ugh. My boyfriend and I were talking about this the other night- the US is not a business. You can't run it like the head honcho over a bunch or proles. I don't know why so many people thought this was a selling point for him.
posted by oneirodynia at 5:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

What's up with Indiana being all stripey red on the NYT map?

I'm thinking that's because Lake County isn't reporting yet. (2nd most populous county in the state, and very blue).
posted by AstroGuy at 5:14 PM on November 6, 2012

Bill O'Reilly: "America is not a traditional America anymore. The demographics are changing. The white establishment is a minority"

And they are going kicking and screaming into that good night. Too bad, bigoted white male power-brokers. You're done here.
posted by headnsouth at 5:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Oklahoma is showing as a Romney win on the NYT map. They did the wrong thing very efficiently.
posted by orange swan at 5:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

CALM BLUE OCEAN BITTER GIRL

CALM BLUE OCEAN
posted by The Whelk at 5:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh man oh man oh man! Excited about Florida and Ohio!
FL O+3%, 54% in
OH O+15%, 13% in
posted by Theta States at 5:15 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama has a 100,000 margin out of Cuyahoga county right now. Need to get that up to 200,000.
posted by Justinian at 5:15 PM on November 6, 2012

Just got back. 689 new comments. But I don't care!

AMERRRICA, FUCK YEAH
posted by Rhaomi at 5:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

As it gets closer to polls closing in CA, just wanted to put a bug in your ears that if Prop 30 doesn't pass, our already decimated higher ed systems are going to be in serious, serious trouble. Keep your fingers crossed.
posted by mudpuppie at 5:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Heh, the NYT network calls has Fox giving more EVs to Obama. I know it's because of NJ, but it's funny.
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:16 PM on November 6, 2012

oh shit, Romney just got the lead in Florida, 56% in...
posted by Theta States at 5:16 PM on November 6, 2012

Someone tell me it's all gonna be ok, please.

Just remember: the popular vote is irrelevant. It's all about the electoral votes. Obama's lead in electoral votes is very strong. A Romney win is.... unlikely. He has never once polled higher than Obama in terms of electoral votes; it hasn't even been close.
posted by Mars Saxman at 5:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeaaah... Romney is going down.

Tonight, there is no such thing as a Reagan Republican... only Romney Republicans, who clearly believed they were voting for the best Republican candidate. They bought the ticket, they get the ride. And they get to eat crow -- and take full blame -- when their profoundly out-of-touch candidate fails.

Walter Mitty Romdale!
posted by markkraft at 5:16 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm at the Madonna concert and they are selling OBMA: Election Night With Madonna tshirts.
posted by octothorpe at 5:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

My mother voted in NH (Manchester) behind a few college kids, originally from New Jersey, who were told (lied to by a pollworker) they would need to swear to obtain a NH driver's license in the next 30 days, and that it would potentially have consequences for their scholarship money. They're trying REALLY hard to keep liberal college students from voting. She apparently got into an argument with the poll worker, and just got off the phone with an attorney...
posted by ChuraChura at 5:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Red stripey is how the NYT is showing states that they not only have called for Romney but that were won by Obama in 2008. Blue stripey is the similar idea on the other end.
posted by Flunkie at 5:16 PM on November 6, 2012

So far Obama has 91% of votes in Connecticut! Only 0.1% reporting, though.
1,225 votes some to 108 :P
posted by delmoi at 5:16 PM on November 6, 2012

So looking forward to not having have to think about Mitt Romney ever again.

A non-American mom at my playgroup asked me in all honesty: "So who's running against Obama? Is it what's his name Romney?"

OH TO HAVE HAD HER LIFE FOR THE PAST YEAR.
posted by sonika at 5:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

NYT has Mitt up by 3%/120,000 in Florida :(
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:17 PM on November 6, 2012

oh shit, Romney just got the lead in Florida, 56% in...

Broward County just came in with 100% of their tally. Miami Dade will answer soon!
posted by Justinian at 5:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Someone tell me it's all gonna be ok, please.

Everything that has happened so far was obvious from Silver's model. We are fine.
posted by King Bee at 5:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

My election night drinking game is in full swing! The top of the 8 o'clock hour was a doozy though- tomorrow may be a rough day, but well worth it.
posted by pupperduck at 5:18 PM on November 6, 2012

RE Florida-don't forget the Panhandle. Part of it is in Central time and it is way more conservative than the rest of the state. I used to live in Pensacola (before that, Sarasota.)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Florida panhandle is relatively lightly populated.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 5:19 PM on November 6, 2012

I nominate NPR for having the least intuitive results interface. What the shit?!
posted by funkiwan at 5:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yes, the panhandle is very conservative. But not a lot of people live there relative to the southeast part of the state. So we'll see.
posted by Justinian at 5:19 PM on November 6, 2012

Ohio Voters Are Sick and Tired of Deciding the Fate of the Universe
posted by homunculus at 5:19 PM on November 6, 2012

Markkraft, I am a Reagan Republican. My facebook friends can certainly vouch for that. ;-)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:19 PM on November 6, 2012

My prediction for the night: I'm pretty sure Ohio is going to close the borders by 2:00 am and institute martial law. The Feds will have to send in the National Guard over the weekend to try to get vote counts, but by then poor children will have burned all the ballots for warmth after being turned out in the cold November air by their parents, who will all be driven raving mad by the cognitive dissonances involved in voting for either candidate and will be roaming the streets naked screaming "YOU DIDN'T BUILD THAT!" and "HE PUT A DOG ON TOP OF THE CAR!"
posted by koeselitz at 5:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

Philadelphia here. Had to step out of clinic today to cry havoc and threaten lawyers at a polling place in Kensington so that they'd let one of my homeless patients vote. This was bullshit then and it's bullshit now. Also one of the prouder moments of my life.
posted by The White Hat at 5:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [31 favorites]

All of these reports of votes in progress are meaningless without an expert to interpret them, since we don't know the demographics of the missing counties. Please don't freak out (positively or negatively) until you see the states get called.
posted by dfan at 5:20 PM on November 6, 2012

octothorpe: "I'm at the Madonna concert and they are selling OBMA: Election Night With Madonna tshirts."

are they really spelled OBMA? Please say yes.
posted by boo_radley at 5:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

The talking heads seem genuinely surprised that Obama has a chance in NC. I wish I still lived there so I could throw a vote his way.
posted by Rhomboid at 5:20 PM on November 6, 2012

BIG UPSET - BBC CALLS EVERY STATE FOR BABA BOOEY
posted by Sticherbeast at 5:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Central Florida is pretty conservative as well as soon as you get away from the coasts and the bigger cities. It will be pretty interesting to see how it all plays out.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:21 PM on November 6, 2012

I nominate NPR for having the least intuitive results interface. What the shit?!

Whoa, what the fucking fuck?
posted by limeonaire at 5:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am not sure if it is possible to favorite something so badly laid out funkiwan...
posted by Nanukthedog at 5:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

OK, people: I GUESS DON'T FOLLOW THE BLEEDING EDGE RESULTS. CNN.com reset to 53% reporting, down from 56% reporting. weird.
posted by Theta States at 5:21 PM on November 6, 2012

I can't believe someone left the drum circle long enough to go vote, girlmightlive. (Another Ohio U alum here...)
posted by bitter-girl.com at 5:21 PM on November 6, 2012

All of these reports of votes in progress are meaningless without an expert to interpret them, since we don't know the demographics of the missing counties.

We do know the demographics of the missing counties. For various values of "we" which include some people on metafilter.
posted by Justinian at 5:21 PM on November 6, 2012

Exit Polling suggests this Mefi liveblogging thread may be outperforming the Dkos threads, though it's much too close to tell at this point...
posted by roboton666 at 5:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you have a proxy server and can ignore/laugh at the Dimbleby-led partisan bunfests that the BBC is running, they're split up by some interesting/informative demographic breakdown stats/analysis on a state-by-state level by Jeremy Vine.
posted by Len at 5:22 PM on November 6, 2012

Central Florida is pretty conservative as well as soon as you get away from the coasts and the bigger cities.

This is true of the entire US.
posted by Mars Saxman at 5:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Re: NPR big board, talk about a face for radio...
posted by bizwank at 5:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Did NPR hire Genie UI designers from 1995 to design that?
posted by nathan_teske at 5:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

That NPR electoral college graph is going to be really hilarious when all the square states start reporting.
posted by purpleclover at 5:23 PM on November 6, 2012

You've all reminded me to check the excellent Onion election coverage:

Early results are showing that 212,350 of the nation’s Dougs have voted in this year’s election, leaving an approximate 78,080 Doug votes still unaccounted for.

posted by ceribus peribus at 5:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nate Silver on his liveblog:

Just more than three-quarters of the vote has been reported in Chesterfield County, Va., an important suburban and exurban region southwest of Richmond. In the tally so far, Mitt Romney leads President Obama 54 percent to 45 percent. If those percentages hold, Mr. Romney’s performance there would match almost exactly Senator John McCain’s margin of victory in Chesterfield County in 2008: 53 percent to 46 percent. Former President George W. Bush, however, when he carried the state in 2004, won Chesterfield County with 63 percent of the vote.

Good sign for the blue team in VA.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

CNN on TV, check. Comfy clothes on, check. Snacks ready, check. (though I forgot chocolate!) Personally created Presidential Election spreadsheet updated for 2012, check. MeFi, FB, Twitter, NYT home, 538, big board, network calls loaded, check.

Bring it on.
posted by booksherpa at 5:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I nominate NPR for having the least intuitive results interface. What the shit?!

*turns NoScript back on*
posted by Room 641-A at 5:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you click on the states at the CNN page, it gives some well-done demographic breakdowns.
posted by Theta States at 5:23 PM on November 6, 2012

The NPR tally was obviously designed by someone who works in a Las Vegas sportsbook.
posted by mudpuppie at 5:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Whoa, homunculus - thought that was an Onion link. But no.
posted by sonika at 5:24 PM on November 6, 2012

I can't believe someone left the drum circle long enough to go vote, girlmightlive. (Another Ohio U alum here...)

Seriously!

I absentee voted in Hamilton Co. in 2004 because I knew Athens Co. would be a lock for Kerry. I thought I was being clever. I cried all night. :(
posted by girlmightlive at 5:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

"I am a Reagan Republican. My facebook friends can certainly vouch for that."

Ah, but if you voted for Romney, then you're now a Romney Republican.

Otherwise, you're an Obama Republican, or maybe a Libertarian.

Just keeping things current...!
posted by markkraft at 5:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

538 just posted results for Chesterfield County, VA, with 3/4 of the votes in.

I lived there for the worst 8 months of my life, so not surprised to see it go for Romney. Still depressing, though.
posted by Superplin at 5:24 PM on November 6, 2012

Fox News and CBS both call New Jersey for Obama. I'm not sure how they can do that with virtually no results yet, but it's not like anyone ever really expected anything but an Obama win there.
posted by Rhomboid at 5:24 PM on November 6, 2012

I get that it's using NPR's logo colors but WHY, and also why did you have an intern design it in Excel.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wolf Blitzer debuts real-time election results beard
posted by koeselitz at 5:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

I thought Va. was in play. Right now NYT is showing 60 % Romney with some votage (15%) reporting. Can anyone explain that while I go make a cocktail?
posted by benito.strauss at 5:25 PM on November 6, 2012

Reagan is dead, Alia.
posted by spitbull at 5:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Watching Charlie Crist talk about how you need to bring a cooler and a lawn chair to survive the voting lines in Florida.

What is wrong with Florida??
posted by purpleclover at 5:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

The point is it is going for Romney in almost exactly the ratio that it went for McCain. And Obama carried the state by 7.
posted by Justinian at 5:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Rhomboid: "Fox News and CBS both call New Jersey for Obama. I'm not sure how they can do that with virtually no results yet, but it's not like anyone ever really expected anything but an Obama win there."

I think you answered your own question there.
posted by Splunge at 5:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh Gourd. MSNBC "We're like a 3rd world country. No disrespect to 3rd world countries." MAYBE STOP TALKING.
posted by sonika at 5:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

New Hampshire - 14 of 301 Precincts Reporting - 5% - Obama 64%, Romney 35%
posted by schoolgirl report at 5:26 PM on November 6, 2012

I thought Va. was in play. Right now NYT is showing 60 % Romney with some votage (15%) reporting. Can anyone explain that while I go make a cocktail?

Those 15% of counties are very red, and the more blue counties haven't reported yet.
posted by dfan at 5:26 PM on November 6, 2012

purpleclover: "Watching Charlie Crist talk about how you need to bring a cooler and a lawn chair to survive the voting lines in Florida.

What is wrong with Florida??"

Just moved here. The answer is: plenty.
posted by Splunge at 5:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

I thought Va. was in play. Right now NYT is showing 60 % Romney with some votage (15%) reporting. Can anyone explain that while I go make a cocktail?

Fairfax County, Alexandria, etc have not come in yet.
posted by Justinian at 5:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

markkraft: "Ah, but if you voted for Romney, then you're now a Romney Republican.

Otherwise, you're an Obama Republican, or maybe a Libertarian. "

write in candidates!
posted by boo_radley at 5:27 PM on November 6, 2012

What is wrong with Florida??

Where do I start?
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 5:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Someone recently mentioned Rick Perry on MSNBC. Remember that guy? For a moment, it really looked like he was an actual contender for the Republican nomination. I'm still surprised this race is even close!
posted by funkiwan at 5:27 PM on November 6, 2012

Miami Dade margin > 2008 +D, says Zogby on BBC
posted by cromagnon at 5:27 PM on November 6, 2012

I nominate NPR for having the least intuitive results interface. What the shit?!

I can't tell, is that the Arrivals or Departures board? Looks like not a single flight is on time...
posted by Roommate at 5:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

I thought Va. was in play. Right now NYT is showing 60 % Romney with some votage (15%) reporting. Can anyone explain that while I go make a cocktail?

The three bluest and most populated counties haven't reported.
posted by Talez at 5:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

On the BBC Zogby is now sticking his hands down his trousers to locate his lapel mic. I am not joking.
posted by Len at 5:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Spitbull, not all of them. ;-)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:28 PM on November 6, 2012

Karl Rove just said good news in Florida, Virginia and Ohio. He wouldn't just make shit up would he?
posted by goHermGO at 5:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

You absolutely need to get the 538 Live Blog going in a tab. This is answering a lot of questions people have about VA and so forth.
posted by King Bee at 5:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Poor professor being a talking head on NBC right now has a neck that doesn't swivel. :(
posted by mudpuppie at 5:28 PM on November 6, 2012

Reagan is dead, Alia.

No, Reagan is undead.
posted by Flunkie at 5:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Florida: O+3%, 55% reporting
Ohio: O+19%, 20% reporting
If these two hold, the night is over.
posted by Theta States at 5:29 PM on November 6, 2012

I nominate NPR for having the least intuitive results interface.

It's a diagram made for radio.
posted by audi alteram partem at 5:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Fuck's sake, zizzle! What did I just write 1035 posts above yours?
posted by Red Loop at 5:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

(My last name is the same as the late dear departed Ronald. I have fun with that fact occasionally.)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I do believe in Fairies! I do! I do!
posted by roboton666 at 5:29 PM on November 6, 2012

If either of them hold the night is over Theta
posted by DynamiteToast at 5:30 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh, I hope so, Theta States!!!
posted by zizzle at 5:30 PM on November 6, 2012

Holy crap, folks.

538:

Just more than three-quarters of the vote has been reported in Chesterfield County, Va., an important suburban and exurban region southwest of Richmond. In the tally so far, Mitt Romney leads President Obama 54 percent to 45 percent. If those percentages hold, Mr. Romney’s performance there would match almost exactly Senator John McCain’s margin of victory in Chesterfield County in 2008: 53 percent to 46 percent. Former President George W. Bush, however, when he carried the state in 2004, won Chesterfield County with 63 percent of the vote.

— Micah Cohen

This begins to breakdown the way it did for McCain in 2008 and it bodes super well for Obama.

All those big DC suburbs are dense and will be the very last to call a winner, and in 2008 they just flowered into complete joy for the Obama folks.

Good signs though from Chesterfield County, I think.
posted by Skygazer at 5:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The only thing bluer than my ballot will be Mitt Romney's balls tonight when he finds out this country ain't giving up anything.

BRING IT BARACK!
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 5:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Ok just got home gonna start drinking now what have I missed?
posted by vrakatar at 5:30 PM on November 6, 2012

You guys are all nuts. The NPR Election Board is fantastic. Everything you need to know in a single table. No need to mouse over any states or any stuff like that.

And it's hipster retro cool.
posted by i_have_a_computer at 5:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Your last name is Ronald?
posted by koeselitz at 5:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

This may be some serious 2000-related schadenfreude time.
I base this on nothing but a vague hopeful feeling.
posted by angrycat at 5:30 PM on November 6, 2012

So wait, what can you tell me about the Connecticut race I don't know these people but I feel like I should.
posted by The Whelk at 5:30 PM on November 6, 2012

NYT has R+0.2%/12,000. Dunno if they or CNN is more accurate.
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:31 PM on November 6, 2012

Drudge blah blah blah...

Drudge is a joke, and he's going to suck it so hard tonight.
posted by Skygazer at 5:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

(My last name is the same as the late dear departed Ronald. I have fun with that fact occasionally.)

St. Alia McDonald??
posted by clarknova at 5:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

NPR: Election Results for Dwarf Fortress fans.
posted by Justinian at 5:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

Clinton fails to deliver Arkansas. BOOOOOOO-URNS!
posted by tonycpsu at 5:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Folks maybe shut up about Alia's name and/or voting preference?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

Fairfax running 54%. Virginia Beach needs to hurry up.
posted by Talez at 5:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Chris Murphy FTW in Connecticut!
posted by spitbull at 5:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am letting my husband put my son to bed, while I sit on the sofa, read mefi, FB, twitter, 538, and Bangor Daily news. And drink. I feel mildly bad about missing bedtime. But not bad enough to get up.
posted by anastasiav at 5:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Marcy Kaptur is only leading "Joe the Plumber" 72% to 25%. That's not a wide enough margin, Ohio!
posted by Gary at 5:32 PM on November 6, 2012

I cant take this anymore. Turning off the news and am getting some work done. Will check back in an hour or two. America, please don't let us down!
posted by the cydonian at 5:32 PM on November 6, 2012

MSNBC calls CT Senate for Chris Murphy.
posted by MegoSteve at 5:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Lemurrhea, would be helpful to know what state you're talking about!
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:32 PM on November 6, 2012

Skygazer: “This begins to breakdown the way it did for McCain in 2008 and it bodes super well for Obama.”

I didn't quite gather that from the post. Romney is winning a county McCain won, by almost the same amount, and that is good for Obama how? Isn't the point of elections to win counties? And how does the performance of one county have any impact at all on other counties?
posted by koeselitz at 5:32 PM on November 6, 2012

Random thought sparked by google auto-fill:

538 Shades of Grey
posted by curious nu at 5:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

TeresaKopec on her twitter: Somewhere Peggy Noonan is wondering how her country club exit poll could be so off
posted by vicusofrecirculation at 5:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

i_have_a_computer: "The NPR Election Board is fantastic."

and I love that dancing baby.
posted by boo_radley at 5:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

And Linda McMahon gets powerbombed in the ladder match in Connecticut.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:33 PM on November 6, 2012

Linda McMahon (republican senate candidate, CT)=wife of WWE Vince McMahon, ran a really slimy campaign and spent a LOT of money.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dang, I think Mitt's going to take California.
.
.
.
.
Just checking if anyone is actually reading or just posting so fast that their fingers bleed.
posted by bswinburn at 5:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Derp, sorry roomthreeseventeen. that was a response to Theta States, talking about Florida.
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:33 PM on November 6, 2012

This begins to breakdown the way it did for McCain in 2008 and it bodes super well for Obama.

All those big DC suburbs are dense and will be the very last to call a winner, and in 2008 they just flowered into complete joy for the Obama folks.

Good signs though from Chesterfield County, I think.

Part of my family lives in Chesterfield County. It's been suburbanizing quickly over the last 8 years. Going rural ---> suburban in VA probably means it's gotten more liberal than in past elections over time. "past performance is no guarantee of future results" as they say.
posted by Jahaza at 5:33 PM on November 6, 2012

I didn't quite gather that from the post. Romney is winning a county McCain won, by almost the same amount, and that is good for Obama how?

Obama won VA in 2008, so if things go the same way as they did then, that's a good sign.
posted by dfan at 5:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Checking this thread on and off (at work)... anybody heard any of the pre-emptive talking points in the wingnut echo chamber yet? My prediction is, "Obama stole the election via fraud or botched hurricane-area/early voting states counting."
posted by Rykey at 5:33 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney is winning a county McCain won, by almost the same amount, and that is good for Obama how? Isn't the point of elections to win counties? And how does the performance of one county have any impact at all on other counties?

Because Obama won Virginia by 7% in 2008. If Romney doesn't overperform McCain, how does he make up that 7%?
posted by Justinian at 5:33 PM on November 6, 2012

Sorry about the name jibe, Alia – no offense intended.
posted by koeselitz at 5:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Romney is winning a county McCain won, by almost the same amount, and that is good for Obama how?

Obama took that state by a large margin in 2008, and states are all that matters. That county looks like it did in 2008, so if the rest of the state also looks the same as it did in 2008, then Obama will win it.
posted by Mars Saxman at 5:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Meanwhile I am rejoicing in the fact that at least it looks like we are gonna finally have a Republican governor here in NC.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:34 PM on November 6, 2012

I need someone with more mojo (and/or tollerance for TV news) to keep me up to date on question 1 in Maine.
posted by that's candlepin at 5:34 PM on November 6, 2012

I didn't quite gather that from the post. Romney is winning a county McCain won, by almost the same amount, and that is good for Obama how? Isn't the point of elections to win counties? And how does the performance of one county have any impact at all on other counties?

Koeselitz, that was my reading as well. I guess the idea is that Chesterfield County is a Republican stronghold, but doesn't seem to be holding quite as strongly as might be expected? I dunno.

Time for more wine.
posted by Superplin at 5:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

If we're lucky enough for a victory speech tonight, any suggestions for a good place to live stream it?

Actually, a more basic question... How is the planning for victory and concession speeches worked out? Have the Obama and Romney camps already said when they want to or expect to give a speech? Or is it all just figured out at the last minute?
posted by meese at 5:34 PM on November 6, 2012

NPR Election board is like the Electoral Train Station. Choo Choo!
posted by Sreiny at 5:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Boston Globe site has "breaking news: Obama wins MA."

My ten year old could have told you that last July.
posted by bondcliff at 5:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

NBC is predicting success for gay marriage in MD, 55% to 45%. Dear gods, I hope they're right.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Bunny: these threads must be tough with all the gloating. /earnest
posted by leotrotsky at 5:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I feel terrible for my beloved NC. Any chance Democrats get one of the statehouses back?
posted by gerryblog at 5:35 PM on November 6, 2012

The NYT maps have a shift relative to 2008 thingy (you can click on the state to zoom in). Almost every county in Ohio has shifted to the blue. Florida has mostly shifted red.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 5:36 PM on November 6, 2012

Speaking of Linda McMahon and the WWE, I can't wait until Fox News goes full-on "news entertainment" the way WWE is "sports entertainment" and we get narratives where like Steve Doocy does a heel turn to full-on Communist.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

dfan: “Obama won VA in 2008, so if things go the same way as they did then, that's a good sign.”

I still don't really think losing a county he lost in 2008 is a "good sign" that he's on the road to winning.

Mars Saxman: “That county looks like it did in 2008, so if the rest of the state also looks the same as it did in 2008, then Obama will win it.”

Maybe the 538 guys should have explained how exactly one county is supposed to be an indicator for all the other counties. Because I really don't see how we can draw that conclusion.
posted by koeselitz at 5:36 PM on November 6, 2012

Republican candidate won governor's race in my state of NC. Not a big surprise. Sad thing is we got a Republican legislature for the first time in a long time, and the Democratic Governor's veto as the only thing that stood between their Voter ID Bill and the Abortion Waiting Period bill. I cringe at what kinds of crazy are going to come out of the state legislature over the next two years.
posted by marxchivist at 5:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The NYT Scenario page looks... disturbingly biological.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 5:36 PM on November 6, 2012

CBS saying that Virginia Board of Elections are withholding reporting further results due to the large number of people still in line yet to vote.
posted by Rhomboid at 5:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Gerryblog, take comfort in the fact he is a moderate Republican, the most moderate of a whole field of em back when he ran four years ago.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Not that anyone remembers what we said 1000 comments ago, but I referenced Broward County in Florida as the county that had come in strongly for Romney to give him a lead. But it wasn't Broward county obviously, since Broward is the county between Miami Dade and Palm Beach. I think it was a combination of smaller cities.
posted by Justinian at 5:37 PM on November 6, 2012

any idea how cthulhu is doing this election?

oh, i forgot, he endorsed romney
posted by pyramid termite at 5:37 PM on November 6, 2012

If acres of empty land where nobody lives could vote, Romney would be SWEEPIN this thing.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 5:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Again no idea how reputable this guy is:

Romney Internal Polls Showed Obama Winning Ohio

CNN's Peter Hamby reported that a senior Romney campaign official told him that their internal polling yesterday showed President Obama winning Ohio by 5 points.
posted by Golden Eternity at 5:37 PM on November 6, 2012

(for instance COLLIER county which borders Broward to the west and is likely what I moused over.)
posted by Justinian at 5:37 PM on November 6, 2012

I need someone with more mojo (and/or tollerance for TV news) to keep me up to date on question 1 in Maine.

BangorDailyNews.com
posted by anastasiav at 5:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Central Florida is pretty conservative as well as soon as you get away from the coasts and the bigger cities.
This is true of the entire US.

Yes indeed. Everyone thinks of Massachusetts as some kind of liberal Disneyland, but I live in a pretty red pocket of the state. If Obama and Warren win I'm going to have to listen to months' worth of petulant, thinly-veiled (and not so thinly-veiled) sexist/racist whinging from a lot of my fellow citizens.
posted by usonian at 5:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

dfan: “Obama won VA in 2008, so if things go the same way as they did then, that's a good sign.”

I still don't really think losing a county he lost in 2008 is a "good sign" that he's on the road to winning.

Counties have stable demographics that are comparable over time. If Romney is performing like McCain performed in a GOP stronghold, he probably can't make up votes in NoVa and win.
posted by gerryblog at 5:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

st. alia - my memory of your posting history is that you are a social issues Republican. I don't think McCrory has much interest in social issues. He's a rubber stamp for Duke Energy, so it's fracking and offshore drilling for us here in North Carolina. Those will be his primary interests...
posted by Slothrop at 5:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Maybe the 538 guys should have explained how exactly one county is supposed to be an indicator for all the other counties. Because I really don't see how we can draw that conclusion.

States and county populations are reasonably demographically stable over the short term. This is not surprising: people don't suddenly (a) move en masse or (b) undergo massive ideological shifts on short notice under normal circumstances.

So if you're seeing similar outcomes and assuming similar demographies, that suggests stability in aggregate behavior over time. Which suggests (and only that, but that's interesting and significant) a general stability in the larger picture.
posted by cortex at 5:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Collier County is full of old people.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 5:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Gerryblog, take comfort in the fact he is a moderate Republican, the most moderate of a whole field of em back when he ran four years ago.

That is no comfort to me!
posted by gerryblog at 5:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

NVM. Found two spots to follow Maine's same sex marriage ballot question:

Politico and Bangor Daily News (seems more current).
posted by that's candlepin at 5:38 PM on November 6, 2012

XQUZYPHYR: " My mother in law lost her home in a storm last week. She's applying for FEMA relief funds. "

If it makes you feel any better, McMahon's campaign was such a disaster that she could probably use some federal relief herself.

Best wishes for your family -- CT has gotten short shrift in Sandy coverage so it's easy to forget how many people there were impacted.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:39 PM on November 6, 2012

Man, i hope that MD marriage equality info is correct.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Did Joe Lieberman lose? Is Lieberman gone?
posted by drezdn at 5:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Thanks, gerryblog – that's a great explanation.
posted by koeselitz at 5:39 PM on November 6, 2012

Meanwhile I am rejoicing in the fact that at least it looks like we are gonna finally have a Republican governor here in NC.

I was all set to go "Hey, Jim Martin wasn't that long ago," but, shit, 1993 was 19 years ago. I'm old.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

"ABC in Boston is showing some completely deserted campaign headquarters. Not even a candidate - just a light jazz quartet"
posted by ersatz at 5:40 PM on November 6, 2012

Did Joe Lieberman lose? Is Lieberman gone?

He retired.
posted by Jahaza at 5:40 PM on November 6, 2012

Christ I hope so drezdn.
posted by zardoz at 5:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

St. Alia Ray Gun is a really cool name.
posted by futz at 5:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Based on no information whatsoever I'm going to go ahead and call the election for Obama. We did it! Wooooooo!
posted by burnmp3s at 5:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Oh. I see. It was McMahon vs. Murphy?
posted by drezdn at 5:40 PM on November 6, 2012

I really hope gay marriage passes here in MD. There's this completely baffling deficit in the African American community re this question, but I hope that the electorate passes it.
posted by OmieWise at 5:40 PM on November 6, 2012

Lieberman retired. And thank god McMahon lost.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 5:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

BBC reporting from Chicago and Boston. Obama's home space is a big fuck-off convention centre. Romney's looks like a town hall that holds maybe a couple of thousand. Given that these were presumably both booked baed on predictions, that's ... interesting.
posted by Len at 5:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Gerryblog, take comfort in the fact he is a moderate Republican, the most moderate of a whole field of em back when he ran four years ago.

That is no comfort to me!

word

from a NC denizen
posted by jeoc at 5:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

dfan: “Obama won VA in 2008, so if things go the same way as they did then, that's a good sign.”

I still don't really think losing a county he lost in 2008 is a "good sign" that he's on the road to winning.

Losing a county he lost in 2008 by the same amount that he lost it in 2008 is a good sign.

It's just like it would be a good sign if he lost Oklahoma by only 5 points.
posted by dfan at 5:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Marxchivist: Me too.
posted by yoga at 5:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Theory: If Chris Christie suddenly drops 20 or 30 pounds it means he is running for President in 2016.
posted by Justinian at 5:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Based on no information whatsoever I'm going to go ahead and call the election for Obama. We did it! Wooooooo!

If you jinxed us... *Shakes fist*
posted by drezdn at 5:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Slothrop, I think you are probably right but there are advantages to having a Republican governor that trickle down into local politics. I've met him, he's a nice enough fellow and between me and you I can't say that about every Republican politician I have met.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Reporting in from Richmond, VA, where my fiancée and I cast our votes in a hospital and then headed home to spicy Thai food and hoppy IPAs.

Fiancée. Man, I'm enjoying using that word this week.
posted by emelenjr at 5:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [19 favorites]

Honestly, at this point I don't care quite as much about the national stuff; it matters, but it won't affect me as much as the local things on the ballot. Specifically, those NM Bond Initiatives for Library Funding really, really need to pass. Also the school funding ones. Fingers are officially crossed.
posted by koeselitz at 5:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Alabama just got called for Romney! We are doooooomed!
posted by Justinian at 5:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Hahaha ... Dimbleby: "Apparently Romney celebrates by eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and drinking cholocate milk. So, Jeremy, is that what he'll be having tonight?"
posted by Len at 5:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I voted at four o'clock or so, and have been in a media blackout since then. I'm about to turn on the tv and "go grade papers." HAHAhahaHAhhahaha ha. haha. heh. *wipes tear*
posted by exlotuseater at 5:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Florida: O+2%, 59% reporting
Ohio: O+17%, 22% reporting

Side note: guy on NBC used "Romneys", the plural.
posted by Theta States at 5:43 PM on November 6, 2012

I can't get money to Intrade fast enough...
posted by neversummer at 5:43 PM on November 6, 2012

Young voters were 19% of the vote tonight vs. 18% in 2008. (via Mike Elk on Twitter)

This is GREAT NEWS! For John McCain!
posted by drezdn at 5:43 PM on November 6, 2012

Theory: If Chris Christie ~~suddenly drops 20 or 30 pounds it means he~~ is running for President in 2016.

FTFY
posted by OmieWise at 5:43 PM on November 6, 2012

Mike Huckabee on Fox: "Republicans have done a pathetic job of reaching out to people of color"
posted by vicusofrecirculation at 5:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

YEs, koeslitz, my county's library levy is on the ballot too. Fingers crossed...
posted by Rykey at 5:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Via Charlie Pierce:

More than half of voters favor increasing taxes, according to early exit polls released Tuesday night.

This whole America thing just might work out after all.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Lieberman isn't retiring until January. When I googled his name to double-check, the summary for the third result (his official Senate page) read "Joe Lieberman has earned a national reputation as a thoughtful, ..." as though even the computer trailed off rather than finish the sentence.
posted by The Card Cheat at 5:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Did anyone else have Romeny wins popular, Obama wins electoral? That's what got me biting my nails looking at the current NY Times projections.
posted by Jahaza at 5:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Nate Silver: Florida still looking tied
posted by koeselitz at 5:44 PM on November 6, 2012

AhhHHHHHHHHHH MY HUSBAND KICKED E OFF THE COMPUTER!!! SOMETHING ABOUT HAVING TO DOMHIS JOB AND PREPARE A LESSON PLAN!!!!!!!!
posted by zizzle at 5:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Theory: If Chris Christie suddenly drops 20 or 30 pounds it means he better have his thyroid checked.
posted by notyou at 5:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Theta States, where are you getting these numbers? NPR and NYT are only up to 35% in Florida.
posted by ersatz at 5:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Intrade is starting to like what it sees for Obama.
posted by drezdn at 5:44 PM on November 6, 2012

I am happy because Linda McMahon is sad.
posted by qnarf at 5:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

This bad typing brought to you by iPad and auto incorrect
posted by zizzle at 5:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

we are gonna finally have a Republican governor here in NC.

Jeez, Jim Martin wasn't *that* long ago.

take comfort in the fact he is a moderate Republican, the most moderate of a whole field of em back when he ran four years ago.

While it's been obvious McCrory was going to win the NC governorship for 6 months now, it's also obvious that the problem with a Republican governor in NC is that we have a Republican House and Senate that are controlled by very much non-moderate Republicans. It's delusional to believe McCrory will actually veto any of the delights those troglodytes are already planning (not that I think you believe that, St. Alia). Bottom line: NC is in for a bad time for the next two years, y'all.
posted by mediareport at 5:45 PM on November 6, 2012

Theory: If Chris Christie ~~suddenly drops 20 or 30 pounds it means he~~ is running for President in 2016 as a Democrat.

FTFY again.
posted by Talez at 5:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Chris Christie could probably get away with keeping the weight. He needs to lose the attitude that we're cool with in the northeast but everyone else thinks is a bit harsh.

I asked him and he told me to go F#$k myself.
posted by cmfletcher at 5:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

ersatz, NBC is way ahead of the numbers in FL.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:45 PM on November 6, 2012

I've listened to the Slate Political Gabfest for years Now hearing John Dickerson's voice (on CBS, otherwise a wasteland) is very calming.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 5:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

ersatz, I'm seeing the same massive percentage-counted in Florida on CNN. It's kind of a weird dichotomy, to be honest.
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:45 PM on November 6, 2012

Koeslitz: I didn't quite gather that from the post. Romney is winning a county McCain won, by almost the same amount, and that is good for Obama how?

Because, McCain lost VA in 2008, and I believe that fingerprint for Romney's win in ChesterField County matches what happened back then as well in that it seemed like McCain was going to win it, but soon as all those DC Suburbs voted they completely undid all the McCain numbers.

I guess, I'm hoping it's a similar profile as to how this could fall out. Romney's winning the county, BUT NOT ENOUGH, to win the state, I believe.

And if Romney can't win VA, we can further extrapolate ROmney's most likely not going to win bluer swing states...
posted by Skygazer at 5:45 PM on November 6, 2012

Broward just came in with a +170,000 vote margin for Obama. That's more like it. Sorry for slandering you earlier, Broward County!
posted by Justinian at 5:45 PM on November 6, 2012

Mike Huckabee on Fox: "Republicans have done a pathetic job of reaching out to people of color"

Those aren't the words of someone who thinks they're winning.
posted by drezdn at 5:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mike Huckabee on Fox: "Republicans have done a pathetic job of reaching out to people of color"

Yep. You can really tell a lot about a person or party based on their treatment of you and yours when they don't need you. People will remember that for a long time.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

> Theory: If Chris Christie suddenly drops 20 or 30 pounds it means he is running for President in 2016.

Theory: Chris Christie saw Romney fall from contention; recognised the need for future cooperation. Set the example - early. Smart move.
posted by de at 5:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

it's all happening so fast...
posted by fingers_of_fire at 5:45 PM on November 6, 2012

I AM WRITING THIS FROM THE FUTURE OBAMA WON CONGRATULATIONS
posted by ook at 5:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

BABIES/BUTTS 2016
posted by ninjew at 5:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

NBC, your doorbell is ringing.
posted by mikepop at 5:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Theta States, where are you getting these numbers? NPR and NYT are only up to 35% in Florida.

http://edition.cnn.com/election/2012/results/main seems to be the most current. Warning: in their rush they had made errors and had to backtrack.
posted by Theta States at 5:46 PM on November 6, 2012

I voted at four o'clock or so, and have been in a media blackout since then. I'm about to turn on the tv and "go grade papers." HAHAhahaHAhhahaha ha. haha. heh. *wipes tear*

I just realized why my grading marks were so sloppy all those years.
posted by telstar at 5:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

where is this NPR coverage that some people have mentioned. I mean, like, talking. That big board would give me a migraine if I tried to decipher it.
posted by bilabial at 5:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Did anyone else have Romeny wins popular, Obama wins electoral?

That would be hilarious.
posted by infinitywaltz at 5:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I seriously doubt Christie would make it past the primary. There's too much against him: Republicans are already blaming him for Romney (assumedly) losing. He's far, far to the left of his party on issues like "Muslims are human". And he doesn't suffer fools gladly, and his party is full of fools.
posted by Flunkie at 5:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

NBC just said "Sandy factors."
posted by qnarf at 5:47 PM on November 6, 2012

So my spare room right now is being sublet by a guy from Sweden. About 8 pm he said he had a few questions about the election today, because it "didn't seem as big a thing" as elections in Sweden usually did, and also seemed a little less of a thing than he'd seen election day was here in 2008. I began commenting and he would then ask for more questions.

So I just spent the last 45 minutes explaining:

* The electoral college
* How Election Day is NOT a paid day off work here
* The length of House terms
* The length of Senate terms
* The function of the President vs. the Congress
* What is up with the different media channels reporting different things for results right now
* Why the results didn't quite get rolling until just now

And then I finished by telling him about the whole "Obama seeded the hurricane" conspiracy theories, which he got so amused by I think he's on his computer looking up links to send to his girlfriend in Stockholm.

Somewhat more pleasant than watching the results.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [22 favorites]

Fun fact: the very last ballot cast will be in Adak, Alaska at 1am EST (8pm HAST).
posted by charmcityblues at 5:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I see there are at least a few other such predictions.
posted by Jahaza at 5:47 PM on November 6, 2012

Anybody else watching the Senate results for Ohio? It's satisfying to see that according to Politico, Sherrod Brown seems to be kicking the crap out of Josh Mandel.
posted by Rykey at 5:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

St. Alia of the Bunnies: "Meanwhile I am rejoicing in the fact that at least it looks like we are gonna finally have a Republican governor here in NC"

St. Alia, you're entitled to your opinion of course, but ugh. Argh. I feel very different.

Also, is that NBC skating rink nonsense the most useless thing of the night yet?
posted by Red Loop at 5:47 PM on November 6, 2012

There's a small part of me that wants Obama winning the EV and Romney the pop as everyone could work towards eliminating it.
posted by drezdn at 5:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Okay I'm going on a limb and calling New York for Obama and Texas for Romney. I'm a pundit now and I'm already beating them to the punch.
posted by Rashomon at 5:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Former OH sec'y of state Ken Blackwell and Al Sharpton arguing over electioneering in Ohio is must-see TV, people.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:49 PM on November 6, 2012

Christie could well run on an independent "centrist" candidate sponsored by wallstreet types in 2016.
posted by delmoi at 5:49 PM on November 6, 2012

Huh. So both CNN and NYT have about 2.5M votes/candidate in Florida. They just seem to have very different %s. What the what?
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:49 PM on November 6, 2012

I don't have cable. Has anyone appeared in hologram form yet?
posted by The Card Cheat at 5:49 PM on November 6, 2012

FL: AP is reporting that only 40 percent of precincts have closed in Miami-Dade because of long lines of voters.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Also, is that NBC skating rink nonsense the most useless thing of the night yet?

As long as no one can ice skate, the terrorists will never win!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:50 PM on November 6, 2012

I just realized something - 16 year Lagavulin tastes like victory. Exactly like victory. Victory really is delicious!
posted by the painkiller at 5:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Oh god, is it going to be a long night? I can't handle a long night. Hurry up and get your shit together Ohio, Virginia, and Florida.
posted by yasaman at 5:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The skating rink is totally like something out of the hunger games.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

PBS commentators: "it's inspiring that people spent 5 hours in line to vote." The voters' dedication is inspiring; the 5 hour wait is infuriating.
posted by audi alteram partem at 5:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

NBC claims that the Puerto Rican vote has taken the Repubs by storm (in FL). I love that image.
posted by mudpuppie at 5:51 PM on November 6, 2012

T minus nine minutes til Chivas.
posted by The Whelk at 5:51 PM on November 6, 2012

but there are advantages to having a Republican governor that trickle down into local politics. I've met him, he's a nice enough fellow and between me and you I can't say that about every Republican politician I have met.

Gah! Having a pool of piss that trickles down upon the proles is still piss.
posted by futz at 5:51 PM on November 6, 2012

I just realized something - 16 year Lagavulin tastes like victory. Exactly like victory. Victory really is delicious!

I think I'm going to go declare victory.
posted by bondcliff at 5:51 PM on November 6, 2012

the painkiller: "I just realized something - 16 year Lagavulin tastes like victory. Exactly like victory. Victory really is delicious!"

Which reminds me that I do in fact have a bottle of Ardbeg right fucking here in my desk. This may be the time to open it.
posted by gingerbeer at 5:51 PM on November 6, 2012

bilabial, http://election2012.npr.org/, at the top it says "listen now"
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 5:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Getting the feeling James Carville makes Anderson uncomfortable
posted by goHermGO at 5:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bloomberg/Christie? (or vice versa?)
posted by msalt at 5:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Loving Rachel Maddow
posted by shothotbot at 5:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

FL: AP is reporting that only 40 percent of precincts have closed in Miami-Dade because of long lines of voters.

Those voters are hardcore. Good for them, they deserve mad props.
posted by oneirodynia at 5:52 PM on November 6, 2012

What do you guys think: Too early to start reading the National Review liveblog for schadenfreude purposes?
posted by Diablevert at 5:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The voters' dedication is inspiring; the 5 hour wait is infuriating.

Sitting here in the comfort of all-absentee Washington State, the very idea is horrific. Five hours!?!? To vote!? in November? Never mind the ID checks, that right there is voter suppression. No wonder we have such low turnout. I doubt I would actually vote under such conditions.
posted by Mars Saxman at 5:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

FWIW, the cabbie who drove me from the Denver airport today assured me that Obama's taking Colorado. He seemed like a pretty trustworthy guy, so let's call it.
posted by COBRA! at 5:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Just got home, 470 comments in an hour, it's going to be a long night. BBC reporting different data to CBC...aargh! So want to believe BBC as Obama's ahead.
posted by arcticseal at 5:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Interesting historical note: apparently ridiculous gimmicky election images are not a new thing for TV networks. In its article on the 1948 presidential election, Wikipedia says:

For its television coverage, NBC News constructed a large model of the White House containing two elephants that would pop out when NBC announced Dewey's victory; since Truman's defeat was considered certain no donkeys were placed in the White House model.

Lesson learned: when you've put a lot of work into your weird election stunt, make sure you prepare for all possibilities.
posted by koeselitz at 5:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

You know, regardless of who wins, I will say that it's been awesome working at a college this time around. My student workers, who hail from all over the world, are so into this election and into politics. One had an "I VOTED!" sticker on her hijab; another was voting in PA and not NY, because it's safe. My own polling station had no stickers, but it did have a bake sale to help feed the homeless and a mixture of skin tones and religions and genders, all mixed up, at seven a.m. I have loved living in other countries, but today? This is what I come home for.

that said did someone say it was time for two fingers of victory up ahead? okay!
posted by jetlagaddict at 5:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

When I finished voting in Arlington, VA at almost 6pm - after two hours of standing in line - the line outside reached further than where I was standing when I arrived before 4pm. If they let everyone in line at 7pm vote (which they are supposed to do), they might not even get to begin counting all the votes in VA until after midnight.

It's gonna be a long evening...
posted by gemmy at 5:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Cmon Barry O, let me in for just one round, just one swift jab. I'll soften his mush for you but good!
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 5:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Rove adjusts bone-rimmed glasses & assures crowd he has "the math"; his non-Euclidean poling says Romney by ǝǝɹɥʇ points. #RomneyDeathRally
posted by ersatz at 5:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Which reminds me that I do in fact have a bottle of Ardbeg right fucking here in my desk. This may be the time to open it.

You have much more self control than I.
posted by The Whelk at 5:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

My purple velvet cake turned out brown, you guys.
posted by padraigin at 5:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Theory: If Chris Christie suddenly drops 20 or 30 pounds it means he is running for President in 2016.

Comic Relief Husband coming into room when Christie was on TV. (Not citizen, knows about zilch about US politics.) "Who is that fat man? That is a REALLY FAT MAN."
posted by sonika at 5:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

guys I miss you in chat why is this election so close
posted by ninjew at 5:53 PM on November 6, 2012

Also, does anyone know why the NBC stream keeps going between the main network and some B team intermittently? What is airing on the network at that time? I don't think it can be commercials, because the segments seem to last too long.
posted by Red Loop at 5:54 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney aide tweets from the set of The Shining (via Guardian)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Can I change my hopes in the Wisconsin Senate race from Tammy Baldwin to "Nimrod Y.U. Allen III"? Because...yeah.
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:54 PM on November 6, 2012

The chat is too fast to live.
posted by The Whelk at 5:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

All you fuckers with your Ardbegs and your Lagavulins. I am sitting here, in north east Scotland, less than 500 yards from a distillery, and I'm drinking the cheapest corner shop lager that I can afford. But what I lack in quality I am making up for in enthusiasm, or something.
posted by Len at 5:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

why is this election so close

it isn't, it only looks that way.
posted by Mars Saxman at 5:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

GODDAMIT -- must TURN OFF THE TV! Can't take the minute-by-minute game analysis. On the edge of my seat. But, must keep the alcohol flowing.
posted by ericb at 5:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Too tough to die.
posted by howfar at 5:55 PM on November 6, 2012

I say it everytime, but boy do I hate David Brooks.
posted by benito.strauss at 5:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

(I'm ready for some non-Euclidean poling, by the way.)
posted by Red Loop at 5:55 PM on November 6, 2012

For its television coverage, NBC News constructed a large model of the White House containing two elephants that would pop out when NBC announced Dewey's victory; since Truman's defeat was considered certain no donkeys were placed in the White House model.

Lesson learned: when you've put a lot of work into your weird election stunt... make sure you have a couple of asses on hand.
posted by Floydd at 5:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

FL: AP is reporting that only 40 percent of precincts have closed in Miami-Dade because of long lines of voters.

Just checked on CNN, less than 1% reporting there, so YAY, another flux of votes to balance the panhandle votes still forthcoming.
posted by Theta States at 5:55 PM on November 6, 2012

REDROMney
posted by MCMikeNamara at 5:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

I'm pulling for Warren for pres in 2016
posted by yoga at 5:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Dodge Romni
posted by hellojed at 5:56 PM on November 6, 2012

Fiscal Cliff?
posted by Senor Cardgage at 5:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

David brooks is literally the worst thing.

Ahhhhh minute by minute coverage is terrifying ahhhhh
posted by The Whelk at 5:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

boy do I hate David Brooks.

He reminds me of ALF.

Because he wears a nappy and eats cats.
posted by howfar at 5:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

5 minutes until NY comes in!
posted by Justinian at 5:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I like the NPR results page.
posted by maggieb at 5:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The voters' dedication is inspiring; the 5 hour wait is infuriating.

i spent 15 minutes waiting in kalamazoo michigan, right after 7 this evening

it is utterly beyond me why everyone can't have the same sort of reasonable wait as i did
posted by pyramid termite at 5:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think it's great that Bobby Baccalieri recovered from the ambush in the model train shop and became governor of Jersey.
posted by entropicamericana at 5:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Anyone watching BBC? It's Steve Holt!

|o|
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Warren continues to lead 52 to 48 w 6% in
posted by vicusofrecirculation at 5:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Which network is inflicting David Brooks on viewers?
posted by COBRA! at 5:57 PM on November 6, 2012

Petulant loser on NPR right now.
posted by The Whelk at 5:57 PM on November 6, 2012

I just want to make sure everyone has "Uncle Obama's Banana" in their heads now.
posted by Mezentian at 5:57 PM on November 6, 2012

Florida is going Obama.
posted by roboton666 at 5:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

New Hampshire TV station WMUR reports via Twitter that Londonderry polls closed at 8pm. About 200 people still in line to vote.
posted by schoolgirl report at 5:57 PM on November 6, 2012

Guys, turn off your TVs and just follow this thread and Patton Oswalt on Twitter. That's all you need tonight.

And a glass of good scotch, of course.
posted by bondcliff at 5:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NY Times has a nice chart tracking network calls
posted by Golden Eternity at 5:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Angus King kicks off his acceptance speech with a dig at Karl Rove, so there's that
posted by mikepop at 5:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

If Obama wins FL it's all over.
posted by delmoi at 5:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The NPR big board might not be "intuitive", but it's crammed with info, logically presented. Way more fun than a colored map, in my opinion.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 5:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm pulling for Warren for pres in 2016

I'd love it, but personally I think Andrew Cuomo is the prohibitive favorite if Hillary doesn't want it.
posted by gerryblog at 5:59 PM on November 6, 2012

If someone would like to donate a good bottle of scotch, please MeMail me...
posted by Thorzdad at 5:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Miko and I are making do with 90 minute Dogfish IPA and a big bottle of Barefoot.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 5:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oy, I feel sick to my tummy. And going over my tablet's data allowance to stay hooked up to Mefi. Cos I can't stand the tv coverage. One local dude said Michigan's much closer than expected!

OTOH another person mentioned my twp. clerk race, that the Dem might beat the Rep. incumbent? - In this pretty Republican area? Hmmm. Mixed signals.
posted by NorthernLite at 5:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Nate Silver says Florida's tied?
posted by Diablevert at 5:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Has anyone made the joke that CNN calls Florida for Gore? Not yet? Ok.

BREAKING: CNN calls Florida for Gore!

Got that out of the way.
posted by 3200 at 5:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Detailed map of the Warren/Brown race.

You go, professor!
posted by tonycpsu at 5:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I have an 18 year Macallan on the counter but I also have a cold so I'm drinking swill :(
posted by Justinian at 5:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm hitting the Diet Root Beer pretty hard, but that's not surprising for a Tuesday night.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think it's great that Bobby Baccalieri recovered from the ambush in the model train shop and became governor of Jersey.

HAHAHA that is hilarious.

Also I just want to relieve a little stress by saying when I saw Christie and Obama walking around during Sandy I kept thinking of the number 10.
posted by sweetkid at 6:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

We can get high and watch this whole city burn
posted by rocketman at 6:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

CNN predicting KS going to Romney

GOOD JOB that state is SOO hard to call
posted by hellojed at 6:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Minnesota folks, keep an eye on MinnPost's dashboard for our stuff. If the universe loves us, we'll see those fucking amendments go down and the state leg flip back.
posted by COBRA! at 6:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Looks like InTrade is finally starting to understand how math works.

I forget where I saw this, but regarding the recent backlash amongst conservatives against the Nate Silvers of the world:

"I'll show you nerds how to math!"
posted by Flunkie at 6:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

oh boy.....9p...here comes a flood
posted by lampshade at 6:00 PM on November 6, 2012

oh god so much red FUCK
posted by ninjew at 6:00 PM on November 6, 2012

ONCE AGAIN LIBERAL MEDIA TELL LIES ABOUT MITT. SKULL "MOUNTAIN" ONLY SMALL SKULL PILE. NO "CACKLING," ONLY OMINOUS CHUCKLE #RomneyDeathRally

posted by ersatz at 6:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

CNN only able to project 3/5 electoral votes from Nebraska to Romney. Interseting.
posted by Lemurrhea at 6:00 PM on November 6, 2012

FUCK YES MICHIGAN.
posted by sonika at 6:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Mitt Romney, 2008: "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt"
Michigan, 2012: "Let Romney Suck on an Exhaust Pipe"
posted by tonycpsu at 6:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [19 favorites]

PEOPLE, QUICK: GIVE ME YOUR AMAZING SCOTCH. K THX BI!
posted by Theta States at 6:01 PM on November 6, 2012

It's PBS NewsHat! (via Armando Iannucci)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

MI and NY for Obama, says ABC.
posted by xbonesgt at 6:01 PM on November 6, 2012

oh god so much red FUCK

It's the South, it's gonna look like that.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:01 PM on November 6, 2012

AP calls NH governor's race for Democrat Maggie Hassan.
posted by schoolgirl report at 6:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Florida: TIED, 71% reporting
Ohio: O+13%, 26% reporting
posted by Theta States at 6:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh god, oh god, FLORIDA. I can't look.
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 6:02 PM on November 6, 2012

Right, off to drive home and get in front of the TV for the rest of the night. I just want to tell you all etc etc...
posted by TwoWordReview at 6:02 PM on November 6, 2012

MSNBC says Obama is in the lead in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Eat it, Romney.
posted by Justinian at 6:02 PM on November 6, 2012

Apparently Tanenbaum has conceded defeat in the technological election:
News from the Votemaster
8:18 PM EST

The servers are totally overloaded. This may not work. I'm trying but not hopeful.

I believe he made it through 2008 OK, but crashed in 2004?
posted by dhartung at 6:02 PM on November 6, 2012

According to Zogby on the BBC Dick Morris is shitting it about Florida. This, I presume, is a good thing?
posted by Len at 6:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Florida, let's be prudent here.
posted by ersatz at 6:03 PM on November 6, 2012

Chivas is not overrated but lacks complexity.
posted by The Whelk at 6:03 PM on November 6, 2012

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CNN MAP IT VANISHED ALTOGETHER AAAAAAHHHHHHH
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:03 PM on November 6, 2012

VA and FL both extending voting indefinitely? Going to be a late night.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 6:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm by myself in my office and have a whole bottle of Ardbeg, and am happy to share. Come on by!
posted by gingerbeer at 6:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

NBC calls it for Warren in Mass.
posted by schoolgirl report at 6:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I need to travel with a mini bottle of scotch or two for times like this.
posted by mrzarquon at 6:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

MetaChat: Too Fast, Too Furious
posted by mazola at 6:03 PM on November 6, 2012

oh god so much red FUCK

As I always say, square miles don't vote. When you use a proportional map (to EVs) it looks quite different.
posted by dhartung at 6:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I need to travel with a ~~mini~~bottle of scotch or two for times like this.

FTFY
posted by howfar at 6:03 PM on November 6, 2012

Some folks upthread were posting pics of their voting places, so here's mine, including a story about a guy who dressed as Big Bird to vote.
posted by Daddy-O at 6:03 PM on November 6, 2012

WARREN!? ???
posted by 3200 at 6:04 PM on November 6, 2012

I just want the blues to hit the ground running tomorrow on 2016 so the repubs don't get in there & uproot everything we've worked for like Dubya did with Clinton
posted by yoga at 6:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

St. Alia of the Bunnies: "Slothrop, I think you are probably right but there are advantages to having a Republican governor that trickle down into local politics. I've met him, he's a nice enough fellow and between me and you I can't say that about every Republican politician I have met."

Alia I can safely say that all of the Republicans that I have met in my life, you are the nicest.
posted by Splunge at 6:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Decided not to heckle the kid with the huge confederate flag flying out of his truck I saw on the way home today.

He'll get his shortly.
posted by Big_B at 6:04 PM on November 6, 2012

WARREN! FUCK YES! FUCK! YES! WARREN! YES! OH I CAN BREATHE NOW!
posted by sonika at 6:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

CNN only able to project 3/5 electoral votes from Nebraska to Romney. Interseting.

Aaaand now I am super glad I caught that NE splits EVs earlier today and edited our NE election results fullscreens to reflect that last minute.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

CBS is now saying that FL joins VA in suspending their reporting due to late voting of those still in line.
posted by Rhomboid at 6:05 PM on November 6, 2012

I'd like Virginia to call it soon so Ohio and Florida know they don't have to bother to cheat.
posted by gerryblog at 6:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Apparently a county in Wisconsin ran out of ballots.

Is there somewhere I can see incoming results for Ohio, FL, VA?
posted by delmoi at 6:05 PM on November 6, 2012

But, but, but... Brown wears a barn coat and drives a truck!
posted by usonian at 6:05 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama +1 in Florida at 72%
posted by ersatz at 6:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ah well, at least Scott Brown can return the pickup truck he uses for photo-ops.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

(Assuming WI goes blue) Does anyone know if there's ever been another instance where the home states of both names on the ticket have gone to the other party?
posted by FreelanceBureaucrat at 6:05 PM on November 6, 2012

Miko and I are making do with 90 minute Dogfish IPA and a big bottle of Barefoot.

Jesus, that's like rib eye and tater tots. Sure, they're potatoes, but have some fucking respect for the steak!
posted by OmieWise at 6:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Warren campaign called me this evening to thank me, a supervoter (whatever that means), for my support. When I asked why they didn't call my wife who was a delegate for Warren at the convention and spent the morning canvasing for her, things got awkward.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

dammit Nate Silver write more things

it's been like twenty goddamn minutes what are you some kinda PROFESSIONAL
posted by Rory Marinich at 6:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

I didn't see the NBC Warren call. Can anyone confirm?
posted by tonycpsu at 6:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Intrade is kind of exploding. At 80% now.
posted by Golden Eternity at 6:06 PM on November 6, 2012

NJ - Obama. Done.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:06 PM on November 6, 2012

Is anyone watching the Google election results? I expected more up to date results from Google—MI still for Romney ARRGH I have too many maps with varying results.
posted by thesocietyfor at 6:07 PM on November 6, 2012

I need to travel with a mini bottle of scotch or two ~~for times like this.~~

seriously, this is always a good decision*!

*IANAL, IANYL
posted by jetlagaddict at 6:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Rhomboid: "CBS is now saying that FL joins VA in suspending their reporting due to late voting of those still in line."
Yeah I just saw on TV here that they are extending voting for another hour.
posted by Splunge at 6:07 PM on November 6, 2012

dammit Nate Silver write more things

Yeah, it's not a "live blog" if you post one update every half an hour.
posted by Justinian at 6:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

NBC calls it for Warren: here is the link. But only 12% of the votes are in, are they suuurre?
posted by kellybird at 6:07 PM on November 6, 2012

(My last name is the same as the late dear departed Ronald. I have fun with that fact occasionally.)

Cheeky Bunny!
posted by MissySedai at 6:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bob Menendez survives the "Dominican hookers" October surprise. Luv ya, Joysey!
posted by tonycpsu at 6:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I can't take the tension. Who do I have to blow to get Elizabeth Warren to be declared the winner over Scott Brown?
posted by benito.strauss at 6:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney plummets to 15% in INTRADE!
posted by Theta States at 6:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Out of favorites for the first time ever. Where are my well deserved trickle down allotments of favorites? I have waited patiently!

Winter is coming.
posted by futz at 6:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Ain't nothing wrong with tater tots.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Loving Rachel Maddow

If Rachel and I were each straight, I'd ask her to marry me after our first date!
posted by ericb at 6:08 PM on November 6, 2012

Miko and I are making do with 90 minute Dogfish IPA and a big bottle of Barefoot.

Jesus, that's like rib eye and tater tots. Sure, they're potatoes, but have some fucking respect for the steak!

Omiewise - we SO gotta hang sometime.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 6:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

PEOPLE, QUICK: GIVE ME YOUR AMAZING SCOTCH. K THX BI!

No amazing scotch here, but making do with bourbon from Sonoma aged in pinot noir barrels.
posted by oneirodynia at 6:08 PM on November 6, 2012

I can't take the tension. Who do I have to blow to get Elizabeth Warren to be declared the winner over Scott Brown?

It's already been called. You don't have to blow anyone. Just refresh the thread.
posted by sonika at 6:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm watching Paul Oakenfold but paying more attention to this thread than the stage. Considering how much these tickets cost, it's probably a waste. He's wearing a Steelers Nation tshirt.
posted by octothorpe at 6:08 PM on November 6, 2012

OK, going to the Wisconsin Dems party. I hope we can celebrate defeating Paul Ryan TWICE, but I'm not really really confident about victory #2.
posted by dhartung at 6:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I don't see anything on that page about a projection. I don't think they've called MA-Sen for Warren.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

My mother-in-law when CNN showed the Romney campaign headquarters: "That is the whitest floor I've ever seen. Didn't they let anybody black in?"
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 6:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

FreelanceBureaucrat: "(Assuming WI goes blue) Does anyone know if there's ever been another instance where the home states of both names on the ticket have gone to the other party?

Sure, but those guys go on to lose.
posted by joedan at 6:08 PM on November 6, 2012

Why hasn't FL been called yet?
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 6:09 PM on November 6, 2012

benito.strauss: "I can't take the tension. Who do I have to blow to get Elizabeth Warren to be declared the winner over Scott Brown?"

Call me!
posted by Splunge at 6:09 PM on November 6, 2012

Welcome back, Massachusetts. Don't be a dumbass again.
posted by Flunkie at 6:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

gingerbeer: I'm by myself in my office and have a whole bottle of Ardbeg, and am happy to share. Come on by!

What kind? I prefer Uigedail, Rollercoaster or Supernova...
posted by Hairy Lobster at 6:09 PM on November 6, 2012

Jesus, that's like rib eye and tater tots. Sure, they're potatoes, but have some fucking respect for the steak!

You sayin' you got a problem with tater tots, is that it?
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"That is the whitest floor I've ever seen. Didn't they let anybody black in?"

Of course! Somebody has to serve the food.
posted by Celsius1414 at 6:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

tonycpsu: They could have had pictures of Menendez with the hookers and he would have still won. By a larger margin, too.

Joisey loves you back!
posted by kimberussell at 6:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

power-tie-wearing she-capitalist: “Why hasn't FL been called yet?”

because it isn't next tuesday yet
posted by koeselitz at 6:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Comic Relief Husband: "Are you done watching? Can I play Borderlands now?"
posted by sonika at 6:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

Ok, time to break out the Bunnahabhain.
posted by usonian at 6:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here is the link to NBC calling it for Warren. But only 50% of the votes are in, are they suuurre?

As far as I can tell, that page says that 14% of the votes are in and that they have not called the race either way.
posted by dfan at 6:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Bob Casey hangs on in PA.

yay.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:10 PM on November 6, 2012

SOMETHING HAPPEN OH GOD THE TENSION
posted by The Whelk at 6:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

There is no call on that Warren-Brown page.
posted by waitingtoderail at 6:10 PM on November 6, 2012

I have to take the dogs out. I'll be hundreds of posts behind when their tanks are empty.
posted by yoga at 6:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Any real Mainer is drinking Moxie tonight.
posted by dunkadunc at 6:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Lagavulin 16 here
posted by seawallrunner at 6:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Hearing Romney just referred to as "Boston" hurts me it hurts soooooooooooo bad.
posted by sonika at 6:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jesus, that's like rib eye and tater tots. Sure, they're potatoes, but have some fucking respect for the steak!

Love 'em! But C'MON.
posted by OmieWise at 6:11 PM on November 6, 2012

1,288 vote difference in Florida, according to CNN.
posted by Lemurrhea at 6:11 PM on November 6, 2012

Okay, first sidecar of the evening.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney now ahead by 1288 votes in FL.
posted by ColdChef at 6:11 PM on November 6, 2012

on NBC the "Projected Winner" thing is below Warren's picture, but that is just the legend, not their projection
posted by thetruthisjustalie at 6:11 PM on November 6, 2012

OK, going to the Wisconsin Dems party. I hope we can celebrate defeating Paul Ryan TWICE, but I'm not really really confident about victory #2.

Baby steps. I hope Zerban sticks around though.
posted by drezdn at 6:11 PM on November 6, 2012

hey does anyone know - when they announce results on TV like so:

with X% reporting, candidate A has this many votes, candidate B has this many

does this figure include early/absentee votes?
posted by fingers_of_fire at 6:11 PM on November 6, 2012

sonika, biscotti is playing borderlands2 right now.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:11 PM on November 6, 2012

Yeah, seconding no call on the Warren-Brown page. Someone possibly misread the placement of the "Projected Winner" checkmark on the legend?
posted by hot soup at 6:12 PM on November 6, 2012

Intrade is kind of exploding. At 80% now.

DUMP ROMNEY!
posted by carter at 6:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Florida, Romney is not the right man for you!
posted by ersatz at 6:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Klobuchar takes MN Senate race, least shocking thing ever.
posted by COBRA! at 6:12 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm relying on you, Metafilter. I can't even listen to NBC on the iPad with another program open. IPads suck, except when they don't.
posted by zizzle at 6:12 PM on November 6, 2012

They haven't called Florida because they extended the voting time by one hour because of long lines.
posted by Splunge at 6:12 PM on November 6, 2012

Charlie Pierce is saying NBC did call it for Warren but MSNBC didn't. I find it interesting that the two sister networks have their own crews doing projections.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:12 PM on November 6, 2012

I don't see anything on that page about a projection

I think we may have all been misinterpreting. There is a little green check mark under Warren, but it's the legend to the figure, it's not calling her as the winner.
posted by kellybird at 6:12 PM on November 6, 2012

NBC calls Casey winner in PA Senate race. :)
posted by dendrochronologizer at 6:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Comic Relief Husband: "Are you done watching? Can I play Borderlands now?"

I'm doing both and counting you on you guys for news.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 6:13 PM on November 6, 2012

rhaomi: when need some kind of archivist to carefully Ctrl+C Ctrl+P the best wisecrackz into the election thread
posted by ersatz at 6:13 PM on November 6, 2012

"Aides say he [Romney] is at peace right now" -NBC Coverage

That doesn't sound good.
posted by goHermGO at 6:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Okay, first sidecar of the evening.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:11 PM

Y'all can have your stinky Scotch; I'll be with the Empress this evening, solving crimes.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 6:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

NBC says difference in FL is less than 200 right now.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:13 PM on November 6, 2012

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CNN MAP IT VANISHED ALTOGETHER AAAAAAHHHHHHH

At least you get CNN. My browser is crashing everything except..... Metafilter.

Seriously.

Fuck you NYT, Fuck you Politico and CSPAN and CNN and Comedy Central and MSNBC and Metafilter and Fuck you Safari and Apple and the assholes I live with who were all like "TV? We don't need TV."
posted by space_cookie at 6:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Romney pulls ahead by ~200 votes in Florida.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 6:14 PM on November 6, 2012

Holy shit tater tots and steak. Once Obama locks this up I'm going out for a dry aged porterhouse, bottle of opus one and fuckin tots.
posted by Ad hominem at 6:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

"Aides say he [Romney] is at peace right now"

Yeah, WTF, that's like something you say about someone in the hospital actually dying.
posted by OmieWise at 6:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

FUCK YEAH, PENNSYLVANIA REPRESENT
posted by tonycpsu at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

PENNSYLVANIA OBAMA FUCK YES FUCK FUCK YES YES YES
posted by sonika at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

198 votes between them in FL?!!?
posted by Red Loop at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

cnn not refreshing proper for me. Did we break the internet?
posted by Theta States at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

YEAH BUDDY PENNSYLVANIA
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Come on Florida, you can do it! FOR THE CHADS!
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

arrrgh! - cbs reports that republicans will keep the house
posted by pyramid termite at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

MSNBC CALLS PA FOR OBAMA!
posted by Room 641-A at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Whoa...PA to Obama
posted by lampshade at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

PA goes to Obama!
posted by King Bee at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

Watching everyone freak out I know that thorough, careful ballot counting as occurs in Canada and other western democracies will never work here. None of us can stand to wait a week for the complete tally. We want to know right now now now now NOW. Even if we have to agree to inaugurate Bush to get it over with.

I'm not including myself here. I'm probably a better person than you.
posted by clarknova at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

"Aides say he [Romney] is at peace right now" -NBC Coverage

I mean, the aides always lie through their shiny white teeth about the actual state of their candidate, so unless they said something like "He's popping champagne and drinking it with Rafalca" it's probably safe to ignore it at this point in the evening
posted by jetlagaddict at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

PA just got called for Obama! The fat lady has finished her warmups and is making her way towards the stage, albeit slowly.
posted by Justinian at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

MSNBC calls Pennsylvania for Obama! Whee!
posted by cashman at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

Maddow just called PA for Obama!
posted by funkiwan at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

According to NBC, that is...
posted by Red Loop at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

And that 200 vote separation is with nearly 7 million votes cast. Jay-zus.

In other important news, those bloody marys I had were a bit salty so I think it's time to switch to mimosas. It's a crazy morning here on the other side of the world, but I just wanted to let you all know we're (etc.) ....
posted by barnacles at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Calling comment bankruptcy on over 800+ comments. Fighting with idiots on FB and watching the maps. Got my vote on in a heavy Obama district after about half hour in line. Wife was with me. From what I hear, turnout is over 90% and people are still in line. I don't think VA is going to be called anytime soon.
posted by daHIFI at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

out of 6.8 million counted, 193 votes difference in FL. Oh no.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

PA to Obama! Woohoo!
posted by MegoSteve at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

Why hasn't FL been called yet?

Still voting. As they are in VA too.
posted by drezdn at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

Hairy Lobster: "gingerbeer: I'm by myself in my office and have a whole bottle of Ardbeg, and am happy to share. Come on by!

What kind? I prefer Uigedail, Rollercoaster or Supernova..."

It's just a 10 year Ardbeg. A present from my boss.
posted by gingerbeer at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

PENNSYLVANIA!
posted by pemberkins at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012

ersatz is reporting from the parallel universe version of this thread, if any of you are confused.
posted by ook at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Gillbrand win for NYstate being reported via RSS
posted by The Whelk at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

198 votes between them in FL?!!?

i blame nader
posted by pyramid termite at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

This is a super tiny bit of the electorate, but I am stoked to see Marshall County, SD ever so slightly blue right now. That's my extended family's stomping ground, and my great-uncle was a Dem SD state senator from there back in the day. They're some pretty hard-hit farmers, too - the flood of '93 never really receded all that much, and the waters have just been rising ever since. A lot of them know the value of a Dem in office!
posted by jason_steakums at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2012

arrrgh! - cbs reports that republicans will keep the house

Wasn't that always overwhelmingly likely?
posted by dfan at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

PA goes to Obama!

WAIT REALLY

sorry DC I love you so much but you gotta understand that PA needs me right now, PA and its sweet, sweet electoral votes and dubious choices of senatorial candidates
posted by jetlagaddict at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

And FL is blue again! Go for it, Sunshine State!
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2012

100% of the voters on my couch have declared Lagavulin 16 the winner. Thanks for getting out the vote, the painkiller.
posted by bondcliff at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

PA for OBAMA ON PBS!
posted by Skygazer at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well so much for Turzai's prediction

freakin pig.....glad to see his smarmy butt proven wrong.
posted by lampshade at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

So, it certainly looks like VA and NC won't be called for quite some time. Also I see some indications that African-American turnout seems to hold up well compared to '08. All good news for Obama.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2012

stupidsexyFlanders: Miami Dade is still largely untallied. That'll be strong for Obama.
posted by Rory Marinich at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2012

Campaigns are realizing that yard signs and bumper stickers make supporters feel good but don't do much to change minds.

A House Divided Against Itself Can Place Hilarious Dueling Campaign Signs on Its Lawn
posted by homunculus at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wish I was playing Borderlands. Just got a sick acid sniper rifle and have a slew of Hyperion missions on my To Do list. Weep oily tears, ROMNEY Loader.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

"Aides say he [Romney] is at peace right now"

Soon he'll be in a better place.
posted by Floydd at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

ersatz is reporting from the parallel universe version of this thread, if any of you are confused.

I'm also dying from suspense and sleepy.
posted by ersatz at 6:17 PM on November 6, 2012

Watching everyone freak out I know that thorough, careful ballot counting as occurs in Canada and other western democracies will never work here. None of us can stand to wait a week for the complete tally. We want to know right now now now now NOW. Even if we have to agree to inaugurate Bush to get it over with.

To be fair, even with the thorough ballot counting in Canada, we have immediate results. Like to the point where they used to (still?) ban reporting on early results for fear of influencing the results out west.
posted by Lemurrhea at 6:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

*Cracks open a victory beer for Bluesylvania*
posted by tonycpsu at 6:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I will gladly hand over a pour of Lagavulin 16 to whoever shows up to claim it, assuming you voted today.

(or Michter's rye if you prefer, or Ferrand Cognac Ambre, or or or ...)
posted by komara at 6:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah "he's at peace right now" is like the reaction to a terminal cancer diagnosis.
posted by Justinian at 6:17 PM on November 6, 2012

Wasn't that always overwhelmingly likely?

sure - but still worth mentioning
posted by pyramid termite at 6:17 PM on November 6, 2012

Apparently Obama's victory in PA has actually changed math.
Thank you, NBC.
posted by qnarf at 6:18 PM on November 6, 2012

Question 3 is winning amongst the massholes.
posted by vrakatar at 6:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I got yer voter ID right here, Mike Turzai!

(I'm pointing at my genitals.)
posted by tonycpsu at 6:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

What is the electoral count at now?
posted by zizzle at 6:18 PM on November 6, 2012

Man, I can't keep up with this thread. It's the Old Overholt slowing me down. I should have refreshed earlier and saved my oral sex offer for a more critical race.
posted by benito.strauss at 6:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

NYT says PA for Obama called by FOX, so.
posted by BungaDunga at 6:19 PM on November 6, 2012

I don't have it programmed into my remote, but it's finally time to find the Fox News channel.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:19 PM on November 6, 2012

The Warren call is not real (yet).
posted by gerryblog at 6:19 PM on November 6, 2012

I have to take the dogs out. I'll be hundreds of posts behind when their tanks are empty.

woof, woof woof wa woof.
posted by futz at 6:19 PM on November 6, 2012

whew. got a little vertigo from chat.
posted by krinklyfig at 6:19 PM on November 6, 2012

That NY Times "Paths to the White House" thing is pretty amazing.
posted by Jahaza at 6:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

EV FOR THE EV THRONE
posted by ersatz at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Dick Morris ‏@DickMorrisTweet
#election2012 Obama ahead by 1 in Fla with 72% in. Scary
posted by Golden Eternity at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you're having trouble, why not abuse Our ABC's website?

Plus, it has Antony Green, and he gives the best elections.
posted by Mezentian at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Nobody else is calling it yet, but Ohio is clearly Obama's.

Take a look at Erie County, for example... the very top center of the state. 95% reporting, and it's 55%-43%, Obama... very similar to the average percentage for the state.

Take a look at Erie County in 2008. 55.7% - 42.7%.

Oh, and MSNBC just called Pennsylvania for Obama.

With those two states out of contention, Mitt Romney almost certainly has no route to the presidency.
posted by markkraft at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Man, I can't keep up with this thread. It's the Old Overholt slowing me down. I should have refreshed earlier and saved my oral sex offer for a more critical race.

The Warren call was incorrect. Keep the offer on hold.
posted by dfan at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Is there a path to the White House that doesn't involve 16 year old scotch?
posted by mazola at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012

http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/president/network-calls take your pick zizzle
posted by DynamiteToast at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh god, Florida, my heart can't take this. You're tearing me apart, Florida!
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Comic Relief Husband: "Why do all of the crappy states vote Republican?"

(Note: Is. Not. A. Citizen.)
posted by sonika at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

My prediction for tonight: Romney loses and goes on stage without a prewritten concession speech. His logic transistors start to glitch out and his artificial retinal sensors glaze over as he begins to power down. Ryan leaps across the stage with a screwdriver and attempts to retune a few cogs in Romney's back but his giant gleaming muscles flex a bit too hard, snapping a gear. A bundle of multicolored wires eject from Romney's mouth, followed by a worn-down "Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt" Nintendo Entertainment System cartridge. Though Ryan tries the old 'blowing on the cartridge' trick, nothing can revive the Romnotron. The remaining cells of Ryan's body that are still human cause him to attempt to vomit but all that comes out is streams upon streams of pages from Ayn Rand novels. Florida votes that dogs are legally allowed to raise human babies.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

I think my bp is down like 20pts because I'm not on chat
posted by ninjew at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Here's nice site I've been checking occassionally that aggregates Intrade, Betfair, and the Iowa Market: PredictWise

Obama is way up across the board.
posted by Skygazer at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow, these Fox people are really blindsided by the PA call.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Ha! Fuck you Dick Morris, go Obama!
posted by King Bee at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

What is the electoral count at now?

It's something like 148 R - 110 O.

Remember, though, that the Left Coast hasn't closed yet. California is 55 electoral votes all by itself.
posted by Justinian at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Woo 2500+ comments! Wait, what are the rest of you guys counting?
posted by ceribus peribus at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Whoa, did we know that MSNBC called New Mexico for Obama?

I got some relatives out there that are gonna be pissed.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2012

What, no good ol' beer? Scotch is for after the race, beer is for the duration. I love you, newly available in this state Magic Hat #9
posted by lizjohn at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney has opened a 13,000 vote lead in FL... at 79%
posted by WinnipegDragon at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2012

> Yeah "he's at peace right now" is like the reaction to a terminal cancer diagnosis.

That'll be that resting pulse of 40.
posted by de at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2012

Tammy Baldwin!
posted by spitbull at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

THINGS THIS THREAD HAS TAUGHT ME IN THE LAST HOUR:

should've bought some good scotch for this
freezer devoid of tater tots :( :( :(

posted by indubitable at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

BBC's Florida correspondent is still reporting from inside a bar where it sounds like a frat party are throwing cake tins against the bar gantry in an effort to impress the barmaid wearing hotpants and a cropped t-shirt advertising the establishment. I'm waiting for Will Ferrell and Owen Wilson to turn up.
posted by Len at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

TAMMY BALDWIN WINS !!!!!

Gay peeps in the Senate!!!
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Oh, Florida, you're such a tease. Just fuck me already so I can go to bed.
posted by bondcliff at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Warren's people are splashing thank yous all over facebook. Surely real?
posted by gaspode at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2012

Here's CNN's live results for FL (very close), OH (where obama is way ahead) and VA. Those are the states to watch, IMO. Obama winning FL and VA would make it a rout. OH is the key state, obviously, and he's way ahead.

It would be nice if there was a site that would show you the partisan makeup of the already called counties vs. uncalled counties.
posted by delmoi at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2012

chat's kinda slow
posted by SomaSoda at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2012

As for Warren/Brown, only 17% of the precincts are reporting. Let's all just calm down on that one.
posted by zardoz at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2012

Was that Maddow comment about Colorado hinting about something?
posted by shothotbot at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2012

Nate updated, talking about President Obama's lead among Non-Cuban Hispanic people in Florida.
posted by cashman at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2012

You are now aware that jessamyn has to actually pay attention to and follow every conversational offshoot in this thread. The poor woman.
posted by clarknova at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Seconding beer as the election-watching beverage of choice.
posted by jeoc at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2012

NBC hasn't called it yet. That's how all this started -- it's just taken on a life of its own.
posted by gerryblog at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2012

Baldwin won? KICK ASS.
posted by COBRA! at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

What, no good ol' beer?

Ommegang Three Philosophers, and Boulevard Tank #7 Saison.
posted by OmieWise at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Miko and I are making do with 90 minute Dogfish IPA and a big bottle of Barefoot.

Jesus, that's like rib eye and tater tots. Sure, they're potatoes, but have some fucking respect for the steak!

Sophisticated urban coastal elite meets down-to-earth, busy heartland mom. That's me; that's my booze. Vote Miko 2012!

Truth be told, it's just that I only had a couple Dogfish left, and now we're back on the usual house swill.
posted by Miko at 6:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

If Obama wins Ohio, then it's all over, though the race wouldn't be called for a while.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Florida would be nice, but it simply doesn't matter without Ohio or Pennsylvania, which Obama won handily.
posted by markkraft at 6:23 PM on November 6, 2012

This Barefoot ain't cuttin' it any more - any of you mooks love me enough to e-mail a fine bottle of Rowan's Creek bourbon?

LET'S GO OPERATION CHOOM HARVEST! KICK THE CULTIST'S ASS!
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 6:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Eyeballs spinning I lovehate these longboats of late.
posted by vrakatar at 6:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Weep oily tears, ROMNEY Loader.

/me pictures robo-romney stumbling around going NO NO NO. NO NO NO.

(salvador with a quad and a triquetra is more fun than a sniper, unless it's one of those Vladofs that are all shooty)
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:23 PM on November 6, 2012

ALL I HAVE IN MY FRIDGE IS TEQUILA! IT WILL HAVE TO DO!
posted by sendai sleep master at 6:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Warren for real. FOR REAL.

(Comic Relief Husband: "Who is Chuck Norris endorsing?" Guys. All of these comments are said in complete seriousness. Except the "are you done" which was clearly messing with me. I don't even.)
posted by sonika at 6:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ommegang Three Philosophers, and Boulevard Tank #7 Saison.

Sir, I concede.
posted by Miko at 6:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Why do all of the crappy states vote Republican?

Sometimes, correlation is causation.
posted by Flunkie at 6:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

To hell with alcohol. I say combustible herbs... it's the only way I've been able to get this far.
posted by kinnakeet at 6:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Is MSNBC coloring the ice-rink states with giant sharpies??
posted by wallabear at 6:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm not sure the AP actually called WI for Baldwin either. Twitter is running with every rumor simultaneously.
posted by gerryblog at 6:24 PM on November 6, 2012

EmpressCallipygos: “Whoa, did we know that MSNBC called New Mexico for Obama?”

Wow. Polls closed here 20 minutes ago... I'm not even sure if all of them are closed yet, to be honest.
posted by koeselitz at 6:24 PM on November 6, 2012

Today I found out that my baby might have cerebal palsy, and then on the way home from the doctor's office I saved a 4-week old stray kitten from certain death in the middle of a busy highway. Not sure how to feel about things based on these two events. I think the outcome of the presidential election will decide which one I remember. Obama wins: "remember that awesome day I saved that kitten? That was so cool (even though maybe things aren't right with the punkin')!" Romney wins: "Oh yeah, that was also the day we found out about the punkin'. What a totally shitty day that was (kitten totally forgotten)." Go Obama! Think of the children (and kittens).
posted by staggering termagant at 6:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [26 favorites]

Wait...That's not my fridge, that's a cabinet.
posted by sendai sleep master at 6:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Leftover Miller. It's flat.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Who keeps tequila in the fridge?
posted by mudpuppie at 6:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

CO - 53% Obama, 45% Romney, 22% reporting
posted by triggerfinger at 6:24 PM on November 6, 2012

The red counties in Florida are basically done counting at this point, while Broward and Miami-Dade still have lots left to go. I'm becoming very confident that Obama will win Florida.
posted by wierdo at 6:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Can we get a hard limit of 250 comments per thread for the rest of the year?
posted by shothotbot at 6:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Shiner.
posted by DynamiteToast at 6:25 PM on November 6, 2012

TAMMY BALDWIN WINS !!!!!

Links! Dammit! Links!!
posted by Floydd at 6:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I feel sorry for the people in Hawaii. It's really unlikely that their votes will ever make a difference, and elections are often called before they've finished voting.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:25 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm just lying on the floor and squirming and yelling at NPR and hitting refresh
posted by The Whelk at 6:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Yeah, the AP call for Baldwin was a typo.
posted by gerryblog at 6:25 PM on November 6, 2012

The red counties in Florida are basically done counting at this point

Even the han pandle?
posted by cashman at 6:26 PM on November 6, 2012

Bulleit Rye.
posted by stltony at 6:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

If Obama wins Ohio, then it's all over, though the race wouldn't be called for a while.

Only if he also wins Fl.
posted by Jahaza at 6:26 PM on November 6, 2012

Links you say!
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 6:26 PM on November 6, 2012

I never thought I'd want to give such a big Care Bear Stare to Broward and Miami-Dade Florida. YOU GO SOUTH EASTERNERS! YOU GO VOTE OBAMA!
posted by Theta States at 6:26 PM on November 6, 2012

Definitely Warren in MA!!!
posted by zizzle at 6:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Leftover Miller. It's flat.

:(

If you were closer I would totally offer you some scotch!
posted by jetlagaddict at 6:26 PM on November 6, 2012

Intrade down to 8% Romney.
posted by Perplexity at 6:26 PM on November 6, 2012

I feel sorry for the people in Hawaii. It's really unlikely that their votes will ever make a difference, and elections are often called before they've finished voting.

I've always maintained that Hawaii should go at this first, and not cute communities in New Hampshire.
posted by the cydonian at 6:26 PM on November 6, 2012

Intrade: 7.5% for Romney.
posted by Theta States at 6:26 PM on November 6, 2012

Staggering: I am so sorry! Hopefully the kitten-saving karma will help with the potential baby diagnosis.
posted by BigJen at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Andrew Sullivan in Daily Beast: women driving Obama edge in exit polls
posted by vicusofrecirculation at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2012

WORD/VOMIT 2016
posted by ninjew at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama slightly up in FL at 80%
posted by ersatz at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2012

Who keeps tequila in the fridge?

Well, I'm drinking whiskey from a boot.
posted by mrgoat at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Is MSNBC coloring the ice-rink states with giant sharpies??

Interns and crayons
posted by shothotbot at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Jameson, election day and every day. Goes down easier than Scotch when you need to drink a lot of whiskey.
posted by spitbull at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

C'mon Florida c'mon (CLAP CLAP CLAP)
C'mon Florida c'mon (CLAP CLAP CLAP)
posted by barnacles at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Obama up in Florida by 8000 votes, 80% in.
posted by Theta States at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2012

Chuck Todd said Florida was looking strong for Obama, cos of some corridor whose name I forgot, but it's right in the center of the state.
posted by Skygazer at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

HEADING HOME WHERE BOOZE AWAITS
posted by scody at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Leftover Miller. It's flat.

Alia, if you quickly MacGyver a still out of household objects, in just a little while you could have a very small amount of bad, massively illegal whisky!
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2012

Dear self,

Do not get drunk tonight. Also, go back in time and dump your savings into Obama shares at InTrade back when Nate told you it was all going to work out OK. Also, try not to get drunk. It makes you sleep like shit.

Best,

You
posted by that's candlepin at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2012

Medical marijuana is up 63% in Massachusetts, right to die at 51%.
posted by kellybird at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Intrade: 7.5% for Romney.

SELL SELL SELL!
posted by tonycpsu at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

(It's what Muad'Dib would do. Do it for his memory)
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Netroots Radio just reported that FOX has called Wisconsin for Obama. Can anyone confirm?
posted by Thorzdad at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012

Neckless woman is freaking me out on NBC again.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

That's me; that's my booze. Vote Miko 2012!

Politics makes strange bedfellows.
posted by OmieWise at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012

NPR just said " survived an onslaught of dark money"

That's an evocative image.
posted by The Whelk at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

And Fox calls WI for Obama -- the first cell filled in on the "key states" on the NYT app
posted by Perplexity at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

If Obama wins Ohio, then it's all over, though the race wouldn't be called for a while.
Only if he also wins Fl.

No. He doesn't need Florida. It would be really nice, but he doesn't need it. If he wins Ohio, it's extremely difficult for Romney to win, even with Florida.
posted by Flunkie at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012

I feel sorry for the people in Hawaii. It's really unlikely that their votes will ever make a difference, and elections are often called before they've finished voting.

We elect Senators and Representatives, too and could totally fuck your shit up by putting Lingle (R) in the Senate instead of Hirono (D).

Plus, the weather kicks ass.
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Hah! Projecting Maggie Hassan for governor over batshitinsane Ovide Lamontagne. I dance with his daughters and took swimming lessons with his nieces and though they were all nice people, they all believed CRAZY THINGS. It'd be great if we really *do* get an all-women slate of elected officials!
posted by ChuraChura at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012

Hey, it's cool. Your vote doesn't matter, but you live in fucking Hawai'i so who cares?
posted by spitbull at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

YES WISCONSIN CHEESEHEADS FOREVER!
posted by sonika at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I feel sorry for the people in Hawaii. It's really unlikely that their votes will ever make a difference, and elections are often called before they've finished voting.

On the plus side, they live in HAWAII.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Is MSNBC coloring the ice-rink states with giant sharpies??

I talked to a friend who was there and he said they have film/light gels that are precut for each state.
posted by Flamingo at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wisconsin to Obama!
posted by MegoSteve at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Obama wins Wisconsin!
posted by cashman at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Rittenhouse Rye
posted by notyou at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

NPR calls Ohio Senate for Sherrod Brown. Oh thank god. Mandell is toad.
posted by mcmile at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

@DickMorrisTweet
#election2012 wixonsin to Obama could be the ball game. we can still win with Ohio. I really hate calling Pa and Wisc so early and easy
posted by Golden Eternity at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012

WI goes blue. Scott Walker haz a sad.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Dear self,

Do not get drunk tonight.

Oh yeah. Me too. "Dear self. It's Tuesday. Tuesday."
posted by Miko at 6:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

WHew! Made it to the end of the thread.

State: stressed, excited, optimistic
Citizenship: Canuckistanese, but lived in the US for the G.W. years. Crazy times.
Scotch: 12 yr Aberfeldy (not a drop of Macallan to be found in the house, I'm afraid)
posted by bumpkin at 6:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

MSNBC is calling Wisconsin for Obama too.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

#womenbreakingbadforobama 3 of my favorite things
posted by maggieb at 6:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Netroots Radio just reported that FOX has called Wisconsin for Obama. Can anyone confirm?

Watching now and can confirm!

WOOHOO
posted by zombieflanders at 6:29 PM on November 6, 2012

Chuck Todd said Florida was looking strong for Obama, cos of some corridor whose name I forgot, but it's right in the center of the state.

I-4 corridor
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 6:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

This NYT paths to victory map thing is too fucking sexy...

Everything is looking sexy actually...I'm not even drinking...
\
WISCONSIN!!!
posted by Skygazer at 6:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

If you're having trouble, why not abuse Our ABC's website?

Plus, it has Antony Green, and he gives the best elections.

Antony Green is covering the US election?

Now I'm REALLY pissed I can't get to ABC24 in the US.
posted by Talez at 6:29 PM on November 6, 2012

Who keeps tequila in the fridge?

freezer here.
posted by futz at 6:29 PM on November 6, 2012

So both Romney and Ryan lost their home states. Nice.
posted by joedan at 6:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

I feel sorry for the people in Hawaii.

Why, they have beautiful weather, beaches and live volcanoes! It's a goddamn paradise.

Only if he also wins Fl.

I don't think so. If O takes Ohio, that's the game, he won't need Florida.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:30 PM on November 6, 2012

Diamond Bear Two Term.
posted by box at 6:30 PM on November 6, 2012

Fuck Paul Ryan! Wisconsin does us proud.
posted by spitbull at 6:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Out of hefeweizen. Only booze left in house is New Amsterdam Gin. Please send help.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

FUCK YOU RYAN! FUCK YOU WALKER!
posted by OmieWise at 6:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

The walls are closing in on R-money. His only path now is a Florida-Ohio-Virginia-Colorado sweep kinda thing.
posted by Justinian at 6:30 PM on November 6, 2012

paul ryan's home state :D
posted by twist my arm at 6:30 PM on November 6, 2012

WI! breaks out the Lagavulin
posted by vicusofrecirculation at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

We’re trying to figure out just whose error it was. But AP has NOT called Wisconsin for Baldwin. We’ll give you more information once we have it.

posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2012

SUCK IT SCOTT WALKER!! SUCK IT TEA PARTY FUCKS!! SUCK IT KOCH FUCKS!!! WOOOOOHOOOOO
posted by Skygazer at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Please send help.

Or booze.
posted by SomaSoda at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2012

So, I guess that makes Paul Ryan basically a worthless sidekick of a failed candidate? He couldn't even deliver his home state, so why would Republicans consider their ideological hero as a future Presidential candidate?
posted by markkraft at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Nate Silver says the writing is on the wall!
posted by Justinian at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2012

Just saw a clip, filmed at least 18 hrs ago, in which Obama says "I want to congratulate Governor Romney on a fantastic campaign". If that's not a "FUCK YOU! I'M GONNA WIN" then I will, well, eat Romney's tax returns. If anyone can get them to me.
posted by Len at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Two Hearted Ale to celebrate Michigan to Obama here.
posted by tau_ceti at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

If O takes Ohio, that's the game, he won't need Florida.

Romney could still theoretically squeak out a victory by running the table, but there's no way that will happen.
posted by dfan at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2012

With 3/6 precincts reporting, I can project that Troeg's Sunshine Pils wins the key swing state of my belly.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

CBS calls Wisconsin for Obama!
posted by WinnipegDragon at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2012

I thought you guys were joking about the MSNBC ice rink. You were not.
posted by Dr. Zira at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

NYT Big Board is down for me, 500 Internal Service Error DAMN IT
posted by BungaDunga at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2012

512 Paths to the White House:

With Wisconsin in, Obama: 230 ways to win, Romney 24 ways to win.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:32 PM on November 6, 2012

Seriously, though, re: Hawaii voting late elections aren't all about the Presidency. That kind of thinking is what lets insane right wing people take over school boards. Come on, people, think locally, too.
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Since Obama's got this thing on lockdown, I'm saving all my anxiety for the gay marriage vote in Maine. You're welcome to join me. Currently 59-41 for legalizing, which would be FUCKING AWESOME.
posted by that's candlepin at 6:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

We’re trying to figure out just whose error it was. But AP has NOT called Wisconsin for Baldwin. We’ll give you more information once we have it.

It was @CraryAP.
posted by gerryblog at 6:32 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm sorry to say I'm like wanting blood this election. I was Mr. nice-guy in 2008, but not this time...

wHOA...
posted by Skygazer at 6:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Obama now up 14,000 in FL
posted by WinnipegDragon at 6:32 PM on November 6, 2012

Nate Silver: On The Wall, The Writing.
posted by joedan at 6:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Can finally settle in to the thread with vodka and Japanese oreos, because at the rate this stuff's disappearing all my good scotch will be gone like pfft.

GO AMERICA GO VOTE FOR THIS GQMF
posted by zennish at 6:32 PM on November 6, 2012

"(Mitt Romney,) we are going to beat you like a drum in November. But don't take it personally. I like you. You seem like a nice guy. But you're going down bro"
--Charles Barkley, 5/6/12
posted by Golden Eternity at 6:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sherrod Brown wins!

Victory dance.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

FLORIDA. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME.
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 6:32 PM on November 6, 2012

MANICAL LAUGHTER HAPPENING OVER HERE
posted by The Whelk at 6:32 PM on November 6, 2012

LOVE Nate's tweet!
posted by cashman at 6:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ok, I give up, skipping several hundred comments. And I had read every comment before that!
posted by aspo at 6:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

People still in line to vote in Florida, via NBC
posted by Theta States at 6:33 PM on November 6, 2012

MSNBC reporting Romney losing all his home states! He has a home there, he loses!
posted by sonika at 6:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Go NH!
posted by chime at 6:33 PM on November 6, 2012

Only booze left in house is New Amsterdam Gin. Please send help.

Make aviations! Super-pre-prohibition-patriotic. You'll have to have all those liquors on hand. I can lend you some, if you want to travel to Tucson
posted by lizjohn at 6:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh god thirty seconds to google that picture and there are 53 new comments popping up you guys are FAST.
posted by zennish at 6:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Can someone please explain the ice rink? We don't have TV out here in the middle of nowhere.
posted by charmcityblues at 6:33 PM on November 6, 2012

I want Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio and a tiny baggie of Romney's tears.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 6:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

FUCK YES. A bit early, perhaps, but Maine looks like it's getting gay marriage, a whole lot of bonds, and Mike Michaud (D) and Chellie Pingree (D) for the House.

Now all we need is for our governor to get eaten by a stray alligator or something. The man is an ongoing humiliation.
posted by dunkadunc at 6:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

FLORIDA

WHAT ARE YOU DOING

NO STAP
posted by The Whelk at 6:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

YES WE CAN
posted by King Bee at 6:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Romney and Ryan lose their home states -- Massachusetts and Wisconsin.
posted by ericb at 6:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Oh thank God Sharron Brown held his seat. Josh Mandel is such a spindly little fucker.
posted by slogger at 6:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

(Comic Relief Husband: "Who is Chuck Norris endorsing?" Guys. All of these comments are said in complete seriousness. Except the "are you done" which was clearly messing with me. I don't even.)

Chuck Norris Video: Obama Reelection Will Bring '1,000 Years Of Darkness'
posted by delmoi at 6:34 PM on November 6, 2012

Hooray! Now Sherrod Brown for senate in Ohio (democratic incumbent)! He faced a ridiculous amount of superpac dollars and the whole senate race was a sleaze fest.
posted by ChuraChura at 6:34 PM on November 6, 2012

#HashtagJudyWoodruff'sGiantButton

Is this how twitter works?
posted by goHermGO at 6:34 PM on November 6, 2012

This is getting tighter than a frog's ass for Romney.
posted by roboton666 at 6:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The ice rink outside 30 Rock has a giant US map chalked on it, and they're painting the states red or blue as results come in.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:35 PM on November 6, 2012

I love you dunkadunc. Will you gay marry me? (I don't care what gender you are)
posted by that's candlepin at 6:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Is Paul Ryan going to lose his congressional re-election race? That would be pretty awesome.
posted by delmoi at 6:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Everybody relax, I'm here.
posted by Kurt Russell at 6:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

NBC did not call the senate race in MA. They just denied it on the air. Don't rehash stuff unless you saw it on the station.
posted by gjc at 6:35 PM on November 6, 2012

FIRED UP!
posted by Theta States at 6:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

(in response to charmcityblues)
posted by mudpuppie at 6:35 PM on November 6, 2012

I have bronchitis but I can't lay off the cigarettes. This is killing me.
posted by Devils Slide at 6:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Romney and Ryan lose their home states -- Massachusetts and Wisconsin.

And Michigan, and possibly NH, two of the other states Romney has a home.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Michael Beschloss, rowr.
posted by IfuckingloveBruceSpringsteen at 6:36 PM on November 6, 2012

TIL: Frogs are apparently famous somewhere for having tight asses. Either that or people on the internet are really fucking weird.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Suck it Paul Ryan. How's that 3 hour marathon time thingy workin' for you now, you ugly mendacious howdy-doody looking fratboy handgun hunter worm...
posted by Skygazer at 6:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Twitter indicates that the Fox line is that it's all Christie's fault.

Christie is a pigheaded SOB. I could see the Republicans actually chasing him out of the party.

I would love to see him as a Democrat, ousted from the GOP.
posted by gjc at 6:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

With OH, CO and NH according to results so far Obama has it in the bag. Still rooting for FL and VA.
posted by ersatz at 6:36 PM on November 6, 2012

Huh. NYT map still has Wisconsin showing pink, with "Last update 9:30 ET."
posted by Kat Allison at 6:36 PM on November 6, 2012

READY TO GO!
posted by Skorgu at 6:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

READY TO GO!
posted by Chutzler at 6:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

NYT president map not loading, with AdBlock turned off
posted by gubo at 6:36 PM on November 6, 2012

mudpuppie, it looks like they have pre-shaped sheets in blue (and presumably red) that are just being laid over the states. There appears to be no painting at all.
posted by jeoc at 6:36 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh god damn it.
posted by Chutzler at 6:36 PM on November 6, 2012

READY TO GO!
posted by localhuman at 6:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Here's a photo of the US electoral map on the ice rink in New York. NBC is having it colored in as states are called.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

In the glass, the whiskey.
posted by qnarf at 6:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Gave up on the chat. Just checked in and it's lizard people and bees now.
posted by sonika at 6:37 PM on November 6, 2012

charmcityblues: "Can someone please explain the ice rink? We don't have TV out here in the middle of nowhere."

MSNBC's electoral map appears to be an ice rink, and they spray the appropriate color in each state as it is called.

Yeah, I wouldn't have believed it either.
posted by Dr. Zira at 6:37 PM on November 6, 2012

READY TO GO!

To the bathroom -- but I can't dare walk away from the teevee when it's making me so happy
posted by tonycpsu at 6:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

(Lawrence O'Donnell made the point about Romney's other home states.)
posted by Room 641-A at 6:37 PM on November 6, 2012

READY TO GO!!
posted by Skygazer at 6:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

CBS CALLS NH FOR OBAMA
FOX CALLS IN FOR DONNELLY

FUCK YEAH
posted by zombieflanders at 6:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

There appears to be no painting at all.

'Painting' was shorthand.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Only booze left in house is New Amsterdam Gin. Please send help.

Save the gin for when you've drunk up all the aftershave/hair tonic.
posted by Pudhoho at 6:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

And Michigan, and possibly NH, two of the other states Romney has a home.

And California, according to MSNBC.
posted by sonika at 6:37 PM on November 6, 2012

NYT president map not loading, with AdBlock turned off

Its been slow all night...weird.
posted by lampshade at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2012

I NEED A PEE BOTTLE, I AM READY TO GO.
posted by mrgoat at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I pre-loaded with a half pint of Canadian Club*, drank it on the rocks. Now I'm 1/3rd of my way through a sixer of Newport Storm Hurricane Amber Ale. I'm middle-brow and I know it.

(*I used to be a Maker's Mark man, until I found Wild Turkey. I used to be a Wild Turkey man, until I found Jack Daniels. I used to be a Jack Daniel's man, until I found Bookers. I used to be a Booker's man, until I found Canadian Club. I coulda saved a fucking fortune if I had discovered Canadian Club first. Also, do not confuse with Canadian Mist; a bad, hangover-laden mistake.)
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Only booze left in house is New Amsterdam Gin. Please send help.

Make aviations! Super-pre-prohibition-patriotic. You'll have to have all those liquors on hand. I can lend you some, if you want to travel to Tucson

That sounds super delicious, but I have no other booze in the house but Angostura bitters :/ Just moved into a new place and finished up the booze before I left (because who wants to move all those bottles, right?). But. I have some lime juice, too. And I can make simple syrup in the microwave. Hope springs eternal.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Huh. NYT map still has Wisconsin showing pink, with "Last update 9:30 ET."
posted by Kat Allison at 6:36 PM on November 6 [+] [!]

It's definitely oscillating back and forth.
posted by gc at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2012

538 Live blog: In every presidential election since 1960, the candidate who prevailed in Florida’s Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, has also prevailed in Florida. There is no guarantee that the pattern will hold in 2012, but the Tampa region is critical in carrying the Sunshine State (which is why the Republican Party held their national convention there this year).

More than 80 percent of the vote has been reported in Hillsborough, and President Obama leads Mitt Romney by five percentage points. Mr. Obama, as we have written, is likely getting a push from Florida’s fast-growing Hispanic community. In Hillsborough, Hispanic residents have grown by 71 percent since 2000, now accounting for a quarter of the county’s population.
posted by medusa at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2012

If we get nothing else out of this election other than a humane euthanization of Paul Ryan's political career, I'm going to consider it a win.
posted by Aquaman at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

AL FRANKEN / JILL STEIN 2016

MONSTER TICKET
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [18 favorites]

Romney and Ryan lose their home states -- Massachusetts and Wisconsin.
And Michigan, and possibly NH, two of the other states Romney has a home.

Doesn't he also have one in California? I think that's where the infamous car elevator is.
posted by Flunkie at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

gubo: NYT president map not loading, with AdBlock turned off

Adblock isn't the problem. Their server is throwing a 503 Error. Which essentially means we crashed it.
posted by ob1quixote at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Can someone please explain the ice rink? We don't have TV out here in the middle of nowhere.

That's no way to talk about Remington!
posted by OmieWise at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2012

FIRE DUP!
posted by futz at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2012

YET MORE MANIACAL LAUGHTER
posted by The Whelk at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2012

FIRED UP!
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 6:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Can someone please explain the ice rink? We don't have TV out here in the middle of nowhere.

NBC television stations (now owned by Comcast/Xfinity) are broadcasting from what they are calling 'Democracy Plaza,' known formally as Rockefeller Center. The iconic ice skating rink has a map of the United States projected from below .... showing by color (red, or blue) how states have voted in majority.
posted by ericb at 6:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks, mudpuppie and Dr. Zira.
posted by charmcityblues at 6:39 PM on November 6, 2012

Okay why is the CNN update so far behind everything?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:39 PM on November 6, 2012

Tonight, all the drunks that WOOOOOO! outside at 1:45 AM get a pass from me.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:39 PM on November 6, 2012

DRINK!! DRINK!! DRINK!!!

WOOO HOOOO!!! NEW HAMPSHIRE>>>>>Ooooooowww!!
posted by Skygazer at 6:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney: 6% on intrade. Obama 94.9%
posted by Theta States at 6:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

AL FRANKEN / JILL STEIN 2016

Al Franken was one of the most die-hard supporters of SOPA.
posted by delmoi at 6:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

MSNBC's electoral map appears to be an ice rink, and they spray the appropriate color in each state as it is called.

USING BLOOD OR CRUSHED DOLPHINS #ROMNEYDEATHRALLY
posted by cashman at 6:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

READY TO GO!
posted by cmfletcher at 6:40 PM on November 6, 2012

If TV has taught me anything it's that a network calling a result doesn't mean squat.
posted by bondcliff at 6:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

GUESS I PICKED A GREAT YEAR TO QUIT DRINKING!
posted by localhuman at 6:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

The NYT server is throwing a 503 Error.

So long as they're not throwing any 538 errors, it's all good.
posted by oulipian at 6:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

FIREDED UP!
posted by vicusofrecirculation at 6:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

LIQUORED UP!!
posted by Skygazer at 6:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Oh wait...

FIRED UP!!!
posted by Skygazer at 6:40 PM on November 6, 2012

Shoot, North Carolina hasn't been called yet and I thought that was pretty solidly Romney. This could turn into a delightful bloodbath.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

People, some of you have stress eating. I have stress cooking. At 9:30 pm, I fired up the oven and am going to keep roasting vegetables until this election is called.

Oh, yeah, and I have the three liquid food groups on hand as well: wine, beer, and bourbon.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Dick Morris smiles softly in his opium den, quietly confident in the complete absence of any repercussions for his spectacular idiocy.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Fired up?
posted by grubi at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012

So long as they're not throwing any 538 errors, it's all good.
posted by oulipian at 9:40 PM on November 6

Eponysterical!
posted by OmieWise at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I asked my husband if we can put the NBC live stream back up Ina few minutes. He assured me I am not missing anything if I am reading Metafilter.

But I am. I am missing Tom Brokaw and his sexy election voice. I have not gone a single presidential election in my life without Tom Brokaw. Husband said, "You are crazy."

"that may be. But my love for Tom Brokaw is not."
posted by zizzle at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

UP UP!
posted by Liquidwolf at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012

BBC Guy just said Florida Elections Board couldn't organize a piss up in a brewery
posted by Diablevert at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Okay, even weirder - why did MSNBC just show an ad for FOX'S election coverage????
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Al Franken was one of the most die-hard supporters of SOPA.

And Barack Obama thinks it's legal for him to summarily blow up Americans abroad. But I voted for him anyway.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

CBS says Liz Warren is going to win :)
posted by chime at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

IM FULL OF LIQUOR AND CARBS LET'S DO THIS
posted by The Whelk at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

cbs reports warren wins
posted by pyramid termite at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012

If this gets called for Obama tonight, wWould I be a bad parent if I wake up my 6-month-old child just to point at the TV and be happy?
posted by bibbit at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

PIE-ER-ED UP
posted by qnarf at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012

I can't keep up with this thread, bottle of whiskey.
posted by mrgoat at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Sipping The Balvenie here, don't make me opened it for nothing Amurrica
posted by fleetmouse at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Elizabeth Warren wins! Whee!!!
posted by cashman at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Only James K. Polk won Presidency losing home state and birth state. So, it's happened...

MSNBC *OFFICIALLY PROJECTS STRAIGHT FROM MADDOW'S MOUTH* WARREN WIN.
posted by sonika at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

WARREN WINS.
posted by waitingtoderail at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

WARREN!!
posted by shothotbot at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

My wife made a tiramisu today, instead of clicking reload on web pages. I am currently enjoying tiramisu. I am considering that her strategy for today may have been superior to my own.
posted by ook at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NBC just called Warren for real.
posted by gerryblog at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

IN: FOX has called Donnelly over Mourdock
posted by Thorzdad at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

WARREN CALLED FOR SENATE
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012

MSNBC calles MA Sen for Warren!!!
posted by MegoSteve at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012

What I've learned tonight is that the presidential election is America's greatest drinking game. (Vodka here, by the way... so much vodka.)
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NBC now calls it for Warren.
posted by dfan at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Warren!
posted by ndfine at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012

NBC is NOW officially calling it for WARREN!
posted by WinnipegDragon at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Warren! :)
posted by pemberkins at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Oban, babies.
posted by RakDaddy at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NBC FOR WARREN! OFFICIALLY! ON THE TEEVEE!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
posted by tonycpsu at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Okay NOW MSNBC Calls MA for Warren.
posted by delmoi at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh holy cow. Romney HQ looks like a wake.
posted by sonika at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ok Warren at last!

Ted Kennedy is avenged, and thank you Occupy Wall Street!
posted by spitbull at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

IM FULL OF LIQUOR AND CARBS LET'S DO THIS

READY TO GO!
posted by Theta States at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012

And California, according to MSNBC.

OBAMA WINS CALIFORNIA IN MAJOR UPSET; PUNDITS RETIRE TO BECOME MONKS
posted by ersatz at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I am happy because Scott Brown is sad.
posted by qnarf at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

5 points to Nate Silver. Ravenclaw wins House Cup.
posted by gerryblog at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [20 favorites]

- arrrgh! - cbs reports that republicans will keep the house

- Wasn't that always overwhelmingly likely?

Yeah, there wasn't anyone predicting the Republicans wouldn't keep the House.

It's the South, it's gonna look like that.

Ugh, this again? NC went for Obama last time and it's very, very close this time (although if what the local indie news folks are saying is correct and Wake County went for Romney, I'm not holding out much hope for Obama to take the state again. Still: very, very, close).
posted by mediareport at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NBC just called Warren FOR REALS!!!!11ONE
posted by jeoc at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Warren...and MAggie Hassan in NH...this is unbelievably great news!

Great job on your campaign, despite mudslinging, Ms. Warren. So happy to have her as my Senator!
posted by Miko at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

So hoping we get the Warren, McCaskill, Donnelly, Murphy -fecta

So far, it's been nothing but excellent news

SUCK IT MCMAHON / BROWN / AKIN / MOURDOCK!!!!!!
posted by Otherwise at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Doesn't he also have one in California? I think that's where the infamous car elevator is.

Yep. It's in La Jolla.
posted by ericb at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012

the littlest brussels sprout: "What I've learned tonight is that the presidential election is America's greatest drinking game. (Vodka here, by the way... so much vodka.)"

Shoulda gotten a pint - but instead I only got a half :\
posted by symbioid at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm going to have to figure out who this Elizabeth Warren is now.

Romney HQ looks like a wake.

Ain't no party like a Romney party.
posted by Mezentian at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Hello there, Senator Warren.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Sipping The Balvenie here, don't make me opened it for nothing Amurricai?

Balvenie is never a waste!

Also Warren!
posted by mrgoat at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012

First Native American elected to the Senate !!!
posted by riruro at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Wake me on 1/20/2013. I am going to explode.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012

Just ordered a pizza. I asked for "very liberal habaneros" because the last time I got the pizza they really skimped, for white people reasons I assume. She didn't understand what I was saying, and I thought she didn't know what 'liberal' meant. But then later I thought maybe she thought I was making some weird political comment, which re-reading doesn't seem too far fetched.

I don't know. I'm going to pick up the pizza now, I hope she doesn't fear me.
posted by TheRedArmy at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

THOROUGHLY ENJOYING how majorly bummed the entire Fox news team is looking right about now. Suck it, Fox.
posted by Go Banana at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Donnelly!
posted by spitbull at 6:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Hahah, "Rape is a gift from god" guy just lost.
posted by delmoi at 6:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

Is it possible? Could we actually end up with a mandate?
posted by Room 641-A at 6:44 PM on November 6, 2012

DONNELLY!
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

MSNBC calls Donnelly!
posted by MegoSteve at 6:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama up by 20k votes in Florida, 83% in.
posted by Theta States at 6:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mourdock defeated!!!!
posted by sonika at 6:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Somehow, I think Scott Brown will be back, one way or another.
posted by Golden Eternity at 6:44 PM on November 6, 2012

I am happy because Richard Mourdock is sad.
posted by qnarf at 6:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Mourdock goes DOWN...
posted by WinnipegDragon at 6:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Snap, fuck Mourdock! Good stuff.
posted by mrgoat at 6:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Senators Warren and Donnely!
posted by cmfletcher at 6:44 PM on November 6, 2012

symbioid, it comes in such small bottles? Who knew?
posted by mollweide at 6:45 PM on November 6, 2012

Yay Warren! WOO!
posted by wallabear at 6:45 PM on November 6, 2012

I take credit for Mourdock's defeat, and expect stickers.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ben Nelson is Native American, right?
posted by spitbull at 6:45 PM on November 6, 2012

WARREN
posted by mediated self at 6:45 PM on November 6, 2012

Come on, Iowa. 15 minutes until polls close, let's get Steve King out on his ass!
posted by jason_steakums at 6:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Warren? Donnelly? My night is picking up!

(c'mon question 6)
posted by EmptyK at 6:45 PM on November 6, 2012

"You make my dreams come true" at Romney HQ. Now looks like awkward high school dance with no girls.
posted by sonika at 6:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

My best friend's 6-year-old son begged to stay up to watch the news, and his dad said no, but that he would tell him what's happened when he has his "midnight peepee."
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

I don't know why I find it so funny that you can hear that the Romney campaign office is listening to Hall & Oates.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Wasn't Christie just recently one of the Republican's darlings? How one's fortunes can change...

Chris Christie was Mitt Romney's first choice for VP
posted by homunculus at 6:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nate Silver:

In every presidential election since 1960, the candidate who prevailed in Florida’s Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, has also prevailed in Florida. There is no guarantee that the pattern will hold in 2012, but the Tampa region is critical in carrying the Sunshine State (which is why the Republican Party held their national convention there this year).

More than 80 percent of the vote has been reported in Hillsborough, and President Obama leads Mitt Romney by five percentage points.
posted by Golden Eternity at 6:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I can't believe the GOP lost the Senate so badly. What fucking chuckleheads!
posted by OmieWise at 6:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

First Native American elected to the Senate !!!

That's not true. Charles Curtis was a Senator almost a hundred years ago. He was also Vice President of the United States.
posted by Flunkie at 6:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Lamb's Navy Rum north of the border here.
Timbers well shivered.
posted by islander at 6:46 PM on November 6, 2012

CNN just joined in the projection for Warren and Donnelly!
posted by Lemurrhea at 6:46 PM on November 6, 2012

First Native American elected to the Senate !!!

Who is it? Sorry it's the first I'm hearing of it!
posted by Miko at 6:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Vote liberal habaneros!
posted by Liquidwolf at 6:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Fox is calling Baldwin now.
posted by gerryblog at 6:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jon Stewart said he wanted to make out with Elizabeth Warren . . . he's going to have to get in line!!
posted by theredpen at 6:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

If the Repubs wanted the senate, they should have nominates less shithead candidates. Have at it!
posted by mrgoat at 6:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm hoping Donnelly follows the Bob Casey template for pro-life Democrats, which is roughly "suck it up and take it for the team."
posted by tonycpsu at 6:47 PM on November 6, 2012

Private jets line up at Logan as Romney backers arrive in Boston for election night party.

'Nuff said.
posted by ericb at 6:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Scott brown can come back in any form at any time and kill us in ways we can't even imagine
posted by The Whelk at 6:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

...am going to keep roasting vegetables until this election is called.

Listen to me, this is very important:

1) If you're going with the maple glaze, don't use a baking pan, you'll never get it clean, and your wife will hate you for ruining a baking pan. Don't use aluminum foil, or the carrots and parsnips will have little strips of inedible aluminum foil superglued to them. Use a disposable aluminum roasting pan, and a silicone flipper (not a spatula, a super-flexible, very thin/sharp, wide-surfaced flipper) to flip no fewer than THREE times, not two. Four might be better.

2) If your guests see you snipping strips of bacon onto the veggies as part of the prep, no matter what the recipe says, you damn well better leave the bacon in there when it hits the serving dish, or questions must be answered.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [18 favorites]

Remember, if you're in line when the polls close, you still get to make out with Elizabeth Warren. Or something like that.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sorry, meant Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Ben Nelson is a Douchebag American.
posted by spitbull at 6:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Big sigh of relief here in IN.
posted by percolatrix at 6:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Virginia Beach
7 of 95 reporting

B. Obama* (D)
41% / 4,975

M. Romney (R)
57% / 6,861

Dammit, Virginia Beach. You had one job.
posted by Talez at 6:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Wisconsin peeps, Symboid, Drezdn, DesJardin, Pogo Fuzzybutt!!

Congratulations folks!!
posted by Skygazer at 6:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Who is it? Sorry it's the first I'm hearing of it!

ELIZABETH WARREN!
posted by sonika at 6:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I can't believe the GOP lost the Senate so badly. What fucking chuckleheads!

Tea Party Epic Fail. Maybe this was God's plan all along.
posted by Golden Eternity at 6:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I officially love Twitter now:

Lo, the NecRomnomicon was opened and six upon six women sprung from the binder, declared to be First Wives of Armageddon..
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 6:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

Yes! Warren!

I'll bet there are some unhappy bankers tonight.

Elizabeth Warren Suggests Breaking Up The Banks By Reinstating Glass-Steagall
posted by homunculus at 6:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

NYTimes site.....500 Internal Server Error

ooops
posted by lampshade at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2012

If Savannah Guthrie's goal for tonight was impersonating the Joker, then mission accomplished!
posted by Renoroc at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2012

Bushmills Irish Honey and go Elizabeth Warren!!
posted by platinum at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2012

Who is it? Sorry it's the first I'm hearing of it!

ELIZABETH WARREN!

[this is my spit take]
posted by Miko at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Could someone post an imgur link to the depressed faces of the Fox News Crew??
posted by barnacles at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, twitter.
posted by sparkletone at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Joe Kennedy III wins Barney Frank's seat. Huzzah.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

HA HA Fox refuses to call most of Obama's battleground state wins...

It's weird.
posted by Skygazer at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2012

Medical marijuana legal in Mass!
posted by qnarf at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

The Warren thing is a joke, people. She's not native american but there was a pseuo-scandal when she said she was. Or something like that.
posted by Justinian at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2012

If Ryan could lose his seat that would be so great.

Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease.
posted by benito.strauss at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Thank you, New Hampshire
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2012

NH FOR OBAMA! NEW ENGLAND CLEAN SWEEP!
posted by sonika at 6:50 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh Christ, Nile Gardiner, Romney's British foreign policy advisor, is on the BBC. He's spouting Bush-era trite homilies and claiming that Obama's track record is hopeless, while at the same time saying that conservatives outnumber liverals two to one, and that Obama is taking america down the road of bankruptcy.

Apparently his answer to this is ... Bobby Jindal, who will sort everything out in 2016.
posted by Len at 6:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"First time since 1956 that both candidates on a major ticket failed to carry their home states. Thanks, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin."
posted by Golden Eternity at 6:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ohio has Obama up by 5% now...
posted by WinnipegDragon at 6:50 PM on November 6, 2012

Brandon Blatcher: "Shoot, North Carolina hasn't been called yet and I thought that was pretty solidly Romney. This could turn into a delightful bloodbath"

A delightful bluebath
posted by Red Loop at 6:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Don't know why I'm surprised that Rosamunde's - beer and sausage place in the Mission - is packed with people and every TV has election returns on.
posted by rtha at 6:50 PM on November 6, 2012

NBC just called New Hampshire for Obama
posted by dejah420 at 6:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sadly, it's looking like the Donnelly win isn't going to have enough coattails to drag Gregg into the Governor's office. After looking really tight earlier, Pence has moved out to a 51-45 lead.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:50 PM on November 6, 2012

Some serious tight faces on Fox. Whoa...
posted by Skygazer at 6:51 PM on November 6, 2012

On behalf of one white guy to a lot of other white guys who are suffering tonight...

"Suck it, whitey! Gramps is dead. This is our country now!"
posted by markkraft at 6:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Man, I am having fun with NYT's 512 Ways.

Having trouble keeping up with you lot, though!
posted by jaruwaan at 6:51 PM on November 6, 2012

512 Paths to the White House, with NH:

Obama 118, Romney 9
posted by Room 641-A at 6:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Are we into the gloating stage? Am I jumping the gun or are we ready for the gloating stage?
posted by ook at 6:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

OK, I just ate a delicious slow cooked beef sandwich, and I am ready for Florida or Ohio or Virginia to go blue. Let's do it!
posted by King Bee at 6:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Warren thing is a joke, people. She's not native american but there was a pseuo-scandal when she said she was. Or something like that.

I knew far too much about that but sadly thought that maybe there was a[nother?] Native American candidate out there who won.
posted by Miko at 6:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Elizabeth Warren Suggests Breaking Up The Banks By Reinstating Glass-Steagall

whoa. My office is going to be so fucking weird tomorrow.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

The Warren thing is a joke, people. She's not native american but there was a pseuo-scandal when she said she was. Or something like that.

No, you've got it backwards. She says she is some small part Native American - I don't know, 1/16th or something like that - and Republicans inexplicably attacked her for it.
posted by Flunkie at 6:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

obama's ahead in florida and john king just said most of the remaining votes are from heavily democratic areas

if obama wins florida he wins the election
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yay for Warren in MA... but I'm feeling more iffy about the euthanasia ballot initiative in MA, which would legalize end of life meds. It's currently winning 51%. Seems kind of lame for such a hotly contested ideological issue to come down to a ballot initiative that is so close. This doesn't involve gay marriage or cancer patients getting stoned... it involves dead people. Sort of a big deal. Oh wells. IMO even as a bleeding heart liberal who lives in MA.
posted by kellybird at 6:52 PM on November 6, 2012

NBC just called New Hampshire for Obama

That's a pretty big deal.
posted by drezdn at 6:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Come on IOWA!
posted by 3200 at 6:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Florida triggers an auto-recount at 0.5%, right?
posted by Lemurrhea at 6:52 PM on November 6, 2012

I want Elizabeth Warren to pull an Obama and run for president after 4 years in the senate. Let's get the campaign started to-fuckin-night!
posted by any major dude at 6:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I really wanted Obama to win because he's the better man for it.

However today after my neandrathal boss told me that women with views about women's rights like mine(pro-choice etc etc ) will be considered barbarians in 100 hundred years and went on and on and on about how he knows American politics and Romney was going to win and told me I was stupid when I said I thought he was wrong and then proceeded to LECTURE me about men and women in politics (basically we're not smart enough to understand like the mens do) and then said NO YOU STAY HERE AND LISTEN when I chose to walk away instead of continuing and having to quell my urge to punch him and walk out of my job... I want Obama to win so I can go to work and say "Hey I told yah"

Yes I know that was one long run on sentence but that is what the whole experience was like.

GO OBAMA. I want vindication!
posted by Jalliah at 6:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [67 favorites]

Warren! Warren! Warren! Warren! Warren!!

Oh, she is going to have so many people's asses to kick in that Senate...oh man...
posted by Skygazer at 6:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

you guys the dread is slipping away but now I'm stress-eating pie, cupcakes, Doritos, and peppermint chocolate pretzels and the dogs are fighting
posted by ninjew at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Oh come ON Virginia. A good friend of mine is a Democratic elector and I really want him to be able to place a vote for Obama next month.
posted by headnsouth at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2012

Dammit; I've been working late and am ready to go home now, and am worried that the election will end while I am on the road and can't vicariously share in MeFi's joy.
posted by never used baby shoes at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Somebody start a tumblr called 'I want to kiss Elizabeth Warren'.
posted by Rashomon at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I tried finding a Fox stream, just had some woman on there talking about how the only time Obama allowed bipartisanship was Harry Reid's valiant efforts on the deficit ceiling.

wow.
posted by Theta States at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2012

Yahoo keeps saying that Romney's winning. What is the truth???
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2012

I HEART ELIZABETH WARREN. GOD THAT'S JUST SO SWEET A VICTORY.
posted by roboton666 at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I am so vicariously excited about the bad mood that EmpressCalipygos's coworkers are gonna be in tomorrow.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

I know it's early, but the MPR site shows Minnesota splitting 60-40 against both the marriage and voter ID amendments. Hope to god it stays that way.
posted by caution live frogs at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Fox is calling Baldwin now.

Cheeses Priced, people. LINKS!!
posted by Floydd at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2012

Slap*Happy, you overestimate my roasting abilities. And the ability of my "wife" to notice anything that happens in the kitchen.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

You have to win
posted by cashman at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2012

I need a sandwich.
posted by zizzle at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2012

MN Amendments are losing right now. THAT'S A GOOD THING
posted by triggerfinger at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I LOVE YOU OBAMA!
posted by insectosaurus at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2012

Seriously you'd better post details.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2012

I think Dick Morris is in full break with reality mode at this point. He's probably rocking back and forth calling on the blue fairy to save him.
posted by Justinian at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2012

Fucking medical marijuana in Mass. AND Elizabeth Warren? Now I want to make out with everyone.

I will probably stop with the wine soon.
posted by theredpen at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fox News calls it for Warren "despite questions about her academic record and Native-American status."
posted by Room 641-A at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Clinton/Warren 2016? I want to believe.
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

Ugh, this again? NC went for Obama last time and it's very, very close this time (although if what the local indie news folks are saying is correct and Wake County went for Romney, I'm not holding out much hope for Obama to take the state again. Still: very, very, close).

In 2008 after the whole shebang was called for Obama, the husband and I went to bed (11:00?) and NC results still were not in. I think they did not declare for Obama until the next morning. So NC could be a long wait-- I'm just sayin'.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2012

Not looking great for the TX state Board of Education.
posted by audi alteram partem at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2012

NEW ENGLAND COMING AT YA AMERICA BOAT SHOES AND PINE AND L.L BEAN NOW MANDATORY UNIFORMS
posted by The Whelk at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [18 favorites]

"Suck it, whitey! Gramps is dead. This is our country now!"

Gramps voted for FDR and Eisenhower. This one's for his dream, which never died.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [29 favorites]

Are we into the gloating stage? Am I jumping the gun or are we ready for the gloating stage?

I'm scanning Republican sites to see what they're saying. They seem...quiet.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

More 538 live blog: Ohio has been slow to count its vote, but President Obama has gotten reasonably strong results so far in south-central Ohio, often beating his 2008 margins there.

In Ross County, Ohio, home to the town of Chillicothe, Mr. Obama trails Mitt Romney by only one percentage point with about 80 percent of the vote counted. Mr. Obama lost the county by eight percentage points to John McCain in 2008.

Mr. Obama also leads so far in Pike County and Scioto County, two counties south of Ross County that he lost in 2008, though they have counted less of their vote at this point.
posted by medusa at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm 90% sure there's no way to take VA with the number of votes left on the table. Obama's 90,000 short, Fairfield has maybe 50,000 left in it and Virginia Beach is solidly red.

I'd probably expect VA to be called red any second now.
posted by Talez at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm ready to call it for Tammy Baldwin, I think. I'm looking at county clerk numbers from around Wisconsin and it looks like she's consistently running slightly ahead of Romney. If Obama's won WI, so has Baldwin, I'm pretty sure.
posted by escabeche at 6:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

*Happy Dance!*
posted by markkraft at 6:55 PM on November 6, 2012

Hooray for the naysayers in MN!
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Guardian:

It's easy to get caught up in the swirl of social media. But it's also alarming that reputable news outlets would repeat second-hand information that's so easily checkable. If NBC had called MA for Warren, it would have been all over MSNBC, its own Twitter feed, and website.

posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:55 PM on November 6, 2012

Florida triggers an auto-recount at 0.5%, right?

Yes, but it may not matter.
posted by OmieWise at 6:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

MSNBC making good points about MA senate race being "Jock vs. Nerd" and THE NERD CONQUERS.
posted by sonika at 6:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

The attack was that Warren supposedly used her Native American great-grandparent to get into an affirmative action slot in law school.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:55 PM on November 6, 2012

Tortas from Taco Mex, and as much Lone Star as it takes until the Romney Death Rally actually happens.

East-Coast boozehounds, we are all counting on you, somehow!
posted by hap_hazard at 6:55 PM on November 6, 2012

EVERYONE SHUT UP LINDA MCMAHON IS GOING TO SPEAK
posted by qnarf at 6:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Are we taking bets on whether Romney will actually concede the election?
posted by dirigibleman at 6:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

DEATH TO MOURDOCK! It turns out we don't actually think that rapists are god's agents on earth here in Indiana! HUZZAH!
posted by amelioration at 6:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

obama's ahead in florida and john king just said most of the remaining votes are from heavily democratic areas

if obama wins florida he wins the election

Mister Blatcher, prepare your body for possible cookies.
posted by cashman at 6:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

"First time since 1956 that both candidates on a major ticket failed to carry their home states. Thanks, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin."

I wondered about that earlier, too. Looks like it also happened in 1972 (and a couple other years more recently than 1956).
posted by FreelanceBureaucrat at 6:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

This doesn't involve gay marriage or cancer patients getting stoned... it involves dead people. Sort of a big deal. Oh wells. IMO even as a bleeding heart liberal who lives in MA

I also wish I had time to research this initiative better, but hey: I read it in the voting booth, it specified two doctors' recommendations at least 15 days apart with opportunity to rescind and a confirmed diagnosis of a terminal illness with a prognosis of less than six months to live. THat's good enough for me; in my book anyone hearing that kind of news has carte blanche to do whatever the fuck they want.

I voted "yes" figuring that if it failed, at least there would have been a lot of visible support for it, and if it succeeded, if there are serious problems with the law it will go right to court.

It'll go to court anyway, but I'd like to be a state that gives it a try. Enough needless suffering.
posted by Miko at 6:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

No shit. There is a guy running for Mayor of Amite, LA named "Boo Christmas."
posted by ColdChef at 6:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Watching the election results come in on NY1 is pretty great. You're not going to hear someone say capitalism has no future on CNN tonight.
posted by GalaxieFiveHundred at 6:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Shoot, North Carolina hasn't been called yet and I thought that was pretty solidly Romney.

NC has been neck and neck for months now, Brandon.
posted by mediareport at 6:56 PM on November 6, 2012

Whelk I think I favorite your comments more often than I wipe my butt after poops. Which is often!
posted by Chutzler at 6:56 PM on November 6, 2012

Ryan and Romney both lose home states. When was the last time that happened?
posted by shothotbot at 6:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Florida 16k+ for Obama, 84% reporting. Miami-Dade only 40% reported.
Intrade at 5% for Romney.
posted by Theta States at 6:56 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm pouring one out for my fellow DevOps keeping the electoral map pages refreshing fast.

By "pouring out", I mean "drinking much beer and not spilling it at all and being glad that I'm sitting here at home in front of a web browser".
posted by A dead Quaker at 6:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

The BBC si good for the presidential election. Where's a good place for a Brit to follow the Senate and other down-ticket races?
posted by Len at 6:56 PM on November 6, 2012

you guys the dread is slipping away but now I'm stress-eating pie, cupcakes, Doritos, and peppermint chocolate pretzels and the dogs are fighting

Jeezus...you should just start smoking..ha ahaha...

Warren!1 Warren!!

FLORIDA! OHIO!!!

SUCK IT DICK MORRIS> SUCK IT KARL ROVE!!

SUCK IT BRIT HUME!!

SUCK IT DAVID KOCH!!
posted by Skygazer at 6:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Not looking great for the TX state Board of Education.

It never looks great for the SBOE, unfortunately.
posted by immlass at 6:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

National Review's Corner:

robertcostaNRO Donnelly is a Notre Dame grad, South Bend moderate RT @AP: AP RACE CALL: Democrat Joe Donnelly wins Senate seat in Indiana.
28 seconds ago · reply · retweet · favorite

DanFosterNRO I said a few months ago that America would get the government it deserves and I still believe it.
47 seconds ago · reply · retweet · favorite

heymiller Will Eliz Warren be on Dem 2016 ticket?
47 seconds ago · reply · retweet · favorite

JonahNRO Breaking: National Review post-election cruise ship listing to one side as NR triples load of alcohol.
2 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

RAVerBruggen Fox says Warren won.
2 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

Drudge Report:
R 50% O 48%
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

YESSSSS GET THE FUCK OUT OF NH YOU MASSHOLE

Can i just finish my hike and get some fireworks first?
posted by bondcliff at 6:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'm loving the Al Jazeera live coverage -- interesting commentary and intelligent interviews (loved the articulate college students at NWU!)
posted by Surfurrus at 6:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

No shit. There is a guy running for Mayor of Amite, LA named "Boo Christmas."

Surely you mean the mayor of AMIRITE?
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Boo Christmas
posted by ColdChef at 6:58 PM on November 6, 2012

Republicans are looking a bit like Ralph Wiggum cheering for banana right now.
posted by drezdn at 6:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

I think I'm going to buy a copy of the Boston Herald tomorrow morning, read it and laugh and laugh and laugh.
posted by benito.strauss at 6:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Local news says rain is now pouring down in Virginia Beach; people still waiting to vote.
posted by indubitable at 6:58 PM on November 6, 2012

> What did she say?
posted by Otherwise at 6:58 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm way too in the bottle for ten p.m make it worth it America
posted by The Whelk at 6:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I voted "yes" figuring that if it failed, at least there would have been a lot of visible support for it, and if it succeeded, if there are serious problems with the law it will go right to court.

It'll go to court anyway, but I'd like to be a state that gives it a try. Enough needless suffering.

Good point Miko. It's reassuring to think of it that way.
posted by kellybird at 6:58 PM on November 6, 2012

This doesn't involve gay marriage or cancer patients getting stoned... it involves dead people. Sort of a big deal. Oh wells. IMO even as a bleeding heart liberal who lives in MA

I voted yes because I feel like doctors providing end of life care should be able to make decisions about pain control with patients without worrying about being imprisoned. End of life decisions are highly personal and I think should be between the doctor, patient, and family without fear of legal consequences.
posted by sonika at 6:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

Scott Brown tried to make fun of PROFESSOR Warren. He failed in that most/many in Massachusetts probably have a neighbor who is a PROFESSOR, or a TEACHER. Not viewed as 'the other.' Not viewed as 'elitist.' Viewed as noble professions.

FUCK YOU Scott Brown and your pick-up truck (Read: pretense -- "I'm a regular guy.")

Scott, go back to soft porn modeling. Excuse my French, but Fuck You, Asswipe, Douchebag.
posted by ericb at 6:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Looks like Obama will take Florida and Ohio. Not looking good for Romney.
posted by medusa at 6:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

If Obama's won WI, so has Baldwin, I'm pretty sure.
Tell that to Russ Feingold.
posted by Floydd at 6:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Gramps voted for FDR and Eisenhower. This one's for his dream, which never died.

:) +1!
posted by ian1977 at 6:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'm way too in the bottle for ten p.m make it worth it America

Boot. The whiskey is coming into my mouth from an old boot.
posted by mrgoat at 6:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Goddamn I am so glad I jumped out of bed and into my Mucks to go vote this morning. GOBAMA!
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 7:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hope this wasn't premature but husband texted from grocery asking what to get for dinner, answer "fucking VICTORY CELEBRATION FOOD!!!!!!!!!"
posted by HotToddy at 7:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Looks like Obama will take Florida and Ohio. Not looking good for Romney.

That would be it for him, actually.
posted by OmieWise at 7:00 PM on November 6, 2012

Is there any news on Maine's 2nd?? #concernednerd
posted by saturday_morning at 7:00 PM on November 6, 2012

Anyone know how Akin's doing in Missouri?
posted by Devonian at 7:00 PM on November 6, 2012

Utah goes to Romney. In other news: Water still wet.
posted by sonika at 7:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Ha! CNN: "Growing diversity... it's a problem for the Republican party"
posted by FreelanceBureaucrat at 7:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

CNN: "There's a big butt in Nevada"

Sir Mix-A-Lot will be dispatched to lead a truth commission.
posted by Mezentian at 7:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [21 favorites]

Based on the comments from 9 pm EST onwards, I'm calling this thread as drunk.
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 7:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Utah for Romney, WHOOOOO!!!!
posted by cashman at 7:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

1214 new comments?! Holy fuck!
posted by PHINC at 7:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Apparently it takes me 57 new comments to make a sandwich, good to know!
posted by jason_steakums at 7:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

BREAKING: Romney takes Utah
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama has 221 ways to win
Romney has 31 ways to win

posted by Skygazer at 7:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

We're done here people. Obama has picked up WI, OH and NH. He will soon pick up IA, CO and probably NV. 290-248 if Romney wins FL and 319-219 if Obama picks up Florida.
posted by Talez at 7:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NBC just told us to stock up on alcohol. Helpful tip, people. Please heed.
posted by jeoc at 7:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

cnn exit poll for iowa O52 R46
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

It does look like Republicans are picking up seats in the House tonight. The batshit chamber will be even batshittier.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am declaring victory and turning off the computer. There is no fucking way I am going to be able to fall asleep or anything like that but I have to go off the hook now before I go round the bend, and it does appear that we are safely into the gloating stage.

If it turns out something goes horribly wrong in the next few hours, you all need to just keep it a secret from me for the next decade or so, ok?
posted by ook at 7:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Ryan and Romney both lose home states. When was the last time that happened?

McGovern/Shriver, 1972.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 7:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

1214 new comments?! Holy fuck!

Apparently *someone* got up to pee....
posted by mrgoat at 7:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Devonian, CNN just had Akin down at about 42-51 in Missouri!
posted by Lemurrhea at 7:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

BREAKING: Romney takes Utah

HOLYFUCKINGSHITWTFOMGBBQ
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:02 PM on November 6, 2012

NBC: "President leading in the raw."
Ew.
posted by qnarf at 7:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Florida - Obama in lead by 40k according to NBC...
posted by meowf at 7:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have to go to work here in Hong Kong now and I cannot decide if I want to be in my mostly British office dancing on my desk in an hour, insh'allah, or here at home in my pajamas. Perhaps I should just call in...
posted by mdonley at 7:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Breaking: Orrin Hatch is still a thing
posted by King Bee at 7:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Brian Williams just said we should have "food and beverage" for the rest of the night. I'm not sure if he's threatening an apocalypse or just keeping an eye on this thread.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Pierce on Warren:

To me, the most revelatory moment came in the last of their debates, when Warren, asked about the war in Afghanistan, said simply,"It's time to get out now." No qualifications. No relying on the generals. No crawfishing. Out. Now. A few weeks later, I was riding around with her and I told her that, as far as I knew, she was the only Democratic candidate in a contested race who has said that simple thing as plainly as she did. She popped her eyes at me in the way that she does.

Courage.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

It's only just 11 AM here and I'm well good. I think it's good that I told work I'd be pre-emptively sick today.

I think also I need a fourth monitor, because THERE IS NOT ENOUGH DATA ON THREE SCREENS FOR ME

jesus where did my fingernails go, too?
posted by barnacles at 7:02 PM on November 6, 2012

Senate looking strong
posted by shothotbot at 7:03 PM on November 6, 2012

We're done here people. Obama has picked up WI, OH and NH.

What's your source for OH?
posted by dfan at 7:03 PM on November 6, 2012

DON'T SLEEP ON BARRY O, AMERICA! KICK THAT LYING CROW-TOPPED, SMUG MOTHERFUCKING CULTISTS PRIVILEGED ASS!

I hear the bathwater is warm now.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 7:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I've eschewed all other input save for this thread. Best election night EVAR.
posted by kinnakeet at 7:03 PM on November 6, 2012

A day to look forward to:
August 28, 2013.

On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in front of hundreds of thousands of Americans, The President of the United States approaches the podium to speak on the 50th anniversary of a momentous day in our nation's history.

He says the words...
"I have a dream..."
posted by markkraft at 7:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [18 favorites]

Based on the utter silence of conservative friends and family on Facebook, I feel safe calling it for Obama.

Yes!
posted by oddman at 7:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Apparently it takes me 57 new comments to make a sandwich, good to know!
posted by jason_steakums

What kiiiiiiind of sammich?
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I like CBS' mostly calm, professional coverage but they say Hispanic weirdly.
posted by The Whelk at 7:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

HUZZAH, Donnelly (barely) defeated Mourdock! Now I don't have to burn my state to the ground!
posted by Timmoy Daen at 7:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Back to Wake County - Obama's gonna lose NC, looks like:

North Carolina remains close, with Mitt Romney leading by about two percentage points statewide, or 60,000 votes, with half of the vote counted. Almost all of Mr. Romney’s advantage can be explained by one county, Wake County, in North Carolina’s Research Triangle. President Obama won it by 64,000 votes in 2008. This year, Mr. Romney leads by 2,000 votes so far.
posted by mediareport at 7:04 PM on November 6, 2012

RIP NYT map...
posted by AstroGuy at 7:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

For cripes sake, the NYT election results map... Is it powered by hamsters or something? It was spotty for a bit but now it's gone off the rails. You'd think after 2000 and 2004 and 2008 they'd be aware of the traffic they'd need to handle.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm tempted to go stand outside the Romney headquarters and yell "Suck it!" over and over, but I'll take my clue from Obama and stay classy.
posted by benito.strauss at 7:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Obama has 221 ways to win
Romney has 31 ways to win

If you include Wisconsin to Obama, its 118 to 9!
posted by parallellines at 7:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I need some results, people! My eyes are about to burst into flames. reading every comment is not such a good strategy after all.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Well, we're about to hit 3000 comments.
Good work everyone.

See you on the other side.
posted by Mezentian at 7:05 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama's gonna lose NC? Goddammit! :(
posted by barnacles at 7:05 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney takes Utah??

THIS IS BRAND NEW INFORMATION!!!
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 7:05 PM on November 6, 2012

The NYT map is beautiful: one huge happy If Obama wins Florida...and then a bunch of sad, dripping lines that it would take Romney to win.
posted by bibbit at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm looking at the Huffington Post live results map and it is sometimes quick, sometimes slow. Almost always annoying. Is there a better online resource you guys could recommend. I'm mostly lazy at the moment.
posted by JakeEXTREME at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama won, Gravy. See ya in four.
posted by markkraft at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012

What kiiiiiiind of sammich?

Just ham, swiss and dijon thrown together haphazardly as an alcohol buffer. Still super delicious.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Red State is being odd. They still have Wisconsin showing as leaning red and Romney leading Obama nationally 50% to 48%.

A day to look forward to:
August 28, 2013.

Hey, that's my birthday!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

McCaskill beats Akin!
posted by King Bee at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

On the BBC Vine is now fucking about with pie charts. Somewhere in a cosy cottage in Oxfordshire, Peter Snow is grumbling about the fact CGI was not available in general elections back when he was running this shit.
posted by Len at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012

LEGITIMATE LOSS, for todd aiken.
posted by delmoi at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

DOWN.

GOES.

AKIN!

LEGITIMATE BEATDOWN!
posted by tonycpsu at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

For cripes sake, the NYT election results map... Is it powered by hamsters or something?

Try huffpo's.
posted by cashman at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012

McCaskill!
posted by spitbull at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012

AKIN HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN!
posted by Room 641-A at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Claire McCaskill wins in Missouri. Dems are running the table on the contested Senate races so far.
posted by Justinian at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Back to Wake County - Obama's gonna lose NC, looks like:

The first four words in the Silver entry you quote are "North Carolina remains close".
posted by dfan at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm tempted to go stand outside the Romney headquarters and yell "Suck it!"

I'm tempted to join you, but... it's cold.
posted by sonika at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012

Only 2% reporting in, but Todd "Lefitimate Rape" Akin is losing Missouri by a large margin.

and MSNBC is calling it
posted by hellojed at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012

GUYS WHAT IS THIS HOT TIGHT FEELING IN MY CHEST? IS IT HOPE? IT CONFUSES ME.
posted by The Whelk at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

McCaskill in Missouri!!!
posted by barnacles at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Claire McCaskill!

Booyah!
posted by jaruwaan at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2012

I am so proud to be an [partially adopted/partially ancestral] New Englander tonight.
posted by Miko at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

This election didn't have nearly enough Book of Mormon musical references.
posted by Theta States at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Welp, the Slog is down. Anybody have any idea how Washington R-74 is doing?
posted by gc at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Yeah, Claire!
posted by ericb at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Akin getting legitimately SLAUGHTERED
posted by WinnipegDragon at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I AM HAPPY BECAUSE TODD AKIN IS SAD
posted by qnarf at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

AKIN LOSES, FUCK YES!
posted by Theta States at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

New NYT infographic: romney vs obama 512 ways to die #romneydeathrally
posted by kellybird at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

GUYS WHAT IS THIS HOT TIGHT FEELING IN MY CHEST? IS IT HOPE? IT CONFUSES ME.

SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Peace out Akin. Peace out Mourdock. Get out and stay out. We are moving on.
posted by cashman at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Almost all of Mr. Romney’s advantage can be explained by one county, Wake County, in North Carolina’s Research Triangle

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAArrrrggggg. Damnit. I'm sorry guys, I did the best I could.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012

McCASKELL!! WOOOT~!
posted by Skygazer at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Local Fox news in Boston is almost in mourning over the Brown loss.
posted by benito.strauss at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

To be precise: in relatively purple Brown County, WI, with 62% reporting, Romney is winning by 4.5 percentage points. Thompson is leading Baldwin by just under 4.
posted by escabeche at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama's gonna lose NC? Goddammit! :(

Well, I'm projecting, but Wake is where the capitol is and is generally mixed Dem/Rep. If Obama doesn't take it, I think it'll be really difficult for him to win the state again. Hope I'm wrong.

Also, from Planned Parenthood: 13 Republican Senate candidates oppose #abortion for rape victims. So far tonight, 7 have been defeated.
posted by mediareport at 7:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

GUYS WHAT IS THIS HOT TIGHT FEELING IN MY CHEST? IS IT HOPE? IT CONFUSES ME.

Oh God he's having a stroke. Someone call his nurse!
posted by howfar at 7:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I don't want to get my hopes up, but MPR reports Michelle Bachmann up by only 5%. That'd be a lovely bonus gift if she went down.
posted by COBRA! at 7:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Maddow reminds everyone about McCaskill running ads FOR AKIN in GOP primary. Classic gambit, paid off huge not just in MO but nationally.
posted by gerryblog at 7:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Prediction: Repuvlicans refuse to concede, contest EVERYTHING, whine like little babies and waste everyone's time well into 2013.
posted by Artw at 7:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think this is a legitimate loss for Todd Akin.

/wink
posted by Skygazer at 7:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

GUYS WHAT IS THIS HOT TIGHT FEELING IN MY CHEST? IS IT HOPE? IT CONFUSES ME.

It's either hope or a coronary infarction. Hard to say.
posted by Justinian at 7:08 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama up by 36k votes in Florida, 86% in. Miama-Dade only 56% reporting, so that will net at LEAST another 90k+ votes for Obama.
Intrade has Florida at 90%.
posted by Theta States at 7:08 PM on November 6, 2012

Fuck you Todd Akin and fuck yeah Claire McCaskill!
posted by figurant at 7:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Charles Pierce: Senator Elizabeth Warren, Hell-Raiser Already
posted by homunculus at 7:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Daily Caller front page:
The Race To 270
Obama projected to win Pennsylvania, Romney's path narrows
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:08 PM on November 6, 2012

I THINK IM HAVING A STROKE, A STROKE OF GENUIS
posted by The Whelk at 7:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Don't worry Akin. The body has a way of shutting that down.
posted by fungible at 7:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Goodnight all!
See you in the morning!
posted by Thorzdad at 7:09 PM on November 6, 2012

benito.strauss, their tears are my honeydew and milk of paradise. Let them flow.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 7:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ugh. George "Macaca" Allen seems to have a decent shot of returning to the Senate.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:09 PM on November 6, 2012

AM I ALLOWED TO BE THIS EXCITED SINCE I'M NOT EVEN AMERICAN?
posted by WinnipegDragon at 7:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Colorado ..legalizing Marijuana for CASUAL use!!??
posted by Liquidwolf at 7:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Apparently it takes me 57 new comments to make a sandwich, good to know!

About 150 to take a piss and argue with the cats which door they want let out of
posted by wallabear at 7:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

DAMMIT BRING BACK THE CHATROOM I CAN'T STAND EVEN FIVE SECONDS AWAY
posted by tzikeh at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

McCaskill probably singlehandedly won a bunch of tight Dem races tonight. Obama owes her a Coke.
posted by gerryblog at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Buhbye akin.
posted by zarq at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Ugh. NC went blue in 08 who bought the votes in '12? Fucking Wake county. grrrrrrr I hear you SLOG & mediareport
posted by yoga at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012

This thing is over
posted by roboton666 at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock join Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle, and Ken Buck in the dustbin of failed Tea Party Senate pickups.

Heckuva job, GOP!
posted by tonycpsu at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Chat just got shut down, so prepare for the onslaught.
posted by Rhaomi at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012

So far tonight, 7 have been defeated.

i would love for the lesson learned to be don't *have* shitty opinions, but i fear the lesson learned will be "keep shitty opinions to self."
posted by twist my arm at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

As a Canadian who is absolutely terrified of the Rombot and Little Dithers winning tonight I would like to thank all the fine folks here on Metafilter for their contributions in making this the only tolerable way I can follow the election.

Once again,

Thank You
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

Oh man, thank goodness my grocery store had a sale on 20-paks of Leffe Blonde, because I might be celebrating long into the night. It's 4am in my part of the world, and I'm flying on adrenaline and dopamine.
posted by Kattullus at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Obama's been trailing in the popular vote during the entire count so far. Do we expect this to change once California results start coming in?
posted by ceribus peribus at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Akin down.

America, perhaps I still love ya.
posted by Devonian at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama is about to win a huge mandate for deficit reduction and social security reform.
posted by ennui.bz at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Akin's out??
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Dick Morris is going full Baghdad Bob now.
posted by Justinian at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

GUYS GUYS GUYS. I know you're hopeful, but no one start tempting the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing.
posted by sonika at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [17 favorites]

AM I ALLOWED TO BE THIS EXCITED SINCE I'M NOT EVEN AMERICAN?

SURE WHY NOT, ALL THE EXCITEMENT!
posted by jetlagaddict at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

WinnipegDragon, if we are allowed to eat french fries with gravy and cheese on them, yes.
posted by kellybird at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

A day to look forward to:
August 28, 2013.

Hey, that's my birthday!
posted by Brandon Blatcher

Mine, too! And you know who else? Yeah, that's right, the secretary from The Beverly Hillbillies.

Wait. Why are we looking forward to that day?
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fox News: "We are becoming a brown country."
posted by Xurando at 7:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Intrade has Obama at 94.3%
posted by Lazlo Hollyfeld at 7:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Brian Williams just said we should have "food and beverage" for the rest of the night. I'm not sure if he's threatening an apocalypse or just keeping an eye on this thread.

Brian Williams can find "food and beverage" at my house, in my bedroom.

My god, I've said too much....
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 7:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

ELECTION NIGHT SMACKDOWN: Chris Murphy WINS in my home state (CT)! Buh-bye Linda McMahon.
posted by ericb at 7:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fox News: "We are becoming a brown country."

God willing.
posted by grubi at 7:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Akin gone, Mourdock gone, Romney on the ropes.....BRING IT THE-AMERICA-I-WAS-GODDAMN-WELL-PROMISED-AS-A-KID!
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 7:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Todd Akin lost? It's good to see the American body politic has a way of shutting things down in cases of legitimate stupidity.
posted by Noms_Tiem at 7:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [24 favorites]

Theta States: "Obama up by 36k votes in Florida, 86% in. Miama-Dade only 56% reporting, so that will net at LEAST another 90k+ votes for Obama.
Intrade has Florida at 90%."

The same dynamic appears to be playing out in Ohio, where the Republican counties are largely in but Obama leads despite only a small fraction of the blue-leaning counties having yet been counted.
posted by wierdo at 7:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Suck it, Joe Walsh, go Tammy Duckworth!
posted by gjc at 7:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Obama's been trailing in the popular vote during the entire count so far. Do we expect this to change once California results start coming in?

Oh yeah, definitely!

Also: I doubt Intrade'll change, because who would buy Romney stocks now?
posted by Lemurrhea at 7:12 PM on November 6, 2012

KEEP DRINKING WE CAN GET A SOLID REFERENDUM ON PROGRESSIVE VALUES
posted by vrakatar at 7:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Fox News: "We are becoming a brown country."

You are lying. They did not say that. Tell me they did not say that!
posted by cashman at 7:12 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama still ahead in OH, but awesomely, Still in FL as well, very very slightly. If he wins in FL it will be a blowout. He wouldn't even need to win OH.
posted by delmoi at 7:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ohioans rejecting non/less-partisan redistricting commission issue.
posted by audi alteram partem at 7:12 PM on November 6, 2012

Is the first 1% reporting in Iowa anywhere near reality? Scary that one.
posted by Rashomon at 7:12 PM on November 6, 2012

Guys I love you all but it's too late in Europe. Seems like we won this; wake me up with toast and the EV of Florida.
posted by ersatz at 7:12 PM on November 6, 2012

Fox News: "We are becoming a brown country."

Please, it can't happen fast enough.
posted by Miko at 7:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

Charles Pierce: Senator Elizabeth Warren, Hell-Raiser Already

Mitch McConnell better hide his lunch money! Warren don't fuck around.
posted by Skygazer at 7:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Who was asking about Maine D2? NYT has Michaud way ahead with less than 10% reporting: http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/states/maine
posted by that's candlepin at 7:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wait, wait, wait - can we get back to Wisconsin? Why are we calling that for Obama? I mean, if the force of my wishing could make it so it would be, but it seems way too early for others to be calling it.
posted by bibbit at 7:12 PM on November 6, 2012

I'M SAVING AN OUTBURST IPA FOR MY CELEBRATION.
posted by roboton666 at 7:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Colorado ..legalizing Marijuana for CASUAL use!!??

I voted for that, baby. And I doesn't even smokes no more.
posted by NailsTheCat at 7:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Guess what Todd Akin. Women's BRAINS have a way of shutting that shit down, asshole.
posted by headnsouth at 7:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [26 favorites]

Tammy Duckworth is in!
posted by cmfletcher at 7:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

There are some really good people getting seats in the Senate tonight!
posted by Aquaman at 7:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

french fries with gravy and cheese on them

Now you made me want poutine, which is culturally inappropriate for a night like this.
posted by kiltedtaco at 7:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

> KEEP DRINKING WE CAN GET A SOLID REFERENDUM ON PROGRESSIVE VALUES

Current estimated average value >0.08.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:13 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama is about to win a huge mandate for deficit reduction and social security reform

Good lord. That is a horrifying thing to say. Obama's support for that idiot Erskine Bowles' "reform" plans for social security, while leaving the Bush-era tax cuts in place, is the main reason I flipped off his name as I scribbled in the little oval. You seriously can't be serious when you seriously suggest that's the direction his "mandate" directs, right?

Right?

(I have reasons for flipping off pretty much all of the other folks I voted for, too, if you have the beer money.)
posted by mediareport at 7:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Question for Marie Mon Dieu: what the fuck is a Muck? (Assume my Googles are broken.)
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 7:14 PM on November 6, 2012

Delmoi: He wouldn't even need to win OH.

That's right, look!
posted by Skygazer at 7:14 PM on November 6, 2012

RT Nate Silver (@fivethirtyeight) On The Wall, The Writing.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Okay I really shoulda gone to my go-to liqour store rather than picking up a 6 pack at target, this Heiniken is as potent as water (probably less, I'm going to brew some fucking coffee)
posted by hellojed at 7:14 PM on November 6, 2012

This is not over until Michele Bachmann is out on her ass.
posted by triggerfinger at 7:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Fox News: "We are becoming a brown country."

Please, it can't happen fast enough.

"Everybody just gotta keep fuckin' everybody 'til they're all the same color."
posted by Jacqueline at 7:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Colorado + Iowa does it for Obama without Florida OR Ohio.

Wow.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:15 PM on November 6, 2012

poutine is always appropriate

ALWAYS
posted by mannequito at 7:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Just saw Tom Brokaw apologize for inappropriately using the word "schizophrenic." That guy is such a class act.
posted by roll truck roll at 7:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Eugene Mirman's twitter feed is precious.

"If Obama wins it will be another 4 years of moderate 90s Republican policies with some gay rights and climate change policy thrown in! No!"
posted by winna at 7:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Thanks that's candlepin. I was wondering about the presidential vote in ME-2 because they award their electoral votes by district. But it doesn't really matter that much probably.
posted by saturday_morning at 7:15 PM on November 6, 2012

OMG Sarah Palin's hair is causing my TV to strobe..
posted by goHermGO at 7:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I HAD BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH BACON AND A COUPLE OF GLASSES OF CALIFORNIA CHARDONNAY EARLIER AND THEN SOME COFFEE AND ONE OF THOSE LOW-FAT ICE CREAM CONES WITH CARAMEL IN IT. BUT NOW I WANT FRENCH FRIES, ALWAYS FRENCH FRIES.

And maybe some more wine or something.
posted by infinitywaltz at 7:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Ken Jennings on Twitter: This time next year, Rep. Paul Ryan will be a guest on Jeopardy "Power Players" week. Answering "Who is John Galt?" to every clue.
posted by COBRA! at 7:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [21 favorites]

CNN says it's now mathematically impossible for Republicans to take the Senate even if Paul Ryan is the tiebreaking vote.
posted by Rhaomi at 7:16 PM on November 6, 2012

Bruichladdich 12 year is out and waiting for the declaration.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 7:16 PM on November 6, 2012

CBS Nwes says huge women voter numbers for Obama in Iowa.
posted by Skygazer at 7:16 PM on November 6, 2012

what the fuck is a Muck?

Muck boots, I think. Changed out of mine and put on my town shoes to go vote.
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:16 PM on November 6, 2012

GOP beats "Democrat" Bob Kerrey in Nebraska.

I'm thinking this is a good thing.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:16 PM on November 6, 2012

NYT Big Board is back.....for now....
posted by lampshade at 7:16 PM on November 6, 2012

I would like to take this opportunity to tell all of you how much I love you.

Yay, Scotch and politics!
posted by RakDaddy at 7:16 PM on November 6, 2012

GO IOWA ALL THE BEST COLLECTIVELY OWNED LARGELY GAY HOG FARMS COME FROM YOU YOU CAN DO IT.
posted by The Whelk at 7:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

"The chances are slim to none, and slim just left the building"...
posted by Devonian at 7:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Who are these huge women and why do they support Obama?
posted by overeducated_alligator at 7:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Is the first 1% reporting in Iowa anywhere near reality? Scary that one.

Des Moines is the only urban area with numbers in, the Quad Cities area down by Davenport hasn't weighed in, nor has Sioux City (smaller, but still).
posted by jason_steakums at 7:17 PM on November 6, 2012

Switched over to Fox News in time to see a crazed looking Sarah Palin losing her shit. Awesome.
posted by spitbull at 7:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Switched, briefly, to Fox. Sarah Palin has had extensive, very badly performed, plastic surgery.
posted by qnarf at 7:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

roll truck roll, I saw the same thing and thought the same thing.
posted by barnacles at 7:17 PM on November 6, 2012

Poutine is more appropriate in regions with socialized healthcare.
posted by ceribus peribus at 7:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

You guys seem so confident but I can't stop stress-eating chocolate moose tracks ice cream. It's stress, I swear.
posted by zoetrope at 7:17 PM on November 6, 2012

LOL DRUNKEN MELTDOWN
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Oh, and some love for Alan Grayson -- welcome back! Give 'em fucking hell!
posted by wallabear at 7:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Colorado ..legalizing Marijuana for CASUAL use!!??

Yup

It's up 53/47 with 8% reporting, although I'm less than optimistic. That 8% is among the more forward.
posted by 7segment at 7:17 PM on November 6, 2012

HA HA Fox refuses to call most of Obama's battleground state wins...

Ever played hide and seek with a preschooler and observed that kids that age think they're hidden from sight if they curl up in a little ball in the middle of the living room floor with their eyes squeezed shut?

Fox has a similar approach to news coverage.
posted by orange swan at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

CNN is saying Florida looks awfully close to going in the Obama column.
posted by Justinian at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2012

I ended up going to yoga (thanks for asking).

What have I missed?
posted by Danf at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2012

Ken Jennings on Twitter: This time next year, Rep. Paul Ryan will be a guest on Jeopardy "Power Players" week. Answering "Who is John Galt?" to every clue.

More relevantly, I want to know what Yakov Smirnoff thinks.
posted by gjc at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh now is not the time to run out of favorites!
posted by jason_steakums at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2012

CNN contributors are talking about how it looks like Obama will probably win FL based on the districts that are still out. So it's probably over.
posted by delmoi at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2012

Joe the Plumber has been defeated! Huzzah!
posted by winna at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

Fucking hell America, any chance you can wrap this up soonish? It's 3:20am, I've got a curry in the oven, I've only enough beer to get me through the next couple of hours, and I have stuff to do tomorrow morning. I mean if Florida and Ohio could just call it already I'll be happy.*

*Well, happy if they're called for Obama. If They're called for Romney I'll obviously start mainlining heroin and whiskey for the next four years and work can get to fuck, but you know what I mean.
posted by Len at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

saturday_morning: Gotcha. Basically a non-issue in this case, but I remember worrying about it in the past.
posted by that's candlepin at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2012

Perhaps I took that Ambien too soon.
posted by argonauta at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I just want Obama to win Florida because I told my colleague at work that I was calling FL to go blue. He thinks I say stuff like that because I'm biased. I want him to realize I say it because I'm SMART
posted by triggerfinger at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

"The White Establishment Is Now The Minority" - Bill O'Reilly
posted by lampshade at 7:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

> I can't stop stress-eating chocolate moose tracks ice cream. It's stress, I swear.

FYI, scotch and ice cream have a synergistic effect on reducing stress. Also, delicious.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:19 PM on November 6, 2012

It's 3:20am, I've got a curry in the oven,

Dude, how'd you like that 2000?
posted by Miko at 7:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

RT Nate Silver (@fivethirtyeight) On The Wall, The Writing.

Mene mene tekel upharsin?

I'm sorry.
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 7:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

MSNBC - Robert Gibbs (Obama advisor, former Press Sec) cautiously optimistic about FL. Feels good about battleground states.
posted by sonika at 7:19 PM on November 6, 2012

Why has everyone called Wisconsin? NYT and NPR both show Romney ahead.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 7:19 PM on November 6, 2012

I hope Romney ends up with 47.00% of the vote.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [30 favorites]

More from National Review's Corner:
robertcostaNRO RT @daveweigel Josh Mandel conceding shortly at OH GOP party.
2 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

heymiller We'll see what happens at the top but this feels like a status quo election.
3 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

robertcostaNRO Palin's mood has crowd here very at Romney camp HQ looking grim. Did Chris Christie extend Halloween to today?
3 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

jimgeraghty Transmit to Vladimir that he's likely to get to see what that flexibility talk was all about.
3 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

kathrynlopez we're not really going to wind up with an electoral status quo are we? #UnclearStill
3 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

robertcostaNRO Akin/Mourdock: gaffe disasters. Mandel: promising, young, but maybe too young.
3 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

DanFosterNRO Akin deserved to lose. I was agnostic between Lugar/Mourdock.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:19 PM on November 6, 2012

LOL DRUNKEN MELTDOWN.

Man, you aren't kidding.

"Baldwin might be the first openly gay senator, but GOP has rich history of closeted gay senators. "
posted by winna at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sarah Palin has had extensive, very badly performed, plastic surgery.

Tina Fey will have two reasons to celebrate tonight: her favoured candidate won, and she no longer has world's most ignorant "politician" for a doppelganger.
posted by orange swan at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012

I just want to say that this is my first giant, major event that I followed here at MeFi and, ladies and gentlemen, it has been an absolute pleasure.
posted by sendai sleep master at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

Fox has called more for Obama (157 EV) than CNN, ABC, NYC, or AP as of 9:55 ET (per the NYT network calls page)
posted by Perplexity at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Wait, wait, wait - can we get back to Wisconsin? Why are we calling that for Obama?

Note that zero, count 'em, zero votes for Madison have been counted yet.
posted by escabeche at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012

> Perhaps I took that Ambien too soon.

Remember to apologize to the mods tomorrow for all the bizarre rambling sleep-posting you're about to do.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Republican strategist Alex Castellanos basically just called the election for Obama: "The silent majority that I expected... it's an invisible majority too." (Quoted from memory, so probably a paraphrase)
posted by Kattullus at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

OK, the 9 year old is becoming an extreme partisan. Sending her to bed.
posted by shothotbot at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

My neighbor makes mean Manhattans.
posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Fox News: "We are becoming a brown country."

Please, it can't happen fast enough.

Enough of that. There is nothing wrong with being white, just as there is nothing wrong with being black, latino, asian, indian, native american or "any of the above."

"White people" are not the problem, and have never been the problem - rich and ruthless assholes are the problem. You think that's a white issue? Check out Carlos Slim or Wen Jiabao.

The opposite of racism isn't "suck it whitey!", it's "we are ALL in this TOGETHER."
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [44 favorites]

We can do this!
posted by zizzle at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012

WHY AM I STILL SO ANXIOUS?!?!
posted by Carillon at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012

New Mexico!! Olé!!
posted by Skygazer at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012

CARVILLE CARVILLE RAH RAH RAH
posted by vrakatar at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012

KEEP CALM and HUG YOUR DOG
posted by yoga at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Now you made me want poutine, which is culturally inappropriate for a night like this.

Fuck appropriateness, Poutine is right in every circumstance. I say this as a Scot who experienced the stuff in Canada and longs for someone to introduce it to the UK. Whoever does will make a fucking killing.
posted by Len at 7:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Kaine just called.

And a "slender lead" in BOTH Ohio and Florida.

This is ... not bad
posted by RedOrGreen at 7:21 PM on November 6, 2012

By 10pm the interest is Senate and Congress seats.
posted by stbalbach at 7:21 PM on November 6, 2012

Fox is calling NM for Obama
posted by lampshade at 7:21 PM on November 6, 2012

Why has everyone called Wisconsin? NYT and NPR both show Romney ahead.

He was probably ahead by a little in precincts in which he had to be ahead by a lot.
posted by dfan at 7:21 PM on November 6, 2012

Liquidwolf: "Colorado ..legalizing Marijuana for CASUAL use!!??"

You're welcome!
posted by boo_radley at 7:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

They're talking about how the popular vote remains close even if Obama is kicking ass in the swing states.

Memo: Oregon, Washington, and California haven't reported a single vote yet.
posted by Justinian at 7:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well, whatever happens, at least we can say that Todd Akin will no longer be on the House Science Committee.
posted by kimdog at 7:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

MOTHERFUCK, my hometown just *repealed* LGBT equality legistlation by popular vote. Good thing I moved out but jeez that's depressing.
posted by hellojed at 7:22 PM on November 6, 2012

Tom Tomorrow tweet: "Sarah palin navigating the treacherous waters of the English language on fox."
posted by Flunkie at 7:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

LET THE RECORD SHOW I HUGGED MY DOG.

ALSO WOOOOOOO.
posted by InsanePenguin at 7:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

LET ME TASTE YOUR TEARS RUPERT MURDOCH!
posted by Mister Fabulous at 7:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I ended up going to yoga (thanks for asking).

What have I missed?

Ommmmmmmm
posted by Flashman at 7:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"White people" are not the problem, and have never been the problem - rich and ruthless assholes are the problem.

I agree to some extent, but I think there is a good argument to be made that Whiteness is the problem.
posted by howfar at 7:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

In 2016, Republicans will have won a single presidential election since 1992. They won't have won as challengers since 1980.
posted by gerryblog at 7:22 PM on November 6, 2012

Guys guys guys come with me down here on the floor lets have a floor party yes this is the best place to be while we wait
posted by The Whelk at 7:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Question for Marie Mon Dieu: what the fuck is a Muck? (Assume my Googles are broken.)

Those are boots, actually, brand name. Like the farmers wear. I have a pair that are lavender and blue, and I was all in my fuzzy bright pink and black plaid pants, long-sleeved shirt, fleece vest, sweatshirt that says, "mess with the Moose, you get the antlers!", and a quilted-lined flannel shirt with a rather nice Pima scarf and a knitted beanie cap, behind some rather swank girls with their boot-cut slacks and shiny black leather purses. But I live at the end of a dirt road so my former days of corporate fashion are only in my closet or in books. Anyway, Mucks are like wellies, only they are guaranteed to be warm at a very cold temperature. Very ugly, however. But this is Maine, and very rural here, farm and field, so it's okay if you show up wearing your Mucks.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 7:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

METAFILTER WENT DOWN FOR LIKE 2 SECONDS AND I ALMOST DIED.
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 7:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I went over to WRAL and apparently Wake County in NC has not yet tallied early voting....I would give you more detail but Ralph is nagging me to give him results in state House races.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 7:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Well, I blew out my favorites.

kellybird, I'm thinking like Miko does on the End of Life question. Things that are absolutely forbidden now need to be unstuck from that position. I'm also hoping that we will set up good guidelines and refine the rules, but that will not happen until we get un-stuck.
posted by benito.strauss at 7:23 PM on November 6, 2012

is chat back up yet?
posted by triggerfinger at 7:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama +56k votes in Florida, 87% in. WOAH.
posted by Theta States at 7:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Enough of that. There is nothing wrong with being white, just as there is nothing wrong with being black, latino, asian, indian, native american or "any of the above."

"White people" are not the problem, and have never been the problem - rich and ruthless assholes are the problem. You think that's a white issue? Check out Carlos Slim or Wen Jiabao.

I agree with your laudable sentiments, and endorse the basically pro-civil-society set of values you put forward, and yet at the same time I recognize that a significant shift in the location of the political center is coming, and it will largely be because white (male, to some degree) voting power will be gradually diminished.

Whiteness is the problem.

Yes, this.
posted by Miko at 7:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Please count faster. I would like to stop worrying about this.
posted by Lord_Pall at 7:23 PM on November 6, 2012

RALPH!
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 7:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Man Nevada I really hope you go for the NCR and not the Legion.
posted by The Whelk at 7:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Why has everyone called Wisconsin? NYT and NPR both show Romney ahead.

The people doing the predictions don't just count votes, they look at polling and demographics. If a number of counties polled at Obama +1 and the vote returns are showing +4, they can feel more comfortable calling it. If a bunch of close counties in WI go Obama, and they don't have any results from solid Obama counties, they will call it.
posted by gjc at 7:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"The White Establishment Is Now The Minority" - Bill O'Reilly

What's crazy about that is the idea that there is a "White Establishment" that only votes for republicans. There are lots of white people who aren't racist.

Fox News is so dedicated to race baiting that they're trying convince white people that minorities all vote in their own ethnic interests and that therefore they should too.

Pretty ridiculous.
posted by delmoi at 7:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

Guys guys guys come with me down here on the floor lets have a floor party yes this is the best place to be while we wait

Be right there buddy let me pour this shooo
posted by mrgoat at 7:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

ain't no party like a floor party cause a floor party don't stop!
posted by winna at 7:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

CAN I HUG A BABY INSTEAD? 'CAUSE I'M HUGGING A BABY!
posted by zizzle at 7:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

InsanePenguin: "LET THE RECORD SHOW I HUGGED MY DOG."

Let the record also show who is a good dog yes she is yes she is such a good dog.
posted by barnacles at 7:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [20 favorites]

Oh, Marie... I want to go there.
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 7:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fox News is so dedicated to race baiting that they're trying convince white people that minorities all vote in their own ethnic interests and that therefore they should too.

I'm white and I don't think the Republicans are in my ethnic interest kthx.
posted by immlass at 7:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Poutine is right in every circumstance. I say this as a Scot who experienced the stuff in Canada and longs for someone to introduce it to the UK. Whoever does will make a fucking killing.

Aye. Britain needs poutine. Canada needs pies.
posted by Flashman at 7:24 PM on November 6, 2012

Geez, the NYTimes map is just gone. I tried to pull up the front page and ended up at a Wilipedia page for a 'Bad Title' error. It's like a William Gibson parody.

Voted 7pm Maryland, with the fam, stickers all around. LMAO now. GObama!
posted by newdaddy at 7:25 PM on November 6, 2012

Instead of stress eating, I recommend stress tweezing. My face is totally hairless now, and it's great.
posted by mudpuppie at 7:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

"The White Establishment Is Now The Minority" - Bill O'Reilly

The look on O'Reilly's face is so precious. I never expected to have this much fun on election night!
posted by Otherwise at 7:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I coordinate a free program that provides English language instruction for adults in my county... a mix of immigrants and refugees from all over the world, mostly low income.. and can I just say that every student yet I've talked to is DEMOCRATIC and for them, I say, GO OBAMA!!!! My vote was for my students -- my vote until they can vote one day, too! And they will! I'm hopeful!!
posted by soundproof at 7:25 PM on November 6, 2012

Some asswipe on Fox News comparing Benghazi to Watergate. They just don't. Let. Go.

What a goddamn joke. I feel bad for these people.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 7:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

"White people" are not the problem, and have never been the problem - rich and ruthless assholes are the problem. You think that's a white issue? Check out Carlos Slim or Wen Jiabao.

I agree, but I think that its significant that a president can probably no longer be elected by simply winning the white vote and alienating everybody else
posted by parallellines at 7:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

To all my fellow dog people, remember that an Obama victory is a victory against the party of roof-racked dogs.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Now that I have finished dinner I shall move on to the second phase of my friend's advice.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:25 PM on November 6, 2012

Jake Tapper says ABC News will call WI for Obama.
posted by gladly at 7:25 PM on November 6, 2012

Re: Carlos Slim. While he is Mexican by nationality, he is of Lebanese descent.

/end derail
posted by gjc at 7:25 PM on November 6, 2012

Chat's back!
posted by Rhaomi at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2012

I have not hugged my dog, he is currently sleeping and if I touch him know he will assume that means I want him to lick my face.

I do not want him to lick my face.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Looks like Paul Ryan doing well on re-election. Twitters say he's projected winner.
posted by sonika at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2012

(from chat) So tomorrow, does Fox just totally break from reality and start reporting from the world where Romney won? Will we see reports from the Iran War in 2015?
posted by Shepherd at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

CARVILLE CARVILLE RAH RAH RAH

I saw him on CNN earlier tonight and he has just about completed his metamorphosis into a Praying Mantis Humanoid.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

I'm staying up to hear that Obama gets 55% of popular vote. I want that Biden cardboard thingie.
posted by Surfurrus at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I don't know who's calling calling MO Senate for McCaskill, but with about 25% of the vote counted, it is 49.3% McCaskill to 44% Akin. The same voters went 61% Romney to 37% Obama, so it is say we're not talking about democratic strongholds here.

In short, his goose does appear to be well cooked.

FYI this is state where senatorial races tend to be decided by margins of like 49.3% to 49.2%. So even 52%-48% would be a pretty good blowout right now, especially for a dem.

Best info source is the MO Sec of State web site.
posted by flug at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

It seems now that this is looking so good for the Dems, all the stations seem to want to let the tighty Righties down easy ....you know....

...as their whole world melts into disaster and grief and reality's cruel intrusion upon their delusional epistemic closure of an echo chamber of babbling whackadoo-ville....
posted by Skygazer at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Note that zero, count 'em, zero votes for Madison have been counted yet.

I voted so hard, they are probably still trying to find enough poll volunteers to lift the thing.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

I can't wait for the Nate Silver victory dance.
posted by Theta States at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Has anyone heard anything regarding marriage equality in Maine!? I'm interneting as hard as I can.
posted by sendai sleep master at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm white and I don't think the Republicans are in my ethnic interest kthx.

Amen. Fox is trying to convince people that only rich white men are in white people's ethnic interests, and that dog don't hunt.
posted by restless_nomad at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

GOD DAMMIT I JUST FOUND OUT I'VE BEEN DRINKING 3.2 BEER ALL NIGHT.
posted by COBRA! at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

I think people should keep in mind that a majority of Obama voters are white. Yes, A majority of white people are voting for Romney, but those two statements are not exclusive.
posted by Justinian at 7:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NPR is discussing the fact that the Republican party can't be the 'Anglo' Party any more, and that Mitt Romney didn't have to run to the right of Perry to sustain his advantage.
posted by winna at 7:27 PM on November 6, 2012

Is it too early to say that the unskewed poll bullshit the right wing was obsessing over was complete and total bullshit?

it is not
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Elizabeth Warren interview coming up on MSNBC.
posted by cashman at 7:27 PM on November 6, 2012

Guys can we understand the difference between CALLING a race and PROJECTING a race.
posted by smithsmith at 7:27 PM on November 6, 2012

did ABC call the election already?
posted by dhruva at 7:27 PM on November 6, 2012

I am watching Fox News and the sense of defeat from the likes of Palin and Rove is delicious.
posted by scatter gather at 7:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

"Obama wants to send your kid to college. What a snob!" #electionmemories
posted by gerryblog at 7:27 PM on November 6, 2012

OH GOD DO NOT LOOK IN THE IOWA BACKGROUND ON MSNBC RIGHT NOW
posted by Panjandrum at 7:27 PM on November 6, 2012

Hubs is asking why I love Elizabeth Warren so much. UM BECAUSE SHE IS AMAZING.
posted by sonika at 7:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I've been working at my precinct all day, which was probably good for my blood pressure because it didn't leave me too much room to angst about the results.

Now that they're coming in....

Part of me is SO EXCITED, you guys. Only an Obama win can heal my ulcer. But on the other hand, the local races here are looking particularly dire. I want to celebrate some excellent news on the national level - and on behalf of some of the other states - but it looks like my state and county are just getting redder and redder and I'm feeling left behind.

There are lots of Dems in the red states too, and we're fighting as hard as we can. Don't forget us, and don't write our states off!
posted by Salieri at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

GUYS LINDA MCMAHON IS CONCEDING BE QUIET
posted by qnarf at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Caol Ila 12. Better times ahead, I'm sure now.
posted by newdaddy at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2012

"The White Establishment Is Now The Minority" - Bill O'Reilly

Right the FUCK on! Thanks for bringing the good news, Bill! Keep up the good work!

white (male, to some degree) voting power will be gradually diminished.

Can't come soon enough for me! And I say that as a white American.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

WHY AM I STILL SO ANXIOUS?!?!

Same here. Same here.
posted by ericb at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

4 minutes, 37 seconds. That's how long I could choke down watching Fox News.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2012

So far, Minnesota is NO on (banning via constitution) marriage equality and NO on voter ID.

Bachmann is up 3%, though.
posted by Lemurrhea at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2012

what Biden cardboard thingie?
posted by yoga at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2012

My cat Trilby has spent most of the evening snuggled up in my lap, purring and totally oblivious to my agitation. I think he knows something.
posted by orange swan at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Seriously curious. Why does the NPR board still show Wisconsin leaning towards Romney when everyone else says that Wisconsin is basically in the bag for Obama? Is their site broken?
posted by bswinburn at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

> GOD DAMMIT I JUST FOUND OUT I'VE BEEN DRINKING 3.2 BEER ALL NIGHT.

DRINK HARDER
posted by Panjandrum at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

We're going to need a bigger binder
posted by shothotbot at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [17 favorites]

GOD DAMMIT I JUST FOUND OUT I'VE BEEN DRINKING 3.2 BEER ALL NIGHT.

I'm sorry you're going through this.
posted by Floydd at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

ABC is calling the VA Senate race for Tim Kaine! Never have I meant a vote for someone so strongly as a "fuck you" to his or her opponent.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

I agree to some extent, but I think there is a good argument to be made that Whiteness is the problem.

Unless you're talking about needing sunscreen I don't really think you can blame people's skin itself.

Racism has been a big problem, but there isn't like being white makes you a racist.

One aspect is in having a strong european-style social safety net. In the past racists would be opposed to that because they didn't want "Them" getting benefits, in comparison to countries that are more racially homogenous people feel that the ones getting benefits are like them.

If that kind of racism goes away in the U.S, there will be much less opposition to social saftey nets.

Which is what republicans are freaking out about. Plus the fact all their racist bullshit is killing them with Hispanics...
posted by delmoi at 7:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"I would like to take this opportunity to tell all of you how much I love you.

"Yay, Scotch and politics!"

I too love you all very much, even though most of you are a bunch of commie pinko liberals and your ideological worldviews make my skin crawl. But the important thing is that you're intellectually honest in your arguments, and you sincerely care about making the world the better place, so I love you because your heart is in the right place even though your political positions are usually wrong wrong. :D

No snark, I mean it -- I love you guys soooooooooooooo muuuuuuuuuuuuuuch.

HUGS FOR EVERYONE. EVEN THE STINKY ONES.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

GOD DAMMIT I JUST FOUND OUT I'VE BEEN DRINKING 3.2 BEER ALL NIGHT.

Flagged as OH MY GOD NO!
posted by hap_hazard at 7:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

College kids in Iowa behind the NBC guy were making the 4chan mem face expression.
posted by lazaruslong at 7:29 PM on November 6, 2012

I saw him on CNN earlier tonight and he has just about completed his metamorphosis into a Praying Mantis Humanoid.

Man, he is one cool spooky dude, with a fucking primo cajun way of speaking.

He'd be a great character in a movie. Good or Bad. Or both.
posted by Skygazer at 7:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

> I think people should keep in mind that a majority of Obama voters are white. Yes, A majority of white people are voting for Romney, but those two statements are not exclusive.

Indeed. How many times do I have to explain conditional probability to my students!?

Actually, a lot. Because a lot of the time, it really is counterintuitive. anyway
posted by King Bee at 7:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Bachmann is up 3%, though.
posted by Lemurrhea

Was 5% a while ago, so I like where this is going.
posted by COBRA! at 7:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bachmann is up 3%, though

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
posted by triggerfinger at 7:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Andrew Sullivan has been making a list and checking it twice: Holding Pundits Accountable
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I watched this earlier and knew he couldn't lose. Guy sings like an angel, in front of Al Green, and is like "what? No biggie."
posted by Ad hominem at 7:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm out of money and almost out of beer. This is a tragedy.
posted by roboton666 at 7:30 PM on November 6, 2012

On non-preview: okay
posted by triggerfinger at 7:30 PM on November 6, 2012

everyone stop a second i need to go get a cookie
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Pro-tip. You write a comment, then while the page takes forever to load....you close your eyes! I can last maybe one more hour. Maybe.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:30 PM on November 6, 2012

Sendai, currently up. Check these sites:

http://www.politico.com/2012-election/results/ballot-measures/maine/

http://maineelections.bangordailynews.com/

http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/states/maine

laptop battery dying!!
posted by that's candlepin at 7:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Kitten is winning.
posted by staggering termagant at 7:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

From NPR: ""My concern for this nation grows greater," defeated Senate candidate Richard Mourdock says, tearfully. NPR's Sonari Glinton reports that the GOP candidate says he was "attacked for standing for my principles."

The issue, man, is that you got awful principles.
posted by boo_radley at 7:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [30 favorites]

I do not want him to lick my face.

Just because he's probably eaten poop, you turn into a jerk.
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 7:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

The opposite of racism isn't "suck it whitey!"

Thank you for that, Slap*Happy. You said it better than I could. Some people are getting just a liiiiiitle too carried away with that sort of thing.
posted by Potsy at 7:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Fox News live coverage: Better Get a Bucket
posted by Otherwise at 7:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

My local Cincinnati station just had a graphic: shepherd 50% , wolf 50%, for dog catcher. Took me awhile to figure out it was a FPO graphic...
posted by pepcorn at 7:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Why is Romney suddenly going up on Intrade?
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:32 PM on November 6, 2012

sendai sleep master, the best source I've found for marriage equality results in Maine is the Portland Press Herald, which is currently showing 55%/45% in favor with 16% reporting. (I couldn't get the Bangor Daily to update, and the NYT page just didn't load.)
posted by pie ninja at 7:32 PM on November 6, 2012

Mandate, bitches.
posted by bardic at 7:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Here's clickables:

http://www.politico.com/2012-election/results/ballot-measures/maine/

http://maineelections.bangordailynews.com/

http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/states/maine
posted by that's candlepin at 7:32 PM on November 6, 2012

AUGH JOHN BOEHNER IS ON MY TV SO ORANGE.
posted by sonika at 7:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

everyone stop a second i need to go get a cookie
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:30 PM on November 6 [+] [!]

Seriously wait the fuck up, I barely made it back to the whiskey bottle give her a break
posted by mrgoat at 7:32 PM on November 6, 2012

SOMEONE PLEASE MAKE A FOX NEWS SADNESS SUPERCUT!
posted by Theta States at 7:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Server Error
The server encountered an internal error and was unable to complete your request.

Could not connect to JRun Server.

hahaha
posted by Theta States at 7:33 PM on November 6, 2012

Is it too soon to make gloating phone calls?
posted by vrakatar at 7:33 PM on November 6, 2012

DRINK HARDER

If this isn't the American motto, I don't know what is.
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 7:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

this thing is over, people. OVER.
posted by roboton666 at 7:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The more I watch the election coverage, the more I love Brian Williams. A few more glasses of wine and this could get sloppy.
posted by platinum at 7:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wow, between Obama making jokes on Reddit and singing Al Green (thanks for the link Ad hominem), he's the coolest ever president right now.
posted by kellybird at 7:34 PM on November 6, 2012

We here on the West Coast stand, waiting, ready to do our part, sort of like the lost souls that Aragorn summoned from the mountains, to turn the tide.
posted by Danf at 7:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

ohmyfuckinggodivereachedtheendofthethread
posted by anagrama at 7:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Obama's not going to have a mandate merely by winning a second term. It wasn't true for Bush, and it won't be true for him.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:34 PM on November 6, 2012

Chris Matthews: How did you like Scott Brown's truck?
Rachel Maddow: My truck's bigger -- thanks for asking!

<3 Maddow
posted by tonycpsu at 7:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

Romney keeps winning states he would never own a home in.
posted by Flashman at 7:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Maine marriage equality vote currently stands at 52.45% Yes on gay marriage, 47.55% No on gay marriage. Woo!

GO MAINE MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY WHO ISN'T A JERK
posted by Kattullus at 7:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

C'mon Minnesota be nice.
posted by The Whelk at 7:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The thread hasn't stopped though. It continues!
posted by Mezentian at 7:34 PM on November 6, 2012

As a MA born currently in CT fellow, today is a good day for the Senate! Sorry truck lovers! Sorry wrestling lovers! WOOOOOOOOOOO!
posted by haveanicesummer at 7:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

andrunoutofwine
posted by anagrama at 7:35 PM on November 6, 2012

Word on the Twitters: Marriage equality in MD, Death with Dignity in MA both winning.
posted by sonika at 7:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

anagrama: but wait! there's more.
posted by yoga at 7:35 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama looks like he has Florida.

Looking at the county-by-county results, and comparing turnout to 2012, it looks like there are still about 150,000 votes left in Miami-Dade (62% Obama), about 65000 votes left in Broward (68% Obama) and about 125,000 votes in Lee County (56% Romney). For counties that haven't finished reporting, I've extrapolated the missing # of votes based on 2008 turnout, and filled them in based on 2012 county-by-county voting percentages.

As it stands, Obama should gain another 40-50k in the lead with those outstanding votes (with a current lead of 22k). Even if turnout is depressed in Miami-Dade, Obama should still win. The big question is whether Obama will win by more than 0.5% to avoid a recount. That will be very close.
posted by jaredm at 7:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I just realized

WHERE ARE THE HOLOGRAMS THIS YEAR

Will Will.I.Am talk to us again?!
posted by barnacles at 7:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Whiteness is the problem.

Unless you're talking about needing sunscreen I don't really think you can blame people's skin itself.

Right, but when you talk about Whiteness with a capital W, it's the academic take on the social construct of Whiteness that's being called into account - not skin color.

Maybe this is too much to get into here, but it's not being white I object to - it's what was aptly called Whiteness, and the pandering politics that seek to manipulate certain categories of strongly-identied whites in particular ways.

I totally rejoice at the reduction of emphasis on Whiteness.
posted by Miko at 7:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Jonathan Coulton tweet: "So far this election is looking like a victory for math."
posted by Flunkie at 7:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

this thing is over, people. OVER.

Go outside now, turn around three times, and spit. I MEAN IT.
posted by sonika at 7:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Minn-e-so-ta for O!
posted by Skygazer at 7:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Please talk me out of drunk texting my dad (who earlier texted me an ASCII representation of the Romney logo and voted against the DREAM Act here in MD) with some variation of HAHA EAT IT.

(In all fairness, he did vote for marriage equality.)
posted by nonasuch at 7:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Looks like the Repubs didn't get rapist turnout they expected in Indiana and Missouri
posted by JayG at 7:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Hi everybody. I've been reading this post since 6:30 am EST, when I left my house to vote. I voted, went to my US federal government job, walked home to rake my leaves, went to choir practice until 9pm, and came home and rechecked this thread.

Y'all are making me happy (and helped me avoid TV). I'm going to sleep with a smile on my face. Yay 4 more years!
posted by kinsey at 7:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

"Entire Romney campaign sequestered far away from..." REALITY.
posted by sonika at 7:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

What about Wisconsin?
posted by Rashomon at 7:37 PM on November 6, 2012

I say proudly as a CT resident and a wrestling fan... FUCK YOU LINDA!
posted by JakeEXTREME at 7:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

It's too fast. People PLEASE. Just take turns. Once every 10s. Is that too much to ask?
posted by NailsTheCat at 7:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney seems to be catching up in Ohio...
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:37 PM on November 6, 2012

I ran out of tweets. I didn't know that was possible.
posted by gerryblog at 7:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Please talk me out of drunk texting my dad (who earlier texted me an ASCII representation of the Romney logo and voted against the DREAM Act here in MD) with some variation of HAHA EAT IT.

YOU KNOW WHAT YOU MUST DO.
posted by Theta States at 7:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sorry if I'm coming off ignant, but how exactly is it that a candidate can win the popular vote in a state, but still lose the state? I don't get it. I need some Gov 101.
posted by windbox at 7:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Why do we even have Arizona you guys?
posted by The Whelk at 7:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Lest you have any more doubts about the probability of Obama winning, Fox is starting the reports about illegal voting activity in Ohio.
posted by Dr. Zira at 7:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

First world problems: reading this thread on a iPad....no shortcut to get to the bottom!
posted by pepcorn at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

nonasuch: "Please talk me out of drunk texting my dad (who earlier texted me an ASCII representation of the Romney logo and voted against the DREAM Act here in MD) with some variation of HAHA EAT IT.

(In all fairness, he did vote for marriage equality."

DO IT
posted by theredpen at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Oh, fantastic. BBC correspondent at Romney HQ in Boston just said that they're flitting between news channels in an attempt to find a more positive spin on Mitt's campaign. And even Fox News is going against him.
posted by Len at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am SO listening to Rush Limbaugh tomorrow. Maybe he'll have another meltdown and let the n-word slip.
posted by clarknova at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Steve Schmidt says Romney campaign has gone radio silent for an hour.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Polls close when on the west coast?
posted by yoga at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2012

> Just because he's probably eaten poop, you turn into a jerk.

It's more the ball-licking, but also because HE DOESN"T STOP.

He once started licking my pant leg (no, I don't know either). I had to cut him off at the 3 minute mark. He is a tongue with a tail.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Maryland isn't looking quite as good on gay marriage - 50.6 for vs. 49.4 against - but the good news is that Baltimore City and Howard County are strongly in favor and are proportionally under counted right now.
posted by parallellines at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Is Boehner taking rifampin? (A drug used for tuberculosis and which turns your skin orange.) Because, if he is, let's stop making fun of carrot face.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sorry if I'm coming off ignant, but how exactly is it that a candidate can win the popular vote in a state, but still lose the state? I don't get it. I need some Gov 101.

He or she cannot.
posted by Justinian at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Whiteness is the problem.

Mental Health Break: Reggie Watts helps us understand why brown is so hard to get down with.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

DEATH PANELISTS MOVE TO ACTION STATIONS
posted by vrakatar at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Candidate PredictWise Betfair Intrade IEM

Barack Obama 94.7% 97.6% 91.7% 97.1%
Mitt Romney 5.1% 2.7% 7.4 % 3.0%
posted by Skygazer at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Sorry if I'm coming off ignant, but how exactly is it that a candidate can win the popular vote in a state, but still lose the state? I don't get it. I need some Gov 101.

They can't. Where are you seeing that?
posted by Lemurrhea at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2012

We here on the West Coast stand, waiting, ready to do our part, sort of like the lost souls that Aragorn summoned from the mountains, to turn the tide.

Thanks for that imagery; it put a big smile on my face.

My 19 year old lives in CA and is voting in her first election today. She said she tried talking some of her girlfriends into doing the same, but they just looked at her like...Waaaa? If shopping is not involved, they just don't want to know.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Being a knitter, I never thought I'd say this, but I'd rather have four more years of B.O. than new Mittens.
posted by orange swan at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

Steve Schmidt says Romney campaign has gone radio silent for an hour.

And the last month.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

"Obama's not going to have a mandate merely by winning a second term."

Of course not, because mandates don't exist. A win is a win but rest assured, our "librul" media will tell us that Obama must -- must! -- play nice with Republicans because of the non-mandate boogeyman.

Just like when W. lost the popular vote and ruled humbly, without starting two wars and giving Paris Hilton a massive tax-cut.
posted by bardic at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Yoga (chewie!), in about 20 minutes.
posted by mudpuppie at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2012

Indiana still sticks in my craw. It's a big red bony finger jammed up the blue state's rectum. Yeah, fuck you, Indiana (except Larry Bird and present company excluded).
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

> Why do we even have Arizona you guys?

Ask James K. Polk.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Could not connect to JRun Server.

Ah, JRun, it's been a while since I've seen you here ...
posted by carter at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2012

First world problems: reading this thread on a iPad....no shortcut to get to the bottom!

Not sure if the iPad uses the mobile version, but on my iPhone I just touch the top of the browser to get to the top, then touch the "skip to menu" link, then scroll up a little.
posted by oulipian at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

so excited for west coast blueslap
posted by changeling at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm pretty sure at this rate I'll be catching up on this thread at least through the inauguration.
posted by fishmasta at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

States get to decide their own election process windbox. Maine and Nebraska choose their electors on congressional district basis.

Think of it like how Al Gore won the overall popular vote but lost the country.
posted by cmfletcher at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama's Florida lead down to 16k, 88% in.
yikes
posted by Theta States at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama should just steamroller the Republicans, no more Mr Nice Guy once he wins. He should make stuff stick.
posted by arcticseal at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sorry if I'm coming off ignant, but how exactly is it that a candidate can win the popular vote in a state, but still lose the state? I don't get it. I need some Gov 101.

They can't. Where are you seeing that?

Sorry, completely drunk and misinformed. Carry on.
posted by windbox at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012

FOX NEWS SAYS WHOEVER GETS THE MOST SQUARE MILES WINS
posted by scody at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

veinsinmyteeth - let's do this.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012

It's too fast. People PLEASE. Just take turns. Once every 10s. Is that too much to ask?

YES. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU. Grandpa
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

David Brooks is sounding resigned. . . .
posted by Danf at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

> Why do we even have Arizona you guys?

Ask James K. Polk.

Napoleon of the Stump.
posted by grubi at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Why do we even have Arizona you guys?

Hey! We're trying, okay? It's hard when a lot of people who vote here don't actually live in the state year-round, and skew the demographics.
posted by Superplin at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

LITERALLY BITING MY NAILS
posted by The Whelk at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012

...drunk texting my dad (who earlier texted me an ASCII representation of the Romney logo and voted against the DREAM Act here in MD) with some variation of HAHA EAT IT.

A simple "Love you dad" will suffice
Alternatively "Bless your heart."
posted by Floydd at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Romney is still winning the popular vote. If this keeps up, the Joe Biden cutout is mine!
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ah, JRun, it's been a while since I've seen you here ...

I hadn't seen JRun in years, but it's been resurfacing in the debate threads.
posted by Miko at 7:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Folks, a little pity for me. In my new town I'm now gonna have a crazy tea partier for US CongressmanMI11) as well as the
TPer state rep.

Yikes, like I've timetraveled to my little mid-Mich. hometown of the 70s.
posted by NorthernLite at 7:41 PM on November 6, 2012

What does it say that when Robert Gibbs is getting interviewed on Fox, there are "satellite issues" that keep cutting out the feed?
posted by bibbit at 7:41 PM on November 6, 2012

sad faces all around on fox news
posted by triggerfinger at 7:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Think of it like how Al Gore won the overall popular vote but lost the country.

No. I never want to think of that again, thank you very much.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Anyone else seen the David Mitchell evil waiter sketch? Feel like that about liberalism tonight: We're back. You thought we went away, but we're back.
posted by Diablevert at 7:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Indiana still sticks in my craw. It's a big red bony finger jammed up the blue state's rectum. Yeah, fuck you, Indiana (except Larry Bird).

Indiana was one of the few states to be ruled by a KKK majority.

Good times...
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:42 PM on November 6, 2012

JRun NYT.
posted by RakDaddy at 7:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Polls close in 20 minutes in CA, so there should be a huge leap in electoral votes.

Ryan seems to be up by about 25 points in the Wisconsin 1st congressional district with 19% reporting. Oh well. It would have been just too delicious if his backup plan had failed as well.
posted by Rhomboid at 7:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Thanks 'pupps. Staying tuned hopefully for some icing.
posted by yoga at 7:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Yeah there is the caveat that some states award some of their EVs by district - but that's only a few states and not their entire EVs.
posted by Lemurrhea at 7:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Steve Schmidt says Romney campaign has gone radio silent for an hour.

They're probably praying. I wish I were kidding.
posted by zardoz at 7:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Whelk: "LITERALLY BITING MY NAILS"

Well well well look at Mr Big Showoff who still has his nails!
posted by barnacles at 7:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Why do we even have Arizona you guys?

Grand canyon?
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

First world problems: reading this thread on a iPad....no shortcut to get to the bottom!

Install Atomic Web and you get a great scrollbar. Safari is for chumps!
posted by howfar at 7:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Florida has been holding steady at 89% reporting for half an hour. When will it move to 95%? Suspense.
posted by Rashomon at 7:42 PM on November 6, 2012

BUFFERING VICTORY... ████████████▒ 90%
posted by Justinian at 7:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [42 favorites]

oh good chreeezy are we going to end up waiting for florida's results again?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm laughing at how the British Al Jazeera reporter in Chicago just talks louder as the womanat the podium there is leading a prayer and everyone else quiets down. Says so much about how just how odd American politics looks since it has slipped into the religion-state union.
posted by Surfurrus at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I missed 804 comments: I was in my kitchen, listening to Bruce Springsteen, drinking a beer (Surly Furious), and making a chicken pot pie for tomorrow night's [celebration|mourning] dinner.

Anything good happen?
posted by wenestvedt at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

West Coast smackdown, comin' right up!
posted by wallabear at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2012

I KNOW DAMMIT REPORT FASTER PRECINCTS!
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2012

Big ups to Minnesota.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2012

MSNBC calling MN for Obama!!!!!
posted by sonika at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2012

MINNESOTA
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2012

Why do we even have Arizona you guys?

They make the rest of us look sane by comparison.
posted by zarq at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

(tears up & pulls up some Peter, Paul & Mary on YouTube)

I'm more to the right side of the aisle than a lot of you here...but tonight I'm damn happy. I used to call myself Republican...but holy cow they've gone of the rails from the party I used to vote for.

I feel so good about this.
posted by kimberussell at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

MINNESOTA, YAY!!
posted by wallabear at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2012

NPR: Romney headquarters "It's kinda quiet here ... very somber"
posted by Otherwise at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

MEDICAL GRASS IN MASS HOLDING UP AS SCOTT BROWN CONCEDES GRACEFULLY GET HIM A BEER SOMEONE DEMOCRACY RULES
posted by vrakatar at 7:44 PM on November 6, 2012

On MSNBC, Mayor Julian Castro (D) San Antoinio has a great smile.

And it's always nice to see some (D)s in Texas!
posted by barnacles at 7:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Minnesota! :D
posted by zarq at 7:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh hey cool I got my wish, Florida's up to 91% reporting. Apparently this yelling at the screen thing works great.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Minnesota projected for Obama by NBC.
posted by roll truck roll at 7:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Fox is trying to convince people that only rich white men are in white people's ethnic interests, and that dog don't hunt.

As a reasonably well-off, middle aged, middle class, white guy, whenever I watch Fox News I soon find myself wondering who the hell these people are. I don't recognize them, and I guess I'm supposed to be their demographic. And I know I'm not alone.
posted by normy at 7:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Winning is nice. Crushing their spirits for a decade is better, mkay?
posted by bardic at 7:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

A simple "Love you dad" will suffice
Alternatively "Bless your heart."

I believe this calls for a "SUCK IT."
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 7:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Scott Brown is using a teleprompter for his concession speech . . . heh
posted by theredpen at 7:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

STILL nothing that wasn't already clear from Silver's model. I want at least one sub 90% state to get called!
posted by King Bee at 7:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Maine marriage equality vote currently stands at 52.45% Yes on gay marriage, 47.55% No on gay marriage. Woo!

Uh, that's with 22% reporting, it should be noted. Let's keep things relatively factual for the duration, ok?
posted by mediareport at 7:45 PM on November 6, 2012

A simple "Love you dad" will suffice
Alternatively "Bless your heart."

I believe this calls for a "SUCK IT."

"Well suck your heart."
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

"MSNBC calling MN for Obama!!!!!"

HOTDISH AND PLO CHOPS FOR EVERYBODY!
posted by bardic at 7:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Why do we even have Arizona you guys?

My mom has to live somewhere!

but she freely concedes they are crazy
posted by jeoc at 7:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

On ABC, Diane Sawyer genuinely appears to be drunk. Not a joke.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:45 PM on November 6, 2012

Reading comments on local Patch as they call my state: mistake.

Goodbye Scott Brown! Hope you enjoyed your brief, tea-fueled ride.
posted by Miko at 7:45 PM on November 6, 2012

I was in Grant Park in 2008.

With this re-election (which seems likely), I think we can pretty safely put Obama in the class with Washington, Jefferson, Polk, Lincoln, both Roosevelts.

I will never forget that night.
posted by 3200 at 7:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Bachmann's lead is under 2%, with 25% precincts reporting.
posted by COBRA! at 7:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

HEY MINNESOTA I'LL MAKE YOU A TATER TOT CASSEROLE FOR THE FARMER AND WORKERS PARTY MIXER
posted by The Whelk at 7:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

todd akin concession speech on MSNBC now.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh wait, NH was sub 90%. Sweet!
posted by King Bee at 7:45 PM on November 6, 2012

WHAT IS BEST IN LIFE, BARDIC?!
posted by barnacles at 7:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Dear MSNBC,

Please get Todd Akin off of my teevee.

Thanks much.

-Tony
posted by tonycpsu at 7:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

It should be noted that on NBC, when the news room discovered that Akin lost, they cheered so loud it interrupted whatever talking head was speaking at the time.

That damn liberal media.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

My only sorrow about the Scott Brown loss is that we will presumably never see Jon Hamm impersonate him on SNL again.
posted by scody at 7:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

TODD AKIN CONCESSION SPEECH AURHGFASJKLASSDAFAJKL;SADSFASDADSF
posted by hellojed at 7:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Todd Akin - not sounding so concessionary
posted by shothotbot at 7:46 PM on November 6, 2012

STILL nothing that wasn't already clear from Silver's model. I want at least one sub 90% state to get called!

I think Nate's biggest miss will be Virginia. Romney may pull that one out despite losing Florida and Ohio. Which would be weird.
posted by Justinian at 7:46 PM on November 6, 2012

CNN showing Ohio slightly blue
posted by ninjew at 7:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Todd Akin saying Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness come from "almighty God, not almighty government." THEN WHY WERE YOU RUNNING FOR IT, DUMBASS.
posted by sonika at 7:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

My dad is reading election coverage on Metafilter too right now... Hi, dad!!
posted by soundproof at 7:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Did Akin really trot out the you built that strawman bs they created? Seriously? Go the hell away.
posted by cashman at 7:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow. Akin still with the "you built that" shit? Go away.
posted by AstroGuy at 7:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

So they're going to call California at 8:00 on the dot, right?

Though California-wise, I'm really more concerned about various propositions.
posted by insectosaurus at 7:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow, Todd Akin throwing out a "you built that!" in his concession speech. That's still a thing?
posted by Roommate at 7:47 PM on November 6, 2012

I told you I voted super hard.

Speaking of which ELIZABETH WARREN!!!! Big ups, Mass. She's awesome.
posted by louche mustachio at 7:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

scody: "My only sorrow about the Scott Brown loss is that we will presumably never see Jon Hamm impersonate him on SNL again"

I was worried I was the only one with this concern.
posted by Dr. Zira at 7:47 PM on November 6, 2012

Link me to some Republican forums where I can taste the tears of impotent rage?
posted by Theta States at 7:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I think MSNBC wants to solidify the reason that the right is losing. Keep Akin talking.
posted by zerobyproxy at 7:47 PM on November 6, 2012

Ballot Cam! BALLOT CAM!!!
posted by slogger at 7:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I have a feeling MSNBC is going to just cut off Akin soon, because he's just going off the rails now.
posted by cashman at 7:48 PM on November 6, 2012

I see some happiness here...I'm so scared, I know it seems silly, but scared is what it is. Can anyone reassure me? I'm looking at several sites but they are all reporting different things.
posted by agregoli at 7:48 PM on November 6, 2012

*snort* I just saw an image of David Axelrod for the first time, and he looks like one of the Cardi's Furniture Ni-Ro-Pe brothers.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:48 PM on November 6, 2012

Aaaand cut his punk ass off.
posted by cashman at 7:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Go, Scott, go!" that's right . . . go, Scott. Go now.
posted by theredpen at 7:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow Akin is being a total asshole. I want to punch him in the dick.
posted by Justinian at 7:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

STILL nothing that wasn't already clear from Silver's model. I want at least one sub 90% state to get called!

NH was sub 90%. That's it so far.
posted by meinvt at 7:48 PM on November 6, 2012

Tuning to ABC to see drunk Diane Sawyer...
posted by I am the Walrus at 7:48 PM on November 6, 2012

> I missed 804 comments: I was in my kitchen, listening to Bruce Springsteen, drinking a beer (Surly Furious), and making a chicken pot pie for tomorrow night's [celebration|mourning] dinner.

Anything good happen?

- Professor Elizabeth Warren beat The Guy With the Truck.

- The Rapey Republican Duo of Mourdock and Akins got legitimately beaten

- Tom Brokaw apologized for glibly using a serious mental illness as a lazy metaphor

- VA and NC are fucking with us
posted by Panjandrum at 7:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Jinx cashman. Hi soundproof's dad!
posted by AstroGuy at 7:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Legitimate Claire shut that whole thing down. Voting against Akin this morning was totally satisfying. MissouRAH!
posted by asockpuppet at 7:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

We also believe that you're a misogynistic pile of crap and you owe us to go back to your hatefest and never get in front of a camera again. -What Todd Akin should have said
posted by cmfletcher at 7:48 PM on November 6, 2012

cmon baby cmon baby cmon baby......I will stay up all damn night to see the Cultist cry.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 7:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

MSNBC cut Akin off with talk of Benghazi. Yeah. Classy.
posted by sonika at 7:49 PM on November 6, 2012

Wil Wheaton tweet: "Waiting for Todd Akin to end his concession speech by handling some snakes and speaking in tongues."
posted by Flunkie at 7:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

Woo, JRun. It's like 2003 all over again. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was just interviewed on the BBC and she was great, really calling out Rick Scott and voter suppression.
posted by Len at 7:49 PM on November 6, 2012

Akin needs to be taken out behind a barn and put out of his own misery. The poor man just makes his own life unpleasant at this point.
posted by Forktine at 7:49 PM on November 6, 2012

Brown is really enjoying his last moment in the spotlight. (enjoying a little schadenfreude here)
posted by vicusofrecirculation at 7:49 PM on November 6, 2012

Any news on any of the marriage equality measures?
posted by scody at 7:49 PM on November 6, 2012

LIFE LIBERTY AND LEGITIMATE RAPE

Bye Akin.

t(>,<t)
posted by louche mustachio at 7:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Actually-legal, not with a prescription but legal-legal, marijuana is winning in Colorado. That'll be interesting.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Romney gets AZ....no surprise there
posted by lampshade at 7:50 PM on November 6, 2012

Axelrod keeps his moustache!
posted by sonika at 7:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nate Silver Blog:Mr. Romney currently leads by 27 points in Tennessee, by 22 points in Kentucky, by 16 points in South Carolina and by almost 40 points in Oklahoma.

Forget about Arizona! Why do we have Oklahoma?And don't you dare bring up that musical.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:50 PM on November 6, 2012

BREAKING BREAKING BREAKING

<img src="drudge_report_siren.gif">

DAVID AXELROD KEEPS MUSTACHE
posted by tonycpsu at 7:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Wish I had some conservative relatives I could taunt. Haha, no I don't. I'm so glad I don't have to deal with that crap :P.

If this [DRINK HARDER] isn't the American motto, I don't know what is.

Which is why Romney never had a chance. Not drinking makes you UN-AMERICAN.
Actually, the prior two presidents were non-drinkers, Bill Clinton and W. (at least not anymore)

Right, but when you talk about Whiteness with a capital W, it's the academic take on the social construct of Whiteness that's being called into account - not skin color.

*rolls eyes*. If you're going to talk about "Whiteness is the problem" you might want to qualify that if you don't want people to think you're some kind of anti-white racist. I mean, if someone like Bill O'Riley were out there saying "Blackness is the problem" I don't think people would hesitate to criticize him.
posted by delmoi at 7:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm assuming the radio silence from Romney is his campaign rushing to put together a concession speech and/or series of lawsuits.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Rachel informs us that David Axlerod gets to keep his fabulous porn 'stache.
posted by wallabear at 7:50 PM on November 6, 2012

Hi America. Who's winning?
posted by UbuRoivas at 7:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Weird that people are having trouble with the NYT page. I haven't had any trouble with it here in Nova Scotia.
posted by Flashman at 7:50 PM on November 6, 2012

whats the rule on florida recounts? if its within .5% of the total vote?
posted by DynamiteToast at 7:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm really glad that hunkily posing without your shirt has been proven to be a complete loser's strategy.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Akin's a numbnuts, but did you listen to the crowd's reaction to his insanity? It's frightening. Honestly.
posted by ob1quixote at 7:51 PM on November 6, 2012

In 2016, Republicans will have won a single presidential election since 1992. They won't have won as challengers since 1980.

OMG shhhhh! You don't want the old pendulum to start swinging back the other way. Just don't look at it.
posted by Glinn at 7:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Yay I am not watching Todd Akin anymore.
posted by louche mustachio at 7:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh Man the comedey central coverage should be starting soon I don't think I can take it.
posted by The Whelk at 7:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Scott Brown supporters yelling "Go, Scott, go!" during concession speech -- seems a little ... off?
posted by AwkwardPause at 7:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wish I had some conservative relatives I could taunt. Haha, no I don't.

I do have, and I am already looking forward to it.
posted by ambrosia at 7:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Woman on Fox News just schooled the hosts on them being crumbumbs who really don't have the pulse of the country.

Then host cut her off, then read statement about how maintaining the House Majority for Republicans means Obama won't have any mandate.
posted by Theta States at 7:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Forget about Arizona! Why do we have Oklahoma?And don't you dare bring up that musical.

My wife and amazing ice cream, in that order.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cali is gonna put up some big numbers for Obama in about 10 minutes.
posted by Justinian at 7:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Why do we even have Arizona you guys?

Don't blame southern AZ. We wish we didn't have to associate with those idiots midstate.
posted by The Potate at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Is the Comedy Central coverage streaming online anywhere? I don't have a TV right now.
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Well, that's a legitimate concession speech.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The NYT "shift since 2008" map (link bottom left) is looking pretty, and is also looking kind of polarized. It seems that gigantic swaths of land shifted more Republican this election. With a little patch of blue in Ohio. I wonder what happened there.
posted by kellybird at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Woo hoo Jon Stewart in 8 minutes!
posted by I am the Walrus at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2012

What's so good about the ice cream in Oklahoma?
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2012

DRUNKEN HICCUPS... Please send help.
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hi America. Who's winning?

AMERICA.
posted by Justinian at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

I'm assuming the radio silence from Romney is his campaign rushing to put together a concession speech and/or series of lawsuits.

........leaked video from Romney campaing rushed secret meeting
posted by lampshade at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

David Brooks is sounding resigned. . . .

Yeah, for the last hour our so he's been pretty subdued. He even said that it was becoming very very difficult for Romney to win at this point.

I don't like to see him sad. As conservatives go Brooks is an extremely solid fellow.

I think he's going to begin breathing fire though against the social issues knuckledraggers tomorrow. I can't see how any reasonable moderate Republican who's concerns are fiscal containment isn't going to be furious with the extreme God-botherers and Rapist apologists, and the homophobes, and the immigrant-haters and other bigots in their own party.

I've been talking about the demographics debacle they were creating for themselves going on 3 years now, ever since Brewer declared war on Latinos with SB 1070. And now it's here, and I feel pretty vindicated, and there is....going to be a civil war that begins in the GOtP beginning TOMORROW.

For anyone thinking Christie can't get the GOP nomination, you don't understand that the Right needs him more than he needs them...and he saw the writing on the wall.

I can't wait for the implosion. The country can't function with such a ridiculously unhealthy major party like the current GOP.
posted by Skygazer at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

I can't believe it just occurred to me to switch on the TV. We're getting ABC News.
Is that drunk Diane Sawyer?

I am seeing Eastwood talking to a chair and Meatloaf "singing" for the first time.

Ye gods.
posted by Mezentian at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hi America. Who's winning?

America.
posted by roll truck roll at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [23 favorites]

Oh it'll be so delicious if Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate becomes the spoiler in FL.
posted by amuseDetachment at 7:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Fox News lady to Robert Gibbs: "If Obama wins a second term and the Republicans don't want to compromise, what are you going to do...? Because...they really haven't compromised the last four years...."

Do they seriously not see the problem here?

Actually-legal, not with a prescription but legal-legal, marijuana is winning in Colorado. That'll be interesting.

The Obama Justice Department doesn't have a great record in this area. I suspect this fight is far from over.
posted by Room 641-A at 7:53 PM on November 6, 2012

I just wanted to tell you all: we're all counting on you.
posted by jtron at 7:53 PM on November 6, 2012

Wow. Al Jazeera's coverage is really good. Props to whomever linked to their live stream.
posted by bswinburn at 7:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Why do we have Oklahoma?And don't you dare bring up that musical.

so that Texans have something to feel superior to, and Arkansasians have something to aspire to.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Not drinking makes you UN-AMERICAN.

And Obama has the White House making beer. Yet another reason for me to vote Obama.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 7:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Comedy Central streaming here (if you're in the US at least).
posted by yasaman at 7:53 PM on November 6, 2012

PBS: Mark Shields does some quick subtraction, and David Brooks says, "It's like watching the election with Rain Man."
posted by audi alteram partem at 7:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Forget about Arizona! Why do we have Oklahoma?

Elizabeth Warren is from Oklahoma.
posted by Quonab at 7:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

VA is missing big reports mostly from Norfolk and Alexandria. Romney's lead has been decreasing for the last hour and is within a point now.
posted by daHIFI at 7:53 PM on November 6, 2012

Nebulawindphone the company is called Braums, and they are excellent
posted by I am the Walrus at 7:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

With a little patch of blue in Ohio. I wonder what happened there.

Obama dumped massive stimulus money into Ohio.
posted by stbalbach at 7:53 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama is still up in Florida, with 90% of the vote in! He's only up by like 30k votes, though.

But considering a lot of election predictions didn't even count on FL for an Obama victory, it's pretty amazing.
posted by delmoi at 7:54 PM on November 6, 2012

There is a way Scott Brown could still become a MA Senator alongside Warren:

John Kerry’s Elizabeth Warren Dilemma: How a Warren victory could thwart John Kerry's dream of becoming secretary of state.
posted by homunculus at 7:54 PM on November 6, 2012

What's so good about the ice cream in Oklahoma?

Braums
posted by fishmasta at 7:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Holy shit. Obama's winning VA, FL by slivers, but tenacious slivers...

(Brook just said Florida is the "most in peril for ROmney.")
posted by Skygazer at 7:54 PM on November 6, 2012

Warren speaking now!
posted by cashman at 7:54 PM on November 6, 2012

Still in this boiler room. We're still working numbers. We knew Florida would be tight. Still people in line.
posted by Cookiebastard at 7:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

BACHMANN 50.52 GRAVES 49.3, 32% reporting
posted by COBRA! at 7:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

John King on CNN regarding Florida, "If we look at where the people live..." Cause alligators can't vote, you know.
posted by teleri025 at 7:54 PM on November 6, 2012

Senator-elect Warren speaking on MSNBC.

SENATOR-ELECT WARREN.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

What's so good about the ice cream in Oklahoma?

There's a chain called Braum's that sources everything to a family-run dairy and is basically ridiculous. Best milkshakes I've ever had in my life.

The Obama Justice Department doesn't have a great record in this area. I suspect this fight is far from over.

That's what'll be interesting about it.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hey, no Daily Show / Colbert spoilers! West Coast has three hours to wait for it.
posted by wallabear at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2012

Elizabeth Warren tearful. I'mma gonna lose it.
posted by sonika at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Elizabeth Warren!
posted by zerobyproxy at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2012

AUGH JOHN BOEHNER IS ON MY TV SO ORANGE.

I believe that's the cigarette smoke skin, painted over with self-tanner and HD pancake.
posted by gjc at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2012

Needed magicer underpants.
posted by panaceanot at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Can someone explain the map on the nytimes front page? Its mostly red, but Obama is winning? I'm really new to this, sorry.
posted by polymodus at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2012

I don't like to see him sad. As conservatives go Brooks is an extremely solid fellow.

Awww. Someone send David Axelrod's mustache to give him a hug.
posted by louche mustachio at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Warren on NBC giving kick-ass acceptance speech now...
posted by jeoc at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2012

Elizabeth Warren is giving her acceptance speech. I don't know THAT much about her, but literally everything I see her say and everything she supports makes me REALLY love her.

Is it too early to be making my WARREN 2016 signs??
posted by barnacles at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I would donate $1000 to the DNC if I were promised a hug from Elizabeth Warren
posted by goHermGO at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2012

ELIZABETH FUCKING WARREN
posted by louche mustachio at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

"I am confident in saying that President Obama is going to carry the state of Florida tonight." - Al Gore (no, really).
posted by Kattullus at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2012

I wonder if Trudeau has a special Doonesbury strip ready for the Warren win.
posted by COBRA! at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Elizabeth Warren putting billionaires on notice!
posted by scody at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Virginia called for Kaine.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney wins North Carolina, AP says.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012

Secret Life of Gravy: "Forget about Arizona! Why do we have Oklahoma?"

Elizabeth Warren was born here. We also have many fine MeFites.
posted by Dr. Zira at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012

KAINE
posted by grubi at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Man I started a drawing at the start (around 7:30?) and I'm running out of paper, but won't stop until MSNBC calls it.
posted by hellojed at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012

And Kaine wins! Awesome!
posted by wallabear at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Augggghhhh. Warren cut off. I STILL LOVE YOU, ELIZABETH WARREN.
posted by sonika at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012

BOO HISS MSNBC
posted by tonycpsu at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NBC calling it for Kaine.
posted by jeoc at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012

I've been talking about the demographics debacle they were creating for themselves going on 3 years now, ever since Brewer declared war on Latinos with SB 1070. And now it's here, and I feel pretty vindicated, and there is....going to be a civil war that begins in the GOtP beginning TOMORROW

Yeah, except Pete Wilson did the same thing in CA in the 90's with Prop 187, a pretty much broke California for the Republicans, and did they learn? Nope. Hard to beat back bigotry with Reason.
posted by ambrosia at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

After standing in line 2.5 hours to vote in Orlando, FL, I am anxious for Obama to win this state.

And I'm very happy Bill Nelson won the Senate race.
posted by I am the Walrus at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh it'll be so delicious if Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate becomes the spoiler in FL.

Gary Johnson has 41,000 votes so far. Obama-Romney gap is only 16,000.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well, at least I can say-there goes the White Horse prophecy. Ptui.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

TIM KAINE GETS VA!!!!!!!!
posted by scody at 7:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

DON'T FUCKING JINX IT, GORE. Why don't I have booze, oh god, worst life choice of the month.
posted by yasaman at 7:57 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama has 55 ways to win
Romney has 8 ways to win
1 way to tie
posted by grudgebgon at 7:57 PM on November 6, 2012

http://www.comedycentral.com/live-election-night/
posted by neversummer at 7:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I think he's going to begin breathing fire though against the social issues knuckledraggers tomorrow. I can't see how any reasonable moderate Republican who's concerns are fiscal containment isn't going to be furious with the extreme God-botherers and Rapist apologists, and the homophobes, and the immigrant-haters and other bigots in their own party.

Yeah, but without the social issues, they have nothing. No one except millionaires intrinsically supports fiscal conservative B.S. The republican "Base" supports those things because it's the party platform, but they're republicans because of social issues. Without the social issues, they have no reason to be republicans at all.
posted by delmoi at 7:57 PM on November 6, 2012

Meanwhile, on Free Republic... (selected quotes)

Absolutely Nobama: We’re really going to have to hold Boehner’s feet to the fire. No choice now. As a movement, We the Conservatives have to start throwing around our weight. We need to start getting rid of the old RINO hacks in our local Republican parties and take them over.

Phillyred: The most frustrating thing is that God has given us a fantastic candidate in Romney. He is the man for the times, and the freaking scum half of this country is more interested in free frikin condoms!

MomWithHope: I am having a hard time as many are here. I really thought God would deliver us, that we have suffered enough and merited relief. Please dear God our Father deliver us from this evil.

kearnyirish2: If Obama wins, I hope no white woman gets a marriage proposal until 2016.

fabian: what are you talking about...Jesus will be ruling well before 2050 for heaven sakes
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 7:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Can someone explain the map on the nytimes front page? Its mostly red, but Obama is winning? I'm really new to this, sorry.

The vote is (roughly) by population. The map is by square mileage. A lot of the red square mileage has relatively few people in it, while a lot of the blue square mileage has relatively many people in it.
posted by Flunkie at 7:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Gary Johnson has 41,000 votes so far. Obama-Romney gap is only 16,000.

AH, I SEE ALTERNATE UNIVERSE RALPH NADER HAS ARRIVED
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Can someone explain the map on the nytimes front page? Its mostly red, but Obama is winning? I'm really new to this, sorry.

Republicans usually win the rural areas, so that covers a larger geographic area. Democrats usually win the densely-populated cities, so it's smaller area geographically, but has more people (and more Electoral College votes).
posted by insectosaurus at 7:58 PM on November 6, 2012

Thank you Massholes!

Elizabeth Warren makes up for your Patriots and Bruins thing.

-Love PA
posted by cmfletcher at 7:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Polymodus, it's the electoral college. Different states have a different. Umber of electoral college votes. Some states have 20+ and some have 4. So the number of states is not as significant as which states.
posted by zizzle at 7:58 PM on November 6, 2012

Wait, how do we get free condoms?
posted by Lord_Pall at 7:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Misogyny will cost the GOP

Yep.
posted by homunculus at 7:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Obama has 55 ways to win
Romney has 8 ways to win
1 way to tie
posted by grudgebgon

And Paul Simon has 50 ways to leave his lover.
posted by COBRA! at 7:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Very few counties in FL reporting Absentees and Provisionals as counted:

http://enight.elections.myflorida.com/CountyReportingStatus/
posted by tomierna at 7:58 PM on November 6, 2012

kearnyirish2: If Obama wins, I hope no white woman gets a marriage proposal until 2016.

wha?
posted by nadawi at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Denver Post projects CO for Obama.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Jesus will be ruling well before 2050 for heaven sakes

This prediction is both way too precise and way too vague.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2012

All these data...!!

My (non-American) partner was very nice to me yesterday, and she told me she had NO problem with me skipping work (coff coff I'm "sick") and buying a tremendous amount of booze for personal use.

I warned her well in advance: "Look, by the time you get home, I'll probably be well drunk. Inshallah, I'm going to be a happy drunk and not a maudlin one."

I am not usually an optimist .... but I'm thinking she's going to be greeted at home by a happy drunk in a few hours.

C'MON FLORIDA
C'MON VIRGINIA (you're tightening up)
C'MON COLORADO

*bites off fingertips as fingernails went away hours ago*
posted by barnacles at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Paul Ryan holding onto his set of steak knives right now.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Virginia called for Kaine.

They will call Kaine on 1 point up @78% but won't call Ohio at 2 points up @ 66% in.

Fucking. Pussies.
posted by Talez at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Elizabeth Warren makes up for your Patriots and Bruins thing.

TRAITOR!
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Panjandrum, thanks!!
posted by wenestvedt at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Being a knitter, I never thought I'd say this, but I'd rather have four more years of B.O. than new Mittens

I... I've been teleported to vaudeville.
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Not only am I getting all happy watching the Senate results, but I just saw an actor I know in one of the ads for Windows 8 they keep showing on MSNBC. Hee!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Hubs can't understand why I won't go to bed yet. He clearly did not vote in the 2000 election. (Or any other. He's not a citizen.)
posted by sonika at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2012

5 seconds! http://www.comedycentral.com/live-election-night/
posted by kinsey at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's funny but there was an anti-Kaine ad early in the campaign that had this weird WE MUST STOP THE KAINE TRAIN metaphor with this list of all this horrible awful things he was going to push on Virginia... and I sat there on my couch going "yeah, actually, all of those things sound kind of nice, thank you."

...and the slogan kept his name in my mind even through getting deluged by Obama/Romney ads.

I'm happy I got on board the Kaine Train :D
posted by The demon that lives in the air at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Thanks for the explanations. I'm very visual and I guess the color cues it tripped me up. That and lack of dinner.
posted by polymodus at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012

Can someone explain the map on the nytimes front page? Its mostly red, but Obama is winning? I'm really new to this, sorry.

Huge swaths of America are just big empty stretches of land with only a couple of people living in them. They still get disproportionate representation in congress and the electoral college though, but not enough in the electoral college to make the difference.
posted by saulgoodman at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm having trouble with the Comedy Central feed. Is it just me or is it overloaded?
posted by fishmasta at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012

Hah, CNN projected CA, Hawaii and WA the second the polls closed.
posted by delmoi at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

YES YES YES
posted by ninjew at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012

how do I get comedycentral streaming in Canada?
posted by Theta States at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012

Cali, Washington, Hawaii all called for O by NBC.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012

> Can someone explain the map on the nytimes front page? Its mostly red, but Obama is winning? I'm really new to this, sorry.

>> Republicans usually win the rural areas, so that covers a larger geographic area. Democrats usually win the densely-populated cities, so it's smaller area geographically, but has more people (and more Electoral College votes).

Or to put it another way: Rhode Island and Montana have roughly the same population (RI with the edge).
posted by Panjandrum at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012

Homeboy Trouble: kearnyirish2: If Obama wins, I hope no white woman gets a marriage proposal until 2016.

Wow, that's... telling
posted by FreelanceBureaucrat at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

IS THAT PATRICK STEWART WHAT THE HELL
posted by The Whelk at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

"If it ain't Brokaw, don't fix it."
posted by ColdChef at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

NBC news: "One of these two [Romney or Obama's HQ] is going to be victory headquarters." Gee, good call.
posted by thesocietyfor at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012

BTW do you know how hard it is to become a professor at Harvard Law School? Especially if you are a woman? In the early 1990's? That is no easy feat. Elizabeth Warren is ~fierce~.
posted by kellybird at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hey, no Daily Show / Colbert spoilers! West Coast has three hours to wait for it.

I've got it starting right now on TW Cable in L.A.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2012

LOL @MSNBC trying to create drama with "too early to call" in OR.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Wait, how do we get free condoms?

Free NYC condoms.
posted by shothotbot at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2012

PATRICK STEWART FUCK YEAH!
posted by Talez at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Fox News guy just called Donald Trump "the crazy man".
posted by Theta States at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

TDS THANK GOD.
posted by Brak at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2012

OMG PATRICK STEWART ON COMEDY CENTRAL
posted by soundproof at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2012

For the first time, I have hit my favorite limit.... AUGH MAKE THE PIE HIGHER.
posted by sonika at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Gary Johnson votes in Florida would've gone to Romney anyway. He's not gonna be a spoiler.
posted by zardoz at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

omg Patrick Stewart! How did I not know about this?
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Hey, no Daily Show / Colbert spoilers! West Coast has three hours to wait for it.

comedycentral.com - Just watch it there.
posted by Talez at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2012

homunculus: "Misogyny will cost the GOP

Yep"

Jesus!! Over a century after universal suffrage in the USA, and the GOP still haven't figured out that women vote.

ATTENTION DEMOCRATS, REGARDING INFORMING THE GOP ABOUT THIS: sssssshhhhhh
posted by barnacles at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Obama is at 243 electoral votes. It is almost time.
posted by Justinian at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I hope Iowa tips it. Would be great to leave the Ohio / Florida shitshow behind for a few years.
posted by gerryblog at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

How can NBC call Minnesota with only ~15% of the precincts reporting? Sounds like they're sacrificing accuracy for speed.

And I can't count Minnesota a victory unless both the amendments fail.
posted by jiawen at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2012

What did Patrick Stewart do?
posted by Flunkie at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Comedy Central feed, or network? I'm watching the network and I don't see Patrick Stewart.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2012

weird WE MUST STOP THE KAINE TRAIN metaphor with this list of all this horrible awful things he was going to push on Virginia.

Yeah, I mail saying "Tim Kane is IN STEP with Barack Obama!" and it took me a few seconds of staring at the flyer to figure out that I was supposed to think this was a bad thing.
posted by selfmedicating at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2012

Wisconsin is acting weird, but looking good.
posted by drezdn at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2012

Boy, this is moving too fast for my noisy DSL connection...
posted by saulgoodman at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2012

Fox News guy just called Donald Trump "the crazy man".

Truth on Fox? YOU LIE!
posted by Mezentian at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

John Stewart: "Good news for Mitt Romney: he has won most of the Confederacy."
posted by Golden Eternity at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

ANDERSON COOPER AND HIS GOLDEN SAXOPHONE
posted by The Whelk at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Just saw Times Square on the teevee. Better than New Year's Eve!
Especially considering...
posted by islander at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2012

From the ever-awesome George Takei's Facebook page:

There is a high likelihood Diane Sawyer is wearing pajama pants under that desk.
posted by orange swan at 8:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

COME ON IOWA!
posted by 3200 at 8:03 PM on November 6, 2012

CNN CALLS WI FOR OBAMA. NC for Romney, though.
posted by delmoi at 8:03 PM on November 6, 2012

How can NBC call Minnesota with only ~15% of the precincts reporting? Sounds like they're sacrificing accuracy for speed.

The short answer is, it's Minnesota. The long answer is their experts know the state and its demographics and can tell where things are headed from a relatively small sample.
posted by gerryblog at 8:03 PM on November 6, 2012

What did Patrick Stewart do?

Live announcer for The Daily Show tonight!
posted by King Bee at 8:03 PM on November 6, 2012

Denver Post is calling CO for Obama, and per ABC, Jeb just called Mitt and told him they lost FL.

It looks like it's over.
posted by zombieflanders at 8:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

so that Texans have something to feel superior to, and Arkansasians have something to aspire to.

I totally read that as "Arkan-SASSY-ans"
posted by jason_steakums at 8:03 PM on November 6, 2012

oh man Wisconsin is finally blue on Google's election results I feel like I can breathe
posted by Elementary Penguin at 8:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

voiceover empress
posted by cmfletcher at 8:03 PM on November 6, 2012

PATRICK STEWART PHASERED BIGOTRY
posted by vrakatar at 8:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The AP is calling NC for Romney. Booooo! Not unexpected, though.
posted by Justinian at 8:03 PM on November 6, 2012

Comedy central feed: http://www.comedycentral.com/live-election-night/
posted by joedan at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm still hiccuping, you assholes.
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

BBC is reporting that ABC is reporting that "Jeb Bush has told the Romney camp that they have lost Florida."
posted by oulipian at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

West coast Daily Show on via Xbox.
posted by Feisty at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2012

You guys, this Scotch tastes like the inside of my smoker at the end of a long weekend of cooking ribs. I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE.
posted by RakDaddy at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Romnoms gets NC.
posted by cashman at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2012

And now NBC. That'll probably be the last good news for Romney.
posted by Justinian at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2012

Do I switch from Maddow to Jon Stewart? This is a more difficult choice than any that were on my ballot!
posted by sonika at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm eagerly waiting the gay marriage and marijuana legalization votes in WA! Both looking good lately.
posted by wallabear at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

We broke New York Times again.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2012

Let's finish this let's finish this let's finish this. . . .
posted by bardic at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

LOL @MSNBC trying to create drama with "too early to call" in OR.

Do we have any indications what's happening with measure 80?
posted by curious nu at 8:05 PM on November 6, 2012

That's Ar-kansans, as in "Kansan" preceded by an "Ar".
posted by zardoz at 8:05 PM on November 6, 2012

kearnyirish2: If Obama wins, I hope no white woman gets a marriage proposal until 2016.

wha?

I know. That tripped me up as well. Putting my dickwad hat on, I think where kearnyirish2 is coming from is this: women had a hand in re-electing Obama and the thing a woman likes most in life is to be proposed to and get married. So he is cursing all single women because some women preferred Obama.

My guess is he doesn't have a great sex life.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

I'm still hiccuping, you assholes.

HOLD YOUR BREATH FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN
posted by King Bee at 8:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

CA? Hurry up!
posted by yoga at 8:05 PM on November 6, 2012

"Romney has won the Confederacy" oh thank you Jon Stewart you are just what I needed right now!
posted by jason_steakums at 8:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

NYT: 0
Metafilter: 1
posted by Mezentian at 8:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Heh... Found this viewing the source code on barackobama.com
posted by panaceanot at 8:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [22 favorites]

Oh dear. I think I just heard Jon Stewart say "fuck" without getting bleeped him because it's live. I'll bet the folks at Fox will be outraged.

They just muted Mandvi though, so I guess they're awake now.
posted by homunculus at 8:06 PM on November 6, 2012

Denver Post just called Colorado for Obama
posted by I am the Walrus at 8:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Bachmann 50.6, Graves 49.4, 40% reporting
posted by COBRA! at 8:06 PM on November 6, 2012

Hey CNN, how about you only do the flashy stars projection music thing for shit that wasn't already obvious?
posted by IanMorr at 8:06 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh, hey. I can watch Daily/Colbert on my xbox. But the feed is like 3 seconds behind where my computer is.

Fuck technology, y'all.
posted by sparkletone at 8:06 PM on November 6, 2012

By the way, Jill Stein is drawing 0.4% here in dark-blue Dane County, WI, fourth behind O,R, and Gary Johnson.
posted by escabeche at 8:06 PM on November 6, 2012

Putting my dickwad hat on

It's always a shame to have to do this, in order to understand what someone has said. Sigh.
posted by kellybird at 8:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I never stopped to think that I might see the President re-elected AND get cookies! Mr. Blatcher, sir!? (I'm not going to link it, because it's the motherthread). It's a good bit past 11pm EST!
posted by cashman at 8:06 PM on November 6, 2012

What's the word on Virginia? It looks damn close there.
posted by zardoz at 8:06 PM on November 6, 2012

There can't possibly be crickets in this thread.
posted by yoga at 8:07 PM on November 6, 2012

@rauldemolina: ABC News sources say that Jeb Bush told The Romney campaign that they lost Florida
posted by joedan at 8:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney 3.5% on Intrade...
posted by Theta States at 8:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Man. Audio dumping is so much less funny than bleeps.
posted by sparkletone at 8:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh dear. Jon Stewart just said "fuck" without getting bleeped

Oh hey, me too.
posted by louche mustachio at 8:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

What's the word on Virginia? It looks damn close there.

It's damn close.
posted by dfan at 8:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

We're all holding our breath (breaths?). Makes it hard to type.
posted by bibbit at 8:08 PM on November 6, 2012

Can I just say that Todd Akin was BY FAR the biggest jackass on Missouri's congressional delegation, and that's just speaking in terms of his personality, not even getting into his odious political beliefs.

If getting him out of elected office were the only good outcome of this election, I'd be celebrating for a year of Sundays just for that alone.

Good riddance to bad rubbish, Mr. Akin, and may you never dare to run for public office again.
posted by flug at 8:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

There can't possibly be crickets in this thread.

Seriously. Did everyone pass out? Move to chat? Hypnotized by Patrick Stewart?
posted by Theta States at 8:08 PM on November 6, 2012

Come on come on come on!
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:08 PM on November 6, 2012

Okay. Love warren and all but back to national coverage please, mm'kay?
posted by zizzle at 8:08 PM on November 6, 2012

Alright already, I get that I can watch Daily right now. Spoil away :)
posted by wallabear at 8:08 PM on November 6, 2012

As a Canadian where can I watch Romney's victory speech live?
posted by fleetmouse at 8:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Is this the thread where I finally get over my depression of the promised Kerry win in 2004?
posted by yeti at 8:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Charles P. Pierce ‏@ESQPolitics

Dear Fox Election Desk -- I've seen jollier people in police lineups. #election2012
posted by Skygazer at 8:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm still hiccuping, you assholes.

Have you tried breathing into a paper bag?

The AP is calling NC for Romney.

This is my sad face. NC has gone a bit redder in the last 2 years and I chalk some of that up to Gov. Perdue who wasn't too great. She poisoned the well for another Democrat to replace her in the Governor's mansion.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

What's the word on Virginia? It looks damn close there.

Per Nate Cohn at TNR:

As more votes are counted in northern Virginia, Romney's lead is down to just 20,000 votes. There are more than enough votes in northern Virginia to put the president over the top. It looks like there are about 250,000 votes left in northern Virginia.

posted by zombieflanders at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012

By the way, Jill Stein is drawing 0.4% here in dark-blue Dane County, WI, fourth behind O,R, and Gary Johnson.

I predicted that result.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012

IOWA, BITCHES
posted by tonycpsu at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yes Yeti, it is.
posted by roboton666 at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012

In an unexpected twist, CNN calls Ohio for Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln.
posted by Dr. Zira at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

I'm listening to the Judy garland version of battle hymn of the republic because it is my spirit animal.
posted by The Whelk at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Barack Obama is three years older than me and he's about to become president. AGAIN.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

IOWA!
posted by marylynn at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Iowa !!!!
posted by cashman at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012

NBC calls Iowa. That's the game, right?
posted by gerryblog at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Man. The ABC is obsessed with race and the white vote. It's so weird.
posted by Mezentian at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012

Iowa *projected* at the moment on NBC
posted by gaspode at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012

Damnit, Iowa 4th. It's Steve goddamn King, you want that man representing you? Christie Vilsack is a stand up lady, Steve King looks like a flesh-colored Grover and tries to ride the coattails of fuckin' Akin's comments!
posted by jason_steakums at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012

Switched to Comedy Central and immediately, the tot wakes up. The power of babby disapproves. Well ok then.
posted by sonika at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012

O wins Iowa says NBC

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I HAVE HOPE.
posted by insectosaurus at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012

IOWA REPRESENTING!!!
posted by delmoi at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012

Iowa for Obama!

ARUGULA FARMERS GET THEIR REVENGE
posted by barnacles at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Iowa just got called for Obama. One more...
posted by zombieflanders at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2012

IOWA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by scody at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Alex Castellanos, Republican consultant for CNNjust commented that he's close to reaching for the hemlock.
posted by teleri025 at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2012

I just don't get it. Unskewed Polls said that Romney was up by 5% in their very reliable exit polls?

*snicker*
posted by WinnipegDragon at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Heh. Blount County, Alabama's vote to allow alcohol sales is coming down to the wire.
posted by ndfine at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Seriously. Did everyone pass out?

Local news took over NBC's channel. Cats have hidden the remote.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

LOL gloomy republicans
posted by louche mustachio at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2012

With Iowa gone Romney now has to run the table. ANY other state puts Obama over the top. (Well any other remotely contested state.)
posted by Justinian at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2012

gotta say ron paul is doing REALLY badly tonight
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

I think Drudge is either reporting the popular vote, or he stopped updating his site 2 hours ago and is somewhere crying/drinking.
posted by sparkletone at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2012

I would love to see a sharpee forehead penis on Romney. I would donate so much money to see it
posted by I am the Walrus at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Huge swing in popular vote, according to the NYT board. Margin narrowed by over a million votes; now only about 300k difference.
posted by ceribus peribus at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2012

I just want it to be called, and to watch the speeches. And then to AskMe the question that I wouldn't allow myself to ask until Obama won on grounds of chickens & hatching.
posted by Lemurrhea at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Why do we even have Arizona you guys?

A) Giant Sand, B) Calexico, C) no shitty evil Daylight Saving Time.
posted by IfuckingloveBruceSpringsteen at 8:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

> Is this the thread where I finally get over my depression of the promised Kerry win in 2004?

That was 4 years ago. This is the schadenfreude thread were you watch Republicans feel the same things you did.
posted by Panjandrum at 8:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Stewart: "McCaskill has legitimately raped Todd Akin"
posted by King Bee at 8:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Oops, I guess Nevada by itself doesn't put Obama over the top.
posted by Justinian at 8:11 PM on November 6, 2012

Duckworth wins! Yesssss!
posted by wallabear at 8:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Daily Show Election coverage is available on XBox live as well.
posted by daHIFI at 8:11 PM on November 6, 2012

fleetmouse - try CBC
posted by binturong at 8:11 PM on November 6, 2012

Whelk, I am making up an Obama-themed spotify playlist and I have added that Judy Garland track just for you.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Want bad local coverage to go away.
posted by ndfine at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012

"Legitimately raped Todd Akin." Sorry, that's not funny.
posted by Brak at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

Still don't think the rape jokes are funny, even when they're coming from Jon Stewart about a Republican :(
posted by soundproof at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

Stewart: First person to 270 wins the right to bomb Iran!
posted by sonika at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012

OHIO.
posted by COBRA! at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

OHIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
posted by barnacles at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NBC CALLS OHIO!
posted by WinnipegDragon at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

That was 4 years ago.

That was 8 years ago, dawg
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012

McCasKILLED!
posted by hillabeans at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Go Iowa you have the best windmills in small towns.
posted by The Whelk at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012

OHIO FOR OBAMA!!!
posted by Justinian at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ohio!
posted by spitbull at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Woops! thats it
posted by shothotbot at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012

IT'S OVER!
posted by tonycpsu at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012

Stewart: "McCaskill has legitimately raped Todd Akin"

That is not funny, and I wish he wouldn't do that.
posted by mudpuppie at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

Wow, with Iowa in the Obama column, Obama could lose flordia and Ohio and still win.

He just needs CO and NV. And that's it.
posted by delmoi at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012

NBC NEWS PROJECTS OHIO FOR OBAMA! OBAMA REELECTED!
posted by MegoSteve at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

OHIO AND THE COUNTRY!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

NBC is calling the election!
posted by Justinian at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

YESSSSSS!!!
posted by carter at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

gotta say ron paul is doing REALLY badly tonight

The blimp was too loaded down to take off. All that moneybomb that they wisely converted into guaranteed safe gold bullion.
posted by Flunkie at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012

And Oregon for O! What took ya so long? (Yay Homestate!)

AND OBAMA IN OHIO! REEEEEELECTION!
posted by wallabear at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2012

I think Drudge is either reporting the popular vote, or he stopped updating his site 2 hours ago and is somewhere crying/drinking.

HE WENT THE FULL BREITBART!
NEVER go the full Breitbart...
posted by Theta States at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Oh baby.
posted by gerryblog at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

OHIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
posted by scody at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ohio!!!!

Yah! too happy to type.
posted by jaruwaan at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

OHIO OHIO OHIO OHIO
posted by Panjandrum at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
posted by cashman at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

I think this thread is going faster than the chat room.
posted by deborah at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Daily Show now calling the 2016 election :)
posted by caddis at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

President Barack Hussein Obama.

Fuck. Yeah.
posted by bardic at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

done
posted by modernnomad at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

Yes! Duckworth beat the dead beat.
posted by homunculus at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

OHIO!!!!!!!111!!!!!
posted by Room 641-A at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

ZOMG ARE YOU SERIOUS GUYS
posted by King Bee at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

w0000t
posted by asra at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

COUNT THIS FOR THE GOOD GUYS!
posted by localhuman at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

OHIO!!
posted by rabbitrabbit at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

thank you OHIO
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

Woooohoooooooooo!
posted by Big_B at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

The new math:

47% > 53 %
posted by tonycpsu at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Proud to be an Ohioan voter!
posted by neversummer at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ohio! Oh jesus thank god

I'm not crying in my mimosa. That's carbonation.
posted by barnacles at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

where's my drink where's my smoke
posted by twist my arm at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

OHIO!
posted by ambrosia at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

THANK YOU Ohio.
posted by churl at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

so that Texans have something to feel superior to

Just shut up already. It's like being racist, but with states. Let's lump a whole bunch of people under one umbrella!

Fuck.
posted by Malice at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

WOOOOHOOOOO!
posted by peacheater at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012

Fuck you Husted!!!!!!!
posted by cashman at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh! IO!
posted by ChuraChura at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012

WHAT OHIO YES. HOLY SHIT!
posted by sonika at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012

oh thank heavens
posted by grubi at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012

12:11 p.m. --- MSNBC calls it -- Obama WINS !!!
posted by ericb at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012

OHIO!!!

OHIO!!!

OHIO!!!

OHIO!!!

OHIO!!!!
posted by Skygazer at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012

Is there anywhere to watch the speeches live streaming?
posted by kellybird at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012

This is great news for John McCain!
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ohio
posted by philip-random at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm just going to finish this drink right now
posted by The Whelk at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Huh. Fox apparently called it for OH. CNN still hasn't.

I was worried people confused Ohio and Iowa :P.
posted by delmoi at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012

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posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [52 favorites]

WOOOOOOOOOOO
posted by louche mustachio at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012

:)
posted by dfan at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012

YES WE DID!
posted by jason_steakums at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
posted by soundproof at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012

512 Paths to the White House now just has a big, smiling, Obama head!!
posted by Room 641-A at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

omg you guys, actual crying I love everyone
posted by ninjew at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012

The Spotify list I was just making up - songs from 4 years ago plus 3 new ones for this one. PARTY!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Daily Show is lagging here.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012

My 47% beat your 1%.
posted by HeyAllie at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

O
H
I
O
!
!
!
posted by zerobyproxy at 8:15 PM on November 6, 2012

THANK YOU BASED OHIO

My cranky (but secretly awesome) uncle lives there, and he's a die-hard Dem. I'm going to pretend that this was mostly his doing.
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:15 PM on November 6, 2012

I genuinely hope that there's at least one person somewhere out there who thinks to themself tonight, "I thought Obama was born in Kenya. I thought he was going to take away my guns and my Bible. I thought 46% of doctors would retire overnight once the health care bill was passed. I thought repealing DADT would destroy our military, and that gay marriage laws would destroy my marriage. I thought climatologists were lying about the climate, and biologists were lying about biology. And tonight I thought the polls were skewed and Mitt was going to win in a landslide. Maybe it's time that I should consider the possibility that I am completely detached from reality."
posted by Flunkie at 8:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [36 favorites]

FUCK YEAH!!!!!

FUCK YEAH!!!!!

FUCK YEAH!!!!!

FUCK YEAH!!!!!

FUCK YEAH!!!!!

I LOVE OHIO!!!!
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 8:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

bottoms up!
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 8:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I LOVE YOU ALLLLLL!I LOVE YOU ALLLLLL!I LOVE YOU ALLLLLL!I LOVE YOU ALLLLLL!I LOVE YOU ALLLLLL!
posted by Theta States at 8:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Can't believe I switched channels and missed the ELECTION being called. HOLY. FUCK. HOLY. FUCKING FUCK.
posted by sonika at 8:15 PM on November 6, 2012

Horse_eBooks 2016.
posted by sparkletone at 8:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dear Sister Fabulous,

HAHAHAHAHA YOUR ROMNEY VOTE IN OHIO IS NOW WORTHLESS!

Love,
Brother Fabulous
posted by Mister Fabulous at 8:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

What's that sound Mitt? It's the sound of Ohio saying "Fuck you".

Now, about that concession speech?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

USA!
USA!
USA!
USA!
posted by cashman at 8:15 PM on November 6, 2012

Washington State Update
Ref. 74 Same-Sex Marriage ("approve" means marriage for all)

Reject 94,635 53%
Approve 84,594 47%
posted by Feisty at 8:15 PM on November 6, 2012

OHIO! BOOM! (you're welcome)
posted by pepcorn at 8:16 PM on November 6, 2012

keeping the black guy
posted by twist my arm at 8:16 PM on November 6, 2012

FUCK YEAH OHIO. And all the other lovely blue states as well, of course, but FUCK YEAH OHIO now my expat ass can go to bed. (Soon.)
posted by skybluepink at 8:16 PM on November 6, 2012

Yay!
posted by oulipian at 8:16 PM on November 6, 2012

I CALLED IT! WILD ASS GUESSES FOR THE WIN!
posted by burnmp3s at 8:16 PM on November 6, 2012

WOOOOOOOO!

Oh thank God I didn't blow my student loan repayment money. Come to papa, $5,000 of Romney believers!
posted by Lemurrhea at 8:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

"What was billed as the Romney celebration is now the saddest room in the country." oh NBC!
posted by Theta States at 8:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wait.
Before you celebrate: SUMMON THE LAWYERS!
posted by Mezentian at 8:17 PM on November 6, 2012

2000 and 2004 have made me very skeered. Are we sure Obama won? No lawsuits? We're out of the woods?
posted by luminous phenomena at 8:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Tin soldiers and Nixon's... um... going somewhere else?
posted by Juffo-Wup at 8:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Huff Po shows 268!
posted by Rashomon at 8:17 PM on November 6, 2012

I LOVE YOU ALL!!

I WISH I COULD GIVE HUGS!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!
posted by Skygazer at 8:17 PM on November 6, 2012

I totally didn't expect this to be over before I was finished cooking dinner. My victory salmon and asparagus are still roasting!
posted by scody at 8:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

YES
posted by Danf at 8:18 PM on November 6, 2012

Hah, poor CNN. They still haven't called Ohio for Obama and are flailing around.
posted by Justinian at 8:18 PM on November 6, 2012

binturnong - thanks, didn't realize CBC had live coverage online. I haven't watched a TV network for years. [not broadcastist]
posted by fleetmouse at 8:18 PM on November 6, 2012

Yup, that's it. W00t
posted by delmoi at 8:18 PM on November 6, 2012

Brandon Blatcher was right on in his prediction!
posted by triggerfinger at 8:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ohio! That's not the nail in the coffin. It's a a shovelful of dirt in your face while you're buried alive. It's Joe Pesche's character in Casino. Time to Die Tommy Tea Party.
posted by cmfletcher at 8:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

BREAKING:

Fox News - MITT ROMNEY A LOSER
posted by louche mustachio at 8:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

BBC reporting that MSNBC calling it for Obama. By it, I mean EVERYTHING!
posted by arcticseal at 8:19 PM on November 6, 2012

NPR calls Ohio for Obama; "any other" battleground state clinches the election.
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 8:19 PM on November 6, 2012

Washington State Update
Ref. 74 Same-Sex Marriage ("approve" means marriage for all)

It's getting worse

Approved 106,284 42.76%
Rejected 142,271 57.24%
posted by Feisty at 8:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Thank you Ohio. Didn't realize I was holding my breath...
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:20 PM on November 6, 2012

CNN CALLS THE WHOLE SHEBANG FOR OBAMA OMGZOMG AMERICA YOU'RE THE SWEETEST LET ME GIVE YOU A HUG I PROMISE I WON'T CRY AND DROOL WITH HAPPINESS OKAY MAYBE JUST A LITTLE
posted by Kattullus at 8:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

It Is Accomplished.
posted by dnash at 8:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Time to get to work.
posted by asockpuppet at 8:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Maine: Should state issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples? Yes 52.8%, 33% reported
Colorado: Amend Constitution to legalize possession of limited amounts of marijuana, with regulations? 53% yes, 34% reported
Minnesota: Amend Constitution to recognize marriage only between one man and one woman? No 51.7%, 24% reported
Maryland: Affirm the state law allowing same-sex couples to obtain a civil marriage license? Yes 51%, 67% reported
posted by Theta States at 8:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Obama wins and metafilter goes down!
posted by delmoi at 8:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Yes! Told my bro this would be called 15 minutes after W Coast polls closed.

Mow that I've made my dog happy dance with me and have hugged, kissed and high fived my Bear --

Thank God. And God bless this President.

For all my well loved MeFi atheists --- just pretend I said YAAAAAAY!!
posted by bearwife at 8:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I live in Canada. I vote in Ohio. To all my American friends: you're welcome.
posted by googly at 8:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Rove is defiant over on Fox.
posted by cmfletcher at 8:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NPR calls the electoral college race for Obama. That was fast.
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 8:30 PM on November 6, 2012

Man, I guess I remember the TV calling Florida for Gore in 2000 and then calling backsies. I need to see Romney concede before I can go sleep soundly.
posted by ambrosia at 8:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

@BarackObama - 4 More Years
posted by cashman at 8:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I LOVE OHIO!!!!

Yeah we'll take it, even tho' we know it's the beer talking.

Tomorrow morning you'll see what we look like in th' daylight, and we'll all go back to our normal relationship.

Feels good tonight, though, even if we did blow Issue #2. Maybe next time.

posted by Herodios at 8:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

god bless us every one
posted by Red Loop at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh! MeFi ! You're back! That was a hard few minutes!
posted by Mezentian at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Rove says Ohio called prematurely.
posted by FJT at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2012

I can finally feel that knot in my stomach becoming un-knotted.

WHEW.
posted by sherber at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh shit, no wonder no one is here. We broke metafilter.

Has someone made SadFoxNewsAnchors.tumblr.com yet?
posted by Theta States at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

This thread is moving so fast I can't keep up with it. Holy shit you guys...
posted by bleep at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2012

I feel bad for whoever spent $200,000 going long on Romney on Intrade 10 hours ago.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I should have walked the dog when metafilter was down
posted by shothotbot at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Maine: Should state issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples? Yes 52.8%, 33% reported

Only 35% reporting. I'm not counting on it until every vote is counted.
posted by anastasiav at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2012

Fox: 'Let's talk about Ohio's recount rules.'
posted by box at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2012

CARHORNS AND CHEERS FOR OBAMA HERE
posted by jetlagaddict at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2012

I am teary with relief.
posted by deborah at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2012

fuck
yes
posted by barnacles at 8:32 PM on November 6, 2012

ZOMG THEY PLAYED THE ENDING SONG FROM BORDERLANDS 2
posted by bardic at 8:32 PM on November 6, 2012

Giggling so hard over the crowd lip-synching and flag-waving to "Love Don't Come Easy"
posted by nicebookrack at 8:32 PM on November 6, 2012

1- You broke metafilter.
2- I did not see one person of color in the Romney crowd. Big tent my ass.
3- Meanwhile, in fantasy land.
posted by gjc at 8:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh thank goodness.
posted by Skorgu at 8:32 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh nevermind about Washington State Ref 74. Still had not counted King County. It's getting better.
posted by Feisty at 8:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I just want to pile onto the longboat. Whooooo!
Also whew.
posted by zinc saucier at 8:33 PM on November 6, 2012

Blue is back! And America is blue!

*Snoopy dance*
posted by tonycpsu at 8:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

OMG METAFILTER DON'T LEAVE ME LIKE THAT
posted by WinnipegDragon at 8:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Flug's projection is 319 EVs for Obama to 219 for Romney.

It could be as high as 332/206.

Either way, basically all the swing states went for Obama and it turned out to be something of a blowout--maybe not in absolute terms but certainly in terms of expectations.
posted by flug at 8:33 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney HQ looks like penguins at a wake.
posted by sonika at 8:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

It's... over? Is this real?

Oh, what a relief.
posted by homunculus at 8:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

METAFILTER Never do that again to my CELEBRATORY HEART WE HAVE WON WHAT A NIGHT
posted by soundproof at 8:33 PM on November 6, 2012

Dear billionaires,

You can't buy an election.

Love,

Democracy
posted by triggerfinger at 8:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [51 favorites]

MY INNER GODDESS IS HEAVING A SIGH OF RELIEF /happysnark
posted by ifjuly at 8:34 PM on November 6, 2012

I can't believe this happened so fast! Romney went down hard.
posted by medusa at 8:34 PM on November 6, 2012

"White people" are not the problem, and have never been the problem - rich and ruthless assholes are the problem.

KILL THEM

KILL THEM ALL

I mean, "Yay, Obama!"
posted by infinitywaltz at 8:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I keep adding things to my Spotify list as i hear them coming up at Obama HQ. And it's all awesome music so win-win!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:35 PM on November 6, 2012

gg no re
posted by sparkletone at 8:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

This is a shining moment for me and my family after a horrible, horrible previous week. I know that my father (he passed on Sunday) would have been extremely happy about this.
posted by michswiss at 8:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [20 favorites]

I can wait until the Facebook UnFriending start in on my account there. A relative just posted "time to move to another country".

sheesh...pathetic.
posted by lampshade at 8:36 PM on November 6, 2012

Turn to Fox and Megyn Kelly was just wandering the quiet halls at fox. Hilarious.
posted by cashman at 8:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

America fuck yeah.

Watch Fox News NOW it is amazingly weird stuff.

Schadenfreude on ice
posted by spitbull at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

waaahhhh.... you all got peanut butter in my MetaFilter! (Two great tastes that don't taste great together.)
posted by wallabear at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Dude, did Obama just pull into the lead in Virginia?

As a bona fide Nate Silver fangirl, I am seriously delighted for him to be proving all the Unskewed Polls guys wrong with MATH.
posted by Jeanne at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

I need to see Romney concede before I can go sleep soundly.

Absolutely; CNN cut the audio from the live Romney headquarters feed, and I had to watch their tears in silence. But I won't be satisfied until I get a concession out of them.
posted by ceribus peribus at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

w00t
posted by Aquaman at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Both my MSNBC livestream and this thread are having trouble loading. I want to celebrate!
posted by peacheater at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Does anyone have a link to a livefeed of Obama HQ?
posted by yasaman at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2012

I've never been so damn relieved in my life.
posted by Space Kitty at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

whew!
posted by jeoc at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2012

LET ME PLAY YOU THE SONG OF MY PEOPLE
posted by The Whelk at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yay Obama!

Is there a Prop 30 thread?
posted by mudpuppie at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

So uh remember when Mitch McConnell was all like "our first priority is to ensure that Barack Obama is a one-term president."... yeah.

Fuck that guy. Suck it Mitch. Your argument is invalid.

Oh and Mitt Romney, the people have spoken and they say you're a schmuck.

SQUEE!
posted by wabbittwax at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Looks like we crashed Metafilter!!!

wait ...
posted by carter at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2012

And yet Mitt managed to slither through without disclosing his income tax returns. pffft.
posted by ambrosia at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

sweet Jesus, tears of relief here.
posted by vers at 8:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Pundits on CNN talking about how Obama should move towards the middle because what the fuck ever.
posted by Artw at 8:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

LESBIAN FOOD CO-OPS FOR EVERYONE
posted by vrakatar at 8:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [26 favorites]

I'm calling this right now:

OBAMA THREE-PEAT IN 2016 -- w00t ! !!
posted by mazola at 8:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Holy Fuck. So much effort, so much drama, so much stress, so much MONEY, just to stay in a relatively sane, normal, SAME place.
posted by Flashman at 8:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 8:38 PM on November 6, 2012

The talking heads sure seem concerned about the popular vote.
posted by Rhomboid at 8:38 PM on November 6, 2012

LET ME PLAY YOU THE SONG OF MY PEOPLE

Elizabeth Warren ‏@elizabethforma

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I won't just be your Senator, I will also be your champion. #masen
posted by The Whelk at 8:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Okay, where's a good stream that will carry the victory and concession speeches?
posted by jason_steakums at 8:39 PM on November 6, 2012

This is good news for... John McCain! Who is evidently speaking *before* Romney. What.
posted by sonika at 8:39 PM on November 6, 2012

When will Unskewed polls update?!
posted by Comrade_robot at 8:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Happier than I thought I would be.
posted by Lutoslawski at 8:39 PM on November 6, 2012

Artistic interpretation of tonight's election, brought to you by 2 very water 3.2% Alcohol Heinekens
posted by hellojed at 8:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Shut up and concede Republicans I wan to go to sleep ...
posted by carter at 8:39 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney camp doesn't seem so sure about that Ohio thing.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I just want to tell you all good luck. We're all counting on you
posted by fullerine at 8:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Nate Silver appears to have stopped tweeting.

I assume that somewhere, a bottle is being thoroughly analysed.
posted by Devonian at 8:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

DRINKY OVERDRIVE
posted by The Whelk at 8:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

My 13 month old daughter woke up. When I told her the supreme out is safe for awhile, and thus her rights as a woman, she leaned in and gave me huge smiled followed by a huge hug. It's never too ear,y go appreciate your rights.
posted by zizzle at 8:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [18 favorites]

I spent the '04 election house sitting for my parents. I was listening to air america's Rachel Maddow taking a deep breath after Ohio was lost and she said it's not over yet. She was resigned in her delivery.

Turn to Fox News if you want to hear the equivalent.
posted by cmfletcher at 8:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

From Foxnews.com:

The vote Tuesday marked the end of a grueling race. For Obama, the election is the last time his name will appear on a ballot, or so he claims.

Oh! Would you like some water to wash down that BITTER PILL?
posted by CynicalKnight at 8:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Somewhere on twitter, newer McConnell says our second priority is to make Obama a two term president.

Fucking fuckity fuck fuck. Romney I hate your douchebag ass and go away now please.
posted by spitbull at 8:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ohio came in, and MetaFilter went down!

I put on the Hallelujah Chorus

I danced around the house with the cat (cat's reaction: "Oooooh, attention! But ... weird.")

I stood outside and yelled FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I didn't know what else to do! Those were basically the same things I'd have done here!
posted by barnacles at 8:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney campaign not conceding Ohio?! Good thing I didn't go to bed yet.
posted by sonika at 8:40 PM on November 6, 2012

Marriages and marijuana for all Washingtonians!
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

We cracked open the celebratory cider and drank a toast. I am so fucking relieved. Tears were shed.
posted by jokeefe at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hah, the Romney campaign is refusing to concede Ohio. LOSERS.
posted by Justinian at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ah, Ohio might still be up in the air.
posted by terrierhead at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Colbert is on fire.

My stomach hurts. make the bad man stop!
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh man, Rafalca just got shipped to the glue factory. . . .
posted by bardic at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

where to get the Craven Cultist's Concession Speech????
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012

So. frikken. relieved.
posted by faineant at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Karl Rove is on Fox right now and he looks sooooo saaaaad hahahaa
posted by hellojed at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012

we broke mefi and I ate so many things

I'm moving to colorado now.

LEGAL MARIJUANA

guys I can't even
posted by ninjew at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

How to De-Romneyize an Airplane
posted by homunculus at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Guy on Fox News: Now Obama will double-down on his war on small business and poor people, so Republicans need to do even more to obstruct him.

WOAH.
posted by Theta States at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney campaign has NOT conceded Ohio!
posted by Lemurrhea at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh, one million times hurrah!
posted by Ripper Minnieton at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Laura Ingraham: JUST A THOUGHT...Next time, GOP might want to think about nominating a conservative.

Ohhhhhh, yeahhhhh, that's it, that is what they might want to think about doing yeah do that next time guys
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

I want to see Heitkamp win in ND, THAT would be icing right there..
posted by edgeways at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2012

My heart... No metafilter... I couldn't... Thank you pb/IT people here there and everywhere. We salute your service!
posted by fishmasta at 8:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

THAT'S NUMBERWANG!!
posted by furtive at 8:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [29 favorites]

Comedy Central was in the middle of a sketch, so we missed the initial call.

WHEEEEEE!
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 8:42 PM on November 6, 2012

If I can just interrupt the celebratory mood for a moment:

Hey Barack, we did our part -- now cut that drone shit out.

OK, back to the dancing and boozing.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

YOUR TEARS, REPUBLICANS! I CAN HAZ THEM???
posted by bardic at 8:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

What's happening on Fox is amazing. It's like a cult realizing God didn't come back.
posted by gerryblog at 8:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [24 favorites]

"Yenmor? What is that eve~ ohhhh nooooOOooarrrghh~" and then the gate was closed. The stars winked backed into view. In the distance, a dog barked.
posted by boo_radley at 8:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama wins and the new cat decides to spend the night sitting on our laps and purring. Win/Win.
posted by Joey Michaels at 8:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Remember when Karl Rove was an infallible wizard we were all afraid of?
posted by COBRA! at 8:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Finally, a resolution to XKCD's "Electoral Precedent" comic:
Democratic incumbents never beat taller challengers... until Obama did.
posted by oulipian at 8:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Oh nevermind about Washington State Ref 74. Still had not counted King County. It's getting better.

Dude, you about gave me a heart attack.
posted by wallabear at 8:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Local Fox still flogging the Romney momentum line. He would have won if he hadn't been stabbed in the back by Sandy.

Does anybody know what the Senate count is looking like?
posted by benito.strauss at 8:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Whoa, I'm listening to KQED right now, and they just mentioned the possibility of an "electoral landslide."
posted by the_bone at 8:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nate Silver is going to own the media now. Exactly on the money so far. Jesus, nerds rock.
posted by spitbull at 8:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

Stop obstructing the will of the people Romney!
posted by Ad hominem at 8:43 PM on November 6, 2012

Andy Borowitz on twitter:

BREAKING: Man Who Told Half the Nation to Fuck Themselves Somehow Loses Election

posted by the cydonian at 8:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [74 favorites]

I'm not trusting it until I hear the concession speech.
posted by gauche at 8:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

President Obama re-elected, Warren in the Senate, Akin legitimately dumped. Thank you, Metafilter, for lending a rational compass to a hair-raising election season.
posted by hampanda at 8:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

This also means 4 more years of dreamy Joe Biden. Cheers champ!means four more years
posted by asockpuppet at 8:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Hey wow Obama just won in the time it took this page to reload.
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

How to De-Romneyize an Airplane

Nuke it from orbit? Because it's the only way to be sure?
posted by infinitywaltz at 8:43 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh man, Willard is a fucking spoiled rich kid/bad loser at heart.

Not that this wasn't obvious.
posted by bardic at 8:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YER ULTRA-RICH ASS ON THE WAY OUT, MITTENS.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Whenever I see them acting like they are in Ohio it reminds me of the way the Bush camp was with Florida against Gore. They seem to be betraying that they had a FIX in there and what the heck happened?
posted by spock at 8:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

"Romney was failed by his numbers, his polling, and his data. He went into this campaign with more enthusiasm and blah, blah, blah" I'm watching the C-SPAN coverage of the Romney Party.

Romney still thinks he is going to win Ohio.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Come on and concede, Mitt! My kids need to get to bed.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Me and my Mucks, gonna go look up at the stars now.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 8:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Okay, to be fair if Obama were behind by 1500 votes in Ohio I wouldn't think he was wrong not to concede it yet. So I take it back.

Romney is going to lose Ohio but it's not wrong to wait for more votes.
posted by Justinian at 8:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

comedy central feed: http://www.comedycentral.com/live-election-night/

Thank you so much for posting this joedan. And all you US voters!!
posted by bquarters at 8:44 PM on November 6, 2012

DOES THIS MEAN BIDEN GETS HIS CAMARO?!
posted by barnacles at 8:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Romney's campaign is no good at numbers. Surprise.
posted by grubi at 8:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Fox News is pulling shenanigans on Ohio.
posted by empath at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

gauche: "I'm not trusting it until I hear the concession speech."

Didn't Fox say earlier Mitt didn't prepare one?
posted by Dr. Zira at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2012

I want a GIF of Andrew Sullivan's happy dance on Colbert just now.
posted by sparkletone at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2012

Haha, Fox news brought a Psychiatrist on the air, probably for the best
posted by hellojed at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, Mittens won't concede. Rove is all like but but but.
posted by cashman at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2012

Guys.
Guys.
Guys!

Democrat Heidi Heitkamp is ahead in the senate election for North Dakota!
posted by Kattullus at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Does that little weenus Karl Rove know something about the Ohio voting machines that we don't?
posted by fleetmouse at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

'm not trusting it until I hear the concession speech.

People with the tee vee on my Face Book are saying he's not conceding.
posted by Miko at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2012

HILTER PUNCH

BAM

FEELING REALLY GOOD ABOUT BEING AMERICAN RIGHT NOW THIS IS A FUN NOVEL FEELING WOOO
posted by The Whelk at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Colorado, you done me proud!
posted by mochapickle at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Celebratory Gin and Tonic made and drunk (Bruichladdich The Botanist)

Watching FOX News and, for the first time, absolutely loving it.

Keep squirming!

FUCK YEAH!!!
posted by Hairy Lobster at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ohio isn't the only path. Obama looks good in Florida.
posted by MegoSteve at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh God... Make the David Gregory stop...
posted by fishmasta at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2012

Marie Mon Dieu: "Me and my Mucks, gonna go look up at the stars now."

Don't forget to wink at Neil.
posted by arcticseal at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

This also means 4 more years of dreamy Joe Biden. Cheers champ!
posted by asockpuppet at 8:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Fucking Husted.
posted by cashman at 8:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ohio is too close to call. Premature to call winner maybe.
posted by stbalbach at 8:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Geez I didn't realize how little faith I had left in humanity until some came back. :)
posted by Glinn at 8:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Sitting alone on my couch in my deeply religious Oklahoma home, watching Fox News and delighting in the squirming. Thank you MetaFilter for keeping me sane today!
posted by brieche at 8:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Not again. Please, just concede so that I can go to bed. Please?
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

TRUST THE STREAK
posted by Rory Marinich at 8:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Laura Ingraham: JUST A THOUGHT...Next time, GOP might want to think about nominating a conservative.

Which one? Rick Santorum? Rick Perry? Herman Cain? Newt Gingrich? Who does she think would have done better then Romney?

Hahaha, what an idiot.
posted by delmoi at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Colbert is on fire.

My stomach hurts. make the bad man stop!
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012

To all Americans everywhere who voted, and voted for Obama. This is Australia calling to say Thank you! Thank you thank you thankyou thankyou thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!
posted by the fish at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

In WA, same-sex marriage initiative now up 52.6% to 47.4%.
posted by Kat Allison at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

This also means 4 more years of dreamy Joe Biden. Cheers champ!

oh my god I hope the inaugural parade includes a tricked-out Trans Am and those glorious, shiny teeth
posted by jetlagaddict at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

MITT

MITT

MITT

I THINK IT'S TIME TO CONCEDE OHIO

EVERYONE ELSE IS SAYING YOU LOST IT
posted by King Bee at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Oooh, this just in:

Senate Rape Caucus Devastated by Election Results
posted by Malor at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

w00t!
posted by whuppy at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012

Didn't Fox say earlier Mitt didn't prepare one?

Romney said he didn't have one, but someone on his staff almost certainly wrote one for him anyway, whether he was aware or not.
posted by Rhomboid at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012

Ohio is close, but most of the remaining vote is in the deep blue north, so the margin will only widen.
posted by Rhaomi at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

GO HOME FOX NEWS YOU ARE DRUNK
posted by louche mustachio at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [19 favorites]

Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming
posted by Miko at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012

michswiss I am so sorry for your loss. So glad that this turned out the way it did. For your dad.
posted by triggerfinger at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

AND THEN THE EWOKS ROCK OUT
posted by The Whelk at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

At least on NYT, Florida has Obama up by 0.6%. Which is above the recount! 96% counted.
posted by Lemurrhea at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Obama may have won according to our math. And we're entitled to that.

But Karl Rove is entitled to the math.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Husted is a coward. How are you going to be the secretary of state and then come out, speak to the media, not say shit, and then say you won't come back to speak to the media. What the hell? What the hell man!? You got Lacrosse practice? What else do you have to do but make sure the results of your state are reported correctly?
posted by cashman at 8:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

My little block of DC is popping -- literally -- with fireworks and screams as neighbors hear the news about Obama's reelection.
posted by evoque at 8:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thank you to everyone here who made, what I was afraid would be a disaster, a real live adventure that ended well. The humor, the joy, the drink suggestions all made for a great time. Thanks to metafilter and its special people!
posted by njohnson23 at 8:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ohio isn't the only path. Obama looks good in Florida.

In fact, he can win without either. If he wins CO and NV, that's it.
posted by delmoi at 8:48 PM on November 6, 2012

Christ, Virginia, Colorado, and Florida all looking likely Obama.

FINISH HIM!
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 8:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

HUGS FOR EVERYONE.

GAY HUGS. FOR EVERYONE.
posted by a hat out of hell at 8:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [21 favorites]

Mr. Romney,

We appreciate you applying for the first real job in your life. We decided to go with a more qualified candidate. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

All the best,

-US Citizens
posted by cmfletcher at 8:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [97 favorites]

FUCK YES!!!!!
posted by Karmeliet at 8:49 PM on November 6, 2012

RATFUCK THIS YOU GOP SYNTHEZIODS
posted by vrakatar at 8:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Math is a liberal myth.
posted by Flunkie at 8:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

In case anyone is beginning to feel sorry for Mitt Romney, remember that he can easily purchase the position of Head of State in various small Pacific nations, I'm thinking Nauru
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

The Senate! Whew. Makes judicial nominations a bit smoother. Now for that concession speech please....
posted by ambrosia at 8:49 PM on November 6, 2012

MSNBC: Donald Trump is calling for a revolution.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
posted by delmoi at 8:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

This part of Alberta is cracking open a beer and waiting expectantly for the fat lady.
posted by arcticseal at 8:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Speaking as another member of the MetaFilter Celebratory Scotch Society, my bottle of 12-year-old Bowmore and I are very happy tonight.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Yes, I don't mean to be condescending (ahem). But thank you to everyone who voted (is still voting in Florida?) for Obama and everyone who campaigned. It means a hell of a lot to us in the rest of the world. Cheers. I owe you all a drink.
posted by howfar at 8:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

COME ON CALL MORE STATES SO I CAN COLOUR THEM IN ON MY HOMEMADE WALL MAP
posted by saturday_morning at 8:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

JUST DANCING AND CRYING AND MAKING OUT
posted by The Whelk at 8:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Well, I managed to grade one paper! Also, OBAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
posted by exlotuseater at 8:50 PM on November 6, 2012

~wink~
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 8:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Romney hq audience has turned from sad to angry. The sound is back and it's delicious.
posted by ceribus peribus at 8:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Look at all those young people celebrating outside the White House. RACE TRAITORS AND SLUTS, EVERY ONE OF THEM
posted by scody at 8:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

COME ON CREATE MORE STATES SO I CAN CELEBRATE MORE VICTORY!
posted by sonika at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Four years ago, when the great whoop came up from the streets of Hyde Park, Chicago, as Ohio was called, it was time to get on the bike and ride down to Grant Park. Tonight, there was a whoop or two, but it is cold and rainy and uncertain and Metafilter, please be my rally.

fireworks optional.
posted by Cold Lurkey at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Nevada! 270 without Ohio.
posted by persona at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney actually ahead in Ohio right now...
posted by WinnipegDragon at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Fox News: "Do we want to face actual reality?"

BAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHA
posted by Talez at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ohio is close, but most of the remaining vote is in the deep blue north, so the margin will only widen.

YOU'RE WELCOME
posted by slogger at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012

the feed from Romney HQ could support a thriving http://whitepeoplebeingsad.tumblr.com/
posted by saturday_morning at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Is there a stream from Romney HQ?
posted by Miko at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012

OK, so I've trained my Tivo and TV to *never* recognize Fox News. I haven't seen Fox News in 5 years.

OMG. Everybody needs to go see what's happening over there. I had NO IDEA.

I HAD NO IDEA.

Go turn on Fox News. These are our people?!?
posted by kinsey at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I came to say yippie!!!!
posted by Tarumba at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Reddit still doesn't have a "Obama wins reelection" post. The top link is a pic of some guy who looks like a mashup of Steve Carrel and Ryan Gosling (seriously what)
posted by hellojed at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

This is great. And the thing that makes me happiest, in very quick retrospect, is that it was a clean win. Consider that in 2008 Obama was reviled for things that a minister in his church may have said. His ethnicity and religion were questioned. Every charge, every possible lie and inflation about his past and background were hurled at him during the campaign and during the four years that followed.

And during this campaign, in which the opposing candidate was a member of a weird, shady, arguably non-Christian sect -- despite being the party that most needs fervent Christians to hold up the side -- nothing was said. There were times when I kind of wished the Democrats would deal dirt for dirt, and throw Romney's plygamous gold-tablet-buryin' dead-Jewish-person-converting Kobol-lovin' religion in his face and shatter the base.

Didn't happen. Didn't have to happen. Obama's a better person than I am for never going there or allowing his people to go there, even with four-plus years of solid evidence that his opponents wouldn't hesitate for a hot minute to stoop that low and lower.

It makes this so, so much sweeter. From north of the border: thanks, Obama. Thanks, America. Good call.
posted by Shepherd at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [27 favorites]

Popular vote, schmopular vote
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fox keeps harping on Ohio, NPR has Obama over 270 even without Ohio, Florida or Virginia.

So, yeah. CALL IT!
posted by oddman at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012

I rarely watch Fox News, but, man it's some weird alternate reality.
posted by eyeballkid at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

ambrosia, where are you seeing numbers on the Senate?
posted by benito.strauss at 8:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh man I'm jealous why didn't I think to make a homemade wall map.
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012

In a revolution in this country Donald Trump will be first against the wall.
posted by graymouser at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [17 favorites]

In Missouri we had four statewide ballot issues up for a vote. With about 2/3 of the votes counted--and many of the remaining uncounted votes from the large urban areas, so likely to skew urban/dem--here is how they are looking:

* Const. Amendment 3: Turn our model non-partisan judicial selection process into a politicized system run by the governor. Huge defeat, going down 24/76. This was a dumb proposal, I'm not really sure who was behind it. But at least Missourians have a bit of common sense once in a while . . .

* Prop A: Return control of St Louis police department from the state to the city. It has been under state control since civil war times. Winning big, 65/35. They tried to do this in the General Assembly but it just didn't work out. The GA is dominated by rural interests but even beyond that it got caught up in legislative jockeying over tax credits. So Prop A was an end run around the GA and that can be a good thing once in a while.

* Prop B: Cigarette tax increase with proceeds going to education. Losing by 6%, 47/53. With urban areas overrepresented in the votes yet to be counted, this could squeak out a win yet, but it will be very close if it does. If I were guessing right now I would guess 49/51 loss. I thought Missourians would be a little more in favor of a sin tax but I guess we still love our ciggies just a bit too much (we're one of the top cigarette smoking states). This reminds me of the Missouri Puppy Mill Proposition in 2010, which lost in the rural areas but won big in urban areas, squeaking out a narrow victory. (Then the General Assembly went ahead and gutted it completely during its next session, but that's another story.)

* Prop E: Prohibits creation of a health insurance exchange unless created by vote of the legislature or citizen initiative. This is winning handily, 63/37. In 2010 Missourians voted 71/29 to prohibit the federal government from requiring people to have health insurance, so this is along those same lines, picking away at certain provisions of Obamacare.

Source for current vote totals is Missouri Sec of State.
posted by flug at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Oh wow, Obama has pulled ahead in VA.

So even if Romney somehow wins OH, he's dead dead dead.
posted by delmoi at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Ahhh, what channel should I be watching if I don't have cable? NBC, CBS, etc.?? Fox for the delicious schadenfreude, certainly.
posted by brieche at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama might take Virginia?
posted by medusa at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012

I've got my celebratory rye whiskey going. I'm so happy right now, and so happy for Metafilter being a place. Thank you everyone!
posted by King Bee at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Donald Trump is calling for a revolution.

Whoever knowingly or willfully advocates, abets, advises, or teaches the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying the government of the United States [...]
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United States or any department or agency thereof, for the five years next following his conviction.

18 USC § 2385 - Advocating overthrow of Government
posted by shothotbot at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

The Romney hq audience has turned from sad to angry. The sound is back and it's delicious.

Yeah, I was watching them fifteen minutes ago in silence and they looked like three hundred people who had just been told their dogs had just been shot.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Concede you godless ass! YOU CALL THE PRESIDENT. RIGHT THIS GODDAMN MINUTE.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Look at all those young people celebrating outside the White House. RACE TRAITORS AND SLUTS, EVERY ONE OF THEM

AND WE'RE SO FUCKING HAPPY ABOUT IT TOO WOOOO
posted by The Whelk at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

OK, now officially switching from Concerned Wine to Victory Bourbon.
posted by Panjandrum at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Seriously, everyone on Fox News is stumbling around like a poisoned rat. They have no idea what they are doing. It's like some kind of performance art.
posted by louche mustachio at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

OK, so I've trained my Tivo and TV to *never* recognize Fox News. I haven't seen Fox News in 5 years.

OMG. Everybody needs to go see what's happening over there. I had NO IDEA.

I HAD NO IDEA.

Go turn on Fox News. These are our people?!?

I don't have TV service. Could you please say what amazing thing is happening?
posted by Flunkie at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Twitter is saying gay marriage passed in Maryland, can anyone confirm?
posted by zombieflanders at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

CNN Romney HQ
CNN Obama HQ
posted by ceribus peribus at 8:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I got home from class just in time to put my bag down before John Stewart called it. I was so excited that I turned right around, got back in the car and drove slowly up and down the street blasting AlphaCat's 99 Problems in celebration. I wish sports bars had declared Obama/Romney loyalties so I could go celebrate.

I made sure to inch past the homes with Romney signs with the bass at maximum.
posted by Vysharra at 8:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

On George Takei's Facebook:

This just in: Apple Maps projects Obama to win Chile
posted by WinnipegDragon at 8:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [28 favorites]

I went into Free Republic while Metafilter was down. They are... not happy.
Nor imaginative. Apparently your Kenyan born, baby-killing black president is most amusingly referred to as "Obummer".

That kind of wit I haven't heard since the playground.

But there are tears: Crying now. What do I say to my grandkids about what the country did to them?
posted by Mezentian at 8:53 PM on November 6, 2012

Per Maddow, Karl Rove is on Fox News trying to get the network to rescind their call of Ohio.

I would watch, but, you know, it's Fox News, so I'll wait for the Youtube with O Fortuna in the background.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Oh my gosh the sad, sad faces at Terror Castle or whatever the Repub party location is. I could watch these rightwing dudes' bottom lips quiver all day and night.

GODSPEED SAD LADY IN GIANT SPARKLY AMERICA HAT

GODSPEED
posted by emmtee at 8:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

MSNBC mentioned the Senate would stay Dem a few minutes ago. Called AZ for the Republicans, and NM for Dems.

Off to go look at Fox...
posted by ambrosia at 8:53 PM on November 6, 2012

Looks like we broke Metafilter for awhile. I want to stay up and see Mitten's concession speech, but I don't know if that will happen tonight, or ever. Maybe his family will just drag him back to the compound and he'll sit in front of the fireplace, drooling and endlessly repeating: "Have you looked at your pension? Have you looked at your pension?"
posted by marxchivist at 8:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Any chance Romney hasn't conceded because he's just too wasted to speak without slurring?
posted by terrierhead at 8:54 PM on November 6, 2012

On MSNBC they mentioned that Romney should have done more to counter the "impression" that he wanted the auto industry to go bankrupt. The IMPRESSION?!?
posted by jason_steakums at 8:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Watching Fox News.....I can't stop laughing. It's hilarious.
posted by Jalliah at 8:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I HAD NO IDEA.

Oh yeah. I don't watch, but every time I run across them, it's clear they're constructing an alternate reality.
posted by Miko at 8:54 PM on November 6, 2012

The popular vote keeps getting closer and closer, at least according to CNN. Anyone do the math to see if Obama could win it after all?
posted by Karmeliet at 8:54 PM on November 6, 2012

Congratulations USA.
posted by gomichild at 8:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, and NPR has Obama over Romney by 0.6. So, no automatic recount, yet!
posted by oddman at 8:54 PM on November 6, 2012

LETS ALL HUG AND GET TO SECOND BASE
posted by The Whelk at 8:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Is Donald Trump actually unwell? I'm amazed his handlers are allowing him to behave this way.
posted by gerryblog at 8:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Pretty somber down at Romney HQ
posted by Miko at 8:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

My prudent skepticism notwithstanding, I have decided it is time for a dram of Lagavulin.
posted by gauche at 8:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The 2k8 rally in Grant Park was one of the most amazing and surreal nights of my life. I'd be down there now even with the weather if they were having it outdoors. Oh well though.
posted by sparkletone at 8:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Haha everyone I know is getting the Yub Nub song and fireeeeworrrksss, thanks, Metafilter!
posted by jetlagaddict at 8:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

We're still watching Fox. I hope someone starts crying pretty soon.
posted by louche mustachio at 8:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Rove versus Fox Decision Desk guy...you must see this!
posted by Dr. Zira at 8:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Aberlour 12yr - not my fave, but it was what was in the house. Really I should have prepared better.
posted by Artw at 8:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

So Fox have managed to call the popular vote before great swathes of the country finish counting? And are wondering what the point of spending money on the election was because the president didn't change.

hhaaahahahahahahahahahahahh
posted by howfar at 8:55 PM on November 6, 2012

Has anybody heard what Mitch McConnell's new priorities are going to be?
posted by weston at 8:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Romney camp says they will not concede Ohio. No concession speech forthcoming.
posted by dejah420 at 8:56 PM on November 6, 2012

We are still waiting on King County results to see if same-sex marriage passed, but in the meantime, thank you to those of you who did not choose Romney, for helping defeat that religious extremist weasel and and his slimy, disgusting creep of a sidekick.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Washington Post confirms gay marriage passed in MD!
posted by zombieflanders at 8:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

I'm moving to colorado now.

LEGAL MARIJUANA

Hey, man, you could just, you know, pass your own initiative. Like we did here in Washington. Where we're going to have LEGAL MARIJUANA one month from now. :-D
posted by Mars Saxman at 8:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fine, I've been drinking gin tonight. But in four years, it'll be scotch, single malt, I promise. Now that Obama's been reelected, I hope to get a raise between now and then.
posted by mollweide at 8:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Time to make a trip to Colorado...for...pot
posted by hellojed at 8:56 PM on November 6, 2012

The popular vote keeps getting closer and closer, at least according to CNN.

The way things work, this doesn't really matter.
posted by Miko at 8:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Holy Fuck. So much effort, so much drama, so much stress, so much MONEY, just to stay in a relatively sane, normal, SAME place.

But it's not the same place. Life is a river. One of the reasons smarty pants Obama won is that the demographics of the 2000 election have changed. Obama read that river and was paddling with the current while Romney was on the shore having a BBQ with the white folks who would have carried him to the White House a dozen years ago. And I believe people are still lined up in Florida to vote and say "fuck you" to the people who tampered with their votes in the 2000 election. That is so awesome, and you are so fortunate to have Barack Obama as your president. Congratulations!
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

CBS just called Colorado.
posted by scody at 8:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Still don't understand how people are calling OHIO. It's pink on the NYT map.
posted by smithsmith at 8:57 PM on November 6, 2012

Per Maddow, Karl Rove is on Fox News trying to get the network to rescind their call of Ohio.

YES THAT IS HAPPENING

Look, I would never watch Fox News either. But you guys.
posted by louche mustachio at 8:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

KINDA FEELING THIS NOW
posted by The Whelk at 8:57 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama's going to win the popular vote, most of California hasn't been counted yet.
posted by medusa at 8:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh Romney. You are gonna make this as ugly as you possibly can, aintcha?
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 8:57 PM on November 6, 2012

COLBERT SAYS SMOKE YOUR GRASS AND FLY YOUR FREAK FLAG. HUNTER THOMPSON NODS APPROVINGLY
posted by vrakatar at 8:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Fox News is funnier than Colbert right now. :(
posted by sparkletone at 8:57 PM on November 6, 2012

I had to watch the long faces at Faux too. Cracked me up because I just knew I was going to see a sad talking head, and sure enough, there was Chris Wallace with a big sour puss.
posted by Devils Slide at 8:58 PM on November 6, 2012

CBS just called Colorado.

And??!
posted by cashman at 8:58 PM on November 6, 2012

Just got an email from Mainers United for Marriage. They believe that Yes on 1 has passed. Marriage for all in Maine. AP also calls the result for Yes on 1.
posted by anastasiav at 8:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

On the Google map Obama is leading in Ohio by a mere thousand votes. (But c'mon, it's time to concede. Obama doesn't need Ohio.)
posted by Jeanne at 8:58 PM on November 6, 2012

NV and CO are called for Obama by CBS, which means he doesn't even need OH. So there goes Romney's reason to delay conceding.
posted by dfan at 8:58 PM on November 6, 2012

Is there a stream from Romney HQ?

C-Span Election offers you a choice with Romney HQ being one of them. You should have heard the cheering when they were told just 2 mins ago that Ohio numbers had Romney up.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:58 PM on November 6, 2012

weston: "Has anybody heard what Mitch McConnell's new priorities are going to be?"

Who cares. Harry Reid and the Democrats can turn Mitch McConnell into a fucking potted plant by eliminating the filibuster with a majority vote when the 112th Congress starts. If they don't do this, they're more useless than Karl Rove's math.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

No Lie, No Lie: Fox news is telling people about arabs penetrating the latin borders to violate our sovereignty.
posted by boo_radley at 8:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

My lucky socks worked yet again! I LOVE YOU LUCKY SOCKS!
posted by Specklet at 8:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

I just hit my favorite cap. LIFT THE CAP!
posted by drezdn at 8:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Fox News is funnier than Colbert right now. :(

the lion sleeps
tonight anyway.
posted by philip-random at 8:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Wow, there's some real funny business going on in Ohio. It's now Romney 49.4% to 49.0%, according to NPR.

I guess those rigged voting machines did pay off after all.
posted by i_have_a_computer at 8:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Still don't understand how people are calling OHIO. It's pink on the NYT map.

Over the course of the night I've grown gradually less impressed with the NYT map's timeliness and accuracy, though it is a great interface.
posted by Miko at 8:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Washington voters were saying yes to the state’s same-sex marriage measure, echoing apparent victories in other states with gay-marriage measures on the ballot.

Referendum 74 was leading in initial vote counts Tuesday night 53 percent to 47 percent. In King County, it was ahead 65 percent to 35 percent.

If the law ultimately passes, it would take effect Dec. 6.

Voters in Maine and Maryland were also approving gay-marriage laws, and in Minnestota, they were rejecting a constitutional ban against it.

-Seattle Times
posted by Danf at 8:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The last seven days have been really bad, finally some good news. At least I can celebrate tonight.
posted by the_artificer at 8:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Is there any way to stream the regular network Fox News? They only have some Foxnews.com crew on their streaming that I can find, and I'm just not overjoyed enough by watching them, for some reason.
posted by Red Loop at 8:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Still don't understand how people are calling OHIO. It's pink on the NYT map.

Those are the votes that have already been counted. They're confident that the remaining votes are from such pro-Obama regions that he's overwhelmingly likely to win.
posted by dfan at 8:59 PM on November 6, 2012

louche mustachio: "Look, I would never watch Fox News either. But you guys."

I feel like I'm watching tadpoles eat one another.
posted by Dr. Zira at 8:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

guys my lucky underwear totally worked
posted by saturday_morning at 8:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Gotta tell you, I'm curious how it would have gone if Romney had chosen Christie as his running mate (no post-Sandy boost?). Ryan didn't help deliver Wisconsin and probably also cost him Florida.
posted by spock at 8:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney campaign crowd LOUDLY booing Candy Crowley on the CNN screen.
posted by Rhaomi at 8:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Just heard Chuck Todd explain re: Ohio. Heavily blue areas yet to be included in that count .
posted by smithsmith at 8:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Hey guys, I was catching up on Sons Of Anarchy, did I miss anything?
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 9:00 PM on November 6, 2012

http://ufreetv.com/foxnews.html
posted by modernnomad at 9:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Specklet: "My lucky socks worked yet again! I LOVE YOU LUCKY SOCKS!"

A CALIFORNIA ADULT INDUSTRY INSPECTOR WILL BE BY YOUR HOUSE SHORTLY.
posted by boo_radley at 9:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Gobama
posted by growabrain at 9:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Obscure proposition update: Prop 6 in Michigan, bought and paid for by billionaire shitbag Matty Moroun (previously) is on the way to defeat, 60%/40% with half the votes in. It would have enshrined his monopoly on Detroit-Windsor border crossings by banning the construction of an additional bridge, despite the fact that we Canadians have offered to pay for it. Huzzah! Let us build more bridges!
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 9:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [22 favorites]

Romney campaign crowd LOUDLY booing Candy Crowley on the CNN screen.

Classy.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

My lucky socks worked yet again! I LOVE YOU LUCKY SOCKS!

NEVER LOSE YOUR LUCKY SOCKS! KEEP THEM FAR FROM MINISPECKLET'S DESTRUCTIVE MAW!
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

LETS ALL HAVE INAUGURATION FLASHBACKS
posted by The Whelk at 9:01 PM on November 6, 2012

GONNA HIT MY FAVE CAP GONNA HIT IT NOW GONNA HAVE FOUR MORE YEARS SURFIN COW
posted by vrakatar at 9:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

My lucky socks worked yet again! I LOVE YOU LUCKY SOCKS!

guys my lucky underwear totally worked

Put those things in a safe.
posted by drezdn at 9:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

No Lie, No Lie: Fox news is telling people about arabs penetrating the latin borders to violate our sovereignty.
posted by boo_radley at 8:58 PM on November 6 [+][!]

I could hardly believe my ears when I heard that. Ugh.
posted by apartment dweller at 9:01 PM on November 6, 2012

God, Rachel Maddow going off on Fox News and Republicans not believing in facts is making me weak in the knees like she's Cory Booker making Jay-Z puns in my Twitter feed.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

can anyone tell me where they are following the elections online?
posted by Tarumba at 9:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

here's CNN's live results on OH. Romney does lead by a few k, but it's still projected for Obama.

In any event, Obama can still win without either OH or FL. He just needs CO and NV, which are already called for him, I think.
posted by delmoi at 9:01 PM on November 6, 2012

God DAMMIT I don't know why I keep letting myself get sucked into arguments with my Green Party friend about the election each time because he is so DAMN STUBBORN about how "it doesn't make a difference and nothing really changed" even when I point out "but we just voted out some senate pro-life fucks" and we yell at each other and I don't like it when we do that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Fox is finally conceding the race.....they threw in the towel. Rove and company have left the studio, or at least are not on camera anymore making up crazy scenarios.
posted by lampshade at 9:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Whew, metafilter down and I was left to paste tweets and Al Jazeera quotes into my FB wall.

BTW - "People are climbing the trees in Washington." - Al Jazeera at the Whitehouse
posted by Surfurrus at 9:02 PM on November 6, 2012

I think Karl Rove was literally having a psychotic break live on Fox News. He actually cited the 2000 election as a time when he saw premature calls and so right now hes concerned the same happened tonight.
posted by rbf1138 at 9:02 PM on November 6, 2012

NYT: Ohio undecided, Virginia for Obama for 270 EC votes.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 9:02 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh man I'm jealous why didn't I think to make a homemade wall map.

That would be the Rockefeller Center ice rink. It's OK, you're covered :)
posted by wallabear at 9:02 PM on November 6, 2012

4 for 4 on marriage equality would be fabulous.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

MD and ME marriage equality. Done.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Only 12% of Lucas County (Toledo) reporting in NYT's Ohio results. That's tens of thousands of Obama votes
posted by gubo at 9:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

can anyone tell me where they are following the elections online?

Right here.
posted by njohnson23 at 9:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

TRUST THE STREAK

I did, but I also backed it up with action. That is, I went on a spirit journey to win one last blessing from the motherthread.
posted by fleacircus at 9:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, Obama should lock this up without Ohio or Florida. So the OH thing is just a head fake.
posted by Justinian at 9:03 PM on November 6, 2012

Still not going to celebrate until I hear a concession speech.
posted by peripathetic at 9:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

apartment dweller: "I could hardly believe my ears when I heard that. Ugh."

THIS JUST IN, DERVISHES ON STALLIONS WEARING... SOMBREROS??? We tried to warn you, America.

But seriously, who was that?
posted by boo_radley at 9:04 PM on November 6, 2012

Thanks, modernnomad.
posted by Red Loop at 9:04 PM on November 6, 2012

And during this campaign, in which the opposing candidate was a member of a weird, shady, arguably non-Christian sect -- despite being the party that most needs fervent Christians to hold up the side -- nothing was said.

The funny thing is there *were* attacks on Romney's faith -- but pretty much all of it was from other campaigns and influential figures inside the GOP. It's even possible that lingering anti-Mormonism on that side of the fence made the difference in Romney not quite getting the turnout he needed in key places.

And meanwhile, on the other side of the fence, the worst thing I can remember being said was Reid's accusation that Romney wasn't a particularly good Mormon.

I'm going to be pointing this out to my Mormon friends/family.
posted by weston at 9:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I flipped over to Fox News, but there was nothing interesting going on. Earlier I did see Karl Rove go into alternate-reality land on Ohio. Pretty entertaining.

CNN said Romney got about 25% among Hispanics.
posted by delmoi at 9:04 PM on November 6, 2012

Over on FOX News they are saying Romney might not come out?
posted by mochapickle at 9:04 PM on November 6, 2012

I agree, peripathetic.
posted by mollweide at 9:04 PM on November 6, 2012

4 for 4 on marriage equality would be fabulous.

I read that as "4 on 4 marriage equality would be fabulous", which is pretty damned progressive.
posted by philip-random at 9:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Thank God, I dont' have to listen to Faux News comparing Obama to Jimmy Carter any more. (nothing against Carter).
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:05 PM on November 6, 2012

California: measures not looking too good... Death penalty still on, neither 30 nor 38 look like they're gonna make it. On the positive side: change to 3 strikes law appears to make it.

Sorry, John Stewart & Colbert, FOX News is way more comedic right now!

Getting ready for another Djinnanntonnyx
posted by Hairy Lobster at 9:05 PM on November 6, 2012

Shepherd: "From north of the border: thanks, Obama. Thanks, America. Good call"

I think you meant:

Thobama.

Thamerica.

posted by barnacles at 9:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Romney: I'M STILL SPEAKING
posted by Miko at 9:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

New York Times now calling VA for Obama.
posted by TurkishGolds at 9:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

One interesting thing about gay marriage in Washington state is that it's opt-out. Really. People currently in civil unions (except for straight couples over a certain age) will automatically become married unless they choose not to.

And now back to wine and cheering and people making out on national TV!
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

posted by gerryblog at 3:37 AM - 4095 comments (2371 new) +

GOD BLESS US EVERYONE

charmingly, that number will be way off by the time I hit "post."
posted by hap_hazard at 9:05 PM on November 6, 2012

NateSilverIsWrong.com, which launched earlier today to supposedly mock FiveThirtyEight when Romney won in a landslide, is absolutely hilarious right now.

(for future readers: it's a full-page ad for ATLAS SURVIVAL SHELTERS)
posted by Rhaomi at 9:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

In the UK, where can I watch Rachel Maddow?
posted by Partario at 9:05 PM on November 6, 2012

Jon. Jon Stewart. JON.
posted by waitingtoderail at 9:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Washington State Results
posted by gc at 9:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Drinking home brew and snuggling with my dogs. A nice celebration but damn I'm getting old.
posted by ghharr at 9:06 PM on November 6, 2012

" ~~Elaine~~ Karl, you're a member of this crew. Can you face some unpleasant facts?"

"No."

posted by jeremias at 9:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT. WWIII HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST. PLEASE STOW ALL FIREARMS AND HAVE A COOKIE.
posted by CynicalKnight at 9:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

I'm going to be pointing this out to my Mormon friends/family.

At this point, can we be sure that Mitt Romney is even a Mormon? He lied about everything else.
posted by Malor at 9:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Carl Cameron: "Romney is not going to give up because he worked for it, by going there in days before the election. If the numbers don't add up, he will make the call."

I somehow doubt that last claim.
posted by King Bee at 9:06 PM on November 6, 2012

Rhaomi: "NateSilverIsWrong.com, which launched earlier today to supposedly mock FiveThirtyEight when Romney won in a landslide, is absolutely hilarious right now.

(for future readers: it's a full-page ad for ATLAS SURVIVAL SHELTERS)"

These shelters look like storm drains painted yellow. What is wrong with people.
posted by boo_radley at 9:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I keep toggling back and forth between the CNN Obama and Romney live feeds - this is beyond awesome.

I LOVE YOU GUYS - YOU'RE THE GREATEST
posted by Otherwise at 9:06 PM on November 6, 2012

Seen on twitter:

At this point, even the Republican Secretary of State in Ohio is like, "Yeah, probably Obama."

posted by ceribus peribus at 9:06 PM on November 6, 2012

romney, concede brah. you don't want to contest this shit. you don't want to govern. you don't want to be held accountable. go home, dog.
posted by twist my arm at 9:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Only 14% of the CA vote is in though. But Prop 38 looks certain to crash and burn.
posted by Brak at 9:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Tom Brokaw is a badass.
posted by roboton666 at 9:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Actually enjoying watching Fox, my Intolerable Network.

C'mon, Mitt, give it up. Concede.
posted by bearwife at 9:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

GRAVES 50.1 BACHMANN 49.9, 51.1% reporting
posted by COBRA! at 9:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [20 favorites]

Romney camp says they will not concede Ohio. No concession speech forthcoming.

Doesn't matter. He's lost VA. OH doesn't mean shit.

I want to know if Obama is going to wait for Romney's concession before claiming victory or if we have to sort through all the inevitable recounts.
posted by Talez at 9:08 PM on November 6, 2012

I was hoping Romney would concede before I had to go to work. Sad face.
posted by louche mustachio at 9:08 PM on November 6, 2012

Glad For a second term for the prez. Marriage inequality has ended in the state of Maryland and I'm kind of sniffly now.
posted by EmptyK at 9:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

YAY WASHINGTON STATE. Marriage equality AND marijuana legalization WHEEEEE.
posted by Mars Saxman at 9:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Can we start taking bets on when Romney will concede? Just how long is he going to wait?
posted by yasaman at 9:08 PM on November 6, 2012

oh my god fox news is INCREDIBLE right now
posted by brieche at 9:08 PM on November 6, 2012

HOLY FUCK COBRA!
posted by smithsmith at 9:08 PM on November 6, 2012

I wish I had a nickle for everytime Shep Smith and the other Murdoch blowhards on Fox (not the news station) have said the phrase "Massachusetts moderate" to describe Romney in the last half hour.

Their anger and disappointment is turning on him and pretty soon, like a rabid zombie herd on The Walking Dead, they're slowly realizing the must tear him apart.

This isn't going to be pretty. Poor Mittsy. My God have mercy on his robot soul.
posted by Skygazer at 9:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Oh, man, if Michele Bachmann loses tonight I'm going to have to sink the rest of my liquor cabinet.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Twist my arm, that's been my feeling from the beginning.
posted by mollweide at 9:08 PM on November 6, 2012

Horses and bayonets for everyone!
posted by spock at 9:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Now that Obama has sewn it up what are the other interesting races to watch?
posted by medusa at 9:09 PM on November 6, 2012

Minnesota Public Radio:

Jim Graves 50.1%
Michele Bachmann 49.9%
posted by werkzeuger at 9:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

This is the Breaking Bad season 4 to 2008's Breaking Bad season 3: same general process but with a more villainous villain and a more satisfying resolution.
posted by Rory Marinich at 9:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

COBRA! where are you seeing that polling?
posted by FreelanceBureaucrat at 9:09 PM on November 6, 2012

Can we start taking bets on when Romney will concede? Just how long is he going to wait?

I'm going to guess "March."
posted by Joey Michaels at 9:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Michele Bachmann would be the gravy, wouldn't it?
posted by ambrosia at 9:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

It's fun to imagine that the reason Romney isn't conceding right now is that he too FURIOUS to be let out in public.
posted by painquale at 9:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

California: measures not looking too good... Death penalty still on, neither 30 nor 38 look like they're gonna make it. On the positive side: change to 3 strikes law appears to make it.

Only 14% of the CA vote is in though. But Prop 38 looks certain to crash and burn.

Yeah, exactly. And I'm not seeing reports from LA or San Francisco counties yet.
posted by sigmagalator at 9:09 PM on November 6, 2012

NBC calls Colorado for Mr. O.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 9:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cobra, where are you getting your MN numbers? I can't find anything that up-to-date...
posted by mcstayinskool at 9:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Fox News' electoral map is hilariously slow.
posted by Miko at 9:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yeah, yeah, JON, I know...

I blame it on Apple and on me being drunk, but more on Apple.

Partypooperz
posted by Hairy Lobster at 9:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

From Fox Business ("The Power to Prosper"):

Another theory making the rounds on Election Day was that a win by Obama would mean four more years of loose fiscal policy, a boon for stock markets. Romney has said he would not appoint Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to another term. Bernanke is the architect of the loose monetary policies that have dominated the U.S. economy since the 2008 fiscal crisis.

Yeah, that's right.... it was a tight ship until 2008.

Whadda bunch of asshats.
posted by armoir from antproof case at 9:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Chip Cravaack is also losing so far in MN, he is a Tea Partier (who bet Oberstar), would love to see that rat bastard gone I tell you what.
posted by edgeways at 9:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Shepard Smith on the Romney's non-concession: "Maybe he sees something in the data that nobody else can see?"
posted by zoetrope at 9:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

COBRA! Keep us posted!
posted by cmfletcher at 9:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Florida will probably be called before Romney concedes OH.
posted by delmoi at 9:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Fireworks going off in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. Must be massive, I can hear them from miles away.
posted by gemmy at 9:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Gay marriages, weed and a black man two terms in office.

This IS the America I am looking for.
posted by Malice at 9:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [58 favorites]

Anyone know a good place to watch for the California ballot measures?
posted by fishmasta at 9:10 PM on November 6, 2012

The Washington Post is projecting that marriage equality will pass in Maryland. With 86% of the vote in, it's up 52-48.
posted by amarynth at 9:10 PM on November 6, 2012

A beautiful facebook post:

I said to my husband "I need you to stand up for women; all women, all the time"... Today, my husband, a self-professed Republican Mormon who has served in 3 wars and holds his beliefs and values close and dear did just that... It is not faith or belief that divides us: It is fear. My husband fears none. How could I not love him for that?!!!

posted by Surfurrus at 9:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

Tom Brokaw is a badass.

He did say some really dumb stuff earlier about how the President will need to cooperate with the other party to get things done. My wife and I both pointed out to our TV screen that the other party also needs to cooperate, because if only one side is trying to cooperate while the other refuses to do anything unless they get their way, it's a rather abusive relationship.
posted by never used baby shoes at 9:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think the Gov. of Colorado is drunk. I'm totes OK with that.
posted by Panjandrum at 9:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

It's fun to imagine that the reason Romney isn't conceding right now is that he too FURIOUS to be let out in public.

those red-rimmed watery eyes. c'mon mitt. 5 minute speech.
posted by twist my arm at 9:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

MN Numbers
posted by edgeways at 9:11 PM on November 6, 2012

I continue to be DELIGHTED by the lack of a concession speech, this is awful but also deeply deeply hilarious.
posted by brieche at 9:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

CBC was just making fun of how long it is taking for everybody in the US to vote. (Apparently, there are still lines in Miami-Dade.) Peter Mansbridge had a good chuckle.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 9:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

From National Review's Corner:
DanFosterNRO I'm bullish on America. We're still the last, best hope. We'll make it work. We always do. We have to.
3 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

DanFosterNRO Okay. It's out of my system.
4 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

Mario_A_Loyola Krauthammer: Ryan, Jindal, Cruz, Rubio, Ayotte are the next generation - "future of the party is quite bright."
15 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

AndrewCMcCarthy Sorry Dr. K, mandate shmandate. Obama is a movement power-pol. Don't need mandate, he has awesome power of presidency & no fear of Congress.
15 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

RameshPonnuru We'll always have the first debate...
16 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

Mario_A_Loyola We won the argument but lost the decision, just as happened at the Supreme Court with Obamacare..
17 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

robertcostaNRO Obama is ahead by about 20k in VA, is also ahead in CO
18 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

kathrynlopez Dr. K: O won but has no mandate.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:12 PM on November 6, 2012

Colorado!!

Woohoo!

Who's Governor has one of my favorite last names: Hickenlooper.

High five, Colorado denizens!

Well done, dudes! Do some snowboard flips for me!
posted by Skygazer at 9:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

NYT: No Ohio yet but NV, CO, and VA making it a lock.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 9:12 PM on November 6, 2012

Cobra, where are you getting your MN numbers? I can't find anything that up-to-date...
posted by mcstayinskool

I've been bouncing between MinnPost and MPR, they update in spurts.
posted by COBRA! at 9:13 PM on November 6, 2012

I lost the prediction thing! Thank God!

Colorado has started the Marijumentum! Thank God!
posted by Slackermagee at 9:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Please, pretty please get rid of Michele Bachmann. She is the most stupid and crazy person in American politics ever.
posted by dougzilla at 9:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Mike Murphy seems like an OK guy in the GOP? Yes? No?
posted by boo_radley at 9:13 PM on November 6, 2012

I wish I had a blue Lambo and was in New York so I could do wheelies on Wall Street blasting this old Young Jeezy jam.
posted by Kattullus at 9:13 PM on November 6, 2012

I continue to be DELIGHTED by the lack of a concession speech, this is awful but also deeply deeply hilarious.

We're dealing with a dude deep, deep in resistance to cognitive dissonance who, by all accounts, felt destined by powers beyond earth to win. It's going to take a few minutes.
posted by Miko at 9:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

BREAKING: Romney, In Concession Speech, Denies Having Ever Run For President
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [104 favorites]

In all seriousness, Romney is probably too busy *writing* a concession speech to come out right now.
posted by sonika at 9:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

zoetrope: "Shepard Smith on the Romney's non-concession: "Maybe he sees something in the data that nobody else can see?""

Like a magical unicorn is going to bring him a crown and a flaming sword?
posted by Dr. Zira at 9:13 PM on November 6, 2012

KOCH BROTHERS CHECKING RECEIPT TO SEE IF THEY CAN RETURN ELECTION FOR A DIFFERENT ONE
posted by scody at 9:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [52 favorites]

damn
posted by Danf at 9:13 PM on November 6, 2012

Fox News: "Obama campaign was tactically superior."
posted by Sticherbeast at 9:13 PM on November 6, 2012

FOX just ceded Colorado! And they're, uh, confounded.

"Colorado... That was supposed to be leaning Romney... What does this mean"

Hahahahahaha
posted by Hairy Lobster at 9:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

So, the person who yelled at me (if Obama won and I voted for him that I would have to start paying rent) is my dad and also my dentist and I have an appointment with him tomorrow. And my tooth is killing me atm.

Pray for me Metafilter.
posted by littlesq at 9:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [20 favorites]

Mike Murphy: "We have to have an adult conversation that might turn into a fistfight" and "We have to modernize conservatism"

The moderates are already making noise.
posted by Talez at 9:14 PM on November 6, 2012

You don't have to be a rich man to have a beautiful thing like music

again, not religious, but this song is my spirit animal, the thing I think to when I think about everything I like about America and the ideals it's supposed to uphold. As he died to make men holy let us die to make men free.

You can't stop the truth. You can't stop the signal. You can't buy the highest office in the land.
posted by The Whelk at 9:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

More Mike Murphy "We tested the model this year, and it's a loser."
posted by jason_steakums at 9:14 PM on November 6, 2012

I deleted this from Facebook but my BROTHER voted for Romney in Fairfax County, VA. Because of
defense contracts. I honestly missed most of this because we were arguing about this for the last few hours. We are not white, and our parents are immigrants from India.

Pay attention to Asians, Democrats. Because people like my brother are out there.
posted by sweetkid at 9:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

It's fun to imagine that the reason Romney isn't conceding right now is that he too FURIOUS to be let out in public.

ROMNEY ANGRY.

ROMNEY SMASH.
posted by littlesq at 9:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

sonika might be on to something. Earlier in the evening, the talk was that Romney hadn't written a concession speech. Maybe he's stalling to throw one together.
posted by MegoSteve at 9:14 PM on November 6, 2012

Nate Silver wins!
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Get a different dentist, littlesq. It's not worth it.
posted by terrierhead at 9:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Does Obama have to wait for Romney to make a concession speech before he makes a victory speech? This could get awkward.
posted by dfan at 9:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Also, I'm pretty sure Nate Silver is some sort of sorcerer.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 9:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

those red-rimmed watery eyes. c'mon mitt. 5 minute speech.

All red-faced, wild-eyed, puffing into a paper bag. Aides casting nervous glances at each other: what are we going to do with him?

Maybe his concession speech will be one long bellow.
posted by painquale at 9:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fishmasta - try this for Cal election results: http://graphics.latimes.com/2012-election-results-california/
posted by hampanda at 9:15 PM on November 6, 2012

I have drunk half a bottle of wine, a beer and 1/3 bottle of champagne. I'm not a big drinker. Tomorrow is going to suck.
posted by gaspode at 9:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Brilliant analysis on CNN re Ohio: "you win elections by winning where the people are."
posted by scody at 9:16 PM on November 6, 2012

some sort of sorcerer...
posted by jessamyn at 9:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

Who'daThunk O would win without needing Florida OR Ohio?
Landslide.
posted by spock at 9:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Washington State just legalized it.
posted by Aquaman at 9:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Maybe he's stalling to throw one together.

Romney: Tonight, we came so cl010101010010100111001101
posted by cashman at 9:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [20 favorites]

Govern like you have a mandate.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Wear sunscreen.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Last I saw, Maryland's gay marriage is leading 51.5% to 48.5%. That's good, but way too close.
posted by peeedro at 9:16 PM on November 6, 2012

Also, I'm pretty sure Nate Silver is some sort of sorcerer.

MAYBE
posted by oulipian at 9:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I made the mistake of flipping over to Fox News to get my freude schadened. Megyn Kelly is trying to make this into a story about how Obama ran a negative campaign, and what this portends for elections in the future.

She did this while sitting in a studio in which she can probably still smell the festering pork juices and Old Spice aroma of Karl Rove, who accused John McCain of having a black baby and slandered a Vietanm war hero.

And she did it on the #1 cable news network in America.

We did not win tonight. As long as these idiots dominate the media landscape, we did not win tonight.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [17 favorites]

I'm not going to miss a Romney concession if I just watch MSNBC from here on out, will I?
posted by King Bee at 9:17 PM on November 6, 2012

Does Obama have to wait for Romney to make a concession speech before he makes a victory speech? This could get awkward.

Reminds me of when Obama won over Keyes, and Keyes refused to congratulate Obama.
posted by Sticherbeast at 9:17 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney must be so sad what with the my-dad-ran-for-prez hero worship issues, what a stupid ass.
posted by vrakatar at 9:17 PM on November 6, 2012

I don't get the whole obsession with concession speeches. Do they actually mean anything? Do they have any legal status? Does it matter if Romney never concedes?
posted by medusa at 9:17 PM on November 6, 2012

dfan: Talk on MSNBC about the Warren speech is that yes, it is protocol that you have to wait for a concession speech before making a victory speech. To do it the other way around comes off as uncouth or uncool or presumptuous or whatever.

(Which, yeah, makes an amount of sense. Gracious winners look better than gloaters.)
posted by sonika at 9:17 PM on November 6, 2012

The nine counties are giving rural CA a hiding on prop 30. The gap is down to 200,000 when it was 600,000 before they started counting.
posted by Talez at 9:17 PM on November 6, 2012

NPR is showing Virginia for Obama--I trusted that NoVa would come through!
posted by apartment dweller at 9:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

BREAKING: Romney, In Concession Speech, Denies Having Ever Run For President

I wish I could favorite this so hard.
posted by drezdn at 9:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Romney was told there were... measures... in place to ensure he won Ohio. He envisioned a nameless, faceless competence, like the guys hunting down Jason Bourne!

He got some underpaid code-jockey fresh from community college who didn't understand the software in the first place... that was paid by a shell company who was paid handsomely by another shell company who was paid extravagantly by yet another shell company who was paid obscene amounts of money by a questionable political fund who promised Karl Rove a ten-mil a year gig as a board member if he funneled some super-pac cash their way.

Mercenaries don't win wars, kids. Also, eat your roasted veggies.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Never has a Celebration Ale been more appropriate. Prost!
posted by SomaSoda at 9:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

(That is to say, this was a conversation had an hour ago w/r/t Warren waiting for Brown to concede.)
posted by sonika at 9:17 PM on November 6, 2012

KOCH BROTHERS CHECKING RECEIPT TO SEE IF THEY CAN RETURN ELECTION FOR A DIFFERENT ONE

scody I love you so hard
posted by fleetmouse at 9:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The clouds part, sun shining on the mounds of bones. People look around, their faces blood smeared. Somewhere a bird tweets #romneydeathrally

You have failed me for the last time, yells Satan as he grab's Romney's chest and starts ripping out his heart #romneydeathrally
posted by jokeefe at 9:18 PM on November 6, 2012

If one of the Romney aides already prepared a concession speech for him, how awkward is it going to be for that guy when he nervously hands it over?
posted by jason_steakums at 9:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

"(Mitt Romney,) we are going to beat you like a drum in November. But don't take it personally. I like you. You seem like a nice guy. But you're going down bro"
--Charles Barkley 5/6/12
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jusr got "I am about to make speech" email from Obama.
posted by Artw at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

NBC on Trump's meltdown: "That happened" OMFG classic.
posted by roboton666 at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

the best thing about this is the truly epic amounts of wasted money from the Kochian super PACs and the like.
posted by The Whelk at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Oh lol Brian Williams after reading Trump's tweets: "...so there you have that. That happened."
posted by jason_steakums at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Marijumentum?

Anybody? Anyone?
posted by Slackermagee at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney camp isn't ready to concede per CBS. What a dick.
posted by Graygorey at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012

Brian Williams: "Donald Trump, who has driven well past the last exit to relevance ..."
posted by barnacles at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [25 favorites]

this land is your land, this land is my land
posted by mrzarquon at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Romney must be so sad what with the my-dad-ran-for-prez hero worship issues, what a stupid ass.

Show me a national politician without daddy issues... including the President, who wrote a book about his.
posted by infinitewindow at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Please, pretty please get rid of Michele Bachmann.

Turn all the tea bagster shitbirds out into the wilderness to count trees.
posted by Pudhoho at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wow, McCain was basically giving a concession speech for Romney here at Republican HQ in Arizona, then the TV signal was interrupted.

Sadly, Penzone didn't beat out Arpaio, and Carmona lost to Flake. But hey, margins were smaller than expected...
posted by Superplin at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012

Brian Williams is awesome: "Trump has driven past the last exit for relevance..."
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Maryland is now at 52% in favor, 48% against approval of gay marriage with 92% reporting. So basically, fuck yeah fellow Marylanders. We did something pretty awesome today.
posted by parallellines at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

"Donald Trump, who has driven well past the exit to Relevance..." I <3 you Brian Williams.
posted by jeoc at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh god Brian Williams on Trump's tweet storm. "So, that happened," with the most vitriol he could manage.
posted by ndfine at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ohio just moved back to blue
posted by karst at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Last I saw, Maryland's gay marriage is leading 51.5% to 48.5%. That's good, but way too close.

FWIW, NBC and the Washington Post have already called it.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Obama needs to come out on stage to this for his victory lap. He should step out on stage right at "We won't get fooled again."

There are no emoticons for the feelings I have right now.
posted by Vysharra at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2012

Jusr got "I am about to make speech" email from Obama.

Well why didn't I?!
posted by NailsTheCat at 9:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I can't get this stupid grin off my face. Now here's hoping Florida goes blue too.

(I want that cut-out and had 341.)

Good night all.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Prop 34 yes vote is storming back driven by Marin, SF, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Santa Cruz and Sonoma. Contra Costa and Napa are the only ones voting no.

CA might do this shit right for once.
posted by Talez at 9:20 PM on November 6, 2012

SCOTUS!
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

12:15am - NPR Big Board just gave Virginia to Obama. A battleground sweep would be astonishing.
posted by Exploding Gutbuster at 9:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NYT calling VA for Obama! Mandate!
posted by DynamiteToast at 9:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yeah, here's the e/mail from Obama:

Robert --

I'm about to go speak to the crowd here in Chicago, but I wanted to thank you first.

I want you to know that this wasn't fate, and it wasn't an accident. You made this happen.

You organized yourselves block by block. You took ownership of this campaign five and ten dollars at a time. And when it wasn't easy, you pressed forward.

I will spend the rest of my presidency honoring your support, and doing what I can to finish what we started.

But I want you to take real pride, as I do, in how we got the chance in the first place.

Today is the clearest proof yet that, against the odds, ordinary Americans can overcome powerful interests.

There's a lot more work to do.

But for right now: Thank you.

Barack

posted by HuronBob at 9:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [17 favorites]

Oh! Oh! SO!! In Colorado there's been this guy, well, these guys with I dunno, time on their hands and one of them lives by I-25. Each of them fukken loves Romney. How best to show this? WELL OBVIOUSLY WE MAKE A GIANT HELIUM BALLOON TO FLY OVER THE GODDAMN HIGHWAY.

So right as the second presidential debate where the conversation zung to BAYONETS! HORSES! Somebody thinks "What this situation needs is a ZEPPELIN." It's been utterly surreal and I hope they just take it down and don't, I dunno, drop mustard gas or carrier pigeons from it.
posted by boo_radley at 9:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Just got an email from my bud, Barry O. He's about to speak in Chicago.
posted by deborah at 9:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I wouldn't be shocked if Trump lost his NBC show because of his actions tonight.
posted by drezdn at 9:21 PM on November 6, 2012

I like how Fox News mused a little about getting rid of the electoral college, but then quickly realized that that would mean the true death of a national Republican Party.
posted by Sticherbeast at 9:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I didn't get the email!!
posted by sweetkid at 9:21 PM on November 6, 2012

KOCH BROTHERS CHECKING RECEIPT TO SEE IF THEY CAN RETURN ELECTION FOR A DIFFERENT ONE

HAHAHAHA
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 9:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

FOX News: "this electoral college has to go"

Ahahahahaha!
This was predicted on Metafilter!
posted by Hairy Lobster at 9:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I absolutely love Brian Williams when he nervously and Brian Williamsly lets a very Brian Williamsy bit of anger slip out.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Marijumentum?

Anybody? Anyone?

It's a really goddamn big deal that this happened. No matter the DEA's response, this is the beginning of the end for prohibition...
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

I'm happy because the Koch Brothers are sad.
posted by qnarf at 9:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

I predict college applications will be up for University of Colorado....
posted by caddis at 9:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

LET'S HAVE A SECOND FOR THE ACTUAL NATIONAL ANTHEM
posted by The Whelk at 9:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Am I the only one disappointed Deval Patrick didn't just show up to the Romney event? He's the governor, what are they going to do, make him stand around outside freezing in front of a news crew?

Comedy gold missed, I tell ya.
posted by Dr.Enormous at 9:22 PM on November 6, 2012

drezdn: "I wouldn't be shocked if Trump lost his NBC show because of his actions tonight."

Only poor people get in trouble when they call for revolution.
posted by dunkadunc at 9:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

KOCH BROTHERS CHECKING RECEIPT TO SEE IF THEY CAN RETURN ELECTION FOR A DIFFERENT ONE

How ironic that Romney's become a tax write-off.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

GO Mr. President GO!
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 9:22 PM on November 6, 2012

DynamiteToast: "NYT calling VA for Obama! Mandate!"

No mandate. Not enough white dudes.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

It's fun to imagine that the reason Romney isn't conceding right now is that he too FURIOUS to be let out in public.
posted by painquale at 12:09 AM

You may be more right than you realize.

I'm sure Mitts is apoplectic, catatonic, furious, and going all through the angles repeatedly, to see if there's any daylight at all in the case that Obama won, that might allow some wiggle room or some way to game it.

He could get really brutal and corporate and be a total bastard, just for the heck of it.

But as Mark Shields said on PBS, he really needs to think about how he wants to be remembered in history, at this point, and it's important he realizes how important it is to concede properly and be graceful.
posted by Skygazer at 9:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

i hope there are even better days ahead, but this is a really good election in terms of weed and latinos and gays and women.

SCOTUS!

see, i even forgot about that what with the warren and the akin and all that. thank god for the scotus. shit, stick 2 more women on the bench.
posted by twist my arm at 9:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

So the story that doesn't seem to be getting much play is that Puerto Rico voted substantially in favor of statehood in a referendum just now, and both candidates pledged to honor their vote.

Fifty-first state?
posted by DoctorFedora at 9:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [28 favorites]

They are doing the same thing over on NBC-- talking about how "both candidates ran very negative ads." Also the mentioned the jeep ad by Romney and didn't call it a lie but it was the "wrong information."

Also making a BIG FUKKIN DEAL that Obama will be the first President who won re-election with fewer EVs and with a very narrow Pop Vote superiority.

Oh god. Now they are "going to be looking at Twitter with the most tweeted event ever." Yeah, I can't wait to hear what all those tweets are going to be. A combination of anti-Obama, Anti-Romney, and jokes.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 9:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Are we hearing the L word yet? Electoral college Landslide?
posted by kellybird at 9:24 PM on November 6, 2012

Yup, even if Romney wins Virginia, Florida and Ohio, he would still lose. But we won't. He'll win OH and probably VA and FL.
posted by delmoi at 9:24 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm watching Fox News and their sour attitude makes me giggle.
posted by francesca too at 9:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's also the broadest reelection win since 1984.
posted by gerryblog at 9:24 PM on November 6, 2012

Donald Trump Freaks Out on Twitter After Obama Wins Election for those of us not in the US who want to laugh.

Ryan apparently about to rap with his peeps.
posted by Mezentian at 9:24 PM on November 6, 2012

That would be crazy if Obama just went on and started speaking. "We aren't waiting for republicans anymore. The time to move forward is now. The country no longer has time for games and silliness. We're moving forward."

And Mitt just basically never got heard, and it was symbolic of the end of waiting around for these delusional, science-hating, data and nate silver hating, homophobic, women oppressing assholes who are holding the country back from being freaking awesome.

It won't happen, but I can dream.
posted by cashman at 9:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [22 favorites]

Seriously (not seriously) where's my email?. I've knocked doors, donated pretty much every day!

Seriously (seriously), thanks POTUS. Looking forward to the next four years.
posted by NailsTheCat at 9:24 PM on November 6, 2012

OK signing off. . . try to muddle through without me.
posted by Danf at 9:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Romney HQ feed has CNN on and it's just amazing to watch
posted by hellojed at 9:25 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh lol Brian Williams after reading Trump's tweets: "...so there you have that. That happened."

As Joel McHale would say: "This has been 'MEEEEOW! With Brian Williams.'"
posted by scody at 9:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I predict college applications will be up for University of Colorado

I believe they are pretty well maxed out on that demographic already.
posted by fleacircus at 9:25 PM on November 6, 2012

Mezentian: "Ryan apparently about to rap with his peeps."

You know it's serious because he turned his baseball cap backwards.
posted by boo_radley at 9:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

It's fun to imagine that the reason Romney isn't conceding right now is that he too FURIOUS to be let out in public.
posted by painquale at 12:09 AM

You may be more right than you realize.

I'm sure Mitts is apoplectic, catatonic, furious, and going all through the angles in his head at lightening speed to see if there's any daylight at all in the case that Obama won.

I think that all of this is about right. I've read a lot about Romney and his character, and I think it may be very true that given his temperament and the surprising bounce the raised his expectations, he won't handle this well.
posted by Miko at 9:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Bummer Bachmann update: Bachmann 50.1, Graves 49.9, 57.1% reporting
posted by COBRA! at 9:26 PM on November 6, 2012

More bad weather ahead.
posted by SomaSoda at 9:26 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney refusing to concede Ohio gives you some idea of what kind of asshole president he would be.
posted by emelenjr at 9:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Are we hearing the L word yet? Electoral college Landslide?
posted by kellybird at 9:24 PM on November 6

Robert Siegel used it on NPR about 1/2 hr ago.
posted by spock at 9:26 PM on November 6, 2012

"This is the first time anybody's looked forward to a Mitt Romney speech." - the commentator on CBC right now.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 9:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [38 favorites]

Pete Seeger at the fucking Lincoln memorial version

I wanna wear red white and blue and kiss people all the time
posted by The Whelk at 9:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Are we there yet?
posted by infini at 9:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I never would have thought the Bachmann/Graves race would have been tighter than the two amendments in MN. Literally 20 bps difference right now.
posted by triggerfinger at 9:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh my god they're saying on MSNBC that Romney wrote an acceptance speech and that's it.

Did he know he would tempt the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

I think it's awesome that, in the end, we didn't NEED Florida, Ohio, or Virginia. FUCKING *PHEW*
posted by Theta States at 9:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Almost!
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:27 PM on November 6, 2012

I am weak with relief, internet.
posted by thehmsbeagle at 9:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

FOX News keeps showing pictures of black people celebrating while going on endlessly about how Obma has no mandate. Classy...
posted by Hairy Lobster at 9:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I like how at Romney HQ they're all talking and analyzing and trying to figure it out and Obama HQ is just rocking out.
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 9:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

FINALLY, everyone in the USA will be forced to GAYMARRY EACH OTHER.
posted by Theta States at 9:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

SO JUST LET ROMNEY READ HIS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH AND BE THROUGH WITH IT
posted by mazola at 9:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

But Romney won the popular vote! You'll be hearing about that for years.
posted by Mezentian at 9:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Gwen Ifill is calmly getting impatient.
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

If I were out drinking tonight, I'd have already grabbed the mic and jumped on the table, urging the reluctant, apathetic crowd to join in an off-key, downtempo rendition of all eight verses of "America the Beautiful."

Just in honor of homeboy over there in Massachusetts, or Michigan, or wherever.
posted by gauche at 9:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Mike Murphy seems very nervous about the future of his party.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh God. Brian Williams, hold my hand.
posted by Miko at 9:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mittens - you godless ass, you need to concede to ME. Say whatever you have to the electorate, but first you fucking apologize to me.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 9:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

everybody happy now?
posted by growabrain at 9:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Romney should just send Ryan out to concede, he's never had the stomach to do his own wetwork.
posted by vrakatar at 9:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

MeFi gave me the courage to bet on Obama. Now help me give (some of) it back to ensure people can vote!
posted by Lemurrhea at 9:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

"NYT calling VA for Obama!"

YES god it feels good to know that I counted. That my little vote made a difference.
posted by troika at 9:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'm not going to bed until the Romney concession speech. So I may never sleep again.
posted by peeedro at 9:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I believe Obama would have been dignified and gracious if he had lost. This makes me want to express some grace and dignity in my thoughts of Romney tonight. It is over and we all have to work together tomorrow.
posted by Surfurrus at 9:30 PM on November 6, 2012

But Romney won the popular vote! You'll be hearing about that for years.

Not yet he hasn't.
posted by dfan at 9:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

and, because it cannot be said enough, because people are paid lots of money to make us forget it: WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
posted by The Whelk at 9:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Heard on CNN that the popular vote count has shrunk to less than a 500 vote difference. Three-hundred-something difference with both candidates at over 49 million votes each. Not three hundred thousand, three hundred.

Your vote counts, people.
posted by ceribus peribus at 9:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

GAY MARRY ALL THE WEED
posted by SomaSoda at 9:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [26 favorites]

troika maybe you cancelled out my brother because OMG grumblegrumble
posted by sweetkid at 9:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am expecting a masterpiece of passive aggression from Romney. The words, if you saw them in print, would seem reasonable and conciliatory. But if you look at his face and his eyes you will see all kinds of hate, and he will mutter bitter, bitter words, sotto voce.
posted by benito.strauss at 9:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

STERN IMPASSIONED STRESS
posted by mynameisluka at 9:31 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama will win the popular vote by 1 - 1.5 points once California is counted.
posted by smithsmith at 9:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Had to turn off TV to pacify tot who can't understand what mama is doing up at this hour. Is MSNBC online still streaming to NBC news? Just, someone point to something when someone finally speaks or whatnot.

Or maybe I should take the not so subtle hint and go to bed.

As if I could sleep.
posted by sonika at 9:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

It wouldn't surprise me if the candidate of the "party of no" went out swinging, throw multiple recount petitions into the system, refuse to recognize the president as a show of solidarity with a congress that treats obstructionism as a form of patriotic protest.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 9:32 PM on November 6, 2012

Could Romney just read his acceptance speech backwards?
posted by MegoSteve at 9:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Victoria Jackson @vicjackshow
Thanks a lot Christians, for not showing up. You disgust me.
posted by triggerfinger at 9:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

also re: pop vote, "the three Pacific Coast states — California, Oregon and Washington — conduct much of their voting by mail, yielding a lag of several days to a week before all ballots are counted" (538)
posted by en forme de poire at 9:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Obama's popular vote count (according to CNN) just ticked slightly ahead of Romney's, finally. And California is less than a third counted.
posted by Flunkie at 9:32 PM on November 6, 2012

How is it that Comedy Central is somehow able to load an ad every time I try to get to their live coverage but can't manage to get me the live coverage? I do not understand these tubes.
posted by mediareport at 9:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

WOO FUCKING HOO!
posted by ooga_booga at 9:32 PM on November 6, 2012

But Romney won the popular vote! You'll be hearing about that for years.

The Google counter has it within 50,000 with a lot of the West Coast yet to be counted (only 15% of CA done so far)
posted by Mister Fabulous at 9:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

ceribus peribus: "Heard on CNN that the popular vote count has shrunk to less than a 500 vote difference. Three-hundred-something difference with both candidates at over 49 million votes each. Not three hundred thousand, three hundred.

Your vote counts, people."

That is too god damn close to be real. I have no doubt that in terms of votes Obama won, but there had to be some skulduggery to make it that close. 500 nationally?
posted by dunkadunc at 9:33 PM on November 6, 2012

i just realized, a concession speech is the ultimate test of graciousness. and romney, utterly lacking in it! this will be horrible.
posted by twist my arm at 9:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I like how at Romney HQ they're all talking and analyzing and trying to figure it out and Obama HQ is just rocking out.

Yeah the Romney HQ people are still grasping at straws, for themost part looking bored or aggravated, but the Obama camp is CELEBRATIN and waiting for their President to come speak to them. Looks like a fun event-- wish I was there.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 9:33 PM on November 6, 2012

Revenge is a dish best served in November.

- Big Bird
posted by shothotbot at 9:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [51 favorites]

Heard on CNN that the popular vote count has shrunk to less than a 500 vote difference. Three-hundred-something difference with both candidates at over 49 million votes each. Not three hundred thousand, three hundred.

Your vote counts, people.

Er, except, the popular vote actually doesn't count...
posted by delmoi at 9:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

bring the acceptance speech!
posted by roboton666 at 9:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney is waiting for more people to go to bed before he concedes. That way, most of them will only get a few seconds sound bite of it in the morning and it won't matter that it was hastily written by the hotel bartender.
posted by spock at 9:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

HAIL SATAN!
posted by chrchr at 9:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

SO JUST LET ROMNEY READ HIS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH AND BE THROUGH WITH IT

No, let him do the acceptance speech, only make him do it in a big sarcastic voice.
posted by Hlewagast at 9:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Speaking of other races, CONGRATULATIONS JESSAMYN!
posted by joedan at 9:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

So...much... Schadenfreude
posted by hellojed at 9:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

FOX News just mentioned Obama ahead in popular vote after 15 minutes of denying his mandate
posted by Hairy Lobster at 9:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Live CNN feed of Romney room showing CNN live feed of Obama Staduim. Wow.
posted by obscurator at 9:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

McCaskill is up on Akin by a good 10% and maybe as much as 15% (20% of precincts yet to report but many of those are urban and they could go 80-90% for McCaskill).

10% would be a huge defeat and 15% a downright spanking. By way of comparison, McCaskill won her 2006 election 49.6% to 47.3%.

Keep in mind this is a state going for Romney by 16%.
posted by flug at 9:35 PM on November 6, 2012

Alright. Enough drama. I'm watching Game of Thrones.
posted by philip-random at 9:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Gotta love it triggerfinger. You're pious unless you disagree.
posted by cmfletcher at 9:35 PM on November 6, 2012

Guys, don't get impatient. Let's make sure all the concession firmware has been fully downloaded.
posted by Dr. Zira at 9:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

First thought: Hey, I can legally smoke pot!
Second thought: Oh crap, my kids will probably smoke pot.
Third thought: Oh CRAP, my kids will probably smoke my pot!

Hypocritical in Colorado.
posted by bibliowench at 9:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [31 favorites]

OK, why won't Romney concede? Even if he wins Ohio Obama still has 272 votes, right? So why the holdout? Is he expecting any other called states to flip too?
posted by Anonymous at 9:36 PM on November 6, 2012

I don't get it. Even without FL, VA and OH Obama still has 272. This is not "Ohio is too close". This is how badly Mitt's been beaten. It's time to concede.
posted by Talez at 9:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Speaking of other races, CONGRATULATIONS JESSAMYN!

wut?
posted by werkzeuger at 9:36 PM on November 6, 2012

Al Jazeera addressing Karl Rove issue " ... on his own tv station ..." Now talking about the whole FOX crew.

The best result of all this would be the reclassification of FOX as a non-journalist zone.
posted by Surfurrus at 9:36 PM on November 6, 2012

bibliowench: "First thought: Hey, I can legally smoke pot!
Second thought: Oh crap, my kids will probably smoke pot.
Third thought: Oh CRAP, my kids will probably smoke my pot!"

I can't believe people are still so terrified of KIDS smoking POT

OH HEAVENS
posted by dunkadunc at 9:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Why did no one powder Jerry Brown's nose?
posted by elsietheeel at 9:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I am hearing CRAZY CHEERING from Zuccotti park. It's got to be pretty fucking intense to make it up to the very high floor where my office is.
posted by prefpara at 9:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

MSNBC: Alan Grayson won a seat in congress again.
posted by delmoi at 9:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Google's counter now showing Obama with a 30,000 vote lead. Eat it Fox News. And Donald Trump.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 9:37 PM on November 6, 2012

OK, why won't Romney concede?

Too busy doing a ~~victory lap~~ exit stage left.
posted by CynicalKnight at 9:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Hey my parents live in CO!

Any idea where they keep their stash?
posted by cmfletcher at 9:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Just, yippee!
posted by From Bklyn at 9:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Republicans are a lot worse at math than I would have thought.
posted by swift at 9:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Bachmann-Graves dead even 50.0-50.0, 58.2% reported.
posted by COBRA! at 9:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Looking pretty good for a D senate pickup in ND as well
posted by edgeways at 9:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Third thought: Oh CRAP, my kids will probably smoke my pot!"

No, the kids understand how the world works these days better than you, and will surreptitiously but pointedly start throwing out your rolling papers, bongs and lighters, and give you a very nice vaporizer for christmas.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

He won't concede? What?
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:38 PM on November 6, 2012

Maybe Mitt hasn't shown yet because he's too busy in a strategy meeting for Generalissimo Trump's revolution.
posted by Flunkie at 9:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

i just realized, a concession speech is the ultimate test of graciousness. and romney, utterly lacking in it! this will be horrible.

For what it's worth, I remember McCain's concession speech as being really gracious and good.
posted by escabeche at 9:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

SO JUST LET ROMNEY READ HIS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH AND BE THROUGH WITH IT
posted by mazola at 12:29 AM on November 7 [10 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]

Lolz. Just stick a cake recipe in his hand and tell him to read it.
posted by Skygazer at 9:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Romney clearly won't concede yet because he honestly believes rules don't apply to him. That was very clear in the debates, and he's making it clear now that he'll concede when he is ready and he hasn't found his magic loophole yet.

Very, very grateful that this arrogant jackass is NOT going to be President.
posted by sonika at 9:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

More than a few people in the Romney room mumbling to themselves.
posted by obscurator at 9:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Watching Romney's HQ on livestream. Those folks see what's what and they are ready to go home. Concede, Romney; if not for us, for them. They need to move on.
posted by Miko at 9:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Koch blocked
posted by dave78981 at 9:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [29 favorites]

Live CNN feed of Romney room showing CNN live feed of Obama Staduim. Wow.

If they do this right, they can get video feedback, which is awesome.
posted by drezdn at 9:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Amazing, Obama didn't win a single county in W.Virginia, Nebraska or Oklahoma.
posted by BinGregory at 9:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Some comments and observations:
- I voted early as I was working today and pretty much non-stop. It was like there was a party going on at City Hall, with a bunch of people there casting early votes. There was a mother who was trying to take pictures with her camfone of her daughter, who was casting her first vote. They seemed so happy, so I took a picture of them together in front of City Hall, holding on to their "I Voted" sticker, and then they insisted on doing the same for me. It was very sweet, and they just seemed so damn happy!
- A lot of the minority population there and in the city I work in remembered some of the tricks from the last election. They were offering advice to each other and talked about going overkill to ensure that they will be able to cast their vote: bring backup forms of ID, ensure your address was correct, print out your full, legal name on absentee ballots, take no "free buses/rides" to wrong voting centers. They seemed to be much more aware of how to make their vote count.
- The hospital I work at serves a very poor tax base and is predominantly black. Most were not aware that they and their families could cast their vote easily even up to the days immediately preceding election day. People were just not aware, but I made them aware that they could still vote (rest assured, I approached this neutrally, asking if they wanted to vote, and informing them that they could exercise their right to vote, and that I am not advocating any candidate and that I would not know who they would vote for-- I would only sign the line certifying that they qualified as they were hospitalized, or that they would not be able to make it to the voting center and that their primary caregiver could also qualify).
- So I just gave them the information from the official virginia.gov site, and ended up signing some forms.

Did this make a difference for Norfolk and Portsmouth, VA? I don't know. But I think it's important to remember that people can do this in future elections, and that regardless of who you might think someone's going to vote for, it's important to remind them that they are able to exercise their right to vote.

On another note, it's also worth mentioning that subjectively this seemed to make people feel better. Like they're not just sick people stuck in a hospital, but that they're part of their community, society, and country as a whole. It made them feel better.

So if you work in a health-care setting, or find yourself sick, or caring for a sick person, tell your friends. Tell your family. Tell EVERYONE. Voting is important, but letting people feel like they can do things "normal" (ie: not sick) people can do is immeasurably heartening.
posted by herrdoktor at 9:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [26 favorites]

Good night, everyone! I'll see you in the morning!

HOORAY
posted by grubi at 9:40 PM on November 6, 2012

Bachmann lead is 307 votes with 61% of precincts reporting.
posted by Rhomboid at 9:40 PM on November 6, 2012

> Speaking of other races, CONGRATULATIONS JESSAMYN!

>> wut?

CNN is predicting that Obama won the popular vote by 1 vote. Jessamyn was that vote.

Maybe. Probably has more to do with her running for Justice of the Peace, which is totally a dystopian superhero title. Tell me I'm wrong. I dare you.
posted by Panjandrum at 9:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

(BTW, I bet we break the comments record TONIGHT)
posted by grubi at 9:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bachmann and Graves are exactly tied. The MN Marriage Vote Yes numbers are starting to tick down again. And I made it to the bottom of this thread.

I'm out. Don't disappoint me numbers!
posted by sparklemotion at 9:40 PM on November 6, 2012

I specifically remember McCain angrily shutting his crowd up when they started to boo Obama. It was very decent of him.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 9:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

Obama should just go ahead and give his victory speech.
posted by delmoi at 9:40 PM on November 6, 2012

VA!
posted by cmfletcher at 9:40 PM on November 6, 2012

Fox News making a big deal out of the fact that Obama will have fewer EV in 2012 than in 2008, which is "unprecedented". (Somehow they are leaving out the fact that 2008 was a giant blowout.)
posted by dfan at 9:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

hahahaha the rightwing commentator they have on fox right now has the most uncomfortable smile on his face HIS PASTY PALLOR IS DELICIOUS TO ME
posted by brieche at 9:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Can you get 500,000 more people to click the Facebook vote button so the counter on http://www.facebookstories.com/vote hits 10 million?

We have a sweep stakes on in the war room of developers who built the page. My guess was 34 million, I was way out!
posted by 13twelve at 9:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Show me a national politician without daddy issues... including the President, who wrote a book about his.

Yes, but Obama didn't use the political system to work his daddy issues out; he did the roots thing, travelled and wrote a book.
posted by the cydonian at 9:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Good for us. Good for this country for doing the right thing and electing a man who cares. Good for us for seeing through the lies, through the hate and the deception. Good for us for working hard to get people to the voting booth.

Now.....don't lose the momentum, because, in four years, we better have made a difference or there will be hell to pay, these people will not go away. Don't sit back, don't relax. Renew your efforts NOW.

And, thanks to Metafilter, which always makes me think and consider the issues.

Rest well, friends....
posted by HuronBob at 9:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

YES! Please concede soon, MitBot - it's almost 7am in Germany. This expat is sleeeeeepy.
posted by monkey!knife!fight! at 9:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Rumor on PBS TV is that Romney is not declaring because Karl Rove thinks the Ohio projection was premature. Ignoring the fact that Colorado, Nevada and now Virginia have also been called for Obama.
posted by msalt at 9:41 PM on November 6, 2012

MN Marriage Amendment
NO 48.47%
YES 47.86%
posted by triggerfinger at 9:41 PM on November 6, 2012

I think Romney is just waiting for Obama to give his victory speech so he will have a chance to interrupt.
posted by MysticMCJ at 9:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [27 favorites]

Well yeah, it doesn't count, but people do pay attention to it. When a President loses the popular vote, the opposition never shuts up about it.

Dunkadunc, they said it was only a fluke close result that's come up at this random point midway through all of the vote counting, but it's remarkably improbable nonetheless.
posted by ceribus peribus at 9:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Now.....don't lose the momentum, because, in four years, we better have made a difference or there will be hell to pay,

Oh Gourd let us rest for one g-ddamn day before starting the 2016 election cycle. My head quite literally hurts from all the stress.
posted by sonika at 9:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Romney should just send Ryan out to concede, he's never had the stomach to do his own wetwork.

I remember when McCain gave his concession speech, Palin barged in and gave a concession speech of her own which is really not done. People were a bit shocked but as usual for Palin it was All About Her and it was clear she was trying to set up her people for a future Palin Victory. Although in hindsight it is more like a future Palin Super PAC that would support her in the style to which she had become accustomed to.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 9:43 PM on November 6, 2012

Watching the CNN livefeed of Romney's HW. That catwalk leading up to his podium looks like a big ol' cock.
posted by Joey Michaels at 9:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just to remind people - in MN, the YES vote (against equality) has to get 50% of the actual vote, not just beat the NO.
posted by Lemurrhea at 9:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Someone, somewhere is furiously coding a concession software update.
posted by panaceanot at 9:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Romney press pool is supposedly in the Romney headquarters building a concession speech may be in the offing?
posted by vicusofrecirculation at 9:43 PM on November 6, 2012

Good luck everyone. We're counting on you.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 9:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I think Romney is just waiting for Obama to give his victory speech so he will have a chance to interrupt.

i think he's got it mixed up who gets top billing in that eventuality. or need i bring up honey boo boo.
posted by twist my arm at 9:43 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney's called Obama and conceded, per CBS
posted by qnarf at 9:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

That phone call was a response to Obama's text to Romney:

Hey, I just beat you, And this is crazy,
But here's my number, So call me, maybe?
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [62 favorites]

Per Fox News, Romney's concession speech will come at 12:55.
posted by dfan at 9:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

All of the people on the left side of my screen look so happy. All of the people on the right of my screen look so sad.
posted by tomierna at 9:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Amazing, Obama didn't win a single county in W.Virginia, Nebraska or Oklahoma.

A nicely liberal chunk of Omaha got screwed over in a redistricting recently, otherwise you'd see at least a little blue in NE.

I think Romney is just waiting for Obama to give his victory speech so he will have a chance to interrupt.

Oh god I wish I had another favorite to give.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Booker on MSNBC!
posted by shothotbot at 9:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

triggerfinger, your numbers are worse than MPR is reporting
posted by werkzeuger at 9:44 PM on November 6, 2012

MN Marriage Amendment
NO 48.47%
YES 47.86%

Worth noting that all that matters is that YES < 50%, because a blank is counted as a no. So even if it's Y 49, N 48, the stupid thing still doesn't pass.
posted by COBRA! at 9:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Does Romney not understand the math? I'm just imagining someone trying to patiently explain to him that no, it is literally impossible for him to win at this point. No, not even with recounts.
posted by yasaman at 9:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

> Heard on CNN that the popular vote count has shrunk to less than a 500 vote difference. Three-hundred-something difference with both candidates at over 49 million votes each. Not three hundred thousand, three hundred.

And here's where I tell this story. The last time I voted was in 2000, at the age of 18. I was just so disillusioned by the whole thing, that I sat everything out for 12 years. I came up with a bunch of convincing (but obviously flawed) arguments as to why voting isn't worth it.

Anyway, 12 years go by. I don't know what the tipping point was exactly, but dammit. I'm sick of anyone who doesn't look or act the way I do being treated as less than a person. I just can't take it anymore.

So, I showed up to vote today, by waking up at 6 AM and getting to the polling place 15 minutes before they opened. I was voter number 8 at my particular place. And while Texas overwhelmingly goes red, I didn't care. I actually showed up today, I gave a shit, I did what I was supposed to do. My singular vote probably didn't matter. That's not the point. The point is showing up and saying, "I'm here, I care about people, and this is who I think should be running things." That's what it's about. Living in a place where you have that power, and the power to actually exercise that is why you should vote. /end story
posted by King Bee at 9:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [50 favorites]

MN Marriage Amendment
NO 48.47%
YES 47.86%

Just to be clear, that should read MN Marriage Restriction Amendment. And YES needs to have 50% to win, not just beat NO.
posted by mcstayinskool at 9:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

PBS Newshour current count:

302 Obama
203 Romney

And Obama's ahead in the popular vote now.

THIS JUST IN ROMNEY CONCEDING IN FIVE MINUTES.
posted by Skygazer at 9:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Current numbers for R-74 in Washington

APPROVED 877,339 51.79%
REJECTED 816,727 48.21%

LAST UPDATE: 11/06/2012 9:28 PM
posted by gc at 9:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

seems like barack obama has a way of shutting that whole thing down yo
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Yeah, I'll say this, and I speak as someone who during the latter months of the campaign could not say enough bad things about McCain, but his concession speech was truly classy and made me hope that he'd just been poisoned by the campaign.
posted by gauche at 9:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

From Minn Post
posted by triggerfinger at 9:45 PM on November 6, 2012

CBS: Romney makes concession call to Obama

SUCK IT MITT!
posted by Lord_Pall at 9:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Cory Booker on MSNBC, quoting MLK and the arc of justice, referencing MD's vote for gay marriage. Cory, call me?
posted by Neneh at 9:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I can't turn the TV back on - where should I stream Mittens' speech? (I can't believe I want to see this... but... I won't believe it until I do.)
posted by sonika at 9:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Also, it sounds like he finally made a call to Obama, to congratulate him.
posted by Skygazer at 9:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Hmm.. that felt pretty good. Immature, but pretty good.
posted by Lord_Pall at 9:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney seems to be under the impression that, since no Republican has won the White House without Ohio, he still has a chance of winning until Ohio has 100% of precincts reporting. #doofus
posted by spock at 9:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings - This Land Is Your Land

Play this, I'm begging you.
posted by benito.strauss at 9:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

MN Marriage Amendment
NO 48.47%
YES 47.86%

I had to look it up, a 'NO' vote means gay marriage is good to go (marriage is NOT defined as between one man and one woman).
posted by peeedro at 9:46 PM on November 6, 2012

Heard on CNN that the popular vote count has shrunk to less than a 500 vote difference.

Google's counter went from 30K to 120K in the last 5 minutes

edit: That's Obama leading.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 9:46 PM on November 6, 2012

I know this is just a tiny drop in a sea of comments, but I just have to say WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ugh. First I miss the election being CALLED and now I miss Cory Booker?! This is not a good night for you and me, TV.
posted by sonika at 9:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney HQ live video feed switched views to the podium.
posted by boo_radley at 9:47 PM on November 6, 2012

So, I showed up to vote today, by waking up at 6 AM and getting to the polling place 15 minutes before they opened. I was voter number 8 at my particular place. And while Texas overwhelmingly goes red, I didn't care. I actually showed up today, I gave a shit, I did what I was supposed to do. My singular vote probably didn't matter. That's not the point. The point is showing up and saying, "I'm here, I care about people, and this is who I think should be running things." That's what it's about. Living in a place where you have that power, and the power to actually exercise that is why you should vote. /end story

Well put.
posted by drezdn at 9:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Would it help if Candy Crowley explained it to Romney that Obama actually won?
posted by mazola at 9:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Ha Ha! Republican analyst on BBC just said that Romney was "a man of integrity". Ha ha ha ha ha.
posted by arcticseal at 9:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Your President for the Next 4 Years Barack Obama Just Probably Tweeted the Most Popular Tweet of All Time
posted by homunculus at 9:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Okay, now it's "six and a half minutes" to Romney-Bot concession.
posted by Skygazer at 9:48 PM on November 6, 2012

I just want to tell you all good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by dragstroke at 9:48 PM on November 6, 2012

where should I stream Mittens' speech?

It will probably be on everywhere. I've been using the CBS live stream but I'm sure there are a dozen others.
posted by Rhomboid at 9:48 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney will speak at 12:55 am.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:48 PM on November 6, 2012

Palin wanted to give a concession speech and was furious the McCain campaign would not allow it. But it was never delivered.
posted by Anonymous at 9:48 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm happy for Ann, that she can go off and live the rest of her life. She said on The View that if Mitt lost, this was the end of politics for them. And I still feel like Mitt is a jerk for dragging her through this knowing that stress makes her have health issues. I mean she's entitled and out of touch and really arrogant, but Mitt seemed like a jerk before the campaign, during the campaign, and even to this moment.

He'd better concede, and thank his wife to the point of groveling to her.
posted by cashman at 9:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Romney should send Donald Trump out to give his concession speech.
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

oh wow just sat through a commercial for glee, i'd totally forgotten that was a thing
posted by brieche at 9:48 PM on November 6, 2012

Quick! I need an appropriately smug pic to post to my Facebook to balance the hate from my (dumb) family. Anyone have a good link?
posted by Vysharra at 9:49 PM on November 6, 2012

"I had to look it up, a 'NO' vote means gay marriage is good to go (marriage is NOT defined as between one man and one woman)."

Err, sort of... Same-sex marriage is already illegal in Minnesota. This amendment would enshrine hate in the state constitution, making it much more difficult to challenge. So if the amendment doesn't pass, SSM isn't good to go, but it's more possible.
posted by jiawen at 9:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

dragstroke: "I just want to tell you all good luck. We're all counting on you."

Mongo just pawn in game of life.
posted by boo_radley at 9:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Obama is reelected President BECAUSE MATH.
posted by medusa at 9:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

30 Romneys agree: This election is over.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Brian Williams: A WEIMARANER HANGING IN THE BALANCE
posted by nicebookrack at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

So...what's going on in NY-26? Hochul is a force for good....Collins was a pretty awful Erie County exec and lord knows what he'd do as state rep. But it's still too close to call OH GOD don't make it another Higgins-Naples mess.
posted by troika at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012

Cspan has good streams of both campaign HQs:

http://www.c-span.org/Election/Events/C-SPAN-Election-Coverage/10737435402-4/
posted by theatro at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

BREAKING: @JanCBS reports Gov. Romney has called President Obama to concede http://cbsn.ws/election

oh, twitter :3
posted by boo_radley at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm happy for Ann, that she can go off and live the rest of her life. She said on The View that if Mitt lost, this was the end of politics for them.

I'm not so sure she really gets a say.
posted by Miko at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Colorado Governor Hinkenlooper re Marijuana Amendment:
“The voters have spoken and we have to respect their will,” Hickenlooper said on Amendment 64. “This will be a complicated process, but we intend to follow through. That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug so don’t break out the Cheetos or gold fish too quickly.”
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Polls in parts of the Aleutian Islands are still open for another 10 minutes.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Somewhere there's a Weimerwarner hanging in the balance."

Brian Williams, will you gaymarry me?
posted by jeoc at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Nate Silver just tweeted "This is probably a good time to link to my book."

Yeah, Nate, I'd say it is.
posted by KathrynT at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [24 favorites]

Yeah, Romney's concession speech is in 5 minutes. That probably means 20 minutes. But it is close.
posted by Justinian at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012

Vysharra, here you go!
posted by Lemurrhea at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Can I just watch Romney's concession speech through the live feed at Obama HQ? I presume they'll be broadcasting it to the supporters there, right? My poor internet connection is getting creaky, don't want to have two streams open at once.
posted by yasaman at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012

"Because it's late, and these are the kind of things that come up" My god Brian Williams is a riot!
posted by roboton666 at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm really hoping RomneyBot breaks down, starts swearing and cursing, extra blasphemy. After that, RomneyBot starts throwing sparks and catches fire.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 9:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Hlewagast: "SO JUST LET ROMNEY READ HIS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH AND BE THROUGH WITH IT

No, let him do the acceptance speech, only make him do it in a big sarcastic voice"

?????????????
posted by barnacles at 9:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney's cash bar party officially saddest place on earth right now. Have to pay to drown your sorrows in millionaire tears.

(Still can't get over that. CASH BAR?!)
posted by sonika at 9:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Problem is it really doesn't matter who wins. That fiscal cliff is out there and only God Almighty can keep us from tipping over it.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies

Unless you're gay, or have a pre-existing condition, or you're a woman that believes she should control her health choices. Obama's not perfect, and problems are always around the corner, but he's far better than Romney for most people, even if many don't realize it.

It's difficult for me to believe it was even this close, but the good guys won. The crazy right will get even crazier. Even happier than I was 4 years ago.
posted by justgary at 9:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [22 favorites]

Brian Williams is talking about Romney's plan to adopt a Weimaraner if he won the election. Finally, the lamestream media weighs in on Weimargate.
posted by Riki tiki at 9:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Anyone know anything about Krysten Sinema in AZ 9?
posted by ivey at 9:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Colorado Governor Hinkenlooper re Marijuana Amendment:

That's just a fun sentence to read, all on it's own.
posted by mazola at 9:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

MSNBC has announced that Romney has called Obama to congratulate him and will give his concession speech shortly.
posted by tommyD at 9:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Amazing, Obama didn't win a single county in W.Virginia, Nebraska or Oklahoma.

It's a good bet Obama will end up winning at least 40% of the vote in many counties in W. Virginia, Nebraska and Oklahoma. It's not red or blue, remember; it's various shades of purple (scroll to near the bottom for full effect).
posted by mediareport at 9:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Looking at Nate Silver's projection, it looks like he was exactly right this year. 50/50 states. Even NV and FL, which were looking dicier earlier in the evening.
posted by delmoi at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Romney is coming out - they are chanting for Mitt
posted by HopperFan at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2012

WE WANT THE SHOW! WE WANT THE SHOW! WE WANT THE SHOW!
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

People are hooting and whistling for a concession speech?
posted by boo_radley at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

FOX News: Romney is a north-east liberal

Whut?
posted by Hairy Lobster at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Quick! I need an appropriately smug pic to post to my Facebook to balance the hate from my (dumb) family. Anyone have a good link?

This one from earlier?
posted by inigo2 at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2012

death rally about to go live
posted by SomaSoda at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I predict Mitt will be easygoing and loose and natural in his speech, everything he has not been as a candidate. The pressure is off. He can go back to making money now.
posted by vrakatar at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney! Yay! Will he cry? I wager 20 quatloos....
posted by Mezentian at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm really hoping RomneyBot breaks down, starts swearing and cursing, extra blasphemy. After that, RomneyBot starts throwing sparks and catches fire.

Mitt Romney: Ah *hell* diddly-ding-dong-crap! Can't you morons do anything right?
posted by RonButNotStupid at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Florida is at 97% of precincts reporting, and when they finally call it that will put Obama at 332, which is not all that far off from 2008's 365. And he's taken the lead of the popular vote.
posted by Rhomboid at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Wow, Ciciline crushed Doherty by just over six points - it was neck-and-neck in the polls just yesterday.

Now, I won't loose any sleep over a Republican not taking away a seat in the House from a Democrat, but man, what a rotten Democrat.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Importantly, in MN a blank vote on the amendments is counted as a "no". Including the blanks, both amendments are running over 50% no. Still a slim lead then, and hoping it doesn't change... The Bachmann race is killing me, so freakin' close!
posted by caution live frogs at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney concession is imminent.
posted by King Bee at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Now their typical "USA" chant that fizzled quickly
posted by HopperFan at 9:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sidenote: I'm searching for unintentionally funny things on Twitter, and I recently came across this gem: "Socialist and Muslims have one thing in common, they both claim there is no God, only Government!"

Also, Charles Krauthammer is on Fox News right now, and he's nuttier than praline.
posted by Sticherbeast at 9:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am watching the live feed of the Romney side so I can watch his concession speech, and I keep thinking "damn that's a lot of white people" and it's making me slightly uncomfortable. And I'm white.
posted by littlesq at 9:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

I hope Joe Scarborough is crying into his drink right now.
posted by Justinian at 9:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nite yall. Mr. Blatcher, I can't wait to eat those chocolate chip cookies! drop me a note!
posted by cashman at 9:53 PM on November 6, 2012

Now they're sort of chanting USA? Hmm.

I guess if things fall apart they can have Eastwood introduce an empty chair as Romney. If it worked for Obama, why not Romney?
posted by boo_radley at 9:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ugh, the Romney folks were chanting U S A! U S A! How awful.
posted by KathrynT at 9:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think we can all agree that the real winners tonight are women, gays, stoners, and Nate Silver
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [32 favorites]

From his twitter feed-

Patton Oswalt ‏@pattonoswalt
FYI Mitt -- the only way we're ever going to remember you after tomorrow is if you do something BULLGOOSE CRAZY tonight. #ggallin

I LOLLZORED!
posted by hap_hazard at 9:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Looking at Nate Silver's projection, it looks like he was exactly right this year

Nate Silver gets to write his own ticket for life.
posted by Miko at 9:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

If this guy isn't at least honorable and civil, I will punch the first republican I see tomorrow....
posted by HuronBob at 9:54 PM on November 6, 2012

I need Obama to make a speech quick so I can go to sleep.
posted by peacheater at 9:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Tammy Baldwin wins in Wisconsin!
posted by Justinian at 9:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

They were all just going MITT MITT MITT MITTMITTMITTOHGODMITTPLEASEMITT

And then the camera swung around to show this completely empty stage

Also wow, most halfhearted USA USA USA I've ever heard. It died around the fourth A.
posted by emmtee at 9:54 PM on November 6, 2012

So is there going to be an opening band or something?
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 9:54 PM on November 6, 2012

Okay here we go.
posted by Skygazer at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012

YES
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh god, the spontaneous God Bless America was enough to get him to come out
posted by ivey at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012

Nate Silver can get it for life. /sorryi'mnotsorry
posted by Flamingo at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Okay, the Republican recriminations have begun. If only you had Australian style leaders forced to stand in the house after a defeat... there would be blood and infighting like woah.
posted by Mezentian at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

That fiscal cliff is out there and only God Almighty can keep us from tipping over it.

Yes, if ONLY there was some earthly way to raise revenue in the richest nation on earth.
posted by scody at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [41 favorites]

it's the deafening silence they're trying to avoid
posted by twist my arm at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012

ROMNEY'S ON STAGE NOW GUYS!
posted by gc at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012

Here we go...
posted by Hairy Lobster at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012

WE'RE DOING IT LIVE. DARN IT.
posted by boo_radley at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012

So sad, people were singing God Bless America before the Mitt concession speech.
posted by peeedro at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012

I need Obama to make a speech quick so I can go to sleep.

Me too!
posted by dhruva at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hahaha, Romeny supporters boo his concession.
posted by delmoi at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Concession!
posted by mollweide at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012

Swedish subletter just came in from hanging out with some friends and had follow-up questions about why everyone was so scandalized by Karl Rove trying to forestall Fox calling one of the states. I had to explain to him about Fox's media bias; he wanted to see. We have temporarily switched over to Fox from MSNBC.

It's my apartment and I swear that as soon as Romney finishes speaking I'm switching back to MSNBC for Obama's speech.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

yes romney let me taste your robotears
posted by SomaSoda at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Romney speaking!!!!
posted by Tarumba at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2012

Look at him EMOTE.

So lifelike!
posted by emmtee at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wow, Romney is REALLY good at lying with a smile on his face.
posted by Orange Pamplemousse at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Tammys Baldwin and Duckworth! Tammys (Tammies?) taking huge leaps forward for women nationwide!
posted by troika at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Awww... I feel sorry for Romney. He looks almost human. :(
posted by mazola at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

OK here's Willard and we can go to bed now.
posted by Flashman at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2012

Tonight at least, this country is not for sale.
posted by jeoc at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Haha, what.
posted by boo_radley at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2012

He's going to marry Paul...
posted by HuronBob at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2012

SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG, HAD TO HAVE A NEW SOFTWARE PATCH WRITTEN
posted by vverse23 at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

He looks like he's been crying.
posted by youngergirl44 at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Paul Ryan got a much bigger cheer than Romney
posted by shothotbot at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2012

oh hey! they're managing not to boo the president too hard. baby steps.
posted by twist my arm at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

He seems so pissed and relieved at the same time.
posted by JakeEXTREME at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2012

Paul Ryan is so running in 2016.
posted by Miko at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2012

There is like, ten people clapping.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 9:57 PM on November 6, 2012

I think we missed out by not having John Hamm do a Mitt Romney impression. Different faces, but similar expressions.
posted by Sticherbeast at 9:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yes, if ONLY there was some earthly way to raise revenue in the richest nation on earth.

Communist!
The only way to do it is with lower wages and austerity!
posted by Mezentian at 9:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

UGH. Even in his concession speech potshots at wives in kitchens. UGGGHHHH.
posted by sonika at 9:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

‏@ColleenDoran

So, anyone for shawarma?
posted by The Whelk at 9:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Romney just thanked wives for staying home and taking care of their kids while the husbands were away doing real work. (paraphrase)

*brain explodes*
posted by Malice at 9:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [18 favorites]

Here's a question: given the margin to which Latinos and the young went to Obama, what is the high-level Republican strategy for the next 4-8 years? The demographics for their current base looks bad, so where do they go from here? I don't think a swing (even farther) to the right in social issues is going to help them, as it does not seem like younger Latinos are as serious about abortion and the like as their parents and grandparents are.
posted by Aizkolari at 9:58 PM on November 6, 2012

How many times will Romney say "prayer" in his speech?
posted by jiawen at 9:58 PM on November 6, 2012

Hm. Very gracious.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have conceded and i pray obama doesn't fuck things up. LET'S HEAR IT FOR PAUL RYAN.

wait, did somebody just FREEBIRD all over his concession speech.
posted by boo_radley at 9:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wow, Mitt's really selling that emotionless boilerplate, isn't he?
posted by Aquaman at 9:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Communist!
The only way to do it is with lower wages and austerity!

And don't forget tax cuts for the rich.
posted by Miko at 9:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Terrible on a teleprompter.
posted by JakeEXTREME at 9:59 PM on November 6, 2012

can't. stop. reading. Jennifer Rubin's. twitter. feed.

Priceless.

btw, Iran just took over Israel apparently.
posted by bardic at 9:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hi guys, been in the car driving to Richmond - what'd I miss?
posted by ersatzkat at 9:59 PM on November 6, 2012

"Job Creators"

DRINK !!!!
posted by soundguy99 at 9:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Certainly sounds rehearsed for a speech he never bothered to write.
posted by SomaSoda at 9:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow the guy has a lot of strange facial tics. Did the software patch cause problems?
posted by RedOrGreen at 10:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

What did that one guy in the audience shout when Romney was talking about reaching across the aisle?...
posted by jinjo at 10:00 PM on November 6, 2012

He is strangely immobile and chipper. He chuckled during a concession speech?
posted by Ripper Minnieton at 10:00 PM on November 6, 2012

christ this concession speech is bland
posted by modernnomad at 10:00 PM on November 6, 2012

Did Romney just get heckled by one of his own supporters when he called for bipartisanship??
posted by nathan_teske at 10:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney's concession speech looks to teacher and professors?!

Funny ........... I didn't see a goatee on him, but I guess we're in bizarro world now.
posted by barnacles at 10:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

There's a tear in my near-beer.
posted by peeedro at 10:00 PM on November 6, 2012

And with that, Mittens slides into the footnotes of 21st century American history.
posted by karst at 10:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Hey America, I love you guys. You guys are the best.
posted by converge at 10:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Decent speech though... As hypocritical as it may be at least it's not hostile and inflammatory. Credit where credit's due.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 10:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I think that was the classiest speech he gave all campaign. Good on him
posted by localhuman at 10:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Nicely done. The inner honorable Mitt peeked out at us.
posted by bearwife at 10:02 PM on November 6, 2012

At least it was short.
posted by oddman at 10:02 PM on November 6, 2012

Bye, Mitt.
posted by Devonian at 10:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Democrat firebrand Alan Grayson returning to Congress
posted by homunculus at 10:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

Did I get that wrong, or did Romney thank his daughters-in-law for keepin' the home fires burning?
posted by figurant at 10:02 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney -- STFU. Please fade into the background. You are a hollow, selfish man with no core, with no convinctions.

Buh--bye, Asshole.
posted by ericb at 10:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Surprisingly undickish concession.

Okay then.
posted by Skygazer at 10:02 PM on November 6, 2012

Not a bad concession speech, aside from that awkward "womenfolk supporting the menfolk while they're out doin' the hard work" thing.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

MSNBC taking such a high road in response, I'm afraid the heat-shields will fail on the way down.
posted by wallabear at 10:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

thanks guys
posted by 3200 at 10:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

So much good news tonight!
posted by elvissa at 10:03 PM on November 6, 2012

Shepp Smith isn't sure if his viewers read.
posted by benito.strauss at 10:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Forty more years!
posted by perhapses at 10:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

oh my god, live mic live mic LIVE MIC
posted by boo_radley at 10:04 PM on November 6, 2012

So there I was thinking that mostly that was a more positive speech than it could have been, but... really? You left it on the field, and gave it all? You're gonna go home to one of your mansions, and you have the gall to say that?

I mean, a big chunk of his problems came from never really committing to running for President. I'm very fucking far from an expert on becoming President, but even I know that if I want to run in 2012, I need to start generating utterly boring tax returns no later than 2000. But Romney kept choosing his zillions of dollars over really running for President.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Kind of weird to think that just a few hours ago there was still the possibility that Mitt Romney could have become the President of the United States.
posted by Flashman at 10:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

Binders full of wives!

Nasty little "we pray for Obama" at the end I thought, a sort of "bless your heart" tone
posted by Rumple at 10:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

@Iron_Spike

Look at Mitt smile. He doesn't give a shit, he still has hundreds of millions of dollars.
posted by The Whelk at 10:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Nice purple tie, Mitt.
posted by FJT at 10:06 PM on November 6, 2012

In an election full of stunning images, this has got to be my favourite.
Sad Fox News folk.
posted by Mezentian at 10:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Republican MICHELE BACHMANN 116,848 50.00%
Democratic-Farmer-Labor JIM GRAVES 116,151 49.71%
Write-In WRITE-IN** 678 0.29%

280 precincts in contest. 195 of 280 precincts reported.
posted by zerobyproxy at 10:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

OMG YOUR BACK! I thought I would have to go through this all alone.
posted by Vysharra at 10:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Goodbye Mitt Romney. Let us never speak of him again.
posted by dry white toast at 10:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

That Obama camp USA chant was way better.
posted by JakeEXTREME at 10:08 PM on November 6, 2012

It was fun guys, I was mostly in chat (and hope someone grabbed a log of that madhouse for posterity), but I was here in spirit throughout the crashes and burns of the server.

Metafilter/AskMe 2016!
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:08 PM on November 6, 2012

I just have to say that I am the most cynical motherfucker I know when it comes to U.S. politics - seriously, I'll go to the mat in the 2016 Cynical Olympics with any one of y'all - and I have just realized at a deeply physiological level that the United States Senate now includes an out lesbian.

I am crying. I am seriously fucking crying.
posted by mediareport at 10:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [45 favorites]

There's fireworks going off in my Inner Southeast Portland neighborhood.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 10:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

It doesn't look like they're going to watch Obama's acceptance at Romney HQ. Most of them have left already.
posted by ceribus peribus at 10:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hey America, I love you guys. You guys are the best.

Well we invented movies (with help from France) so we're really into dramatic 4th act reversals and stuff. It's just all really dramatic all the time, sorry if it occasionally makes too many scary villains and make the situation too dire but again, we're from movies, we always get the bad guy in the end.
posted by The Whelk at 10:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Good stagecraft revealing the stage full of supporters between the LED walls.
posted by tomierna at 10:09 PM on November 6, 2012

Poor Scalia though.

He's going to die a jurist.
posted by Talez at 10:09 PM on November 6, 2012

In an election full of stunning images, this has got to be my favourite.
Sad Fox News folk.

Rob Schneider, Aisha Tyler, and Greg Proops take the news somberly.
posted by SomaSoda at 10:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

whats up mitt
posted by boo_radley at 10:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Kind of weird to think that just a few hours ago there was still the possibility that Mitt Romney could have become the President of the United States.

Amen. Now it is no longer a possibility.
posted by wallabear at 10:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Ok I don't know when Obama is going to be speaking, it's 1:10 and I have a full day of conference/training/studying for next week's exam tomorrow. I am going to bed and watching his speech tomorrow.

Thanks Metafilter, it's been fun!
posted by Lemurrhea at 10:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wisconsin did well nationally, but took a step back locally. Our next shot is the state Supreme Court.
posted by drezdn at 10:10 PM on November 6, 2012

I only have live tv in the bedroom where we don't usually hang out so it's always a little exciting to watch live TV knowing the rest of the country is watching this at the same time.
posted by bleep at 10:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm crying too, mediareport! I was not expecting this to be such a positive election! Kaine, Warren, McCaskill, Baldwin, gay marriage in multiple states.... we were hoping for a smattering of these. But to get it all? DAMN!
posted by troika at 10:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

SMACKDOWN!!

?
posted by jeoc at 10:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Woooooo! Wooohoooo!
posted by Lynsey at 10:10 PM on November 6, 2012

That was a pretty cold reception from the Romney HQ to the speech. I thought there were only about 5 people in the room when he started, before the camera panned around.
posted by arcticseal at 10:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Anyway lets all sing the national anthem again
posted by The Whelk at 10:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Left will rise!
posted by Slackermagee at 10:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

. I am going to bed and watching his speech tomorrow.

Gotta say the same.

Tonight has been amazing. So concerned about Obama that I barely hoped for Warren, Maggie Hassan in NH, the great Senate victories. Things are changed. It's overwhelmingly positive and I sincerely don't think we'll be going backward from here. Just...forward.

So happy. Good night.
posted by Miko at 10:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I just love how happy everyone at Obama HQ looks. I'm giddy all over again.
posted by Karmeliet at 10:12 PM on November 6, 2012

There better be some Al Green playing immediately before or after the victory speech.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 10:12 PM on November 6, 2012

But to get it all? DAMN!

i'm getting greedy. bachmann. that one would be... so good.
posted by twist my arm at 10:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yes many really great results tonight! I am too wound up to sleep.
posted by annsunny at 10:13 PM on November 6, 2012

I could have sworn for a second I could hear the Star Wars theme playing in the Obama stadium behind the dude speaking on MSNBC.

YUB NUB SONG OFFICIAL VICTORY THEME OBAMA 2012 CONFIRMED
posted by emmtee at 10:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Obama HQ was playing Mr. Big Stuff. Nice.
posted by youngergirl44 at 10:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Is it just me or did Romney look PISSED OFF during his speech?
posted by insectosaurus at 10:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Michelle and Barack, there's now a homeless Weimaraner puppy that needs a nice big White House lawn to play on
posted by nicebookrack at 10:13 PM on November 6, 2012

America just stepped into the modern world...
posted by roboton666 at 10:13 PM on November 6, 2012

God bless the motherthread for bringing us this victory.
posted by perhapses at 10:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Michal Steele (R) just said no one saw this coming. Er.
posted by shothotbot at 10:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney just thanked wives for staying home and taking care of their kids while the husbands were away doing real work. (paraphrase)

*brain explodes*

And he did it in such a weird way. He thanked his sons for all their hard work and then he said "And I thank their wives and their children for staying home and blah blah blah" Their wives and their children. Who talks like that? Is this a Mormon thing, where every man is head of his family? Because in most homes you would hear of "My daughters in law and my grandchildren."
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 10:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

For those of us without impromptu block parties to attend: Good Obama!
posted by Vysharra at 10:14 PM on November 6, 2012

When Bush won in 2004, he had 284 EV which meant MANDATE. He could MANDATE because MANDATE means MANDATE and he would MANDATE on your MANDATE. 284, bitches.

Now, Obama gots 300+EV and counting....

I bet mandate is all like in small letters and shit.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 10:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

Playing in Obama HQ, "Mr. Big Stuff/who do you think you are?", heh.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Some people are not happy. And say so on Twitter. In public.
posted by Mezentian at 10:14 PM on November 6, 2012

Michael Steele sounds like he really wants to get spanked.
posted by mollweide at 10:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I want Biden to come onto stage Gangnam Style.

DO IT FOR AMERICA, JOE.
posted by sonika at 10:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [29 favorites]

Romney is getting the saddest handjob tonight.
posted by sparkletone at 10:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

FOR EVERYONE IN AMERICA NOW
posted by The Whelk at 10:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I think we all need to thank Jimmy Carter's grandson and his anonyfriend for this.
posted by taz at 10:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [52 favorites]

Time to get your post-election bingo cards ready, it's going to be fast and furious on the internets tomorrow:

"Kiss your country goodbye"
"I'm leaving the country"
"Socialism"
"Voter Fraud"
"Liberal media"
"Hurricane Sandy weather control"
"He may have won but we're gonna impeach him for Benghazi"
"I'm a persecuted white middle-aged Christian man"

posted by usonian at 10:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

OK, so where does Obama DOJ come down on all our new legal pot?
posted by homunculus at 10:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here's a question: given the margin to which Latinos and the young went to Obama, what is the high-level Republican strategy for the next 4-8 years?

George Prescott Garnica Bush.
posted by elsietheeel at 10:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Al Green playing now!
posted by smithsmith at 10:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

What song was that they were playing at obama HQ a minute ago - the one before 'big stuff' - something about kisses taste sweet?
posted by ianhattwick at 10:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bravo America.
posted by kettleoffish at 10:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Is it just me or did Romney look PISSED OFF during his speech?

He seemed kind of irked and eye-rolly to me too.
posted by carter at 10:16 PM on November 6, 2012

Romney was fake-smiling through the grar, absolutely.
posted by bleep at 10:17 PM on November 6, 2012

So, tonight driving home from voting we heard The President speaking on the radio, and my son (he's six) leaned forward in his seat "Is that Obama? is that what his voice sounds like?" and I realized we keep him so sheltered from media that he'd never actually heard The President speak. So at dinner I showed him the video of the 'Yes We Can' speech from 2008. He was mesmerized, and I realized that I still believe in hope.

"There is something happening when Americans who are young in age and in spirit - who have never before participated in politics - turn out in numbers we've never seen because they know in their hearts that this time must be different.

There is something happening when people vote not just for the party they belong to but the hopes they hold in common - that whether we are rich or poor; black or white; Latino or Asian; whether we hail from Iowa or New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina, we are ready to take this country in a fundamentally new direction. That is what's happening in America right now. Change is what's happening in America.

You can be the new majority who can lead this nation out of a long political darkness - Democrats, Independents and Republicans who are tired of the division and distraction that has clouded Washington; who know that we can disagree without being disagreeable; who understand that if we mobilize our voices to challenge the money and influence that's stood in our way and challenge ourselves to reach for something better, there's no problem we can't solve - no destiny we cannot fulfill.

Our new American majority can end the outrage of unaffordable, unavailable health care in our time. We can bring doctors and patients; workers and businesses, Democrats and Republicans together; and we can tell the drug and insurance industry that while they'll get a seat at the table, they don't get to buy every chair. Not this time. Not now."
posted by anastasiav at 10:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [30 favorites]

So I did end up getting the election results from Madonna herself. Obama Fuck Yea, as she put it.
posted by octothorpe at 10:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

I can't find any pictures yet but I'm pretty sure Romney's concession speech was against a backdrop of a wall of Minecraft Creeper faces
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

What song was that they were playing at obama HQ a minute ago - the one before 'big stuff' - something about kisses taste sweet?

Didn't notice. Was it "kiss me with your mouth, your love is sweeter than wine"?
posted by NailsTheCat at 10:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Bad night for the Nuge...
posted by edgeways at 10:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Speaking of prediction, Sam Wang got 49/50 correct as far as I can tell (assuming FL is truly for Obama) and in his prediction acknowledged FL was basically a coin toss. Also he predicted Obama was a heavy favorite back in August, with the actual outcome pretty close to the middle of the 1-sigma CI (here).

On the other hand, statisticians are short effeminate men who pander to the "far-left", so in conclusion fuck data, let's make shit up.
posted by en forme de poire at 10:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

You know, I think he just played it straight and professional, I didn't get any weirdness from him (Romney), during his speech.
posted by Skygazer at 10:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I want a Reddit AMA with the Obama HQ DJ. Did s/he have Sad Concession playlists queued just in case, or was it triumphant Al Green all the way?
posted by nicebookrack at 10:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

OK, so where does Obama DOJ come down on all our new legal pot?

srsly, you fuckin' up my vacation plans
posted by twist my arm at 10:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Nasty little "we pray for Obama" at the end I thought, a sort of "bless your heart" tone

He is informed by his deep faith.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Come give your victory speech now, Mr President. We love you and ate thrilled you are back.
posted by bearwife at 10:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Er, love you.
posted by bearwife at 10:19 PM on November 6, 2012

"ate" ?
posted by HuronBob at 10:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Think the Obama crowd is starting to lose energy. Stop being bashful, dude, give the speech so I can sleep.
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 10:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Is there a good place to read more about the pro-pot ballot measures? I'm asking for a friend.
posted by peeedro at 10:21 PM on November 6, 2012

What song was that they were playing at obama HQ a minute ago - the one before 'big stuff' - something about kisses taste sweet?

Jean Knight, "Mr Big Stuff"
posted by sourwookie at 10:21 PM on November 6, 2012

There's an edit window for that, bearwife.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

So, apparently they unveiled a whole bunch of people behind the curtain to entertain the people who've been standing in front of the stage all night.
posted by MrVisible at 10:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION TEAMS ACTIVATE CASH SUCKERS
posted by vrakatar at 10:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

"New Hampshire has made history by electing the first ever all-woman Congressional delegation plus Governor in America." --@emilyslist
posted by Surfurrus at 10:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Thank you America, we believed you would take the sane option.
posted by jeffen at 10:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Nasty little "we pray for Obama" at the end I thought, a sort of "bless your heart" tone

He is informed by his deep faith.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:18 PM on November 7 [+] [!]

I swear this is true: I originally read that as "by his deep wealth"
posted by DoctorFedora at 10:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Time to get your post-election bingo cards ready, it's going to be fast and furious on the internets tomorrow:

You left out going to buy guns. That's already popped up on my FB feed.
posted by ambrosia at 10:22 PM on November 6, 2012

It's not often I get to see American adverts. They're trying to sell me something called a Baconzilla and dear god I really really do want one.
posted by emmtee at 10:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

"Once the minority of House and Senate are comfortable in their minority status, they will have no problem socializing with the Republicans. Any farmer will tell you that certain animals run around and are unpleasant, but when they're fixed then they are happy and sedate. They are contented and cheerful. They don't go around peeing on the furniture and such."
- Grover Norquist, Dec. 2004

Payback is a bitch, isn't it?!

Welcome to the beginning of the end for the GOP, and the start of a long political wilderness, Grover. Now put on some pants and grab a mop.
posted by markkraft at 10:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Obama popular lead now up to 450K on Google's count.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 10:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Allen West has fallen behind Murphy in FL Dist 18
posted by vicusofrecirculation at 10:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Please Nate, please be wrong about the NV Senate seat. Please don't let Rove/Crossroads buy the election.
posted by Vysharra at 10:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Paul Ryan did win re-election in the house. Only got 56% of the vote, though.
posted by delmoi at 10:23 PM on November 6, 2012

And then they started yelling "speech, speech, speech" to no one in particular.
posted by littlesq at 10:23 PM on November 6, 2012

Aw crap, Paul Ryan beat Zerban.
posted by wallabear at 10:24 PM on November 6, 2012

You know, I think he just played it straight and professional, I didn't get any weirdness from him (Romney), during his speech.

Same here, it seemed a plain, ordinary, gracious concession speech. He did seem tired, though, and it is 1 AM in Boston; maybe that's what others are reading as "GRAR"?
posted by Mars Saxman at 10:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I already had a Republicun friend ask me for advice on buying a gun.
So, yeah. Whatever.
Asking a pinko. Doesn't she know any Republicuns with guns?

posted by Seamus at 10:24 PM on November 6, 2012

We've got movement!
posted by JakeEXTREME at 10:24 PM on November 6, 2012

They're trying to sell me something called a Baconzilla and dear god I really really do want one.
GAWD! NO! That's how they get you!
posted by Floydd at 10:24 PM on November 6, 2012

But at least I can now marry my nonexistent boyfriend here in WA.
posted by wallabear at 10:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

“If you are not in the room, the conversation is about you,” she said. “If you are in the room, the conversation is with you. We never had an openly LGBT member of the U.S. Senate, and even though there are strong pro-equality allies who serve there, it has always been a conversation about a group of people. So this changes everything.”

-Tammy Baldwin

Fuck. Yeah.
posted by rtha at 10:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [67 favorites]

Stay strong, Metafilter servers. I'm counting on you.
posted by Vysharra at 10:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

If we're nominating King of the Quants, my vote goes to Drew Linzer at Votamatic. Check it. Dude killed it.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 10:26 PM on November 6, 2012

"Once the minority of House and Senate are comfortable in their minority status, .... They don't go around peeing on the furniture and such."
- Grover Norquist, Dec. 2004

I don't want to abolish Grover Norquist, I just want him weak enough so that I can drown him in a bathtub.
posted by benito.strauss at 10:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [32 favorites]

It is so unfair I am at work and not drinking and celebrating like a damnfool.
posted by louche mustachio at 10:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have this half-baked idea that I will (for the first time in my life) compose a letter to the President of the United States - imploring him to address electoral reform. Not that I know the answer, but dear gods there has GOT to be a better way to go about this than the utter clusterfuck of the last 18 months. And I say that as someone who could not be happier about the results.
posted by fingers_of_fire at 10:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

BRING ON THE PREZ I GOTTA PASS OUT FFS
posted by vrakatar at 10:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm loving Rachel Maddow's barely concealed joy as she runs down the series of ballots that have turned out AWESOME.
posted by emmtee at 10:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

More good news out of Florida -- anti-choice measure going down to a strong defeat.
posted by scody at 10:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Our ABC (US) feed here was just interrupted with The Fresh Prince.
Nice one, but I can tell the difference.
posted by Mezentian at 10:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

So Biden's going to come out and spray fake blood all over the crowd while GWAR plays right?
posted by sparkletone at 10:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Kristin Welker is totally Tina Fey's glasses-less face-twin!
posted by nicebookrack at 10:28 PM on November 6, 2012

dont give up!
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:28 PM on November 6, 2012

The crowd looks as tired as I feel. Come on Obama, we have ALL THE LOVE and we are just stewing in it over here.
posted by Vysharra at 10:28 PM on November 6, 2012

CSpan just went to a static "Loading... please wait" page.
posted by jiawen at 10:28 PM on November 6, 2012

This is the image that will grace future history books about this election.
posted by Kattullus at 10:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

I just want to say thank you America for choosing the sane option.
posted by arcticseal at 10:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Come on Barry, I have to go home in half an hour.
posted by fullerine at 10:28 PM on November 6, 2012

How do they expect people to be able to crowd surf when everyone is holding pointy flags?
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 10:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Didn't notice. Was it "kiss me with your mouth, your love is sweeter than wine"?

Hmmm. .. not findint by searching that. And it was the one before mr. big stuff.
posted by ianhattwick at 10:28 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Keep on Rolling
posted by youngergirl44 at 10:29 PM on November 6, 2012

4700 comments? seriously?
posted by camdan at 10:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Please, Mr. President, come and claim this fabulous victory.
posted by bearwife at 10:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

"@rachellau26: Elected to the Senate today: 1st disabled woman, 1st openly lesbian woman, 1st Asian woman. Binder full of f*cking awesome."
posted by sparkletone at 10:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [30 favorites]

seriously.

I am about to pass out
posted by The Whelk at 10:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Romney lost! I eat crow! I eat my hat! I eat it and eat it and eat it and eat it. I was so wrong and so belligerent about it. Hooray for me being completely fucking wrong (and losing 20 dollars)!

Okay. Party's over. Bradley Manning's still being tormented to the point of madness in a military prison. Julian Assange is still an enemy of the state. We're still wasting lives and money and futures in Afghanistan. We're still murdering Afghan and Paki civilians at an ever increasing rate by remote control. We're still on the hook for any future failure of a fundamentally unreformed banking system. We're still a prison industrial nation.

Barack Obama and his party are still working hard to keep these things from changing, just as the Elephants would have.

Hooray!
posted by clarknova at 10:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

So sleepy. And yet, if I go to bed *now*...

MAKE WITH THE SPEECHIFYING.
posted by sonika at 10:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

4700 comments? seriously?

I know, MeFi is getting weak. We should be well past 10K.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 10:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW, SCARBOROUGH
posted by sparkletone at 10:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

4700 comments? seriously?

In fairness, there would be more if Metafilter hadn't gone down for a few minutes. We can totally post more.
posted by louche mustachio at 10:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

What's going on with Michelle Bachmann? Any news?
posted by Hairy Lobster at 10:31 PM on November 6, 2012

So Biden's going to come out and spray fake blood all over the crowd while GWAR plays right?

Joe, you play a mean guitar, man. It’s really a shame... that YOU MUST DIE!
posted by emmtee at 10:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just so's y'all know, a bunch of us in CA (and other Western states, I assume) will be up for hours, refreshing tabs blearily, as we follow the fate of various state propositions/ballot initiatives. Sigh.
posted by rtha at 10:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's all over but the speechifying.
posted by mazola at 10:31 PM on November 6, 2012

If we're nominating King of the Quants, my vote goes to Drew Linzer at Votamatic. Check it. Dude killed it.

To me, the really awesome thing is that we don't really need to anoint a King of the Quants (though Votamatic indeed looks great on a first skim) because all of the people who actually did something statistically reasonable basically converged on the same (correct) answer.
posted by en forme de poire at 10:32 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Prop 30 still behind :(
posted by Golden Eternity at 10:32 PM on November 6, 2012

Sweet Home Chicago
posted by vrakatar at 10:32 PM on November 6, 2012

Free Republic front page headline: Worst Day in US History, Maybe World History

hahaha, yay
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Bachmann is up 122,280 to 120,566 (73.6% reporting).
posted by Mister Fabulous at 10:33 PM on November 6, 2012

What's going on with Michelle Bachmann? Any news?

Leading by less than 1000 votes with three quarters reporting.
posted by milquetoast at 10:33 PM on November 6, 2012

It's election night. Suck it up.

Both candidates haven't slept in at least 50 hours. Watch this man work a podium like a master.

Then it's time to get up in the morning and work at making our nation better!
posted by cmfletcher at 10:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bachman has a slight lead...
posted by ialwayscryatendings at 10:33 PM on November 6, 2012

What's going on with Michelle Bachmann?

She's super crazy?
posted by cortex at 10:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

late to the party
posted by saul wright at 10:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

That's it. I was watching local Fox for the schadenfun, but it's just so much bullshit. Again with "Obama needs to be humble." Fuck you all.
posted by benito.strauss at 10:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm up here in CT waiting on the victory speech. Obama is supposedly on the way to the stage. I'm assuming he's going so slow because it's hard to high five that many people on the way to the stage.
posted by JakeEXTREME at 10:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Freepers. Drama queens.
posted by rtha at 10:34 PM on November 6, 2012

I have given serious consideration to moving to California for Election 2016 so I could actually go to bed at a decent hour on election night...
posted by booksherpa at 10:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

NO votes lead on both constitutional amendments
posted by louche mustachio at 10:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Agenda for 2013:

1) Preparing for climate change.
2) Doing what we can to reverse climate change.
3) Drawing and quartering for robocallers.
posted by RakDaddy at 10:34 PM on November 6, 2012

hahaha, yay
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:34 PM on November 6, 2012

Boo DJ. You were doing so well, and then U2.
posted by panaceanot at 10:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Rmoney never congratulated Obama. He just tried to set up Ryan as the next President.

Sore fucking loser.
posted by Splunge at 10:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I fully expect this to be the new Motherthread... in less than 24 hours. I love you guys so much!
posted by Vysharra at 10:34 PM on November 6, 2012

2-0 for Barry-O!
posted by Green Winnebago at 10:34 PM on November 6, 2012

Mitt Romney

...who?
posted by 2bucksplus at 10:34 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

I have a theory that Romney was asleep, and it took so long because they had to wake him up.

I mean, this is way passed his bedtime.
posted by Malice at 10:34 PM on November 6, 2012

sparkletone: "WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW, SCARBOROUGH"

Is he in... Benghazi?
posted by boo_radley at 10:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I don't want to abolish Grover Norquist, I just want him weak enough so that I can drown him in a bathtub.

We can work this out. He's looking pretty wimpy.
posted by Floydd at 10:35 PM on November 6, 2012

ABC newsies (all white) now making a joke about how Obama is Not White.
Now, I have seen the Chris Rock ad, but, really....

I'm amusing myself by naming the flagwavers. I just saw Fake Young Alex Baldwin
posted by Mezentian at 10:35 PM on November 6, 2012

You know, it might be the lack of sleep talking but that podium is quite engaging, you should vote for it next time.
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 10:35 PM on November 6, 2012

Then it's time to get up in the morning and work at making our nation better!

Yes, and I have a toddler who is going to help me get up BRIGHT AND EARLY so really would very much like to go to bed because I can't really explain to him DEMOCRACY.
posted by sonika at 10:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

'How Can America Pick a Man Like That?'
posted by homunculus at 10:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here we go.
posted by perhapses at 10:35 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm an ex-pat American.

In many ways, I have been really disappointed with the way the USA has gone ... and yet, since I was raised in the culture there (and if you think there's not a uniquely US version of western culture, you need to travel more) I'm still partial.

These last two elections have been so promising. We're making small changes! Sure, right now where I live I have a far better deal going, in comparison to my last life in the US, with regard to health care and use of taxes and what not ... but if the country keeps changing as it does? Whoa.

I love it. I love it I love it I love it. There are a lot of fucked up things in the US, but it's changing for the better, I think. I hope. I hope I think I hope I think.

NOW WHERE'S THAT VICTORY SPEECH OBAMA
posted by barnacles at 10:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

All the poor slobs milling around Romney HQ like townfolk gathered to greet the circus train, only to watch it speed past on the express tracks. Not even a whistle stop for their shoddy little village.

Romney is finished, but Ryan retained his seat and the Republicans retained the House. These people still feel they have a mandate. They certainly still have their corporate backers. Those guys never give up.

We've got an uphill battle, both ways, barefoot in the snow. This is not a time to gloat. We need to maintain our momentum and be ready to fight at every turn.
posted by Pudhoho at 10:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

SHSSSHHH!!!!
posted by roboton666 at 10:35 PM on November 6, 2012

Whoa, when did those cute little girls turn into awesome teenagers?
posted by bleep at 10:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I remember 4 years ago.... this is a good thing...
posted by HuronBob at 10:35 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

OMG the Obamakids are so much taller than four years ago!
posted by nicebookrack at 10:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

THAT'S MY PRESIDENT
posted by argonauta at 10:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Shush now!
posted by arcticseal at 10:36 PM on November 6, 2012

OMG The tears started before he got to the podium........ somanytissues...
posted by Vysharra at 10:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Do they have to bring the president out? I wanted to see a few more tired people awkwardly dancing.
posted by windbox at 10:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

late to the party

no see cuz the party don't stop
posted by twist my arm at 10:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

YES HELLO MR. PRESIDENT!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by sonika at 10:36 PM on November 6, 2012

Obama starts his speech... "Hell YEAH, motherfuckers. How do you like THAT shit?"
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 10:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

signed, sealed, delivered...
posted by theartandsound at 10:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Signed, sealed, delivered...

Jinx!
posted by michswiss at 10:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

once you go barack you never go back
posted by 404 Not Found at 10:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

IT'S SHOWTIME
posted by victory_laser at 10:37 PM on November 6, 2012

OUR PRESIDENT
posted by twist my arm at 10:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Signed, sealed, delivered, he's ours!
posted by Feisty at 10:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I think Metafilter is about to crash. Or y'all watching the First Family.
posted by Mezentian at 10:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm crying and he's not even speaking yet.
posted by anastasiav at 10:37 PM on November 6, 2012

cold intro everyone seems tired
posted by vrakatar at 10:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Hello, presidential family!
posted by rtha at 10:37 PM on November 6, 2012

And iTunes reports a surge of Stevie Wonder sales....
posted by HeyAllie at 10:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

What a BEAUTIFUL family!
posted by Surfurrus at 10:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well, still wondering about that measure for condoms in the adult industry. And some other California props. Refreshing continuously.
posted by jermspeaks at 10:37 PM on November 6, 2012

Signed, sealed, delivered; I'm yours.

What a fucking AWESOME victory song. :D
posted by barnacles at 10:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I wish this man the best. He's overcome a shitload of American bias and prejudice. He's tried, he's faced powerful opposition.... And, he's hanging in there with us...
posted by HuronBob at 10:37 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I KNOW THEY'RE JUST GROWING LIKE NORMAL HUMAN KIDS, BUT I AM HAVING A NORMAL HUMAN REACTION TO GROWING HUMAN KIDS: HOLY FUCK HAVE OBAMA'S DAUGHTERS GOTTEN TALL IN 4 YEARS (I haven't seen a picture of them standing next to their parents in like 3 years).
posted by sparkletone at 10:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

"We did it... again!"

Drops microphone. Dances off stage.
posted by Vysharra at 10:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

FORTY MORE YEARS!
posted by perhapses at 10:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I really didn't think I'd cry. Oh so happy and relieved
posted by readery at 10:38 PM on November 6, 2012

YOU BUILT THAT
posted by tomierna at 10:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I know this is shallow, but I LOVE the girls' outfits!
posted by elvissa at 10:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

He's gotten so grey. You couldn't give me that office.
posted by deborah at 10:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

Now, finally, he can get radical.
posted by maggieb at 10:38 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Perfecting our union! Yes, let's do that!
posted by bleep at 10:38 PM on November 6, 2012

what were they chanting? sounded like "make it so" but that'd be too good
posted by brieche at 10:39 PM on November 6, 2012

What an awesome night - All I need is Tester to win in Montana and it's awesome with a cherry on top.
posted by jalexei at 10:39 PM on November 6, 2012

The Bachman/Graves race seems to be wavering back and forth, hoverign around 50/50 as results come in.

But HARK! What do I see? RICK NOLAN IS AHEAD OF CHIP CRAAVAK?
posted by louche mustachio at 10:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

steady as she goes
posted by vrakatar at 10:39 PM on November 6, 2012

Blue tie!
posted by peeedro at 10:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think Stevie Wonder should play the inauguration
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

The slow build up.... oh man... I've got shivers.
posted by Vysharra at 10:39 PM on November 6, 2012

Love his call to unity as Americans without mentioning political parties. Well done.
posted by sonika at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

he's won the election, it's up to US to support him the next four years... Us.... YOU..... Don't fail this man, don't fail this country!
posted by HuronBob at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hey there. The microphones are blue.
posted by youngergirl44 at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012

The gap between Obama's rhetoric and Romney's is the gap between Aaron Sorkin and John Wells.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Is that Oprah behind Obama?
posted by AElfwine Evenstar at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012

I don't hear him endorsing Paul Ryan.

HRMPH!
posted by mazola at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012

I am so happy right now.
posted by octothorpe at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

what were they chanting? sounded like "make it so" but that'd be too good

So say we all.
posted by infinitywaltz at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I like it when my president looks like it's been a long, difficult four years. President should have greyer hair and more wrinkles at the end of four years, you know?
posted by rtha at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

...hell yeah we have to fix that!
posted by troika at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

From the world: "Don't fuck this up."

The United States: "We got this."
posted by cmfletcher at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [16 favorites]

3 polling places in Hawai'i still open.
posted by Surfurrus at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012

Yes we do!!
posted by Golden Eternity at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012

By the way, we have to fix that.

FUCK YEAH!
posted by Mister Fabulous at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

"By the way, we have to fix that" re: waiting in line for a long time to vote.
posted by gc at 10:40 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

We're gonna fix that!
posted by Vysharra at 10:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Now, this is a speech.
posted by Mezentian at 10:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Young Oprah is very happy.
posted by madajb at 10:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Such a beautiful family.

Go Obama, Michelle, Sasha and Malia!

FOUR MORE FUCKING YEARS!
posted by ericb at 10:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

It gets better. NBC calls Patrick Murphy over Allen West in FL-18.
posted by MegoSteve at 10:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

In my dreams, Obama walked out, said "fuck with me now", dropped the mic and walked off the stage.
posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 10:41 PM on November 6, 2012 [17 favorites]

Please stop saying his name. I cannot forget that smirk fast enough.
posted by Vysharra at 10:41 PM on November 6, 2012

FYI, in Senate races, Heltkamp (D) is up 51/49 (up 4900 votes) in ND, with 89% of the vote counted.

Heller (R) is up 46/45 (up 6300 votes) in NV, is 92% of the vote counted.

Obviously, both close races that could swing either way still.

(According to cnn.)
posted by flug at 10:41 PM on November 6, 2012

Is Oprah standing behind Obama?
posted by gc at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Joe got some cheers!
posted by HuronBob at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2012

AMERICA'S.

HAPPY.

WARRIOR.
posted by sparkletone at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

What the hell does he have to talk with Romney about at this point?
posted by converge at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2012

"America's Happy Warrior" Love that!
posted by bleep at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

A M E R I C A ' S H A P P Y W A R R I O R
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

BIDEN BIDEN BIDEN
posted by Vysharra at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

SLOPPY JOE SLOP SLOPPY JOE
posted by vrakatar at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Biden!!
posted by Skygazer at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2012

I saw it here first that Grayson will be rejoining the house. I really, really liked that guy and am so glad to see him back in the House again. With him, McCaskill, Warren, and of course The Big O...man, what a great night for Democrats.
posted by MattMangels at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

> "By the way, we have to fix that" re: waiting in line for a long time to vote.

Yes, but in my heart he means EVERYTHING THAT IS WRONG (also the electoral college, because ew ew ew).
posted by Panjandrum at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2012

hey, dude from Masterchef
posted by scody at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Happy Warrior meme start now please
posted by nicebookrack at 10:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

t-minus 9 hours until tippit excitedly pontificating on how the choice in obama's opening music was a subtle hint that the presidency was signed, sealed, delivered, by [reptoids/banker dynasties/the bilderberg/xenu] and blah blah numerology blah blah obama=satan?
posted by clarknova at 10:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Biden should've driven up in a Trans Am.
posted by Skygazer at 10:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

This is a classy speech.

All of you "there's no difference between the candidates" voters? We're not mad at you; we're just very disappointed.
posted by barnacles at 10:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

No. MORE DOGS.
posted by stargell at 10:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

He just exudes goodness.
posted by HeyAllie at 10:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Only one dog!
posted by perhapses at 10:43 PM on November 6, 2012

AWW I WANTED ANOTHER DOG!
posted by Vysharra at 10:43 PM on November 6, 2012

"One dog is probably enough"... Word!
posted by HuronBob at 10:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

POOR WEIMARANER PUPPY
posted by nicebookrack at 10:43 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

AWWW NO MORE PUPPIES.
posted by sonika at 10:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Nice synchronicity: Obama stepped on stage just as the CNN popular vote tracker ticked from 49-49 to 50-49 for Obama.
posted by Kattullus at 10:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

FOUR MORE DOGS!
posted by Mezentian at 10:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

SO HAPPY :''''D

(only thing harshing my vibe now is james lankford's creepy goblin face sneering out at me from the ticker GET OUT OF HERE JAMES LANKFORD)
posted by brieche at 10:44 PM on November 6, 2012

Still waiting for the death panels in this speech
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

He just exudes goodness

So did Sauron during the Second Age.
posted by AElfwine Evenstar at 10:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

Dow is going up at least 150 points tomorrow.
posted by vrakatar at 10:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Congratulations, USA!
posted by harriet vane at 10:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Crying at "we are family" sentiment. OMG so powerful.
posted by Vysharra at 10:45 PM on November 6, 2012

A contest of eagles?
posted by converge at 10:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I believe this man. And I don't think I've been able to say that since JFK....

And, politics should not bring tears to the eyes of a 64 year old man.... Must be dust in my eyes...
posted by HuronBob at 10:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [22 favorites]

I hit my favorite limit for the day. I've loved this man since 2004, since Dreams from My Father, I love this man, he is no second choice. I'm thrilled.
posted by sweetkid at 10:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Four more years of cleaning of Republican messes and deadlock in Congress -- still better than a Romney presidency.
posted by MartinWisse at 10:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

:D I am so, so happy.
posted by Tarumba at 10:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Auto plant dig. Nice.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 10:46 PM on November 6, 2012

"A contest of eagles?"
I thought that too (although I knew what he said) it was an amusing mental image.
posted by bleep at 10:46 PM on November 6, 2012

WHY DOES HE MAKE ME SO PROUD TO BE AMERICAN?!?
posted by Vysharra at 10:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Looks like Puerto Ricans want to be the 51st state. Initiative passes 60-70% for PR to consider statehood.
posted by Surfurrus at 10:46 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'd much rather be watching a contest of eagles.
posted by converge at 10:47 PM on November 6, 2012

So did Sauron during the Second Age.

omg if that isn't the most AElfwine Evenstar comment ever you are adorable
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [50 favorites]

Stop trying to heal wounds and curb stomp those pompous, bigoted, racist assholes!
posted by Vysharra at 10:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Absolutely zero regrets for staying up for this speech, so awesome.

Maybe some regret for opening up another beer. Maybe.
posted by ReadEvalPost at 10:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Democracy in a nation this big can be noisy and messy and complicated....it stirs up passion, it stirs up controversy....but these arguments we had are a mark of our liberty."

Yes. The fact that he knows this, right there - this is why I voted for this man in 2008, and why I voted for him 2012.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

Looks like Puerto Ricans want to be the 51st state. Initiative passes 60-70% for PR to consider statehood.

That's so neat!
posted by Flunkie at 10:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

WHY DOES HE MAKE ME SO PROUD TO BE AMERICAN?!?

BECAUSE HE LOVES ALL THE AMERICANS. ALL.
posted by sweetkid at 10:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Intrade still only at 99.7%.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 10:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Man, some of the eyerolls in the crowd at this speech!...
posted by jinjo at 10:48 PM on November 6, 2012

OMG, climate change!
posted by perhapses at 10:48 PM on November 6, 2012

Surfurrus: "Looks like Puerto Ricans want to be the 51st state. Initiative passes 60-70% for PR to consider statehood"

Oooooh, that's a beautiful thing. I support the hell out of this!

Guam, Virgin Islands? American Samoa? You listening?
posted by barnacles at 10:48 PM on November 6, 2012

Young Oprah just stuck her little flag in her hair in the most ridiculous way possible.
posted by converge at 10:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

global warming ... yes!
posted by HuronBob at 10:48 PM on November 6, 2012

"The destructive power of a warming planet".

Fuckin'-A, Mr. President.
posted by thehmsbeagle at 10:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I just got a thank you email.... While he's on stage.

Witchcraft?
posted by sparkletone at 10:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

So now, with the smoke clearing, and Rove's weirdness about Ohio, am I the only one eager to see Nate Silver's forensic statistics on the Ohio vote?
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 10:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I wasn't a parent in 2008, but I am now and when I hear about Obama talk about "our children" I get all smooshy in my heart and I'm proud that I'll be able to tell my son I voted for him.
posted by sonika at 10:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Obama, you got to bring it together. The agenda is entirely yours. No go to the other side and talk to them reasonably.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 10:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Why doesn't he tackle Iran? Or Israel? Why is he so weak? He hasn't even said "Terrorism" or "god"
posted by Mezentian at 10:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

oh the troops. i always forget how important the troops are in america.
posted by modernnomad at 10:49 PM on November 6, 2012

Climate change FINALLY mentioned!!

And since it was in an acceptance speech, I choose to view that as a very positive step.
posted by barnacles at 10:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I was watching Obama's speech with my eyes misting over, just until he said: "It's not small, it's big!"

Then I giggled like a 12 year old.

I'M SO HAPPY I CAN'T STAND IT!

What I'm saying is that I've got all kinds of emotions, and they're all good emotions.
posted by Kattullus at 10:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I just wanted to wish you all good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by zardoz at 10:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Baby Oprah's flag-hat is ADORABLE
posted by nicebookrack at 10:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

calling this now- the new "Silent Majority" is non-assholes. Looks like a fucking demographically-locked MANDATE. Take note, fvckers.
posted by hap_hazard at 10:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The early morning free Dutch newspaper played it safe and showed both an Obama and a Romney victory on its front pages -- remember when the Onion did that 12 years ago?
posted by MartinWisse at 10:50 PM on November 6, 2012

WARREN/YOUNG OPRAH 2016

(Imma go register me some websites RIGHT NOW)
posted by barnacles at 10:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

He looks exhausted.
posted by bendy at 10:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Nate Silver should renogiate his contract with NYT... a tripping in salary front and center.
posted by edgeways at 10:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

"The destructive power of a warming planet"

Finally!
posted by homunculus at 10:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"war is ending"

Long time since we've heard a President say that....
posted by HuronBob at 10:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

sonika, I did phone banking for our marriage equality initiative, and I was scared to fucking death about it. Literally the only thing that got me to drive out there and get on the phone was imagining talking to my kids when they're older, my grandkids, and telling them I wanted to do more but I was too scared.
posted by KathrynT at 10:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

"a decade of war is ending"

YES
posted by stargell at 10:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Please oh please oh please omit "god bless" this time.
posted by Vysharra at 10:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

YES LET'S CHEER THE CAMPAIGN BEING OVER GLORY HALLELUJAH.
posted by sonika at 10:51 PM on November 6, 2012

"A decade of war is ending."

That ... that's really about all I wanted to hear. :~}

(and then some dude yelled out "I LOVE YOU!" from the crowd; imagine THAT at a Romney speech)
posted by barnacles at 10:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

"the role of citizen in this democracy does not end with your vote."

FUCK YES. TESTIFY.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Freeing ourselves from Foreigner? No way. Classic rock will never go away.
posted by perhapses at 10:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

I can't believe my dog is sleeping through this speech
posted by stargell at 10:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Get poetic POTUS.
posted by vrakatar at 10:53 PM on November 6, 2012

Man, Barack's speechifying skills are slipping.
posted by converge at 10:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

am I the only one eager to see Nate Silver's forensic statistics on the Ohio vote?

I know this is an unhappy thought, but if there's not some sort of legal consequence to the Ohio Secretary of State for that oh-so-cute last-minute uncertified software update, then America is doomed for sure.
posted by mediareport at 10:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
posted by Vysharra at 10:54 PM on November 6, 2012

"That doesn't mean YOUR work is done......"

damn.....
posted by HuronBob at 10:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"We have the most powerful military in history but that's not what makes us strong."

Oh wow.

Fucking yes.

We made the right choice.
posted by barnacles at 10:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

dude's shirt in crowd said "99 problems but mitt ain't one"
posted by SomaSoda at 10:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Heh, he said "duty."
posted by bendy at 10:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

LOVE AND DUTY AND PATRIOTISM AND CHEESE THAT'S WHAT MAKES AMERICA GREAT!

So happy. So sleepy.
posted by sonika at 10:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Man, Barack's speechifying skills are slipping.

WELL HE'S HAD A LONG DAY SO HE'S PROBABLY PRETTY TIRED
posted by infinitywaltz at 10:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Literally the only thing that got me to drive out there and get on the phone was imagining talking to my kids when they're older, my grandkids, and telling them I wanted to do more but I was too scared.

So very many thank yous. I heard a story on NPR today with a woman who was all "gay rights, or fiscal responsibility for my child?" as she talked about choosing between Romney and Obama

I was shouting at the radio as I drove. "If your kid is gay, you think they're gonna be all 'hey thanks for voting against my rights so I could have lower taxes!'? No! No they're not! And you think Romney will bring fiscal whatever? ARRRGHHH!!!!!"
posted by rtha at 10:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

This speech is amazing. I can't believe this almost didn't happen.
posted by bleep at 10:55 PM on November 6, 2012

And a shout-out to NJ and NY politicians working on storm recovery. NICE.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm all verklempt but I can't figure if it's the speech or not. Tears in my eyes!
posted by asperity at 10:55 PM on November 6, 2012

Guam, Virgin Islands? American Samoa? You listening?

I'm not as big a fan of that idea as I am of the Puerto Rico idea. I mean, I'm not completely opposed, but those places have tiny populations. The Electoral College is fucked up enough as is, with the disparity in individual voting power between (say) California and Wyoming; American Samoa has like a tenth the population of Wyoming.

Puerto Rico, on the other hand, would be basically a medium state in terms of population.
posted by Flunkie at 10:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wasn't tired last time, infinity. That one was great.
posted by converge at 10:56 PM on November 6, 2012

I heard Obama didn't have an acceptance speech written...
posted by mazola at 10:56 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I think, throughout all the campaign, this is the speech he's been preparing for.
posted by meese at 10:56 PM on November 6, 2012

Barack Obama and his party are still working hard to keep these things from changing, just as the Elephants would have.

Possibly, but the differences in their policies and the effects they will have - which you don't list here - are significant.
posted by krinklyfig at 10:56 PM on November 6, 2012

Yeah, Puerto Rico has a population a little bigger than Connecticut's.
posted by DoctorFedora at 10:57 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm all out of favorites. But I'm still clicking the [+]'s.
posted by Vysharra at 10:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Nate Silver should renegotiate his contract with NYT

Actually, after that idiotic slap he got from the NYT's normally sharp public editor for being human, Nate Silver should have the brains to realize he doesn't need the NYT's platform anymore - he never did - and go back to being his own person instead of someone who has to constantly worry about representing a massive publishing enterprise in all of his personal utterances.

Free yourself, Nate!
posted by mediareport at 10:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [21 favorites]

Is he using a teleprompter or not?
posted by Mezentian at 10:57 PM on November 6, 2012

OMG! SOMEONE IMPALED OPRAH IN THE HEAD WITH A LITTLE AMERICAN FLAG!

(Argh! Now all the streams are down.)
posted by dirigibleman at 10:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Where you love?"
posted by converge at 10:57 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

He said the G word.
posted by perhapses at 10:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I love you, Mr President.
posted by bearwife at 10:58 PM on November 6, 2012

Hell of a speech.
posted by vverse23 at 10:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The USA don't care who you are, where you're from, what you did, AS LONG AS YOU LOVE FREEdom
posted by nicebookrack at 10:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"...or where you love"?
posted by zerbinetta at 10:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

ABLE OR DISABLED GAY OR STRAIGHT

FUCK YES.
posted by sonika at 10:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [17 favorites]

"Don't boo. Vote.". And so we did.
posted by HeyAllie at 10:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

:)
posted by mazola at 10:58 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm all out of favorites. But I'm still clicking the [+]'s.

Me too. In fact, I tried to to favorite that comment.
posted by benito.strauss at 10:58 PM on November 6, 2012

GOD BLESS YOU, PRESIDENT Barack Obama!

INDEED: "We can seize the future together!"
posted by ericb at 10:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

A COUNTRY IS NOT A COMPANY, IT'S ABOUT DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY AND STEWARDSHIP AND IDEALS
posted by The Whelk at 10:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [29 favorites]

All right, y'all. It's confirmed:

Once you go Black, you never go back.

Good night, everybody!
posted by magstheaxe at 10:58 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

> Is he using a teleprompter or not?

He's reading the words directly from your heart.
posted by Panjandrum at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [34 favorites]

That ending. I have goosebumps like I haven't felt in a long time.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm sorry but this is how I feel: take that, GOP, with your voter suppression, and your propaganda channel, and your woman-hating, and your fucking racism, and your fact-ignoring truth-distorting culture warriors, and your goddamned warmongering. Fuck you, fuck your twofaced crypto-candidate and his malfeasant goblin sidekick. Take THAT you sea of vile dirtbags. Fuck off and die, you human pieces of shit. The world is better without you.
posted by fleacircus at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [65 favorites]

Sounded like "where you love" to me
posted by JakeEXTREME at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Okay, the guy can speachify
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Goodnight, everyone, and good luck.
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012

[whew] that was a humdinger of a victory speech!
posted by lampshade at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I bet God is so tired of blessing us. What does that entail anyway?
posted by perhapses at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

That was amazing! Someone give that man a hug!
posted by Vysharra at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012

holleee shit
posted by roboton666 at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012

If we don't stand behind this man for the next four years, the result will be our own damn fault......
posted by HuronBob at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh good lord, this speech. My heart exploded into a million American flags.

And now to bed. And oh, so worth it.
posted by sonika at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

That was one of the single greatest speeches I've ever heard. Right up there with MLK.

Right on, Mr. President.
posted by Malice at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm not as big a fan of that idea as I am of the Puerto Rico idea. I mean, I'm not completely opposed, but those places have tiny populations. The Electoral College is fucked up enough as is, with the disparity in individual voting power between (say) California and Wyoming; American Samoa has like a tenth the population of Wyoming.

There's thought that the various U.S.-associated Pacific islands could be admitted as a single state. See this section on the Wikipedia article on "51st State."
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012

Yay, there's Joe!
posted by octothorpe at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I so hope that means he's going to push ENDA this term.
posted by jiawen at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Flunkie: "I'm not as big a fan of that idea as I am of the Puerto Rico idea. I mean, I'm not completely opposed, but those places have tiny populations. The Electoral College is fucked up enough as is, with the disparity in individual voting power between (say) California and Wyoming; American Samoa has like a tenth the population of Wyoming.

Puerto Rico, on the other hand, would be basically a medium state in terms of population."

Flunkie, as a leftie guy whose family comes from Wyoming, and as someone who has lived in American Samoa, let's just say I have a few problems with your analysis. :)

BUT TODAY I AIN'T ARGUING BECAUSE GODDAMMIT WE DID IT

Wow
posted by barnacles at 11:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I LOVE IN THE LAGOON ALSO THE PANTRY
posted by vrakatar at 11:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

I bet God is so tired of blessing us. What does that entail anyway?

Confetti.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

springsteen!
posted by HuronBob at 11:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Happy warrior stepped away from Halo 4
posted by the_artificer at 11:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

IN AN ODD NOTE, OBAMA SHOWED HIS NEW LACK OF CONCERN ABOUT RE-ELECTION BY QUOTING THE MOVIE "SPEED" AT THE END OF HIS SPEECH, SAYING, "WELL, I'M GONNA GO HOME, AND HAVE SOME SEX."
posted by sparkletone at 11:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

So very many thank yous.

I'm ashamed that that's what it took tbh. But it looks like we're passing this thing.

I spoke for fifteen minutes to a woman who was raised by a lesbian couple and who opposed marriage equality. She's been on my mind every single day since.
posted by KathrynT at 11:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Probably the House of Representatives is gonna block a lot of stuff.

Then, maybe in 2014, the House of Representatives is going to be Democratic.

We can have a couple of pretty good years then imho.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:00 PM on November 6, 2012

> Yeah, Puerto Rico has a population a little bigger than Connecticut's.

But I know at least a couple of them cheat at dominoes and insist on drinking cheap wine, so I'm on the fence about this whole statehood thing.
posted by Panjandrum at 11:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm sorry but this is how I feel: take that, GOP, with your voter suppression, and your propaganda channel, and your woman-hating, and your fucking racism, and your fact-ignoring truth-distorting culture warriors, and your goddamned warmongering. Fuck you, fuck your twofaced crypto-candidate and his malfeasant goblin sidekick. Take THAT you sea of vile dirtbags. Fuck off and die, you human pieces of shit. The world is better without you.

Finally, Obama tells us how he really feels.
posted by philip-random at 11:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Fucking Biden should've had a PBR in his hand when we walked out.

hehe.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 11:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

What is the song at the end of his speech and why do I hate it?
posted by Cold Lurkey at 11:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

WE ARE MORE THAN A COLLECTION OF RED STATES AND BLUE STATES - WE ARE AND FOREVER WILL BE THE UNITED STATES
posted by scody at 11:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

I asked about the teleprompter because I heard after the first debate that he was useless without one. It didn't sit right but it was a Clinton aide, so I thought they might have something.

No, he is the speechifyer I thought.
posted by Mezentian at 11:01 PM on November 6, 2012

good speech, but damn do i always laugh when i hear the phrase "greatest nation on earth" said with such sincere belief.
posted by modernnomad at 11:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

There's still only 75% counted, but Bachmann is now down by a smidge. So that's looking good too!
posted by aubilenon at 11:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Isnatesilverawitch.com has upgraded from MAYBE to PROBABLY.
posted by sparkletone at 11:01 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

BEST CONFETTI EVER OMG
posted by mindsound at 11:01 PM on November 6, 2012

Hey guys, comment faster. I want to be here when this hits 5,000 but I'm tired.
posted by DynamiteToast at 11:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I LOVE BY THE OAK TREE AND SOMTIMES IN THE SOLARIUM
posted by vrakatar at 11:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

hay guise guess what allen west is going to lose
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 11:02 PM on November 6, 2012

I'll just leave this here. (Yes, I did it, I confess.)
posted by bryon at 11:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Onion: 'I Want To Congratulate The President,' Romney Says, In 240,000th And Final Lie Of Campaign
posted by ceribus peribus at 11:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [30 favorites]

I'm usually pretty down about the US but god if I'm not buying it tonight.
posted by bleep at 11:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I want laws protecting my right to love wherever I love.
posted by converge at 11:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Joe Biden already finished Halo 4
posted by IanMorr at 11:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

> I bet God is so tired of blessing us. What does that entail anyway?

The "Hot" sign is on when you drive past Krispy Kreme.
posted by Panjandrum at 11:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

If anyone is getting worried about the margin on the Minnesota Marriage Amendment, the Secretary of State's web site has precinct level breakdowns for all ballot items up. Large parts of Minneapolis, St Paul and Duluth haven't reported results yet. Hell most of St Louis County is unreported.

Don't give up hope yet!
posted by nathan_teske at 11:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

That was one hell of an acceptance speech.
posted by strange chain at 11:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Fucking Biden should've had a PBR in his hand when we walked out.

Fucking Biden should've had a PBR in his hand as he ~~walked out~~ drove out in his Trans AM!.
posted by lampshade at 11:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I LOVE ON FIVE CONTINENTS
posted by vrakatar at 11:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

W H E R E V E R T H I S F L A G I S F L O W N W E T A K E C A R E O F O U R O W N M O T H E R F U C K E R S
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Kinda glad right now I don't have to walk back this comment.
posted by hangashore at 11:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

looking back at the results- would love to see Romney at 47% of popular vote.
posted by marvin at 11:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

One more time -- I love our President. Four more years isn't enough.
posted by bearwife at 11:04 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Whew! I was afraid it was close enough that I wouldn't get to get to bed at a decent hour. 1AM it is. And I get to grin myself to sleep.
posted by Mad_Carew at 11:04 PM on November 6, 2012

I am so, so happy right now.
posted by troika at 11:04 PM on November 6, 2012

Whew ... Obama just delivered a speech as rousing as Kennedy's in 1960. Twice in a lifetime ... I'm lucky to live in these times.
posted by Surfurrus at 11:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

What. A. Dress.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 11:05 PM on November 6, 2012

looking back at the results- would love to see Romney at 47%

Could happen as the east coast mail vote trickles in.
posted by DynamiteToast at 11:05 PM on November 6, 2012

God Bless America. God Bless Joe Biden.
posted by mazola at 11:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Over in the UK, woke up just in time to hear that speech. Wow, that was amazing. For a minute, it made me wish I was American.
posted by Magnakai at 11:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Whew. Okay. Have we finished off Crazy Eyes Bachmann and West yet?
posted by scody at 11:05 PM on November 6, 2012

Joe Biden already finished Halo 4

He was a little late out because he needed to finish handing that whiny n00b Ryan his ass in Blood Gultch.
posted by Vysharra at 11:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Gay or straight".

I can't even put into words how nice it is to be validated like that.
posted by spitefulcrow at 11:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [28 favorites]

Michelle Obama throwing confetti on people is the balm in my electoral Gilead.
posted by Panjandrum at 11:05 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

About my last check for the night: Obama now up 800K in popular vote, 49.6% to 48.9%.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 11:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fuck yeah!!!!

I'm just back from the election party at the Nairobi US Embassy. In one of the least-reported votes of the night, Obama won our mock election at 166 to 44, with one write-in vote for Hillary Clinton.

Fantastic time, and feel very relieved. And tired.
posted by kaibutsu at 11:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

I mean, one friend in particular is able to go to school and survive as a single parent, which she would not have been able to do without the work to expand such programs under Obama. Under Romney, she'd be screwed and would have set her back significantly. Under Obama, she can finish school and go to work as an homeless youth counselor and advocate, not only becoming productive in terms of wages but also changing the world for the better, working to save and improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our society.
posted by krinklyfig at 11:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

What is the song at the end of his speech and why do I hate it?

This is the song, but I don't know why you don't like it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

And now for bed. It's not even that late here, but I'm just wrecked.
posted by janell at 11:06 PM on November 6, 2012

I LOVE THE TROOPS
posted by vrakatar at 11:06 PM on November 6, 2012

And Graves has a 187 vote lead on Bachmann.
posted by birdheist at 11:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I can't even put into words how nice it is to be validated like that.

i hope you can see this because i'm validating you as hard as i can
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Mitch McConnell is a goddamn asshole. That is all.
posted by smithsmith at 11:06 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

I'm happy about this, happier than I thought I would be. The overall makeup of Congress hasn't shifted in numbers much, but Aiken is out, Brown is out, Warren is in, Alan Greyson is back, so aside from Obama winning, there are some genuinely positive signs showing from this election. Gay marriage and medical marijuana have won in...I forget where. It's a perfect storm of too much information.

That said, I'm not in tears. I didn't cry four years ago and I'm not crying now. Obama is a politician, and I feel no guilt in being a wet blanket to the festivities and remind folks that Obama is very cozy with Wall Street, is silent on medical marijuana, is open to more (pointless) drilling of public lands, and a number of other issues that the "left" (though breaking that down you'll find it's actually most people) favors.

I've been tempering my criticism of Obama with "give him a chance, wait til the second term." Now I start my stopwatch and start checking off my clipboard. Now Obama has just four more years to make some significant stances that the left favors, and now he needs to stop with this "bipartisan" conciliation with people who have no plans to ever work with him. He needs to get angry, starting tomorrow.

We can all get drunk tonight, but the reason I am happy is only partly that Obama won; I'm probably more happy that Romney and the GOP lost so much.
posted by zardoz at 11:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Bachmann is still up by 720 (0.27%) with 79% of precincts reporting. There's got to be a mandatory recount law for races this close, right?
posted by Rhomboid at 11:07 PM on November 6, 2012

Woke up at 6am here in the UK to the Radio 4 pips, immediately followed by Mitt Romney's voice.

Heart sank.

Heard words 'just called President Obama to congratulate him'

HEART ROSE.

I woke up at 6 a.m. here in Greece, and saw that the dog had peed in the hallway, and I was, like "oh shit," but then I saw that it wasn't the dog, but a leak from the radiator pipes, and I was like "oh, yay," but then "oh, shit," again because pipe leak. Boo. Then I turned on the TV to EuroNews and the screen said "Obama Wins U.S. Election," and I was like, "oh, yay!" and that's where I've been ever since.
posted by taz at 11:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [21 favorites]

He came back for one more look. It was so sad... he really loves us and he knows that he will head right back into the fire for us tomorrow.

Real tears... for the man with the wide shoulders and the clear vision.
posted by Vysharra at 11:07 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

oh Springsteen fuck now I'm in tears

COME ON UP, LAY YOUR HANDS IN MINE
posted by nicebookrack at 11:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Man, how great.

Exhausted and exhilarated, a bit sobered, but smarter now, and done with worrying about campaigning...

This is gonna be good. I really think he's going to find the key to unlocking the House.
posted by Skygazer at 11:08 PM on November 6, 2012

About my last check for the night: Obama now up 800K in popular vote, 49.6% to 48.9%.

Latest count:

Barack Obama 49.7%
54,425,549

Mitt Romney 48.8%
53,466,516
posted by smithsmith at 11:08 PM on November 6, 2012

> Over in the UK, woke up just in time to hear that speech. Wow, that was amazing. For a minute, it made me wish I was American.

Give it a few months.

Also, Curing is the most useful Magna-Kai skill: T/F?
posted by Panjandrum at 11:08 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Brian Williams = John Mahoney's younger brother.
posted by Pudhoho at 11:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Man. Now I need to do some work, and pay attention to Australian politics.
And Pauline Hanson kept popping up during the live feed fer fucks sake.
posted by Mezentian at 11:09 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

after 8:00 in the morning where i am g'night guys ...

yay
posted by kyrademon at 11:09 PM on November 6, 2012

This thread is almost going to to be the longest thread on the site after 24 hours.
posted by gerryblog at 11:09 PM on November 6, 2012

Man, it's looking more and more like Cravaack will lose. Yay to the fucking hay on that.
posted by edgeways at 11:09 PM on November 6, 2012

And Graves has a 187 vote lead on Bachmann.

yesyesyesyesyesohpleaseohpleaseohplease
posted by louche mustachio at 11:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

BBC coverage has finished - goodnight all and congratulations on having a sane president! Yaaaaaay!
posted by Flitcraft at 11:10 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm shattered and heading to bed. Want to thank all y'all for your company and insightful comments: thanks. And "Ready to go!"
posted by NailsTheCat at 11:10 PM on November 6, 2012

Tomorrow, there will still be emptiness. Good night.
posted by perhapses at 11:10 PM on November 6, 2012

I CONCEDE THAT I AM DRUNK

AND HAPPY

see you all tomorrow
posted by Hairy Lobster at 11:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Love this tweet: (John Perry Barlow) -- @JPBarlow Now if only the President will realize all the greatest fears of the GOP.
posted by Surfurrus at 11:11 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

HAIRY LOBSTER HAD NO CONCESSION SPEECH!
posted by mazola at 11:11 PM on November 6, 2012

sonika: "I wasn't a parent in 2008, but I am now and when I hear about Obama talk about "our children" I get all smooshy in my heart and I'm proud that I'll be able to tell my son I voted for him."

In 2008, I had a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old. But even then, it wasn't about my children, because they were still babies in my mind, not individuals who would eventually be adult human beings with needs and wants and rights. But now, now that I have a 9, 6, and not-quite-2-year old, especially with the older two very much being individuals, I am in tears. I'm looking at my sleeping children, and I am so grateful to have a President who cares about THEM, no matter their economic status, no matter their social status ... I am in tears. He actually cares, not just about the next four years, but about the fourty and fourty and fourty years after that.
posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 11:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

And in the Nevada senate race, democrat Shelley Berkley trails by 0.90% with 63% of precincts reporting.
posted by Rhomboid at 11:12 PM on November 6, 2012

Yay for a mega-thread with a happy ending!
posted by bleep at 11:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I guess I have a Boss allergy... especially after my sensitization on classic Stevie Wonder antigens.
posted by Cold Lurkey at 11:12 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh my goodness, all the Republicans on my Facebook feed are talking about moving to Canada. Where they can keep leave healthcare to the free market and flee the socialism.

LESBIAN SENATOR YAY
posted by a hat out of hell at 11:12 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

I go to sleep hopeful. G'night y'all, you all did good work today.
posted by arcticseal at 11:12 PM on November 6, 2012

And in the Nevada senate race, democrat Shelley Berkley trails by 0.90% with 63% of precincts reporting.

Oh man... I don't know if I can take this....
posted by Vysharra at 11:13 PM on November 6, 2012

Hairy Lobster: "I CONCEDE THAT I AM DRUNK

AND HAPPY

see you all tomorrow"

lousy lobster, stealin' my concession speech!!!!!

Cat sez it's sleepy time, so why not nap? Barnacles sez it's not even 3:15 PM.

Cat gonna win this one.
posted by barnacles at 11:13 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Goodnight, MeFi. London thanks you.
posted by Devonian at 11:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Suggested Onion headline: "Mitt Romney Elected President of the Cayman Islands"
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

So, now my girlfriend doesn't have to worry about Romney scuttling the healthcare act and a preexisting condition hanging over her forever from the brain tumor she had removed, and she can actually get back into the workforce like she wants without the fear that she'll make too much that she'd lose her disability and medicaid. MRIs every three or four months out of pocket was an incredibly scary thought. Needless to say, we are absolutely ecstatic tonight!
posted by jason_steakums at 11:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [42 favorites]

NO NO NO WE MUST STAY UP ALL NIGHT EXAMINING THE DATA
posted by vrakatar at 11:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

I just woke up to Obama's victory speech and a sweet little election montage as the BBC closes its coverage for the day. The wind has picked up a little outside, and I imagine that's mostly due to the collective sigh of relief blowing through town.

Congratulations from Britain!
posted by Chichibio at 11:15 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Thanks for all the great comments and the great energy, MetaFilter. I love your intelligence, passion, unhealthy obsession with politics, and tendency to drink. I'm going to sleep with two big hopes: 1) We can find ways to push Obama in a more progressive direction over the next four years, and 2) That someone will have posted Carl Rove's meltdown to YouTube by tomorrow.
posted by benito.strauss at 11:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

Mitch McConnell is a goddamn asshole. That is all.

Speaking of the hybrid: Reid extends olive branch to Boehner and McConnell ahead of lame duck
posted by homunculus at 11:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

For people watching Prop 30 in California:

Yes 2,498,919 50.4%
No 2,464,132 49.6%
36% of precincts reporting; updated 11/06 11:12PM

!
posted by roll truck roll at 11:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Finally: thanks, MeFites. This was the best possible way for an expat to follow along the election. All yall were great and helpful and despite bouts of cynicism, you helped me keep my spirits up.

Best. $5. Ever.

I'm gonna go away for a while to sleep (pass out), but I'm really hoping everyone pushes this thread well past the 5555 mark. I believe in you!
posted by barnacles at 11:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

1213 new comments
show

I smell smoke.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 11:16 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Congratulations neighbours! And thanks Matt & company for keeping the rickety old Blue afloat in a storm.
Good night.
posted by islander at 11:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

we built this, yeah- the commonwealth itself, the election, and metafilter thread - THANKS (MODS) AND ALL!
posted by hap_hazard at 11:17 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm going to give you the update on Missouri. Which can now start going by its new moniker, "The Schizo State".

Romney (R) leads Obama by 11%.

McCaskill (D) leads Akin by nearly 15%.

Governor Jay Nixon (D) won re-election by 11%.

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder (R) won re-election by 5%.

It looks like the dems are sweeping the remaining 3 statewide offices (Sec of State, Treasurer, Att. General). One of those is maybe too close to call yet. Auditor elections are held on off years and the Auditor is currently R.

So statewide we have 6 offices total, 3 D, 2 R, 1 too close to call.

Senators: 1 D (McCaskill), 1 R (Blunt).

So, can we agree that there is some degree of parity there between the two parties? Sometimes Ds win by 5-10 points, sometimes Rs win by 5-10 points. Sometimes one or the other wins by 1-2 points. But clearly, BOTH parties are capable of winning statewide elections. This isn't a lopsided, one-party state, but a more-or-less parity state.

Now let's look at the state General Assembly--because that is where the schizophrenia sets in.

In a state where there is some degree of parity between the two parties at the statewide level, you'd expect the same in the state House and Senate, wouldn't you?

Nope.

As of today, the Republicans hold VETO-PROOF majorities in BOTH the House and the Senate.

Rs already held a veto-proof majority in the Senate, and it looks to me like they picked up one additional seat today.

Rs previously held a nice majority in the House, but today they picked up several more seats and now hold a 110/53 majority.

Why?

In short, geography. Most dem voters are packed conveniently into dense cities, so they put them all into nice, compact districts that are 80-90% dem.

Republicans dominate the exurbs and rural areas, so they arrange those districts with a few small towns (which tend more dem) to make 55-60% R districts.

Result is that a roughly equal number of R and D voters in the state translate into a General Assembly completely dominated by Rs.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that as of today, 6 of 8 of Missouri's U.S. House members are R. (Previously it was 6 of 9.)

So a 50/50 electorate (or 60/40 if you want to give the Rs the greatest possible benefit of the doubt) translates into majorities ranging from 67/33 to 75/25 for the Rs in the state senate, state house, and U.S. House.

Wondering why the House is still held by Rs when a D president won a EV landslide and a majority of the popular vote?* States like MO are the reason.

One reason I'm pointing this out is that I'm guessing a number of states face similar situations. We've got to figure out how to win not just national, but local races. We've got to figure out how to win hearts and minds not just in the cities but in the suburbs, small towns, and countryside, too. A lot of that dark money isn't winning things at the national level, where the hard light of media exposure evens the playing field somewhat. But it's buying a hell of a lot in smaller local races and at the statewide level, where lots more flies right under the radar.

Sources: KCStar article, MO SoS
posted by flug at 11:17 PM on November 6, 2012 [20 favorites]

I think I've about run out of "favorites" acknowledging the goodness of the comments in this thread... Thanks, all, for this community...
posted by HuronBob at 11:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Obama has now cleared a one million vote lead in the popular vote.
posted by ceribus peribus at 11:18 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

What makes exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on Earth, the belief that our destiny is shared. That this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another, and to future generations, so that the freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for comes with responsibilities as well as rights, and among those are love, and charity, and duty, and patriotism. That's what makes America great.
posted by bearwife at 11:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I turned on the tv just in time for the last sentence of obama's acceptance speech. Is there a link anywhere yet?
posted by kaibutsu at 11:19 PM on November 6, 2012

I wish the talking heads did all their shows when they were this tired. Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow (and others) just had one of the most interesting and real discussions about Obama's speech he just gave and his coalition building skills or lack thereof that I've ever seen on television. And I can't imagine it ever happening on, say, Hardball.

My favorite bit was the very end when Matthews says that Obama needs to thank his party and fellow Democrats and build a coalition to defeat the Republicans head on and Maddow says she thinks that's something not for tonight but for Wednesday. And Matthews says, half under his breath, that with Obama he's been waiting for Wednesday for four years and it never seems to arrive.

I actually sort of respect the guy now. What a strange feeling.
posted by Justinian at 11:19 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

So the Carter curse the GOtP tried to put on him is BROKEN! BROKEN!! WOOHHHOOOO!!!
posted by Skygazer at 11:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

> I'm going to give you the update on Missouri. Which can now start going by its new moniker, "The Schizo State".

TOM BROKAW WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A WORD WITH YOU.
posted by Panjandrum at 11:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Obama has now cleared a one million vote lead in the popular vote.

dat.gif
posted by Vysharra at 11:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Goodnight, kittens (and goodnight Mittens!)
posted by anastasiav at 11:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

We only need about 780 more comments to break the record.
posted by Rhomboid at 11:20 PM on November 6, 2012

Whew ... Obama just delivered a speech as rousing as Kennedy's in 1960.

Obama gives better speeches than anyone. That's why he's so goddamn dangerous. If Bush were running the drone program and the remote assassinations, this site would be absolutely aghast... but because he sounds so warm and fuzzy, and he's on our team, people are pretty okay with killing thousands of random civilians based on accusation alone. Including our citizens.

The man has a death list. Don't you dare think of him as a good man. Don't you fucking dare.
posted by Malor at 11:20 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Then I turned on the TV to EuroNews

Which may just been the only time that Euronews ever has been turned on voluntarily, rather than accidently selected when flipping channels.

I woke up to Radio 4 at 6 AM CET, heard something like Romney won fiftyfour percent of male white votes and went ruh-oh, then they said Obama was in the lead and I could go pee in peace.
posted by MartinWisse at 11:21 PM on November 6, 2012

KevinSkomsvold: "I smell smoke."

Proably from Washington and Colorado...
posted by the_artificer at 11:21 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Bachmann is still up by 720 (0.27%) with 79% of precincts reporting. There's got to be a mandatory recount law for races this close, right?
posted by Rhomboid at 1:07 AM on November 7 [+] [!]

MN law for automatic recounts is a .5% margin or is 10 votes or less in contests of 400 votes or less.
posted by nathan_teske at 11:21 PM on November 6, 2012

Virginia FTW!
posted by Feisty at 11:21 PM on November 6, 2012

NBC officially called Virginia. Leaves Florida, unsurprisingly, undecided.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 11:22 PM on November 6, 2012

every swing state? ground game kids.
posted by twist my arm at 11:22 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I was born in Virginia and grew up in Virginia, learned to walk and talk there, but I never felt welcome as a kid. People, adults and kids alike, asked me where I was "really from" and asked if I was a teepee Indian or swami Indian. I'm proud Virginia went blue, because I'm an AMERICAN, and I believe only the current Democrats see that. Not a foreigner. Not an immigrant. Not "really from" somewhere else. American.
posted by sweetkid at 11:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [24 favorites]

Don't you dare think of him as a good man. Don't you fucking dare.

Tonight, I'm just happy to settle for the better man.

News flash: Lesser of two evils less evil.
posted by murphy slaw at 11:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [17 favorites]

Malor, maybe you should have a drink or three and relax just for tonight?
posted by Justinian at 11:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

In Minnesota news - Rick Nolan has officially beaten Chip Kravaack. OH YEAH.
posted by louche mustachio at 11:23 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Whew ... Obama just delivered a speech as rousing as Kennedy's in 1960.

Obama gives better speeches than anyone. That's why he's so goddamn dangerous. If Bush were running the drone program and the remote assassinations, this site would be absolutely aghast... but because he sounds so warm and fuzzy, and he's on our team, people are pretty okay with killing thousands of random civilians based on accusation alone. Including our citizens.

The man has a death list. Don't you dare think of him as a good man. Don't you fucking dare.

Can you please wait a while before pissing on our parade? I'm sorry that the real world doesn't live up to your ideals but this is not the place to bitch about it.
posted by Vysharra at 11:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [19 favorites]

I got out the vote. Did you? Award yourself one masturbatory moment
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

If I'm reading the map right, Five-thirty-eight has correctly called 49 out of 50 states, with Florida still undecided. Data for the win.
posted by kaibutsu at 11:24 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

The man has a death list. Don't you dare think of him as a good man. Don't you fucking dare.

Pretty sure it doesn't amount to 47% of the people in the country/world, unlike some peoples', so maybe get a fucking grip?

/checks poster-name, realizes one's wished for a unicorn, posts the fuck anyway.
posted by hap_hazard at 11:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Don't you dare think of him as a good man. Don't you fucking dare.

puulleeease. Just give us this moment, Malor.

... and ... I'm not going to be sucked into that bad-guys/good-guys place. This has been a horrible election. Part of our healing is to take on the responsibility of changing things and of holding people accountable ... yes, Obama will hear from us.

Just give us this moment.
posted by Surfurrus at 11:25 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

I'm sorry that the real world doesn't live up to your ideals

an america that doesn't kill its own citizens without a trial or indefinitely detain them doesn't sound like crazy idealisim to me.
posted by dubold at 11:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

...and then the long knives came out for Mitt Romney.

"Today, Tea Party Patriots, the nation’s largest tea party organization, criticized the Republican Party for hand-picking a weak, Beltway elite candidate who failed to campaign forcefully on America’s founding principles – and lost. . . What we got was a weak moderate candidate, hand-picked by the Beltway elites and country-club establishment wing of the Republican Party.  The Presidential loss is unequivocally on them."

Shame that the Tea Party didn't let their people know what a lousy candidate Mitt Romney was, ideally sometime before they were praising him effusively.

Gee... I sure do hope that the GOP, in their effort to move more towards a rational centrist position, doesn't provoke a split with the Tea Baggers, as that could divide the Republican Party and make them unelectable for years and years.

That would really be tragic, right?!
posted by markkraft at 11:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Goodnight, kittens

猫面白い眠り方
posted by homunculus at 11:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

And just at this moment, the Montana and North Dakota Senate races that even magic wizard-person Nate Silver called for the Republicans are both shaded blue. If those come off, Democrats will have gained a Senate seat and a friendly Independent. and even possibly Nevada.

And Obama re-elected, and Baldwin in, and Warren in, and more legalized marriage, and I, seven hours later, have caught up with the end of this thread. Good night, all you happy warriors. Onward and upward.
posted by ormondsacker at 11:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Let's cut the death list derail now.
posted by taz (staff) at 11:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

New goal in life: to learn statistics from Nate Silver.
posted by ilicet at 11:26 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

In short, geography. Most dem voters are packed conveniently into dense cities, so they put them all into nice, compact districts that are 80-90% dem.

Republicans dominate the exurbs and rural areas, so they arrange those districts with a few small towns (which tend more dem) to make 55-60% R districts.

And that's why sane democracies do not use district voting.
posted by MartinWisse at 11:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

OK, I for real have to get to work instead of hitting f5 on the MPR site every ten seconds because it isn't going to magic Michelle Bachman away BUT WHAT IF
posted by louche mustachio at 11:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The man has a death list. Don't you dare think of him as a good man. Don't you fucking dare.

I don't think of him as a good man anymore, but this country definitely dodged a bullet by saying No to Romney. The country said No to raping women. No to funneling money upwards to Romney's rich friends. No to Mormon-sponsored laws that discriminate against gays and lesbians. No to nuclear war on Iran and Pakistan. No to dismantling education and science research. No to a lot of things that really matter. We can still acknowledge Obama's faults while being grateful for avoiding the massive disaster that would have been a Romney/Ryan administration.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:27 PM on November 6, 2012 [41 favorites]

MN law for automatic recounts is a .5% margin or is 10 votes or less in contests of 400 votes or less.

Bachmann has pulled ahead to a 0.49% lead (50.10% - 49.61%) with 80% reporting, so it's looking grim.
posted by Rhomboid at 11:28 PM on November 6, 2012

I'm sorry that the real world doesn't live up to your ideals

an america that doesn't kill its own citizens without a trial or indefinitely detain them doesn't sound like crazy idealisim to me.

Obama != America

Can we get back to OMG THAT SPEECH AND HE LOOKED SO TIRED/SAD AT THE END :(
posted by Vysharra at 11:28 PM on November 6, 2012

I turned on the tv just in time for the last sentence of obama's acceptance speech. Is there a link anywhere yet?

CNN video footage:
Romney Concession Speech
Obama Victory Speech
posted by ceribus peribus at 11:29 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Next time Nate Silver is on TV he should come out like Tyson in his prime to a championship match. With the giant belts and everything.
posted by Justinian at 11:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

I wish the talking heads did all their shows when they were this tired. Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow (and others) just had one of the most interesting and real discussions about Obama's speech he just gave and his coalition building skills or lack thereof that I've ever seen on television. And I can't imagine it ever happening on, say, Hardball.

My favorite bit was the very end when Matthews says that Obama needs to thank his party and fellow Democrats and build a coalition to defeat the Republicans head on and Maddow says she thinks that's something not for tonight but for Wednesday. And Matthews says, half under his breath, that with Obama he's been waiting for Wednesday for four years and it never seems to arrive.

I actually sort of respect the guy now. What a strange feeling.

The MSNBC panel had the best chemistry among the networks, a bunch of center-left older men who were totally cool with Maddow leading the team. It's the first time I can remeber enjoying Matthews on TV. He looked genuinely happy to be a part of that, like he made 5 new BFFs or something.
posted by riruro at 11:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

so can someone just change the lyrics for this to reflect current troubles cause I can recite whole thing ver batim in both confusingly naive mode and direct campaigner mode.
posted by The Whelk at 11:30 PM on November 6, 2012

If we'd elected Romney, we'd have had a guy who kept death lists, ran drones, *and* thinks reproductive and gay rights are sinful and bad and wrong. That would show us!
posted by rtha at 11:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [19 favorites]

oh sweet jesus i am going to watch cat videos ALL DAY tomorrow
posted by louche mustachio at 11:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'm drained. Thank you all. This was the very best place to be tonight. Thank you, Matt, for hosting us.

HUGS ... back to work tomorrow, warriors!
posted by Surfurrus at 11:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

My internet connection can give me nothing but metafilter. Everything else including ABC News24 (Australia) is overloaded. I can't see the speeches, I'm drinking gin & tonics (it's early summer 6.25pm here but who the fuck cares) and reading your lines out loud to the other fish. And I am shedding tears.

Metafilter Americans. It is so absofuckinlutely fanfuckintastic to read your funny, love filled lines. To read of your pride. Your love of country right now. Your justifuckinfied hope that the momentum toward a healthy equal future is rolling on.

The other fish is particularly loving the music asides. For those of us with only metafilter to keep us informed and entertained in this internet election overload time, PLEASE KEEP IT UP!
posted by the fish at 11:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]

Bachmann has pulled ahead to a 0.49% lead (50.10% - 49.61%) with 80% reporting, so it's looking grim.

Bachmann's district is kinda' gerrymandered so it really depends on where the unreported precincts are. I doubt it will be settled tonight; it'll probably be a repeat of Coleman-Franken with more shrill crazy dragging out the process as long as possible.
posted by nathan_teske at 11:31 PM on November 6, 2012

I believe we can seize the future together, because we are not as divided as our politics suggest. We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions. And we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America. And together, with your help, and God's grace, we will continue our journey forward, and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on earth.
posted by bearwife at 11:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Woke up this morning around comment 20, fell asleep during the Fox News implosion, woke up in time to hear my president speak to the nation, going back to sleep at comment 5063. It was a good day.
posted by Room 641-A at 11:31 PM on November 6, 2012

Transcript of Obama's speech.
posted by ceribus peribus at 11:31 PM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

Bachmann is still up by 720 (0.27%) with 79% of precincts reporting. There's got to be a mandatory recount law for races this close, right?

I believe it's up to MN's election laws, and I'm not sure what their laws say about mandatory runoffs and recounts.
posted by krinklyfig at 11:31 PM on November 6, 2012

> If I'm reading the map right, Five-thirty-eight has correctly called 49 out of 50 states, with Florida still undecided. Data for the win.

TOPICAL ANALOGY: Florida is to electoral politics as Puerto Rico is to statehood.
posted by Panjandrum at 11:31 PM on November 6, 2012

Regarding future states, it seems clear that the pacific islands are too small individually, but what about a collected entity? "Oceanica"? Maybe it could become part of Hawaii? I'm just throwing around ideas. It's possible that the territories are actually better off not being part of a state.
posted by Winnemac at 11:32 PM on November 6, 2012

I think washington state just legalized marijuana and gave gays and lesbians marriage equality. Am I reading the results right? Is this really real?
posted by roboton666 at 11:33 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

and I am totally willing to punch out a Romney/Bain Capital/Awful 1%er analog
posted by The Whelk at 11:33 PM on November 6, 2012

I think washington state just legalized marijuana and gave gays and lesbians marriage equality. Am I reading the results right? Is this really real?

We're still waiting for numbers to come in. If the spread stays proportional, then we should be okay. But it's not a done deal.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:35 PM on November 6, 2012

If we could fix this districting thing, Ohio might have a prayer of getting into the 21st century properly sometime in the next hundred years. As it is, I'm just hoping that next time we can pull together like this and get a not-crazy governor again.
posted by gracedissolved at 11:35 PM on November 6, 2012

At the moment, the Secretary of State's site in CA is showing Prop 30 edging steadily ahead. Sucks that Prop 34 still looks out of reach.
posted by Brak at 11:36 PM on November 6, 2012

I just wanted to relate a quick story: a right-leaning family member of mine, somewhat in shock after the concession, asked why I was glad Obama won. I outlined the basics as clearly and as calmly as I could, explaining I would have considered voting for Mass. Governor Mitt Romney, but not 2012 GOP Primary Mitt Romney. I also explained how I felt the same way about John McCain in 2000 vs 2008, and that my opinion was that the increasing extremism on the far right was beginning to corrupt the rest of the party.

Then I told her everything would be fine. No millionaires are going to flee because their taxes went up a hair. Obamacare is a good thing, and more people who truly need help will get help because of it, and we can pay for health care if we aren't spending all of our money on tax cuts for the wealthy and wars overseas.

Now, I doubt she's going to go put a Obama/Biden sticker on her car tomorrow, but she did seem more relieved than resigned. Perhaps more important than gloating tomorrow at the water cooler is being gracious, extending our hand across the painted chasm between the red and blue, and letting them know that everything is going to be okay.

I believe that allowing the Bachmanns of the Republican party to expose themselves as the angry partisans with bizarre agendas while maintaining our own composure will not only help the Democrats, but also the Republicans. As long as we can get back to agreeing on basic rights for everyone and leaving the disagreement in some of the details, I would welcome spirited debates that don't involve religious decrees about who can have sex with whom, or why women are forced to give up the sovereignty of their bodies because some holy men think it's the right thing to do. Get the facade of religion out of the equation, and let's start talking instead of allowing one tiny part of the GOP to shout the rest of the country down.
posted by deanklear at 11:36 PM on November 6, 2012 [37 favorites]

roboton666: "I think washington state just legalized marijuana and gave gays and lesbians marriage equality. Am I reading the results right? Is this really real?"

R74 - same sex marriage - is close but still winning. This is the first issue that my husband and I have thrown our support (voices, GOTV, and money) behind. I'm disappointed that it is so close, but hopeful that as more Western Washington votes are counted, the margins open up.
posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 11:37 PM on November 6, 2012

The CNN acceptance speech footage is only a couple minutes long. So now I'm listening to the 2004 DNC speech, and man is it powerful.
posted by kaibutsu at 11:37 PM on November 6, 2012

No to nuclear war on Iran and Pakistan.

I'll bet there are some very relieved Iranians tonight.

The Dogs of War Are Barking: Mitt Romney’s Team Wants to Let 'Em Loose in Iran
posted by homunculus at 11:37 PM on November 6, 2012

I turned on the tv just in time for the last sentence of obama's acceptance speech. Is there a link anywhere yet?

Full speech, but in 3 parts...via Sky News on YouTube.

Part 1 (8:25)
Part 2 (8:39)
Part 3 (6:14)
posted by lampshade at 11:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

ALLEN WEST LOST WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SANITY IN THE HIZZOUSE
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I will say this of Romney: He made me appreciate all the hard-fought rights I have as a woman and as a human. He made me grateful of the women and men who came before me to give me the life I have now. It may not be an easy life, but it's a lot easier than it could have been.

Romney made me appreciate that while religion still has a stranglehold on America, it can't hold the law with an iron fist, and people like Romney can't set us back into the dark ages.

So thanks, Mittens, for making me appreciate everything our ancestors have done to make sure people like you don't rule this country.
posted by Malice at 11:39 PM on November 6, 2012 [27 favorites]

Can you all tell me how to read the washington website? I'm misunderstanding something obvious...

I go to the county results and the each row on the table on that page says 100% reporting. I assume that to mean all votes are in and counted, does it really mean "100 percent of counted votes tallied?" or something like that?

http://vote.wa.gov/results/current/Measures-All.html
posted by roboton666 at 11:41 PM on November 6, 2012

ONG THE WHELK IS STILL AWAKE! EAST-COAST BOOZEHOUNDS FTW!

COMPULSORY LESBIAN SENSIMILLA, IS MY UNDERSTANDING CORRECT? BECAUSE HELLS YEAH!

Lone Star reserves dangerously low, but then again, GLOATING MODE requires a lot fewer calories, yeah?
posted by hap_hazard at 11:42 PM on November 6, 2012

Yeah, I just noticed that CNN only put up the first 90 seconds of each speech. The transcripts are full; I'm sure it will be all over youtube soon.

On preview: thanks lampshade.
posted by ceribus peribus at 11:43 PM on November 6, 2012

...and then the long knives came out for Mitt Romney.

Looking forward to two right wing candidates in 2016. Eight more years!
posted by philip-random at 11:43 PM on November 6, 2012

...and then the long knives came out for Mitt Romney.

They'll be coming for Christie too.
posted by homunculus at 11:43 PM on November 6, 2012

VIRGINIA! HA!

I leave you lovelies with some James Brown! The Godfather of funk.

GET UP! GET ON UP! GET UP! GET ON UP! STAY ON THE SCENE!!

Stay on the scene, like a sex machine!!

Good night! !
posted by Skygazer at 11:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

quick, what's "thus always to idiots" in latin

Sic semper stulti

i need it for facebook
posted by klangklangston at 11:44 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

I will say this of Romney: He made me appreciate all the hard-fought rights I have as a woman and as a human. He made me grateful of the women and men who came before me to give me the life I have now. It may not be an easy life, but it's a lot easier than it could have been.

The 1950s will NOT be returning, thank god.

(Some of the m would totally be upfor the 1500s)
posted by Artw at 11:45 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Obama victory speech ...
posted by philip-random at 11:46 PM on November 6, 2012

So. 2016.

Who's going to replace Obama? We've only got four more years to decide.

I heard a lot of chatter that Ryan is the obvious GOP frontrunner, but then I also heard Jeb Bush's name a lot.
posted by Mezentian at 11:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

romney's retirement plans...
posted by delmoi at 11:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

A prediction, and then I've got to go to bed: Dems win 2016 too on the back of the economic recovery and general good will towards Obama. Next real chance for GOP is 2020. If they have a winning coalition then, and it's no sure thing, its demographics will look very different than the coalition that went down in flames tonight.
posted by gerryblog at 11:47 PM on November 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Who Is Most Pissed Off After This Election
posted by homunculus at 11:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Slate also has pages will full transcript and full video links for both speeches, now.
posted by ceribus peribus at 11:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

So. 2016.

NO
posted by saturday_morning at 11:48 PM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]

Justinian: "Next time Nate Silver is on TV he should come out like Tyson in his prime to a championship match. With the giant belts and everything."

Only if he bites off Scarborough's ear.
posted by the_artificer at 11:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Do you think the race was ever as close as everyone was saying, or was media just trying to boost ratings?
posted by DaddyNewt at 11:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Congrats, Americans! There's hope for the future still!

SKÅL!
posted by Harald74 at 11:49 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

So. 2016.

Hillary's if she wants it. Cuomo vs Warren vs maybe some third person in a 2008-redux if she doesn't.
posted by gerryblog at 11:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

So. 2016.

Who's going to replace Obama? We've only got four more years to decide.

Please let it be a woman. Someone strong, intelligent and cutthroat, but also compassionate. Someone who stands up for the rights of all people.

Perhaps an Atheist woman.

_{I am hoping for way too much.}
posted by Malice at 11:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [12 favorites]

I feel bad that we weren't able to get a video out this year. Previously.

But I will add that as Hoosiers listening to the local NPR affiliate it gave me great pride every time they mentioned Mourdock my wife went all "Moooordock" and did a cute Mr. Burns thing with her hand. I love getting older!
posted by xorry at 11:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

2016: Hilary Clinton or Michelle Obama? Discuss.

You do realise that if Puerto Rico gets statehood and Obama needs to change the flag, the wingnuts will have a field day?
posted by MartinWisse at 11:50 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I AM SO FIRED UP FOR REFORMING OUR TAX CODE!

And I'm not even American
posted by mazola at 11:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Do you think the race was ever as close as everyone was saying, or was media just trying to boost ratings?

Keep calm and trust Nate Silver. It was never a knife edge, but Obama had a dip to 60% likely after the terrible first debate.
posted by jaduncan at 11:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hooray!
posted by asuprenant at 11:51 PM on November 6, 2012

Minnesota voters reject marriage amendment

FUCK YEAH.
posted by nathan_teske at 11:51 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]

An easy solution for Puerto Rico would be to make it a part of Florida.
posted by amuseDetachment at 11:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Hilary runs? I am all in. My kids will be old enough to manage with me being occupied all the time.
posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 11:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Huzzah, Colorado and Washington (and boo to Oregon). Historic!
posted by mrgrimm at 11:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Do you think the race was ever as close as everyone was saying, or was media just trying to boost ratings?

It did close up after the first debate. Before that, there was basically no chance. Check out the graph on 538. Look especially at the "now cast" tab which shows who would have won if the election were that day. Obama was almost at 100%, then dropped down to like 60%.

Of course, a 60/40% chance is actually pretty close, but the chances for Romney deteriorated quickly after that.
posted by delmoi at 11:52 PM on November 6, 2012

Coming into this thread after not paying attention to politics all night is like stumbling into the Ewok celebration at the end of ROTJ.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 11:52 PM on November 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

Joe Biden is not saying what he will do in 2016, so he may go for it too.
posted by FJT at 11:52 PM on November 6, 2012

An easy solution for Puerto Rico would be to make it a part of Florida.

Hard to imagine many Puerto Ricans would be happy with that.
posted by delmoi at 11:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I wouldn't be keen on either Clonton or Michelle Obama; I'm not a fan of dynasties in American politics. It's insular and looks really, really bad: the message should be that the office is available to anyone, based on merit, and that we've got plenty of people awesome enough to fill the shoes. Not that we choose those who sat close to power first.

So I'd say fuck yeah, Warren.
posted by kaibutsu at 11:53 PM on November 6, 2012 [13 favorites]

> I go to the county results and the each row on the table on that page says 100% reporting.

I don't actually see reporting numbers at your link. Nevertheless, "reporting" usually means tallied, confirmed, etc.
posted by Brak at 11:54 PM on November 6, 2012

Oh Redstate.com, let me lick your salty salty tears:

"Romney didn't have the balls to challenge Obama in the third debate over Libya, or the spread of Al Qaeda and other Muslim terrorists groups other than mentioning it in passing, or even challenge Obama's assertion that he had great relations with Israel, or make a major issue over "Fast and Furious". Now there will be no repeal of Obama Care. The unions will be stronger than ever with forced card check, Israel will be sacrificed for the democratic party's slavish devotion to Palestine and the Arabs. Romney and the GOP didn't have the balls to take on Obama's handling of Hurricane Sandy. Just play it safe and hope to cruise to success. Don't call Obama and his party out for what they are--hard core Marxists, who have trampled all over the constitution. Now these low-lives can crawl out from under their rocks and safely return to their Muslim sympathies, their use of the Orwellian euphemism called "climate change" as one of their many ruses to further undermine our national sovereignty to subordination to a one world government, and to deliberately undermine our efforts an energy independence. Most importantly, with control of the Senate, Obama will have a field day nominating every kind of Marxist judge imaginable for the next four years."

(I am hoping the tears are not infectious).
posted by jaduncan at 11:54 PM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Yglesias on Slate, and the Guardian in its editorial point out a very salient fact that I haven't thought about before: that, at least since the onset of the Great Recession, there's a certain anti-incumbency factor in elections worldwide. Obama is one of the very few OECD leaders to have beaten the trend now.

(One thesis from Keynesians - probably Krugman - is that political volatility actually increases as recessions grind on, to take Japan's experience in the 1990's)
posted by the cydonian at 11:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

> Huzzah, Colorado and Washington (and boo to Oregon). Historic!

Oregon's law was poorly written and not very well funded on the ballot.

The ballot measure itself even had the costs section at $22 million, while the projected revenue generated (easily estimated at $160 million) was pretty much "I dunno, a lot of money?" This was what was sent out in the flyer about the bill. I hope that the fact that it got 46% of the vote as I am writing this, and that WA now has it legalized across the border, a better bill will come up next year or in 2014.
posted by mrzarquon at 11:55 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I helped Hilary's campaign the first time around and I'll do it again if she runs, but she's going to be, what, 68? She's expressing an extreme desire to retire, so I doubt she'll do it.

I would vote for Michelle, but I think the Obamas would probably benefit to just being a family after these four years. Campaign trails and presidencies are difficult, AND they have young children. Can you imagine eight years of that? Because you know she'd get a second term.
posted by Malice at 11:56 PM on November 6, 2012

Hah, poor Chris Matthews just stuck his foot right in his mouth out of what is clearly sheer exhaustion. Said he's so glad we had that storm last week.
posted by Justinian at 11:57 PM on November 6, 2012

Tonight, the first openly gay senator won election, gay marriage won recognition in various state ballots, and the first president to support gay marriage was re-elected. Will Michelle Bachmann be unemployed? Only time will tell.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:58 PM on November 6, 2012

Close house races:

California 36th: Mack (R) leads Ruiz (D) by 252 votes (50.1% - 49.9%) with 34% reporting
Minnesota 6th: Bachmann (R) leads Graves (D) by 683 votes (49.98% - 49.74%) with 83% reporting
California 7th: Bera (D) leads Lundgren (R) by 712 votes (50.2% - 49.8%) with 93% reporting
Arizona 2nd: McSally (R) leads Barber (D) by 1054 votes (50.23% - 49.74%) with 97% reporting
Michigan 1st: McDowell (D) leads Benishek (R) by 1957 votes (48.32% - 47.33%) with 95% reporting
posted by Rhomboid at 11:58 PM on November 6, 2012

Yeah, Nate Silver is obviously the Supreme Commander of the Universe, but aside from him, most people were saying it was within the margin of error. That made me very nervous and then when they called it I thought "that wasn't so bad". It just annoys me to think I was being toyed with.
posted by DaddyNewt at 11:59 PM on November 6, 2012

I know y'all are all really happy about Allen West's departure making the House more sane, but bad news from TX-36: Steve Stockton is back after his 16 year hiatus...
posted by Mad_Carew at 12:00 AM on November 7, 2012

Trump loses it, calls for revolution
posted by krinklyfig at 12:00 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I try to imagine what it's like to be sitting at home, getting the blow that Obama has been re-elected, gay marriage has been approved in several places, weed legalized in Colorado. What pain, despair must these people be going through? Do they actually feel like it's the end of America?

But then I realize, fuck those hateful bigots.
posted by Malice at 12:00 AM on November 7, 2012 [15 favorites]

mrzarquon is right about the weed bill in Oregon. It was a poorly written bill, and will probably be done better in 2014 or 2016.
posted by Cranberry at 12:01 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

FUCK Heller won in NV

They couldn't even vote to fund the libraries... wtf?
posted by Vysharra at 12:01 AM on November 7, 2012

Lundgren going down would make me happy.
posted by ambient2 at 12:02 AM on November 7, 2012

There's a billionaire who owns skyscrapers in various major American cities, calling for violent revolution against the government.

I'm guessing this is the plot of umpteen Superman comics
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:03 AM on November 7, 2012 [29 favorites]

2016: Hilary Clinton or Michelle Obama? Discuss.

Julian Castro. Perhaps he will be Hillary's veep pick before going for the big one, but I doubt it. I expect he will run for something else in 2012. I'd love to see Hillary as president or even just the D canidate, but I don't think she has another 8+ years of this business in her.

Michelle Obama is wonderful, but has she ever actually expressed political ambition on her own, apart from just not doing the Nancy Reagan/Laura Bush apolitical First Lady thing? It was pretty apparent starting when Clinton was governor that Hills fully expected on and planned to hold office in her own right at some point.
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 12:04 AM on November 7, 2012

This is a good point as well, per Ezra Klein: that, regardless of anything else, Obama's second term will be about consolidating at least two things from Obama '08: healthcare and restoring tax rates for the rich.

That in itself is a victory, although it'll be nice to have senate reform, democracy reform and something for climate-change as well, at the very least.
posted by the cydonian at 12:04 AM on November 7, 2012

But then I realize, fuck those hateful bigots.

It's not hate. It's fear.
posted by FJT at 12:05 AM on November 7, 2012

@benito.strauss

Here's that Rove freak out video you ordered.
posted by montag2k at 12:05 AM on November 7, 2012 [16 favorites]

Nate Silver is obviously the Supreme Commander of the Universe, but aside from him, most people were saying it was within the margin of error.

Well, all the people except Nate, Sam Wang at Princeton, Andrew Tanenbaum over at electoral-vote.com, Scott Elliott at ElectionProjection.com, and anyone else using an aggregation/modelling approach (Wang's summary of his competition).

The other folks who were telling you "within the MOE" were selling soap powder.
posted by Mad_Carew at 12:06 AM on November 7, 2012

Couldn't we just scrap medicaid/medicare and provide free health care for everyone like a lot of other nations do? I know we're big, but I mean, can't we scrape a teensy bit of that war budget down?

_{Or two-thirds of it.}
posted by Malice at 12:06 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

my High school is so clearly against Romney you guys
posted by The Whelk at 12:07 AM on November 7, 2012

Obscure ballot measures news, transit edition:
Mixed news for transit-related ballot measures as far as I can tell. Alameda County (Oakland, Berkeley) CA approved a half-cent sales tax for transit; extending the BART system into suburban/exurban Livermore and increasing bus service. Orange County (Chapel Hill) NC approved a 1/2 cent sales tax for transit as well, which will connect them to light rail in Durham.

Virginia Beach had a nonbinding referendum on extending the successful TIDE light rail system from Norfolk into VA Beach, which passed with 62% support. In Honolulu, the mayoral candidate who wanted to halt construction of the city's first light rail transit line is losing by a significant amount.

On the down side, in Houston, a referendum passed that forces the transit agency to keep handing over some of the sales tax revenue it collects to the various cities in the area; this will make further rail expansion unlikely. Memphis voted down a 1 cent gasoline tax for transit as well.

Perhaps the most important referendum is in Los Angeles, where voters are choosing whether to extend a sales tax used for funding transit; if it passes, then a funding deal where the county borrows money to build a hell of a lot of transit now (with low interest / high unemployment) and pays it off with the guaranteed sales tax is possible. This could be a landmark in major city transit funding, and would something like double the amount of urban rail in LA over then next 15 years. It's at 65% approval, with 38% of the precincts reporting. Sadly, it needs 2/3 majority to pass.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 12:08 AM on November 7, 2012 [11 favorites]

It's not hate. It's fear.

Whatever else it is, it's also a lot of hate.
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 12:09 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Stop what you're doing and watch the video that montag2k posted. It's unbelievable.
posted by deanklear at 12:09 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I wouldn't be keen on either Clonton or Michelle Obama

I don't think Clonton has the star quality name recognition.
posted by jaduncan at 12:10 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Trump loses it, calls for revolution

I thought he had blown his top, but it turns out what he really meant was he just lost his hairpiece and called for a revolution in hair-regrowth products.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:11 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

What a night! Warren. Baldwin. Grayson. Um, what's dude's name, starts with an O? Gay marriage in how many states? Legal weed and the slow march to not throwing folks in jail for absolutely no reason?

Just examples, I'm tired and wasted and happy. Good luck to Tester, it's looking good but close. On the home front, Inslee will beat McKenna, but my esteemed District 5 Representative Cathy McMorris-Rogers will continue to be the sallow-faced robot on the House leadership dias, chasing her American Dream of power. Thanks, Cathy.
posted by wallabear at 12:13 AM on November 7, 2012

I try to imagine what it's like to be sitting at home, getting the blow that Obama has been re-elected, gay marriage has been approved in several places, weed legalized in Colorado. What pain, despair must these people be going through? Do they actually feel like it's the end of America?

But then I realize, fuck those hateful bigots.

Well that's... tolerant.
posted by nrobertson at 12:13 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Yahoo news: "Careful media coverage of a close presidential election Tuesday exploded so suddenly Tuesday that it left the bizarre spectacle of Fox News Channel analyst Karl Rove, a major fundraiser for Republican Mitt Romney, publicly questioning his network's declaration that President Barack Obama had been re-elected."
Thanks for posting the video - of course I NEVER watch Fox news and would not have seen it.
Rofl.
posted by Cranberry at 12:14 AM on November 7, 2012

Michelle Obama is wonderful, but has she ever actually expressed political ambition on her own

Quite the opposite. She was only grudgingly accepting of Barack's political career at the outset, and his losing that first election almost cost their marriage. Michelle is of course a wonderful spouse and excellent for Obama's image, but she is by no means a political operator in her own right, nor is it something to which she aspires.
posted by dhartung at 12:15 AM on November 7, 2012

Stop what you're doing and watch the video yt that montag2k posted. It's unbelievable.

What's particularly great is how obviously wrong Rove is. At the time, Obama had a 30K vote lead; the final result was a 100K vote lead. The only counties that had a disproportionate share of votes still outstanding at that point were mostly Cuyahoga (Cleveland) and Lucas (Toledo), Obama's strongest and third strongest counties in Ohio. Rove is talking about 991 votes, which must have been even earlier - the margin had already gone from 991 to 30,000 and Shitbeak Q. Turdface couldn't possibly imagine how Obama could win.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 12:17 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Obama just ticked over 50% of the popular vote. +1.5% on Romney. An important symbolic milestone.
posted by smithsmith at 12:19 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Good night, almost-motherthread. Sleep tight!
posted by Vysharra at 12:19 AM on November 7, 2012

you liberals remember, yes, obama won tonight, but unskewed, he lost
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:21 AM on November 7, 2012 [14 favorites]

Ok, fuck, I have work in 5 hours. I'm going to bed.

Thanks, Americans. This Canadian is feeling a little less despairing for y'all tonight.
posted by sarastro at 12:23 AM on November 7, 2012

I am so excited for my state (including Richard Tisei! You may never read me saying this about another Republican Congressional representative) and relieved for my country.

Now let's end the drones, close Gitmo, overturn DOMA, and a million other things I will start putting my shoulder into tomorrow. Or Thursday if I'm too hungover tomorrow.
posted by Sidhedevil at 12:24 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Happy, and hoping that BHO does a better job of matching his rhetoric with his deeds; Mr President, make this 4 years eclipse the mediocre previous 4.
posted by lalochezia at 12:25 AM on November 7, 2012

Looks like California Prop 30's gonna pass. It was touch and go until an hour or so ago and since then has managed a near 4 point lead.

Edit, heading for a 5 point lead.
posted by linux at 12:29 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Another gem from twitter: "C'mon, Obama - if there were ever an opportunity for you to enter to Public Enemy and get away with it..."
posted by ceribus peribus at 12:32 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Charles Pierce again: The Greatness of Barack Obama Is Our Great Project
posted by homunculus at 12:32 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Whatever else it is, it's also a lot of hate.

I'm looking at the online responses from right-wing sites. Lots of hyberbole about losing America, fearing the next four years, never becoming politically active again, etc. Kind of similar to how the Left was during the Bush years.
posted by FJT at 12:32 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

And I can't count Minnesota a victory unless both the amendments fail.

You can now count us as a victory. We defeated both the anti-gay amendment and the voter ID amendment (93.42% of precints reporting, so I feel pretty confident). That's right, we have the highest voter turnout, the longest unbroken streak of voting for democratic candidates for president, and we've defeated the homophobes and helped bring an end to their winning streak.
posted by Area Man at 12:32 AM on November 7, 2012 [13 favorites]

Trump loses it, calls for revolution

Finally, after all these years, Trump and I are singing the same tune. Vive la revolution and all that!

Let's just start off with Trump's head on a pike and move forward from there . . .

Or, to put it another way, asshole rich guys are the targets of revolutions not the beneficiaries, so they probably ought to be a bit shy about suggesting them.
posted by flug at 12:33 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

FOX NEWS REMINDS YOU THAT NATE SILVER IS STILL AN EFFEMINATE JEW WHO LIKES "MATH"
posted by scody at 12:34 AM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

Great words from Josh Marshall here

The most concrete thing that strikes me about this public verdict is that Health Care Reform, Obamacare, a system of near universal coverage that will provide a framework for future reform, is here for good.

It withstood the challenge of the conservative judiciary. It survived a national referendum. As Bill Kristol wrote memorably back in late 1993, the reason conservatives fought this so hard is because they knew that once it was in place the public would never let it be taken away. And it won’t. It’s here for good. That alone would seal President Obama’s legacy.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:36 AM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

Well that's... tolerant.

Feel free to be tolerant of the intolerant. I'm tired of it.

If you hate gays, if you want to rule a woman's uterus, if you think poor people can go fuck themselves, then you can also do the same.
posted by Malice at 12:36 AM on November 7, 2012 [15 favorites]

The Free Republic Facebook page is full of lol.

In one thread they are discussing where they all plan to move now that the Republic has officially died. One guy says he is considering escaping Obama's socialist dystopia by ... moving to Sweden.
posted by dontjumplarry at 12:38 AM on November 7, 2012 [25 favorites]

Feel free to be tolerant of the intolerant. I'm tired of it.

If you hate gays, if you want to rule a woman's uterus, if you think poor people can go fuck themselves, then you can also do the same.

Hey, I also find the attitudes of the US right batshit crazy, but have a little grace. And then get wicked drunk celebrating!
posted by nrobertson at 12:38 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's worth noting that so far Citizens United has simply enabled rich assholes to waste a lot more money
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:38 AM on November 7, 2012 [13 favorites]

Area Man: "We defeated…the voter ID amendment."

Doesn't the amendment require that the state government provide everyone an ID card, gratis? That makes this sound more legitimate than voter-suppression-y.
posted by vasi at 12:39 AM on November 7, 2012

In local news (Alabama), Roy "I Illegally Put A Ten Commandments Monument In The Supreme Court" Moore barely edged out Bob "Even Republican Leaders Endorsed Me" Vance to regain the state Supreme Court Justice he had been removed from years back.

We also rejected a measure to remove some segregationist language from our state constitution by a wide margin, though that may be a blessing in disguise as many on the left here (such as it exists) argued it was crafted in order to stealthily undermine a right to public education.

On the bright side, our opportunistic sheriff, who after years as a Democrat jumped ship to the GOP as part of their plan to capture county courthouses statewide (the last Democratic stronghold here), lost to our longtime incumbent probate judge 60-40.
posted by Rhaomi at 12:41 AM on November 7, 2012

Michael Steele sounds like he really wants to get spanked.

Ha! Just heard this. Sounds like he's kinda enjoying it.
posted by krinklyfig at 12:42 AM on November 7, 2012

Doesn't the amendment require that the state government provide everyone an ID card, gratis? That makes this sound more legitimate than voter-suppression-y.

The question is what hurdles are put up to receive said ID card. Voter ID laws are tricky because they seem prima facie reasonable if you don't consider that in-person voter fraud isn't a problem to begin with.
posted by axiom at 12:43 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hey, I also find the attitudes of the US right batshit crazy, but have a little grace. And then get wicked drunk celebrating!

I'm low on grace, but I have rum.
posted by Malice at 12:44 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

It's worth noting that so far Citizens United has simply enabled rich assholes to waste a lot more money

Apparently Republican political consultants are somewhat sleazier and/or less competent than Democratic ones, so the campaigns they run cost more money, plus they wind up buying less ads and having higher operating costs than Democrats with similar war chests.
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 12:44 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

5186th!
posted by y2karl at 12:46 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

So, is this the longest thread ever now? I'm really hoping it is. It would be a shame for the Palinstravaganza thread to hold that honor at this point.
posted by suburbanbeatnik at 12:48 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

alt soundtrack to the latest Pierce.

this feeling is, what, do I feel proud to be an american right now? I fucking apparently do.
posted by hap_hazard at 12:49 AM on November 7, 2012

If you hate gays, if you want to rule a woman's uterus, if you think poor people can go fuck themselves, then you can also do the same.

You can't put a dagger in someone's back, if you're busy showing them the middle finger.
posted by FJT at 12:51 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

OK I checked. The original Palin thread was 5555 comments. We're almost there! C'mon, we can do it!
posted by suburbanbeatnik at 12:52 AM on November 7, 2012

no. we'd have to get to 5818?
posted by twist my arm at 12:52 AM on November 7, 2012

To be even more narrow in scope: now that I know CA Prop 30 is likely to pass, I'm obsessing over LA County Measure J. I want my light rail transit to everywhere in five years, not twenty. 2/3 majority is a tough nut to crack... it's at 64%!
posted by linux at 12:53 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

All the vibrations are right.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:53 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

OK I checked. The original Palin thread was 5555 comments. We're almost there! C'mon, we can do it!

I just want to tell you good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by gompa at 12:54 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

This is a very interesting moment for the progressive movement, because they won: The right just took their best shot, and it wasn't enough.
posted by Ripper Minnieton at 12:56 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Haha, thanks guys. How many times has that line been quoted in this thread? It's almost as if Leslie Nielsen is the unofficial patron saint of Metafilter or something.

I'd forgotten about that other thread (the one with 5800+ comments). Mittens really stuck his foot in it, didn't he?
posted by suburbanbeatnik at 12:57 AM on November 7, 2012

So, is this the longest thread ever now? I'm really hoping it is. It would be a shame for the Palinstravaganza thread to hold that honor at this point.

The Palinsanity was beaten by Romneyshambles (5817 comments) a few weeks ago. Getting close, though!
posted by Rhaomi at 12:58 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's worth noting that so far Citizens United has simply enabled rich assholes to waste a lot more money

I'll point out (again) that the approx. $1 billion in dark money, 81% of which went to Republicans, may well have stopped Obama from reaching 400 EVs, the Senate from gaining 2, 3, 5 or some other number more Ds, and the House from swinging D or at least a lot closer to it.

And it certainly had an influence on downballot races, redistricting, and a lot of other shenanigans that have gone in the recent past. Just for example here in Missouri a rich guy funded a recent successful ballot initiative that is basically a poison pill for city income tax in our two largest cities, cleverly designed to not look like that.

"Great," you're saying, "lower taxes for all!"

Except those city income taxes are the very basis of the two cities' budgets and both of them already have like the worlds shittiest infrastructure. So basically a large-scale experiment in de-urbanization funded and delivered by one rich asshole.

Wouldn't have been possible before Citizens United.
posted by flug at 12:59 AM on November 7, 2012 [16 favorites]

Um just finished reading that Pierce I linked and holy fuck does he end this mess as he started, w/ a TL;DR borne on the wings of angels or some such:

The long creative project of America has been to engage all its citizens in that work. That is the history that he wears so well, and that he wields so subtly. That is the truth that he represents. That is the great silent thing that has been there through all the debates, and the ads, and all of that preposterous money. We are working on ourselves. We are incomplete. We are never finished. Elections come and go. The political commonwealth is a work in progress. We work with the tools that time and circumstance provide. As he enters his final term, with the elegiac music playing out there in the distance, Barack Obama will use the history that he has come to embody and, perhaps, even to fulfill, as part of a larger project that never will be completed but only finished, over and over again.

/swoons, says GOODNIGHT GRACIE!
posted by hap_hazard at 1:00 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

axiom: "The question is what hurdles are put up to receive said ID card. Voter ID laws are tricky because they seem prima facie reasonable if you don't consider that in-person voter fraud isn't a problem to begin with."

Yeah, agreed it's not an urgent problem the way some Republicans make it out to be. I'm definitely against laws that require voter ID where it's hard to get such an ID.

I just don't think requiring voter ID is necessarily a real problem either, so long as it's done right. When we vote in Canada, we need ID, but everyone already has one. Yay free medicare cards! I'd be ok with US states having a similar system.
posted by vasi at 1:00 AM on November 7, 2012

Romney/Ryan: the female body has ways of shutting that down.
posted by telstar at 1:01 AM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

Obama's (step-)grandmother wishes him well from Kenya, says he doesn't visit often enough.

Kenyan village celebrates Obama win – video
posted by homunculus at 1:04 AM on November 7, 2012

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N A M E R I C A
Obama . Biden . (Clinton . Clinton) ... the world's safe!

Don't look back, it's a mess, dead Republicans everywhere ;)
posted by de at 1:06 AM on November 7, 2012

Romney/Ryan: Fuck the doomed.
posted by Pudhoho at 1:07 AM on November 7, 2012

suburbanbeatnik: "Haha, thanks guys. How many times has that line been quoted in this thread? It's almost as if Leslie Nielsen is the unofficial patron saint of Metafilter or something.

I'd forgotten about that other thread (the one with 5800+ comments). Mittens really stuck his foot in it, didn't he?"

Ctrl - F tells me it was 14 times thus far.
posted by Happy Dave at 1:07 AM on November 7, 2012

What happy, relieving news to wake up to over here!

Also great to see our awesome Oregon 4th congressional district representative Pete DeFazio was re-elected over a SuperPAC-wielding critic of global warming. *phew*

An article about New Hampshire's all-woman congressional delegation!
posted by fraula at 1:09 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Doesn't the amendment require that the state government provide everyone an ID card, gratis? That makes this sound more legitimate than voter-suppression-y.

AFAIK, the amendment didn't spell out any specifics about how any of the ID stuff was to be implemented, leaving it up to the legislature to figure out. It would have turned into a giant clusterfuck as the parties battled over all of those details.
posted by strange chain at 1:09 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

strange chain: "AFAIK, the amendment didn't spell out any specifics about how any of the ID stuff was to be implemented, leaving it up to the legislature to figure out. It would have turned into a giant clusterfuck as the parties battled over all of those details."

Ugh, that's problematic.
posted by vasi at 1:11 AM on November 7, 2012

As of 1 a.m. PST with 70% of precincts reporting, it looks like the majority of California voters decided to (among other things) uphold the death penalty, impose harsher sentences to human traffickers, and revise the Three Strikes Law. So at least we've rededicated ourselves to punishing the guys who really, really deserve it?
posted by book 'em dano at 1:11 AM on November 7, 2012

Romney's speech seemed kinda dickish.
Also: WTF Karl Rove denied the Ohio results?
posted by angrycat at 1:13 AM on November 7, 2012

I'm just going to step right up now and take credit for all the the extremely accurate predictions I made earlier this evening--because, y'know, that's what us skinny* math nerds do.

#1. I predicted McCaskill would trounce Akin by 10-15%. FINAL ANSWER: 15.5% drubbing, Akin runs home with tail between legs.

#2. I predicted Obama would win with 319 or 332 EVs. FINAL ANSWER: With FL, O takes it with 332 EVs.

You may now and hereafter refer to me as "Flug Silver". Be seeing you around on CNN, MSNBC, NYTimes, and all the rest.

Flug Silver . . . predicting the inevitable immediately before it happens. Since 1963.

* If only . . .
posted by flug at 1:14 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

The Palinsanity was beaten by Romneyshambles (5817 comments) a few weeks ago. Getting close, though!

Gosh!
posted by homunculus at 1:15 AM on November 7, 2012

At least the revision of Three Strikes made it less draconian.
posted by flaterik at 1:20 AM on November 7, 2012

Hooray and good night!
posted by mistersquid at 1:22 AM on November 7, 2012

Now that the DFL has the MN house and senate again, maybe we can get our own gay marriage and legalized weed issues on the ballot in 2014... one can dream, right?
posted by strange chain at 1:23 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh god, I did one of those eponym-thingies, huh?
posted by book 'em dano at 1:24 AM on November 7, 2012

FOX NEWS REMINDS YOU THAT NATE SILVER IS STILL AN EFFEMINATE JEW WHO LIKES "MATH"

Submitted Without Comment
posted by homunculus at 1:26 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

So about 2016...do you think Obama would be willing to run for Prime Minister?
posted by vasi at 1:28 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

dude reince priebus-- where's that fucker been all night? sorry, just going through my list of people i want to see flipping shit.
posted by twist my arm at 1:32 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

dude reince priebus-- where's that fucker been all night?

Reince Priebus Forced Back Into Ancient Puzzle Box After Being Tricked Into Saying Name Backwards
posted by homunculus at 1:35 AM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

Fun thread... it's been a good night.
posted by StrikeTheViol at 1:38 AM on November 7, 2012

Oh, and RedShrek now owes me $100.
posted by jaduncan at 1:39 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Expat in Asia here. Just got off of work, so I'm late to the party. But just gotta add to this historic thread by thanking you all (mods especially) for the 5000+ posts of awesomeness. (And all the campaign posts leading up to it.) I love this community.
posted by Kevtaro at 1:39 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Now would be a great time for Mitt Romney to release his tax returns
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:44 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

So no Drudge sirens this time, huh.
posted by louche mustachio at 1:46 AM on November 7, 2012

no, but there was chatroom. which was basically a word siren on my eyes and brain.
posted by twist my arm at 1:54 AM on November 7, 2012

Thanks America!
posted by ominous_paws at 1:59 AM on November 7, 2012

I hid out at Starbucks for the first part of the evening, then spent the rest of the evening watching TV with my boyfriend and occasionally checking this thread for updates. I figured if I had to hear bad news, I'd rather hear it here first. Fortunately, that wasn't the case, and there was so much good news my eyes kept leaking.

So congrats to WA, ME, & MD for legalizing gay marriage! And woot to MN for defeating the amendment! And woohoos go out to Warren, et al. I hadn't realized just how much I'd been dreading this evening until this stuff started pouring in. Woo! I'm well pleased.
posted by malthusan at 2:00 AM on November 7, 2012

> Now would be a great time for Mitt Romney to release his tax returns

Sleeping dogs!
There'll be other Romneys.

Ann must be thanking God, her pillowslips must be black.
posted by de at 2:00 AM on November 7, 2012

To any Australians concerned about a Republican invasion to our land girt by sea - fear not!

They've found out about the spiders.
posted by gomichild at 2:02 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Spiders? We have sea crocs! Tell them!
posted by de at 2:04 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

That we will!
posted by PROD_TPSL at 2:05 AM on November 7, 2012

I didn't even have to mention the Drop Bears!
posted by gomichild at 2:05 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here in Honolulu, the really good news was that Kirk Caldwell beat former Governor Ben Cayetano in the mayor's race. Oh, and everyone we're sending to Washington has a (D) by their name.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:07 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Don't mention the Drop Bears, Assange will get wind of it.
posted by de at 2:07 AM on November 7, 2012

pundit predictions revisited. go nate, you deserve all the alcohols and accolades.

good night sweet thread, i'll see you tomorrow after the morning crew
posted by twist my arm at 2:09 AM on November 7, 2012

I have Scotch! I can now celebrate that Romney didn't get in.
Thanks, Lesser of Two Evils, for four more years.
posted by Mezentian at 2:17 AM on November 7, 2012

We start slowly referring to the Americas as comrades when Obamacare kicks in.
We'll have to take this easy.
posted by de at 2:20 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I love Obama and his speech was great.

But then I watched Elizabeth Warren's victory speech and was reminded of what a Democratic representative of the Democratic party actually sounds like -- direct shout-outs to LGBT supporters, unions, and multiple mentions of climate change.

Le sigh.
posted by bardic at 2:38 AM on November 7, 2012 [13 favorites]

Jesse Jackson Jr. wins reelection. Despite being MIA for a quarter of his term, and still MIA. I truly empathize with his struggle, but come on, voters, get real.
posted by gjc at 2:39 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

I woke up this morning to the radio and Obama was in the middle of his speech.
I kid you not, I could not tell if it was a victory speech or a concession speech until the broadcaster said something. That's how classy our president is.
posted by like_neon at 2:39 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Also, this is good news for John McCain.
posted by bardic at 2:39 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

my dad makes this super potent hooch. it's been sitting on my counter for ages because it's a little too strong. we're out of booze and i forgot to stop by the store today for more (on election day! what was i thinking??). so, now i'm eye crossingly drunk and loving every one of you motherfuckers - even the surly ones!
posted by nadawi at 2:40 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Oh, hey, my hover car showed up.

WELCOME TO THE FUTURE, AMERICA.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:42 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

And how is law enforcement in Future America?
posted by Mezentian at 2:44 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Not a proud moment to be a white male... We're lucky the US has so many women and minorities who vote.

Now back to opposing Obama's drone usage in normal political mode, no more of this lesser of two evils bullshit.
posted by knapah at 2:47 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sorry, in Future America we cut our trees down with lasers mounted on the back of cloned dinosaurs.

So there are no axes to grind.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:50 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Man, E. Warren has one hell of a crowd. Everyone was napping at my senator's victory speech.

Noticed that she also said almost the same exact thing Obama did tonight, "I know I didn't earn your vote, but I'm going to work to earn your support."
posted by whorl at 2:57 AM on November 7, 2012

The man has a death list. Don't you dare think of him as a good man. Don't you fucking dare.

Howsabout you don't dare presume to tell me (or anyone else) what to think? Let's try that instead.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:59 AM on November 7, 2012 [18 favorites]

Now back to opposing Obama's drone usage in normal political mode, no more of this lesser of two evils bullshit.

Yeah please go back to pursuing that issue in a meaningful, productive, comprehensible way.
posted by fleacircus at 2:59 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Congratulations to you all from Denmark. You had me worried for a while, but pulled through in the end.
posted by bouvin at 3:01 AM on November 7, 2012

Howsabout you don't dare presume to tell me (or anyone else) what to think?
ok how about i dont tell you what to think but i do suggest that having a kill list/presiding over NSA internet monitoring expansion/etc etc is kind of fucked up
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 3:04 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ayup. No argument there.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:09 AM on November 7, 2012

What the fuck, freeper?
posted by jaduncan at 3:17 AM on November 7, 2012

Seriously, we don't have the bandwidth in this thread for yet another iteration of the Obama drone argument, but there's a place that does.
posted by taz (staff) at 3:19 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Looking at the NYT's visualisations, there's a real interesting thing going on with 'shift from 2008' in the South. Huge chunks of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina showing small gains in votes for the Democrats. Still a long way from flipping any of the states though. Downturn republican turnout due to Romney being Mormon?
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 3:19 AM on November 7, 2012

Anyway I'm glad Obama has drones because I was totally looking for a reason to hate him and then I discovered this drone thing was something I could care lots about.
posted by fleacircus at 3:22 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

What the fuck, freeper?

New plan for Obama:
America, do you have unfair dismissal laws?
posted by Mezentian at 3:22 AM on November 7, 2012

Not a proud moment to be a white male... We're lucky the US has so many women and minorities who vote.

No, it's not a proud moment to be a bigot. They come in all colors.

Here are the demographics. He won because he has the support of all different kinds of people. Romney lost because he didn't. Millions of white males voted for Obama, he wouldn't have won unless they did so.

It's a proud moment for anyone who voted for progress.
posted by gjc at 3:24 AM on November 7, 2012 [25 favorites]

America, do you have unfair dismissal laws?

Yes, but they are notoriously hard to prove. So if this freeper comment is true, they will get away with it. However, given the general shock feelings right now, chances are it is just a troll blowing off steam.
posted by lampshade at 3:26 AM on November 7, 2012

I'm curious, chums: of the Americans here, Malor aside (I assume): did anyone not vote for Obama? I haven't seen much in the way of Romney support or third party yay. Or even anyone Ron Pauling.

And I know the hive mind is more of a broad church than that.
posted by Mezentian at 3:27 AM on November 7, 2012

Not a proud moment to be a white male...

Yes it is. I am white, male, voted for Obama and proud of it.
posted by lampshade at 3:28 AM on November 7, 2012 [16 favorites]

I went to bed before the results came in. Woke up to NPR saying that Bronco Bama had won!!!!!!!
So happy and relieved! I may be the only Democrat in my office. Today should be interesting.

Oh, and FUCK OFF CITIZENS "UNITED".

sincerely,

futz
posted by futz at 3:32 AM on November 7, 2012

Area Man: "You can now count us as a victory. We defeated both the anti-gay amendment and the voter ID amendment (93.42% of precincts reporting, so I feel pretty confident). That's right, we have the highest voter turnout, the longest unbroken streak of voting for democratic candidates for president, and we've defeated the homophobes and helped bring an end to their winning streak."

As you allude, Minnesota is now the first state ever to reject one of these hateful anti-marriage amendments at the polls. It looks like Bachmann has won in the Sith District, but it looks like everything else is going swimmingly here -- DFL control of the Legislature, both amendments got rejected, Cravaack got unelected... And since I just moved back to his district, I got to vote for Ellison.
posted by jiawen at 3:33 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

And I know the hive mind is more of a broad church than that.

There is a broad church here. The problem is that Romney chose to be too narrow to fit in it. Or at least he was not willing to embrace 47% of it.
posted by lampshade at 3:38 AM on November 7, 2012

It looks like Bachmann has won in the Sith District

Ha!
posted by futz at 3:39 AM on November 7, 2012 [11 favorites]

America, do you have unfair dismissal laws?

Yes, but they are notoriously hard to prove. So if this freeper comment is true, they will get away with it. However, given the general shock feelings right now, chances are it is just a troll blowing off steam.

Amusingly, given the US's stated love of democracy, it doesn't appear that political affiliation is a protected class.

Of course, the joke is on this guy. (Assuming he is real.) Hiring and firing someone costs a lot of money, and business owners who behave this way eventually get what they deserve.
posted by gjc at 3:40 AM on November 7, 2012

> Hiring and firing someone costs a lot of money

People sink money into sporting activities.
posted by de at 3:46 AM on November 7, 2012

MetaFilter has two mothersthread. :]
posted by Rory Marinich at 3:47 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Amusingly, given the US's stated love of democracy, it doesn't appear that political affiliation is a protected class.

There are, unfortunately, quite a few life choices and affiliations that are not protected. Some of that is justified, much of it is not. There are also quite a few people in this country to are really good at knowing how to tap dance around these issues in such a way that allows them to beat others down, then slip away from the responsibility for having done so.

And in some cases, those same tap dancers garner an audience that will cheer them on and put them on a pedestal as a person who should be admired.
posted by lampshade at 3:52 AM on November 7, 2012

/raises hand

Gary Johnson voter here. Obama and Romney are both odious, so I picked the third party who seemed most likely to impact things. Sadly he doesn't seem to have swung things in any of the crucial states, but I'm hoping the marijuana and gay-marriage results will send a similar message to the
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 3:56 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ha!

Since I first heard it as a flub on MPR, it's been hard not to use it.

Does anyone know how likely it is that Graves will close the gap to 0.5% by the time all the precincts have reported? If I'm reading it right, about 2000 votes have yet to be reported, but Graves would have to get all those votes to get to a difference of 0.5%.
posted by jiawen at 3:57 AM on November 7, 2012

Jolly nice not to have to worry about Florida...
posted by Devonian at 3:58 AM on November 7, 2012

To the REPUBLICANS. Jeez, it's nice that my mobile browser can still load the thread, but it is driving my keyboard bonkers.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 4:07 AM on November 7, 2012

I must add highly relevant detail. Ever since the 1960s, whenever a Democrat was elected President, the Formula 1 championship was won by a Brit in that year. This year, with two GPs to go, it's between a German and a Spaniard. Obama was damn lucky, he bucked a 50 year old trend!
posted by Pyrogenesis at 4:10 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

He also managed to defy the Redskins Rule. Or the Redskins did.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 4:13 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yes, but they are notoriously hard to prove. So if this freeper comment is true, they will get away with it. However, given the general shock feelings right now, chances are it is just a troll blowing off steam.

I'm really not sure if I am more pleased that you're probably right or displeased that there are communities where this brings people social standing rather than, oh, I don't know (considers the mods) a holiday from the site.
posted by jaduncan at 4:19 AM on November 7, 2012

Good morning, massive thread of awesome!

As exciting as last night was, I was not looking forward to seeing the overnight results in the CA election. However, with 89% of precincts reporting, it looks like we have repealed the death penalty; increased taxes on households making over $250k, probably saving the education system from ruin; overturned the three-strikes law; and may have even squeaked by the shit-ton of money Monsanto dumped to oppose it and passed the GMO-labeling law.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:27 AM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

I must add highly relevant detail. Ever since the 1960s, whenever a Democrat was elected President, the Formula 1 championship was won by a Brit in that year. This year, with two GPs to go, it's between a German and a Spaniard. Obama was damn lucky, he bucked a 50 year old trend!

Red Bull Racing are based near Milton Keynes, however. Maybe it's just that the actual correlation is British based teams. ;)
posted by jaduncan at 4:27 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hiring and firing people takes valuable company resources. So the freeper would be burning up co. resources just for the hell of it. How black-bloc of him.
posted by telstar at 4:29 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yes, but they are notoriously hard to prove. So if this freeper comment is true, they will get away with it. However, given the general shock feelings right now, chances are it is just a troll blowing off steam.

I vote troll. Note that the guy hired a liberal in expectation of an Obama victory; a wingnut wouldn't have done that because they all expected it'd be a Romney sweep coz stuff is unskewered or something.
posted by the cydonian at 4:29 AM on November 7, 2012

However, with 89% of precincts reporting, it looks like we have repealed the death penalty; increased taxes on households making over $250k, probably saving the education system from ruin; overturned the three-strikes law; and may have even squeaked by the shit-ton of money Monsanto dumped to oppose it and passed the GMO-labeling law.

Huh? I see the death penalty ban not passing. And the GMO labeling not passing. I'm looking here.
posted by vacapinta at 4:32 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

From a Free Republic post:

"we know how bad thing are now, just wait another 4 years, here comes socalism. ugh, hate half the population right now"

Turns out it was more than 47% eh?
posted by deanklear at 4:36 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Hot damn, it's going to be great day!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:37 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Man, Colorado and New Mexico are going to have it rough in 2020 when Jesusland fracks itself loose from Obamastan once and for all.
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:37 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Math wasn't republicans strong point this election cycle
posted by AElfwine Evenstar at 4:37 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

California update: Prop 30 (Governor Brown's education initiative) passing, Prop 38 (the Mungers' education initiative, which would have preempted Prop 30) failing. Three strikes reform passing, human trafficking initiative passing (problematic, imo), death penalty abolition failing. Anti-union contribution and insurance company sweetheart initiatives failing. GMO labeling initiative failing, multistate business tax for energy funding passing. Redistricting commission results approval passing.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:39 AM on November 7, 2012

What a great morning.

Paul Krugman - The Real Real America

He sounds like he enjoyed writing that.
posted by shortfuse at 4:40 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

LA County Registrar's office:

34 - Death Penalty Repeal (repeal, not ban)
37 - GMO Lableling (why I said it may pass)
posted by Room 641-A at 4:41 AM on November 7, 2012

Those are county totals only, though, and I'm pretty sure they're being factored into the statewide reports.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 4:42 AM on November 7, 2012

The thing I'm wondering about now w/r/t the presidential campaign is how many thousands of dollars were spent on each vote actually cast. Is anybody planning to do that math, once all the final results are in?

I think the total spending was something like $3 billion- $1b from each campaign and $1b in dark/PAC money. ~116m votes counted as of now puts it at about $25 a vote. Much lower if you are in a "safe state", much, much higher if you aren't.
posted by gjc at 4:42 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Those are county totals only, though, and I'm pretty sure they're being factored into the statewide reports.

Oh shit. I stand corrected.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:43 AM on November 7, 2012

Also, in Los Angeles, Measure J (the transit measure) appears to have been approved with a comfortable margin (65% to 35%). Measure B (safe sex in adult films) was closer, but also appears to have won (55% to 44%).
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:46 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

From the Krugman article: "The 2008 Obama coalition wasn’t a fluke; it was the country we are becoming." I remember being at a Democratic candidate Obama rally in Oakland, looking at the sea of diverse individuals, and thinking this is the America I want. And it's happening!
posted by Neneh at 4:47 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

From my Facebook feed, the status update from a former classmate from high school:

Well I'm feeling pretty sick with the fact that Obama won. Higher gas, more taxes, world war 3 all because you wanted to save big bird!! Wtg America!! It makes me sick that your need for a "Hollywood" president will affect us as well!!! In a few years you will all be crying about how dumb you are and what a big mistake you just made!

This is the same person who was mad when I got a 100% in a math class we were taking in tenth grade, and who had some argument that my getting a lower grade would lead to her getting a higher one.

And pretty much all the arguments for choosing Romney over Barack are about as well-informed and well-reasoned as that.
posted by orange swan at 4:47 AM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

Oh shit. I stand corrected.

Yeah. Here.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:47 AM on November 7, 2012

Key & Peele: Obama's Anger Translator - Victory
posted by shortfuse at 4:48 AM on November 7, 2012 [19 favorites]

Yay!
posted by OmieWise at 4:48 AM on November 7, 2012

Lost in the shuffle here is the fact that voters in Iowa re-elected Justice David Wiggins, who was instrumental in writing the decision that ushered in gay marriage in that state. He had faced huge opposition from Christian-right groups, and if he had lost, the law likely would have been challenged and struck down. So another piece of good news is that gay marriages will continue in the Field of Dreams and other scenic places around Iowa!

Of all the ridiculous direct-democracy experiments that US has had this election season, thought that this was the most unfair. The second most ridiculous election was for that bridge from Michigan to Windsor, Ontario, where the Canadian consul general found himself campaigning for a bridge that Canada was going to pay for.

Glad America voted against both these forms of lunacy!
posted by the cydonian at 4:49 AM on November 7, 2012

Hey Republicans (and I'm looking especially at you Senator elect Cruz): Compromise does not mean doing everything your way. The Bush tax cuts for the richest Americans must end.
posted by audi alteram partem at 4:49 AM on November 7, 2012

What a relief. I was overjoyed to see FL go blue, even if by a slim margin. Now to suppress to urge to gloat all day. Or not.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 4:54 AM on November 7, 2012

Facebook is a minefield that it is just not safe to comment on. So I gave them Geeeeeeeee ology
posted by nile_red at 4:55 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Anybody seen a red/blue map of election results by county (like these) yet?
posted by Rykey at 4:56 AM on November 7, 2012

I'm gonna get a wee bit ahead of myself here and suggest that the next State of the Union address will be high on both the Obama-charisma and schadenfreude meters.
posted by bardic at 5:01 AM on November 7, 2012

"I was overjoyed to see FL go blue"

Not over yet. In FL, that is.
posted by bardic at 5:02 AM on November 7, 2012

uff too long to find out what has been said, but yeehaw, in Mn not only was Cravaack defeated (Tea party-MN), not only did both Amendments fail (good fucking god), but the DFL retook the MN legislature!!!. ABout the only bad news out of MN was Bachman won (but a closer race then expected).

I'll take it... gladly.
posted by edgeways at 5:06 AM on November 7, 2012

Went to bed around the time PBS called it (11:30), and was happily surprised to wake up in a blue Virginia! It still doesn't feel quite real though. I think I have PTSD from Gore v. Bush. (Not totally joking...)

I'm going to walk over to the Newseum over lunch and look at all the headlines. Maybe I can do it without crying like I did four years ago.
posted by JoanArkham at 5:09 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Congrats people. I'll leave you with the new American epic of #RomneyDeathRally

The #RomneyDeathRally is now real. The blood gates have opened.

“A faceless quivering mass has taken Missouri. Please, take shelter in your homes.” Then the feed went out.

Romney raises his hands as pillars of fire frame the stage. “We have such delightful things to show you!”, he bellows at #RomneyDeathRally

A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings….all disguised within a single man

“Those lucky enough to have your lives, take them with you. However, leave the ballots you’ve lost. They belong to me now.”

“Can you smell it?!” Paul Ryan screams at the assembled. “Can you smell your fear made flesh?!”

“Hollow, hollow,” the crowd wails, “The Romney’s laughter fills us, but we are hollow.”

Glenn Beck gibbers insanely after his lips and eyelids have been removed as punishment for his failures

“You will grovel,” Romney demanded to the woman, “Or suffer The Binder!” The crowd chants: “The Binder!”

Mitt opens one in front of us; it alights to pray on the women. He has boxes more, & they will feed…

Lo, the NecRomnomicon was opened and six upon six women sprung from the binder, declared to be First Wives of Armageddon...

In an awkward coincidence, Meatloaf is devoured by a bat out of hell.

Sarah Palin bursts into tears, which immediately burst into flames at #Romneydeathrally. Her hair grows, emerging as screeching crows.

A ghastly pale moon, enormous and pockmarked, rises behind Romney as Rush Limbaugh disrobes onstage.

In his moon base Newt sips a martini as he continues to watch the devastation spread. “Pity… I liked some of them”

Romney whispers in gutteral tones, echoed by the mewling hordes: “Where we’re going, we don’t need eyes to see”

Romney plunges his hands into the flames. Feels incredible power. But he has not cast the right spells. Dark gods laugh.

He falls on his knees. “Give me Ohio and my sons will serve you.” The earth shudders. Ravens circle the Cleveland skyline.

A thousand souls at Fox News cry out in horror as the ritual goes dreadfully wrong

“The swing states do not swing,” Romney gibbers. “With no pendulum, whither the denizens of the pit?!”

Rupert Murdoch crushes dozens beneath his massive paws as he stomps onto stage. “VOTER FRAUD!” he screams! “It’s all fraud!”

Drones draw closer to the scene, payloads ready to wipe the grisly scene from the face of the earth

“I can be slain by no man,” Romney bellows, breath of rot and sulfur. Hillary Clinton raises her sword. “I am no man!”

Romney grins “what would save YOU, mortal?” Obama smirks and hits the button “Co-workers.” The sky darkens with drones…

Tears of bubbling pitch fall from Romney’s eyes. He wipes them with a hundred dollar bill. The fire melts skin off bones

Briefcase bulging with unmarked ballot papers, Ryan shouts over his shoulder, “Ruuun! Get to the choppa!”

Obama surveys the wasteland,”He hasn’t given a concession yet”. Biden snorts,”Hell, he still hasn’t given tax returns”

As the sun rose, all who had touched the hem of his robe became translucent, fading, melting away.

posted by ersatz at 5:11 AM on November 7, 2012 [42 favorites]

I hate to rain on your parade guys, but 538 still shows Obama with a 90.9% chance of winning; it isn't over yet. Or may be Nate Silver is in denial like all the other conservatives and still thinks there is a slim chance Romney can pull this out in the Supreme Court or something.

Or maybe he just doesnt update his graphs after the election.
posted by TedW at 5:13 AM on November 7, 2012

This is the same person who was mad when I got a 100% in a math class we were taking in tenth grade, and who had some argument that my getting a lower grade would lead to her getting a higher one.

Final A/B/C/D/E grade on a curve?
posted by jaduncan at 5:14 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

There is something deeply satisfying about watching Nate Silver's facts and math and stats coming true, as other went with their gut feelings or just feelings in general. Romney was so impressed by the large crowd that greeted him in Ohio that he felt he was going to win.

This is a sweet, sweet victory for a reality based world view.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:20 AM on November 7, 2012 [12 favorites]

From my Facebook feed, the status update from a former classmate from high school:

Just reply.

We won.

Get over it.
posted by eriko at 5:20 AM on November 7, 2012

Heh. The Donald had a full-blown meltdown over the results last night, and took to the Tweeter thing to unload his frustration. Once the meds kicked-in, Trump thought it better to delete his posts.

Wil Wheaton has preserved the fun for posterity.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:21 AM on November 7, 2012 [11 favorites]

HEY GUYS REMEMBER WHEN BARACK OBAMA GOT RE-ELECTED WASN'T THAT FUCKING AWESOME

IT'S POSSIBLE THAT I MIGHT NOT HAVE HAD ANY SLEEP
posted by tzikeh at 5:22 AM on November 7, 2012 [17 favorites]

Final A/B/C/D/E grade on a curve?

We weren't graded on a curve, but in strict accordance with how many answers we got right or wrong.

Just reply.

We won.

Get over it.

I decided to take the high road and aim for a teaching moment in my reply:

We'll probably see high gas prices, but that's due to worldwide forces and is beyond the control of any one country's government. Obama may put an end to the Bush tax cuts for wealthy, but that's a good thing. We are not likely to see an Obama-led WWIII. Obama has had to deal with the two wars Bush started, but he hasn't started any himself and was against invading Iraq as a senator. And I don't believe anyone who voted for Obama is ever going to think he or she was "dumb" for doing so. He hasn't been the president I hoped he would be, but better him any day than a man who claims that women can't get pregnant from being raped.

My guess is she'll delete it.
posted by orange swan at 5:28 AM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

I'm disappointed about the Drudge sirens.
posted by gerryblog at 5:29 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh, Minnesota, I knew I could count on you! No on banning gay marriage and no on voter suppression. A proud day!
posted by ialwayscryatendings at 5:30 AM on November 7, 2012

The Obama victory was nice and all, but our school district didn't get it's emergency funding levy passed. Nor did the state pass its constitutional amendment to help fix the gerrymandering that goes on every ten years. At least Joe the Plumber lost.
posted by charred husk at 5:32 AM on November 7, 2012

The one thing that really surprised me was Akin losing. Not because he's loathsome, but because Missouri is full of loathsome and Claire McCaskill has a history of being the second least exciting campaigner in the world. She barely managed to beat Jim Talent for his first term. Jim Talent is probably a hipster, because he was extremely Tea Party well before you heard of them.

But not only did she win, she utterly crushed Akin -- 55 - 40, in a state which went to Romney 54-44. Interesting enough, 6% went Lib. So, apparently, even the GOP wouldn't vote for this guy.

So, kids -- carefully note *every* time a GOP'er supports rape, and play that tape hard come October, 2014.

2014 kids, not 2016. All the house, 1/3rd the senate. Worry about 2016 after that one.
posted by eriko at 5:32 AM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

I had an election party at my house last night so I couldn't be here with ya'll, but I can spend the day reading this thread and reliving victory with some of the people I like the best. All just so much better than I hoped. Buh-bye Mitt. Buh-buy Scott Brown and your little pickup truck too. Buh-bye rapedick guys. Buh-bye Allen West and Joe Walsh. Buh-by Sheldon. Buh-bye Trump. Hello Team Obama. Hello Elizabeth Warren. Hello gays, women, weed.

Thanks, mefi pals, for keeping me sane throughout this long ordeal of an election. My peeps, I love you.
posted by madamjujujive at 5:34 AM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

Did every thing go pro-Gay Marriage?
posted by drezdn at 5:34 AM on November 7, 2012

Man, I fell asleep on the couch last night, waiting for the concession and acceptance speech...I'm sore this morning, and sorry I missed the speeches, but hot damn y'all, the left actually won some important races. Go team!
posted by dejah420 at 5:35 AM on November 7, 2012

The one thing that really surprised me was Akin losing. Not because he's loathsome, but because Missouri is full of loathsome and Claire McCaskill has a history of being the second least exciting campaigner in the world. She barely managed to beat Jim Talent for his first term. Jim Talent is probably a hipster, because he was extremely Tea Party well before you heard of them.

But not only did she win, she utterly crushed Akin -- 55 - 40, in a state which went to Romney 54-44. Interesting enough, 6% went Lib. So, apparently, even the GOP wouldn't vote for this guy.

McCaskill is probably as personally responsible for last night as anyone not named Barack Obama. She chose Akin in the GOP primary, running ads in support of him. Risky, but paid off: His legitimate rape implosion set a very pro-Dem narrative for months and massively dragged down the party nationally when it really mattered (and in places where it really mattered).

She's also great on TV. She's a bit to eager to be Lieberman, but in terms of pure politcking she's very good at this.
posted by gerryblog at 5:36 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

I was up pretty late (in the UK) playing Halo 4 and watching election stuff. Did Obama slice Romney in twain with an energy sword at one point or am I getting confused?
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:36 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yes we did.

I'm disappointed but not surprised that Gregg and his Mustache of Awesome lost the Indiana Governor's race, but happy that Mourdoch was defeated. It looks like we picked up some awesome Senators this time around.

Pundits on the radio seemed surprised about Glenda Ritz winning Superintendent of Public Instruction, but I've seen a lot of heartfelt lobbying for her on Facebook and other Internet forums. I wonder if there's a "Facebook effect" polls don't capture? (I don't mean trivia like how many "likes" a candidate has -- that takes no effort -- but any ripple effect of posting a personal plea.)
posted by Gelatin at 5:37 AM on November 7, 2012

I'm teaching in China for a year, and I'm so deeply glad that I have a country I'll be proud to go back to. And, because I'm from washington, I'll be going back to a state that will let me get married! (And smoke pot!)
posted by Rinku at 5:39 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

So I've now had the SECOND major fight with one of my best friends over an election; the Green Party friend, who got all Eeyore about how "don't you dare say Obama's a good guy because there's no difference between him and the republican guy" and such in 2008 and again last night; this year, just like 4 years ago, I finally snapped and shouted at him to back the fuck off and give it a rest for JUST a few hours for a change whydoncha...we made up quickly, just like we did last time, but I still hate it when that happens.

But then this morning I went to get a car to work (running late) and got picked up by an off-duty yellow cab. Older couple in their 60's in front, West Indian accents; the guy was just starting his shift, and bringing his wife to work. We got in, and after a few seconds, the wife asked if she minded if she asked if I'd voted, and who I voted for. I told them Obama, and she said "congratulations." Then she giggled and said "good, you're with us!" And we had a lovely conversation the whole way, but I had more fun just basking in both of their good will; they just seemed so happy. They even said that Romney's concession speech was gracious.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:40 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I'm still wearing my "I Voted!" sticker today.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:41 AM on November 7, 2012

Back to my Dad. Mom sent the family an email confirming the date of the memorial service.

Let's set the date--December 1. AND, BARACK OBAMA IS STILL OUR PRESIDENT--SO RELIEVED! Love, Mom

I'll be back in the US for a short visit. The last trip there was to NYC in 2010 for work. I haven't been in Oklahoma for possibly a couple of decades. A friend of mine in Melbourne asked me to bring back an Obama baseball cap. Should be interesting seeking that one out.
posted by michswiss at 5:45 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm disappointed but not surprised that Gregg and his Mustache of Awesome lost the Indiana Governor's race,

It should be state law that all politicians in Indiana must have a mustache like that.
posted by gjc at 5:48 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Holy crap, Gelatin! I didn't catch that Ritz won. I haven't been listening to the local news this morning. Very cool!
Definitely a bummer about Gregg. I can't wait to see what anti-worker crap Pence starts pushing-through the legislature first. Well...actually, I can wait, but I don't think I'll have that option.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:50 AM on November 7, 2012

So, has there been any serious splashback on Trump? Rich white folks advocating violent revolution (emphasis on the violent) isn't Quincy Q Dumbfuck on facebook.
Will the Secret Service tap him?
posted by Mezentian at 5:52 AM on November 7, 2012

> a state that will let me get married! (And smoke pot!)

Is the pot thing recreational or medicinal?
posted by de at 5:52 AM on November 7, 2012

Just to clarify, the ads that McCaskill ran “in support” of Akin basically said – Tea partiers! I, Claire McCaskill, am warning you: Don’t vote for Akin in the primaries! He’s just TOO DARN CONSERVATIVE! He can’t possibly win!

So of course the far right immediately turned out for him in the primaries. It was a very clever move because, well ... she wasn’t lying.
posted by kyrademon at 5:55 AM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

Brown was more gracious than his supporters in his concession speech.
posted by ersatz at 5:55 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Now for my purely self interested comment. I'm am so looking forward to work later on today. Way up thread I posted this...

really wanted Obama to win because he's the better man for it.

However today after my neandrathal boss told me that women with views about women's rights like mine(pro-choice etc etc ) will be considered barbarians in 100 hundred years and went on and on and on about how he knows American politics and Romney was going to win and told me I was stupid when I said I thought he was wrong and then proceeded to LECTURE me about men and women in politics (basically we're not smart enough to understand like the mens do) and then said NO YOU STAY HERE AND LISTEN when I chose to walk away instead of continuing and having to quell my urge to punch him and walk out of my job... I want Obama to win so I can go to work and say "Hey I told yah"

Yes I know that was one long run on sentence but that is what the whole experience was like.

Thanks America! This Canadian is going to have so much fun in a few hours.
posted by Jalliah at 5:57 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Headlines and writings from various Republican leaning web sites:

The Daily Caller: AMERICA DOUBLES DOWN
President Obama re-elected to second term

National Review: How Romney Lost

The Corner:
Unpopular Vote
By Andrew C. McCarthy
November 7, 2012 8:08 A.M. Comments1
Stipulate that (a) we don’t have a national election but 50 state elections, and (b) they are still counting votes so the final popular vote for both candidates will be bigger than it is now. Still seems very significant that Obama is 10 million votes short of where he was in 2008.

Red State: Status Quo Ante
By: Erick Erickson (Diary) | November 7th, 2012 at 01:15 AM | 194

Like when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, we now know what happens when a candidate so weak anybody can beat him meets a candidate so weak he cannot beat anybody. Americans vote for the status quo. $6 billion later, Americans voted for the status quo. Karl Rove, call your donors.

The Drudge Report:THE DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA (links to NYT article)

Free Republic:Anybody else have the feeling we've been "played?-and other thoughts musings (Vanity) Very long one.
Wednesday, November 07, 2012 08:44:53 · by Pajamajan

Fox News: Four More Years. Barack Obama Re-Elected President

Wall Street Journal: Obama Wins Second Term, Faces Divided Congress

Townhall: Obama Claims Victory with Collectivist Message: Forward
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:57 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

And mp3s of Obama's speeches, if anyone wants to fire up the wayback machine: http://www.obamadownloads.com/obama-mp3s.html
posted by wenestvedt at 5:59 AM on November 7, 2012

This Canadian is going to have so much fun in a few hours.

I work in a mega bank.

Between Obama's win and Elizabeth Warren's win, I'm actually a little afraid to talk to people today lest I suddenly break into an excited "woo-hoo the election" and then I get lynched or something.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:59 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

just to leave my mark on this post: NYC elections are next year. that means the race to electing the new mayor starts right about now (or maybe after we're done dealing with this nor'easter).
posted by liza at 6:00 AM on November 7, 2012

I just learned there's a favorite limit.
posted by DynamiteToast at 6:03 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Ha ha, Krugman sings my favorite song of fuckyou:

OK, somewhat more seriously: one big thing that just happened was that the real America trumped the “real America”. And it’s also the election that lets us ask, finally, “Who cares what’s the matter with Kansas?” . . . .

For a long time, right-wingers — and some pundits — have peddled the notion that the “real America”, all that really counted, was the land of non-urban white people, to which both parties must abase themselves. Meanwhile, the actual electorate was getting racially and ethnically diverse, and increasingly tolerant too. The 2008 Obama coalition wasn’t a fluke; it was the country we are becoming.

And sure enough that more diverse and, if you ask me, better nation just won big.

. . . .

A huge night for truth, justice, and the real American way.

Who cares what's the matter with Kansas? is my new slogan. I hope Kansas secedes for all the fuck I care about their fake real America.
posted by spitbull at 6:03 AM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

hells yes, it's over and done with.
posted by royalsong at 6:05 AM on November 7, 2012

I decided to take the high road and aim for a teaching moment in my reply:

You are probably a better person then I am. But I've been looking at mortality recently, as one more orbit clicks by on my personal journey around the sun, and while I get the celebration, and I'm glad for it, the fact that this was *even a question at all* shakes me to my very core.

And I'm not really willing to engage with the hate mongers anymore. I just don't have the time.

The Green Party friend, who got all Eeyore about how "don't you dare say Obama's a good guy because there's no difference between him and the republican guy"

I don't know how much tolerance I can muster for that either. I utterly despise a number of things that the Obama administration has done, but you have to be simply incapable of reason to say that there's no difference.

You will never, ever, ever change a party for the good by leaving it. The Greens didn't learn that, and now the Dems are more right wing and the Greens have no say in the political landscape. Nicely done. The Tea Party stayed in the GOP and yanked them so far to the right.

That's the lesson. You change from within. You primary the most right-wing Dems hard. You punish Dems for horrible votes. And then, they'll stop doing them. But if you leave the party, there is no reason for them to listen to you. And they will not listen to you.

There's a reason Nate Silver never even really bothered to chart the Green and Libertarian candidates. It's because, in reality based math, they would never win, and would almost certainly gain 0 electoral votes.

Does the two party system suck? Yes, yes it does. But you will not change it by trying to create a new party. That part will fail. This is why we call it a two party system. There are two parties. You must change *a party*. That's what the right wingers did -- they changed the GOP.

It's time to change the Democrats. And if you're going to run off and pretend to be smart and Green, well, what you're doing is making it harder for me to change Democrats and easier to elect Republicans. And you want me to have a ton of respect for that?
posted by eriko at 6:07 AM on November 7, 2012 [47 favorites]

liza, it's gonna be my neighbor Christine Quinn, there's no point even getting excited about the NYC mayor's race next year. Bloomberg has blessed her already. It's a done deal. She won't be bad. It's business as usual.
posted by spitbull at 6:08 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wow. My lucky nipple clamps worked. Wait a minute, there was an election?
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:10 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Between Obama's win and Elizabeth Warren's win, I'm actually a little afraid to talk to people today lest I suddenly break into an excited "woo-hoo the election" and then I get lynched or something.

I work at a small town restaurant. The owner is a arrogant prat who really does think women are less then men. He is also the type who is always right and if you dare challenge him he goes wonky. So I can't push it either and won't say much. Just 'oh I guess Obama did win," should be enough and then I'll just bask in the tirade as he grumbles around about this and that. The fun is just having him deal with me, the barbarian, being right.

Maybe I'll take my Xena sword to work today.
posted by Jalliah at 6:10 AM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

Happy about Tammy Baldwin and Obama, and disappointed that the state of Wisconsin has been gerrymandered into a pro-Republican mess statewide.
posted by drezdn at 6:10 AM on November 7, 2012

You guys, I've asked twice and I'm now deleting death list derailery / fightbait.
posted by taz (staff) at 6:10 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

There was a moment yesterday when I was coming down the mountain and I looked to my right and the Blue Ridge stretching south was misty and seventeen shades of blue with green speckling down to the Valley floor, and I thought to myself, "Some days I really really love Virginia." I just knew that my fellow citizens wouldn't let me down.

I grew up in Virginia in the so-called "real Virginia" part of the state, and came back after grad school to work in the state, first in Northern Virginia (the so-called not-really Virginia), and then I later moved back to where I grew up. People have questioned my choice to live here, citing the things Virginia still does wrong. How can I choose to live here, where my friends can't get married or adopt children, where my health care is a frill, where elected leaders are awfully intrusive of small government types, and so on?

I live here because I love Virginia. I live here because I can make a difference. I live here because I believe that I and people like me can push the state forward. I have seen so much progress forward from when I was a child, and although we have a long way to go, I believe we will get there.

I am also thrilled this election was decided at the ballot box and not in the courts.
posted by julen at 6:12 AM on November 7, 2012 [24 favorites]

The country really seems like it's starting to turn towards gay rights. This also makes me very happy.
posted by drezdn at 6:12 AM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

Apparently Puerto Rico voted to begin a move toward Statehood. They chose to change their relationship to the USA, and they also chose, by a wide margin, to become a state of the USA. This isn't THE vote where they formally apply for statehood, but the first solid step in that direction.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:14 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

The closely-watched Buerkle-Maffei race in Central New York, which actually drew Big Bill to our midst last week, has resulted in Maffei unseating Buerkle, who was named one of the Flat Earthers and whose extreme right views have stuck in our throats since she was first elected.

I'm feeling all sorts of happy this morning, but damn, I've felt The Dread for so long, it's still hard to relax.
posted by kinnakeet at 6:15 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm still wearing my "I Voted!" sticker today.

Me too! And nothing else!

Not, technically, true.
posted by JoanArkham at 6:17 AM on November 7, 2012

Sorry Taz, I didn't get further than Malor's comment before I was inspired to reply. Didn't see it had already devolved into snipery. Hard to keep up with this thread! Won't happen again.
posted by spitbull at 6:17 AM on November 7, 2012

I LOVE IT WHEN I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING AND BARACK OBAMA IS PRESIDENT
posted by triggerfinger at 6:17 AM on November 7, 2012 [23 favorites]

I love the smell of ignorance and bigotry imploding in the morning!
posted by orange swan at 6:20 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Wait, a black man is president? Of the United States!? How long was I asleep?
posted by Turkey Glue at 6:21 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

I wish I could be happier. But Ted Cruz is my Senator now. I'd almost rather have Romney as President.
posted by Dojie at 6:23 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

/Gay marries a doobie - it's the law!
posted by Artw at 6:24 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

A black man is president of the United States, like in all those sci-fi movies from the 80s & 90s
posted by hexatron at 6:25 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

This is an epic thread and should serve as quite a time capsule of last night's events some day. I feel honored to be part of it. This really is history.

All of it--the updates, the victories, and especially the humor. Mark Twain would be proud.

To everyone on Metafilter: thank you so much for an astonishing experience. You guys rock.
posted by kinnakeet at 6:26 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Puerto Rican statehood would be an interesting FPP, especially since I don't know very much about the topic and I would like to know more.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:31 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Reporting from Beijing to say: I voted, I was there, I watched the victory celebrations at Brussels (bar), and they were good. I was way, way too tired, though.
posted by saysthis at 6:32 AM on November 7, 2012

God I feel absolutely crap this morning. Perhaps going to sleep and waiting for the morning to hear Obama's speech was the wiser move.
posted by peacheater at 6:33 AM on November 7, 2012

Congratulations you guys, your president is an decent man.
posted by Jehan at 6:36 AM on November 7, 2012

Magical thinking lost in a big way last night. cf.: Romney prepared only a victory speech. Obama prepared both.
posted by condour75 at 6:37 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Republicans Bet Everything, and Obama Won It All

You remember the scene in Game Change, when John McCain’s adviser tells him that selecting Sarah Palin is “high risk, reward”? And McCain (or Ed Harris as McCain, or whatever) starts grinning uncontrollably? That is the approach the entire Republican Party has taken in almost every situation it has found itself since 2008. Republicans greeted Barack Obama’s presidency with a calculated wave of total opposition. They would not cut a deal on health care or on the federal budget, each time accepting the risk of total defeat rather than settling for half-measures, like giving Democrats some kind of token health care reform or small tax increase.

The gamble was that by denying Obama any support, they would render his presidency wholly partisan at best, and a dysfunctional failure at worst. They would increase their own chances of denying him a second term, and that their return to power would allow them to claim a full and absolute break with the past. They shoved all their chips onto tonight’s election. When the networks called it at 11:15 p.m., the totality of the right’s failure was clear. And because they bid up the stakes as high as they could, their loss was unusually devastating.

The gamble was not totally crazy, I have argued, because 2012 may have been the last chance to enact an undiluted conservative agenda. The electorate is driving steadily leftward, with the oldest voters representing the GOP’s strongest constituency, and the youngest voters its weakest. Every four years, a new 18–22-year-old cohort arrives that is more liberal than the one that has died off in the interim. The Republicans face a double peril with the youth vote. A far lower proportion of young voters are white, and those who are white are far less likely than their parents or grandparents to vote Republican. White voters over the age of 65 selected Romney by a twenty-point margin. White voters under 30 split evenly.

Excellent article by Jonathan Chait.
posted by syzygy at 6:37 AM on November 7, 2012 [14 favorites]

Perhaps going to sleep and waiting for the morning to hear Obama's speech was the wiser move.

I just wrote a comment in someone's askme that had so many typoes I've gone into edit it three times now because I keep seeing more things wrong with it:

*log in*
*fix first typo*
*log out*
*see new typo I'd missed*
*swear and log back in*
*fix second typo*
*log out*
*see yet another new typo*
*swear and log back in*
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:39 AM on November 7, 2012

You remember the scene in Game Change,

...which was written by Danny Strong, aka Jonathan from Buffy.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:39 AM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

Up top to the President, Claire McCaskill, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Donnelly, Tammy Duckworth, and to numerous others. I couldn't have asked for a more satisfying election night. I wish I'd been around last night to see the comments pouring in, but I'll have some great reading as I make it through my work day.
posted by PuppyCat at 6:40 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

LOL my conservative niece posting on FB that she thinks we're headed for Idiocracy because Obama won and then my eyes rolled so hard they fell out of my head. I'm blind now.
posted by emjaybee at 6:40 AM on November 7, 2012 [29 favorites]

Who cares what's the matter with Kansas? is my new slogan. I hope Kansas secedes for all the fuck I care about their fake real America.

I'm from Eastern North Carolina, not Kansas*, but I am fond of referring to my parents as "Sarah Palin Approved Real Americans." I live in a big, diverse city now, but I'm still really fond of where I'm from, and I really hope that the Democrats don't actually give up on governing for those people even if they have to give up on them electorally. Those places aren't "the real America" and they don't count more than their population, but they do count. Don't pander to them, but there's nothing to be gained by saying "fuck you, I hate where you're from."
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 6:42 AM on November 7, 2012 [12 favorites]

emjaybee: My conservative family members are, literally, weeping, if their FaceBook statuses are to be believed.

Shockingly, all of the members of my distant family who are most upset by Obama's win also happen to be the poorest members of my distant family. One is crying because she wants to have babies and be healthy (but somehow Obama is going to see that those things don't happen).

The cognitive dissonance is SHOCKING.
posted by syzygy at 6:43 AM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

No, in my opinion it's their turn to try being tolerant, decent, honorable, democracy-respecting, and just plain nice for a change.

One truth to emerge out of this, after Kerry and Gore especially: being nice does not win elections. Fighting like hell wins elections. Our President fought like hell for those of us who needed him. Democrats, please never forget this lesson. You cannot win if you do not fight. Hard.
posted by spitbull at 6:47 AM on November 7, 2012 [21 favorites]

Erick Erickson gives a better concession speech than romney:

The Obama campaign ran a very good campaign. The Republicans did not. There was no fraud. There was no stealing the election. There was just a really good ground game from Barack Obama and a lot of smoke and mirrors from Team Romney and outside charlatans, many of whom will now go work for Republican Super PACs making six figure salaries, further draining the pockets of rich Republicans when not on television explaining how awesome and expert they are. Whether you can bring yourself to say it or not, like it or not, Barack Obama is, today, your President.

There will be a lot of blame to go around, but, if Republicans are honest, they’ll have to concede that the Romney campaign ran a bad campaign and only almost won because the President had a bad debate. Romney could not even win his home state, his second home state, or his vacation home state.
...
Over the past two years the GOP has atrophied into a party of intellectual lightweights in the House and Senate. They have run on “saving the free market”, but actively collaborated with the Democrats to drive-up the national debt to more than $16 trillion. Major conservative groups on the outside have, instead of reinforcing conservatism, continued their Bush era habit of reinforcing the party line.
...
Barack Obama won because his campaign team ran a tremendous ass kicking ground game while the Romney campaign clearly ran smoke and mirrors so convincingly inside the echo chamber of the GOP as to fool a lot of great Republican pundits and Dick Morris.
...
Compromise? Like hell. We’re going to keep fighting. And we will find someone who actually doesn’t speak conservatism like he learned it from Rosetta Stone last week. For those of you on the left licking your chops thinking this spells doom — the nation just spent $6 billion for the status quo. I’ll take my chances.

posted by Theta States at 6:50 AM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

Ted Nugent did not take the news well.
posted by drezdn at 6:52 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

If there is any justice in the world, Ted Nugent and Donald Trump will both disappear from public view now.
posted by spitbull at 6:53 AM on November 7, 2012 [15 favorites]

One of my friends posted this on Facebook a few minutes ago:

Washington Examiner: Liberals on Twitter celebrate Obama victory with profane, racist tweets.

Seriously. The conservatives are already trying to take the 'less racist' moral high-ground (meaning that Jeb Bush is now more or less guaranteed the nomination in 2016). It was incredible to watch the GOP frantically try to rewrite the history of their campaign last night, once it became apparent that they were going to lose.

Lindsey Graham wins points for being completely correct in his assessment, but it's ironic that no prominent Republican said remotely as much during the campaign. Also, remember that Mitt Romney was by far the most electable candidate that they had to choose from.
posted by schmod at 6:54 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'd like to see Ted Nugent and Donald Trump hold hands and walk off the face of the earth together. Same thing I said the other day about Karl Rove and someone else. Isn't there some kind of group home for racist, asshole, failed public figures?
posted by PuppyCat at 6:55 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Who cares what's the matter with Kansas?

I still do.
posted by fleacircus at 6:57 AM on November 7, 2012

Isn't there some kind of group home for racist, asshole, failed public figures?

I understand it's Maricopa County, AZ.
posted by jaduncan at 6:58 AM on November 7, 2012 [12 favorites]

Compromise? Like hell. We’re going to keep fighting. And we will find someone who actually doesn’t speak conservatism like he learned it from Rosetta Stone last week. For those of you on the left licking your chops thinking this spells doom — the nation just spent $6 billion for the status quo. I’ll take my chances.

Good luck with that, white boys.
posted by shothotbot at 6:58 AM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

For those of you on the left licking your chops thinking this spells doom — the nation just spent $6 billion for the status quo.

This is an interesting when thinking about 2016 and beyond. Obama didn't win on a platform of hope, change, and a brighter future; he won on a platform of stay the course. There was no ambitious agenda, but rather a message of continuing slow progress. I don't have a personal problem with that (it's basically where I stand), but I think it makes the outlook for progressives look less rosy than the outlook for Democrats, which seems (based on demographics if nothing else) pretty good going forward.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 6:59 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

One truth to emerge out of this, after Kerry and Gore especially: being nice does not win elections. Fighting like hell wins elections. Our President fought like hell for those of us who needed him. Democrats, please never forget this lesson. You cannot win if you do not fight. Hard.

I agree with fighting hard. Sharpen those elbows. But even though Obama fought hard, he was nice and continues to be nice. I have found fault with Obama for being nice, I have been angry with him almost beyond belief for his nicety when I longed for sharpened claws and drawn blood. I have worn my teeth to nubs with gnashing in my frustration that he continued to be so nice.

To his great dignity, he has not taken my council on this matter. I don't always agree with him, but he continues to give me hope that nice guys can indeed win.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:00 AM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

I'd like to see Ted Nugent and Donald Trump hold hands

WORST SLASHFIC EVAR
posted by me & my monkey at 7:00 AM on November 7, 2012 [25 favorites]

Aftermath observations:

The Quebec non-Montreal branch of CBC Radio attempted an election round-up with what seemed like some Americans that the staff members knew or something, and the token Republican was dutifully hilarious, phoning in from North Carolina with a "theory" that the most charismatic candidates tend to win elections, that Romney had a better economic plan because he was super rich so duh, and that since 48% of the public voted for Romney, Obama's plans were obviously doomed to fail.

Which sort of compounded my takeaway from...

The BBC reporter in Boston last night, surrounded by Republicans that honestly believed that this was a dead lock for Romney. "They only watch Fox News and visit Republican Web sites and read Republican-slanted publications," she said, with a mounting tone of "I guess I knew this on paper, but holy shit." "They don't get any news that doesn't reflect their existing beliefs. They only see and hear messages controlled by the Republican Party," she said. And then the now-classic False Equivalence: "Mind you, I suppose there are Democrats who are like that too."
posted by Shepherd at 7:00 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

You guys, I'm justy so happy and excited this morning and I can't do anything about it. Because I can't really talk politics at work and I try to not talk politics on Facebook so I don't totally alientate all my conservative friends and family members so I have to HOLD IT ALL INSIDE. I want to run down the street screaming "OBAMA IS MY PRESIDENT!" but I CAN'T. DO. ANYTHING. Metafilter is my only outlet as I sit at my desk grinning like an idiot.

I need an anger translator like Luther. Except for EXCITEMENT and JOY.
posted by triggerfinger at 7:02 AM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

Mother Jones reports from a Republican election party in DC. The title tells you everything: "It Doesn't Get Any More Bleak Than This." But in case you need more, here's an excerpt:

The RNC's election party was expected to attract 2,500 to 3,000 guests, RNC spokesman Tom Kise told reporters early in the night. And the main space at the Ronald Reagan Building did indeed fill up fast as polls closed across the country. The party roared with the sound of rollicking country tunes and chatter among the crowd. The guests nibbled their snacks and sipped their cocktails and watched the returns, the men dressed in suits, the women in tight dresses.

As the news trickled in—big Democratic wins in Senate races in Massachusetts, Missouri, Indiana, and Connecticut—the energy ebbed. At just past 11 p.m., the night's emcee urged partiers to keep their spirits up, wait for all the results to come in, and to have "one or two more drinks" while they were at it.

But the party had thinned by the time Baier called the race for Obama. Half an hour later, it was abandoned but for a loyal few. A few couples still danced to the sound of the band while the catering crew cleared the food and the bartenders began stacking their cocktail glasses. Guests streamed toward the exits, arms interlocked, dressed in wool coats and scarves against the November chill.

HAPPY GLOATING DAY EVERYONE!
posted by Kattullus at 7:03 AM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

Obama didn't win on a platform of hope, change, and a brighter future; he won on a platform of stay the course.

But if not during a recession, against an african american incumbent, when will the conservatives win? When more Latinos are added to the voter rolls? When climate change becomes a centrist issue? When gays are accorded full civil rights in 50 states? The Republican brand is poison except with whites over 30.
posted by shothotbot at 7:04 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

PuppyCat: Isn't there some kind of group home for racist, asshole, failed public figures?

I believe that's what the big FEMA camps being built around the country are meant to be used for.

BWHAHAHAHAHA!
posted by syzygy at 7:04 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Bulgaroktonos: "This is an interesting when think about 2016 and beyond. Obama didn't win on a platform of hope, change, and a brighter future; he won on a platform of stay the course. There was no ambitious agenda, but rather a message of continuing slow progress. I don't have a personal problem with that (it's basically where I stand), but I think it makes the outlook for progressives look less rosy than the outlook for Democrats, which seems (based on demographics if nothing else) pretty good going forward."

It's a false dichotomy. In this cycle, Americans were never given the option to choose between a progressive and a moderate democrat.

That said, I'd argue that Obama has been as progressive as he could possibly be, given the legislature that he has to work with. I'll gladly take 4 more years of small progressive gains, given that it's pretty much the best that the Oval Office is legally allowed to do.
posted by schmod at 7:05 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

syzygy: The cognitive dissonance is SHOCKING.

This was written by someone known to me to have strategically not married the mother of his children until after his first child was born so that Medicaid would pay for the pre-natal care and birth: This isn't a big surprise to me really, America is becoming increasingly stupid that's why Obama and Romney are the only 2 real candidates. People like sucking on government teat, espeacially [sic] liberals.
posted by ob1quixote at 7:05 AM on November 7, 2012 [11 favorites]

So, do you think Donald Trump still thinks the Electoral College is a fraud or was that just for the few hours where Obama had won that and not the popular vote?
posted by Artw at 7:06 AM on November 7, 2012

Thank you, Americans, for realizing that we're all better off with a second term from your flawed incumbent than with a candidate who would have been a Bush-level disaster. Now my hope is that you'll demand of Obama that he be as good a president as he is an orator.
posted by orange swan at 7:07 AM on November 7, 2012

HAPPY GLOATING DAY EVERYONE!

Isn't that traditionally the day after Festivus?
posted by TedW at 7:08 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Ugh. Just woke up. Favorites scattered all over the floor, walls. What the hell happened in here last night?
posted by SomaSoda at 7:09 AM on November 7, 2012 [20 favorites]

It's a false dichotomy. In this cycle, Americans were never given the option to choose between a progressive and a moderate democrat.

That's certainly true. My point was that you can't read much into this election in terms of whether or not America would pick a progressive Democrat. Americans will probably keep picking Democrats, as I said above, but there's nothing in Obama's election that indicates long term support for serious progressives. I say that because I get the sense that many of the Obama supports I know (here and in life) are coming from a much more progressive place politically than Obama. I think there's a good chance that what we've got ahead of us is years of demographically determined Democratic predominance, but of the center-left variety.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:10 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Also, I thought it was pretty funny last night on NBC when Brian Willams was interviewing the mayor of San Antonio, Julian Castro, and assumed he was a Republican. Keep an eye on Mr. Castro - he's a smart, young Democrat and a graduate of Stanford and Harvard Law School.
posted by PuppyCat at 7:10 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

So it looks like the Democrat Berkley is gonna narrowly lose the Nevada Senate race 45.9-44.7. Some independent got 4.9% of the vote and I went to his website to see if he was a Green party candidate or some other party that might imply Berkley could've won if he didn't run. This is in one of the first paragraphs of his website:

Operation Fast and Furious. The CIA needs the drug money to have a black budget to wage illegal wars all over the world. They give weapons to the cartels in exchange for drugs which are then sold to the American public. They use the proceeds to fund those wars and they never have to report that budget to Congress. The cartels then use the weapons to terrorize the nations and perpetuate the myth that a "Drug War" is necessary. Those gun crimes are then used to attack our 2nd Amendment right to own guns. The feds then throw Americans in privately owned prisons where corporations receive government subsidies and the prisoners provide slave labor destroying American jobs. In addition, the amounts of drug money that these sales produce is too large to be done in cash. The money must be laundered through Wall Street banks. This means the Wall Street banks have full knowledge of where the money comes from. They are all complicit in this conspiracy.

Criminy.
posted by DynamiteToast at 7:11 AM on November 7, 2012

In other news, it looks like Paul Ryan was re-elected to his house seat in Wisconsin. Lol.
posted by triggerfinger at 7:12 AM on November 7, 2012

Isn't there some kind of group home for racist, asshole, failed public figures?

I understand it's Maricopa County, AZ.

Sorry. Due to an excess of inventory, we're moving into the export business. No more room at the inn for these guys.
posted by Superplin at 7:12 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

the nation just spent $6 billion for the status quo. I’ll take my chances.

Given the Bush tax cuts, Obamacare, SCOTUS possibilities, and my faith in the GOP's ability to botch economic recovery, I think Romney was the more status quo choice.
posted by fleacircus at 7:14 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sam Wang: Bottom line: I will not have to eat a bug.

[DARTH VADER] NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo.....
posted by JHarris at 7:14 AM on November 7, 2012

I missed the fun on this post yesterday, but I had another kind of fun - I was a poll officer. It was probably the longest day of my life. At 4:30 am there were at least 100 people already on line to vote. And we didn't get the last voter through until about 9:30 pm. Didn't get home until midnight. No breaks. No pause. No stopping. Nonstop voters.

Some very interesting things: We are a largely black, fairly reliably Democratic precinct in the conservative area of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Voter turnout was AT LEAST 70% ( I was a little brain dead at the end, and the math wasn't coming easy). And all day - I mean from minute one to when we closed up shop - the Obama team had a lawyer-advocate at the poll from Washington, DC. Color me impressed - and very,very tired.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:15 AM on November 7, 2012 [37 favorites]

hangover
posted by rocketman at 7:16 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Ted Nugent did not take the news well.

@TedNugent I cry tears of blood

If only that were true.

It occurs to me that all we really need now are just a handful of Republicans to tell Grover Norquist to fuck off.
posted by Room 641-A at 7:16 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Also, huge huge gratitude to David Corn and Mother Jones and the anonymous waitron who filmed Romney disparaging half the country. I think that was what did Romney in the most.

47 percent, no sir. 52 percent.
posted by spitbull at 7:17 AM on November 7, 2012 [31 favorites]

But if not during a recession, against an african american incumbent, when will the conservatives win?

That statement pretty much sums up why Republicans lost in 2008 and have failed to take back the Senate in both 2010 and 2012.

Barack Obama and his campaign are not and have not been operating under the usual rules that have existed in political fights. He's something new and that was evident when he beat Hillary Clinton. That was lesson in just how good he is as a candidate and how great his supporting infrastructure is. Nobody learned from that. Let me repeat that, nobody learned from that, despite not even a single term Senator turning the upending game on its head over 4 years ago.

I think the Republicans, as a group, are finally starting to get a clue, after twice having their asses handed to them a "lying Kenyan commie socialist". It remains to be seen whether the party as a whole will truly learn from that.

Rove isn't a magician or brilliant genius. He's an insular hack who can the Republicans what they want to believe, but can't understand reality. There's dozens like him the party and until all sides have political fistfight, not a discussion, but a real honest to go political fistfight, they Republicans will continue to dwindle.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:18 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

"My mind is not god's mind." Glenn Beck, this morning.
posted by drezdn at 7:18 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Theta States: "Erick Erickson gives a better concession speech than romney:"

It's a good speech (and miles better than Romney's concession, which was just awful, especially compared to John McCain's, which was quite good). However, the premise is just flawed.

Erickson's not going to be able to find the "intellectual conservatives" that he's looking for until his party adjusts its platform and core values. Far too many of the party's basic economic tenents have been completely and thoroughly discredited. Any moderate Republican who disagrees on those points is quickly voted out of office. The party's hardline stance on social issues certainly isn't going to help them attract smart candidates either.

Also, I don't quite understand his criticism that the party's selection of Romney as the "most electable" candidate was a bad one. Perhaps Romney wasn't the perfect candidate, but does he really think that Newt would have done any better? What state would Newt have carried that Romney did not?

The Republicans would have had a better outcome if they nominated a moderate who had actual convictions. Nominating a more conservative candidate would have given Obama a landslide victory. Even Lindsey Graham agrees on this point.
posted by schmod at 7:19 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Slate's Pundit Scorecard, aka everyone who owes Nate Silver an apology.
posted by DynamiteToast at 7:19 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

To add to a comment of mine from the election thread in 2008:

Damn America, you're looking FINE today.

Yes... have you been working out? I'm sorry I haven't been returning your calls for the last eight years. I've been just soooo busy. But my schedule seems to be clearing up. Want to have a beverage sometime soon? How about Friday night? Call me.

Oh, you weren't able to get through? Sorry about that. You know how life in Canada is... it's a non-stop stream of gay weddings, doctor's appointments, and drinking some non-watery beer during hockey games. This time I promise I really will pick up or at least get back to you. We've got a lot of catching up to do!
posted by orange swan at 7:19 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Because I can't really talk politics at work and I try to not talk politics on Facebook so I don't totally alientate all my conservative friends and family members so I have to HOLD IT ALL INSIDE

My wife has the same problem, and I often wonder when exactly the lunatic right gained the upper hand in being the Crazy Uncle You Don't Want To Upset, so you sit tight-lipped through dinner listening to his spittle-flecked invective rather than politely and firmly stating that he is a crazy racist asshole and he can keep his opinions to himself.

I think my goal for the next four years is to worry less about offending assholes and worry more about actually seeing that conversations I'm involved in hew closer to reality and further away from Dispatches from the Limbaughverse.

And start hammering away at that pervasive false-equivalency meme that has poisoned discourse in Canada as well as the U.S.A. The right and the left are not "the same." There are no left-wing equivalents to Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, etc. etc. One side of the aisle has been taken over by frothing madmen, while the other shuffles and mumbles and looks at its feet and says "I guess Michael Moore does do some editing of his documentaries" instead of calling bullshit on Bullshit Mountain.

I feel empowered and energized and ready to take on the steady corrosion of reality taking place across the media up here. If we all do the same, instead of worrying about whether or not some brainwashed dipsticks will get mad when confronted with daylight, I think there are great strides to be made in the public discourse of both countries.
posted by Shepherd at 7:20 AM on November 7, 2012 [28 favorites]

You know, I get the feeling if you went out and gave the staunchest conservative you know a solid kick in the shin right now, he wouldn't even flinch. They're numb.

Not that I'm suggesting you do this. That would make us into them.
posted by JHarris at 7:21 AM on November 7, 2012

Just gotta gloat:

Barack Obama does not lose elections.
posted by spitbull at 9:29 AM on September 6
posted by spitbull at 7:22 AM on November 7, 2012 [15 favorites]

Does the house have to approve Puerto Rico becoming a state? And if so, would they do it?
posted by drezdn at 7:22 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

So, do you think Donald Trump still thinks the Electoral College is a fraud or was that just for the few hours where Obama had won that and not the popular vote?

Is Obama still President? I think you have your answer.
posted by mazola at 7:22 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Republican brand is poison except with whites over 30.

This is demonstrably not true.

Anecdata: I went to school in North Carolina and came out to Los Angeles with a shit-load of like-minded friends, all liberals, progressives, and even one committed socialist. The people I hang out and fraternize with in "the industry" are all over thirty and proudly progressive.

This year I had a chance to meet and get close to some of the new crop of college-age interns from my alma mater. They share the same principles, just as closely as my friends and I did—and they're much more conservative. Like the part-time art-school rapper who tweeted "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" in support of Romney. Or the bright-eyed, fresh-faced Christian woman who didn't support gay marriage even though she's in a long-term relationship with another woman.

The Republican brand is not poison—only certain parts of it. Coalitions have and will continue to change with society. It's not so long ago that the Democratic party was all-in for segregation. These young opinion leaders are not dittoheads or mouth-breathers; they are problem-solvers in their own right, and some of them will sculpt a New Right coalition. It won't be as big a tent, but the kids underneath will be committed in all the ways that Obama's 2008 coalition also was.

Democrats continue to rely on the young without substantially courting them at their peril.
posted by infinitewindow at 7:24 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

It occurs to me that all we really need now are just a handful of Republicans to tell Grover Norquist to fuck off.

This is going to happen. The GOP has kept their party in lockstep with threats of running out moderates or conservatives who work with the other side of the aisle in the primaries, and were as good as their word.

The problem is, the radical right wingers they nominated kept losing. So now, there will be a contingent of congressional Republicans who know they can get more working with rather than against the Democrats, and that their party won't dare try to punish them for it in the primaries in two years.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:24 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I think my goal for the next four years is to worry less about offending assholes and worry more about actually seeing that conversations I'm involved in hew closer to reality and further away from Dispatches from the Limbaughverse.

I clicked through to the FB walls of a few people that I put on "Most Important Updates Only" status for the election. I quickly decided that they are staying there. Forever. If their kids do something cool or somebody dies, the number of likes or comments will cause that update to make it to my news feed.
posted by COD at 7:26 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

"My mind is not god's mind." Glenn Beck, this morning.

God's mind: An infinite array of wonders, profound and interlocking, extending into the distance out of view, always turning, always working.

Glenn Beck's mind: You turn the key and the engine makes a pitiful coughing noise. You hear a CLANK that you're certain will cost at least $400.
posted by JHarris at 7:27 AM on November 7, 2012 [22 favorites]

For anyone who missed the fun on Fox News last night, which was just plain weirdness incarnate, Slate's Will Oremus sums up the Five Stages of Fox News Grief, with video. Must Must See TV. Schadenfreude in its ideal Platonic form can be yours with a click. I could watch this all day.
posted by spitbull at 7:27 AM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

I'm getting word from PR friend who is following things that the PR statehood thing didn't pass, misleading/crazy numbers aside. Seems as if too many people voted "none of the above" to the 3 options (status quo, statehood push, independent country).
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:28 AM on November 7, 2012

Sheperd, here's what happens in my family:

Relative: Launches a Limbaugh talking point at me triumphantly.
Me: bats it aside with little effort.
Relative: sputters because they have no follow up.
Everyone else: goes back to talking about the Cowboys.

It's annoying, but short.
posted by emjaybee at 7:32 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Jadacun, I'm a liberal lesbian in Maricopa county and the only thing that soured this election thread for me is all the Arizona bashing that occurred. Now, with 5000+ comments the dozen or so weren't enough to ruin it or anything, but c'mon, folks, unless you want to move here and make it better, please stop acting like everyone in this state happens to agree with Joe Arpaio.

Hear hear!

Although, I am disappointed in how the election went in Pima county. McSally v. Barber too close to call? We just got him in this summer! No extra money for schools? Aren't we something like 48th in education? My sister teaches at an downtown Phoenix Title I school, her classroom has 4 donated computers, two of which don't work. Her school has no library, and all of the books in her classroom have come from my families personal collection. Blarg.
posted by lizjohn at 7:34 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wisconsin, why you so crazy?

Baldwin defeats Thompson in hard-fought, contentious Senate race

Minorities, women key to Obama victory in Wisconsin

GOP retakes state Senate and full control of state government
posted by madamjujujive at 7:35 AM on November 7, 2012

For anyone who missed the fun on Fox News last night, which was just plain weirdness incarnate

There's got to be a torrent of that out there somewhere, right?
posted by JHarris at 7:35 AM on November 7, 2012

Waking up this morning was just like waking up in 1992 the day after the election: all smiles, because my guy was in the White House. (And I know I'm not the only one with a crush on Michelle!)
posted by honey badger at 7:35 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Requiem for Romney, by Nicholas Lemann - interesting thoughts on the "whither GOP" question.
posted by Miko at 7:37 AM on November 7, 2012

It's also worth noting the 'achilles heel of capitalism' in America. The desire to produce goods at the lowest cost possible caused the importation of slavery, which eventually begat a huge voting block that has a long memory. Importing low wage, off the books Mexicans is falling into a similar cycle*. You can not screw people over and then ask for their vote. Or rather you can, but watch them give you the legislative finger repeatedly and enjoy doing so.

* This bodes extremely well for the Robots/Evolved Cats platform of 2072

Just gotta gloat:

Barack Obama does not lose elections.
posted by spitbull at 9:29 AM on September 6

Meh, beat this (emphasis added):

Romney will be the nominee and Obama will beat him.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:12 PM on February 7 [+] [!]

Or this:

Sure. Obama wins and it's decided by 11pm est on election night.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:31 PM on October 10 [+] [!]

Ohio was called at 11:15 EST on election night, so I technically don't win the bet, but still!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:37 AM on November 7, 2012 [24 favorites]

Mitt Romney, Daily Show Senior Mormon Correspondent.

(You saw it here first.)
posted by Danf at 7:38 AM on November 7, 2012

On non-preview, for anyone thinking, "Why don't you un-friend those people, Obi-Wan?" Well, some of them are relations. As for the others, I guess because, while I may be an asshole, I'm not the kind asshole who un-friends people because I disagree with their politics. Some of them did lose their photo privileges though.
posted by ob1quixote at 7:38 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Wow, it's morning. That really happened. *rubs eyes*
posted by Aquaman at 7:38 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

So when do we schedule our Mefi Meetup to get gay married? Let's have it in CO so we can all get stoned at the same time.
posted by emjaybee at 7:40 AM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

One thing this election made me realize is that there are actually real reasons to appreciate the Blue Dogs. We need Donnelly because Donnelly keeps out Mourdock. It’ll be hard to remember that when the votes start coming up, but I think it’s a valuable lesson.
posted by kyrademon at 7:41 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I just donated $25 to Mother Jones. It felt great. You can too.
posted by spitbull at 7:41 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Wisconsin, why you so crazy?

Gerrymandering... Hardcore gerrymandering.
posted by drezdn at 7:41 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I do unfriend people over in-your-face political disagreements - though only people I don't know well (high school classmates, etc.) I'm not that ashamed of it. It's my living room, and I don't want to be hectored in it. However, I do have a few friends and relations who see things differently and whose relationships I wouldn't want to compromise - for them, I either ignore or unsubscribe for a while. I do believe in diversity of views and conversation in civil society, but the assholish version of that doesn't have to happen on my page, where I want to interact with people of goodwill.
posted by Miko at 7:42 AM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

My 14 month old daughter woke up just after Ohio was called for Obama. She looked a little bleary eyed, but like she had woken from a nap, not in the middle of her night's sleep.

I said, "Obama won!"

She stared at me bleary eyed again.

"The supreme court is safe, Rosie!"

She smiled hugely and gave me the biggest hug as she made one of her happy sounds.

My son had fallen asleep at his usual time and was still asleep, and I couldn't help but think how relieved I was there will be less talk of school vouchers (aka: GOP plan to dismantle public school systems) at the federal level and that my son will continue to receive the services he needs through a public school system interested in his growth and development.
posted by zizzle at 7:42 AM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

Holy shit! More good news! I might be late on the draw here, but I was really hoping Allen West would have to take his tired ass home!
posted by PuppyCat at 7:42 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hardcore gerrymandering

That sounds vaguely dirty.
posted by PuppyCat at 7:43 AM on November 7, 2012

Allen West: good riddance to a sociopathic prick.
posted by spitbull at 7:44 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I had to explain to him about Fox's media bias...

Fox's "Bias Alert" on their web site is hilariously ironic.
posted by juiceCake at 7:46 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Heh. Apparently I repeated my supreme court comment. When I posted it last night, I received an error message that it didn't post or some such thing and then I couldn't get Metafilter to load any more.

So I posted it again this morning, and I listed Rosie's age as 13 months in one and 14 months in the other. She's really 13.5 months, in case anyone is concerned by this. :)

But, you know, I also think it's worth telling that story over and over again. So thanks for letting me share it twice, Metafilter!
posted by zizzle at 7:46 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Because I can't really talk politics at work and I try to not talk politics on Facebook so I don't totally alientate all my conservative friends and family members so I have to HOLD IT ALL INSIDE

I come from a conservative family, so I think I have some idea of how you feel, but I think the best approach is to try to engage... a little. I'll hear someone spout a lot of nonsense, and rather than give a derisive snort of impatience or fury and start going on about how I think they're wrong because of reasons a) through z) and subparagraphs thereof, I pick one aspect of what they said, present a little factual evidence that I am sure of, and then ask them a question. If they answer that question I might comment mildly on their answer by offering some more facts that contradict it and ask another. When I've asked a question they can't answer, I leave it at that. It feels like I've accomplished something, even if it's only a tiny step in the right direction, and I usually don't hear that specific argument from the same person again.

It's better to engage and to show respect for people as individuals and to share what you know with them than to write all conservatives and reactionaries as some sort of monolithic behemoth — which, let me tell you, is never the case. Very few people are completely incapable of listening to reason — it's all in how new information and new opinions are presented to them. Moreover, this is how I want to be treated when people disagree with me.
posted by orange swan at 7:47 AM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

Yes, there are a lot of black people smiling and nodding at each other, even if we don't know each other. The voter suppression bullshit? Bring it on, we'll still walk over your ass as you cut your own political throat.

One thing this election made me realize is that there are actually real reasons to appreciate the Blue Dogs.

John Barrow is one of the few white Democrats left in the South and this pro guns ad pretty much sums what it takes for him to keep his job. Gotta admit, it felt good to see a Democrat so in your face and turning the tables on a "Republican" issue.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:48 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Congratulations, neighbours!

I'm thrilled by the win, but really shocked that the popular vote was such a close split. Romney seems like the platonic ideal of all that is wrong with conservatism and the electoral process. It was made very clear that he has nothing but contempt for half the population. And yet people still voted for him in droves. It astounds me.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 7:49 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Meanwhile, in the Mitt Romney chatroom,

"stevenmiles(romney)utah: Hey all! I suggest you all get a yea r supply of food get about 6 propane tanks, a generater, etc. The fiscal cliff is getting closer. We willbe coming a socialist country and chat boxes like this will be heavily monitored. Dont forget your second amendment rights as well. you will need to protect yourselves, I have a feeling. Could the second coming of our lord and savior be approaching?"

There is a lot of that sort of thing over there; that's not a cherry-picked outlier. Plenty of straight-up racism, too, but for some reason I'm finding that less scary (if only because more predictable) than the people who seem to believe this election is a literal sign of the coming apocalypse.
posted by ook at 7:49 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

One is crying because she wants to have babies and be healthy (but somehow Obama is going to see that those things don't happen).

The cognitive dissonance is SHOCKING.

That's not actually cognitive dissonance, it's just stupidity.
posted by adamdschneider at 7:50 AM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

Obama and Luther celebrate.
posted by drezdn at 7:51 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

ook, until "there is a lot of that sort of thing" I assumed you were making that up and there was no Romney chatroom. Man, that's ridiculous.
posted by adamdschneider at 7:51 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Because I couldn't summarize lessons learned from this election any better, here are the key points as written/posted by The Votemaster over at www.electoral-vote.com:

"Here are some of our takeways, in no particular order.

- It's not just the economy, stupid. It's the whole package
- Abandoning large constitutencies, like women, Latinos, and young voters is not a winning formula
- The partisan identification in 2008 was not a freak accident. There are more Democrats than Republicans
- The candidate matters: on paper Rick Perry and Mitt Romney were great, but the real men weren't
- Nominating a sneering plutocrat who likes firing people and writes off half the country is not a wise move
- If you can't release your tax returns because they are full of poison, don't run for President
- There aren't enough billionaires to buy the election
- Don't talk about gay marriage unless you are supporting it
- And above all, don't talk about rape except maybe if you are proposing to castrate rapists"
posted by PuppyCat at 7:53 AM on November 7, 2012 [31 favorites]

A good 1/3 or my facebook feed is folks declaring the apocalypse is nigh, and that Obama will screw over Israel. A friend of mine posted several paragraphs last night about sitting in her kids' room after the results were in, watching them sleep as she literally wept for their future.

This is what the poisonous, fearmongering, Father Coughlin-style rhetoric that has spewed from the likes of Limbaugh, Rove, Coulter, Beck, Hannity, Farah, Prager and countless others over the last two decades or more has wrought. They've successfully convinced so many conservatives that anyone who disagrees with them on a given political issue is just plain evil. Polarizing this country to such an extent that otherwise reasonable, rational people have wholeheartedly bought into the melodrama and seem incapable of seeing their opponents as fellow human beings.

I wonder where this road will lead.
posted by zarq at 7:53 AM on November 7, 2012 [44 favorites]

Meh, you can say what you like on MY fb page, everyone else does. :D

Part of me is disappointed this morning, but honestly, Romney is not the Republican I would have wanted to see in the WH if it were up to me. This nation IS changing, and that fact wouldn't have changed just because we'd put a different person into the White House. The kind of change I want to see in this nation does not happen at the ballot box or in a legislature or in an Oval Office anyway. So, I'll live.

Meanwhile, I don't envy Obama the task ahead of him. I have a regularly scheduled prayer meeting to go to tonight, one in which we pray for this nation, and I can assure you he will be thoroughly prayed for. He's gonna need it.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 7:54 AM on November 7, 2012 [14 favorites]

Omg, the Obama and Luther clip is a thing of joy.
posted by dejah420 at 7:54 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

On MSNBC, Pete Williams kept talking about Washington, Oregon, and "small amounts of marijuana." "Small, like an ounce or two."

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

And if you do, MeMail me.
posted by Room 641-A at 7:54 AM on November 7, 2012 [21 favorites]

zarq: The difference between a hockey mom and a suicide cult? Koolaid.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:55 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

- The candidate matters: on paper Rick Perry and Mitt Romney were great, but the real men weren't

This. The Republicans failed to learn the lesson of 2004: It doesn't matter if people don't like the incumbent much when your candidate is basically a big sign with "I'm not the other guy" written on it in crayon and stuffed into a suit. If the GOP runs somebody who stands for something, that probably flips enough voters to win the election and validates the whole "obstruct ALL THE THINGS" strategy they've been running with for the past two years. But their field of candidates was full of insincere jackasses who clearly wanted to be in charge way more than they wanted to accomplish anything (Romney, Perry, Cain) and completely sincere lunatics who were so out there even the Republicans couldn't buy into them (Santorum, Paul).

Bachmann was somewhere at the intersection of those two streets.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:00 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Alia, for all our differences, mad props for that attitude. I hope you influence a lot of friends into sharing it.
posted by spitbull at 8:00 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

thesocietyfor: "c'mon, folks, unless you want to move here and make it better, please stop acting like everyone in this state happens to agree with Joe Arpaio."

Today's cover of The Arizona Republic.

Just saying.
posted by schmod at 8:01 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I could now legally go outside and smoke up. I didn't even think to when it became legal. I could now, but I'm not in the mood. Did you hear that, drug war? I'm a casual cannabis smoker and I have internalized moderation like any other responsible adult.
posted by clarknova at 8:01 AM on November 7, 2012 [17 favorites]

The real heroes of this election? All the unbelievable people in Florida, Ohio and elsewhere who stood in line for 4, 5, 6 hours and more. Goddamn, that is heroism. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

And I declare today double-your-tips day in thanks to the 47% filmer. Let's donate cameras and phones to catering companies, waitstaff, and hotel workers everywhere! Tip your servers, folks!
posted by madamjujujive at 8:03 AM on November 7, 2012 [32 favorites]

Dow is down 300pts on early trading this morning. I guess Wall Street didn't like the results?
posted by Thorzdad at 8:03 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

If the GOP runs somebody who stands for something

You forgot the moon base!
posted by jaduncan at 8:05 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

and may have even squeaked by the shit-ton of money Monsanto dumped to oppose it and passed the GMO-labeling law.

I'm actually happy 37 didn't pass. Even if Monsanto "succeeded", the problem with 37 was that it was far too selective. GMO labeling is fine, but why no labels for milk, cheese and meat products that EAT GMO foods?

There was an equally sordid corporate interest vibe behind 37, so it's good it didn't pass. Now a real proposition on accurate labeling that includes all GMO-related foods, including products that come from sources that consume GMO foods, can be drafted and we can see Monsanto and the meat and dairy conglomerates join forces to defeat it.
posted by linux at 8:06 AM on November 7, 2012

MSNBC calls it for Tester. Very big deal.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:06 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Okay, I'm back. What'd i miss?

...

IT WAS REAL? Yes!
posted by grubi at 8:06 AM on November 7, 2012

You do have to hand it to Gingrich - he was incredibly sincere in his naked lust for power (you're welcome for that mental image, by the way).
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:07 AM on November 7, 2012

The candidate matters: on paper Rick Perry and Mitt Romney were great, but the real men weren't

No, they were crappy candidates on paper also.

The only reason they looked good on paper to some is because they were stuck in their own damn bubble of 'we are awesome'. The electorate has changed, a lot of people actually like Obama even if they disagree with him and 'businessman' is not universally loved in down economy called by greedy businessmen. They were terrible choices and made the path to a Republican victory harder than it needed to be.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:08 AM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

We could really use a favorites stimulus package right about now.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:09 AM on November 7, 2012 [16 favorites]

OF COURSE I FAVORITED THAT ONE
posted by grubi at 8:11 AM on November 7, 2012

Tester is a great guy and as honest a politician as I can think of even where I disagree with him. I wish he'd consider a national profile too. Yay Montana, yay Dems. Montana is lucky to have him. So are the rest of us.

I still can't take my eyes off of Fox News today.
posted by spitbull at 8:12 AM on November 7, 2012

The DJIA is down because of manufacturing data from Germany. It's a global economy, and I don't think the traders were surprised by the result. A good time to buy, if anything. And also probably a lot of selling on the news, wait to hear more about the fiscal cliff, stuff like that.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 8:12 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

tonycpsu: "MSNBC calls it for Tester. Very big deal."

Indeed. It means that Nate Silver missed two Senate projections.
posted by schmod at 8:13 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

NPR: For [the] record, here are the latest numbers from Florida, Ohio and Virginia, three states that gave pollsters headaches yesterday.

We'll start with Florida:

With nearly all precincts reporting, Obama is winning the state with 0.50 percent lead. The threshold to trigger an automatic recount? 0.50 percent. This result may change and break further in Obama's favor because, as The Miami Herald reports, some of the outstanding votes are in Miami-Dade county, which Obama won by a 25 point margin. Full results from the county, the Herald explains, may not be known until later today.

By the way, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson received almost 43,000 votes in the state. The difference between Obama and Romney was 46,000.

posted by zarq at 8:13 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

MSNBC calls it for Tester. Very big deal.

I'm kind of surprised how much 538 dropped the ball on the senate results. It looks like they had a 2-3 point Republican bias.
posted by Orange Pamplemousse at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Just a thought: Why the hell do we let TV stations decide who wins elections? Imagine 2000 if NBC doesn't "call" Florida for Bush. What the fuck is that?
posted by mrgrimm at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'd disagree there, Brandon. With a competent campaign, "ran a business that specialized in turning around big deficits" could have been a huge plus for Romney. And being the popular governor of a conservative state doesn't guarantee you a trip to the White House, but it sure as hell doesn't tank a campaign - it describes four of our last six presidents. Perry just turned out to be a total dipshit, and Romney...well, when the entire substance of your plan to get the economy on track is "I will champion small business," with no more detail than that, you are bad at elections.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

most popular tweet of all time
posted by Golden Eternity at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

In glummer news, another rough year for the Meadow Party.
posted by entropicamericana at 8:15 AM on November 7, 2012 [12 favorites]

Far too many of the party's basic economic tenents have been completely and thoroughly discredited.

They were bullshit all along, and everyone knew, but it at least gave the GOP some room to maneuver, twist the public conversation their way. They've really worn it down to the nub now though. They've got nothing else to say. They've dragged the Overton window up to the edge of a steep drop, and because they ceded all that central ground to the Democrats they can't easily march it back. Additionally their value as an opposition party has dropped to nothing, and that's not good for the government.

I'm babbling tired and dumb, but I still kind of think they would do best to head a little back to the center and reinvent compassionate conservatism, which will please the entitlement-haters who sense its true meaning, and woo the non-white voters with religious appeals. Best done after Democrats have paid the price for cleaning up the economy, so the GOP can act like geniuses again while they cook up their big scams.
posted by fleacircus at 8:15 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Folks, I'm still waiting for some Mefite hugs and ice cream - or at least cute animal pics from you guys - to console me over the teabaggers who won in my area. Even the most conservative judges won state Supremes spots in Michigan too.

Ice-cold reality hit me hard last night. For years I'd lived in a little bubble of a slightly more liberal area. Kinda forgot til I moved and this election – CRAZY REPUBS run EVERYTHING in Michigan.

Meanwhile fecking Maine - MAINE? - is passing liberal stuff like SSM? Colorado goes wheee for weed? Why don’t we have those kind of conservatives here?

So, yay that Barry won. (But even then R-Money, a former Michigan Republican, kept the President of the United States waiting to speak to us until after 1:30 Eastern. See what I mean.)

NEED BABY ANIMAL VIDS.
posted by NorthernLite at 8:15 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

A good 1/3 or my facebook feed is folks declaring the apocalypse is nigh, and that Obama will screw over Israel. A friend of mine posted several paragraphs last night about sitting in her kids' room after the results were in, watching them sleep as she literally wept for their future.

Have pretty much the same thing here with certain friends. However, it all seems to get smoothed out with a $150 dinner for 2 at their local restaurant (pdf) though they drive to in their Escalade. I guess it takes the edge of the upcoming political rapture.

Now why is that?

I get all "rapture-eee" when my favorite loaf of generic rye bread is not on sale for less than $1.50. But I guess the thought of a socialist, black president while dining on Kobe beef is clearly too much to bear for some.

Oh the horrors of living in the USA. (eye roll)
posted by lampshade at 8:15 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mitt's concession speech was brought to you by the letters F & U
posted by growabrain at 8:16 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

I think Nate Silver underestimated turnout for Obama slightly, and perhaps overestimated turnout for Romney slightly. Almost all the senate pickups (come on Heidi!) are within either positive or negative coat-tail margins. Only Missouri shows serious ticket-splitting action that I can see. So I think Nate's presidential race cautiousness had multiplier effects on his final calls of nearly tied senate races. Fine with me, gives us some happy surprises to go with the predicted victories. Something a little sweeter about winning a less certain contest.
posted by spitbull at 8:17 AM on November 7, 2012

Dow is down 300pts on early trading this morning. I guess Wall Street didn't like the results

The stock market isn't over yet.
posted by mazola at 8:17 AM on November 7, 2012

Smart conservatives know there's money to be made from legal weed...lots and LOTS of money.
posted by PuppyCat at 8:18 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Senate races are also not polled nearly as much as the Presidential race, so the sample sizes are smaller. I'm sure Nate will go into where his model failed on his blog in the coming days, but that's my guess.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:19 AM on November 7, 2012

I'd disagree there, Brandon. With a competent campaign, "ran a business that specialized in turning around big deficits" could have been a huge plus for Romney.

Not when the candidate has made themselves super rich by laying off or firing people, especially in down economy. If Romney had worked himself up from the mailroom of failing company and then turned it around as CEO, that would have been a killer story. Him repeating "I'm a businessman, I' a businessman" in this economy? Not so much.

it describes four of our last six presidents.

The electorate has changed. Texas could be a swing state by 2020.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:19 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

The biggest was local television and radio in Ohio. $200M spent on ads in Ohio alone!
posted by Golden Eternity at 8:20 AM on November 7, 2012

Dow is down 300pts on early trading this morning. I guess Wall Street didn't like the results?

Fuck 'em.

You know why I wish the shit about Barack being a socialist were true? Because then Wall Street wouldn't fucking matter.
posted by clarknova at 8:20 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

NEED BABY ANIMAL VIDS.
posted by NorthernLite

I posted this in an FPP a while back, but just because his name is "Mit" (short for Iñupiaq "Mitik") and because he is one hell of a 235 pound baby walrus, here he is again, by request.

Also because you are named NorthernLite!

Happy fat little walrus (Iñupiaq = "Aivik," or "Ivik") you are my power animal today!
posted by spitbull at 8:21 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

How Ridiculous Gerrymanders Saved the House Republican Majority
posted by tonycpsu at 8:22 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

DynamiteToast: "Slate's Pundit Scorecard, aka everyone who owes Nate Silver an apology."

So obviously George Will, Ann Coulter, Dick Morris, etc will be fired for incompetence and no one will listen to them again. Right?
posted by octothorpe at 8:22 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Regarding the weed vote-considering that Federal law seems to trump state law even when it comes to medicinal pot, does the vote for legal weed in Colorado genuinely mean anything?
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 8:23 AM on November 7, 2012

To add to the cavalcade of good news this morning... Democratic friends of mine from California are very excited about Mark Takano, a newly elected congressman. Here's a report on him from The Washington Blade. Excerpt:

Chuck Wolfe, CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, said a Takano victory would be significant because in addition to becoming the first openly gay person of color to be elected to Congress as a Japanese-American, Takano would also be the first out person to represent California as a federal lawmaker.

“We’re excited that Mark Takano is heading to Capitol Hill, where he will be the first openly LGBT person of color to serve in Congress, and the first out Californian,” Wolfe said. “Mark joins a small but growing caucus of openly LGBT lawmakers in Washington who are challenging their colleagues to stand on the right side of history.”

A public school teacher for 23 years specializing in British literature, Takano is no stranger to public service. In 1990, he was elected to the Riverside Community College District’s Board of Trustees and has served on that body since then. In 2001, Takano helped shepherd through the board a measure enabling Riverside Community College employees to have domestic partner benefits.

posted by Kattullus at 8:23 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Shmod, they're sore losers, but I'm not sure what your point is? (Not trying to be snarky, I just want to know what posting the right-leaning newspaper's front page proves about my state.) The Arizona Republic doesn't speak for the 43% of AZ voters for Obama. I wish there were more Obama supporters here, but I feel more connected to Democrats here than I did living in liberal Seattle. It's nice to have something to fight for.

Also, Kyrsten Sinema is a straight up bad-ass, gay rights supporting lady who has a narrow lead right now for one of the House races in the state. That's pretty awesome, regardless of the outcome.
posted by thesocietyfor at 8:24 AM on November 7, 2012

...does the vote for legal weed in Colorado genuinely mean anything?
Since most arrests for weed are by local law enforcement for small amounts, you bet.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:25 AM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

How about Michael Barone? He mortgaged his very strong reputation for accurate electoral prediction on a ridiculous Romney wager. Somehow, the fact that he was not considered a hack before the election (unlike Morris or Coulter or Will) makes it even more appalling that he was willing to sell out for whatever pieces of silver Rupert Murdoch tossed his way for the cheerleading bullshit. Wow.
posted by spitbull at 8:25 AM on November 7, 2012

Regarding the weed vote-considering that Federal law seems to trump state law even when it comes to medicinal pot, does the vote for legal weed in Colorado genuinely mean anything?

It could, yes. It may lead to a suit against the federal government (if someone is arrested in Colorado, for example, for exercising what they perceived to be a legal right), which could very well make its way to the Supreme Court. So, yeah. Challenges beget challenges.
posted by grubi at 8:26 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Actually let me amend that and say that it sucks to have to fight for the right to marry my partner. That was a badly spoken comment but I am a little crazy for wishing people wouldn't bash Arizona—I'm taking it out on internet strangers that so many friends and family who have never been here refuse to visit me because they think it's all gun-totin', gay-hatin' good ol' boys here in this beautiful state.
posted by thesocietyfor at 8:26 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Here's that Rove freak out video yt you ordered.
posted by montag2k

Thanks, montag2k. Now the only thing I'm missing is for my favorites to top up again, so I can go back to clicking that [+] sign again.

Oh, yeah, and a strategy for pushing Obama Version 1.2 in a more progressive direction. Almost forgot about that.
posted by benito.strauss at 8:26 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I just got up after a late night working the polls, made even later by counting stupid write-in votes. Would you people please stop writing in stupid invalid write ins? We write them all down, every single god damned name written on a ballot. It takes pages and pages of paper to write them all. Records are kept in case it actually matters, but it never matters. Unless the number of write-ins exceed the number of votes for the leading candidate, the tallied votes are just lumped together and ignored. The votes are all announced under the category "WI" so your vote for Ron Fucking Paul carried exactly the same weight as the idiots who vote for Mickey Mouse: none.
posted by charlie don't surf at 8:26 AM on November 7, 2012 [20 favorites]

Regarding the weed vote-considering that Federal law seems to trump state law even when it comes to medicinal pot, does the vote for legal weed in Colorado genuinely mean anything?

Unless the DEA wants to start doing street level busts and prosecuting those people in federal court, it does. Look at the states that have legal medicinal marijuana, despite federal law, there are plenty of dispensaries in Colorado, because the feds have better things to do with their time.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:27 AM on November 7, 2012

Thank you for the thread, for keeping me sane...ish, for being intelligent and hilarious and informative and engaged.

Now it's time for me to snuggle cats and sleep, and dream sweet dreams of Elizabeth Warren telling Grover Norquist to go fuck himself. DELIGHTFUL!
posted by louche mustachio at 8:27 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

does the vote for legal weed in Colorado genuinely mean anything?

Somebody in the live chat made the point that ultimately this'll come down to how serious Scalia is about states rights.
posted by ook at 8:28 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Regarding the weed vote-considering that Federal law seems to trump state law even when it comes to medicinal pot, does the vote for legal weed in Colorado genuinely mean anything?

Colorado now allows users to grow at home. The DEA may still make raids on potential future large commercial operations but I think it is likely that this does change things for individual recreational users.
posted by ghharr at 8:28 AM on November 7, 2012

Him repeating "I'm a businessman, I' a businessman" in this economy? Not so much.

The problem for Romney is that when he repeated that, what most of us actually heard was "I'm an investment banker. I'm an investment banker."
posted by COD at 8:28 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Regarding the weed vote-considering that Federal law seems to trump state law even when it comes to medicinal pot, does the vote for legal weed in Colorado genuinely mean anything?

It means that a pot smoker has to care about the FBI and DEA, not state cops. For personal use and growing a couple of plants in the loft? Probably can't be bothered.
posted by jaduncan at 8:28 AM on November 7, 2012

Dow is down 300pts on early trading this morning. I guess Wall Street didn't like the results

hmmmf......It would appear the overall trend has been pretty good over the last 4 years or so.

Again I ask (as with other suggestions of economic doom & gloom), why would that be?

What, pray tell, would be the event that, seemingly, has coincided with this upward trend?
posted by lampshade at 8:29 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Keeping weed illegal federally and legal locally will definitely make it de facto legal, after all medicinal marijuana is illegal federally.

Here's where things get interesting. By having it illegal federally, the risk of creating a large business centered around weed exists. There's some small risk in being a small distributor or grower, but the capital risk from being a massive factory farm is too high. The end result for now would be an environment where weed growing looks more like wine with small estates, rather than massive breweries.
posted by amuseDetachment at 8:29 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

This is fun.
Who Is Most Pissed Off After This Election by Robert J. Elisberg

"Mitch McConnell must be so pissed off, too. After doing one of the most irresponsible things any Senate party leader has ever done by declaring that his Number One priority was not working to help America but rather to make sure that Barack Obama wasn't re-elected, he spent four years shirking his sworn duties and working instead to defeat the president. And after all of that effort, he wasn't able to do it. Despite his great efforts of his Number One priority, President Barack Obama was re-elected. Mitch McConnell must be so pissed off."

"Imagine how pissed off Karl Rove, the Koch Brothers and Sheldon Adelson must be, having spent all that money to defeat Barack Obama -- hundreds of millions of dollars -- and having absolutely nothing to show for it. I spent ten bucks yesterday for lunch, and at least I got a sandwich and bowl of soup."
posted by dougzilla at 8:30 AM on November 7, 2012 [19 favorites]

This is what I'm wearing today.
posted by laconic skeuomorph at 8:32 AM on November 7, 2012 [27 favorites]

Sure, you'd likely regret smoking two ounces in one sitting but in the big picture an ounce or two of pot has never really been all that much in the (bloodshot) eyes of the law.
posted by item

Actually, in New York City, an ounce is the threshold level that raises a street possession bust (not public consumption, sale or display, but simple possession) from basically running a red light level to a felony. So in New York, the clever stoner makes sure not to carry more than 7/8th on her/his person.

I think New York legalizes weed within 5 years, however. The dam has burst now. I never thought I'd see it in my lifetime, but I now really believe we will see national legalization within a decade or so.
posted by spitbull at 8:33 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

The end result for now would be an environment where weed growing looks more like wine with small estates, rather than mass breweries.

IMO not; growing your own is also legal. When that's so, there's a thriving business in seeds and hydroponics and lots and lots of growers as there's little legal risk. There's also the probability that a co-op of growers will start moving stuff out of the state - completely legal under a set amount means that one can have a dispersed growop.
posted by jaduncan at 8:33 AM on November 7, 2012

Imagine how pissed off Karl Rove, the Koch Brothers and Sheldon Adelson must be, having spent all that money to defeat Barack Obama -- hundreds of millions of dollars -- and having absolutely nothing to show for it.

Save for a House majority leadership that knows which side their bread is buttered and is likely to block things whenever asked, of course.
posted by jaduncan at 8:35 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Oh, boy, are we switching FPP again?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:35 AM on November 7, 2012

Just tell me where to invest in the burgeoning weed market.
posted by DynamiteToast at 8:35 AM on November 7, 2012

LOOKS LIKE I PICKED THE WRONG WEEK TO STOP SWITCHING FIPP.
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:36 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Regarding the weed vote-considering that Federal law seems to trump state law even when it comes to medicinal pot, does the vote for legal weed in Colorado genuinely mean anything?

My guess: as long as they (the entire supply chain) pay their federal taxes they will be okay.
posted by Golden Eternity at 8:36 AM on November 7, 2012

Dear Every Future Republican Candidate for Office Ever,

Hey bro. You know, I bet you have some totally sweet ideas about rape and abortion. Let's hear those bad boys dude!

Sincerely,

America

P.S. Bitches be trippin' amirite!?
posted by ND¢ at 8:37 AM on November 7, 2012 [11 favorites]

By the way I just saw a clip of Diane Sawyer. No wonder some of you were thinking she was drunk. Dang.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 8:37 AM on November 7, 2012

Oh, boy, are we switching FPP again?

Evacuate? In my moment of triumph?
posted by gerryblog at 8:37 AM on November 7, 2012 [15 favorites]

In one thread they are discussing where they all plan to move now that the Republic has officially died. One guy says he is considering escaping Obama's socialist dystopia by ... moving to Sweden.

The second Obama administration as imagined by Freepers
posted by clarknova at 8:38 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

DaddyNewt: in all seriousness, do you want an editing job?
posted by jaduncan at 8:38 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

St. Alia, which clip did you watch? I've been wondering about the comments about Diane Sawyer acting drunk and would love to see!
posted by thesocietyfor at 8:39 AM on November 7, 2012

Just tell me where to invest in the burgeoning weed market.
posted by DynamiteToast at 8:35 AM on November 7 [+] [!]

CBIS and MJNA are 2 symbols, but both penny stocks so best to stay away or not invest anything you wouldn't mind losing completely and suddenly.
posted by birdheist at 8:40 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hello, I am America. I'm a 54 year old white male son of the heartland. In the last 4 years I've lost my job, my house, my children's college fund and my retirement savings. Can somebody please put me back to work now?

I'm sure some country singers need songwriters.
posted by sparklemotion at 8:40 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Brandon Blatcher: "Texas could be a swing state by 2020."

It would likely take a Latino candidate. Texas' Latino population has increased to nearly 1/3 in the last couple of decades, and Latinos do traditionally vote Democrat. But even though there's a large population of eligible Latino voters, a significant percentage of them don't register to vote. Presumably, they're just not that enthused about candidates.

Even though Texas is a minority-majority state, the African American population in Texas has been dropping. African Americans and Latinos tend to be poorer and less well-educated than whites, and in general there are fewer opportunities available to poorer Texans than to the rich. The state's class divide is quite strong.

Worth noting as well that Plano, Lubbock and Abilene make up three of the top five most conservative cities in America. (The others are Provo, UT and Hialeah, FL.) Their senior citizen population will probably reach close to 20% by 2020.

I'd love to see Texas come into play. But it will take some doing.
posted by zarq at 8:41 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm sure some country singers need songwriters.

I love the "what happens when you play a country song backwards" joke as much as anybody, but this seems like a bad response to an actual person's actual problems.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:43 AM on November 7, 2012 [17 favorites]

Go to Google News and I promise you there are stories and clips. Apparently even a jokey twitter feed on the topic.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 8:43 AM on November 7, 2012

Hello, I am America. I'm a 54 year old white male son of the heartland. In the last 4 years I've lost my job, my house, my children's college fund and my retirement savings. Can somebody please put me back to work now?
posted by DaddyNewt 5 minutes ago

DaddyNewt: in all seriousness, do you want an editing job?
posted by jaduncan 3 minutes ago

This is kind of awesome. (And Daddynewt - definitely follow up on this. I posted my own askme about job hunting recently, and THREE mefites have contacted me to ask me for my resume.)

Metafilter: We Take Care Of Our Own. (exits to the tune of a Bruce Springsteen power chord)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:44 AM on November 7, 2012 [14 favorites]

Speaking of country singers, here's Terry Stampley's anti-Bush anthem "I'm Taking My Country Back," an oldie but goodie from 2004 that gives me real pleasure to hear today.
posted by spitbull at 8:44 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

It would likely take a Latino candidate.

Julian Castro, and especially since it might have the same effect in other states too.
posted by jaduncan at 8:44 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Even if they just have to spend money in Texas to defend it they're sunk. The place is huge. But the demographic trends suggest the state could actually flip in the next few elections if Democrats continue to win Hispanics by these margins.

Remember, not only are the kids of immigrants citizens, but the kids of undocumented immigrants are citizens, and have grown up in an atmosphere of ugly, racist moral panic directed at them and their families. These people are and will continue to be fierce, lifetime Democratic voters, especially as Democrats become more and more friendly to them on immigration issues in coming years.
posted by gerryblog at 8:45 AM on November 7, 2012

The second Obama administration as imagined by Freepers

Metafilter: the survivors are a weird, hearty breed now.
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:45 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, here you go.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 8:45 AM on November 7, 2012

Yes, Michigan! Finally, the thing I've waited 19 years to see: Pete Hoekstra losing an election. Until they receive this type of jarring reality check, guys like Pete and Dick DeVos sashay through life blissfully unaware that, except for a few glassy-eyed entitled Calvinists in ~~Beige Greatroom~~, er, Grand Rapids, everyone in the entire universe considers them total fucksticks.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:46 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

It would likely take a Latino candidate.

Meet Julian Castro. You'll be hearing more from him in 2016.
posted by spitbull at 8:47 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Wow, for some reason I assumed I'd have to hunt. You're right, googling "Drunk Diane Sawyer" was enough. :)
posted by thesocietyfor at 8:47 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

It would likely take a Latino candidate.

Possibly or a miss of Latino's and blacks. And the idea that it becomes a swing state assumes that Latinos will go mostly Democrat. That's a good guess for not, but I can the group becoming largely Republican, if handled right. But that's a big if at the moment.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:47 AM on November 7, 2012

BOOKER/CASTRO 2016
posted by grubi at 8:48 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

From this post
After a string of defeats, the Democrats rebooted in 1992, nominating a Southern moderate and jettisoning the more unpopular parts of their agenda, at least at the national level. At some point, the GOP will do the same.

I guess I am not seeing what part of the GOP agenda (say, from the party platforms) is not unpopular and getting more so.
posted by shothotbot at 8:49 AM on November 7, 2012

Also from dougzilla's article:

"In fact, the whole Republican Senate must be so pissed off. When President Obama nominated Elizabeth Warren to be head of the Consumer Protection Agency, an important but reasonably piddly bureau, GOP senators fought her with the fervor of missionary crusaders and wouldn't approve her for the job. And so, what Elizabeth Warren did next was announce her candidacy for the Senate in Massachusetts. If the Republican senators had simply approved Elizabeth Warren to head a simple bureaucratic job, she never would have run for the Senate, and Republican Scott Brown would have been re-elected. Republican senators must be so pissed off. Your heart really goes out to them. In a manner of speaking."

This, as well as Slap*Happy's comment about how the GOP tried to push extremists into office and lost, makes me optimistic that yay, people will FINALLY start learning how to compromise.
posted by Melismata at 8:49 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I think Clinton/Castro is unbeatable. Unbeatable. You might as well call the election now if that's the ticket. Especially coming off the Obama boom years.
posted by spitbull at 8:50 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

guess that "War on Women" didn't turn out so we.
posted by edgeways at 8:51 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

spitball is SO correct! It feels great to support to Mother Jones! Yay!
posted by dog food sugar at 8:51 AM on November 7, 2012

Yes, FelliniBlank, I was thrilled with the news from MI! My mom was really excited about Debbie Stabenow being reelected. I left the state after Synder was elected and I've been scared to follow the elections there ever since!
posted by thesocietyfor at 8:51 AM on November 7, 2012

On a somewhat related note......the lack of continuous ringing of my phone from various political entities is a very much welcome change this morning.
posted by lampshade at 8:53 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

...makes me optimistic that yay, people will FINALLY start learning how to compromise.

That assumes that there's something they want they'll gain by bargaining. The right doesn't want anything but power to push through a regressive agenda. I can't see them compromising until they're all gone. That's what I'm optimistic for.
posted by clarknova at 8:54 AM on November 7, 2012

Even though it's definitely feels too soon to think about 2016, I'm definitely going to pay attention to any early favorites that Metafilter throws out there.

I first heard of Obama in this post and damn, that is a fun thread to be reading right now.
posted by like_neon at 8:58 AM on November 7, 2012 [11 favorites]

BOOKER/CASTRO 2016

Fidel or Raul?
posted by msalt at 8:58 AM on November 7, 2012

No seriously, that thread is awesome.
posted by like_neon at 8:59 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Not a proud moment to be a white male.

Sorry, but that's bullshit. I'm a "white male" (straight, and pretty middle-class too, to boot!), and I'm incredibly proud of my country and my state too (Elizabeth Warren!). There's an awful lot of "white males" here in America, and too many of them vote like idiots (along with too many "white females"). But there are plenty of us who see the problems we have, and are incredibly happy to work with people of all "races", sexes, genders, (and religions) who want to get rid of gender and racial bullshit that limit too many Americans.
posted by benito.strauss at 9:01 AM on November 7, 2012 [21 favorites]

This, as well as Slap*Happy's comment about how the GOP tried to push extremists into office and lost, makes me optimistic that yay, people will FINALLY start learning how to compromise.

The problem is that the GOP push for extremists was specifically designed to intimidate moderate Republicans into NOT compromising, because otherwise they'd be targeted for a primary challenge by a very well funded Tea Party activist. Even the T.P. guy loses, the message is sent and other Republicans fall in line. Ask Richard Lugar, or Orrin Hatch.
posted by msalt at 9:01 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

A friend of mine posted several paragraphs last night about sitting in her kids' room after the results were in, watching them sleep as she literally wept for their future.

Have pretty much the same thing here with certain friends.

I remember comforting several crying friends in November 2004.

does the vote for legal weed in Colorado genuinely mean anything?

Somebody in the live chat made the point that ultimately this'll come down to how serious Scalia is about states rights.

Nah, this one will be decided by local law enforcement and local regulations. The Feds ain't gonna get into it. They can't afford to police it without local cops.

Nevertheless, the first salvo from the DEA ... the rescheduling possibility (albeit slim, it's far from nil) is HUGE here, I think: ASA vs. DEA.

Even though it's definitely feels too soon to think about 2016, I'm definitely going to pay attention to any early favorites that Metafilter throws out there.

Hmm. I have one OBVIOUS candidate.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:02 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Local spokesperson for the Department of Justice, Jeff Dorschner, said “We don’t know what will happen if it passes. There are a variety of options, none of which I can discuss.”

Thanks, Jeff!
posted by mrgrimm at 9:03 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'd like to see Ted Nugent and Donald Trump hold hands and walk off the face of the earth together.

It could be the conservative Thelma and Louise, crossed with Gregg Araki's The Living End. Someone get on the horn with the Atlas Shrugged producers and let's make movie magic.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:03 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Drug defense attorney Rob Corry also downplayed the idea that the feds will go much beyond posturing. “Honestly, I don’t think the feds will do anything more than they have with medical marijuana. They will hassle some businesses and leave others alone. Right now they want to turn out young voters for Obama while paying lip service to parents who want the government to do their parenting for them.”

yeah, that's about it.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:05 AM on November 7, 2012

Speaking of country singers, here's Terry Stampley's anti-Bush anthem "I'm Taking My Country Back," yt

Thank you for introducing me to this guy who is probably a distant cousin of mine.
posted by immlass at 9:05 AM on November 7, 2012

Hey, Nate. We got someone you need to talk to!
posted by perhapses at 9:05 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Greg Nog for the win
posted by mcstayinskool at 9:06 AM on November 7, 2012

Forget Nate Silver, Greg Nog is the witch.
posted by like_neon at 9:06 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Hmm. I have one OBVIOUS candidate.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:02 PM on November 7 [+] [!]

He's not a natural born citizen, though, so he can't run. We'd have to change that first, and then we might have to contend with a Terminator vs Zoidberg election and, wow....I can't even predict how that would go....
posted by zizzle at 9:07 AM on November 7, 2012

I must add highly relevant detail. Ever since the 1960s, whenever a Democrat was elected President, the Formula 1 championship was won by a Brit in that year.

Holy shit, it's Andy Zaltzman in the thread!
posted by benito.strauss at 9:08 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Lulzy things:

Dems look set to pick up ND Sen despite Nate "Not a Witch" Silver's odds of 7.5%

Obama's margin of victory was greater in Virginia than Ohio: to win he required neither Ohio nor Florida
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:10 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jesse Jackson Jr. wins reelection. Despite being MIA for a quarter of his term, and still MIA. I truly empathize with his struggle, but come on, voters, get real.

My prediction: within the month, it will be announced his health is such that he cannot return to the job at all, and his wife will be appointed to take his place. It's Stroger 2.0.
posted by dnash at 9:11 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I hate how republicans are talking about Obama winning mainly because of his "aggressive campaign". Do people at Fox News think we are that dumb? Ads don't convince people, reality does. And besides, Romney's ads weren't exactly gentle and caring.
posted by Tarumba at 9:14 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

posted by Greg Nog at 11:30 AM on June 3, 2003 [+] [!]

Note that this comment was made a full month prior to his keynote, in a thread about Star Wars fanfic.

According to his profile, Greg Nog joined in May 2, 2006
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:14 AM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

Jan Schakowsky told me about a recent visit she had made to the White House with a congressional delegation. On her way out, she said, President Bush noticed her “obama” button. “He jumped back, almost literally,” she said. “And I knew what he was thinking. So I reassured him it was Obama, with a ‘b.’ And I explained who he was. The President said, ‘Well, I don’t know him.’ So I just said, ‘You will.’”
posted by drezdn at 9:14 AM on November 7, 2012 [13 favorites]

I hate how republicans are talking about Obama winning mainly because of his "aggressive campaign". Do people at Fox News think we are that dumb? Ads don't convince people, reality does. And besides, Romney's ads weren't exactly gentle and caring.

Sorry to say, if this election were primarily reality-based, we wouldn't be looking at a GOP House.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:15 AM on November 7, 2012

Maybe let's not have ironically chipper callbacks to ugly familial murder-suicides?
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:16 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

According to his profile, Greg Nog joined in May 2, 2006

Also his quoted link goes to a video of a robot saying SMOKE WEED EVERY DAY
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:17 AM on November 7, 2012 [13 favorites]

According to his profile, Greg Nog joined in May 2, 2006
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:14 AM on November 7 [+] [!]

That's why I called him a witch. Maybe should have said time travelling witch.
posted by like_neon at 9:19 AM on November 7, 2012

Is Greg Nog doing a Romney?
posted by de at 9:19 AM on November 7, 2012

Also, I'm pretty sure that robot is shopped.
posted by Dojie at 9:20 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

More like a Ryan.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:21 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Somebody in the live chat made the point that ultimately this'll come down to how serious Scalia is about states rights.

SPOILER ALERT

He doesn't. Not even a little eensy bit.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:22 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

apple maps is gonna suck ass

posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 4:20 PM on June 3, 40,000 BC [+] [!]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:23 AM on November 7, 2012 [11 favorites]

That's why I called him a witch. Maybe should have said time travelling witch.

*looks at Greg, hopefully*

.....Doctor? You're....real?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:23 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

[It's like you can't honestly enjoy an ugly familial murder suicide anymore. Everything Has to be ironic now.]
posted by clarknova at 9:24 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Memo to Republicans: Stop fighting marriage equality
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:24 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Maybe should have said time travelling witch.

Or a switch-hitting witch!

[movie reference]
posted by Melismata at 9:25 AM on November 7, 2012

Ted Nugent did not take the news well.

Holy shit, Ted Nugent is Rorschach?!?
posted by Meatbomb at 9:26 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Having spent a large portion of yesterday in a clinic in eastern WA surrounded by mostly elderly Fox news watchers (who are also SS & Medicare recipients) it was nice to be able to watch the election here on Metafilter.
posted by the_artificer at 9:26 AM on November 7, 2012

The problem is, the radical right wingers they nominated kept losing. So now, there will be a contingent of congressional Republicans who know they can get more working with rather than against the Democrats, and that their party won't dare try to punish them for it in the primaries in two years.

The problem is, the Tea Party is brilliantly successful at grassroots politics of the living-room, community-hall and get your local nutjob nominated. So it's not certain that the congressional Republicans will fall in line behind the moderate factions of the party. The Tea Party is a loose cannon. The mainstream Republican party doesn't have the capacity to "punish" or not punish in the primaries.

Fanaticism gets people out to those nominating meetings a year ahead of the election. It's harder and less likely to get highly motivated about moderation. Moderation does not get people marching in the streets. And the Tea Party differs from most fringe groups in that it has sugar daddies with very very deep pockets.

For this reason I foresee at least another election cycle of Republican division, becoming ever-more chaotic. Look for the Tea Party to run a third-party candidate in 2016.

If the sugar daddies cut off their allowance, then that might change.
posted by Rumple at 9:26 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

what the tea party has done to the GOP's senate chances of late
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:27 AM on November 7, 2012

Whoa, just reelected and already Obama's settled the most important issue of his political career. Check it, second paragraph, last sentence.

Yeah, that's right. Singular they. If you still think we voted in the wrong guy, I don't know what to tell you.
posted by KChasm at 9:28 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Gary Johnson voter here. Obama and Romney are both odious, so I picked the third party who seemed most likely to impact things.

Success, Libertarian Party-Style (Or, the Glory of Low Expectations)
posted by homunculus at 9:28 AM on November 7, 2012

I'll see your Julian Castro, and I'll raise you one Ted Cruz. There are small pockets of Democrat friendly Texans, but the state on the whole is as conservative as can be and demographics aren't going to change that any time soon.

I live in Texas and I have to disagree with you.

Paul Sadler managed to pick up 40.6% (3.1 mil) of the vote against Ted Cruz, who won with 56.6% (4.5 mil) on a campaign that had virtually no funds. He was an underdog from the start, but I think he made more than a fair showing against Cruz, who was blessed with all the Tea Party money he could spend.

Also, while we all knew Texas would go to Romney, the President picked up 41.4% of the Texas vote - ~3.3 million voted for Obama, which is only slightly less than the 2008 results, where the President garnered ~3.5 million votes. It was a wide margin for Romney, but not a shut-out by any means.

Texas as a state is not as overwhelmingly red as people would like to believe when compared to some other red states like Wyoming or Idaho - we just have more people. Everything is a cycle and I believe we'll see Texas come back around again.
posted by PuppyCat at 9:29 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Ugh. We still have Bachmann. Like gum on the bottom of Minnesota's shoe.

But other than that, hooray Minnesota!
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:31 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I'd like to see Ted Nugent and Donald Trump hold hands and walk off the face of the earth together.

And then wander around confused because they thought the Earth really was flat.
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:31 AM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

Yeah; I know a couple quite blue-leaning people who live in Plano, even!
posted by kaibutsu at 9:31 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Texas as a state is not as overwhelmingly red as people would like to believe when compared to some other red states like Wyoming or Idaho - we just have more people. Everything is a cycle and I believe we'll see Texas come back around again.

Seconding this. I'm a native Texan and old enough to remember yellow-dog Democrats. I've watched Dallas and Houston shift mostly back even as the suburbs have gone more Tea Party. It won't be easy but it can happen, and I believe it will.
posted by immlass at 9:32 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Hahaha, I got @dickMorris to lash out at me!
posted by Theta States at 9:33 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Ugh. We still have Bachmann. Like gum on the bottom of Minnesota's shoe.

As a dog owner, I gotta tell you, that's definitely not gum.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:34 AM on November 7, 2012 [12 favorites]

Mental wimp: Ugh. We still have Bachmann. Like gum on the bottom of Minnesota's shoe.

I don't think that's gum, man.... Can you maybe leave your shoes outside, and not trash my carpet?

It really ties the room together.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:38 AM on November 7, 2012

Hahaha, I got @dickMorris to lash out at me!

Boy lash out is kinda an understatement...
posted by DynamiteToast at 9:38 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Texas as a state is not as overwhelmingly red as people would like to believe when compared to some other red states like Wyoming or Idaho

There is also a reasonably large GLBT community in Dallas, and I am assuming in other cities there.
posted by Danf at 9:39 AM on November 7, 2012

Oh, and FUCK OFF CITIZENS "UNITED".

It's not easy to say that here in NC, which really went into the toilet last night. Tons of outside money helped tilt our state supreme court to the right. With the legislature already controlled by the worst kind of anti-gay and anti-abortion reactionaries who just increased their power and now a rubber-stamp governor, the supreme court was the last hope for stopping the worst of the idiocy they're already cooking up, I'm sure.

North Carolina is well and truly fucked for the next couple of years, y'all. Send cookies.
posted by mediareport at 9:42 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Can someone explain to me why Clinton hired Dick Morris in the 90s. Did Clinton just assume Morris was always wrong and did the opposite of what he said?
posted by drezdn at 9:42 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ugh. We still have Bachmann. Like gum on the bottom of Minnesota's shoe

For a lefty in Minnesota, Bachmann is like the salt in my caramel. Just makes everything else that much more delicious.
posted by sparklemotion at 9:44 AM on November 7, 2012

This is from 2004 I wonder if octobersurprise did tell their niece.
posted by like_neon at 9:44 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dick Morris is hilarious.

I predicted a Romney landslide and, instead, we ended up with an Obama squeaker.

That's right, 325-213 is a landslide and 332-206 (probably) is a squeaker.
posted by dfan at 9:46 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Heh.

Last night, Meghan McCain tweeted: "Heartbroken. My party has to evolve or it's going to die."

And Cracked writer W. Gladstone replied: "Your party doesn't believe in evolution."
posted by magstheaxe at 9:46 AM on November 7, 2012 [151 favorites]

what the tea party has done to the GOP's senate chances of late.

More like teabag party, AMIRITE?
posted by The Bellman at 9:47 AM on November 7, 2012

God I wish I could gather together all the crazy white tea partiers who tried to shout me down and called me a commie MSNBC liberal plant during Ryan's first VP rally. How I would bathe in their bitter tears. Oh how their sorrows would be as sweet as the milk of Arcadia.
Where are the snowballs of yesteryear?
posted by clarknova at 9:47 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Good luck with that, white boys.

Why thank you.
posted by benito.strauss at 9:47 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Breaking News: The Romney Zeppelin was not flying this morning.
posted by boo_radley at 9:48 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Sorry, Theta, the real Dick Morris tweets here. Still hilarious, though.
posted by maudlin at 9:49 AM on November 7, 2012

KChasm:

Whoa, just reelected and already Obama's settled the most important issue of his political career. Check it, second paragraph, last sentence.

Yeah, that's right. Singular they. If you still think we voted in the wrong guy, I don't know what to tell you.

Here's what I'm getting for the 2nd P, last S:

...(speaking about election volunteers)

You'll hear the deep patriotism in the voice of a military spouse who's working the phones late at night to make sure that no one who fights for this country ever has to fight for a job, or a roof over their head when they come home *cheers*.

Are you saying that women in the military is the most important issue? Just trying to make sure I parse this right. (and I'm no grammarian, but I thought "come" in this usage would pair with a plural noun.)
posted by achrise at 9:51 AM on November 7, 2012

I live in Texas too. In Dallas County, which voted mostly Democratic. But I don't see the enormous rural areas and gazillions of small towns of the state being countered by a handful of somewhat more liberal cities. Especially when the money is pretty much all in the hands of the Ted Cruz & Rick Perry supporters. I don't think it's even safe to assume that the Hispanic vote is going to stay Democratic. I hope I'm wrong.
posted by Dojie at 9:51 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I never liked Mitt Romney.
posted by 3200 at 9:52 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

I think he's saying that using "spouse" and "they" there is no distinction if he's talking about husband/wife or husband/husband or wife/wife.
posted by like_neon at 9:53 AM on November 7, 2012

Belmont, MA votes 64% for Obama. Tough slog for Mitt in his 'hometown.'

Shorter: Flip Romney, even your neighbors despise you!
posted by ericb at 9:53 AM on November 7, 2012

Achrise, I parsed that as "come home" being the most relevant words, as in "everyone will come home from overseas".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:54 AM on November 7, 2012

North Carolina is well and truly fucked for the next couple of years, y'all. Send ~~cookies~~ brownies. From Colorado or Washington. Thanks
posted by achrise at 9:55 AM on November 7, 2012 [11 favorites]

Holy shit, Ted Nugent is Rorschach?!?

He fucking wishes
posted by fullerine at 9:57 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Lon Johnson lost.

Oh my dog, indeed.
posted by Dr-Baa at 9:58 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Belmont, MA votes 64% for Obama. Tough slog for Mitt in his 'hometown.'

Paul Ryan lost Janesville too.
posted by drezdn at 9:58 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Scott Rasmussen explains why his polls didn't foresee an Obama win. (Dave Weigel at Slate)
posted by Elementary Penguin at 9:59 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think this is the winning predictive comment. From 2005!

There is a post from 2004 that has only the following sentence in it: The first black president of the United States. No, the thread isn't about Bill Clinton.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:01 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I want coookieeeees!
posted by cashman at 10:03 AM on November 7, 2012

What's the first appearance predicting Obama/Biden on Metafilter?
posted by troika at 10:03 AM on November 7, 2012

Biden 2001 (First appearance on MeFi, not Obama related)
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:05 AM on November 7, 2012

A Few Brief Notes to Republicans on the Day After Their Defeat by Barack Obama
posted by homunculus at 10:06 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Holy shit.

Voters under 30 made up 19% of the electorate per exit polling, an increase of their share from 2008 (18%).

Just think about that for a second.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:10 AM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

Victory party in Seattle last night.
posted by the_artificer at 10:11 AM on November 7, 2012

Particle physicists unwilling to call election
posted by Blasdelb at 10:11 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Holy shit.

Voters under 30 made up 19% of the electorate per exit polling, an increase of their share from 2008 (18%).

Just think about that for a second.

I love my politically active generation
posted by The Whelk at 10:14 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

From homunculus's link:

Yeah, now we to look forward to the inevitable endless investigations of meaningless things before the push for impeachment. Because you're Republicans. And that's just easier to do than actually govern.

That is what tempered my excitement last night and this morning. That the ultra-conservatives will double-down on their extremism and do everything they can to Clintonize him. Great that President Obama was re-elected, but 48ish% of the country voted for a demonstrable fraud and plutocrat because a right-center "leftist" was too scary for them.
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:14 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

DEA Responds to Legal Weed in Colorado and Washington: "Enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged"

Begun, These Marijuana Wars Have
posted by homunculus at 10:17 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

bold stance on a thorny grammatical issue

It's only "thorny" if you consider Shakespeare a reactionary linguistic upstart.
posted by Aquaman at 10:17 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

U.S. troops will be coming home from Afghanistan... TO INVADE COLORADO.
posted by entropicamericana at 10:20 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Drink up
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:21 AM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

Hello, I am America. I'm a 54 year old white male son of the heartland.

I think last night demonstrated pretty conclusively that, while you are certainly part of America, you are not America as a whole.

That said, I agree with you-- let's put all the parts of America back to work.
posted by dersins at 10:22 AM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

That the ultra-conservatives will double-down on their extremism and do everything they can to Clintonize him.

If I had to guess, based on the FB feeds of my kooky extended family, it will be something to do with Benghazi. I don't think anybody is going to buy stock in an attempt at an Obama sex scandal.
posted by ambrosia at 10:23 AM on November 7, 2012

Last night the private jets were backed up trying to find parking space at Logan Airport in Boston as the billionaires poured into Romney's private suite ready to celebrate victory and collect their tribute. Apparently being rich has nothing to do with being smart since they were unable to read the polls. I'm guessing that they are pretty mad about the millions they dumped into a losing campaign. Today they are probably in a snit, getting into their jets and heading out to Galt's Gulch.

posted by JackFlash at 1:19 PM on November 7

Karl Rover has a lot of explaining to do, since he raised a lot of cash from those guys from behind the scenes, and all he delivered was a net gain in the Senate.

I suspect he feels a bit like Fredo Corleone in Godfather II right about now.
posted by magstheaxe at 10:23 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

McCaskill is probably as personally responsible for last night as anyone not named Barack Obama.

After the first six years of McCaskill's senate stint, I thought that there would be nothing she could do to make me actually *like* her rather than just tolerate her. But here she's gone and done it.

Both she and Jay Nixon, our governor, basically have to out-Republican the Republicans just to convince that one needed sliver of rural out-state voters that they are not evil incarnate.

It's not that easy to tolerate as it's happening, but it sure is a hell of a lot better than having, say, AKIN as your senator . . .
posted by flug at 10:23 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Begun, These Marijuana Wars Have

If Romney had won "on day one" he would have sent the DEA to bust every dispensary in the nation, and put their proprietors and employees in prison under maximum penalty of federal law. So that's one thing.

If the conservatives swing it back by 2016 that's still what they'll do.
posted by clarknova at 10:24 AM on November 7, 2012

Voters under 30 made up 19% of the electorate per exit polling, an increase of their share from 2008 (18%).

Just think about that for a second.

I love my politically active generation

There's a new sun risin' up angry in the sky
There's a new voice sayin' were not afraid to die
Let the old world make believe, it's blind and deaf and dumb
But nothing can change the shape of things to come

There are changes lying ahead in every road
There are new thoughts ready and waiting to explode
When tomorrow is today the bell may toll for some
But nothing can change the shape of things to come

The future is coming in now, sweet and strong
No one gonna hold it back for long

There are new dreams crowdin' out old realities
Revolution sweepin' in like a fresh new breeze
Let the old world make believe, it's blind and deaf and dumb
And nothing can change the shape of things
Nothing can change the shape of things
Nothing can change the shape of things to come

-- Max and the Troopers (1968)

posted by Herodios at 10:28 AM on November 7, 2012

On average, the PPP/Daily Kos/SEIU polls were the most accurate

Gallup below Rasmussen, ohhhh that's gonna leave a mark
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:29 AM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

"Enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged"

Well sure, what are they gonna say, "Smoke 'em if you got 'em?" They have to maintain some semblance of federal control. What will actually happen--and no, I don't expect that this will be painless or without significant problems--remains to be seen.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:30 AM on November 7, 2012

This new system is going to take some getting used to. After turning in my guns and attending socialist re-education class, I signed a document pledging to uphold Atheist Kenyan Muslim Fascism and was given a cellphone and a voucher by a Black Panther member. The voucher can be redeemed at my local Government Handout Distribution Center but I'm not sure where that is. Anyone got any links?
posted by perhapses at 10:31 AM on November 7, 2012 [14 favorites]

Gallup below Rasmussen, ohhhh that's gonna leave a mark

Ouch.
posted by rtha at 10:31 AM on November 7, 2012

Gallup below Rasmussen, ohhhh that's gonna leave a mark

In Gallup's defense, the disruption caused by Sandy prevented them from rushing back to the middle of the pack like Rasmussen did so they weren't embarrassed.
posted by gerryblog at 10:31 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I am a little baffled at the news that Romney only wrote a victory speech. Is this true? Was he that confident? I know that national polls showed it to be pretty close but there was a not-insignificant number of poll watchers (Nate, Sam etc) as well as every single bookmaker who not only never had Romney as favorite to win, but often had Obama at a pretty healthy lead. I mean, did the campaign just ignore all this information? Talk about being in an echo chamber.You'd think they'd want to be able to consider all of the information out there to better craft the campaign, rather than just the stuff they wanted to see.
posted by triggerfinger at 10:32 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

His concession speech sounded like someone else wrote it at 11:15pm.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:33 AM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

Karl Rover has a lot of explaining to do, since he raised a lot of cash from those guys from behind the scenes, and all he delivered was a net gain in the Senate.

"When someone doesn't get the job done, we've got to hold them accountable. And the fact is, he's failed us." --Clint Eastwood
posted by Golden Eternity at 10:34 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I had thought that it was just a power move....until he actually made the speech. It was short and kinda standard - totally plausible that it was cobbled together at the eleventh hour.
posted by troika at 10:34 AM on November 7, 2012

It's not that easy to tolerate as it's happening, but it sure is a hell of a lot better than having, say, AKIN as your senator . . .

Also, I'm one who is very much in favor of driving the democratic party in a more progressive direction. And certainly in places where we can, we need to work towards getting the most progressive candidates possible elected. Those are the people who can drive the party, and the country, in the direction it needs to go.

But we also need candidates, like McCaskill, who can ACTUALLY WIN ELECTIONS in places like Missouri, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, and North Dakota.

That means candidates who can pull a decent amount of votes from rural areas, small towns, suburbs, conservative religious folks, and all the rest of the "Republican core." They don't need to win a majority there, but they need to win enough. That is exactly what McCaskill does.

The type of party than can embrace BOTH the McCaskills and the Warrens is the type of party that will win in the long run in America.
posted by flug at 10:34 AM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

If Romney had won "on day one" he would have sent the DEA to bust every dispensary in the nation, and put their proprietors and employees in prison under maximum penalty of federal law. So that's one thing.

Didn't happen under Bush, even at his most ascendant. Obama stepped up dispensary raids dramatically, in fact. So you'd need some evidence for that beyond "he's Republican, and a shithead."
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:35 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

I am a little baffled at the news that Romney only wrote a victory speech. Is this true? Was he that confident?

Presumably one of his staffers had something prepared. Also, it seemed like a good half of that short speech was thank yous, which may well have been the exact same in his victory speech. It was pretty half-assed though, I can well believe that most of it was written last minute. Now I'm really wondering about the delusion level in the Romney camp, I can't wait for the tell-all articles.
posted by yasaman at 10:35 AM on November 7, 2012

roomthreeseventeen: "His concession speech sounded like someone else wrote it at 11:15pm."

“I’ve only written one speech at this point,” the would-be next president said.

Sourced so you have something to point people to.
posted by boo_radley at 10:35 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I honestly expected more defiance from the right. NRO is reading like a wake today.
posted by gerryblog at 10:36 AM on November 7, 2012

and honestly at that point, on that plane, the hubris was so huge that I'm surprised Zeus didn't turn him into a lake or a kind of lizard or didn't just couple with Ann for a few hours.
posted by boo_radley at 10:37 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Romney Sings Concession
posted by homunculus at 10:38 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

For that matter, if you're a risk-averse pot smoker — or, worse, if you grow or run a dispensary — then "The Feds aren't currently arresting anyone" isn't actually much comfort.

Until we get Federal legalization, anyone who takes advantage of these state laws is assuming a good deal of risk, and that's true regardless of who's in the White House or how their administration is behaving this week.
posted by nebulawindphone at 10:38 AM on November 7, 2012

After Obama Victory, Shrieking White-Hot Sphere Of Pure Rage Early GOP Front-Runner For 2016 [video]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:38 AM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

(OTOH, state-level legalization is an important step towards Federal legalization.)
posted by nebulawindphone at 10:39 AM on November 7, 2012

In short, republicans did not predict Obama's winning because they did with polls exactly what they do with everything else: dismiss reality, hold on to wishful thinking.
posted by Tarumba at 10:40 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams has some pithy things to say about how Romney's concession speech fell short of graciousness. By comparison, even John McCain managed to make a graceful and moving speech (and, I read, to tell Sarah Palin, who was determined to make a speech, that she was NOT GOING TO SPEAK), but not Romney.
posted by orange swan at 10:41 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

(OTOH, state-level legalization is an important step towards Federal legalization.)

After what's happened to gay rights in the past four years, I wouldn't be surprised if something similar happens with marijuana, an issue with a similar interested demographic
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:41 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Why is Rick Santorum Using a Picture of 4Chan Founder Moot on His ‘Patriots’ Website?
posted by Artw at 10:42 AM on November 7, 2012 [13 favorites]

I honestly expected more defiance from the right. NRO is reading like a wake today.

When the old white guy that is Karl Rove demands that the young white female news anchor of Fox News recind the calling of Ohio for Obama and she walks down the hall to talk directly to the data wranglers, who were all older white guys, and they say "Yes, we're right, it's over" there's not a lot to defy.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:44 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Something tells me that wasn't Rick's idea
posted by wheelieman at 10:45 AM on November 7, 2012

I hope the Obama's get to take a vacation now, seeing as how he's been working two of the hardest jobs on the planet (being President and running for President) for the last year.
posted by Golden Eternity at 10:45 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I've watched Dallas and Houston shift mostly back even as the suburbs have gone more Tea Party.

You've got to look at the county-level state map to see the trend. Harris (Houston proper), Dallas, Travis (Austin) & Bexar (San Antonio) all leaning blue, and the Rio Grande valley region, which is more largely hispanic. I do think there's hope -- we need to grow some good city & county-level candidates that can move up to state-wide seats when the time comes. Castro has a fantastic start at this.
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:46 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

He, The People: Obama's Transformation of America
posted by homunculus at 10:46 AM on November 7, 2012

Dude, I hope Rachel Maddow gets a vacation.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:46 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

You know, I am getting pretty ticked off at all the RWers telling Obama supporters not to gloat and how he better stop being so divisive in term 2. A lot of revisionist history going on here.
posted by headnsouth at 10:50 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish: "Didn't happen under Bush, even at his most ascendant. Obama stepped up dispensary raids dramatically, in fact. So you'd need some evidence for that beyond "he's Republican, and a shithead.""

The increase in the number of dispensaries between 2008 and 2009 was dramatic and many of the new ones were in it for a cash grab and decided to do things like not get a business licence, not pay their taxes or sell large quantities of pot out the back door. Talking to dispensary operators after the last round of busts here in Seattle they didn't seem worried. Want to stay in business and not get busted by the Feds, follow the local laws.
posted by the_artificer at 10:50 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

I hope Rove does too
posted by wheelieman at 10:50 AM on November 7, 2012

I cry tears of blood for The Last Best Place & the warriors who died for this tragedy

Ted Nugent twitter. Not a joke.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:51 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Looks like Berg just conceded to Heitkamp in ND. (per DailyKos)
posted by scody at 10:52 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94: "I cry tears of blood for The Last Best Place & the warriors who died for this tragedy

Ted Nugent twitter. Not a joke."

Good luck with being dead or in jail, Ted.
posted by boo_radley at 10:53 AM on November 7, 2012

After Obama Victory, Shrieking White-Hot Sphere Of Pure Rage Early GOP Front-Runner For 2016 [video]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:38 AM

Laughed so hard tears came out of my eyes (because after speaking to my mom I think it could come true)
posted by 6ATR at 10:54 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm going to ask this question seriously: Is it possible that Michael Steele is a genius? Yes, he plays the clown, but the Republican party made significant gains under his watch. Compare that to what has happened since.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:54 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Is it possible that Michael Steele is a genius?

Nope.
posted by OmieWise at 10:56 AM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

How Ridiculous Gerrymanders Saved the House Republican Majority

Yes, I noticed we haven't really been talking about the situation in the House yet.

Right now CNN has the House at 233 R, 193 D, with 9 still undecided. Assuming those 9 break 50/50 we're looking at 237.5 R and 194.5 D.

The current U.S. House started out as 242 R / 193 D in 2011 but is currently 240 R / 190 D.

So this election represents a really miniscule gain for Democrats. And the split in the House (55%R/45%D) is quite a long ways off from the split in the electorate (48%R/50%D).*

Democrats and going to have to figure out a strategy to address this problem if they really want to move the country forward.

*This is assuming the presidential vote truly represents the country's R/D split. It would be very interesting to calculate the R/D split of the votes in the U.S. House races to see how it breaks out. My guess is, if anything it will tilt a bit more D than the presidential race.
posted by flug at 10:57 AM on November 7, 2012

I'm going to ask this question seriously: Is it possible that Michael Steele is a genius? Yes, he plays the clown, but the Republican party made significant gains under his watch. Compare that to what has happened since.

As someone who passed the Maryland bar on the first try, I'm going to say no.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:58 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

U.S. troops will be coming home from Afghanistan... TO INVADE COLORADO.

RED(eyed) DAWN

U.S. troops will be coming home from Afghanistan... TO INVADE ~~COLORADO~~ WASHINGTON.

RED(eyed) DAWN

posted by achrise at 10:59 AM on November 7, 2012

Looks like Berg just conceded to Heitkamp in ND

So is Berg another radical? He got 15% fewer votes than Romney or the republican governor. source
posted by shothotbot at 10:59 AM on November 7, 2012

After Obama Victory, Shrieking White-Hot Sphere Of Pure Rage Early GOP Front-Runner For 2016 [video]

I'm really love the Election Gothic motif of so much political satire this year.
posted by codacorolla at 11:01 AM on November 7, 2012

Not a proud moment to be a white male.

Hi, so, like, I'm a white male. Totally didn't plan to be or anything, I just kinda came out that way. For a long time I didn't understand that being white and male was different from being not-white or not-male, but over the last few years I've learned that apparently there's a lot of bullshit involving gender/racial bigotry and discrimination, and it sucks, and I'd really like America to work at not doing that quite so much.

I'm not so proud that the situation's so shitty, and I'm a little ashamed that it took me until college to start realizing that, hey, the world outside my rich white asshole suburb hometown is a lot different and more complicated than the world I grew up knowing. But I'm proud as hell that, despite all the sheltered Americans who don't know any better, the country as a whole is moving a little bit towards being as okay as I thought it was when I was a young privileged idiot.

Maybe you mean "OLD white male" and maybe there's a club of white males who totally think their whiteness and maleness ought to be a badge of honor or whatever. But I grew up with Sesame Street and Barney and Pokemon, wherein people different than me are interesting and awesome and I want to treat them with respect and be their friends and stuff. Mitt Romney doesn't like Sesame Street, so, I'm okay that he lost even though he's white? I don't know, I'm confused, maybe you can help tell me why I'm actually ashamed and suchlike
posted by Rory Marinich at 11:01 AM on November 7, 2012 [31 favorites]

Next Media Animation: Obama wins re-election! Defeats Romney
posted by homunculus at 11:03 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Is it possible that Michael Steele is a genius?

Maybe, maybe not. It is hard to be anything else but a squawk-box-playback machine in that position. While during off years the chairmanship of either party can display some chops, there will always come a point when they end up as the first mole to be whacked with any major political announcement.

Thought of another way, they are sort of like a Political Version Of The Star Trek RedShirts even after they have left the job as in Steele's case.
posted by lampshade at 11:03 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

My husband is an older (63) white male. He practically cried of happiness when NBC called Ohio last night.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:03 AM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

Robert Stacy McCain at The American Spectator:

What is left to hope for? That the American people will soon regret their choice? That another four years of economic stagnation and escalating debt will cure them of their insane appetite for charismatic liberals? If four years of endless failure have not rid them of this madness, the disease may well be terminal. Perhaps others will still see some cause for hope, and in another few weeks my friends may persuade me to see it, too. But today I will hear no such talk, and I doubt I'll be in a better mood tomorrow. At the moment, I am convinced America is doomed beyond all hope of redemption, and any talk of the future fills me with dread and horror.

posted by octothorpe at 11:03 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I think in 2015 I'm going to track Dinesh D'Sousa down and make him watch his anti-Obama video over and over Clockwork Orange style.
posted by perhapses at 11:04 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94: "Ted Nugent twitter. Not a joke."

"I cry tears of blood for The Last Best Place & the warriors who died for this tragedy"

I feel like I'm missing something dog whistley here. Is "The Last Best Place" a fawning, religious way of referring to the USA, like "shining city upon a hill?"

I read it as "Last Best Hope" at first and thought he was talking about Babylon 5.
posted by brundlefly at 11:05 AM on November 7, 2012

*This is assuming the presidential vote truly represents the country's R/D split. It would be very interesting to calculate the R/D split of the votes in the U.S. House races to see how it breaks out. My guess is, if anything it will tilt a bit more D than the presidential race.

I think using Republican/Democrat split in the context of House elections isn't quite right because the candidate are more individualized. The Presidential candidate becomes the de facto avatar of their respective party, but there's more room for House candidates to occupy parts of the middle or just plain weird spaces on the left-right continuum. A vote for one of those people isn't exactly a vote for R or D generally.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:06 AM on November 7, 2012

Looks like the Senate is (counting the 2 Is) 55 D 45 R.

20? Women. Highest ever
posted by edgeways at 11:08 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

What is left to hope for? That the American people will soon regret their choice?

The majority of Americans have voted against the republican presidential candidate five out of the last six elections. Maybe we're just not that into you. Maybe you should look at what the Democrats did when the stats were reversed. Just a thought.
posted by shothotbot at 11:08 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

I do think there's hope -- we need to grow some good city & county-level candidates that can move up to state-wide seats when the time comes. Castro has a fantastic start at this.

Yeah, I agree. But I think we in Texas need a statewide strategy to make the long term happen as well and I'm not sure the TDP is up to it yet.
posted by immlass at 11:08 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Is "The Last Best Place" a fawning, religious way of referring to the USA, like "shining city upon a hill?"

A cursory engoogling leads me to believe that he is maybe talking about Montana? So, uh. Is he pretending to care about native americans now or something? I suspect he is just drunk.
posted by elizardbits at 11:09 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

The fiscal cliff is not a cliff.

REMINDER: The "Fiscal Cliff" Is Nothing Like A Cliff
posted by homunculus at 11:10 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I feel like I'm missing something dog whistley here

Nugent doesn't dog whistle. "Pimps whores & welfare brats & their soulless supporters hav a president to destroy America". He's an openly racist cunt.
posted by howfar at 11:10 AM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Democrats and going to have to figure out a strategy to address this problem if they really want to move the country forward.

Actually turning up to vote at midterms would be a good start.
posted by Artw at 11:10 AM on November 7, 2012 [26 favorites]

Is "The Last Best Place" a fawning, religious way of referring to the USA, like "shining city upon a hill?"

It can be a reference to Montana, but I'm not sure that's what he meant, since Montana's electoral results were mostly mixed (e.g. went for Romney but their Democratic Senator was reelected, probably elected a Democratic governor but elected a Republican to the House). Also, apart from probably hunting there, I don't know that Nugent has any particular connection to the state.
posted by jedicus at 11:12 AM on November 7, 2012

Anyone know what is happening in Florida? All the election results seem to be showing them at 97% reporting for the presidential vote, but 100% for all the other votes. And I'm not seeing any counties that aren't at 100%. I mean it doesn't really matter at this point, and it looks pretty definite for Obama, but it's weird. Is it absentee ballots or something holding it up?
posted by Dojie at 11:13 AM on November 7, 2012

I am a little baffled at the news that Romney only wrote a victory speech. Is this true? Was he that confident?

If they can't control the country, they don't much care what happens to it. It's a sad thing to say about them, but there's so much recent evidence supporting it.
posted by benito.strauss at 11:13 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Howfar, please don't use a euphemism for half the population's body parts to insult people.
posted by headnsouth at 11:14 AM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

What a prick I am.
posted by howfar at 11:15 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

It's not that different - we hit the border but nothing happens for a while until suddenly it does, and the terminal result can be averted, and normal altitude regained, for a good while after you actually take the plunge. So it's a lot like going over a real cliff, provided you have a jetpack.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:16 AM on November 7, 2012

Is it absentee ballots or something holding it up?

The Miami Herald says there are still 20k absentee votes to count in Miami-Dade.
posted by OmieWise at 11:16 AM on November 7, 2012

I am a little baffled at the news that Romney only wrote a victory speech. Is this true? Was he that confident?

I think it's a mixture of PR (projecting confidence to inspire supporters) and magical thinking.
posted by jedicus at 11:17 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

What is left to hope for? That the American people will soon regret their choice? That another four years of economic stagnation and escalating debt will cure them of their insane appetite for charismatic liberals? If four years of endless failure have not rid them of this madness, the disease may well be terminal. Perhaps others will still see some cause for hope, and in another few weeks my friends may persuade me to see it, too. But today I will hear no such talk, and I doubt I'll be in a better mood tomorrow. At the moment, I am convinced America is doomed beyond all hope of redemption, and any talk of the future fills me with dread and horror.

Man, that's a despairing quote. And all the more so when you realize that short of a few references to liberals, escalating debt etc, it's pretty much what I'd expect from many Obama supporters had Romney won last night. Seriously:

If EIGHT years of endless failure [under Bush] DID not rid them of this madness, the disease may well be terminal. Perhaps others will still see some cause for hope, and in another few weeks my friends may persuade me to see it, too. But today I will hear no such talk, and I doubt I'll be in a better mood tomorrow. At the moment, I am convinced America is doomed beyond all hope of redemption, and any talk of the future fills me with dread and horror.

I mean, that's how I'd be feeling if Romney had won, and I'm not even American.

Please, America. Dig deep, seek some commonality. You are way too divided. Blame the other side for this all you want. Fact is, the abyss exists and it won't be negated unless both sides do some serious giving ...
posted by philip-random at 11:18 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Remember these jokers: Suffolk Polling Yanks Workers From Florida, North Carolina and Virginia - Gives States to Romney
posted by PenDevil at 11:22 AM on November 7, 2012

Berg just conceded to Heitkamp in ND.

So it looks like (per CNN) we'll have 55 caucusing with the Democrats (assuming the two 3rd party/Independent Senators do) and 45 Republicans.

The compares with a 53/47 split in the current Senate, so a pickup of 2 for the Ds. (source)

FYI at the peak of the 111th Congress, Obama's first two years, it was 59/41. (Well, it was 59/40 and 59/39 for a couple of really brief periods.) (source)

So Obama's first election brought a nearly filibuster-proof D majority to the Senate, the Tea Party 'revolution' walked that back to just a bare majority, and this election takes it back to halfway between the two.
posted by flug at 11:24 AM on November 7, 2012

Actually turning up to vote at midterms would be a good start.

Sweet, zonking, kimchi Doritos, YES! I vote every single year, and easily saw 20 times the number of voters yesterday than I do in off-years.
posted by JoanArkham at 11:24 AM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

Remember that kid in school who giggled at the dirty words in the dictionary? That's how British people on the internet seem with the c-word.
posted by roll truck roll at 11:26 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

You are way too divided. Blame the other side for this all you want. Fact is, the abyss exists and it won't be negated unless both sides do some serious giving

Unfortunately, if both sides continue sliding to the right, they will both fall off into that abyss. The same would be true if there were a true ultra-leftist party and a liberal party pretending to be center-right. A two-party system only works if *both* sides compromise. The last four years have seen compromise after compromise on one side, with cries of impending Armageddon on the other side.

Yes, both sides would have cried about the End of Days if the opposing candidate had won. The difference is that the right-wing tail wagging the Republican dog is convinced that End of Days is literally what's going to happen now.
posted by Celsius1414 at 11:26 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

So Obama's first election brought a nearly filibuster-proof D majority to the Senate, the Tea Party 'revolution' walked that back to just a bare majority, and this election takes it back to halfway between the two.

Though now Harry Reid says he wants to pursue filibuster reform.
posted by ghharr at 11:27 AM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

Shouldn't Nate Silver be gloating more?
posted by shothotbot at 11:28 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

now Harry Reid says he wants to pursue filibuster reform.

FWIW and IMHO, this is exactly right. The Senate's very first order of business must be filibuster reform. I like the idea of the filibuster a lot, but it must be difficult and personally taxing enough to actually execute that it is used only occasionally and only on matters of truly great moment, and never routinely as part of the chamber's daily business.

The heroic image of Huey Long protecting the poor from disastrous legislation by reading a combination of Shakespeare and oyster recipes for days on end is pretty much the exact opposite of how the filibuster is used today.
posted by flug at 11:29 AM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Republican Senate candidates Akin and Mourdock, both damaged by rape remarks, lose their respective Senate races in Missouri and Indiana
posted by Tarumba at 11:30 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Tulsi Gabbard (D., Hawaii) becomes the first Hindu-American in Congress.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:30 AM on November 7, 2012 [12 favorites]

Regarding the Independents, bear in mind that Angus King has steadfastly refused to say which party he'll caucus with.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:31 AM on November 7, 2012

Fact is, the abyss exists and it won't be negated unless both sides do some serious giving

That "giving" doesn't need to be of the material kind. It could start as simply giving some benefit of doubt, maybe allow for some humanity in that monster you're seeing. Because those "others" are human. They have kids they love, maybe even pull for the same football teams as you, hate mayo on their burgers, too.

And so on.
posted by philip-random at 11:31 AM on November 7, 2012

Shouldn't Nate Silver be gloating more?

Too effeminate. ;D
posted by Celsius1414 at 11:31 AM on November 7, 2012

grumblegrumblepeoplepayingattentiontotheonewhopointsoutthejokebutnottheonewhomakesthejokegrumblegrumble
posted by jiawen at 11:32 AM on November 7, 2012

EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh. SLYT 24 min Audio, NSFW (swear words)
posted by Renoroc at 11:34 AM on November 7, 2012 [17 favorites]

philip-random: The difficulty is, our side is right and their side is ignorant. We look down at them cos they're ignorant and they look down at us cos they're ignorant.

That sounds snarky. It's not. I'll concede that there's wisdom and good sense hidden in the traditions and faiths of the American right wing, but it comes bundled with a whole lot of really weird worldviews and ideas about people that aren't exactly like you in every way. "Every man for himself" is a stupid philosophy that requires a lot of entitlement to believe, but because it's so selfish and entitled it's hard to dispel.

You could say there's a similar selfishness on the left – but it's a lot harder, I think, to reach out to somebody trying to reject you than it is to show empathy for somebody who needs it. Both are very hard, but showing empathy for somebody who's actively trying to piss you off takes a very special patience.

It's well and good to say "rah bipartisanship everybody reach over!", which is why Obama said that, and then the other side decided they'd rather do nothing than work with the enemy. They ran a candidate this year whose strategy was "pretend Obama is the root of all evil", and they lost, but not by a huge amount. Meaning a lot of people think that's an okay strategy.

Working with people who aren't like us is important. We still have to do it. But we have to recognize that some people actively oppose cooperation, and that unless we call those people out for what they're doing, expose the toxicity of their worldview, we'll lose not only them but the ones that listen to them.

Democrats are slowly growing a spine. They need more of one. When you're the adult in the room, it's your job to tell the kids who are assholes to sit in a corner so that everybody else can play together. You don't get to just say "Well every kid should get to be happy", when some kids' fun only comes at the expense of others. And that's what some of these Republicans are: overgrown children who've spent their lives justifying their ignorant, selfish, bullying ways.

Don't believe me? Look at Romney. Heck, look at Ryan, who still looks and sounds like a kid, down to the oversized suits, backwards cap, and high school econ/debate tactics.
posted by Rory Marinich at 11:36 AM on November 7, 2012 [30 favorites]

Sweet, zonking, kimchi Doritos

I am SO stealing this.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:37 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

FWIW and IMHO, this is exactly right. The Senate's very first order of business must be filibuster reform. I like the idea of the filibuster a lot, but it must be difficult and personally taxing enough to actually execute that it is used only occasionally and only on matters of truly great moment, and never routinely as part of the chamber's daily business.

My husband I were talking about exactly this at breakfast the other day, and we came to the conclusion that if you're going to filibuster, then you'd fucking well better ACTUALLY filibuster, and it had better be important, not merely a "wah, I don't like the other party" bit of nonsense.
posted by MissySedai at 11:38 AM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

This gif is how I feel today, oh yeah!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:40 AM on November 7, 2012 [11 favorites]

EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh. yt SLYT 24 min Audio, NSFW (swear words)

Holy christ.

Someone needs help.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 11:40 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Angus King has steadfastly refused to say which party he'll caucus with

Yes, when you're the swing vote you're stupid to just give up your negotiating position before getting something for it. The swing vote is (or should be, if played right) one of the the most powerful seats in the entire chamber.

But it is probably going to make a lot more sense to caucus with the majority party because they're actually going to be able to deliver something to him. If the majority party flips, that calculation may change . . .

King isn't literally the swing vote needed to create a majority, which would be an even more powerful position, but since the Senate needs 60 on many occasions and he's part of the group needed to get them from 53 to 60, it's still the same type of position. He'll have a lot more power to keep the Ds from reaching 60 than the Rs--who generally won't be able to reach 60 no matter what--which is another factor making him more likely to caucus with the Ds. With the Ds he'll be the person in a position to block their progress on pretty much every vote if they don't keep him happy, whereas with the Rs he'll just be one more member of their minority.

Also, the Ds will have the plumb committee chairmanships, other committee assignments, and general perks to hand out. If you live in Maine and don't see King grabbing some of those chairmanships, committee assignments, and perks as he negotiates caucusing with the Dems, vote him out next time around because he's an incompetent buffoon.
posted by flug at 11:42 AM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I wonder what form filibuster reform might take. Perhaps reducing the number of votes needed to override a filibuster (say, to 53 pr 54?), in conjunction with the return of the talking filibuster?
posted by wintermind at 11:44 AM on November 7, 2012

Guys.

Guys.

This thread is now so epic that when I loaded it on my phone on the bus home earlier, it shut down my music player. When I exited the browser, my phone had to reload its desktop.

This thread is almost too big for my phone.

You magnificent bastards.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 11:44 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Actually turning up to vote at midterms would be a good start.

Yup. All of you talking about 2016? I want to give you the mildest of rebukes. If we blow 2014 like we blew 2010, much less will get done to move the country forward. It's so much harder to think about 437 separate congressional elections than 1 presidential election, but it really matters.
posted by benito.strauss at 11:44 AM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh. yt SLYT 24 min Audio, NSFW (swear words)

I love that she pins it all on people not sharing her Facebook posts. I'm three minutes in and I have no idea how it's going to keep going, but I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to find out.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:45 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

This thread is almost too big for my phone.

36 hours after its creation, it'll probably be longest thread on the site. Then it has 28 days to cement that record.

Matt and pb must be going nuts.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:47 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh. SLYT 24 min Audio, NSFW (swear words)

It is the gentle tinkle of ice in a glass that moves it from merely magical to transcendent.
posted by Shepherd at 11:47 AM on November 7, 2012 [23 favorites]

Fact is, the abyss exists and it won't be negated unless both sides do some serious giving ...

I'm reminded of the time before the American Civil War. The South felt put upon and seceded because an anti-slavery Northerner was elected. Fact is, the South virtually had their way from the beginning of the republic and could not tolerate the North ever making decisions over them. This concept of theirs has mutated into a notion of "states rights," but, in reality the South was always ready and happy to trample over the North's states rights when it suited them. Let me use as an extended example the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. From Wikipedia:

[the law] made any Federal marshal or other official who did not arrest an alleged runaway slave liable to a fine of $1,000. Law-enforcement officials everywhere now had a duty to arrest anyone suspected of being a runaway slave on no more evidence than a claimant's sworn testimony of ownership. The suspected slave could not ask for a jury trial or testify on his or her own behalf. In addition, any person aiding a runaway slave by providing food or shelter was subject to six months' imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. ... Since any suspected slave was not eligible for a trial this led to many free blacks being conscripted into slavery...

Up to 1850, the first 12 presidents, nine were from the South. The three northerners were each one term. The senate favored slave holding states. The Supreme Court for this reason was dominated by southern interests.

That began to change and the South could not tolerate it. After 1850, the next presidents were from New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Illinois).

I think this is similar to today. The old white heterosexual orthodoxy does not want to allow any sharing of power, does not admit/realize that it contributed to the mess we are in and is not willing to change. They don't even recognize it has been their ideas that have run government for decades now.

I don't see how compromise should be made with someone who (almost) always has their way. It should be full steam forward on pent-up social change.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:49 AM on November 7, 2012 [36 favorites]

apologies if this has already been noted, but Tester appears to have won in Montana as well.
posted by scody at 11:49 AM on November 7, 2012

EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh. SLYT 24 min Audio, NSFW (swear words)

Oh my goodness this is glorious. Sublime outsider beat poetry right here.
posted by Rory Marinich at 11:50 AM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh. yt SLYT 24 min Audio, NSFW (swear words)

The scary thing: This person and her views are pretty common among many conservatives. (at least from what I have been able to glean over the past year).

The scarier thing: I happen to live with one of these conservatives.
posted by lampshade at 11:50 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Metafilter: namby-pamby pussies who are of no use to anybody.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:52 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

This thread is now so epic that when I loaded it on my phone on the bus home earlier, it shut down my music player.

Just for curiosity's sake, I copied this thread and pasted it into MS Word. After setting it in 11 point Times and stripping out the extra line breaks, this thread runs 729 pages and climbing!

Damn, MetaFilter! I'm so very proud of all of you!
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 11:54 AM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Thoughts at the 11 minute mark.

1) she actually says "it's hard to stop believing something when you convinced yourself long ago"
2) She seems to have bought a computer four years ago
3) She had chips and cheese dip for dinner
4) She's apparently drinking butterscotch schnapps
5) Youtube is apparently a tool of the left
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:55 AM on November 7, 2012 [13 favorites]

That another four years of economic stagnation and escalating debt will cure them of their insane appetite for charismatic liberals? If four years of endless failure have not rid them of this madness, the disease may well be terminal.

There are whackadoos out there who still are attempting to claim that Romney was the better candidate for the economy, despite having (a) no plan and (b) a history built on outsourcing and ruin.

The response to that is simple – if you claim any sort of concern for "the economy", and you're not taking to the rooftops to scream for socialized medicine, better regulation of the financial sector and a smaller military, you're part of the problem.

If you can't see that a healthy, educated, motivated population that feels that they are valued regardless of race, orientation or religion is good for the economy, you're part of the problem.

If you don't understand that money doesn't mean much without air you can breathe, you're part of the problem.

We've allowed the "economy" argument to shrink and shrink and shrink until it literally means how much profit the 1% are making off the 99%. "The economy" is big. It takes a lot of vision and a lot of thought to see how everything from public health to national parks are part of a healthy economy. That's just part of the framing that needs to be broken so it can be taken back.
posted by Shepherd at 11:55 AM on November 7, 2012 [32 favorites]

Countdown for the woman in the YT video to get her own Fox News show begins... now.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:55 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Just for curiosity's sake, I copied this thread and pasted it into MS Word. After setting it in 11 point Times and stripping out the extra line breaks, this thread runs 729 pages and climbing!

Damn, MetaFilter! I'm so very proud of all of you!

The lazy entrepreneur in me wants to take this threat, format it prettily, assign chapters based on what was happening at any given moment, and title the book "OBAMA/ROMNEY: A HISTORIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT."

Blue background. Crisp serifed font. "By the users of MetaFilter" written in whatever font is in the logo. $26.99 hardcover.
posted by Rory Marinich at 11:59 AM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

I think the big winner here among the aggregators might be Votamatic, which gave extremely stable predictions and had the EV count (and maybe the states) called almost exactly since mid-July. On the other hand, this is just one election.

Sam Wang and Nate Silver agreed on pretty much everything related to the presidential race, but they did disagree on the Senate. Nate Silver was predicting 52-53 seats caucusing with the Democrats; Sam Wang predicted 54-56 such seats. It'll be 55 seats if Angus King joins the Democrats; 54 seats otherwise. These were election night predictions, though, so I'm not surprised that Sam Wang's polls-only model beat Nate Silver's polls-plus-other-factors model.

I would be extremely impressed by a model that accurately predicted competitive House races.
posted by Serf at 11:59 AM on November 7, 2012

Obama win vindicates statistician Nate Silver -- "Despite some incredulous political pundits, the FiveThirtyEight poll aggregator appears to have predicted the winner in all 50 states."
posted by ericb at 12:00 PM on November 7, 2012

That lady has made me incredibly sad. But what an incredible document of anger at this given point in history. It would be so interesting to have these types of documents for other points in time, from ordinary people.
posted by Sreiny at 12:01 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

kimchi Doritos

These are apparently not a real thing and now I am sad.
posted by SomaSoda at 12:01 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Nate Silver's Book Sales Soar By 800 Percent Thanks To Election
posted by homunculus at 12:03 PM on November 7, 2012

Metafilter: people who know me call me kook.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:03 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Brian Williams Slams Donald Trump’s Election Night Tweets: He’s ‘Driven Well Past The Last Exit To Relevance’.
posted by ericb at 12:04 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

For a second, she was ranting about how dumb birthers were and it was weird, but thankfully she claimed that Obama didn't understand America because he never attended a Painted Turtle Race, which made everything make sense again.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:04 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

On the biggest political story of the year, the conservative media just got its ass handed to it by the mainstream media. And movement conservatives, who believe the MSM is more biased and less rigorous than their alternatives, have no way to explain how their trusted outlets got it wrong, while the New York Times got it right. Hint: The Times hired the most rigorous forecaster it could find.

If you refuse correct information, your decision making process, no matter how rigorous, will fail badly. If you insist that 1+1=3, it doesn't matter how careful, how thorough your work is, you will be wrong.

Ignore reality at your own peril.
posted by eriko at 12:04 PM on November 7, 2012 [14 favorites]

kimchi Doritos

I'll be seeing my Korean grandma in a couple of weeks. I shall procure the family recipe and move towards my life's true calling: crafting fermented-veggies-flavored chips.
posted by shortfuse at 12:06 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Need to also include the debate threads... I can't fathom how much of all of that I've read.

Mentioned this elsewhere, but yesterday i registered about 420 new voters at the polls here in MN. That was about 20% of our voting precinct.

Word is same day registration was huge this year, and I'm thinking that made the difference in the Amendments failing.

I just discovered that this past year there was a group of people who tried to get same day registration declared illegal. Somehow, I don't know how, I missed that. They where shot down in August. In hindsight I have to wonder if what happened yesterday was what they feared would happen. massive same day registration resulting in a loss for their regressive Amendments.

The tactic failed and the MN GOP got punished for it as well.
posted by edgeways at 12:07 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh. SLYT 24 min Audio, NSFW (swear words)

She sounds like a really angry muppet.

(And props in that she knows about Black LIberation theology, albeit through a wingnut-filter. But she's super super angry with Birther's and wingnuts who don't use the 'liberal tools" like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube "against them.")
posted by Skygazer at 12:07 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

What You Missed While You Were Refreshing Drudge and FiveThirtyEight: A guide to the world news you should get caught up on now that the election is over.
posted by homunculus at 12:08 PM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

drezdn: "Ted Nugent did not take the news well."

I generally oppose the death penalty - but in Nugent's case, I think I can make an exception.
posted by symbioid at 12:08 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh. yt SLYT 24 min Audio, NSFW (swear words)

Wow. That sounds like someone I know.
posted by 3200 at 12:08 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Howfar, please don't use a euphemism for half the population's body parts to insult people.

Puh-leese. There are plenty of dicks and pricks out there, euphemisms for a body part of very close to half the population. This is working too hard to take offense. I'd prefer if he called people "boobs" but that's a matter of personal taste.
posted by msalt at 12:10 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Renoroc: "EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh. SLYT 24 min Audio, NSFW (swear words)"

Oh my God, this is wonderful.
posted by brundlefly at 12:13 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Still listening to that wonderful conservative rant, and at 21:10 got to this marvelous gem:

"Obama never even ATTENDED a Fourth of July parade. He never ATTENDED a local town parade in, in America. He doesn't even know what it's ABOUT. He never did the... painted turtle races at the local celebration."

I am dead serious when I say this is a beautiful thing. There's an innocence to it, a purity, that takes it in and out of some very strange places and I think it's just completely wonderful. It's like Timecube or The Room or The Shaggs in that it reaches something very real and very human through its utter obliviousness. When Picasso talked about spending a lifetime learning to paint like a child, this was the childhood to which he aspired.
posted by Rory Marinich at 12:14 PM on November 7, 2012 [13 favorites]

EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh. yt SLYT 24 min Audio, NSFW (swear words)

This actually makes me really uncomfortable. And yet I'm still listening to it. Explain that one.
posted by zerbinetta at 12:15 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

and fresh off the SSM constitutional ban defeat:

Minnesotans also rejected a constitutional amendment that would have effectively banned same-sex marriage, which leaves the door open to legalize the practice here.

DFL Sen. John Marty of Roseville expressed confidence that it could happen soon.

"I think we just keep on moving forward on it now," Marty said.
posted by edgeways at 12:16 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

MetaFilter: FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE THE FUCKING INTERNET OR GET THE FUCK OFF IT!
posted by brundlefly at 12:16 PM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

I've never been to a painted turtle race. I don't know what a painted turtle race is. Can I have a non-US passport now?
posted by QIbHom at 12:17 PM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

Nate Silver's Book Sales Soar By 800 Percent Thanks To Election

That's still within the margin of error
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:17 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh. yt SLYT 24 min Audio, NSFW (swear words)

At around 12 minutes, she goes into a tangent about how selfish Sarah Palin is for choosing to take care of her kids instead of running for president, which The People needed her to do.

And the sound of the ice tinkling in her butterscotch schnapps is making me really thirsty.
posted by sparklemotion at 12:17 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just finished listening. God, that was fantastic.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:18 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Brian Williams Slams Donald Trump’s Election Night Tweets: He’s ‘Driven Well Past The Last Exit To Relevance’.

Someone should have told Romney, who kept doing official events with the guy. That may be the single most shameful thing Romney did all cycle: holding official events with an almost-openly racist demagogue.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:19 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

QIbHom: Oh man they are totally neat. You paint things on turtles' backs and then you make them walk really slowly towards I think some food or something. And then I forget if you either wash the paint off or if the turtle just gets to stay painted by a five-year-old and her family forever.
posted by Rory Marinich at 12:20 PM on November 7, 2012

flug: " So this election represents a really miniscule gain for Democrats. And the split in the House (55%R/45%D) is quite a long ways off from the split in the electorate (48%R/50%D).*

Democrats and going to have to figure out a strategy to address this problem if they really want to move the country forward."

Just looking at the numbers is a mistake, and I think even the numbers tell a different story if you look beneath the raw splits.

The first thing to note is that incumbents in congress historically win 85-90% of contested elections. So, though you can have big swings in wave elections, these are rare, and this was simply not going to be a wave election the way the economy has been.

Most of the churn is going to be in seats held by freshmen (back-benchers who aren't in high-profile committee positions yet) and the GOP freshmen lost something like 9/87 seats. Democratic freshmen? Two losses (one of whom was in my district, which as my Weigel link shows, was redistricted into an easy GOP pickup.)

It's also important to look at who got elected last night. Look at the comments above. First lesbian Senator. First Hindu-American. First Asian woman. First disabled congresswoman. Latinos, African-Americans, and ladies, ladies, ladies! This is not only good for policy going forward, it's good to motivate sectors of the electorate that will suddenly see themselves in the people who represent them.

So, I'm more sanguine about the house. John Boehner and Eric Cantor and even Paul Ryan are going to have to look not only at the changing electorate, but the changing demographics of their own colleagues, and decide if they can continue to try to win with just white dudes making policy for just white dudes. I am not predicting the rise of the GOP moderate in the house in the next two years, but I do think the power dynamics have changed even though the raw partisan split hasn't.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:20 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh. yt SLYT 24 min Audio, NSFW (swear words)

I love that she pins it all on people not sharing her Facebook posts. I'm three minutes in and I have no idea how it's going to keep going, but I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to find out.

I cant stop, even though I want to.
posted by neversummer at 12:21 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Are painted turtles like painted harlots? Please advise.

On preview: can't they just wear little festive hats? Won't someone think of the plight of the unemployed herpetomilliners?
posted by elizardbits at 12:22 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

nambypambypussies.xxx
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:22 PM on November 7, 2012

Regarding "compromise" and "bipartisanship," I'm going to make an effort at every opportunity to ask my Republican representatives which outcomes, of those they'd prefer to achieve, they would be willing to part with as a means to compromise. Yes, they'll ignore me, lie to me or spout irrelevancies, but I can't let calls to "compromise" continue to cloak obstructionism without raising some kind of objection.
posted by audi alteram partem at 12:24 PM on November 7, 2012

'A Period of Persistent Conflict': Why the United States will never have another peacetime president.
posted by homunculus at 12:26 PM on November 7, 2012

EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh.

I...kind of feel sorry for her. It must really suck to carry around so much bitterness and rage.
posted by MissySedai at 12:26 PM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

Rory, that sounds barbaric. Painting turtles? Literally putting toxic chemicals on the shells of innocent wildlife?

Man, some things I was just not meant to know!
posted by QIbHom at 12:27 PM on November 7, 2012

From ericb's Nate Silver link:

But just Silver and HuffPost Pollster went out on a limb and predicted that the president would take Florida, in both cases turning that state blue just one night ago.

I cant stop, even though I want to.

This person is beyond just being an upset Republican. She has some challenges that need to be addressed, probably in a medical setting, that are not at all political and exacerbated by the schnapps. It is actually quite sad.

She really needs medical attention.
posted by lampshade at 12:28 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hey, it could totally be watercolor paint! Or even delicious chocolate.
posted by elizardbits at 12:28 PM on November 7, 2012

The turtles come pre-painted.

posted by Herodios at 12:29 PM on November 7, 2012

Painting turtles? Literally putting toxic chemicals on the shells of innocent wildlife?

I don't think water-paints quite quality as a toxic chemical.
posted by COD at 12:29 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Nate Silver Facts.
posted by sparkletone at 12:30 PM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

More on why the House actually looks pretty good for the blue team:

First, there is the House. Not long ago, Democrats had to abide by the concerns of their more moderate southern and "blue-dog" brethren. Well, this is going to be less of an issue going forward because there aren't many of those centrists left. Many were wiped out in 2010, and while Congressman John Barrow inexplicably won his contested congressional seat in Georgia, the Democratic party, by and large, no longer has a southern wing. Actually, let me correct that: Democrats no longer have a southern white wing.

By one measure, the Democrats are now down to about a dozen blue-dog moderates. That creates a caucus in the House of Representatives that is more decisively liberal and non-southern than perhaps at any point in history.

posted by tonycpsu at 12:30 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

(5802 comments total)

Slide, Charlie Brown, slide!

Holy Cow, I think he's gonna . . .

posted by Herodios at 12:31 PM on November 7, 2012

GET OFF THE FUCKING INTERNET, YOU NAMBY, PAMBY PUSSIES!

Her rant is amazingly entertaining.
posted by ericb at 12:31 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Voters under 30 made up 19% of the electorate per exit polling, an increase of their share from 2008 (18%).

My 18 year old voted for the first time. It was really cool to see how happy he was about voting.
posted by maurice at 12:31 PM on November 7, 2012

Does she not see the irony of posting her rant to the internets? I assume not.
posted by elizardbits at 12:32 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

She reminded me of Kathy Bates from Misery.
posted by cazoo at 12:33 PM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

Boehner is speaking right now about the "fiscal cliff"
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:33 PM on November 7, 2012

Huh. This woman is oviously insane, but she isn't a Birther and doesn't think Obama's a Muslim.
posted by brundlefly at 12:33 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Also, she doesn't seem to understand the medium of video.
posted by brundlefly at 12:34 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I love how she spits out the word 'Libertarians'
posted by ericb at 12:34 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

She sounds a lot like a person I work with in terms of her voice, but that person proudly told me today that she hasn't voted (42 years old) because "they're all crooks."

Basically, if you sound like that you're going to have up hill row in terms of me thinking that you're intelligent or even sane. Sorry about that.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:35 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mark me down in the "I'm uncomfortable making fun of clearly unbalanced people" column, please.

There are plenty of nominally non-crazy right-wingers to schadenfreude on today.
posted by Aquaman at 12:35 PM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Renoroc: EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh. SLYT 24 min Audio, NSFW (swear words)

Even Obamaphones make an appearance. This is why we can't have nice things.
posted by ob1quixote at 12:35 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

EPIC right-wing butthurt

"Get the FUCK off the Internet!"
posted by kaibutsu at 12:35 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Could she be Joe's wife?
posted by neversummer at 12:35 PM on November 7, 2012

While I'm glad to see that the media is giving Nate Silver and the other aggregators their due, Nate Silver's call of Florida for Obama was, even according to his own model, only a little better than a coin flip. Lauding Nate Silver above other poll aggregators for doing this -- even though they basically all had Florida at 50/50 -- seems to me to be missing the point.

Also one of the big differences between Nate Silver's model and a lot of the others is that he actually gives much lower confidence values to how likely his predictions are to be correct. So ironically Silver would actually be more vindicated if a prediction he had at 60% and another model had at 95% ended up going the other way and making them both wrong, because that would make it much more likely that his confidence level was more accurate.
posted by burnmp3s at 12:36 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Mike why are we watching a crazy person?
posted by The Whelk at 12:36 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

LRN 2 COMPUTER LIBERTARIANS
posted by SomaSoda at 12:36 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

. . . make it!

Congrats all around.

posted by Herodios at 12:36 PM on November 7, 2012

To change topics suddenly, is National Review's web page supposed to make me think both Bidens and both Obamas are gay? 'Cause that's how it looks to me. Michelle seriously looks like she's putting the moves on Jill. (I assume that's Jill Biden, you can't see her face).
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:37 PM on November 7, 2012

CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN OBAMAPHONES TO ME I SERIOUSLY DO NOT UNDERSTAND

IS IT AN IPHONE KILLER OR SOMETHING?
posted by The Whelk at 12:37 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Nate Silver did well. Sure, he got all 50 right, but he predicted vote proportions for Obama and Romney in every state, and for forecasters like me, the better measure is how closely he did on the specific margins rather than right or wrong. You could forecast DC as 51% Obama and be "right" on the electoral college, but that's a terrible prediction (it was actually 91.4%).

So here's how well Nate Silver did:
- Got the winner in all 50 states and DC
- Got both Obama and Romney vote shares within margin of error for 98 of 102 predictions (Hawaii and West Virginia) -- typical margins of error assume 19 times out of 20, or just over 95 of 102.
- 1.5% error on average across all states (many of which had little polling) -- his suggested margin of error was 3.7%
- 0.77% error on average across 10 battleground states -- his average suggested margin of error was 2.9%

That's pretty fuckin' good. His biggest inaccuracy was understating how accurate his predictions were.

Here's an album of charts of how he did, with his margins of error included. I haven't seen it anywhere, so I had to make it.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 12:38 PM on November 7, 2012 [28 favorites]

Did College Education Zombie Brainwashing Secure Obama’s Victory?
posted by homunculus at 12:38 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am a little baffled at the news that Romney only wrote a victory speech. Is this true? Was he that confident?

I think it's a mixture of PR (projecting confidence to inspire supporters) and magical thinking.

Maybe he forget to wear the magical underpants required to support such thinking?
posted by strange chain at 12:38 PM on November 7, 2012

So, I just watched a clip from Fox News, the one where Megyn Kelly leaves the anchor desk and goes to confront their numbers people, after Rove challenged the Ohio decision. While walking she says "When we practiced this before, in our rehearsals..."

Practiced? Rehearsal?

When people were talking about it last night, it sounded as if Rove was being a wild card, was doing the unexpected. Doesn't that mean the whole thing was a set-up? Am I missing something?

They could have planned for the possibility of having some sort of check-in with the numbers people at some point. It seems pretty unlikely that the plan beforehand was for Rove to dispute the numbers.
posted by dfan at 12:39 PM on November 7, 2012

Obamaphones are what the unhinged right calls the Federally subsidized cell phones that Dubya started handing out in order to comply with law around providing access to telephones for all Americans.

They aren't that good of a deal, extra minutes are wicked expensive.
posted by QIbHom at 12:40 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Did College Education Zombie Brainwashing Secure Obama’s Victory?

This is like that time Oliver Wendell Jones tried to translate those Pravda headlines, isn't it.
posted by elizardbits at 12:40 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sooo I just overheard an interview with Steve King where he mentions that his first words to Michelle Bachmann may just be "let's not turn down the decibels, let's turn them up" and I really hope these cracks forming in the GOP between moderates and hard-liners actually amount to something. I want to see the fight Mike Murphy was talking about last night.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:42 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I will say, Wingnut Lady at least is all "He's not a MUSLIM, chemtrails aren't REAL, he's not a foreign CITIZEN." She at least seems to have more grounding in reality than Donald Trump.
posted by KathrynT at 12:42 PM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN OBAMAPHONES TO ME I SERIOUSLY DO NOT UNDERSTAND

There was a video of a black woman saying she liked Obama because he gave her a free cellphone. In fact she received the phone under a program for the poor set up by George W Bush. That didn't stop the video becoming a right wing meme about Obama bribing the poor.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:42 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

All I can say from Virginia at the moment is this: whew.
posted by introp at 12:42 PM on November 7, 2012

Did College Education Zombie Brainwashing Secure Obama’s Victory?

So why a link to that article and not to the one it's responding to? That Gawker article is terrible doesn't understand Kurtz's argument at all.
posted by Jahaza at 12:42 PM on November 7, 2012

Boehner - "We want you to succeed". Right. Spittin the same old bs.
posted by cashman at 12:43 PM on November 7, 2012

Here's an album of charts of how he did, with his margins of error included. I haven't seen it anywhere, so I had to make it.

Thanks Homeboy Trouble. I'm a little tired of all the "OMG Nate Silver got 49+ states right!!" hysteria going around the net, since anyone just averaging the polls yesterday (like Sam Wang or Drew Linzer) would have gotten the same results. Checking how close his actual margins are is a good start to actually evaluating his predictions meaningfully.

The interesting thing about his model is what it thought of the race in July, not what it thought in November. But nobody's saying anything about that.
posted by dfan at 12:43 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

This thread is now so epic that when I loaded it on my phone on the bus home earlier, it shut down my music player.

Just for curiosity's sake, I copied this thread and pasted it into MS Word. After setting it in 11 point Times and stripping out the extra line breaks, this thread runs 729 pages and climbing!

Damn, MetaFilter! I'm so very proud of all of you!

This thread would make great filibuster reading material.
posted by grubi at 12:45 PM on November 7, 2012 [14 favorites]

EPIC right-wing butthurt.

"I spend hours, upon hours, upon hours mining the news, looking for shit to post for you people"

Let me guess. Worst of the Web?
posted by Room 641-A at 12:46 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, gods, no, grubi! That would be all we would need, crowdsourced filibustering. Just imagine the crazy!
posted by QIbHom at 12:46 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

A Romney adviser partly blames last night’s defeat on a weak message. “Turnout was the big problem, since we didn’t get all of McCain’s voters to the polls, but we really should have been talking more about Benghazi and Obamacare,” an adviser says, speaking on the condition on anonymity. “Those are major issues and Romney rarely mentioned them in the final days.”
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:48 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Never been to a painted turtle race? Spoiler alert: It's painted turtles all the way down.
posted by emelenjr at 12:48 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

There was a video of a black woman saying she liked Obama because he gave her a free cellphone. In fact she received the phone under a program for the poor set up by George W Bush.

Reagan, actually.

I ended up voting for Gary Johnson because I could not get over some of what Obama has done in his first term, especially some aspects of the drone program, but I was very happy to see Romney's inevitable defeat. He was a pretty godawful candidate and he brought nothing to the table.
posted by Drinky Die at 12:48 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Chinese Internet Users Congratulate Obama, Lament Lack of Voting at Home
posted by homunculus at 12:48 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Durex Condom Ad Insinuates Barack Obama Is Much Larger Than Mitt Romney
posted by homunculus at 12:49 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I will say, Wingnut Lady at least is all "He's not a MUSLIM, chemtrails aren't REAL, he's not a foreign CITIZEN." She at least seems to have more grounding in reality than Donald Trump.

Well she is Swiss. Terrifically practical people.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:49 PM on November 7, 2012

"Want you to succeed..." just made me think of this song.
posted by symbioid at 12:49 PM on November 7, 2012

GERRYBLOG has unlocked RIDICULOUSLY LONG THREAD. This record will stand for a thousand years.
posted by gerryblog at 12:50 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

The interesting thing about his model is what it thought of the race in July, not what it thought in November.

Are Nate Silver's July predictions archived somewhere? I can only find blog posts with win probabilities but not much else.
posted by Serf at 12:51 PM on November 7, 2012

The problem with looking at what Silver was saying in July is that votes are not preordained and what happens in July, August and so forth matters.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 12:52 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Whelk: CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN OBAMAPHONES TO ME I SERIOUSLY DO NOT UNDERSTAND

Claim: The Obama administration created a program to provide free cell phones to welfare recipients.
posted by ob1quixote at 12:53 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Colloidal silver takes Nate Silver to stay healthy. #NateSilverFacts
posted by grubi at 12:55 PM on November 7, 2012 [13 favorites]

Are Nate Silver's July predictions archived somewhere? I can only find blog posts with win probabilities but not much else.

Not that I can tell, which is a shame.
posted by dfan at 12:56 PM on November 7, 2012

So long as the Republican Party endorses (and enacts) voting laws designed to make it harder for registered voters to vote, so long as Republican officials like Ohio's Jon Husted contort themselves to interpret those laws in a restrictive fashion, the Republicans will continue to play a loser's game.

It delights me to no end that attempts at suppressing votes backfired so dramatically.
posted by strange chain at 12:56 PM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

The problem with looking at what Silver was saying in July is that votes are not preordained and what happens in July, August and so forth matters.

Well yes and no. Surely it's possible to quantify the amount of uncertainty. There is a chance of scandal, news, and so on that benefits either candidate.
posted by empath at 12:56 PM on November 7, 2012

It's amazing to think that Nate Silver was previously a renowned sabermatrician, and before that would regulate with Warren G in the LBC #NateSilverFacts
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:57 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

The GOP’s Horrible California Nightmare:

If preliminary results hold, 2012 will mark the first time in 80 years that either political party in California has enjoyed super-majority control. Republicans everywhere should be paying close attention. Because the demographic trends that led to Obama’s reelection — the increasing diversity of the electorate, the relative liberalism of the youth vote, the declining influence of old white males — made their national debut in California in the late 80s and early 90s. The rest of the nation is just catching up.

posted by scody at 12:58 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

It delights me to no end that attempts at suppressing votes backfired so dramatically.

That occurred to me last night after Karl Rove's meltdown. I figured he was convinced Ohio was Romney's due to the election-machine shenanigans and whoops! didn't happen. :)
posted by Celsius1414 at 12:59 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

scody, the Dems took the New York State Senate, as well, for the first time in I don't know how many decades.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:00 PM on November 7, 2012

Nate Silver is what happened when number theory decided to reproduce. #NateSilverFacts
posted by grubi at 1:05 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

"This is Fox News," an insider said, "so anytime there's a chance to show off Megyn Kelly's legs they'll go for it."

We are so doomed.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:05 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Have they seriously not called Florida yet?
posted by troika at 1:06 PM on November 7, 2012

Well yes and no. Surely it's possible to quantify the amount of uncertainty. There is a chance of scandal, news, and so on that benefits either candidate.

Right. The trouble is that it's hard to evaluate estimates of that sort of long-range uncertainty.

If right before the election someone says "things are looking good for So-and-so right now" and then So-and-so wins the election the next day, we can be like "okay, this is evidence that your model works."

If someone in July says "things are looking good for So-and-so right now," and then So-and-so commits some horrible gaffe in October and eventually loses, then what do we say? Intuitively, if So-and-so would have won had he not committed the gaffe, we want to say that the model was right. On the other hand, if So-and-so would have lost anyway, we want to say that the model was wrong. But since we don't have a time machine or a way of traveling to parallel universes, we can't check what would have happened. All we know is what did happen.
posted by nebulawindphone at 1:06 PM on November 7, 2012

How I feel today (youtube, profanity).

HEARTBEAT PROPS!
posted by balistic at 1:07 PM on November 7, 2012

I am a little baffled at the news that Romney only wrote a victory speech. Is this true? Was he that confident?

I figured he was convinced Ohio was Romney's due to the election-machine shenanigans and whoops! didn't happen. :)

That and the fact that their internals were totally wrong. Their model of the electorate looked more like 2004 than 2008. Epic analytics fail.
posted by dersins at 1:07 PM on November 7, 2012

Maybe should have said time travelling witch.

Oh wait, I know that song!
posted by psoas at 1:07 PM on November 7, 2012

I would just like to point out that the post is currently 276, 096 words long, barring the 10 or so comments made while my computer was chugging away. The post was started just over 33.5 hours ago.

NaNoWriMo x 5!
posted by Orange Pamplemousse at 1:08 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I AM A PART OF THE THREE LARGEST THREADS IN METAFILTER HISTORY. LOOK ON MY WORDS, YE MIGHTY, AND DESPAIR.
posted by grubi at 1:10 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

A DKos collection of 34 of those last minute Romney-Wins-in-a-Landslide pieces and op-eds, written by various GOP pundits/personalities or "consultants," that all quite suspiciously seemed to go up in the politico-sphere, about the same time just before the election to create the illusion of an inevitable and unstoppable Romney "surge."

Didn't really work out I guess.

Boo hoo, GOtP. no one knows what it's like to be you...boo fucking hoo...
posted by Skygazer at 1:10 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Nate Silver on Election Results (video, Silver looks like he was dragged out of bed after a wild night... which would be well deserved).
posted by Kattullus at 1:11 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

troika:
"Have they seriously not called Florida yet?"

Ha.
posted by charred husk at 1:11 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Another point in Silver's favor is, in the Electoral Vote Distribution histogram (sixth item down the right side of the page counting the ad), we look to hitting the highest (most likely) peak just happens to be the one that actually happened.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 1:12 PM on November 7, 2012

Not a proud moment to be a white male...

This has clearly been responded to here already, but I can't resist.

I'm a white male. I am extremely proud today. The guy that I "hoped" for years ago will still get to try to fix this mess. The propositions I voted for went the way I wanted (mostly): They won't be able to cripple my union, my wife's school might get more money, and Mercury Insurance won't get to mess with people's insurance rates. My congressperson, a lifetime politician and tea party supporter is probably going to lose his seat (my guy is up by 200 votes out of 30-40k right now).

Nationwide people came together to support civil rights for women, gay marriage, and legalization of a plant. And hope.

This white male is proud.
posted by Big_B at 1:14 PM on November 7, 2012 [22 favorites]

From the DKos link above:

Peggy Noonan said "vibrations" told her Romney was about to win.

Bwahaha...what an unflinchingly whackadoo piece of crap-hattery that seemed mostly based on the idea that Obama looked "grim," which in her mind meant his internal polls didn't look good and that ROmney looked perky and upbeat, which meant his internals were the opposite.

I honestly don't know how this lady even has a job.

Oh wait, I do. She writes piffle for Murdoch in the WSJ.
posted by Skygazer at 1:15 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

This white male is proud.

nth'd!
posted by Danf at 1:16 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Peggy Noonan said "vibrations" told her Romney was about to win.

Goddamn hippie.
posted by grubi at 1:16 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Big_B: "Not a proud moment to be a white male...

This has clearly been responded to here already, but I can't resist."

"Huarrrgh", said the fallacy; a fresh boot laid into its broken ribs as it laid bruised and crumpled on the ground.
posted by boo_radley at 1:17 PM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

"This is Fox News," an insider said, "so anytime there's a chance to show off Megyn Kelly's legs they'll go for it."

How could they not know she was an undercover feminazi just waiting for her chance to erode men's right to control women when her name is Me-Gyn!
posted by srboisvert at 1:17 PM on November 7, 2012

Their model of the electorate looked more like 2004 than 2008.

If you read Ari Fleischer's tweets during the counting (he was aggregated in CNN's live feed, don't you judge me) every single time an exit poll came in with more self-identified Democrats than Republicans, or a high percentage of youth voters, he shot out something smug involving the word "oversample." It was sad and hilarious at the same time.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:19 PM on November 7, 2012

Also from the DKos link:

Charles Krauthammer said Romney would win a close victory.

Honestly I don't think this man has said one thing that has come to be since sometime in the late 90s.

If Krauthammer says something positive is going to happen about anything at all (especially the IRAQ war), it is the kiss of death...and a disaster...for whomever he bestows his beneficence.

WTF. I have no idea how this man still makes a living...

Oh, wait, he does appear on the Sunday FOX show all the time don't he??
posted by Skygazer at 1:20 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Steve Schmidt on David Plouffe and David Axelrod:

I think that the job that David Plouffe and David Axelrod did is — they go down in the history and in the books the greatest campaign consultant duo that ever lived.

posted by Bokmakierie at 1:21 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Fox Business Channel Blames Obama’s Victory For Stock Market Dip
posted by homunculus at 1:21 PM on November 7, 2012

srboisvert: " How could they not know she was an undercover feminazi just waiting for her chance to erode men's right to control women when her name is Me-Gyn!"

I guess it's proof that Rupert Murdoch places the principle of "sex sells" above anything in his politicial ideology. Good to know that, at such a pivotal moment in our nation's history, Fox News was primarily concerned with giving wingnuts good jerk-off material.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:21 PM on November 7, 2012

While I think Plouffe and Axelrod are spectacular, David Corn should be credited with a lot. A lot.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:22 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

And Jimmy Carter's grandson who catapulted the propaganda with the 47% tape!
posted by tonycpsu at 1:23 PM on November 7, 2012 [11 favorites]

Fox Business Channel Blames Obama’s Victory For Stock Market Dip

Fuck' em. And they think they have any credibility why??
posted by Skygazer at 1:23 PM on November 7, 2012

Dave Weigel @ Slate: Yes, There Is a Mandate for Higher Taxes
posted by tonycpsu at 1:25 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

While I think Plouffe and Axelrod are spectacular, David Corn should be credited with a lot. A lot.

And whoever filmed the 47% video should publicly reveal him/herself.

As I stated in a previous thread: "...if the Internet can raise $703,000 for the bullied bus monitor, Kerry Klein, surely it can raise a ton of 'thank you' cash for the person who filmed the devastating Romney 47% video. Please come forward. I'm in it for $100. Who is with me?"
posted by ericb at 1:26 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Not a proud moment to be a ~~white male~~ complete wanker...

FTFY.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 1:27 PM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Fox Business Channel Blames Obama’s Victory For Stock Market Dip

Man, watching that is an exercise in how different people respond to different information. He keeps saying things like "Aetna's stock's down" and "higher taxes on dividends" like they're bad things.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 1:27 PM on November 7, 2012

A brilliant, soaring, utterly FANTASTIC Ta-Nehisi Coates post.
posted by lattiboy at 1:28 PM on November 7, 2012 [13 favorites]

WOLOLO
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:30 PM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

I honestly don't know how this lady even has a job.

Don't forget, speechwriter for Reagan (and also responsible for George H.W. Bush's three most famous one-liners). In the conservative hierarchy, with Reagan being God, that makes her something like the Archangel Gabriel.
posted by dhartung at 1:32 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I kind of like Steve Schmidt, it's too bad he lines himself up with such complete assholes.
posted by edgeways at 1:32 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

While I think Plouffe and Axelrod are spectacular, David Corn should be credited with a lot. A lot.

Absolutely. Corn has been doing excellent reporting and analysis for years. His huge scoop was icing on the cake.
posted by Bokmakierie at 1:33 PM on November 7, 2012

Barack about to leave Chicago and head back to the White House [live].
posted by cashman at 1:33 PM on November 7, 2012

Skygazer: "WTF. I have no idea how this man still makes a living..."

People like drama. People like controversy. Pundits generate drama and controversy.
posted by jiawen at 1:34 PM on November 7, 2012

Fox Business Channel Blames Obama’s Victory For Stock Market Dip

So, OK, I'm a sciences major who kind of vaguely gets the stock market in a tenuous sort of way such that when the guy who manages my 401K calls me and says, "Hey, thus and such inc. (one of the double handful of companies I directly invest in) seems to be about to double down on a boneheaded maneuver and I think you should drop them." I say, "Uh, sounds great!" so there. So, there. There's the sum total of my stock market knowledge.

How is it that I know "Buy on the rumor, sell on the fact" (a phrase which get's 43000000 hits on Google) and the Fox Business Channel does not.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 1:35 PM on November 7, 2012

...with Reagan being God, that makes her something like the Archangel Gabriel.

perhaps Metatron
posted by edgeways at 1:36 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

lattiboy: "A brilliant, soaring, utterly FANTASTIC Ta-Nehisi Coates post."

Huh? Oh, uh... no! No, I'm just eating some wasabi peas right now. Eye-wateringly spicy! Whew!
posted by brundlefly at 1:38 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh somebody get me pics of Sasha's shoes!
posted by cashman at 1:39 PM on November 7, 2012

Mmmm wasabi peas. Trader Joes, here I come!
posted by Celsius1414 at 1:39 PM on November 7, 2012

So, I just watched a clip from Fox News, the one where Megyn Kelly leaves the anchor desk and goes to confront their numbers people, after Rove challenged the Ohio decision. While walking she says "When we practiced this before, in our rehearsals..."

Practiced? Rehearsal?

When people were talking about it last night, it sounded as if Rove was being a wild card, was doing the unexpected. Doesn't that mean the whole thing was a set-up? Am I missing something?

benito.strauss, wow, I did not catch that. Now, one could suppose they just rehearsed the general idea of interviewing the numbers guys, except that they had just said they were going to bring one out and sit him next to Rove. Weird, though, that she mentioned exactly where the wireless audio link cut out. That was not a straightforward walk from the studio, yet she turned at that hallway and there was a camera ready to pick her up at the other end (although the crew that had come from the studio then pulled out of shot). Some of this suggests maybe it wasn't a setup, but it really does feel like they scripted, at least vaguely, PUNDIT BLOWS UP AT NUMBERS GUYS, and then filled in the details. This is oh-so-calculating FOX after all.
I hate going all conspiracy theory but after all it is FOX.
posted by dhartung at 1:40 PM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Viral Video: Nate Silver Declared President of United States of Pollsters.
posted by ericb at 1:44 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

EPIC right-wing butthurt.

I can even hear the ice cubes tinkling in her barrel of scotch.

On the other hand, she told libertarians and Ronpaulists to go to hell, so she can't be all that bad.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:46 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

If the Karl Rove meltdown and Meghan Kelly walk were setups, I'm guessing Rove didn't expect the little charade would make him look like an ignorant doofus and he'd end up being a laughingstock.
posted by Bokmakierie at 1:46 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm guessing Rove didn't expect the little charade would make him look like an ignorant doofus and he'd end up being a laughingstock.

That hasn't slowed him up much in the past.
posted by Celsius1414 at 1:48 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

lattiboy: "A brilliant, soaring, utterly FANTASTIC Ta-Nehisi Coates post."

Can someone explain the part about "the vendors of hair-tonic and lead alchemy" for me?

Would that be Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, etc?
posted by mrgrimm at 1:49 PM on November 7, 2012

I can even hear the ice cubes tinkling in her barrel of scotch.

She indicates at one point that it's butterscotch schnapps. Really kind of a lightweight drink for the end of civilization.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 1:49 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I took it as putting those that would ignore facts in order to push ideological talking points in the same category as snake oil and patent medicine salespeople.
posted by Rhomboid at 1:51 PM on November 7, 2012

Can someone explain the part about "the vendors of hair-tonic and lead alchemy" for me?

I took at it as a reference to the dynamic detailed in this piece.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:52 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

mrgrimm: "the vendors of hair-tonic and lead alchemy"

Another way of saying snake-oil salesman. And yeah, that Ta-Nehisi Coates post is wonderful. I was waiting for his reaction all day.
posted by Kattullus at 1:54 PM on November 7, 2012

Goddamn don't the fucking construction dudes next door know that every real American is hungover and a jackhammer is fucking cruel?
posted by klangklangston at 1:56 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Rove looked like a fool, but his whole thing is to be the guy who never, ever, ever lets reality get in the way of trying to actualize his paymasters' ambitions, so honestly it's probably a pretty effective bit of resume fodder for him considering the kind of people who hire Karl Rove in the first place.
posted by jason_steakums at 1:57 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Celebrating Prop. 30 win, Jerry Brown vows to hold line on spending

When asked how he would maintain that discipline, Brown cited a mantra he recited every night before bed while studying at a Zen monastery in Japan in the 1980s.

"Desires are endless," he said. "I vow to cut them down."

posted by homunculus at 1:57 PM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

jason_steakums, yes, if the whole thing was set up, I imagine that was the intended payoff, but without the derision. Then again, the derision mainly occurred in the real world, so Rove may not have actually noticed.
posted by Bokmakierie at 2:06 PM on November 7, 2012

>>>> In fact she received the phone under a
>>>> program for the poor set up by George W Bush.

>> Reagan, actually.

FWIW - Here is some more detail relating to the info in the Alternet Article.

The Obama Phone? (factcheck.org)
Kingsbury Commitment (wikipedia)
USF Lifeline Program (wikipedia)
Telecommunicationsn Act of 1934 (wikipedia)
Telecommunications Act of 1934 -PDF (fcc.gov)
posted by lampshade at 2:06 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Political Junk Food: Why Pundits Will Survive the Moneyball Election

This year's election already seems to have a name, and that's the Moneyball election. In short, people are saying that "call-it-by-the-gut" pundits like Joe Scarbough were shamed by the nerdy quant-jock-turned-celebrity Nate Silver. Saber metric approaches to polling analysis will result in even greater predictive exactness than it has in baseball (after all, voting precincts and popular sentiment don't throw out elbows nearly as much as pitching phenoms).

posted by ericb at 2:08 PM on November 7, 2012

High-Level Orc Assassination Rogue Wins Maine State Senate Seat, Humans Tremble At Might Of The Horde
posted by Artw at 2:14 PM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

Wow.

Why Americans Actually Voted For A Democratic House

Although a small number of ballots remain to be counted, as of this writing, votes for a Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives outweigh votes for Republican candidates. Based on ThinkProgress’ review of all ballots counted so far, 53,952,240 votes were cast for a Democratic candidate for the House and only 53,402,643 were cast for a Republican — meaning that Democratic votes exceed Republican votes by more than half a million.

So I guess it is meticulous gerrymandering that's keeping the Republicans in charge. My understanding of gerrymandering is that you're playing with fire by spreading your concentrated partisans around a bunch of districts (something like turning two 75% districts into 3 ~50% districts), so maybe 2014 does become a "wave" election for Democrats.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:15 PM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

So happy to be in Maine and to have been part of the backlash against bigotry and victory for marriage equality in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington state.

Plus it's a good kick in the teeth of that sanctimonious schmuck, Frank Schubert, the chief strategist behind Prop 8 in California, a 2009 referendum to overturn a same-sex marriage law in Maine, and the passage of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage this year in North Carolina.

From the Oct. 9 NYT, One Man Guides the Fight Against Gay Marriage:

The task is to extend that unbroken record of ballot victories in four states where, he notes, gay rights advocates are sure to outspend him. “To be sure, these are all deep blue states, so no doubt we have a challenge,” he said. “That said, at 32-0, I still like my chances.”

That would be 32-4 now, asshole.
posted by virago at 2:21 PM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

This is all kinds of awesome.

How Conservative Media Lost to the MSM and Failed the Rank and File

Barack Obama just trounced a Republican opponent for the second time. But unlike four years ago, when most conservatives saw it coming, Tuesday's result was, for them, an unpleasant surprise. So many on the right had predicted a Mitt Romney victory, or even a blowout -- Dick Morris, George Will, and Michael Barone all predicted the GOP would break 300 electoral votes. Joe Scarborough scoffed at the notion that the election was anything other than a toss-up. Peggy Noonan insisted that those predicting an Obama victory were ignoring the world around them. Even Karl Rove, supposed political genius, missed the bulls-eye. These voices drove the coverage on Fox News, talk radio, the Drudge Report, and conservative blogs.

...

Conservatives were at an information disadvantage because so many right-leaning outlets wasted time on stories the rest of America dismissed as nonsense. WorldNetDaily brought you birtherism. Forbes brought you Kenyan anti-colonialism. National Review obsessed about an imaginary rejection of American exceptionalism, misrepresenting an Obama quote in the process, and Andy McCarthy was interviewed widely about his theory that Obama, aka the Drone Warrior in Chief, allied himself with our Islamist enemies in a "Grand Jihad" against America. Seriously?

Conservatives were at a disadvantage because their information elites pandered in the most cynical, self-defeating ways, treating would-be candidates like Sarah Palin and Herman Cain as if they were plausible presidents rather than national jokes who'd lose worse than George McGovern.

...

On the biggest political story of the year, the conservative media just got its ass handed to it by the mainstream media. And movement conservatives, who believe the MSM is more biased and less rigorous than their alternatives, have no way to explain how their trusted outlets got it wrong, while the New York Times got it right. Hint: The Times hired the most rigorous forecaster it could find.

posted by futz at 2:21 PM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

If preliminary results hold, 2012 will mark the first time in 80 years that either political party in California has enjoyed super-majority control. Republicans everywhere should be paying close attention. Because the demographic trends that led to Obama’s reelection — the increasing diversity of the electorate, the relative liberalism of the youth vote, the declining influence of old white males — made their national debut in California in the late 80s and early 90s. The rest of the nation is just catching up.

Back in 1971, when I did 6th Form Geography, our teacher put great emphasis on the saying, "What happens in California today, happens the the rest of the United States tomorrow, and the rest of the world the day after."
posted by vac2003 at 2:22 PM on November 7, 2012

High-Level Orc Assassination Rogue Wins Maine State Senate Seat, Humans Tremble At Might Of The Horde

For the Horde! I always knew Alliance weenies were Republicans and Obama and Thrall have at least a few things in common, if you don't look too closely.

Though, now that she's elected, I hope she'll switch to Subtlety. Better for PVP, at least it was back when I played.
posted by honestcoyote at 2:23 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Peggy Noonan said "vibrations" told her Romney was about to win.

Psephology Death Match round 1

Vibrating love eggs vs Nate Silver

Panel Verdict: Silver WIN

next round: tea leaves vs Gallup poll
posted by reynir at 2:23 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I hate how Wolf and whoever else on CNN are like "we gotta get this voting thing fixed!" and he's saying "You'd think after 2000, we'd get it fixed" and going on and on about technology in the 21st century and blah blah. Uh, dummy, republicans did this on purpose to stop the darkies, and you darn well know it and need to not forget it.
posted by cashman at 2:28 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Ta-Nehisi Coates: It is slowly dawning on them: This isn't 1968. The hippies are punching back.
posted by shothotbot at 2:31 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

next round: tea leaves vs Gallup poll

LEAVES WIN! LEAVES WIN! LEAVES WIN!
posted by fullerine at 2:33 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

The difficulty is, our side is right and their side is ignorant.

Rory, Believing that one side has a monopoly on being right has the potential to lead to overreach. And honestly, you don't get into politics if you want to be right all the time. By the very nature of the American political system, we're going to have big tent parties that have various factions that form coalitions because internal differences between two factions are less than the differences a faction has with the opposing party. And these coalitions can live with these internal contradictions as long as they have a common enemy or cause. And these contradictions also mean that neither side, to butcher Lincoln, is going to be always right all the time.
posted by FJT at 2:33 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Prediction for 2016: FoxNews.com introduces their own official poll analysis blog to compete with FiveThirtyEight... Austin Gold, with his signature prediction index, the Gold Standard. He prominently claims the "mainstream" meta-media has a meta-liberal meta-bias. Nate Silver adds him to the list of statistically insignificant pollsters, prompting great handwringing from the right-wing press. Their continuing disagreement becomes part of the narrative fabric of the 2016 election, and most voters come to perceive both as partisan mouthpieces.

Election day approaches, and mysterious new adjustments cause Gold's numbers to more closely reflect Silver's. This shift is rationalized as the result of illicit voter registration practices by left-leaning organizations.

When a video surfaces of Jon Stewart joking with several Daily Show writers about challenging Republican voters to a kickboxing match, Stewart is forced to apologize, and The Daily Show opts to refocus its coverage on the ongoing media circus surrounding Kate Middleton's nipslip at a funeral for the victims of a mass shooting at Westminster Abbey.

On November 8th, the election results come in with a 97% sweep by Republican candidates because fuck it, it sure is a lot of hassle to try to subtly manipulate the media when you can just make shit up at the last minute.
posted by Riki tiki at 2:39 PM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

Their model of the electorate looked more like 2004 than 2008.

You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.

No wait, that's just Republicans, always fighting the previous war.
posted by charlie don't surf at 2:40 PM on November 7, 2012

Believing that one side has a monopoly on being right has the potential to lead to overreach. And honestly, you don't get into politics if you want to be right all the time.

This is true, but American liberals generally doubt themselves a lot more than American conservatives do. This leads to asymmetric polarization as Republicans, armed with their certitude, steamroll self-doubting Democrats. You see this in the media landscape, you see it in the legislative sausage-making, and you can even see it in the pollsters -- the conservative pollsters were all certain there would be a Romney victory, whereas Nate Silver devoted much of his 538 content to explaining all of the ways his model could be wrong. And I don't expect him to be doing the victory lap that the wingnuts would have been doing if they had nailed it.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:45 PM on November 7, 2012 [18 favorites]

FJT: I agree, in part. One side is seriously, seriously flawed and has nothing like a monopoly on truth. However, the other side currently has a monopoly on error, and that's not a tremendous difference in some ways.
posted by absalom at 2:46 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

FJT, I'll bite: about which major policy issue are the Republicans "right" and the Democrats "wrong," requiring even more concessions to the GOP version of reality? What fact do we deny that is equivalent to say climate change denial, and thus obviously delusional?
posted by spitbull at 2:49 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

“I would expect that when people are writing 50 years from now, when they’re writing high school civics books, that Nov. 6, 2012, will be listed as a red letter day for the gay rights movement,” Michael Klarman, a Harvard Law School professor and author of “From the Closet to the Altar: Courts, Backlash, and the Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage.”*

posted by ericb at 2:50 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

NOM's President Brian Brown Says First-Ever Gay Marriage Ballot Landslide Not a Sign of America's Changing Views.

Denial isn't just a river in Egypt.
posted by ericb at 2:52 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Because just to be clear I consider myself more rational than liberal. If you can prove the assumptions that undergird my liberalism are factually incorrect, I'm coming over to your view. If you can't, or you assert certainty about something obviously undecidable, uncertain, or a claim of faith, I'm not conceding that you might be right just so we can get along, unless you're my crazy relative and I can't just walk out on your stupid ass. ("You" meant generically.).
posted by spitbull at 2:55 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I may have counted wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is the comment that pushed this thread over the top to become the longest one in site history. (And that's *with* the new chat gizmo sucking up a lot of the excess chatter.)
posted by Rhaomi at 2:55 PM on November 7, 2012

Dave Weigel at Slate: The Victory for Gay Marriage Was Bigger THan You Realized.

"I'm at a loss to think of any recent rout this decisive for any issue group."
posted by dnash at 2:55 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Gay Mega History in the Making: The Landslide Victory on LGBT Rights.
posted by ericb at 2:57 PM on November 7, 2012

20? Women. Highest ever

Slouching toward equality.
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:04 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

I quite often wonder how often American liberals doubt their own doubt. They seem so damned self-assured about that doubt. Smug, even.
posted by symbioid at 3:04 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Man, I know there are no new vote results coming in for R-74 for another hour and a half. And I further know that unless the uncounted ballots are really radically unbalanced in favor of rural Pierce County, that the margin there is only going to grow. And yet I keep refreshing the page!
posted by KathrynT at 3:06 PM on November 7, 2012

Big Bird is being pretty catty on Facebook - I don't think he's really like that. Big Bird always takes the high road.
posted by CynicalKnight at 3:10 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

I think that the job that David Plouffe and David Axelrod did is — they go down in the history and in the books the greatest campaign consultant duo that ever lived.

It helps to have a street-smart client, I'm guessing.
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:14 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
posted by fleetmouse at 3:15 PM on November 7, 2012 [12 favorites]

I quite often wonder how often American liberals doubt their own doubt. They seem so damned self-assured about that doubt

If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that I'm not sure of anything.
posted by Flashman at 3:15 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

All I'm saying is I think I wanna get as drunk as that angry woman, man. That's how drunk I'm gonna get tonight. FUCK YEAH!
posted by symbioid at 3:17 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

The first comment in the "Colleen Lachowicz" story:

I think I might have said this when the story first broke, but.....really? No one had a single friend/family member between the ages of 15-35 that could tell them "Hey, that's not gonna be a good idea"

is possibly the most rational non-Metafilter comment I've seen all election.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 3:20 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

I think about "The Second Coming" every election season. One of my favorite poems.
posted by Superplin at 3:25 PM on November 7, 2012

Ruh roh...
posted by Rhaomi at 3:25 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

I've been waiting for an excuse to post this... but then I realize that I don't really need one. Here's one of my favorite artifacts from the last time Obama won an election: Jay-Z runs through a new verse he wrote for Young Jeezy's My President Is Black on the eve of inauguration in a DC nightclub (here's the song itself with the Jay-Z verse).
posted by Kattullus at 3:27 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

jscalzi to the Republican party:

I am a white, well-off, college-educated man married to a woman. And in my family and close circle of friends I have Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, gay, bisexual and trans people, religious, agnostic and atheist, able-bodied and disabled. You lose me when you classify any of them as the other. They’re not the other; they’re us.

...

And while you’re at it, tell Grover Norquist to fuck off, too. The fact this dude keeps the lot of you from facing economic reality with that damned pledge of his is an embarrassment.
posted by rtha at 3:27 PM on November 7, 2012 [24 favorites]

Back home in Seattle now and I've finished my work for the next two weeks, time to get drunk and play Minecraft. Maybe I'll throw an election party this weekend (stoned gay marriage for everybody!) And Monday I can start worrying about the 2010 election.
posted by the_artificer at 3:29 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

John Boehner Welcomes Big Deficit Deal, Pledges to Work with President Obama

"byproduct of a growing economy," and he emphasized that "to garner Republican support for new revenues, the president must be willing to reduce spending and shore up the entitlement programs that are the primary drivers of our debt."

It would be nice if the more moderate Republicans just blame the election on the Tea Party, compromise with the President, and make a deal that involves raising taxes on high incomes. I think they are making a mistake if they continue to bow to the Tea Party and Norquist. I doubt the Tea Party has the power it had when Obamacare "death panel" phobia was sweeping across the country, and if it does there comes a time when an elected official needs to do what's right for the country even when it costs him/her his/her job.

The thing I'm scared of is the economy goes south again, and the GOP decides to wait out another 2 or 4 years hoping to take back power.
posted by Golden Eternity at 3:33 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

I spent much of today driving around rural Mississippi and listening to the local talk radio. Schadenfreude is so delicious.

There is a whole lot of crazy out there and the knives are being sharpened and the pistols cocked for the circular firing squad already. The Republican Party as we know it is finished as a single entity. We will have a third party, not because someone manages to bring one up against all the barriers that exist, but because we will lose the Republican party as it's currently known.

The FRC guys think the Republicans lost because they weren't conservative enough and the "blue bloods" need to be kicked out. The pundit class (those "blue bloods" I suppose) think (I'd say correctly) that their primary process forces their candidates too far to the right. They all recognize that this was a disaster, but have no points of agreement at all as to why it happened. It's the collision of two separate fantasy spaces neither of which is reality.

I heard Herman Cain being interviewed by a fundie Christian pontificating with great seriousness on the necessity, against the definite difficulties ("We will need fifty coalitions, one for each state"), of forming a third party.

I will need to rent a forklift to receive the order of popcorn I just placed.
posted by localroger at 3:42 PM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

Hard times are still to come for all of us. Rear guard actions will be fought at every political crossroad. But make no mistake: Change is a motherfucker when you run from it. And right now, the conservative movement in America is fleeing from dramatic change that is certain and immutable. A man of color is president for the second time, and this happened despite a struggling economic climate and a national spirit of general discontent. He has been returned to office over the specific objections of the mass of white men. He has instead been re-elected by women, by people of color, by homosexuals, by people of varying religions or no religion whatsoever. Behold the New Jerusalem. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a white man, of course. There’s nothing wrong with being anything. That’s the point.

David Simon blogs about the election result.
posted by Kattullus at 3:44 PM on November 7, 2012 [12 favorites]

about which major policy issue are the Republicans "right" and the Democrats "wrong," requiring even more concessions to the GOP version of reality?

So, are you saying that Nixon should not have made an overture to China, and Reagan should not have granted amnesty to undocumented immigrants?

Remember, I said "neither side is always right all the time", which is taking a longer term view. The Republican Party did have ideas on carbon taxation, health care reform, and immigration reform that were much more balanced that what is going on now.

I'm also talking about 10, or maybe 20 years down the line when another Republican is elected president. Most of us will be alive here. Some of us, as horrible as it sounds, may have even voted for him or her. When that happens, I would like to think I'm able to engage in some self-reflection on why there was a loss and what changes need to be made to win the next time.

Because just to be clear I consider myself more rational than liberal.

And I consider myself to be more Confucian than liberal, so there you go.
posted by FJT at 3:44 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Begun, These Marijuana Wars Have

That's funny , cos ya know.. Yoda looks stoned and all.
posted by Liquidwolf at 3:45 PM on November 7, 2012

Just a note from Texas. The Texas house is very slightly more blue today. A few gains.
posted by bjgeiger at 3:47 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cheer Up, Republicans: You’re going to have a moderate Republican president for the next four years: Barack Obama.
posted by growabrain at 3:47 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Also, How to De-Romneyize an Airplane
posted by growabrain at 3:48 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Its been said before - but it can't be said enough - that if we really want to keep our eye on the proverbial prize, we need to starts thinking of 2014. Not only that, we have to get some active, engaged and intelligent people to run for offices at the state level everywhere.

What just happened in Wisconsin - the Republicans taking back uncontested control of the Senate - is a disaster. We get all distracted due to the sexiness of a presidential campaign and miss the piles of money pouring into our state races (thank you, Citizen's United) to mess with our local politics.

And, ultimately, local politics has as profound an effect on us as national politics. Indeed, our local politicians sometimes becomes our national politicians.

Anyhow, if this election left you stirred up, don't stop feeling that way just because Obama won. Get on top of your local senators, reps, councilmembers, selectmen, what-have you. Don't leave those positions to crazy, stupid people with too much time on their hands.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:49 PM on November 7, 2012 [23 favorites]

It looks like the republican party should read Who Moved My Cheese.
posted by futz at 3:50 PM on November 7, 2012

Hah, poor Chris Matthews just stuck his foot right in his mouth out of what is clearly sheer exhaustion. Said he's so glad we had that storm last week.

Matthews gives a heartfelt apology for that comment on Hardball.
posted by Bokmakierie at 3:55 PM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

And cast some nonbinding corporations are not people vote. Yay!

'Corporations Are Not People' in Montana, Colorado
posted by homunculus at 3:55 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

I can't stop peeking into the Mitt Romney Central chatroom that was posted on Metafilter's own chatroom earlier today. Someone just said this: will from nj: Akin and Mourdock no doubt cost us votes with women. It's a fascinating window into another world (a very specific world), and I have to remind myself that liberals like myself come off as just as incomprehensible to people like them.
posted by thesocietyfor at 4:02 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, it's time for me to stop reading it when the follow up is: tracey: @jo agree- but women can be so dumb and Jo: I am sorry but I think women are very Stupid to go and have kids with no husband around...they pile up the pressure on themselves and hurt their kids in the long run...and they come to EXPECT that Govt. will pay their bills since don't have a Big Daddy...Not Obama and ALL OF US are the Big Daddy...Pathetic.
posted by thesocietyfor at 4:03 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

> "If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that I'm not sure of anything."

But are you absolutely certain of that?
posted by kyrademon at 4:04 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Joey, that was more about redistricting than campaign spending, as far as anyone I talk to (e.g. in our local county Democratic/OFA office) understands it. The GOP made damn well sure that just about every safe blue seat was cut up into two or more districts -- in a process so secret that the law firm they contracted wouldn't give out information to anyone but the State Senate Majority Leader (a Republican). In any case, those victories were not for lack of organization or motivation on our part, either. The local party structure has probably not been this strong in years.

Matthews gives a heartfelt apology for that comment on Hardball.

Wow. With Jason Alexander and others leading the way, are we in a new era of real apologies when required? That was something I haven't seen in a long time.
posted by dhartung at 4:05 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I think Orson Scott Card's response is my favorite right wing angry-sad polemic so far. The response to Sandy is equally as bad as Bush on Katrina! Godwin! Pravda! Nukes raining on Tel Aviv!
posted by ndfine at 4:07 PM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

Loving the North Dakota data, because it was the Native American vote that won it for Heidi.

Scott Brown's anti-Native antics were widely noted among my Native circle, and I bet they got more than few extra Native voters to the polls nationwide, although ND has its own internal logics of course. Still, it was really close. Take that tomahawk chop motherfuckers.
posted by spitbull at 4:13 PM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

A note for everyone in the live chat last night who was eagerly awaiting Cmyk's Mom's Election Commentary:

She burst into my bedroom this morning (for a tottery old lady with a cane she can make a hell of a a dramatic entrance when she wants to), flipped on the light, and went:

"OBAMA! YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! Oh, and I made coffee."

Then she went away.
posted by cmyk at 4:15 PM on November 7, 2012 [22 favorites]

@dhartung: Oh! You know, what I wrote really did come across as blaming local Wisconsin democrats for not working harder. That wasn't my intention, but that's really what it sounded like. I meant to express sympathy for Dems in Wisconsin - most especially those who worked to hold on to the Senate and House in the state - and to encourage more progressives (everywhere, but in Wisconsin too) to get involved to help prevent more painful situations like the one in your state.

We're busy saying "oh yay Citizen's United didn't have the impact we thought it would" just because Obama won, but the impact of it can be painfully felt in dozens of local house and senate races. We need to stay organized and engaged so we can prevent the Republicans from getting to a position where they can Gerrymander the hell out of states. When we lose interest or drop our guard, that's when bad shit goes down.

Anyhow, sincere apologies. I think I've read some things you've written about your work in Wisconsin and I really shouldn't have suggested WI Dems aren't working their butts off to prevent disaster.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:16 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

God, I tried to read that Scott Card thing and just could not do it. I think it was actually the ad on the side with the picture of the robed guy in rapture that prevented me.
posted by OmieWise at 4:19 PM on November 7, 2012

(also, wow, Orson Scott Card not only writes about fantasy worlds, he lives in one)
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:20 PM on November 7, 2012 [14 favorites]

From that Orson Scott Card blog: "When Romney questioned Barack Obama's statements about Benghazi, you shouted him down. He learned his lesson -- if he made an issue of it, you would merely attack him and distract the public from Obama's wrongdoing."

Wow. That's just the kind of courage and resolve America was looking for in a president. Afraid of the media saying bad things about him! Add that to his fear of Obama saying bad things if he revealed his taxes, and there's your twenty first century portrait of courage right there.
posted by maudlin at 4:21 PM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

If, for whatever reason, you're not sure how to feel about this election, keep in mind that it pissed off Orson Scott Card.
posted by brundlefly at 4:21 PM on November 7, 2012 [32 favorites]

God, I tried to read that Scott Card thing and just could not do it.

It's still more readable than Ender's Game. Heyooo!
posted by FJT at 4:21 PM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

I tried to read that Scott Card thing and just could not do it. I think it was actually the ad on the side with the picture of the robed guy in rapture that prevented me.

No, I have adblock and it was still unreadable. I tried skimming but found the word "Goebbels" and decided it wasn't worth my time.
posted by Gary at 4:24 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

I think Orson Scott Card's response is my favorite right wing angry-sad polemic so far.

That poor insane sad bigoted self-hating closeted wretch. Somewhere along the way life really did a number on him.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 4:28 PM on November 7, 2012 [11 favorites]

God, I tried to read that Scott Card thing and just could not do it.

It's still more readable than Ender's Game. Heyooo!

...and still a better love story than Twilight. Zingbadazing.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:29 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

*reads Card column*

*backs away slowly*
posted by Aquaman at 4:29 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

So, are you saying that Nixon should not have made an overture to China, and Reagan should not have granted amnesty to undocumented immigrants?

No, I was referring to the current century's GOP. Reagan and Nixon were open to rational thought. It was a different era and politicians were held to higher standards I suppose

You can keep Confucianism. Really, I think of my politics as neither liberal nor conservative but scientific and rooted in secular humanist values. Don't need any religion but that does not force me be a relativist.

Hell, I'll admit Mitt Romney had some good ideas. As many pointed out, he was forced to disown them to win the GOP primary. The moment I realized how dangerously amoral he was was in the early primary debate where he declined to indicate an acceptance of basic tenets of biological evolution.

That's either stupid or amoral for an educated man auditioning to be in charge of a science-driven society. Confucian, Mormon, whatever, don't piss on my leg and tell me it's fucking raining.
posted by spitbull at 4:30 PM on November 7, 2012 [10 favorites]

Joey Michaels, I didn't mean to imply, either, that you had implied that. I just wanted to give my impression from the boots on the ground. We still feel we did a great job last night, getting Tammy into the Senate and making sure that some local Assembly races were appropriately filled with Democrats, and in Paul Ryan's House race, we got his percentage below 55% -- a healthy 7-point drop from his usual re-election margin. But we had a lot of other counties where things didn't go as well on the down-ticket races. Believe you me, many of us can't figure out how our bluish-purple state has managed to go so red.

Where that Citizens United money went, my recycling bin and answering machine memory card can tell the tale -- easily over a hundred mailers, maybe 200 calls counting uncompleted messages -- spent on GOTV and voter contact in this, a reliably Democratic household. Couldn't figure it out, and maybe could have cut down on some of it if we didn't screen everything. I didn't see the airwave ads, but there were plenty of those too. And "beloved" Tommy lost big.
posted by dhartung at 4:31 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

20? Women. Highest ever

Slouching toward equality.

They'd fit into the smallest binder available.
posted by futz at 4:33 PM on November 7, 2012

The problem with looking at what Silver was saying in July is that votes are not preordained and what happens in July, August and so forth matters.

One educational aspect of Nate Silver is that he doesn't just give numbers, but he also writes extensively about sources of uncertainty, statistical trends etc. It was the day before the VP debate when Obama's numbers were the lowest they had been for a long time; I trusted in 538's explanations about reversal to the mean (and MeFi's enthusiasm for Biden) and, long story short, this weekend's nights out will be financed with the money of Romney supporters.
posted by ersatz at 4:34 PM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

ndfine: I think Orson Scott Card's response is my favorite right wing angry-sad polemic so far.

Whew. I uh… Yeah. I think Orson needs to up the voltage. Or something.
posted by ob1quixote at 4:41 PM on November 7, 2012

So... That OSCAR thing... Is he saying the response to Katrina was good and the media covered it up or that the response to Sandy was bad and the media covered it up?

Also how many days from Katrina was it that the FEMA response started? Have that many days elapsed since Sandy?
posted by Artw at 4:42 PM on November 7, 2012

But but but Brownie said they responded to Sandy too quickly!
posted by klangklangston at 4:43 PM on November 7, 2012

Here's an interesting bit from that link on California's supermajority posted upthread. It will be interesting to see if money can be raised and diverted to infrastructure/education in a way that provides a good counterargument to the big-government boogeyman. Prop 13 has already proven that states/countries need to be able to raise revenue. Even a Tory MP was agreeing with that on tv about a week ago and Tories aren't exactly Marxists.

Because the true significance of the new Democratic Californian supermajority is that, at least for a couple of years, it finally releases Californians from the shackles of Proposition 13, the state initiative passed in 1978 that so severely limits the legislature’s ability to raise taxes and govern effectively.
posted by ersatz at 4:46 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

posted upthread: http://mittromneycentral.com/community/chat/

I hope someone is capturing screenshots of that because it is vile and insane. wtf!
posted by futz at 4:48 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

If we're gloating about being right, I think I still hold the record:

Barack Obama will win the 2008 Primary, then win the general election against McCain. In 2012, he will be re-elected in his campaign against Mitt Romney.

posted by Greg Nog at 11:30 AM on June 3, 2003 [+] [!]

Note that this comment was made a full month prior to his keynote, in a thread about Star Wars fanfic.

Are you from the future? I don't think you're supposed to brag about it if you are...
posted by karst at 4:49 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Really, I think of my politics as neither liberal nor conservative but scientific and rooted in secular humanist values. Don't need any religion but that does not force me be a relativist.

Q: How should the spirits of the dead and the gods should be served?

A: You are not able even to serve man. How can you serve the spirits?
posted by FJT at 4:49 PM on November 7, 2012

Smug self link - although sadly my prediction that amberglow would be veep was completely off the mark.
posted by sgt.serenity at 4:50 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dammit! I JUST starting reading Enders Game and now I can't continue after Orson Scott Card's tirade. I don't think I could overlook that and enjoy the story now.
posted by Liquidwolf at 4:50 PM on November 7, 2012

The best part of that mittromneycentral.com chat room is the guy spamming it with solicitations for @reagan.com email addresses. Nothing more Republican than trying to make a buck off gullible suckers. I think Mittens himself would be proud of the vulture capitalist spirit!
posted by tonycpsu at 4:54 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

omg. comment from the romneycentral website:

Let's dump the lib google and yahoo and go to Reagan.com for only $40/yr.

It is a real thing! http://www.reagan.com/

gag.
posted by futz at 4:55 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

futz, separating stupid conservatives from their money is the #1 growth industry in America.
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:57 PM on November 7, 2012 [13 favorites]

I haven't heard -- did any MeFites clean up on InTrade?
posted by Room 641-A at 4:57 PM on November 7, 2012

Check out Rusty:

RUSTY: We are stuck with Obamacare forever now.
11/07/12 07:53 PM
POTUS MITT: they are saying spanish channels really pushing for them to vote
11/07/12 07:53 PM
me seyz: paul ryan wins, mitt is the elder statesman who impliments domestic policy in tandem with treasury and agriculture. i swear i think rick santorum can be quietly semi-bribed... we know otherwise 2016 will be a repeat of 2012... close, tight and painful. like what hit hit today's DOW
11/07/12 07:54 PM
RUSTY: I will have no health insurance at all after next year, ironically.
posted by futz at 4:59 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I hadn't really thought that he might consider Katrina a good response and Sandy a bad one... Of course that would require He really, really hate the people of NY and NO.

His Libya stuff is deplorable conspiracy theory bullshit of course.
posted by Artw at 4:59 PM on November 7, 2012

Orson Scott Card: That poor insane sad bigoted self-hating closeted wretch.

Asshat. The word is asshat.
posted by localroger at 5:00 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

What the Republican party really needs to do is support campaign spending limits both internally and in elections. Seriously. Right now Republicans think that extra spending translates to extra votes, and they think this is a good thing. They're right, but they're missing the big picture. They've worked themselves into a position where they're highly dependent on silly amounts of money. The only way they can collect this much is by prostituting themselves both at a policy and a preselection level. This is why they ended up with (a) incoherent policies that nobody except multi-millionaires wanted; and (b) Mitt Romney.

What they have failed to realise is that campaigning isn't all about promoting your candidate. There has to be a product there too; you can't polish a turd. They need serious policy and candidate development mechanisms, and they can't afford to sell these out in exchange for more financing. There's definitely a level at which funding reflects genuine support: policies and candidates that can't attract sponsors are doomed in any case. But beyond that point you risk having policies that are attractive only to a small group of highly-committed supporters, and candidates (e.g., McMahon) who attempt to buy their position.

Turning off the money tap will be very, very hard, but it's the only way the Republicans will be able to put decent candidates forward. I'm not as down on Bush II as most people here, but it's fair to say that there were better choices. John McCain was past his use-by date, but he was an adequate candidate. But Sarah Palin? Mitt Romney? Paul mucking Ryan?! Not one of them had a reputation for policy development or a political history which would encourage confidence in them. They're shallow caricatures of a Hollywood President or VP; the sort of candidate put forward by an advertising agency.

I think these two things would help the Republicans enormously, maybe even in the short term: introduce tight, very tight limits on the amount and type of promotion that can be used in support of candidates and policies internally; and support campaign financing limits for elections generally. This would reduce the impact of lobbyists and help the party focus on developing sound policies and electable candidates instead of seeking support from multi-billionaires and finding ever more photogenic VPs. Because at the moment the Republican Party is a joke; and all the theatre in the world is useless when people jeer at your policies and laugh at your candidates.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:03 PM on November 7, 2012 [25 favorites]

How Grover Norquist’s Radical Anti-Tax Pledge Sunk Top Tier Republican Senate Candidates
posted by Room 641-A at 5:03 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I hope someone is capturing screenshots of that because it is vile and insane. wtf!

I went and pulled about 600 comments from there and that was just for a period of about an hour! Crazy!

In that hour, there were 46 commenters with 10 of those people making 55% of the comments. I guess for a chat area, it is not that out of bounds in terms of numbers though, but give that they are still grar-ing about last night, it is rather chilling to read.
posted by lampshade at 5:05 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I heard Herman Cain being interviewed by a fundie Christian pontificating with great seriousness on the necessity, against the definite difficulties ("We will need fifty coalitions, one for each state"), of forming a third party.

Oh, PLEASE!!!!!!! If the Tea Party spins off the GOP, it'll lead to, well, not an permanent Democratic Majority, but certainly one longer than I'll live.
posted by eriko at 5:06 PM on November 7, 2012

you can't polish a turd.

Not if we're talking about music production!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:08 PM on November 7, 2012

Joe in Australia, I think both parties are almost equally enslaved to big money interests for donors. Limiting campaign contributions would be a good thing for our democracy, but I don't think it's just a GOP phenomenon.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:08 PM on November 7, 2012

you can't polish a turd.

Mefi's Own proved otherwise.
posted by cmyk at 5:11 PM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Turning off the money tap will be very, very hard, but it's the only way the Republicans will be able to put decent candidates forward.

What really bit them in the ass is that these marginal candidates who in previous years would have bowed out after energizing their corner of the base stayed in the primaries, forcing the primary process into whackadoodle land. Part of the schadenfreude I was enjoying today was that Citizen's United, which was undoubtedly meant to create a permanent Republican majority, is actually the single biggest force that has just destroyed the Republican party.
posted by localroger at 5:14 PM on November 7, 2012

This Libertarian Republican is not too pleased with last night's result. (via)
posted by Flashman at 5:14 PM on November 7, 2012 [7 favorites]

The problem with looking at what Silver was saying in July is that votes are not preordained and what happens in July, August and so forth matters.

Just to call back to this earlier business. Silver's model is all about the polls. Polls can change. To evaluate his model on what the polls were saying in July tells us less about his model than it does about the polls in July. As we all saw, under the model, when Obama did poorly (as perceived ... not to rehash) in the first debate, his forecasted election chances plummeted. I don't think Silver would ever say that his model should be evaluted by its four-months-out prediction in particular if conditions change and the polls head in a different direction.

My own preference (a gut preferenced) has long been for the Lichtman Keys to the White House model [previously] -- a system that Silver derisively dismissed. But Lichtman's system predicted an Obama win two years ago. The reason I like the system is sort of the opposite from why I also like Silver: it utterly ignores the polls and the vagaries of the campaign; in fact, it boldly suggests that campaigns may not even matter. (Since the system was derived from computer modeling at one level, this wasn't a forced world view, but a natural conclusion from it.) Just as Silver rpeatedly warns not to look at individual snapshots, Lichtman's system says not to look at snapshots at all. I'm not going to say that either approach is 100% correct, but they both, interestingly, came to the same conclusion. The big difference is that Silver would never make the claims that Lichtman does; he's not in that same business. To Silver's model, what is happening now is more important than anything that's happened in the previous four years, and personally I think that's a way to reduce the entirety of our politics to something like a popularity contest -- even if it works.

The Keys view, on the other hand, would say that the fundamentals of an Obama re-election were in place long ago, and while a Black Swan type of event could change that and break the model (changes are accounted for within certain parameters, e.g. Benghazi could potentially be counted as a Foreign Policy Failure and turn a key against Obama), it's much less likely. At least, the model has proven itself in every election since, I think, 1984. The one "exception" is when it predicted a Gore victory, but the model was optimized for the popular vote rather than the electoral college.
posted by dhartung at 5:16 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

This Libertarian Republican is not too pleased with last night's result.

Child. Cot. Toys. Throw. Cry.
posted by vac2003 at 5:18 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm not normally the Internet troll type, but the urge to post the Youtube video earlier from the "GET THE FUCK OFF THE INTERNET" lady to that Mitt chat room is strong...
posted by tonycpsu at 5:18 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I just dropped in to add something to mark the fact that I watched this thread from the first few posts until I was overwhelmed and had to drop out while I focused on the TV coverage. I truly attempted to keep up with you wonderful MeFites but you just left me behind. I watched, totally captivated by the television coverage, switching across the broadcast networks until that momentous announcement that Ohio was declared for our President. It was the announcement that, at that point, it was mathematically impossible for Romney to win the election that propelled me from my supine position to call my wife across the country and to share my happy dance from my hotel room with her. I’m here in New Jersey helping support the hurricane disaster relief work and she’s in California continuing her work at the ‘Disaster Control Center’. That’s a ridiculous name isn’t it – control disasters? The name itself should make it clear that it’s with the federal government.
I continued to watch, riveted to the television, repulsed by the Faux network response, and switching between PBS and MSNBC. I waited for Romney’s concession speech, and continued to wait. Hadn’t prepared a concession speech? So arrogant, so self assured that they were the chosen heirs that they never considered not winning was even a possibility. Finally – the triumph, we won! My investments, minor as they were, had in some small way contributed to the end result.
The climax was that energetic, profoundly moving speech. What a wonderful night.
Starting early this morning I endeavored to read through all of the postings in this thread to look for the sharp insights and wonderful wit of the MeFite community. It’s been a work day and the only thing that carried me through was espresso double shots and the emotional uplift of sharing the delight of the election results with a small group of co-workers. I have finally finished reading the posts. Thank you all for contributing to making MetaFilter delightful.
posted by X4ster at 5:18 PM on November 7, 2012 [12 favorites]

Dammit! I JUST starting reading Enders Game and now I can't continue after Orson Scott Card's tirade. I don't think I could overlook that and enjoy the story now.

Liquidwolf, Ender's game is a great book. You'd only be depriving yourself if you stop reading it now.

The way I see it is this: I'm certainly the kind of liberal atheist that Card hates, but the jokes on him because his hard work writing the book gave someone like me several hours of pleasure.
posted by Bokmakierie at 5:19 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Well, to each his own. Some may choose to push secession in their state legislatures. Others may choose to leave the U.S. for good (Costa Rica, Switzerland, Italy, Argentina, Hong Kong, Israel). Still others may want to personally separate themselves from the United States here in North America while still living under communist rule' the Glenn Beck, grab your guns, food storage, build bunkers, survivalist route. I heartily endorse all these efforts.

OPTION 2! OPTION 2! OPTION 2!

Though 1 is potentially quite funny.
posted by Artw at 5:23 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm not normally the Internet troll type, but the urge to post the Youtube video earlier from the "GET THE FUCK OFF THE INTERNET" lady to that Mitt chat room is strong...

Dan Savage has already tweeted her.
posted by dnash at 5:23 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Also it appears the Butterscotch Schnapps lady has changed her raging video to "private." (I think that was smart of her. Her next step should be to check into a clinic.)
posted by dnash at 5:26 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

It will be interesting to see if money can be raised and diverted to infrastructure/education in a way that provides a good counterargument to the big-government boogeyman.

I sincerely hope so. Prop 13 has been absolutely terrible for California public education. Californians have gotten complacent about the quality of their public universities especially, and don't seem to understand that the reason UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, etc. are such nationally and globally well-ranked and well-regarded schools is that the state shelled out the money for them. Our UCs can't continue to remain competitive if we don't fund them.

My California history professor was always cranky about how California voters always voted themselves "more services and fewer taxes." It's kind of heartening to see that trend reverse just a little.
posted by yasaman at 5:27 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

There has to be a product there too; you can't polish a turd.

As close as the results were, the Republican brand seems very badly wounded by its unceasing and unapologetic pandering to social and religious extremists. A majority of women and minorities will likely associate this political party with rape, racism and general belligerence for a generation or two, and as the voting demographic continues to shift away from social extremists to a more diverse base, Republicans may likely find it harder to get votes.

Die-hard Tea Party loyalists are already jumping from the sinking GOP ship, and a number of the millionaires along the social policy axis had already jumped over to Ronpaulian and Libertarian alternatives. Despite this, Republicans are still upset that Romney didn't double-down on the fear-mongering, racism and bigotry — "true conservatism" — and so it seems unlikely they learned much from losing.

Whatever happens to the GOP, however, it seems improbable that either Republicans or Democrats will agree to implement campaign finance reforms that limit corporate donations. Certainly, Republicans have cast the matter of corporate financing as a defense of "free speech". That's a view that will be tough for a party of ultrapatriotic, superhawkish, pro-business types to reconsider — it would pretty much mean redefining the party brand almost entirely. Maybe it will come to that, though. And the DNC are just hypocrites on the subject, loudly complaining about Citizens United while continuing to cash the checks. So it goes.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:30 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

How Karl Rove fought with Fox over the Ohio call

“This is Fox News,” an insider said, “so anytime there’s a chance to show off Megyn Kelly’s legs they’ll go for it.” The decision desk were given a three-minute warning that Kelly would be showing up.
posted by shothotbot at 5:34 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

A majority of women and minorities will likely associate this political party with rape, racism and general belligerence for a generation or two

Let's not get overconfident. There seems to be an underlying yearning among certain tranches of the electorate for the "ideal" if you will conservative candidate. All it will really take is a more convincing moderate Republican candidate, perhaps a Romney without all the Montgomery Burns associations, and with the ability to connect to minority voters such as Latinos. That's going to be the Jeb Bush line, anyway.

The decision desk were given a three-minute warning that Kelly would be showing up.

NERDS: A GIRL WILL BE COMING. COMB YOUR HAIR.
posted by dhartung at 5:37 PM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

Also it appears the Butterscotch Schnapps lady has changed her raging video to "private."

NOOOOO!!!!! Listening to this was my plan for tonight's entertainment when I got home, since I couldn't listen at work. CRAZY WINGNUT HOPE ME
posted by scody at 5:40 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fox News reacts to the election results in the Day In 100 Seconds for November 7, 2012.
posted by Room 641-A at 5:40 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

He has the absolute right ideology, a Ron Paul Constitutionalist who recognizes the evils of Islam, and supports a strong military, defense of America...

I'm no fan of Ron Paul, but those don't sound like very Paul-y positions to me.
posted by brundlefly at 5:42 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

After Chocolate City and Lunchmeatophobia, I feel like the conclusion to my George Clinton electoral extravaganza is just right.
posted by klangklangston at 5:44 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

And the DNC are just hypocrites on the subject, loudly complaining about Citizens United while continuing to cash the checks.

The way I see it, if they hadn't cashed those checks, we might be dealing with a GOP house and senate led by President Romney.

Citizens United is a bad set of rules, but it's a set of rules both sides have to play by, otherwise one side will not win. Given that, the Democrats' complaining about the rules and attempting to change the rules is actually a good thing, not hypocrisy.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:47 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

This Libertarian Republican is not too pleased with last night's result.

Is that a joke? "I'm going to start wearing a lot more buttons." ?? What?
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 5:49 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dan Savage has already tweeted her.

This makes me giggle.
posted by Talez at 5:50 PM on November 7, 2012

David Frum Tweets: ‘Horrible Possibility: If The Geeks Are Right About Ohio, Might They Also Be Right About Climate?’

Whee!!
posted by Room 641-A at 5:52 PM on November 7, 2012 [13 favorites]

The Libertarian Republican: However, for me, I'm choosing another rather unique path; a personal boycott, if you will. Starting early this morning, I am going to un-friend every single individual on Facebook who voted for Obama, or I even suspect may have Democrat leanings. I will do the same in person. All family and friends, even close family and friends, who I know to be Democrats are hereby dead to me. I vow never to speak to them again for the rest of my life, or have any communications with them. They are in short, the enemies of liberty. They deserve nothing less than hatred and utter contempt

Woof. Somehow I'm thinking that his family will be just fine with him cutting them off from the pleasure of his company. However, I wouldn't want him to die a lonely, crusty old bachelor-- we should hook him up with Butterscotch schnapps lady.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:53 PM on November 7, 2012 [19 favorites]

David Frum Tweets: ‘Horrible Possibility: If The Geeks Are Right About Ohio, Might They Also Be Right About Climate?’

In other news, Math and Science: They work and cannot be spun
posted by never used baby shoes at 5:57 PM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

Flashman: "This Libertarian Republican is not too pleased with last night's result. (via)"

So he's retiring from blogging so that he can protest against foodstamps full time? By waving signs that he will have printed up at his own expense! And buttons, lots of buttons.
posted by octothorpe at 5:58 PM on November 7, 2012

The Libertarian Republican...

Hey, if his house was burning and everything he owned was about to be destroyed, I'd still help him, but that's only because I'm a better human being than he is.
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:00 PM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

I follow David Frum and John Weaver on Twitter. They're Republicans but they're good people. They get it way more than most Republicans do.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 6:01 PM on November 7, 2012

Romney seems like the platonic ideal of all that is wrong with conservatism and the electoral process. It was made very clear that he has nothing but contempt for half the population. And yet people still voted for him in droves. It astounds me.

Not to be a downer and stuff, but: me too. It honestly and seriously does boggle my mind, as does the reality of so many people voting (out of tribal loyalty? because of misinformation? media failure? advertising dollars? the failure of education? why?) in ways that are directly counter to their own best interests.

Then again, I've had the same reaction (even if the villains and heroes are less clearly painted) to recent Canadian elections, too, so I just don't know any more.

Enough to heave a sigh of relief and hope that this is a sea change, not a rogue wave. Again.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:01 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Wow! I'm frankly a bit shocked by the butterscotch tapes and the libertarian republican and all the other reactions I've seen. I'm really a bit concerned that bad things will happen.

The level of hatred directed at the Democrats is just something I can't really get my head around. I've not yet seen any reactions about how they loved Romney and are sad that he didn't get in. It's all hatred of Obama and of Democrat voters.
We can all talk about the need for bipartisanship, but in a climate like that? How can it even be possible?
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 6:07 PM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

We can all talk about the need for bipartisanship, but in a climate like that? How can it even be possible?

The only way is to tie these people around the Republicans' necks like a millstone and made them own these views. Still waiting for a coalition of Republican kingmakers to finally step up and call out Limbaugh. I think it will happen -- it will happen a lot sooner if the Democrats push them in that direction.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 6:10 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

We can all talk about the need for bipartisanship, but in a climate like that? How can it even be possible?

Because we only need the sanest 10% of the other side.
posted by Talez at 6:11 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

David Frum Tweets: ‘Horrible Possibility: If The Geeks Are Right About Ohio, Might They Also Be Right About Climate?’

So, let's imagine that there some not-so-batshit-insane repubs out there that have been toeing the party line to be stay afloat (by pathetically echoing the far right talking points)...could this be a mandate (hate that word in political speak) for them to actually find a voice and express some individuality?

Anyone? Bueller?

Never mind, this is the guy who coined "axis of evil"
posted by futz at 6:11 PM on November 7, 2012

Reading some of the far right freak out today, this springs to mind.
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:19 PM on November 7, 2012

Netanyahu Rushes to Repair Damage With President

Obama victory: Israeli memes poke fun at Bibi
posted by homunculus at 6:24 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Wow, that Libertarian Republican post is sad. He basically says "some people will leave the country, some will pursue secession, some will get militia-ish ... but me? I'm going to unfriend people on facebook!" Now that right there is a man of principle.
posted by headnsouth at 6:24 PM on November 7, 2012 [14 favorites]

I would hope the closeness of Bachman's and other tea-baggin' congresspeople's elections serve notice that they do not have a mandate. In all seriousness, Bachman's district was even more conservative under redistricting with the liberal Stillwater being placed under Phyllis Khan, so the fact that Graves, with way less money and name recognition, getting that close to defeating her should serve as a nuanced notice. Democrats in the House of Representatives need to get the backbone that this election provides.

For some reason, while watching the MSM talk about how Obama has to reach across the aisle and be amenable to the Republican House, the scene from Pulp Fiction arises where Samuel L. Jackson's voice booms with the paraphrase, "Do you think Barack Obama looks like a bitch?" In all seriousness, Obama holds the cards right now, and the realization that maybe negotiating with people who don't want to save the system but want to destroy it gives one a sense of fortitude.

I look at the plus side of Bachman's victory, it is good for fund raising and gives Democrats something to aspire towards.
posted by jadepearl at 6:26 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hay guys I don't where else to post this so I guess I'll ask it here , sea the thing is I voted for Obamma yesterday and I don't have an Obammaphone yet so? do you know if I need to send someone an email or something or will they just stop by with it and give it to me. thanks.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 6:28 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I have been laughing at this comment literally all day. You don't understand. I am in pain because I have been laughing for 9+ hours straight. I think I will literally die.
posted by shmegegge at 6:30 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Arsenio you just contact your nearest Kenyan embassy. If you don't know where it is just flag down the next black helicopter you see and ask for directions.
posted by localroger at 6:31 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Obammaphone

www.reagan.com

Your phone will be anonymous for $40 a month
posted by futz at 6:32 PM on November 7, 2012

Wait a minute did Greg Nog make that up? Unfavorited!
posted by Flashman at 6:33 PM on November 7, 2012

oh, wait. you misspelled obamaphobe.
posted by futz at 6:34 PM on November 7, 2012

Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring Obamaphone
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:34 PM on November 7, 2012 [17 favorites]

Inside the Secret World of the Data Crunchers Who Helped Obama Win
posted by homunculus at 6:35 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Man, that Libertarian Republican guy must be a real pleasure to interact with in person. Just a charmer.
posted by gauche at 6:35 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

still 40 bucks.
posted by futz at 6:36 PM on November 7, 2012

The moment they knew...
posted by homunculus at 6:37 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Still here in the boiler room. Florida votes still not counted yet. I miss my family. Please don't let me die here. Tell my wife I said I love her.
posted by Cookiebastard at 6:39 PM on November 7, 2012 [25 favorites]

BREAKING NEWS!
posted by localhuman at 6:41 PM on November 7, 2012

I think David Simon sums up this election season perfectly.

As for me, this right here says it all. To answer Sarah Palin's question, all that "hopey-changey" stuff is working out just fine.
posted by billyfleetwood at 6:42 PM on November 7, 2012 [15 favorites]

cookiebastard, are you serious?!
posted by futz at 6:43 PM on November 7, 2012

Obama ought to send down some of his Black Panthers to stop the recount.
posted by Flashman at 6:44 PM on November 7, 2012

Poor Cookiebastard... still counting Bush/Gore votes from 2000.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:44 PM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

How long before the Florida result is known?
posted by fullerine at 6:51 PM on November 7, 2012

How long before the Florida result is known?

Both candidates won Florida until the alligator state vector collapses.
posted by localroger at 6:57 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Wow, that Libertarian Republican post is sad. He basically says "some people will leave the country, some will pursue secession, some will get militia-ish ... but me? I'm going to unfriend people on facebook!" Now that right there is a man of principle.

To be fair to him he does also say that he'll be spending most of his free time being taken for the kind of crazy homeless person he certainly despises, apparently with the ultimate goal of becoming one by severing all business relationships with half the population.

He's talking shit, of course. He'll pop back up on the internet in a few weeks time like the swollen anal gland he is.
posted by howfar at 6:58 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I don't think Obama and the Dems should even shut down the monster. Why not just move the whole campaign engine over to his presidential staff and caucus directly with the people. Half the people didn't vote for him so it might do us some good to hear them out a bit.

We delt them a pretty nice blow, but why give them any time to recover and come up with a plan. Keep up the pressure. Run the next 4 years like he managed his campaign.

The people and the administration could work directly, congress would have to follow. Take charge of it.
posted by neversummer at 6:58 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Media Matters: WaPo's Jennifer Rubin Admits She Misled Her Readers
posted by shothotbot at 6:59 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I have a fondness for watching Fox News at times like this that leads to some conflict between me and my wife, but here's what I was able to glean from the bits of Hannity that she wasn't able to find an excuse to make me mute:

1) Ann Coulter denies that the country might be center-left
2) Ann Coulter is sad that the country was "denied the benefit of Mitt Romney." Expressing more affection for Romney that the cumulative opinions of every Republican before he lost.
3) Herman Cain is running a website called jobcreatorssolutions.com now. The website is confusing and seems mildly broken, but I'm sure as hell not turning off Noscript to see what it actually looks like.
4) The real story of the election is that Melissa Joan Hart got shit on twitter for saying she was voting for Romney.*
5) Herman Cain might think that Sean Hannity's name is John.

More updates if my wife goes to bed.

*Not surprising, Romney did well among white senior citizens.**
** This is a joke about how old she was on Sabrina the Teenaged Witch.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:02 PM on November 7, 2012 [6 favorites]

If I was God King, there'd be a special prison for journo hacks.
posted by klangklangston at 7:09 PM on November 7, 2012

Really? Seems like Clarissa don't know shit.
posted by klangklangston at 7:11 PM on November 7, 2012 [12 favorites]

The level of hatred directed at the Democrats is just something I can't really get my head around. I've not yet seen any reactions about how they loved Romney and are sad that he didn't get in. It's all hatred of Obama and of Democrat voters.
We can all talk about the need for bipartisanship, but in a climate like that? How can it even be possible?

It was kind of like this too in 2000 and 2004, but in reverse. Just maybe a little less public because there wasn't Twitter or Facebook.
posted by peripathetic at 7:12 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Suddenly Florida cares more about a correct result than a quick one?
posted by inigo2 at 7:12 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

The real story of the election is that Melissa Joan Hart got shit on twitter for saying she was voting for Romney.*

Really, all she did was brag about how badass she is for being a conservative in Hollywood.

And tweet a bunch of other lies about FEMA/unions regarding Sandy cleanup, that were quickly shot down (but without retractions from her).
posted by inigo2 at 7:14 PM on November 7, 2012

Link me to some Republican forums where I can taste the tears of impotent rage?

Drink all you want, we have plenty....
posted by Rumple at 7:14 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Day late and a dollar short, but Obama did actually win one county in Nebraska. As mentioned before Republicans ruined Obama's chances in the 2nd Congressional district. However, Thurston County, which is comprised wholly of Omaha and Winnebago Indian reservations voted for Obama. They also voted for Obama in 2008.

Go Thurston County!
posted by ephemerista at 7:28 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Obama and progressives: what will liberals do with their big election victory? With fights over social security, Medicare, ongoing war, and other key progressive priorities looming, what will they do with their new power?
posted by homunculus at 7:36 PM on November 7, 2012

Bush 2004 popular vote margin: 2.46% (3,012,171 votes), EV margin: 35 (286 - 251)
Obama 2012 popular vote margin: 2.4% (2,841,759 votes), EV margin: 126 (332 - 206)

Please remind people of this whenever they blather something about a mandate.
posted by Rhomboid at 7:39 PM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

Heh. A lot of fair and balanced both-sides-are-the-same twaddle flying about today.
posted by Artw at 7:41 PM on November 7, 2012

Just this guy, y'know: "The level of hatred directed at the Democrats is just something I can't really get my head around. I've not yet seen any reactions about how they loved Romney and are sad that he didn't get in. It's all hatred of Obama and of Democrat voters. "

Seriously. If they're flipping out this much over a centrist like Obama, I shudder to think what they'd do if an actual socialist were elected.
posted by brundlefly at 7:45 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Artw, you mean over here?
posted by nrobertson at 7:45 PM on November 7, 2012

I've not yet seen any reactions about how they loved Romney and are sad that he didn't get in. It's all hatred of Obama and of Democrat voters.

Throughout the campaign, it seemed nearly everything my Republican relatives posted on FB was not pro-Romney, it was anti-Obama. The usual socialism, welfare-state, handout Sugar Daddy nonsense. Coupled with some really appalling shit about Michelle Obama being a "Hoochie Mama" (ugh!) The only exceptions were my Mormon in-laws who also posted nice trite things about what a good man Mitt was, so dedicated to service, etc.

I always took it as a good sign for my side that the GOP never really worked up a lot of enthusiasm for Mitt. But going forward it doesn't change much- there is still a good chunk of the country that hates Obama.

So I am looking forward to seeing which of the rising stars comes up in 2016- Elizabeth Warren? Julian Castro? Deval Patrick? Cory Booker? Bring it. Let's see some heads explode.
posted by ambrosia at 7:47 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ugh. That "they're both the same" smugness really annoys me. Sure they are, if you're not: female, glbt, non-white, disabled, poor, etc etc etc.

Yes, tell us more about how you weren't a GOP target and that gives you astounding insight!
posted by cmyk at 7:47 PM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

"This Libertarian Republican is not too pleased with last night's result

He doesn't seem very much like a libertarian. Because the ones I know are sort of happy about the results of the election, because of the uptick in actual freedom to smoke pot and marry whom one wishes. That's what real libertarians care about just as much, if not more, than stupid taxes.

This guy is just a Limbaugh big government for me but not you Republican.
posted by gjc at 7:48 PM on November 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Re: the Orson Scott Card link. What "documents" is he gibbering about here?

...[Obama's] repeated unconstitutional refusal to provide Congress with documents they have a legal right -- nay, duty -- to examine.
posted by orrnyereg at 7:49 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Forget about 2012, the race for the White House in 2016 has already begun: Put your money on Hillary Clinton vs Chris Christie, says Nicholas Wapshott.
posted by homunculus at 7:54 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Christie will change parties.
posted by neversummer at 8:04 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

This comment by Joe in Australia is fantastic. Just read the whole thing. It's my favorite comment in the thread.
posted by deanklear at 8:10 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Re: the Orson Scott Card link. What "documents" is he gibbering about here?

I would assume that would be referring to Obama's use of executive privilege in regards to Fast and Furious.
posted by Drinky Die at 8:19 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

i don't think there is much chance that either Hillary or Christie is the nominee. Rubio is the chosen one, I think. The GOP has a deep bench for 2016. I have no idea who the democrats have on deck. Hillary I think is getting tired, but we'll see in a year or so if she's running.
posted by empath at 8:21 PM on November 7, 2012

I just came here because I noticed this thread went over the 6,000 comment level (a new record) while it is still on the MetaFilter front page. I wonder if we can hit 10,000?
posted by grouse at 8:25 PM on November 7, 2012

I continue to think that Rubio isn't viable. If he were, he'd have been on this ticket for sure. From the little reading I've done about him it just seems he has too many potential strings attached.

Maybe things will be different enough in '16 that it won't matter to people, though. Who knows.
posted by Miko at 8:25 PM on November 7, 2012

I will not contribute to the ballooning of this thread!
posted by mazola at 8:26 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

EPIC right-wing butthurt. Listen and laugh. SLYT 24 min Audio, NSFW (swear words)

The video was taken down. Fortunately, someone made a mirror of the audio.
posted by amuseDetachment at 8:34 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow, the latest electoral-vote.com map is quite something isn't it. I've been staring at Prof VoteMaster's site on and off for about 8-9 years now (for whatever time Dr Tanenbaum has been doing this, essentially), and I remember a time when New Mexico was red (in fact, I think it went a darker shade of red briefly in the campaign season at some point) Now it's dark-blue, kind of like CA and NY have always been (for me).

Everyone talks about swing-states, but for me, the real story seems to be how many states have become dark blue (and dark red, obviously; heck, except for Georgia, I don't see a single light red - weak GOP- state at all!) between 2004 and 2012. Fascinating, absolutely fascinating.
posted by the cydonian at 8:38 PM on November 7, 2012

CIGARETTES; my BEER; and my GOD-DAMN butterscotch schnapps. WAAH WAAH WAAAH.
posted by absqua at 8:40 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I wonder if we can hit 10,000?

Please no. The RAM... She cannot take it!
posted by fishmasta at 8:40 PM on November 7, 2012

http://whitepeoplemourningromney.tumblr.com/ - Does what it says on the tin.
posted by Talez at 8:42 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Why the Out-Party’s “Bench” Always Seems Stronger Than It Is

Equally important is the relatively low standard in the GOP for what it takes for be considered a potential national candidate these days. A Republican politician can be in office for all of a few months, he can have no accomplishments to his name, and he will nonetheless become the subject of speculation about his prospects as a vice presidential or presidential candidate. This speculation will often begin by the end of his first or second year in office. As we’ve seen in the case of Marco Rubio, it can begin as soon as he is sworn in. Longer-serving politicians that have been unable to get any major legislation passed will be feted as “leaders” in their party because they happen to say the right things. When that is what it takes to become a “leader,” it shouldn’t be a surprise if the party seems to be filled with them.

posted by Bokmakierie at 8:44 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Didn't care too much about Tulsi Gabbard being elected until now, but from an article linked to earlier:

"On my last trip to the mainland, I met a man who told me that his teenage daughter felt embarrassed about her faith, but after meeting me, she's no longer feeling that way," Gabbard said.

Wow.
posted by the cydonian at 8:46 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

http://whitepeoplemourningromney.tumblr.com/ - Does what it says on the tin.

I still think trying to make white people out to be the bad guys is really terrible.

White people voted for Obama, too.
posted by Malice at 8:47 PM on November 7, 2012 [8 favorites]

God I love Rachel Maddow. This is really fantastic - watch all the way through, where she rants, in I think a genuinely heartfelt manner, about how this "reality has a liberal bias" bullshit is bad for not just the Republicans but for the country

She sums up a lot of how I feel about the election after the fact. I mean, the only real disappointment I have is that we still have the death penalty in California. Otherwise, the propositions pretty much all were OK, San Diego didn't elect a sociopath for mayor (seriously - the losing canidate is openly gay and was booed in the local pride parade), and despite having to defend a ton of seats the Dems actually gained ground in the house and senate. And we won't have Joe Lieberman around any more.

Now, the Dems just need to pull almost as hard to the left as they dare on immigration reform so that Republicans are seen as obstructing it when they inevitably try to block it, and thus build on a lasting demographic relationship. Also, it would be nice if some Justices stepped down the next couple years - Breyer and Ginsburg at the very least, just so progressives can retain those seats for some time to come. Kennedy and Scalia stepping down would be great too, but probably too much to hope for.
posted by LionIndex at 8:49 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I still think trying to make white people out to be the bad guys is really terrible.

To be fair they tried to make blackpeoplemourningromney.tumblr.com and it was just a picture of Clarence Thomas.
posted by Talez at 8:49 PM on November 7, 2012 [30 favorites]

And as I pointed out earlier, most people who voted for Obama were white people.
posted by Justinian at 8:50 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

i don't think there is much chance that either Hillary or Christie is the nominee.

Hilary Clinton will not run, because she would 70 years old on Inauguration day. It was very clear that she ran in 2008 because it was her last chance -- and her taking the Secretary of State role was her acknowledging that.

Christie will not run unless the Tea Party leaves the GOP, because he is currently the 2nd most hated man by the GOP. If the Tea Party does leave the GOP, he will not run because he cannot win -- nobody from the GOP will win in that situation. He also has no real pull in the south or the west, which pretty much means he has *no pull whatsoever*. The only reason he was considered was that the GOP was desperate for Anybody But Romney, and Christie wasn't nearly stupid enough to be the guy taking the fall this year. Unfortunately for him, he had a major storm wreck his state, and he dared to act like an adult and work with Obama.

Christie will also not become a Democrat. He might become an independent.
posted by eriko at 8:52 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

despite having to defend a ton of seats the Dems actually gained ground in the house and senate.

This was huge, but this was the Senate Class of 2006. The 2014 election has the class of 2008 -- the Obama Coattails. That'll be just as hard, if not harder. We also have a ten year disadvantage in many states thanks to the GOP gerrymandering.

2016, however, has the GOP wave, and it's a nightmare if Obama has a good second term and there's a decent Democratic candidate.

What the Dems really need to do is OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA. Propose everything, do everything, say everything that pisses the Tea Party off. If they can get the Tea Party and GOP to split, it's game over.
posted by eriko at 8:59 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

What the Dems really need to do is OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA. Propose everything, do everything, say everything that pisses the Tea Party off. If they can get the Tea Party and GOP to split, it's game over.

Is the game really ever over?
posted by nrobertson at 9:00 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

It dawns on me that Springsteen did write one song that sums up last night's Republican experience. I quote:

"Glory Days, they'll pass you by..."
posted by Joey Michaels at 9:01 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

http://whitepeoplemourningromney.tumblr.com/

That tumblr is a bit of downer. Hard to feel Schadenfreude with total strangers who may actually be nice people in a non-political context.

Now, if they had an Ann Romney Mourning Romney tumblr, that'd be something else ....
posted by Bokmakierie at 9:01 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

If they can get the Tea Party and GOP to split, it's game over.

Is it really just the Tea Party? There are three factions in the coalition: social "family values" conservatives, the Tea Party/Libertarian wing, and the big-business-friendly gang. I guess it's hard to imagine being able to drive a wedge between business and the social conservatives without doing something that alienates the Democratic base, though.
posted by Miko at 9:03 PM on November 7, 2012

A Special Wonkette Tribute To Fallen Senator Staple-Crotch, Massachusetts’s Own Scott Brown
posted by homunculus at 9:04 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

The Missouri Secretary of State candidate bankrolled by Rex Sinquefield was narrowly defeated. Another evil mastermind with nothing to show for his half million dollars.
posted by absqua at 9:11 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fact-Checking the 'Slut Vote' with the Christian Men's Defense Network (Gawker link):

[O]n radio ads, on TV, and on the web, the Democrats tried to make this election about a single issue: The right to slut.

Or more precisely, the right to slut without the responsibility of consequences. The famous "gender gap" isn't really a gap based on gender. The right overwhelmingly wins older and married women. The "gender gap" should more accurately be called the slut vote.

In typical Gawker fashion, quotes like these are followed by snark.

I, for one, am not prepared for a post-snark age.
posted by Joey Michaels at 9:12 PM on November 7, 2012

Why the Out-Party’s “Bench” Always Seems Stronger Than It Is

Bokmakiere, as a counter to that piece's main point, you might want to check this thread, in which a former Clinton advisor notes that Republicans are much better poised to win the Senate than Dems in 2014, "when Democrats must defend 20 of the 33 seats up for election." More generally, he notes the Dem bench was "decimated" across the country during the 2010 election, and hasn't recovered. It's an interesting and thoughtful take.

Christie will also not become a Democrat. He might become an independent.

Well, he sure doesn't have a chance in hell of winning a Republican primary ever again.
posted by mediareport at 9:16 PM on November 7, 2012

The Onion's round-up:

From a few days before the election:
"This May Not Be The Ideal Moment Politically, But It’s Time To Talk Reparations," by Barack Obama

Romney Throws Quinceañera For Ann In Last-Minute Attempt To Get Hispanic Vote

Romney Slowly Turning Into $100 Bill

'New York Times' Bully Knocks Stack Of Polls From Nate Silver's Hands

Poll Workers Overhear Biden Repeating Phrase 'Banged Her' While Reading Names On Ballot

Defeated Man Victorious

Following a turbulent first term in office and one of the tightest and most-hard-fought presidential campaigns in recent history, a wholly and utterly defeated man emerged victorious Tuesday, winning reelection by exceeding 270 electoral votes. The shell of a man, who won at least 21 states and lost all hope in the American people, was able to secure victory, narrowly holding off a spirited challenge from Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Shortly after 11:20 p.m. Eastern time, upon prevailing in the key battleground state of Ohio, major media outlets declared the thoroughly beaten man’s victory.

Romney Camp Retooling Campaign After Latest Setback

Ron Paul Elected Ruler Of Planet Inhabited By 1 Billion Tiny Ron Pauls

'I Want To Congratulate The President,' Romney Says In 240,000th And Final Lie Of Campaign

After Obama Victory, Shrieking White-Hot Sphere Of Pure Rage Early GOP Front-Runner For 2016 [video]

Millions Without Power Following Election

Nation's Women Wake Up Relieved To Find Selves Still In 2012

Todd Akin Spends Whole Night Wondering What Went Wrong
posted by Rhaomi at 9:26 PM on November 7, 2012 [13 favorites]

That Todd Akin one is perfect.
posted by DynamiteToast at 9:36 PM on November 7, 2012

Charles Darwin, Georgia Write-In Candidate, Cast Into 'Pit Of Hell' By Paul Broun
posted by homunculus at 9:43 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

i'm more sober now and i still love you all. but i probably love rachel maddow the most.
posted by nadawi at 9:47 PM on November 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Why is Florida so consistently bad at this whole democracy thing?
posted by Flunkie at 9:50 PM on November 7, 2012

Maddow: Conservative Groups Funneled Millions Into 2012 Race And Have Almost Nothing To Show For It
posted by homunculus at 10:15 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Jon Stewart Gleefully Rips Into Fox News Election Coverage: ‘There Was An Avalanche On Bullsh*t Mountain’
posted by homunculus at 10:18 PM on November 7, 2012 [12 favorites]

Political Wire: "It appears Mitt Romney's campaign prepared a transition site in the event that he won."

Not shocked by this. Just a little amused that an entire transition website was all ready to go, while the concession speech was treated as something of a rude surprise.
posted by bakerina at 10:23 PM on November 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

I didn't mention this during the election because there was so much going on, but why did the story about Ryan's fictitious sports records disappear? I recall that he implied that he was a much more active mountaineer than he really was; and that he was also a much better marathon runner. Surely these gratuitous lies (if they were lies) should have been really big news.
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:37 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

homunculus: "Maddow: Conservative Groups Funneled Millions Into 2012 Race And Have Almost Nothing To Show For It"

I enjoyed Rachel's show tonight, and let out a Muntz-esque "HA-HA!" during that segment, but I'm definitely not ready to declare that liberal ideas won out over an onslaught of big money.

The striking thing about this election was how cataclysmically bad the GOP nominees in big races were from top to bottom. I don't know if their bench was just empty after the 2010 wave election (though the presence of clowns like Crazy Joe Walsh in that class (again, HA-HA!) suggests that maybe it was empty back then as well) but it's hard to believe they can't come up with some generic Republicans the next time around that aren't so crazytown bananapants. Marco Rubio seems reasonably sane, and his ethnicity will probably work in the GOP's intended "hey, we gave you a black guy on the Supreme Court, and now here's a Latino nominee for President! Are we cool?" manner. Susana Martinez has ladyparts, and I hear that's an emerging minority that might some day be large enough to pander to. Plenty of cromulent GOP governors out there -- hard to believe any of them is as batshit insane as Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, or Herman Cain.

I guess what I'm saying is the left really REALLY dodged a bullet this year. The big money boys didn't stretch themselves too thin, and if that money got behind some less odious candidates, and was spent more wisely (it's not like the Obama campaign's methodology is a big trade secret or anything) all that the Democrats gained last night could be washed away. Not to mention that a candidate with the natural charisma of Obama doesn't come around every generation.

The silver lining is that, with a couple more SCOTUS nominees (assuming the Democrats hold the line and don't let the GOP mau-mau them into nominating a Bizarro Souter) a reversal of Citizens United is possible. Public financing is probably a pipe dream, but if we can at least get better disclosure rules in place and some sane limits on corporate donations, maybe the playing field won't be so slanted next time.

In short: "Let's not start sucking each other's dicks quite yet."
posted by tonycpsu at 10:43 PM on November 7, 2012 [9 favorites]

I know now why you cry, but it is something I can never do. Animated GIF via A.V. Club:

Mitt Romney says goodbye to a heartbroken Paul Ryan and then destroys himself in a vat of molten steel, thereby ensuring that no Democrats can reverse-engineer him.
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:45 PM on November 7, 2012 [14 favorites]

I recall that he implied that he was a much more active mountaineer than he really was

Well, hey, he got pretty far up that Bullsh*t Mountain over at Fox News that Jon Stewart was talking about, right?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:19 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dean Chambers of UnskewedPolls.com finally comes to terms with his totally unforeseeable failure:

It is important to remember that the notion on which the polls were said to be “skewed” was the calculation or projection that the turnout on election day would be something like 35 percent each of Democrats and Republicans. So when a poll included a sample of 44 percent Democrats and 38 percent Republicans, it was said to be skewed by six percent Democrats and the percentages were re-weighted for something like 35 percent of each and then the calculations lead to the “unskewed” results. What I was wrong on was the concept that the voter turnout would show something close to even in percentages of Democrats and Republicans who actually voted in the election.

Most of the polls I “unskewed” were based on samples that generally included about five or six or seven percent more Democrats than Republicans, and I doubted and questioned the results of those polls, and then “unskewed” them based on my belief that a nearly equal percentage of Democrats and Republicans would turn out in the actual election this year. I was wrong on that assumption and those who predicted a turnout model of five or six percent in favor of Democrats were right. Likewise, the polling numbers they produced going on that assumption turned out to be right and my “unskewed” numbers were off the mark.

"What do you know, I guess my patented method of pulling turnout models out of my ass turned out to be incorrect."
posted by Rhaomi at 11:21 PM on November 7, 2012 [31 favorites]

Lessons learned count: 0

Mods please update this comment as the years progress.
posted by fleacircus at 11:32 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow, inadvertently ventured into the part of this thread where it's announced Obama won Ohio and everyone goes crazy. What sheer full throttle happy lunacy.
posted by Skygazer at 11:42 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Republican Party Needs to Ditch Fox News If It Wants to Win

Fox discovers constant lying isn’t consistently effective electoral strategy: After the humiliation of election night, Roger Ailes may finally realize that it's bad for business -- and the GOP
posted by homunculus at 12:45 AM on November 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

Joe in Australia, I live in Paul Ryan's district, and the "Lyin' Ryan" meme was already established for his substantive policy flubs, like the shell-game "Pathway to Prosperity". The sports claims were not substantive so became old news quickly, but figured into much of the media coverage of Ryan as a serial fibber. There was a lot of discussion about his convention speech claim that the Janesville GM plant had not actually closed in 2008 (because a small subcontract production line remained open), given that many of Ryan's own constituents knew very well that they had lost their jobs in December. And so forth. I think it may have been a key reason the Romney campaign seemed to de-emphasize Ryan on the ticket except to predisposed audiences. As far as I'm concerned the stories had enough coverage to have an effect on the narrow band of people to whom they would matter. Again, the sports records fibs were not in themselves substantive enough, they just pointed to Ryan's propensity to stretch the truth and that underlying (heh) character flaw became a running theme of coverage of his campaign.

I was wrong on that assumption and those who predicted a turnout model of five or six percent in favor of Democrats were right.

Wow, that's a lot more honest an admission than most on the right have made these last 24 hours.

Fox discovers constant lying isn’t consistently effective electoral strategy

Yeesh, indeed. I had to remind someone who passed around a "Democrat Dick Morris says Romney with 325 EVs" link that Morris famously quit the party back in ... 1988. Although I see he has quit it again or something. Some of us remember that when he worked for President Clinton he already had a reputation for advising Republicans, and it was that GOP insight that Clinton was using him for. So if anyone was thinking he was some Dem big-shot they were sorely mistaken -- he's pretty much persona non grata (Latin for "a complete joke") within the party circles I know. It's this solipsism that has infected the GOP badly this cycle, but of course it's a risk we all face in this era of self-selection of media sources.

Why the Out-Party’s “Bench” Always Seems Stronger Than It Is

I think the bench is a real factor, but it may be overstated. There are circumstances where outsider and/or fresh-face status can be an asset and while it helps to have a nominee with experience, in individual elections circumstances may dictate that there is a level of rejection or disgust with the incumbent party, the so-called "change election". That was certainly what 2010 seemed to be across the board -- it didn't matter much what the new candidates brought to the table, it mattered that the voters were firing the incumbents.
posted by dhartung at 1:25 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Holy cats, The Daily Show was on fire in homonculus' link. Awesome.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:35 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

How Conservative Media Lost to the MSM and Failed the Rank and File
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:52 AM on November 8, 2012

Wow, inadvertently ventured into the part of this thread where the right wingers came out.

Unrelatedly....

Puerto Rican statehood would be an interesting FPP, especially since I don't know very much about the topic and I would like to know more.

Would you like to know more, citizen?
posted by Mezentian at 2:33 AM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Forgive me if this has been posted upthread... Man, this thing is big.
1,000 posts since last night.
Anyway:

Quote of the Day: America's Billionaires are Pissed Off at Karl Rove

"The billionaire donors I hear are livid," one Republican operative told The Huffington Post. "There is some holy hell to pay. Karl Rove has a lot of explaining to do ... I don't know how you tell your donors that we spent $390 million and got nothing."....Rove was forced to defend his group's expenditures live on Fox News on Tuesday night, and will hold a briefing with top donors on Thursday, according to Politico.

Me might need a bigger reservoir for these salty, salty tears.
posted by Mezentian at 2:37 AM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

From Mezentian's link above:

In the end, it turned out that one side ran its campaign like a business, while the other side ran its like a local PTA. Ironically, it was the ex-community organizer who did the former and the ex-CEO of Bain Capital who did the latter.

How do you say this in Americanese... "Word." ? :)
posted by the cydonian at 3:00 AM on November 8, 2012 [8 favorites]

I don't think I have seen this anywhere else, and I stole it from Jessamyn's twitter:
NH the first US State to have an all-female delegation to Congress (+gov) after sending 1st woman to congress in '06
posted by Mezentian at 3:10 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Rove was forced to defend his group's expenditures live on Fox News on Tuesday night, and will hold a briefing with top donors on Thursday, according to Politico.

Base Bawls 2: The Search for More Money
posted by Rhaomi at 3:16 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Two states allow dope and we said farewell to two dopes.
posted by telstar at 3:27 AM on November 8, 2012

Obama and his Anger Translator Luther celebrate four more years
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:49 AM on November 8, 2012 [6 favorites]

This was huge, but this was the Senate Class of 2006. The 2014 election has the class of 2008 -- the Obama Coattails. That'll be just as hard, if not harder. We also have a ten year disadvantage in many states thanks to the GOP gerrymandering.

I'll second that. Looking at the field, I don't see any obvious pickup opportunities from the GOP, but the Democrats, counting both freshmen and veterans in redder states, anywhere from four to eight could be vulnerable. It will be a mid-term and the average loss for the party holding the White House has been about -3.3 seats. If there are any Supremes considering retirement the next two years would be the time.

At least there'll be some chance of taking back a few of the 2010 wave seats in 2016 -- notably Mark Kirk (who got in on a plurality; there was a big Green/Libertarian vote) and Pat Toomey.
posted by dhartung at 4:10 AM on November 8, 2012

The latest XKCD sums the election up nicely.
posted by TedW at 4:14 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

To be fair to Karl Rove - I know, I know - the billionaire donors didn't get nothing.

Basically half of the electorate remains to be pissed off and on-message. To some extent or another, they're going to support attempts to frustrate Obama's agenda. It's not as sweet a deal as having the Presidency, but there are worse second places.

Also, every campaign donation is a gamble. If they're angry that their candidate didn't win, then they should stay out of politics.

Further, up until this point, the post-Citizens United landscape had made it appear as if Super PACs would be these unbeatable molders of public opinion. This is obviously not the case. Not to say that Super PACs won't be a threat in the future, but it's good news they're apparently just as likely to be phenomenal wastes of money.

Finally, it's interesting to see these Super PAC donations in the context of that recent Baffler article about con artistry on the right wing. Once again, Karl Rove gets the money and the donors get the snake oil. This might as well have been a massive, but failed, Amway sale to the American public.
posted by Sticherbeast at 4:20 AM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

I addressed the billionaire backer's "predicament" in the Clinton speech convention thread:

Yes, but the people they've hired or given - given! - their money to want more money. It's looking a lot like a classic mercenary trap - you can't buy loyalty or dedication. The PACs and bundlers need to keep it close, to keep money coming in. If they're losing by a little bit, even better, as desperation loosens the purse strings. If they fail in the end, well, no skin off their back... think of Blackwater in Iraq. They're going for as much as they can as fast as they can and let the next election cycle take care of itself - the fools will probably be back with a bigger check and an even less electable candidate regardless of the result.
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:55 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wow, that Dean Chambers piece was really classy. He actually seems to have recognized where he was wrong and where others were right, and he says so. He may even have come to understand that he doesn't really know what he's talking about in the polling space. He even congratulated Silver for his perspicacity, although he did not apologize for his homosexual bating. I'm pretty impressed by a guy I still think is pretty slimy.
posted by OmieWise at 5:19 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

The problem with looking at what Silver was saying in July is that votes are not preordained and what happens in July, August and so forth matters.

Of course. I said "The interesting thing about his model is what it thought of the race in July", not that it can be graded based on what it thought of the race on July (I won't even say "predictions", since saying something is 70% likely is not really a prediction).
posted by dfan at 5:32 AM on November 8, 2012

You know how Disney appropriates myths and legends to make many of their movies? Do you think one day we'll be showing our kids the Disney movie about how Florida ran an election once without fucking it up?
posted by inigo2 at 5:55 AM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

That video, man. It's true - people really have learned from the vitriolic rightie-entertainment ranty media how to do it themselves. They've internalized, adopted it, and are perpetuating it, like the hosts of a virus. And they can't stop. Even when they really need to. And the most puzzlingly, miserably hilarious part of it is that they think of themselves as courageous independent thinkers.

That's what is so insidious. I'm 37, and my grandfather is still alive. We have all but lost our relationship, because the GOP media machine has taken over his life. He was always a little cantankerous, but now no conversation can exist that isn't turned into bleating about the manufactured controversy of the day. It makes me very sad. Especially because this kind of thing is happening all over the country.

People like to play the false-equivalency game where Fox and MSNBC are the same. But they aren't. Fox's MO is "look what might happen if..." where MSNBC's game is much more "here is tape of what some idiot actually said or did".
posted by gjc at 6:01 AM on November 8, 2012 [14 favorites]

Do you think one day we'll be showing our kids the Disney movie about how Florida ran an election once without fucking it up?

No, because in order to make a true story about Florida running an election without fucking it up, it requires that the event actually happened. In the case of Florida, I doubt we will see a non-screwed up election anytime before the next few generations have born and died.

Maybe during Metafilter's 137th year on the internet, there will be a FPP that features the trailer for this movie.
posted by lampshade at 6:07 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Tonight's Daily Show was hilarious.
But I have seen this figure before, recently, and I am confused:
They said the black vote was about 10%, and the hispanic vote 10% (this was via Fox).
Are those totals?
How do they know the ethnicity of voters?
And how do those tallies match with the "race" split of the US electorate?

And does anyone have the split between voters and non-voters?
posted by Mezentian at 6:10 AM on November 8, 2012

"A Sad and Tragic Day for Our Nation"
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:14 AM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Christie: Well, he sure doesn't have a chance in hell of winning a Republican primary ever again.

Sure he does. They tend to have very short memories about people they kinda want to like. If Fox decides to reannoint him, he has a shot.

But as I said above, he would make an awesome democrat. There are a lot of middle of the road policies that he could co-opt from the GOP tent that would fit with the Democrats. But I tend to love me a centrist/realist, so maybe I'm just projecting my own preferences. I'd rather see the Democrats shave support from the middle of the opinion continuum, rather than a GOP that sheds its nutjobs to move a little closer to the middle.

http://whitepeoplemourningromney.tumblr.com/

That tumblr is a bit of downer. Hard to feel Schadenfreude with total strangers who may actually be nice people in a non-political context.

The trick is whether they are nice people IN a political context. Are they disappointed that their guy didn't win? Sure, and completely understandable. But when they make the shenanigans face, or the revulsion face, or the "well, we will just start trying to fuck you next election starting now" face, I lose all sympathy.
posted by gjc at 6:16 AM on November 8, 2012

People like to play the false-equivalency game where Fox and MSNBC are the same. But they aren't. Fox's MO is "look what might happen if..." where MSNBC's game is much more "here is tape of what some idiot actually said or did".

In general, I agree with this….especially the Fox characterization. However, MSNBC has been skirting closer to own version of Fox style speculation in their broadcasts. Over the past year, each of the main hosts on their particular show have taken a bite from the Fox-Speculation-Reporting-Style apple with varying results. While MSNBC does try to at least keep a bit of objectivity, they very often descend into “hysteria reporting” most associated with Chris Matthews, but increasingly exhibited by all of the on air people.

Ultimately, I don’t care. I watched them on Election Night, and then it got turned off again. Besides, with a quick mashup of Jerry Springer Final Thought™ and an episode of Cheaters (with Joey Greco of course), I can generally approximate most of what is being reported as going on in Washington on a daily basis with not a whole lot of embellishment. And I can skip through the commercials.
posted by lampshade at 6:23 AM on November 8, 2012

But I have seen this figure before, recently, and I am confused:
They said the black vote was about 10%, and the hispanic vote 10% (this was via Fox).
Are those totals?
How do they know the ethnicity of voters?
And how do those tallies match with the "race" split of the US electorate?

And does anyone have the split between voters and non-voters?

I think they use representative sampling via exit polls. They sample some polling places, and get an idea of the demographics of the people they talked to. Then they compare it to the demographics of the precinct as a whole. If an area is 50% black and the voters they talked to were 40% black, they get a 10% offset. Then they look at the same information from all the other polling places and start trying to extrapolate trends. If that 10% offset seems fairly consistent across the board, they can safely say that black voters are 10% less likely to vote. Which they can then use against the demographics of the population as a whole to report what the voting trends of the whole population probably are.

Or something like that- the point is that good polling is about getting representative samples and repeatability.
posted by gjc at 6:28 AM on November 8, 2012

People like to play the false-equivalency game where Fox and MSNBC are the same. But they aren't.

The FOX News – MSNBC Taste Test : Conclusions
posted by shothotbot at 6:30 AM on November 8, 2012 [8 favorites]

> "But I tend to love me a centrist/realist, so maybe I'm just projecting my own preferences. I'd rather see the Democrats shave support from the middle of the opinion continuum, rather than a GOP that sheds its nutjobs to move a little closer to the middle."

I am a left-of-lefty-leftist, and I completely agree with this. For as long as Republicans keep wanting to send all the centrists over to the Democrats, I’ll be saying thank you kindly. Any day of the week, I’ll gladly take a big-tent coalition where progressives have a voice over far left purity in a permanent minority that has no influence whatsoever.
posted by kyrademon at 6:41 AM on November 8, 2012 [16 favorites]

The moment of victory in Minnesota (footage of how the Minnesota United for All Families found out that the voters had chosen NOT to define marriage as one man and one woman.) The moment itself comes just after 2:50.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:58 AM on November 8, 2012 [33 favorites]

Any day of the week, I’ll gladly take a big-tent coalition where progressives have a voice over far left purity in a permanent minority that has no influence whatsoever.

Amen to that. I think that's smart and those of us who agree with you should more eagerly embrace it.
posted by Miko at 7:01 AM on November 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

Why is Florida so consistently bad at this whole democracy thing?

They are counting the votes; your question presupposes a falsehood.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 7:21 AM on November 8, 2012

The moment of victory in Minnesota

Man, I just watched that last night and cried. I have some shruggo feelings about Obama but I have no shruggo feelings at all about marriage equality and was very pleased with this election season's outcomes.
posted by jessamyn at 7:23 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Christie can't get through the GOP primaries unless he goes full Romney (and that doesn't seem like his style). If he really wants to be president he'll have to switch parties soon, or do a Ross Perot thing.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:26 AM on November 8, 2012

roomthreeseventeen: "The moment of victory in Minnesota (footage of how the Minnesota United for All Families found out that the voters had chosen NOT to define marriage as one man and one woman.) The moment itself comes just after 2:50."

Should not have watched that at work.

*blink*
*blink*
*blink*
posted by Happy Dave at 7:27 AM on November 8, 2012 [10 favorites]

Christie can't get through the GOP primaries unless he goes full Romney (and that doesn't seem like his style). If he really wants to be president he'll have to switch parties soon, or do a Ross Perot thing.

Or he can take another turn as governor and hope the Great Triangulation of the Republican party is in swing by 2020.
posted by shothotbot at 7:29 AM on November 8, 2012

They are counting the votes; your question presupposes a falsehood.

With voting places opening and closing at Republican whim, I'm not sure it does.
posted by inigo2 at 7:31 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

The big NYT headline says:

How a Race in the Balance Went to Obama

but that's not the real question. The real question is:

How did a Race that Wasn't in the Balance Convey the Impression That It Was?

and the meta question is:

Why does "the race" itself matter so much more than actual public service and legislation?
posted by mrgrimm at 7:39 AM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

By the way, jessamyn won. Congrats!
posted by ersatz at 7:41 AM on November 8, 2012 [16 favorites]

Christie will also not become a Democrat. He might become an independent.

Indeed. When he inevitably runs for the Senate. You watch.
posted by grubi at 7:42 AM on November 8, 2012

The real question is:

How did a Race that Wasn't in the Balance Convey the Impression That It Was?

and the meta question is:

Why does "the race" itself matter so much more than actual public service and legislation?

It's really hard to get eyeballs and attention for 'Incumbent cruises to predictable victory,' and 'Representatives work together to create centrist legislation in angst-free process.'
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:43 AM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

eyeballs and attention

So why can't we, as humans, focus our attention on more critical concerns? Are we simply doomed? /ep
posted by mrgrimm at 7:52 AM on November 8, 2012

The moment of victory in Minnesota

I NEVER log in and favorite things on YT.

Except for now.
posted by edgeways at 8:03 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

For those who asked, proof of the Romney blimp.
posted by boo_radley at 8:10 AM on November 8, 2012

I know everyone is optimistic for a GOP return to the principled conservative days.

That's not gonna happen. They aint learned shit.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:12 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

http://whitepeoplemourningromney.tumblr.com/ was delicious. Thank you for that. Most of them remind me of my rich racist relatives down to every fucking detail.

My mother was a radical who rebelled against her wealthy family, most of whom still live on the west coast, and with whom I only have to deal in a very limited way for the occasional funeral or whatever (and now that both of my grandparents are gone, that really means I don't have to ever see any of them again, which is fine). But this year they have peppered her with viciously racist emails -- all the usual right wing shit, most of it so stupid and ignorant as to be laughable. My poor mom (who is nearly as distant from the family as I am but much more polite) sends me these emails so I can send her back the relevant debunking links to Snopes or whatever. I mean we're talking Fred Rogers was a NAVY Seal and Barack Obama is a Jihadist who eats watermelon sandwiches level stuff. She continues, in her saintly mom way, to believe that if those idiots just knew the actual facts they might come around.

So I send her the links and bite my tongue. The fuckers know better than to include me on any of their lists (and besides I wouldn't know since they are to a one listed in my SPAM filters) but when Pres. Obama won on tuesday night I was seriously tempted to compose a letter to the lot of them formally resigning from the clan (a family name you might know well if you live in the Midwest, whence springs their fortune, associated with a popular consumer product). Just one fuck off email. I didn't do it because I didn't want to cause problems for my mom, as delicious as it would have been to compose that letter.

These are people who live in gated community oceanfront homes in southern California, for the most part. They drive Lexuses and Lincolns that they replace every year. They wear ridiculously expensive clothes and throw lavish shindigs. They are church-going Protestants, although they evince not one whiff of a spiritual life in their everyday being (my mother rebelled specifically against this hypocrisy, becoming a deeply devout Christian and a hospice nurse who still works full time in her 70s and lives an ascetic life . . . when she lost power last week because of Sandy I teased her by asking her how she would even know since she barely owns anything that requires electricity besides her computer, which she only has because her kids made her).

And they act so fucking entitled to their privilege. They casually disdain the poor, spout racist bullshit, mock education and ambition, and are wedded like a Hapsburg to FOX News. The family fortune came from farming (effectively) and banking (to a lesser extent) and it has enabled most of them to pursue "small" business entrepreneurship in practical fields like computer networking or interior decorating, modestly to very profitable but utterly lacking in any intellectual demands beyond simple business management skills, and very obviously opportunities leveraged by the family's generation's of capital. And yet to hear them talk you'd think they dug ditches for 30 years for minimum wage to get what they have. To hear them complain about the Lazy Mexicans while their Mexican-American staff stand silently waiting to clear the fucking table or park their cars (admittedly most of my experience comes from lavish post-funeral receptions) is something else. To have them assume I share these views (the ones who don't know me better, including most of my cousings) enough so that they confide an obviously racist sentiment is hideous. One of them said enough vicious shit about Muslims to me before I could get a word in edgewise that I just said "Allah Akbar" and turned on my heel and walked away at the last gathering too, after which she gave me this strange steely glare for the rest of the event. They really do wear their whiteness as a mantle of superiority to people of color. Even though at least a couple of them are obvious closet cases, they wear their homophobia proudly. Even though most have college educations (albeit mediocre ones) they disdain the idea of scientific authority. They are so comfortable in their ignorance and prejudice that it is simply shocking, and simply inexcusable given their advantages in life. These are not working-class Reagan Democrats. These are rich people.

They look so much like the people in those pictures. They really do. I can see them when I look at those pictures. So for me it was really cathartic to see those plump, over-dressed, stiff-necked, preening, entitled, clueless white people -- the old guys in their glasses and jackets and the young stiffs in formal wear alike -- finally waking up to the fact that the rest of the world doesn't just automatically buy their bullshit anymore.
posted by spitbull at 8:12 AM on November 8, 2012 [64 favorites]

Right now Republicans think that extra spending translates to extra votes, and they think this is a good thing.

Karl Rove's election nightmare: Super PAC's spending was nearly for naught

A study Wednesday by the Sunlight Foundation, which tracks political spending, concluded that Rove's super PAC, American Crossroads, had a success rate of just 1 percent on $103 million in attack ads -- one of the lowest "returns on investment" (ROIs) of any outside spending group in this year's elections.

Ha-ha!
posted by ericb at 8:19 AM on November 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

My mistake, I thought this was the Romney blimp...
posted by JoanArkham at 8:20 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Money can't buy happiness, or an election.
posted by ericb at 8:21 AM on November 8, 2012

Just fyi, there are a lot of people chatting about results stuff in this thread also.
posted by jessamyn at 8:24 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

“Congrats to @KarlRove on blowing $400 million cycle. Every race @CrossroadsGPS ran ads in, the Republicans lost. What a waste of money.” -- Donald Trump

Sweet sweet schadenfreude. Anyone heard anything from Orly Taitz?
posted by spitbull at 8:25 AM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

I think there is still a period where the Republicans might moderate a little bit, there certainly will always be a faction of ultra conservatives. Not sure if it was mentioned but sounds like Boehner will at least face a challenge for leadership (and he should, and probably should lose as the Senate went from a probable pick up to a net loss). I think it is too early to say how the Republicans are going to react party wise. We are still in the emotional aftermath.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: They need to kick out the overt racists, homophobes and the redefine rape branch (a good portion of the tea party in other words). Let them start their own far right wing party. Things can realign, the new republicans will lose a few elections, but more conservative Dems will eventually join them and the Ds and Rs will eventually rebalance.

(I was avoiding watching any Sarah Palin footage, but accidentally saw some today and geeze, I don't know how to kindly say it... erm... she certainly has changed)
posted by edgeways at 8:28 AM on November 8, 2012

A re-tweet from Nick Silver:

Nick Confessore ‏@nickconfessore

12) I think when the dust settles we may find that super PACs were actually very influential in House elections -- huge bang for buck.

posted by shothotbot at 8:30 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

That tumblr is a bit of downer. Hard to feel Schadenfreude with total strangers who may actually be nice people in a non-political context.

I wonder how many of them believe in evolution, or President Obama's being a devout Christian. Or indeed, mathematics beyond their bank accounts. Do they think God aims hurricanes at particular regions of the world to punish people? How many of them share plutocratic Romney's sociopathy? How many of them believe the spittle-flecked hatred that Fox News and their backers have spewed these last few years?

Whether they're "really nice when you get to know them," they have chosen to lie down with ignorance, bigotry, and hatred.

I may not laugh at their tears, but I feel absolutely no sympathy for them.
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:30 AM on November 8, 2012 [6 favorites]

Sweet sweet schadenfreude.

No kidding. I'm going to have to go on a diet after all of this.
posted by syzygy at 8:31 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

BURN, BABY, BURN
posted by grubi at 8:31 AM on November 8, 2012

(I was avoiding watching any Sarah Palin footage, but accidentally saw some today and geeze, I don't know how to kindly say it... erm... she certainly has changed)

I agree. I don't want to say mean things about her or anything, but in 2008 she was a legitimately pretty and well put-together lady. I feel sorry about whatever it is that she's gone through over the past 4 years that's led to such a change.
posted by sparklemotion at 8:33 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

That tumblr is a bit of downer. Hard to feel Schadenfreude with total strangers who may actually be nice people in a non-political context.

This Tumblr is even better....
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:34 AM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

Sweet salty tears of sadness have no calories! Drink up!

Most of my relatives think of themselves as such "nice" people (they are midwestern by origin after all). And they are. To other rich white people. They're even nice to the servants. Ted Bundy was said to be nice too.
posted by spitbull at 8:34 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Most of my relatives think of themselves as such "nice" people (they are midwestern by origin after all). And they are. To other rich white people. They're even nice to the servants. Ted Bundy was said to be nice too.

Well, then it'll be easy to explain Obama's appeal to them. Just tell them "he's one of the good ones."
posted by grubi at 8:37 AM on November 8, 2012

Anyone heard anything from Orly Taitz?

I checked for you.

A MAN WHO USED HUNDREDS OF SSNS OF DEAD PEOPLE TO STEAL $120 MILLION WAS SENTTO PRISON, BUT A MAN USING A STOLEN SSN TO DIVERT BILLIONS, WAS JUST ALLOWED IN THE WHITE HOUSE FOR 4 MORE YEARS
posted by charlie don't surf at 8:42 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

o rly?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:52 AM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

Ok, not clicking on any more of those Tumblr links. Holy crap, that was insanely depressing Pogo_Fuzzybutt.
posted by Glinn at 8:53 AM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

Yah the butthurt tumblr is just bad. I stopped when I saw the tweet about gangraping members of Obama's family and I wish I hadn't made it that far...
posted by DynamiteToast at 8:55 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Thanks Charlie Don't Surf. When I try to go to Orly's site I get a virus warning, so you're a braver man (or whatever) than I am!

I'm thinking about having a look at Conservatives4Palin though!
posted by spitbull at 8:59 AM on November 8, 2012

yeah, ugh, that is just a firehose from the id; further evidence of disaster averted.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:00 AM on November 8, 2012

Taitz's appearance on Colbert always comes to mind, whenever I hear her mentioned.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:02 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

My dad golfs with a guy who is actually a dental patient of Orly Taitz, and both my dad and I agree that we think that this guy is unwise to let her anywhere near his mouth with sharp instruments.
posted by infinitywaltz at 9:05 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Transcript of that great bit from Maddow last night:

Ohio really did go to the president last night.

And he really did win.
And he really was born in Hawaii.
And he really is -legitimately- President of the United States.
Again.

And the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not make-up a fake unemployment rate last month.
And the Congressional Research Service really can find no evidence
That cutting taxes on rich people grows the economy.

And the polls were not skewed to over-sample Democrats.
And Nate Silver was not making up fake projections about the election
To make conservatives feel bad.He was doing math.

And climate change is real.
And rape really does cause pregnancy sometimes.
And evolution is a thing.
And Benghazi was an attack on us.
It was not a scandal by us.

And no one is taking away anyone's guns.
And taxes haven't gone up.
And the deficit is dropping, actually.
And Saddam Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction.

And the moon landing was real.
And FEMA isn't building concentration camps.
And UN election observers aren't taking over Texas.
And moderate reforms of the regulations on the insurance industry
And the financial services industry
Are not the same thing as communism.

Listen.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:06 AM on November 8, 2012 [54 favorites]

My dad golfs with a guy who is actually a dental patient of Orly Taitz

In related news, "Orly Taitz" rhymes with "dental patient."
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 9:08 AM on November 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

It wasn't supposed to rhyme; it was a haiku.
posted by infinitywaltz at 9:09 AM on November 8, 2012

Oh wait, I get it.
posted by infinitywaltz at 9:11 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

I feel cheated. That mourning the Romney loss tumblr is using some pictures from August.

And spitbull, your post is one of the best posts I've ever read.
posted by cashman at 9:14 AM on November 8, 2012

How did a Race that Wasn't in the Balance Convey the Impression That It Was?

I'm really not sure it wasn't. I'd be the first to critique this narrative, except that I think there was legitimate reason to be unsure. Romney got a lot of the vote for a supposedly unviable candidate. There were new funding structures in place. It was hard to get a read on the electorate. There was a ginormous weather event at the last minute. I do feel this was anything but predictable, no matter how much I deplore the media's obvious relish for the horse race.
posted by Miko at 9:14 AM on November 8, 2012

This just in the e-mail box from Libertarian "acquaintance" (p.s. u people & this thread = fantastic. Thanks):

Military Absentee Ballots Delivered One Day Late, Would Have Swung Election For Romney
WASHINGTON, DC – Sources confirmed today that hundreds of thousands of military absentee ballots were delivered hours after the deadline for them to be counted, with preliminary counts showing that they would have overturned the vote in several states and brought a victory for Governor Mitt Romney.

http://www.duffelblog.com/2012/11/military-absentee-ballots-delivered-one-day-late-would-have-swung-election-for-romney/#ixzz2Bb9v7of0
posted by cdalight at 9:14 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

They said the black vote was about 10%, and the hispanic vote 10% (this was via Fox).
Are those totals?
How do they know the ethnicity of voters?

Looks like there is a thread on the exit polls now.

NYTimes has a nice summary of them--very interesting. Just for example, you could make the case that the gay/lesbian vote won the election (non gay/lesbian vote is exactly tied 49/49). Breakdowns by income, age, education, and many others are worth a look.
posted by flug at 9:14 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney got a lot of the vote for a supposedly unviable candidate.

What Romney got was a lot of the anti-Obama vote.

He actually set records for the amount of people polled who did not say they were voting for Romney, but instead reported that they were voting against Obama.
posted by Aquaman at 9:19 AM on November 8, 2012

I can't tell whether that Duffelblog post is satire or not.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 9:20 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Miko: I do feel this was anything but predictable, no matter how much I deplore the media's obvious relish for the horse race.

The problem with this thinking is that Romney NEVER advanced to 270 EVs in any of the reputable poll aggregator or statisticians' models. Not sure whether you followed Nate Silver, Sam Wang, the betting markets or even the right-leaning RealClearPolitics, but this was never a race.

Even in the worst days, just after the first debate, the president's lead dropped, but he never fell behind in the electoral college, and the drop, while precipitous, didn't last more than a couple of days. After that, we saw reversion to the mean, and every reputable predictor predicted the race with astonishing accuracy.

So, really, it wasn't unpredictable, and it wasn't a horse race.
posted by syzygy at 9:21 AM on November 8, 2012 [7 favorites]

Mazie Hirono is the first Buddhist U.S. senator

So, the Buddhist takeover has begun.
posted by homunculus at 9:22 AM on November 8, 2012 [9 favorites]

I think the Duffelblog post is satire based on the comments below it. Over at the Mitt Romney Central chatroom, the people chatting are talking about how they've sent it to their congresspeople (well, they said "congressmen") and railing against how the mainstream media is suppressing this story.

I don't know, they're convinced it's true and I think it's just more Math Republicans Do To Make Themselves Feel Better.
posted by thesocietyfor at 9:24 AM on November 8, 2012

Sources confirmed

Ah! "Sources confirmed," such a good brother to "people are saying" and "experts believe."

Romney NEVER advanced to 270 EVs

I do understand that quite fully, but I think that there was a possibility for it to have happened up until it didn't.
posted by Miko at 9:26 AM on November 8, 2012

I can't tell whether that Duffelblog post is satire or not.

I only just saw the post, and traced it around without clicking on most links, but it seems to have started from this letter on senate.gov (John Cornyn, R-Texas,), but it says nothing about ballots swinging the election.

It sounds like it is more "when you believe in magic, you can never be wrong" on the part of republicans.
posted by cashman at 9:27 AM on November 8, 2012

I think the Duffelblog post is satire based on the comments below it.

It appears to be the military equivalent of The Onion. Look at the links to other stories on the right:

Army Spends $100M On Piece of Equipment That Doesn’t Do Anything

DoD Unveils New Troop Leading Steps For Military, ‘RIMJOBS’ To Streamline Mission Planning

Outrage: Army Announces Officer Promotions To Be Based On Merit, Performance

Tired Of ‘Chair Force’ Nickname, AF Colonel Bans Chairs

posted by zamboni at 9:28 AM on November 8, 2012 [9 favorites]

Miko: I think that there was a possibility for it to have happened up until it didn't.

Anything's possible, and I'm not here to make an ex post facto argument, but the truth of the matter is that this wasn't a race. It could have become one, perhaps, maybe. But it never did.

After debate #1, we saw Romney's ceiling and Obama's floor, and at no time were those numbers in favor of a Romney win.
posted by syzygy at 9:29 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

That Duffelblog post seems like such incredibly obvious satire that I'm surprised people are even wondering. A Rear Admiral ordering his soldiers to vote eight months in advance? But then I guess most people aren't familiar with satirical takes on the US Army mail system. I see 'em every day on my Facebook feed, just because of a few friends of mine.
posted by koeselitz at 9:30 AM on November 8, 2012

That article's definitely satire. It's hardly possible to read it otherwise. it's in a long and fine traditional genre of servicepeople/vets critiquing military incompetence.

I do love this comment from it:

This is the least believable story the Duffel Blog has ever run. Military mail ever getting delivered? I don't think so.

posted by Miko at 9:31 AM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

So what the dooley is up with Florida? How long do they need to take to figure this out? Is it worth the behind-the-scenes votejiggering just to move Obama from "crazy overwhelming victory" to merely "definitive victory"?
posted by Shepherd at 9:32 AM on November 8, 2012

Tired Of ‘Chair Force’ Nickname, AF Colonel Bans Chairs

So my friend Erin was talking to my friend Jim about Jim's time in the Air Force, and Jim said, "More like the Chair Force," and I said, "It's definitely not the Hair Force!" It's funny because Jim is bald.

Made it to the end of the thread!
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:33 AM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Obama won once. Result: Stunned disbelief by conservatives throughout the country. Four years of birther nonsense. Fox News apoplexy. Billions of dollars poured into the Republican party.

Obama wins twice. Result: The audible sound of minds breaking. People talking about holing up in Texas for the "last stand." Before long I'm sure we'll see conservatives walking in tight circles in the streets murmuring "it can't be it can't be."

Obama wins three times. Result: Well of course it's not possible. But we can perform a thought experiment, if it could happen, like imagining what it'd be like to travel near the speed of light. On hearing the news I think their brains would calculate 1/0 and they'd immediately burst into a cloud of smoke and flag lapel pins.
posted by JHarris at 9:33 AM on November 8, 2012 [9 favorites]

It appears to be the military equivalent of The Onion.

That's exactly what The Duffel Blog is, but like The Onion, its satire can be subtle as well as brute force, and unlike The Onion, a lot of its stories deal with "inside baseball," so if you don't have a military background it can be a bit tough to get some of the humor right away. This one is pretty hilarious, though, and pretty universal.
posted by infinitywaltz at 9:34 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

I appreciated the part in the article where they dropped the ballots overboard. That's about when I realized it was a joke, but it took awhile for this gal who knows nothing about military humor except from seeing every M*A*S*H episode ever, thanks to my parents.
posted by thesocietyfor at 9:35 AM on November 8, 2012

DuffelBlog: Previously
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:37 AM on November 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

So, the Buddhist takeover has begun.
posted by homunculus

Oh no, don't give them any ideas.

That is also a clever joke, or is it?
posted by spitbull at 9:39 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

That is also a clever joke, or is it?

It's a reference to that MoveOn video of a guy interviewing ignoramus Romney supporters in Ohio. Somebody said that, and the interviewer double checked, and they repeated it. Buddhists. Taking over.
posted by Miko at 9:40 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well, the Buddhists did take over the Japanese government, prior to WWII. It didn't work out well for them. Karma is a bitch.
posted by QIbHom at 9:43 AM on November 8, 2012

Somebody said that, and the interviewer double checked, and they repeated it. Buddhists. Taking over.

"They're out there!"

Also, the same video features the surprise Meat Loaf appearance at a Romney rally, which I had heard about but hadn't seen before, and which leads me to wonder just what the hell has happened to Meat Loaf.
posted by infinitywaltz at 9:46 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

zamboni, I wish you'd have made those DuffelBlog links clickable. Now I have to cut-n-paste from cdalight's post just to find out about that piece of equipment. Spoiler: Like the Onion, but not as good as the Onion.
posted by achrise at 9:47 AM on November 8, 2012

Well, the Buddhists did take over the Japanese government, prior to WWII. It didn't work out well for them.

No that is not true at all. The Japanese Emperor is considered head of the State Religion, Shinto. Buddhists were compelled to display a Shinto amulet in their homes, above their altars. Some went to prison on charges of Lese-majesty and died because they refused.
posted by charlie don't surf at 9:49 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Glad it was satire. I bet I hear that from somebody in a month or two though.
posted by cashman at 9:49 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

After all the denials and backtracking on the 47% speech, and particularly the pooh-poohing of the whole incident from the conservative media, explanations about how it was just a gaffe and a mis-statement and all that, it it is both hilarious and ironic to see both Palin and O'Reilly now giving EXACTLY the same explanation that Romney did in the 47% speech.

I mean, it really couldn't be any more exact--even some of O'Reilly's very phrasing. Only difference is, now it is given the reason Romney lost and (per O'Reilly) it's now not 47% but 50% of the population.

As seen starting about 6:45 on the Daily Show tape here.
posted by flug at 9:52 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

From James Fallows:

One Last Immersion in the World of the 'Atlas Shrugged' Guy
posted by charlie don't surf at 9:52 AM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Others have linked to this Rachel Maddow clip from last night, but here's the transcript if, like me, you often don't click links. The happy buzz of Tuesday night has already worn off for me, but hearing this put it back in a bit of perspective.

That happened! That really happened. We are not going to have a
Supreme Court that will overturn Roe versus Wade. There will be no more Antonin Scalias and Samuel Alitos added to this court.
We`re not going to repeal health reform. Nobody is going to kill
Medicare and make old people in this generation or any other generation fight it out on the open market to try to get themselves health insurance.

We are not going to do that.

We are not going to give a 20 percent tax cut to millionaires and billionaires and expect programs like food stamps and kid`s insurance to cover the cost of that tax cut.

We're not make you clear it with your boss if you want to get birth control under the insurance plan that you're on.

We are not going to redefine rape.

We are not going to amend the United States Constitution to stop gay people from getting married.

We are not going to double Guantanamo.

We are not eliminating the Department of Energy or the Department of Education or housing at the federal level.

We are not going to spend $2 trillion on the military that the military does not want. We are not scaling back on student loans, because the country's new plan is that you should borrow money from your parents.

We are not vetoing the DREAM Act. We are not self-deporting. We are
not letting Detroit go bankrupt.

We are not starting a trade war with China on Inauguration Day in January.

We are not going to have, as a president, a man who once led a mob of friends to run down a scared, gay kid, to hold him down and forcibly cut his hair off with a pair of scissors while that kid cried and screamed for help and there was no apology, not ever.

We are not going to have a Secretary of State John Bolton. We are not bringing Dick Cheney back. We are not going to have a foreign policy shop stocked with architects of the Iraq war. We are not going to do it.

We had the chance to do that if we wanted to do that, as a country.

And we said no, last night, loudly.

Now personally, I don't think that Romney would have done everything in this list that he said he would. But given that Bush governed completely to the right of everything he promised, there's no reason to think Romney wouldn't have been WORSE than he said he'd be. The relief I feel is palatable.

Also, I could probably get married in 20% of the states, with more to come eventually. So there's that. This is, of course, just the beginning of the work that needs to be done. But it will be a hell of a lot easier with the victories yesterday.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:52 AM on November 8, 2012 [17 favorites]

No that is not true at all. The Japanese Emperor is considered head of the State Religion, Shinto.

Further complicating things is that "State Shinto" wasn't an official religion (nor was Shinto a unified religion in really much of any sense) until the tail end of the 19th century, and despite their still being a "State Shinto" that conducts official ceremonies and stuff, Shinto is by no means monolithic, and there are plenty of versions, shrines, practices, offshoots, etc. that have nothing to do with state ceremonies or with the imperial house.
posted by infinitywaltz at 9:53 AM on November 8, 2012

No that is not true at all. The Japanese Emperor is considered head of the State Religion, Shinto. Buddhists were compelled to display a Shinto amulet in their homes, above their altars. Some went to prison on charges of Lese-majesty and died because they refused.

As a quick aside, many Japanese militarists were militant Buddhists.
posted by QIbHom at 9:59 AM on November 8, 2012

Shinto, if I understand it correctly, is actually not quite a religion and super-interesting.
posted by shothotbot at 10:01 AM on November 8, 2012

Marriage equality in Maine. (The guy weeping at about :35 in kills me.)
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:03 AM on November 8, 2012 [10 favorites]

I lived in Chicago for a few years, I'm Chinese Texan, I've heard her name for years, and I just now realized that Tammy Duckworth is Asian-American. *shamefaced*
posted by kmz at 10:03 AM on November 8, 2012

A plea for post-election civility from a thoughtful conservative

You pulled one over on me, Greg Nog
posted by Danf at 10:11 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Gawker picks out some of the best Drunk Nate Silver tweets

Drunk Nate Silver stumbles through traffic on the Jersey Turnpike, screaming out what time each driver will get home.
posted by shothotbot at 10:25 AM on November 8, 2012 [19 favorites]

Thanks guys. I didn't even click on that Duffle Blog link because I don't make a habit of clicking through anything this person sends me (attempt to maintain sanity.) After getting your heads-up re the reality, went & read - then sent the sendee a "you do realize this is satire?" response (this is an attorney by the way :)
posted by cdalight at 10:29 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

thanks cashman, assuming you meant my family exposé. I guess that was the letter I wanted to write to them.

They're my family -- one side of the very idiosyncratic mix that made me who I am -- but I am so alienated from them I feel no loyalty to them whatsoever. And sometimes when we have these arguments about whether to be magnanimous or vindictive in victory (after years of experiencing only vindictiveness from the right in loss after loss) I try to take the high road. I don't believe that merely being Republican means you have surrendered your soul to the dark side, and I do believe that many people who believe in parts of the right wing ideological mix are suckered into supporting other parts that ought to be reprehensible to them (like, for example, how can you be pro-life and pro-death penalty, right?) by charlatans, con artists, demagogues, and hucksters who take advantage of ignorance and the propaganda resources they command to keep people in a state of rage and fear I wouldn't want to emulate.

But when people who have everything talk that shit I can't find the sympathy. Maybe the order should be reversed, and my politics are my expression of rebellion, certainly I am my mother's son and inherited her revulsion at her milieu of origin. In many ways it shaped my career and my life.

Maybe it just takes a few days to chill out. I was radicalized by my mother and my memory of politics stretches back to McGovern. I have never witnessed magnanimity in victory from the right in all that time.

When Barack Obama made his offhand remark about voting as "the best revenge," I knew just what he meant. He meant this. At the time I thought he was specifically referring to avenging the voter suppression efforts which were the ugliest part of this year's election. But now I think he meant revenge for all of it, stretching back to Nixon and Goldwater and the Southern Strategy that continues to be the illegitimate basis -- and purely divisive one at that -- of the GOP's remaining hold on political power in the the US.

And I want my schadenfreude. I want my few days of making them feel the weight and consequences of the way they have conducted themselves. I want revenge. And seeing them have a major sad (or seeing their heads asplode) is that. Laughing at it is that. Sorry.

It may make me a bad person, and it is no doubt politically stupid. but it feels so damn good. They are bullies -- too many of them, anyway -- and bullies need to experience the pain they cause to change.
posted by spitbull at 10:33 AM on November 8, 2012 [20 favorites]

More schadenfreude:

Voter Fraud: it's always by Republicans.
posted by charlie don't surf at 10:37 AM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

I'm Chinese Texan

Somehow, that is just super badass sounding.
posted by spitbull at 10:37 AM on November 8, 2012 [10 favorites]

And I want my schadenfreude. I want my few days of making them feel the weight and consequences of the way they have conducted themselves

I have to agree. I feel the same way. While I am fast approaching the point where I am going to stop with the immediate rebuttal tactic that I use on other sites (not here though), I have consciously chosen to rub it in just a bit to those people who subjected me to their asinine and completely uninformed rants over the past 4 years.

But there is a point of diminishing returns with this behavior not only as a way to make a point and a way to justify it all to even myself. Rather than dwell on what just happened and the delicious schadenfreude, it is time to move and be vigilant to the whatever these conservatives morph into.

Schadenfreude is fine in small doses, but it has a bad habit of turning into hubris and that is never a good thing.
posted by lampshade at 10:45 AM on November 8, 2012 [6 favorites]

Can anybody provide a link of Palin's new face? I will stab out my own eyes if I have to resort to a Google search.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 11:03 AM on November 8, 2012

Huge Donations did not pay off
posted by never used baby shoes at 11:09 AM on November 8, 2012

Here's one take on Palin's new face. With a visual.
posted by kinnakeet at 11:09 AM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Random things:

Political Kombat's Final Bout: Obama v. Romney (we know there's only one canon ending).

Stacey Dash's post-election post: I Reject Your Paradigm

"I cast a vote for non-partisanship. A bunch of you may immediately point out that it isn’t Obama’s fault that more bipartisanship hasn’t occurred. It’s an obstructionist GOP that should be held to blame. Right? Well that just doesn’t cut it for me. If the captain of my ship can’t get his crew to work together maybe it’s time for a new captain. It’s that simple for me. And I’m not a politician. I’m a Mother, an actress, entrepreneur, designer, producer, writer and soon to be director but I’m not a spin doctor or an economist and I’m certainly not a House Nigger."

NYT on the financial side of the election: Little to Show for Cash Flood by Big Donors
posted by FJT at 11:12 AM on November 8, 2012

Sticherbeast: "Further, up until this point, the post-Citizens United landscape had made it appear as if Super PACs would be these unbeatable molders of public opinion. This is obviously not the case. Not to say that Super PACs won't be a threat in the future, but it's good news they're apparently just as likely to be phenomenal wastes of money. "

If the right-wing operatives stop fleecing their donors, they could become problematic nationally, and they already have plenty of resources to dump into state and local races and have been doing so. These are races that until recently getting $5000 or $10000 was considered great fundraising.
posted by wierdo at 11:22 AM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

I haven't heard -- did any MeFites clean up on InTrade?

Yeah, relatively, but boy do I wish I had had more cash available. It was crazy how much money someone was throwing at Romney shares to keep them propped up at 30% even way late in the game. Florida shares turned out to be a great value too, though I was burned by my optimism in North Carolina. Just spending time on the boards there, and watching people who were long Romney talk and talk about skewed polls and turnout models and how they were smarter than every poll in the country, it really made me want to dump my life savings in, if I could get on the other side of their misinformed bets.
posted by bepe at 11:23 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Stacey Dash's post-election post: I Reject Your Paradigm

Uh...OK. Thanks, Stacey, I guess?
posted by infinitywaltz at 11:28 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Libertarian Party buoyant; Greens hopeful
posted by homunculus at 11:29 AM on November 8, 2012

"Here's one take on Palin's new face. With a visual."

I really wish we wouldn't always do this with female political figures
posted by Blasdelb at 11:38 AM on November 8, 2012 [26 favorites]

Alright, okay, OKAY. See, the thing is, and this is me talking here, and you don't know me, so never mind... see, the thing is... okay.

Stacey Dash is nuts.
posted by grubi at 11:44 AM on November 8, 2012

I really wish we wouldn't always do this with female political figures

To be fair, Dick Cheney was looking pretty haggard a while back as well (and I commented on it at the time, though not on MeFi), and there have been multiple comments about how good Bill Clinton is looking these days.

These aren't petty comments about her weight or her eyeliner or length of her skirt or whatnot, she looks sick (like Dick Cheney is, and Bill Clinton was, before the vegetables).
posted by sparklemotion at 11:45 AM on November 8, 2012

I agree with you, Blasdelb, but the GOP machine is what made her into a plastic airbrushed Barbie Doll, a pert perfect pretty package to market to those who are comfortable basing their decisions on superficial criteria. It worked, for too many for too long. For that reason alone I find this interesting, though I think she just plain doesn't look healthy.
posted by kinnakeet at 11:46 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

If mocking bad plastic surgery is wrong, I don't want to be right.
posted by entropicamericana at 11:46 AM on November 8, 2012 [8 favorites]

Let's give it up for this guy.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:48 AM on November 8, 2012 [6 favorites]

These aren't petty comments about her weight or her eyeliner or length of her skirt or whatnot, she looks sick (like Dick Cheney is, and Bill Clinton was, before the vegetables).

From kinnakeet's link: "Did you catch Sarah Palin on TV tonight talking about politics, something she knows little to nothing about? Did you see her face and hair? What in the hell…

What is going on here? Is she on a bender? Like, a long one? And the hair? Did she literally stick her finger in a light socket? Is she wearing a thrift store wig? Who did she snatch that from?

This is what happens when you sh*t on the gays, Sarah. Who do you think does your hair and makeup?

Sashay away gurl."
I understand that you may not have intended to be petty, but that sure as hell was.
posted by zarq at 11:54 AM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

I really wish we wouldn't always do this with female(s) ~~political figures~~.
posted by FJT at 11:55 AM on November 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

Just responding to Computech's request if you go upthread a bit. I agree it's petty stuff. On the other hand, it's awfully hard for me to get too worked up about something bashing Ms. Palin.
posted by kinnakeet at 11:58 AM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

you guys also get the secret obama email where we're gonna repeal 22nd amendment to re-elect barack in 2016? just keep it on the down-low, k
posted by grubi at 12:00 PM on November 8, 2012 [6 favorites]

There is more than enough odious material in Palin's political views and verbal diarrhea to point and laugh at, though, isn't there?
posted by tonycpsu at 12:00 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Stacey Dash's post-election post: I Reject Your Paradigm

You could say she was...

*puts on sunglasses*

Clueless.

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
posted by Talez at 12:02 PM on November 8, 2012 [11 favorites]

I try to take the high road. I don't believe that merely being Republican means you have surrendered your soul to the dark side, and I do believe that many people who believe in parts of the right wing ideological mix are suckered into supporting other parts that ought to be reprehensible to them (like, for example, how can you be pro-life and pro-death penalty, right?) by charlatans, con artists, demagogues, and hucksters who take advantage of ignorance and the propaganda resources they command to keep people in a state of rage and fear I wouldn't want to emulate.

I have a good friend who's quite intelligent. We've had numerous really interesting and engaging conversations about philosophy and comparative religion... his lifelong quest for enlightenment is admirable and enviable. He's a genuinely nice and more or less gentle person, good sense of humor, warm and caring when it comes to people within his sphere and community... yet he's got this batshit crazy right wing Mr. Hyde thing going on. He mostly keeps a lid on it in the real world, but I had to unsubscribe from his Facebook activity almost immediately after we connected there.

We don't usually talk politics, but a couple of weeks ago he made a comment that he'd come to the conclusion that it didn't really matter much who won this election. It was a calm, sort of resigned comment that surprised me but seemed to speak of a little bit of intellectual maturity and growth along those lines.

Well, he apparently worked himself back into a lather after watching Fox News in the days leading up to the election. Tuesday night I couldn't help myself, and took a peek at his Facebook feed. Upside down American flags, Ranting and raving about Obama voters deserving everything they're about to get and this once mighty Republic has fallen and let's get a list of all the traitors who voted for Obama (with the implication that this list will be used to round them up and put them against the wall) and people worship Obama as their messiah and Bolshevik socialists and and and WHARRGARBL. It's so completely infantile and cartoonish that I can shrug most of it off with an eyeroll, but it's also deeply troubling to me that this man who is capable of reason, insight and compromise in so many other domains has had this frothing jingoistic mindset so deeply implanted in him that he says these hateful, misinformed things with such apparent conviction. He himself has told me that he has had to overcome a number of prejudices passed onto him from his father, and I suspect this weird conflation of hawkish patriotism, uberconservatism, subconscious racism and mysogyny is one that he's not even aware of.
posted by usonian at 12:02 PM on November 8, 2012 [15 favorites]

On the other hand, it's awfully hard for me to get too worked up about something bashing Ms. Palin.

I'd object to it if it were about Clinton or Nancy Pelosi; seems fair to object to it about Palin too. It just doesn't have anything to do with her general incompetence. The discussion of how her image was fluffed for GOP appeal notwithstanding.
posted by Miko at 12:03 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

If we repealed the 22nd amendment, would Bill Clinton beat out Obama for the nomination?
posted by DynamiteToast at 12:05 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

If we repealed the 22nd amendment, would Bill Clinton beat out Obama for the nomination?

Are we assuming there's a country left to govern after this happens?
posted by Talez at 12:09 PM on November 8, 2012

Well, yeah -- those UN troops that Obama is shipping in are gonna keep the white man down.
posted by inigo2 at 12:10 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

CHAOS WILL REIGN AND OBAMA BLOODGOD WILL CONSUME YOU ALL IN FIRE.

If we're lucky.
posted by grubi at 12:12 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

"I agree with you, Blasdelb, but the GOP machine is what made her into a plastic airbrushed Barbie Doll, a pert perfect pretty package to market to those who are comfortable basing their decisions on superficial criteria. It worked, for too many for too long. For that reason alone I find this interesting, though I think she just plain doesn't look healthy."

I'm not really seeing the difference between this perspective and a hypothetical GOP one rationalizing bullshit about Clinton's appearance by saying that the liberal media tries to make her into some kind of hard manhating battleaxe. It is still buying into the idea that it is ok to judge people by their gender presentation, which women are uniquely vulnerable to having no equivilent to the default options available to straight cis men. There are many things with what Sarah Palin tries to do, her presentation of gender is absolutely not one of them.
posted by Blasdelb at 12:14 PM on November 8, 2012 [6 favorites]

Stacey Dash's post-election post: I Reject Your Paradigm

"I cast a vote for non-partisanship. A bunch of you may immediately point out that it isn’t Obama’s fault that more bipartisanship hasn’t occurred. It’s an obstructionist GOP that should be held to blame. Right? Well that just doesn’t cut it for me. If the captain of my ship can’t get his crew to work together maybe it’s time for a new captain.

I feel the same way about God. If he couldn't even keep one of his own angels in line and keep him from rebelling, well, that just doesn't cut it for me. And I'm not even a Christian.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:15 PM on November 8, 2012 [9 favorites]

Also, Karl Rove's new position is that Obama suppressed the vote by running negative ads about Romney.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:20 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ha! This comment from the above article:

Karl, take some time off, you're obviously nearing the breaking point. A hunting trip with your pal Cheney would do you good.
posted by Golden Eternity at 12:29 PM on November 8, 2012 [10 favorites]

If the captain of my ship can’t get his crew to work together maybe it’s time for a new captain.

And if half the crew is hell-bent on steering the ship into a reef, and the other half isn't doing much to stop them, what should the captain do then?
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:31 PM on November 8, 2012

Sign Our Petition To Kick Donald Trump Off The Internet
posted by homunculus at 12:33 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have a good friend who's quite intelligent [...] yet he's got this batshit crazy right wing Mr. Hyde thing going on.

usonian, that's a really scary comment. Reminds me of this from Robert Stacy McCain that got linked to earlier by octothorpe.

What is left to hope for? That the American people will soon regret their choice? That another four years of economic stagnation and escalating debt will cure them of their insane appetite for charismatic liberals? If four years of endless failure have not rid them of this madness, the disease may well be terminal. Perhaps others will still see some cause for hope, and in another few weeks my friends may persuade me to see it, too. But today I will hear no such talk, and I doubt I'll be in a better mood tomorrow. At the moment, I am convinced America is doomed beyond all hope of redemption, and any talk of the future fills me with dread and horror.

Really despairing stuff except for maybe one sentence: "Perhaps others will still see some cause for hope, and in another few weeks my friends may persuade me to see it, too." It tells me that folks like this are a point where they really do need their friends. They're at a point where that great mansion they've long believed in has been revealed as a house of cards, and it's gone, it's doomed and they're blind to anything but the worst possible future.

The temptation is to say, "nyah! nyah! nyah! reap what you've sewn, assholes" (I've certainly felt it) ... but seriously, that's not going to get anything accomplished, except maybe sew a few more seeds for future unresolvable divisions that will ultimately lead to some kind of violence.
posted by philip-random at 12:33 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

We can still make jokes about John Boehner's face though, right?
posted by IanMorr at 12:34 PM on November 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

We can still make jokes about John Boehner's face though, right?

Of course we can. It looks like Kraft dinner.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:35 PM on November 8, 2012 [9 favorites]

Sign Our Petition To Kick Donald Trump Off The Internet

Or, you could just, you know, ignore him.
posted by SomaSoda at 12:37 PM on November 8, 2012

Kraft Mac and Cheese Mr. Michaels. You can call him Kraft Dinner in the Prime Minister thread.
posted by cmfletcher at 12:42 PM on November 8, 2012 [8 favorites]

Kraft Cheese and Macaroni

FTFY, fletch. If you're going to get all american exceptionalist on us, at least do us a favour and get it right.
posted by sparklemotion at 12:44 PM on November 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

In my brain, I confess, I was singing a version of a BNL song that I'd mentally retitled "If I Had A Million Boehners."
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:50 PM on November 8, 2012 [8 favorites]

Joey Michaels: "Also, Karl Rove's new position is that Obama suppressed the vote by running negative ads about Romney."

That's not surprising. Part of it is ongoing spin on Rove's part. But he's also been attacking negative ads in a bunch of campaigns all year, and while he's been focusing on the Democrats (go figure) he's also been less than positive about some of the loonier Republicans. That's not to say he's bipartisan in any way. His Super-Pac, American Crossroads GPS still supported Mandel and Mourdock monetarily right up to the election finish line.

Anyway, Rove was pretty vocal about the harm the birther movement could do to the GOP's chances during the primary and singled out Rick Perry, who was its face for a while. But his reaction to the Tea Party during its ascension to power has also been interesting and kinda weird. It's like he's trying to court them in a big way and also diminish their actual political influence. He reportedly pushed them to support a more moderate candidate over Christine O'Donnell in MD during the last election cycle. All while declaring that Tea Party isn't really all that extremist.

Not an easy sell. I guess you go to the polls with the Tea Party you have, not the one you want or need.
posted by zarq at 12:57 PM on November 8, 2012

"If You Have a Million Boehners" for more than four hours, consult your physician.
posted by Freon at 12:57 PM on November 8, 2012 [6 favorites]

Ah, yes, the nightmare of escalating debt. If only we could return to the balanced budgets that fiscal conservatives like Ronald Reagan and the Bushes presided over.
posted by Zed at 1:01 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Wow, Greg Nog, that's... yeah, that's the most unhinged reaction I've read so far. Wow.
posted by gaspode at 1:03 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

FATALITY
posted by clarknova at 1:04 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sasha Obama reminds her dad to give some love to the supporters behind him.

SASHA OBAMA '32 for PRESIDENT OF EVERYTHING
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:07 PM on November 8, 2012 [34 favorites]

There are some things I think are interesting that haven't gotten a lot of discussion since the election result was announced. President Obama is about to start coming to the American people a lot more, engaging us, and needing us to get involved and help bust up this obstructionism, non compromise and so on.

Obama said on 60 minutes:

Kroft: How are you going to get (Republicans) to change their minds and make this deal?

Obama: I won't get them to-- make them change their minds. The American people will. I mean, ultimately, the American people agree with me that the only way we bring down our deficit is to do it in a balanced way. So, keep in mind, I've agreed with the Republicans. And we've already cut a trillion dollars of spending. And I've told them I'm prepared to do additional spending cuts and do some entitlement reform. But what I've said is, "You can't ask me to make student loans higher for kids who need it or ask seniors to pay more for their Medicare or throw people off of health care and not ask somebody like me or Mr. Romney to do anything, not ask us to do a single dime's worth of sacrifice."

...

Obama: Oh, I think that-- you know-- as president I bear responsibility for everything, to some degree and one of the things I've realized over the last two years is that that only happens if I'm enlisting the American people much more aggressively than I did the first two years.

CNN's post-election night coverage had them saying in talking with the president, he aimed to bring the case to the American people much more than in previous years. I couldn't find the exact segment where I saw it, but I did see this in a different part of their coverage, said by Gloria Borger:

I was told that the president, as early as the end of this week, may give some sort of economic speech or may hold some sort of availability to talk to the American public.

So the political threads may become much more frequent if this happens. Additionally, all those links, all that information, all those people you know who you avoided talking to, soon it will be time to talk to them.

Some people won't change no matter how much you talk to them, but I think the signs are clear that what is about to happen is that the President is going to depend on the American people who reject the obstructionism and lack of compromise to push through what needs to get pushed through, and to pressure politicians who represent us, to not be hardline obstructionists.

I think some part of this involves talking to friends and family members and sharing stories. The president got re-elected thanks to the hard work of people all over the country, and in part on his own.

For those who are in America, we need to spend some time sharing information, methods of contact, location of rallies and initiatives that need support from like-minded individuals, and airtimes of relevant events.

We still need to have the president's back. It's not over.

Really despairing stuff except for maybe one sentence: "Perhaps others will still see some cause for hope, and in another few weeks my friends may persuade me to see it, too." It tells me that folks like this are a point where they really do need their friends.

Check out this video. It's sappy and stupid but the point made around 20 minutes is true. She says you can hit people with data, articles, information and think that will make them change their minds, but it is stories that do it. We need to learn to talk to our friends, family and coworkers and tell stories that bring them into what we are seeing.

I've encountered this idea a bunch of times before, most recently with this video. I think it is time we start preparing for what will be increased responsibility on the part of Americans to not let republicans keep obstructing things and stopping the government from functioning properly. Maddow also talked about this last night in the video many of us watched. Keep an eye out for what happens in the next few months. I suspect the president will indeed reach out and ask us all to be informed, and to act.
posted by cashman at 1:09 PM on November 8, 2012 [14 favorites]

Sasha Obama reminds her dad to give some love to the supporters behind him .

Oh my God, why does that bring tears to my eyes?

(Because she's Sasha Obama, that's why. We were at Grant Park in 2008, and even though that was magic, for some reason, seeing the Obamas walk out on TV on Tuesday felt just as magical, if not more. It may have been because my partner asked "Who is that other woman?" and I had to tell him "That's Malia!" and then we freaked out like she was our relation.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:13 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

(Also, in case you were curious about the same thing I was, yes, Malia has had quite a spike in baby name popularity.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:16 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

sparklemotion: "Kraft Cheese and Macaroni

FTFY, fletch. If you're going to get all american exceptionalist on us, at least do us a favour and get it right."

Nope. "Kraft Macaroni & Cheese" is what it says on the box. I just went in the kitchen and checked. (what can I say, my SO likes that shit) The FDA required labeling in the corner says "MACARONI AND CHEESE DINNER".

</pedant>
posted by wierdo at 1:18 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

To be fair they tried to make blackpeoplemourningromney.tumblr.com and it was just a picture of Clarence Thomas.

Actually, since he's notoriously silent on all things, they must not have been able to find a picture. That didn't stop someone from creating. blackpeoplemourningromney.tumblr.com anyway.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:23 PM on November 8, 2012 [7 favorites]

(Because she's Sasha Obama, that's why. We were at Grant Park in 2008, and even though that was magic, for some reason, seeing the Obamas walk out on TV on Tuesday felt just as magical, if not more. It may have been because my partner asked "Who is that other woman?" and I had to tell him "That's Malia!" and then we freaked out like she was our relation.)

That whole family is TALL. Tall and lanky. Just flaunting their beautiful, healthy frames at us. Jerks.
posted by grubi at 1:24 PM on November 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

That whole family is TALL. Tall and lanky.

They are my people. said the 6'4" 210 lb man
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 1:30 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

I haven't heard -- did any MeFites clean up on InTrade?

Candy from a baby.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:34 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

I hear you wierdo, but part of me will be unsure until Nate Silver weighs in on the matter.
posted by cmfletcher at 1:34 PM on November 8, 2012

Wow, Greg Nog, that's... yeah, that's the most unhinged reaction I've read so far. Wow.

Which gets us to that giddy point where there really is no difference between satire and reality any more. Is there a word for that? The SinguHilarity maybe? Seriously (or maybe not), from Greg Nog's link -

I'm choosing another rather unique path; a personal boycott, if you will. Starting early this morning, I am going to un-friend every single individual on Facebook who voted for Obama, or I even suspect may have Democrat leanings. I will do the same in person. All family and friends, even close family and friends, who I know to be Democrats are hereby dead to me. I vow never to speak to them again for the rest of my life, or have any communications with them. They are in short, the enemies of liberty. They deserve nothing less than hatred and utter contempt.

I strongly urge all other libertarians to do the same. Are you married to someone who voted for Obama, have a girlfriend who voted 'O'. Divorce them. Break up with them without haste. Vow not to attend family functions, Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas for example, if there will be any family members in attendance who are Democrats.

And thus did the great American Experiment finally fail.
posted by philip-random at 1:40 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

Will Malia Obama will be a High School senior and just starting her college search process during he President's final year in office?

Dude, and he thought campaigning was hard.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:42 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

From Greg Nog's link:

When I'm at the Wal-mart or grocery story I typically pay with my debit card. On the pad it comes up, "EBT, Debit, Credit, Cash." I make it a point to say loudly to the check-out clerk, "EBT, what is that for?" She inevitably says, "it's government assistance." I respond, "Oh, you mean welfare? Great. I work for a living. I'm paying for my food with my own hard-earned dollars. And other people get their food for free." And I look around with disgust, making sure others in line have heard me.

Right. What's the over-under for whether it takes a week for this guy to get into an entry in Not Always Right?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:43 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

They deserve nothing less than hatred and utter contempt.

Bitter dregs, baby. Bitter dregs.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:44 PM on November 8, 2012

Driving back from Jackson to NOLA today, and the right wing radio meltdown continues apace. I found el Rushbo's show just in time to hear him take a truly remarkable call from one of his own hard-liners (paraphrasing a bit from memory here):

Rush, I have decided I will never again pull the lever for one of these moderate Republican candidates. The Republican establishment can either start sending us candidates who reflect our conservative values or we will stay home.
...
If the Republicans want to be sure I will never vote for one of their candidates, all they have to do is say "I look forward to reaching across the aisle."
...
If the country is going over the cliff at 100 MPH with Obama or 70 MPH with Romney, I don't see the difference. All I can do is hope that the Republican establishment cares enough about my vote to field candidates who reflect my values.

This left Rush as flustered as Dr. Frankenstein realizing that his creation was no longer willing to listen to him. The right has demonized the left so thoroughly that the slightest (and most likely disingenuous) hint at conciliation is now seen as a fatal betrayal.

In the next half hour Rush went on a truly epic rant over the establishment's actual plan, which is to try and attract the women, Hispanic, and black voters who rejected them.

To get Hispanic voters -- it's not immigration policy, folks. These voters want to stay at home and get welfare. Do we tell them we're embracing the welfare state to get their votes?
...
Do we tell women that we'll give out free birth control pills and abortions to get their vote?

What made listening to this bearable -- even a bit giddy-making -- is that it was tinged with more than a slight air of obvious desperation. The Republicans have lost possibly several million voters who, now that they have cut the cord and tasted the sweet joy of voting for someone who can't win but at least doesn't make them feel dirty, will now happily enjoy their guilt-free martyrdom while the Republicans sail on without them. Left unsaid by Rush, though he obviously understands the problem, is that if the Republicans do what they need to bring back these voters, they will never win another national election and they will steadily lose the ability to lose statewide elections.

Fun facts: Mitt took bedrook red Louisiana and Mississippi with less than 60% each. And our hispanic and black populations are growing too.

I also listened a bit to Huckabee and Hannity, and the chaotic failure to cohere is a delight to behold. There is no agreement as to either why Tuesday happened or what to do about it, and some differences that will very certainly never be sorted. The Republicans are finished as a single party.
posted by localroger at 1:47 PM on November 8, 2012 [11 favorites]

I haven't heard -- did any MeFites clean up on InTrade?

No, but I gained over $100 fake dollars going long Obama on the Foresight Exchange...
posted by mbrubeck at 1:51 PM on November 8, 2012

Which gets us to that giddy point where there really is no difference between satire and reality any more. Is there a word for that?

I call it Onion Unbound.
posted by ersatz at 1:51 PM on November 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

Right. What's the over-under for whether it takes a week for this guy to get into an entry in Not Always Right?

I think that any area where this guy could say shit like that and not receive an epic beatdown would be an area where there are few people who would disagree enough to submit it to that site. I also think he's totally full of shit and only dreams of saying stuff like this to people.
posted by elizardbits at 1:53 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

It may have been because my partner asked "Who is that other woman?" and I had to tell him "That's Malia!"...

The Obama Daughters: How They’ve Grown (VIDEO).
posted by ericb at 2:02 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, I forgot to mention the best part of Rush's epic tour of scary stereotypes -- he started out by playing the clip of Cain saying we need a third party that I heard yesterday.
posted by localroger at 2:09 PM on November 8, 2012

In a final farewell gaffe, the Romney's campaign accidentally published their transition website for President-Elect Romney.
posted by smithsmith at 2:10 PM on November 8, 2012 [8 favorites]

Whoops, appears this was already cited up-page.
posted by smithsmith at 2:12 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's easy to lose yourself in the GRANDEST THREAD OF ALL TIME.
posted by grubi at 2:20 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Romney's campaign has just conceded Florida. So that's a final total of 332 - 206.

Mandate.
posted by Uncle Ira at 2:20 PM on November 8, 2012 [13 favorites]

"I bring quadruple diversity to the Senate," Hirono said at a rally earlier in the campaign. "I'm a woman. I'll be the first Asian woman ever to be elected to the U.S. Senate. I am an immigrant. I am a Buddhist. When I said this at one of my gatherings, they said, 'Yes, but are you gay?' and I said, 'Nobody's perfect.'"

terrible terrible interface on this website. you were warned.
posted by futz at 2:21 PM on November 8, 2012 [16 favorites]

I do like, smithsmith, the point that the Sydney Morning Herald seemed to be making by including the line "Romney had been criticised for his gaffe-filled campaign, including:" and listing a list of the other more notorious gaffes.

Because it pretty much makes the point that the accidental release of the transitional website should:

the Romney campaign was such a clusterfuck they can't even lose right.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:25 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Why Sheldon Adelson's Election Donations Were Millions Well Spent

Sheldon Adelson's Israeli Newspaper: USA Chose Socialism
posted by homunculus at 2:33 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

drunk nate silver predicts the day dubstep dies
posted by Golden Eternity at 2:37 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

Nate Silver on Election Results (video, Silver looks like he was dragged out of bed after a wild night... which would be well deserved).

His last liveblog post on election night said "I'm going to go to bed and grab a beer." There's a lot of ways to interpret that.
posted by msalt at 2:47 PM on November 8, 2012

What's the over-under for whether it takes a week for this guy to get into an entry in Not Always Right?

Since there are over 6000 comments here already, this is probably a good place for me to make the pedantic rant I always want to make without it taking up too large a fraction of the thread with noise.

"Over-under" isn't jargon for "odds". It's a specific type of bet in which the bookie gives you a number and you guess whether some upcoming statistic will be over or under it. It's best for the bookie if both sides seem to have an equal probability of being right so the bets on both sides balance out. Examples of things you could set an over-under value for: "the total number of points scored in this upcoming football game", or "Romney's percentage of the popular vote".

So it doesn't really make any sense to say "the over-under for whether it takes a week". For a bet like that, the bookie would post odds instead, like 3-1 (bet one dollar, get three back if you win). So "the odds for whether it takes a week" would make total sense. So would "the over-under for how long it takes".

Summary: "odds" are about the chance a specific yes/no thing will happen; "over-under" is about the median likely result of a measured value.

The more you know!
posted by dfan at 2:50 PM on November 8, 2012 [19 favorites]

God, oh god, I would so like to behind that dude in line when he rants about welfare. I've got a few things to say to him.
posted by maxwelton at 2:51 PM on November 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

From now on, whenever I go into Walmart, I am going to ask what the EBT buttons is for during check out and when they tell me its for government assistance, I'll say "you mean like Welfare? I am so lucky not to need that right now, but am grateful that it exists so that people who aren't as lucky as I am can get the things they need and, as a side benefit, participate in the economy in a way that ensures that companies like Walmart can continue to employ people."

Then I will kiss a Republican on the mouth.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:52 PM on November 8, 2012 [59 favorites]

Dude, and he thought campaigning was hard.

I wonder if it is better or worse that she can essentially go anywhere she wants.
posted by anastasiav at 3:00 PM on November 8, 2012

And if half the crew is hell-bent on steering the ship into a reef, and the other half isn't doing much to stop them, what should the captain do then?

I'm intensely curious to learn about this strategy which could have enabled the Democrats to "stop" the Republicans from steering the ship into a reef.
posted by Aquaman at 3:09 PM on November 8, 2012

Dfan:

"Over-under" isn't jargon for "odds". It's a specific type of bet in which the bookie gives you a number and you guess whether some upcoming statistic will be over or under it.

I know. That's why I specified a specific time, and was taking bets as to how much OVER or UNDER that time it would take for the event to happen.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:10 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

God, oh god, I would so like to behind that dude in line when he rants about welfare. I've got a few things to say to him.

I had a little fantasy where the dude says his thing, turns to sneer triumphantly at the people in line with him...and sees that the guy right behind him, EBT card in hand, is a Silver Star-winning veteran who's lost a couple of limbs. And his (mom, boyfriend, best buddy) is there too, and they clock the a-hole in the chops. (Yes, in my fantasy, the vet is in his full dress uniform for some reason.) Then the jerk goes home and shuts the fuck up for the rest of his life.
posted by rtha at 3:11 PM on November 8, 2012 [17 favorites]

Part of the problem with the fiscal cliff is that Boehner doesn't really have a caucus. He has a significant minority who, like the guy I quoted above who called Rush Limbaugh today, are ready to fold their arms and watch the cliff go by under them on principle. This is what collapsed the last attempted deal and resulted in the current deadline.

Boehner's other problem is that if he simply takes the reps who are loyal to him and the party elders and forms a coalition with the Dems to pass a fix, his own party will vote him out of the Speakership next year.

I guess Kermit was wrong and it really sucks to be orange.
posted by localroger at 3:14 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

My only issue with Boehner possibly being removed as speaker is that he's third in line from the Presidency in the event of a disaster. The only thing I can imagine that would be worse than "President Boehner" would be "President Cantor."
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:25 PM on November 8, 2012

I don't know if this is posted upstream, but, evidently, Romney's "transition website" briefly went live, and someone got screen shots.
posted by HuronBob at 3:26 PM on November 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

The only thing I can imagine that would be worse than "President Boehner" would be "President Cantor."

This is true, but they do go to a lot of effort to make sure POTUS and Veep are rarely together. I'm sure President Biden would act quickly to appoint a new less noxious Veep as, in accord with his own loyalties, President Ford did.
posted by localroger at 3:37 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

In the next half hour Rush went on a truly epic rant over the establishment's actual plan, which is to try and attract the women, Hispanic, and black voters who rejected them.

Hey, Rush Limbaugh: 'Starting an Abortion Industry' Won't Win You Female Voters
posted by homunculus at 3:43 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

I had a little fantasy where the dude says his thing, turns to sneer triumphantly at the people in line with him

I want it to be a single mom working two jobs to put herself through grad school who has just gotten her masters that very day and not only does her baby vomit directly into his open, braying mouth, but she goes on to run for office and ends up being responsible for helping draft legislation to better the public services available to people like herself while he sits alone and unloved in the dark weeping bitter tears of pain and regret.

also later he slips in the shower and gets a cactus in his butt.
posted by elizardbits at 3:44 PM on November 8, 2012 [31 favorites]

ngl the cactus is my favourite part
posted by elizardbits at 3:45 PM on November 8, 2012 [7 favorites]

Oh, another thing that came through especially from the small-station Christian fundie end of the radio spectrum, there seems to be an emerging theme that Obama's re-election is part of America's punishment for turning away from God in the matters of legalizing gay marriage, recreational weed, and banning prayer in schools and courthouses. So this acceptance of political loss is a kind of modern sackloth and ashes to be worn as they watch the flames grow, and instead of being scared into voting the heck out of anything that will fight those flames they are now God's terrifying but necessary purification. And besides anyone properly deserving will probably be Raptured at a properly "Nelson HA-HA" moment.
posted by localroger at 3:46 PM on November 8, 2012

also later he slips in the shower and gets a cactus in his butt.

and because he's such a loathsome individual, he's unemployable, ends up on welfare, gets saved by the social safety net.
posted by philip-random at 3:49 PM on November 8, 2012 [6 favorites]

The SinguHilarity maybe

Nice one.
posted by Miko at 3:50 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sorry if this has already been posted (megathread hard to keep up with! scody scratch head!) but it turns out the "Governor Romney only drafted an acceptance speech" line wasn't just PR bluster after all, but the god's-honest-truth from a bubble-enclosed, Kool-Aid-propelled campaign that never entertained even a passing thought they might possibly be wrong:

[I]t wasn't until the polls closed that concern turned into alarm. They expected North Carolina to be called early. It wasn't. They expected Pennsylvania to be up in the air all night; it went early for the President.

After Ohio went for Mr. Obama, it was over, but senior advisers say no one could process it.

"We went into the evening confident we had a good path to victory," said one senior adviser. "I don't think there was one person who saw this coming."

posted by scody at 3:56 PM on November 8, 2012 [18 favorites]

elizardbits: "ngl the cactus is my favourite part"

non-governmental lolganitzation.
posted by boo_radley at 4:01 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

From scody's link: "There's nothing worse than when you think you're going to win, and you don't," said another adviser. "It was like a sucker punch."

Al Gore says HA-HA at you.
posted by localroger at 4:03 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

> homunculus: Sheldon Adelson's Israeli Newspaper: USA Chose Socialism

Dawns on me what Obama was really meaning when he campaigned on "time to stay at home and work on infrastructure" ... he's not answering his phone:

Israel on the line ... wanting to know about a red line or something;
Syria ... "can you help?";
Iran ... "wanna talk?";
Afghanistan ... "can we reschedule?";
Japan ... "about those Chinese islands ... ";
India ... "it's Pakistan".

"Michelle? Will you get that call? I'm not in ... Huh? Inroads? ... Nah ... build a bridge."
posted by de at 4:05 PM on November 8, 2012

"There's nothing worse than when you think you're going to win, and you don't," said another adviser. "It was like a sucker punch."

I feel like we're on the same planet but in different worlds.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:06 PM on November 8, 2012

It's not just demographics that are killing the Republicans, although that's huge.

They've invested a lot of time and energy into becoming a party of martinets who can't advocate a plan without first fulfilling their need to lecture the rest of us on how totally and dismally incorrect we are about every-fucking-thing-under-the-sun. They've spent the last four years, especially, squawking and yelling - and they haven't stopped to actually listen to the citizenry. There's just no other reason for them being on the wrong side of so many social issues that have huge support. I mean, it's the 21st century and they are working doubletime to literally piss off as many women as possible.

I foresee them stumbling for a good while, yet.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 4:07 PM on November 8, 2012 [12 favorites]

"We went into the evening confident we had a good path to victory," said one senior adviser. "I don't think there was one person who saw this coming."

You know, that's just fucking crazy! Think of it this way: Romney, the man who ran for President based on his bona fides as a great manager and business man, ran a ~$1 billion dollar campaign that not only didn't get done what it was made to do, but it was so flawed as an enterprise that it didn't even have a sense that it might be on the wrong road despite this being the conclusion of every poll aggregator on the web. That's amazing.
posted by OmieWise at 4:08 PM on November 8, 2012 [22 favorites]

I know it's trite at this point, but to quote GOB Bluth: C'MON!
posted by OmieWise at 4:09 PM on November 8, 2012 [9 favorites]

And honestly, how did they not know that 'independents' seem to be just mostly embarrassed republicans these days?
posted by TwoWordReview at 4:11 PM on November 8, 2012 [6 favorites]

"We went into the evening confident we had a good path to victory," said one senior adviser. "I don't think there was one person who saw this coming."

Yeah, I don't think this is true. I was listening to the radio all day from both campaign HQs, and the reporters consistently said there was a tense mood at the Romney camp and a restrained exuberance/confidence at Obama's. They certainly knew it didn't look good. They might not have been happy, but by the time the polls came out on Monday, they had to know only a bizarre miracle would have saved them.

I heard that night that the concession speech was so delayed because they were reviewing the ability to contest. They had teams of lawyers for each of four states ready to file contestations. I thought that was odd, but looked it up, and it turns out the Dems do this too for states that might be fishy. But they would have had to file so many contestations to add up to a victory that it would have looked like what it was, desperation.
posted by Miko at 4:16 PM on November 8, 2012 [7 favorites]

They expected Pennsylvania to be up in the air all night; it went early for the President.

Man, I am pleased as punch to have been a part of this.
posted by jetlagaddict at 4:19 PM on November 8, 2012 [6 favorites]

This just kills me:

"I don't think anyone on our side understood or comprehended how good their turnout was going to be," said Henry Barbour, a Republican committee man from Mississippi. "The Democrats do voter registration like a factory, like a business, and Republicans tend to leave it to the blue hairs."

First, Obama the community organizer runs a tighter billion-dollar ship than Romney the titan businessman and job creator?

And, second, it's just impossible for you to say anything constructive without belittling some group of people, is it?
posted by Benny Andajetz at 4:21 PM on November 8, 2012 [22 favorites]

"Blue hairs!" Yeah, they're going to love that one at the League of Women Voters and the AAUW.

Also, no, they didn't hire blue hairs to do stuff like this or this. But nice try.
posted by Miko at 4:26 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Some more insight from GOP operatives regarding demographics:

"Hispanics continue to grow in importance, and we need to embrace these voters for two reasons: It is simply the right thing to do, and it’s mandatory demographically if we are to avoid more presidential disappointments," said former George W. Bush political director Matt Schlapp. "It’s about simple math and basic moral decency."

I foresee two difficulties.
posted by scody at 4:27 PM on November 8, 2012 [35 favorites]

> "Yeah, I don't think this is true."

I pretty much have zero faith in news stories that rely on unnamed “senior advisors” for their quotes. I don’t know if we’ll ever know which (if any) of the prognosticators of victory on the right were just spinning like dervishes and which (if any) genuinely believed that if they clapped really hard and believed in fairies then the UnskewedPolls.com guy would turn out to be right on the money.

I do still wonder what the hell the Romney campaign was doing dropping money on ad buys in Pennsylvania in the final weeks, though.
posted by kyrademon at 4:29 PM on November 8, 2012

"We went into the evening confident we had a good path to victory," said one senior adviser. "I don't think there was one person who saw this coming."

What Miko said is probably correct, but even so, I gotta say ... well, this is the party that got America into Iraq.
posted by philip-random at 4:33 PM on November 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

Romney will go down in history as the flaky WiFi router candidate -- eventually, after countless reboots, you just have to realize that you're dealing with crap and that you need to throw it out and get a new one.
posted by Rhomboid at 4:36 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Apparently, Karl Rove is making the accusation that Obama won by suppressing the vote. Project much, Karl?
posted by Benny Andajetz at 4:39 PM on November 8, 2012

He doesn't seem very much like a libertarian. Because the ones I know are sort of happy about the results of the election, because of the uptick in actual freedom to smoke pot and marry whom one wishes. That's what real libertarians care about just as much, if not more, than stupid taxes.

At least some libertarians also care about this: Election’s Over, Can We Focus on the Wars Now?
posted by homunculus at 4:40 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

RE: The They Didn't Know It Was Coming Bullshit.

Those who are saying this (fox news and romney campaign insiders) HAVE to say this. They lied to their foxnewsbots. Are they going to say "oh, hey, sorry about everything we ever told you. It was all biased hype"? No. Instead they were blindsided! True believers won't blame fox news. They don't care about Nate Silver's methodical non-partisan dissection of the ever changing data.

The True Believers are still falling for this shit hook, line, and sinker.

Blindsided, my ass.
posted by futz at 4:41 PM on November 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

If the republicans really triangulate it might be time for a cyclical "operative" to start funding an extreme third party.
posted by shothotbot at 4:45 PM on November 8, 2012

It is quite hard to fathom that they would not have hired any political operatives with enough experience interpreting poll results to at least come to the (private and undisclosed) conclusion that they were in real trouble.

If they are actually claiming that, as opposed to authoring a narrative to keep the base in line, then it speaks to incompetence so great that it's nearly incomprehensible. It's not like Nate Silver was an actual wizard or read actual tea leaves -- all he was doing was interpreting the public polling data. I would expect the campaigns had mountains more data than Silver in the form of privately commissioned polls.
posted by Rhomboid at 4:46 PM on November 8, 2012

localroger: "Part of the problem with the fiscal cliff is that Boehner doesn't really have a caucus. He has a significant minority who, like the guy I quoted above who called Rush Limbaugh today, are ready to fold their arms and watch the cliff go by under them on principle. This is what collapsed the last attempted deal and resulted in the current deadline."

As soon as the bomb goes off, they'll come sniveling with "can I please get a tax cut" and "can I please get an aircraft carrier." We get cut, they get stabbed in the face 300 times. I'm not quite sure why Boehner agreed to it unless he knew that it would be impossible to get his party in line without them first being stabbed in the face.

I don't think it'll be enough of a blow to the economy to send it fully into major recession mode, so I'm not terribly worried even if they do refuse to back down.
posted by wierdo at 4:47 PM on November 8, 2012

TRANSCRIPT: Diane Sawyer’s Interview with Speaker of the House John Boehner

My guess is they will delay the fiscal cliff for a few months. Then brinkmanship on both sides with the President demanding tax rate increases and the house refusing them. Ultimately, the President will give in on rate increases in place of other "revenue" increases - maybe he'll implement a deduction cap as proposed by Romney and possibly changes to what can be considered capital gains? Basically, the Romney tax reform plan without across the board rate cuts or increases to military spending. Both sides could possibly claim victory, or at least deny defeat.
posted by Golden Eternity at 4:57 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

The United States Secret Service is investigating a Turlock woman over a post she made, using the N-word, about President Obama on Facebook. (and assassination)

“Another 4 years of this (N-word),” Denise Helms wrote. “Maybe he will get assassinated this term.”

...

The assassination part is kind of harsh,” Helms said. “I’m not saying I’d go do that or anything like that, by any means, but if it was to happen I don’t think I’d care one bit.”

FOX40 asked her to clarify.

“Really? It wouldn’t bug you if someone assassinated the president?” FOX40 asked.

“Well, it’s not something I would dwell on. It’s not something I would be upset about,” Helms responded.

...

I don’t understand what I did wrong. I didn’t say, ‘Hey, someone go do this,’” Helms told FOX40.

Helms also said that, despite using a racial slur, she doesn’t consider herself racist.
posted by futz at 5:14 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

One thing I'm mildly worried about. Is it possible that the Supreme Court would re-hear ACA?
posted by drezdn at 5:14 PM on November 8, 2012

How long was it between election night 2008 and Game Change? I don't think I can wait that long. I want the tell-alls, the behind-the-scenes stories as soon as possible. You *know* they're going to be good. Wholly different from McCain-Palin, too. I'd also love a documentary comparing the two campaigns.
posted by troika at 5:15 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

The United States Secret Service is investigating a Turlock woman over a post she made, using the N-word, about President Obama on Facebook. (and assassination)

At the bottom of the page....

Commenting Disabled
Commenting on this page has been disabled by the blog admin.

heh.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 5:19 PM on November 8, 2012

The Secret Service has gotta be painfully busy this past few weeks. Jeezity fuck.
posted by cmyk at 5:21 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

How the Secret Service Said Goodbye to Mitt Romney

Of all the indignities involved in losing a presidential race, none is more stark than the sudden emptiness of your entourage. The Secret Service detail guarding Governor Romney since Feb 1. stood down quickly. He had ridden in a 15-car motorcade to the Intercontinental Hotel in Boston for his concession speech. He rode in a single-car motorcade back across the Charles River to Belmont. His son, Tagg, did the driving.
...

But the Service leaves quickly. No more motorcades. No more rope lines. No more bubbles. Familiar faces disappear, never to be seen again.

In 2008, agents offered to see John McCain back to his ranch in Sedona, but McCain insisted on saying his good byes in his suite at the Biltmore Hotel. The next morning, McCain was seen driving his own car to get groceries.
posted by futz at 5:22 PM on November 8, 2012 [11 favorites]

Politics at the airport
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:22 PM on November 8, 2012 [8 favorites]

I never understand these security services investigations of people who say offensive and stupid things about assassinations. Does anyone believe that there is any practically useful connection between being a dumbfuck racist loudmouth and actually sponsoring or planning an assassination attempt?
posted by howfar at 5:25 PM on November 8, 2012

Does anyone believe that there is any practically useful connection between being a dumbfuck racist loudmouth and actually sponsoring or planning an assassination attempt?

It would be irresponsible to not at least check.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 5:31 PM on November 8, 2012 [7 favorites]

President Obama thanks his campaign staff.

Seriously, anyone who thinks he's some sort of monster because of some of the uglier decisions a president has to make should watch this. I actually feel bad now that we elected this man to do so much of our dirty work.
posted by billyfleetwood at 5:36 PM on November 8, 2012 [47 favorites]

I'm now wondering what the internal Secret Service jargon is for those kinds of "well, have to at least check on J. Random Idle Assassination Fantasizer" visits. You figure they've long since got it down to a routine science, with abstract codes identifying any given event through crosswalk tables. A B-3 is a "paunchy middle-aged guy getting violently but harmlessly ranty at a sports bar." A Z-97y is "wannabe pundit blogger claims he meant it ironically but knows that we know he didn't but also knows we know he would never escalate beyond statements even given an empty room, no witnesses, a loaded gun, and a rock-solid alibi and is already twisting in shame about knowing we know it," etc.
posted by Drastic at 5:39 PM on November 8, 2012 [7 favorites]

It would be irresponsible to not at least check.

People say this but I don't know if it would, at least in terms of actually preventing assassinations. It would be incredibly bad PR if someone said something like this, wasn't investigated and then attempted an assassination, but that's not the same thing as this being a good use of the resources devoted to protecting the US president.

Is a person who has indicated that they'd like someone to be assassinated measurably more likely to be part of a plot than someone who has indicated that they hate him, his race and his policies? I'd actually be interested to know the answer to that.
posted by howfar at 5:39 PM on November 8, 2012

it speaks to incompetence so great that it's nearly incomprehensible.

I do think that part of Romney's campaign issues can be understood by staffing problems. Just like a lot people with serious ambition decided not to take their chances against Obama in 2012, I also think a lot of really competent GOP operatives didn't want the albatross of a losing Presidential campaign on their resume, and decided to go work on Senate or Gubernatorial elections instead.

Eric Ferhnstrom has been with Romney from his days as governor, and didn't cover himself with glory then either.
posted by ambrosia at 5:39 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

The next morning, McCain was seen driving his own car to get groceries.

That hurt me in the most unexpected way. Maybe because it seems like he moved on so quickly, with a shrug, like he said to himself, "Well, here I am." No, hurt isn't the right now. Moved, I suppose.
posted by gc at 5:42 PM on November 8, 2012 [6 favorites]

Politics at the airport

Wow, that was a disturbing article. "Post-racial society." What a laughable idea.
posted by Golden Eternity at 5:44 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ugh. I think in 2008 I got into a long discussion here about assasssinations, and I found this very useful lengthy analysis of data from most of the 20th century assassinations and plots. Going to have to dig for it.
posted by Miko at 5:46 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

gc: "The next morning, McCain was seen driving his own car to get groceries.

That hurt me in the most unexpected way. Maybe because it seems like he moved on so quickly, with a shrug, like he said to himself, "Well, here I am." No, hurt isn't the right now. Moved, I suppose."

I'm imagining that "groceries" in this context translates as a couple of cartons of ice cream to cry over.
posted by brundlefly at 5:50 PM on November 8, 2012

I like to think McCain is more of an apple pie guy.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:51 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

President Obama thanks his campaign staff.

Check out Axlerod off to the side in some of the shots. His body language says it all. To me it says that this was a man worth fighting for. It seems genuine.
posted by futz at 5:57 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Blindsided, my ass.

Oh, I agree that there's a certain portion of the pundit class that has an actual passing familiarity with reality -- witness Krauthammer's completely unconvincing prediction right before the election that it would be "close," before claiming Romney would win. And of course FOX (and its ilk) is in the business of lying as cynically and as blatantly and as absurdly as they can:

In conservative fantasy-land, Richard Nixon was a champion of ideological conservatism, tax cuts are the only way to raise revenue, adding neoconservatives to a foreign-policy team reassures American voters, Benghazi was a winning campaign issue, Clint Eastwood's convention speech was a brilliant triumph, and Obama's America is a place where black kids can beat up white kids with impunity. Most conservative pundits know better than this nonsense -- not that they speak up against it. They see criticizing their own side as a sign of disloyalty. I see a coalition that has lost all perspective, partly because there's no cost to broadcasting or publishing inane bullshit. In fact, it's often very profitable. A lot of cynical people have gotten rich broadcasting and publishing red meat for movement conservative consumption.

So yes, it's the True Believers who have been blindsided, by ensconcing themselves in the echo chamber. But I don't find it implausible that a significant portion of Romney's campaign, just like a significant portion of the GOP itself, are themselves ensconced in the same echo chamber.

I think the exchange where Megyn Kelly went backstage to ask the FOX number-cruncher dudes about "the math" was incredibly revealing. Those five minutes were like a one-act play entitled "Ladies and Gentlemen, Your 2012 GOP," with the following cast: first, Karl Rove, who could not and would not accept the Ohio call; next, Megyn Kelly, who dutifully pushed back against pesky facts at the behest of her puppet-masters; and finally, the analysts in the back room who were absolutely, totally confident in their numbers (and seemed faintly amused by the whole spectacle) and would not back down, despite all the thundering from King ~~Lear~~ Karl.

So yeah, those data-guys DO exist on the Right, but they're not the ones in charge. They're not driving the decisions or strategy or Grand Narrative. And not only that; when they draw conclusions that contradict the Grand Narrative, the first response of the other players is to disregard or bully them into saying something else.

tl;dr: It's a big echo chamber.
posted by scody at 6:00 PM on November 8, 2012 [19 favorites]

"We went into the evening confident we had a good path to victory," said one senior adviser. "I don't think there was one person who saw this coming."

Yeah, I don't think this is true.

A bit of column A, a bit of column B, I suspect. On the one hand, it definitely comes across as a no-one-could-have-foreseen-the-levees-would-fail ridiculousness.

On the other...

This is my second-favorite* Slacktivist blog entry, one that's stuck with me for two years, particularly this bit:

The point here is that we have a significant segment of the population that is no longer able to answer the question "What do you think/believe/feel/judge?" by saying what it is they really actually think or believe or feel or judge. Their response to any question is to calculate what that question means in terms of the zero-sum game and then to offer the answer they think will be strategically best for scoring points in that game.

This is a fundamentally disingenuous way of talking, voting and living and it's not possible to approach all those things disingenuously without that dishonesty and duplicity coming to shape, stunt and distort one's own thinking.

Constantly arguing in bad faith leads to thinking in bad faith and to living in bad faith, until bad faith is all you've got left. Calculation becomes habit, that habit supplants thought and one winds up in the perverse circumstance of earnestly arguing for the goodness of oil spills.

Oil spills were topical at the time of that writing for obvious reasons, but it's applicable to lots of other things.

*Favorite remains the bit on empathy and epistemic closure.
posted by Drastic at 6:01 PM on November 8, 2012 [10 favorites]

Oh my gosh you guys, that "thanks the campaign staff" video that billyfleetwood posted is just incredible. To see the president tear up like that while thanking his staff is something else. It completely shatters any "grizzled nihilist politician" typecasting.
posted by Rhomboid at 6:09 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

I just envision the Secret Service desperately restraining the entire crowd as they lunge forward to give him a hug.
posted by restless_nomad at 6:12 PM on November 8, 2012 [6 favorites]

President Obama thanks his campaign staff.

The word "inspiring" is thrown around so often that it can be quite surprising to encounter something that genuinely is.
posted by howfar at 6:15 PM on November 8, 2012 [7 favorites]

"We went into the evening confident we had a good path to victory," said one senior adviser. "I don't think there was one person who saw this coming."

I'll be awaiting the Hitler parody version of this. (I haven't found a good one yet, so that's why no link.)
posted by FJT at 6:20 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

Yeah, wow, I join the Hallelujiah Chorus on that speech. Odd almost that he has never affected that intimate a tone in other campaign contexts. It works magnificently for him. Obviously this was an actually intimate event in terms of the depth of mutual feeling in the room. But he summons enough mutuality in his best soaring rhetorical performances with big crowds that I think he could get away with doing this in other contexts. He's strong enough to be soft when he wants to, that's a hell of a quality for a leader.

He's got some serious convincing to do in the coming few months. I think he should add a town hall tour to his schedule for December to explain what's at stake with sequestration looming. And just talk like this, never break into soaring tones.
posted by spitbull at 6:24 PM on November 8, 2012 [8 favorites]

Getting a celebratory hug with the president has got to be a real treat.
posted by Rhomboid at 6:30 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've read up to the point the election was called on Tuesday, but I just wanted to throw this over the wall. It's the cover of the St. Louis weekly rag.
posted by notsnot at 6:32 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

In a final farewell gaffe, the Romney's campaign accidentally published their transition website for President-Elect Romney.

You know, if someone on the staff isn't preparing for both victory and defeat--websites, speeches, the whole shebang--that's a sign of a campaign that is completely incompetent. You know--the speechwriting people, the website people--that's what they do. I mean, even if there is only one percent chance, you make some preparations just in case, for every eventuality.

So having a transition web site all ready to go--just what you'd expect them to do.

But how in the BLAZES is someone incompetent enough to let it go live!? I don't even have words . . .
posted by flug at 6:32 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Two new things I've heard today:

Charlie Cook on CSPAN's Post-Election Analysis panel: People like Akin and Mourdock were saying things that you could never get away with in a normal conversation.

And Richard Wolffe this morning on MSNBC: There just wasn't enough hate to elect Romney.

I don't know if this is posted upstream

All earthly knowledge has been posted here upstream.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:33 PM on November 8, 2012 [9 favorites]

I found the report from back then and my comment about it. We were looking more at motives then, instead of the relationship between threat and action. That study was clearly foundational in that it resulted in the creation of today's approach to assassination threats.

But here's what it says about threat vs. action:

"Many subjects had histories of harassing other persons"

"Most are known to have histories of aggressive, angry behavior, but only have are known to have had histories of violent behavior"

"The assumption of many writers has been that those who make threats, pose threats. While some threateners may pose threats, sometimes those who pose threats do not make threats....fewer than a tenth of the assassins, attackers, and near-lethal approachers communicated a direct threat to the target or a law enforcement agency. No assassin or attacker communicated a direct threat about their target to the target or to a law enforcement agency before their attack or near-lethal approach[sic]. [But] attackers and near-lethal approachers were not completely secretive about their aims and intentions. Almost two thirds of the subjects are known to have made some threat about their targets in the days, weeks, and months before their attack or near-lethal approach. Attackers and would-be attackers usually expressed their intentions, either by letting someone know or by writing letters, notes, or journals that described their thinking and state of mind. Some subjects told family members that they intended to attack the target; others mentioned their aims to co-workers or friends; still others kept detailed journals in which they recorded their hopes and plans."

The US Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center is a group created in response to the findings of the Exceptional Case Study. It provides research and analysis on assessing threats to Secret Service protectees, judges, schools, and others.

It's a weird area of law enforcement/protection because

Traditional law enforcement activities aim at apprehending and prosecuting perpetrators of violence after the commission of their crimes. In most circumstances, the primary responsibility of law enforcement professionals is to determine whether a crime has been committed, conduct an investigation to identify and apprehend the perpetrator, and gather evidence to assist prosecutors in a criminal trial. However, when police officers are presented with information and concern about a possible future violent crime, their responsibilities, authority, and investigative tools and approaches are less clear. “Threat assessment” is the term used to describe the set of investigative and operational techniques that can be used by law enforcement professionals to identify, assess, and manage the risks of targeted violence and its potential perpetrators.

The National Threat Assessment Center has produced Protective Intelligence & Threat Assessment Investigations: A Guide for State and Local Law Enforcement Officials. This document repeats the finding that those who pose a threat often do not make threats. However, the vocabulary "threat" is used here to mean a direct communication of intent to assassinate to the target and/or law enforcement. They go on to say:

These data do not suggest that investigators should ignore threats that are communicated to or about public officials or figures. Many persons may have been prevented or deterred from taking action because of a prompt response to their threatening communications. However, careful attention should also be paid to identifying, investigating, and assessing anyone whose behaviors suggest that he or she might pose threats of violence, even if the individual does not communicate direct threats to a target or to the authorities.

They say also

Assassinations and attacks on public officials and figures are the products of understandable and often discernible processes of thinking and behavior.

and

thinking about assassination is compartmentalized; some potential assassins engage in ongoing internal discussions about attacks while maintaining outward appearances of normality. In every ECSP case, assassination was the result of an understandable and often identifiable process involving the attacker’s pattern of thoughts, decisions, behaviors, and actions that preceded the attack.

and

Who, then, is dangerous to public officials and figures? Generally, a person who thinks that attacking a public official or figure is a desirable, acceptable, or potentially effective way to achieve a goal can be considered a potential assassin. If such a person has or develops the capacity to mount an attack on a public official or figure, the threat increases."

The "acceptable" criterion there is uncomfortable. I don't think the woman in the video meets other categories for threat, but she does have this one qualifier: it wouldn't surprise her, it wouldn't bother her. It is "acceptable."

So the idea of protection is built on the idea that you need to identify potential threats and mitigate them.

Some persons self-identify—they call, write, e-mail, or approach a public official or figure or indicate an unusual or inappropriate interest in a person. These individuals often give their names or provide other information that leads to easy identification.

The threatener—someone who communicates a direct, indirect, or conditional threat—is the classic example of a self-identifier. Such a person may threaten for various reasons: to warn of a possible attack, to ask to be stopped, to demand help or attention, to express frustration or anger, or to communicate distress. Threats should always be investigated; even if a threat is not an early warning of attack, making a threat is usually a violation of law, which is a valid reason for opening an investigation.

There's some interesting reading after that about what you do after you have identified a threat. Basically, you mount an investigation, and you evaluate to see whether any of the other risk factors are present, such as

identification of the subject’s “attack-related” behaviors. Perpetrators of targeted acts of violence engage in discrete behaviors that precede and are linked to their attacks; they consider, plan, and prepare before engaging in violent actions.

and if so, develop a case management plan for that person. If not, you close the investigation but retain the file.

One of the things that leaps out from the documentation is that one of the biggest risk factors for assassination threat is "past stressful events." It seems that a great many people who undertake an assassination project are, in part, reacting to something bad that happened to them in the recent past. I understand that part of the abundance of threats against Obama is pure racism. But what concerns me about those threats is that we're living in a time in which "past stressful events" - a frequent example of which is job loss or financial struggle - are more and more common.

Anyway, all things taken into account, yes, it does seem like they need to go talk to anyone who puts something like that in writing, even if they are a callous and racist simpleton. These documents could use an update, but if twenty years ago someone was writing stuff about assassination in "journals," "notes," and "letters," I suspect that today they may be writing them on Facebook, Twitter, and blogs.
posted by Miko at 6:46 PM on November 8, 2012 [85 favorites]

Miko, that's like a front page post buried in the mega thread. Like a turducken.
posted by shothotbot at 6:51 PM on November 8, 2012 [19 favorites]

Yeah, wow. Sidebar city. Great, great comment.
posted by absalom at 6:54 PM on November 8, 2012

Thanks, you guys. I got interested in the topic. NEver thought about an FPP, not a bad idea.

But how in the BLAZES is someone incompetent enough to let it go live!?

I would guess: not a mistake. Twist of the knife.
posted by Miko at 7:03 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

"Gay or straight" - he wouldn't have said that four years ago.

Actually he did use almost the same phrasing in his 2008 victory speech— I was pretty sure I wasn't misremembering this, but here's a transcript of the speech.

also OMG I made it to the bottom of the thread!
posted by hattifattener at 7:06 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

The two assassins that I have done any amount of reading about, Gavrilo Princip, and Leon Czolgosz (other than say Sarah Vowell's excellent Assassination Vacation), certainly fit a lot of what was described.
posted by edgeways at 7:07 PM on November 8, 2012

Four years ago, we didn't know that "lesbian and gay" tests so much better than "gay" does ;)
posted by klangklangston at 7:08 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

So, it looks like turnout and policy weren't the only thing Romney's campaign team got wrong. The ominously named Project ORCA was being called Romney's secret weapon or the world's largest exit poll. Basically, through an app, it would collect data from Republican poll watchers throughout the country. This data would be fed into campaign HQ, where they would have near real time numbers to keep track of who voted. They would compare this list with registered voters, and use the data to find out where to push those last emails, calls, and other messages to potential voters. There was even a button to report voter fraud.

However on election day, ORCA was a fail whale:

"While I was home, I took to Twitter and the web to try to find some answers. From what I saw, these problems were widespread. People had been kicked from poll watching for having no certificate. Others never received their pdf packets. Some were sent the wrong packets from a different area. Some received their packet, but their usernames and passwords didn't work."*

"According to GOP sources on the ground, Romney camp's "ORCA" turnout app has crashed, so they can't monitor their turnout operation.—"

"Long story short: Don't beta-test an election." *
posted by FJT at 7:11 PM on November 8, 2012 [8 favorites]

“Another 4 years of this (N-word),” Denise Helms wrote. “Maybe he will get assassinated this term.”

Is that a threat according to the standard being used? I suppose my underlying thought process is that it's basically impossible to find out if the correlation between being an assassin and making threats (which there appear to be) is mirrored by a correlation between making threats and being an assassin. You'd need to massively infringe on people's privacy and devote disproportionate resources in order to find this out.

My instinct is that there is likely no correlation between using this kind of semi-threatening language and being an assassin, but I've no real way of finding out, I suspect.
posted by howfar at 7:12 PM on November 8, 2012

So, what is the requirement for poll watching/monitoring in other states?

Because in MN it's pretty limited and fairly strict. Poll watchers can only do so with proper credentials from their party, have to live within the precinct they are monitoring, have to keep out of the way, and can only challenge voters they personally know are ineligible to vote, and even then if the voter is willing to swear an other that they are eligible the voter can vote provisionally. Otherwise the poll watcher has no standing at the poll.

Oh and we don't allow any campaign signage, including tee shirts or buttons, to be visible at the poll.
posted by edgeways at 7:19 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

An interesting point in one of today's Nate Silver posts:

He's projecting Obama will come up 2.5% up in the popular vote.

But for Romney to win, he would have had to win the popular vote by a full 3%.

So Romney was only 2.5% away from winning the popular vote--which, we all know, is meaningless.

But he was a full 5.5% (in popular vote terms) away from actually winning the election and that is a long, long way. That's why a guy like Silver was saying this wasn't really a close one.
posted by flug at 7:25 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

well, luckily there's an entire group of people called the secret service who have the job of figuring out where their efforts should be spent. every idiot who says something racist on twitter doesn't get a visit, so there's some sort of process for weeding through that.

I really don't envy them that job-- I spent a week in 2003 as a GS page/volunteer for a senator/badass sunglass wearer and even then there was a special box for all of the Crazy Pants hate mail for the secret service to go through later. Can't imagine what it's like now with forum boards and Twitter.
posted by jetlagaddict at 7:31 PM on November 8, 2012

well, luckily there's an entire group of people called the secret service who have the job of figuring out where their efforts should be spent.

I'm glad that you have such confidence in them that you appear irritated by even the mildest sceptical curiosity about their methods. As long as you're sure that there's "some sort of process" I guess I better be quiet.
posted by howfar at 7:33 PM on November 8, 2012

[Silver]'s projecting Obama will come up 2.5% up in the popular vote.

But for Romney to win, he would have had to win the popular vote by a full 3%.

So Romney was only 2.5% away from winning the popular vote--which, we all know, is meaningless.

But he was a full 5.5% (in popular vote terms) away from actually winning the election and that is a long, long way. That's why a guy like Silver was saying this wasn't really a close one.

It's not quite that big in reality, but it is pretty stunning. Romney didn't need "a full 3%" lead in the popular vote, he needed around 2.3% (2.5% to get back to a popular vote tie plus 2.3% = 4.8%, which would have given him Colorado, the tipping point state).

Also keep in mind that most votes he picked up would have been votes taken away from Obama, so he "only" to needed increase his own percentage by 2.4% and watch Obama's come down the same amount.

It's still a pretty crazy statistic that shows how well the Obama campaign played the actual game - winning 270 electoral votes - rather than the popular vote game. Another way that chart stood out to me: Romney won one state by under 8%, while Obama won ten. Obama was way more efficient at turning votes into electors.
posted by dfan at 7:40 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

The ominously named Project ORCA was being called Romney's secret weapon

Man, that sounds just like Bush in Iraq. A bunch of big ideas half thought out and implemented by believers, not professionals.
posted by shothotbot at 7:40 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

This was the website it looks like was supposed to be used for Project ORCA. It's down right now.
posted by drezdn at 7:40 PM on November 8, 2012

it's basically impossible to find out if the correlation between being an assassin and making threats (which there appear to be) is mirrored by a correlation between making threats and being an assassin. You'd need to massively infringe on people's privacy and devote disproportionate resources in order to find this out.

What the documents say is that they do devote those resources, and that it's worth it because the consequences are so great, and the targets so known and so few.

My instinct is that there is likely no correlation between using this kind of semi-threatening language and being an assassin, but I've no real way of finding out, I suspect.

Well, there does seem to be a clear correlation in that 2/3 of assassins have put forward some sort of threatening language, and something like under 10%ish have made a clear direct threat.

What that means is that of the very large set of people who use threatening language, some members of that set will also be in the set of assassins. 2/3 of the assassin set are also in the threatening language set.

Given that there may be very few other ways to identify assassins, since direct threats are so rare, few, and so serious and focused that they come late in the game, it does seem to make sense to investigate the threatening-language set and evaluate them for the other factors that may indicate assassination ideation.

And there's probably something to be said for the deterrent effect of investigating the threatening-language set, though I didn't see any data about that. However, even I know not to joke about bombs when I'm standing in the airport, even though I desperately want to and in that setting it seems like the funniest thing ever.
posted by Miko at 7:41 PM on November 8, 2012

Here is a post from Powerline (a conservative web site)

Posted on November 5, 2012 by John Hinderaker in 2012 Presidential Election
Project Orca

The Democrats like to think that their “ground game” is the tie-breaker that will give them the edge in a tight election, but this year there is reason to believe that the Democrats’ efforts will be equaled, if not exceeded, by those of the Romney campaign. The Romney campaign is not only well-funded, but is run by one of the best organizers and managers of his generation, the candidate himself. Whom would you count on to organize anything, Mitt Romney or David Axelrod?

1) hahahahahahahaha

2) Dude, Romney made money through the corpoarte tax deductablity of interest payments and a bunch of income tax quirks / now illegal tricks.

3) see point 1
posted by shothotbot at 7:47 PM on November 8, 2012 [20 favorites]

I don't even know what to make of this.

I know Sean Hannity is a major figure in the conservative movement, but could the ideologues in the party actually follow him on this? Or is it just his comfortable position as a millionaire TV/radio host and his desire to not fade into irrelevance in the field of infotainment that is driving his sudden conversion on the immigration issue?
posted by tonycpsu at 7:49 PM on November 8, 2012

As soon as the bomb goes off, they'll come sniveling with "can I please get a tax cut" and "can I please get an aircraft carrier."

But the thing is, they won't. They are that most dangerous strain of crazy, True Believers who will stand fast even against thier contituents' benefits and their sworn leaders for an ideal. It's not conjecture; this is what tanked the first debt ceiling deal, and even though debt ceiling elevation has been business as usual for 40 years on talk radio the fundies were railing about how so-and-so voted to raise the debt ceiling, as if this is a bad thing. These 40 or 50 reps really believe this shit and they belong more to their ideology than they do to the Republican caucus. It's a problem, and it's a problem more for the orange guy than for anyone else this moment in time.
posted by localroger at 7:53 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Whom would you count on to organize anything, Mitt Romney or David Axelrod?

Axelrod, before the election and after. Mittens couldn't keep from sticking his foot in his mouth so badly he wouldn't talk to the press for 7+ days before the election. Axelrod would eat Romney for lunch and be looking for leftovers in this game
posted by edgeways at 7:54 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Or is he the tip of a concerted marketing push from the GOP? Wouldn't trust Hannity to "evolve" as far as I could spit. There are few as cynical or venal as that slimy Georgian codpiece. He's a trained monkey. He did not decide this on his own. Rupert said move.
posted by spitbull at 7:54 PM on November 8, 2012

Romney supporter a bit disappointed in the results of election night (YouTube mostly audio link)
posted by blueberry at 8:03 PM on November 8, 2012

This ORCA thing is kind of amazing. Reading about it now.

On the one hand, I'm like wow, smart idea. Really smart - coordinate party exit polling with precinct data, target your ground game to get out the last-minute vote. Really smart. This blog says it's an old practice called strike lists that used to be done analog, but obviously would be a lot better ddone digitally.

But it seems like the execution totally failed. And that's what distinguishes it from the OBama team. When I volunteered with them in 2008 (shamefully I did nothing this time) I was consistently awed at how thorough, focused, detail-oriented and good the organization was. The tools were sharp, the data was up to date, the management was observant. They really cared about efficacy and metrics, they weren't just "rah rah."

That's the difference between the Obama team and this: "At 5:00 when the exit polls come out, I doubt we'll pay attention to it, because we will have had much more scientific information just based on the political, uh, operation we have set up...the Obama campaign likes to brag about their ground operation, but it's nothing compared to this." Also, "People think it's an acronym, but it's not. Narwhal is what the President's - what his operation is called - so orca is the only known predator to that."

So...the reason people think it's an acronym is probably that you capitalize all its letters, but we can let that slide.

Then, stuff like this:

On one of the last conference calls (I believe it was on Saturday night), they told us that our packets would be arriving shortly. Now, there seemed to be a fair amount of confusion about what they meant by "packet". Some people on Twitter were wondering if that meant a packet in the mail or a pdf or what. Finally, my packet arrived at 4PM on Monday afternoon as an emailed 60 page pdf. Nothing came in the mail. Because I was out most of the day, I only got around to seeing it at around 10PM Monday night. So, I sat down and cursed as I would have to print out 60+ pages of instructions and voter rolls on my home printer. Naturally, for reasons I can't begin to comprehend, my printer would not print in black and white with an empty magenta cartridge (No HP, I will never buy another one of your products ever again). So, at this point I became panicked. I was expected to be at the polls at 6:45AM and nothing was open. I was thankfully able to find a Kinko's open until 11PM that was able to print it out and bind it for me, but this is not something I should have had to do. They expected 75-80 year old veteran volunteers to print out 60+ pages on their home computers? The night before election day? From what I hear, other people had similar experiences. In fact, many volunteers never received their packets at all.

More hilarity ensues in that link.

It's pretty interesting that to a very large degree, campaigning - and winning - has become a data war, a war of designing platforms and integrating information. May the best wonks win.
posted by Miko at 8:07 PM on November 8, 2012 [7 favorites]

I knw, there is some justice in Romney getting fleeced by consultants. LO-fucking-L, how does it feel? Now you've been laid off too, buddy.
posted by spitbull at 8:09 PM on November 8, 2012 [7 favorites]

What Occupy Did to 2012, What It Will Do to 2013
posted by homunculus at 8:16 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

I know Sean Hannity is a major figure in the conservative movement, but could the ideologues in the party actually follow him on this? Or is it just his comfortable position as a millionaire TV/radio host and his desire to not fade into irrelevance in the field of infotainment that is driving his sudden conversion on the immigration issue?

This is democracy at work. Hopefully they come around on gay rights, and other issues. I heard an interview of a Log Cabin Republican who left the party and voted for Obama because he was so offended. As much as these guys disgust me, the more sane they become the better it is for the country. All it takes is for the economy to crash at the right time, or a last minute campaigning faux pas, and the GOP is back in power.
posted by Golden Eternity at 8:18 PM on November 8, 2012

The Real Problem with the Demented Republican Party
posted by homunculus at 8:18 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

So...I've been reading Tweets about Orca and finding references to Obama as PMOTUS. Any idea what stands for? Not having luck on Google revealng that.

Based on sources...I expect it to be nasty.
posted by Miko at 8:23 PM on November 8, 2012

The only times I've seen it M stood for monkey. Basic racism.
posted by jessamyn at 8:32 PM on November 8, 2012

PMOTUS

From 2009:

"Where was PMOTUS one year ago today?
Easy, he was Candidate Monkey still in those days, and he was in London England's Horse Guard Parade"

So, I guess President Monkey of the United States.

Well...that was worse than I envisioned.
posted by jaduncan at 8:33 PM on November 8, 2012

I genuinely feel slightly dirty now.
posted by jaduncan at 8:35 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

PMOTUS? Prime Minister of the United States? Just a guess, but it's stupid enough to sound like something they'd call him as an insult.
posted by zerbinetta at 8:36 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Simpler than I thought, but yeah, as nasty.
posted by Miko at 8:37 PM on November 8, 2012

Given that there may be very few other ways to identify assassins, since direct threats are so rare, few, and so serious and focused that they come late in the game, it does seem to make sense to investigate the threatening-language set and evaluate them for the other factors that may indicate assassination ideation.

Oh yes, I'm not making a "this policy isn't a good thing" criticism. If one chooses to say threatening things one has to deal with the fact that the threatening statement may be taken seriously.

The question in my mind is really how measurable the effect of the policy is. The effect of having failed to do it in any particular case is, of course, huge. However, given the complexity of human behaviour and the size of the threatening-language set I think there's an interesting question as to whether that set would perform better than control in producing assassins. Would there be a statistically significant difference between members of the threatening-language set selected for investigation and members of the general population? Maybe? What about a control set of people with identifiably radical political views? Maybe not? Going down this line of thought I can see how security services develop methodologies that may seem iniquitous and invasive to the ordinary population, but wholly justifiable to those implementing them. Which isn't an argument against security services, just for robust checks on their power.

What the documents say is that they do devote those resources, and that it's worth it because the consequences are so great, and the targets so known and so few.

Oh, sorry, I was talking specifically about the resources to do research, and that I don't think you'd ever get it past an ethics committee anyway.
posted by howfar at 8:39 PM on November 8, 2012

Mitt Romney's Campaign Cancels Staffers Credit Cards In The Middle Of The Night
posted by homunculus at 8:51 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

I think there's an interesting question as to whether that set would perform better than control in producing assassins. Would there be a statistically significant difference between members of the threatening-language set selected for investigation and members of the general population?

I'm no mathematician but isn't there some conclusion you can reason to from the fact that just 1/3 of the actual assassins and attempted assassins never made any threats, but 2/3 did?

I guess the trick is that people who make 0 threats but go on to become an assassin are still in the set of people who make 0 threats, which has to be insanely huge. Meanwhile people who make 1 or more threats are probably a much smaller proportion of the population. It seems like there's something here to work with, but like I said, I'm no statistician.
posted by Miko at 8:52 PM on November 8, 2012

uff I really need to start letting this election go, I've been parsing local and state maps and data coming up with new interesting and (utterly worthless) data on the local level for the past two days. Go ahead.. ask me what the most liberal County in MN is (at least according to the latest election), the answer is nuanced and may be a moderate surprise.
posted by edgeways at 9:00 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hey, edgeways, what is the ... Is that the phone? Who could be calling at this hour?
posted by shothotbot at 9:06 PM on November 8, 2012

Thanks, jaduncan, for doing that search. Now go take a HAZMAT-level shower. And get drunk.
posted by rtha at 9:08 PM on November 8, 2012

Edgeways, I'm interested. What's the most liberal County in Minnesota?

(At one time I lived on Girard between 31st and 32nd. Heart of Uptown. Don Fraser's district. One night at my precinct caucus, I was told by a fellow caucus-goer, that since Don Fraser held the highest rating from ADA - Americans for Democratic Action, and that since our precinct voted for Fraser at a higher percentage than any other precinct in the district, that we were ipso facto the most liberal precinct in the entire U S of A.)
posted by marsha56 at 9:21 PM on November 8, 2012

A friend spotted this on Twitter -

"In the future we won't elect presidents. We'll have a primary, then Nate Silver will go into a spice trance and pick the winner."

Here.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:24 PM on November 8, 2012 [16 favorites]

Wow, that Charles P. Pierce article that homunculus linked to brought me to Todd Gitlin, who used to run the Mass Comm liberal arts program at Cal (my major and alma mater, respectively). His suggested charter for the Occupy Movement is inspiring and dead-on:

1. Drive big money out of politics. Elections should be publicly financed. The Citizens United decision needs to be rescinded, for corporations are not persons and the ability of some people to spend millions encourages politicians to bend to the wealthiest. But more: television time for candidates ought to be free, like the licenses that permit broadcasters to broadcast on the public airwaves.
2. Make taxation more progressive. For example, tax capital gains and dividends at the same rate as wages and salaries.
3. Tax financial market transactions. There is already a Robin Hood Tax campaign, led by National Nurses United, and a House bill to support it, HR 6411. Eleven European countries and the European Commission have adopted a version of this proposal.
4. Separate commercial from investment banks, and break up the biggest ones. If they’re too big to fail, they’re too big to exist. For gambling, we don’t need banks—we have casinos.
5. Create decent jobs with public-private partnerships. Shore up the majority with a living wage.
6. Make America the most energy-efficient advanced country the world has ever seen. Address climate change and the need for steady jobs at the same time.
7. Pare military spending. Bloated, overextended armed forces drain the country of the treasure it needs for productive investment.

Seize the moment, America. Would love to see this happen.
posted by hampanda at 9:25 PM on November 8, 2012 [16 favorites]

Miko, you're probably looking for Bayes' theorem.

What is the probability that someone is an assassin, given that they have verbally threatened the President?

I'll use A to represent assassins and T to represent people who verbally threatened the President.
P(A) means "the probability that someone is an assassin";
P(T) means "the probability that someone verbally threatened the President";
P(A|T) means "the probability that someone is an assassin, given that he or she threatened the President";
P(T|A) means "the probability that someone threatened the President, given that he or she is an assassin.

Let's assume that there are, say, twelve assassins in the USA, which implies that the odds of a random person being an assassin are one around in twenty-five million.
We believe that two thirds of assassins will verbally threaten the President.
And let's say that there are a million people in the USA who have verbally threatened the President, which means the odds of a random person verbally threatening the President are around one in three hundred.

So, we know:
P(T) = 1/300
P(A) = 1/25,000,000
P(T|A) is 2/3

We want to find out P(A|T)
Bayes' theorem says:

P(A|T) = (P(T|A) * P(A)) / P(T)
substituting
P(A|T) = (2/3 * 1/25,000,000) / (1/300)
P(A|T) = 2/75,000,000 * 300
P(A|T) = 600/75,000,000
P(A|T) = 1/125,000

So given my assumptions it's not very likely that someone verbally threatening the President is an assassin, but (a) it has narrowed the possibilities right down from something huge (one in twenty-five million people to scrutinise) to something just manageable; (b) there is a rational basis for suspicion, which justifies an investigation; (c) my assumptions were pulled out of my rosy tuchus and the Secret Service undoubtedly have a better idea of what things warrant investigation.
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:29 PM on November 8, 2012 [13 favorites]

That ORCA thing is remarkable. I mean, that's really the kind of fuckup that I'd expect from a rising-star executive manager at a Fortune 1000 company with a fresh MBA and a sure-fire conviction that he can cut costs by 31% if he eliminates QA and has the devs test their own code.
posted by KathrynT at 9:29 PM on November 8, 2012 [10 favorites]

> It's pretty interesting that to a very large degree, campaigning - and winning - has become a data war, a war of designing platforms and integrating information. May the best wonks win.

Reading more about ORCA, it shows that it was definitely the result of someone blowing smoke about how amazing software could do things, but not realizing the scale of the logistics involved in it. It is the ultimate outsource project: instead of relying on lots of local and regional organizers and spending hours working and cultivating community, just make an app and people will flock to it, like naturally and stuff.

I wouldn't be surprised if the obama campaign / DNC is working on a similar system, but since they aren't trying to build the entire system overnight (it sounds like they already have a lot of this data collection tools and software already), just extend extra ways to input and retrieve data out one more layer to actual field folks, it would be a more successful program.

I imagine someone walked into Romney's campaign and promised for a few million dollars, they could deliver a ground game comparable to Obama's without having to employ as many people.

And this really starts to explain how they were taken by such surprise about everything else: they were so out of their league they didn't even realize how that would be impossible to do with just software (I mean, republicans haven't been champions of community organization), and their software was bad. I bet they were seeing great numbers on their big shiny "single pane of glass" visual displays in the campaign headquarters, but no one realized that their data was wrong.
posted by mrzarquon at 9:31 PM on November 8, 2012 [10 favorites]

Upthread some folks were asking what filibuster reform in the Senate might look like.

It looks like Senator Jeff Merkley (OR) is leading the charge. Here is his proposal:

#1) Narrow the Scope:
Eliminate the use of the filibuster on motions to proceed. Blocking deliberation has little place in a legislative body. If a Senator believes a bill is so deeply flawed that debate should be suspended, the senator still has the right to move to table the bill.

#2) Further Narrow the Scope:
We should consider further narrowing the scope. For example, it is worth debating banning filibusters on amendments since members would still have the right to filibuster the final vote. It is also worth examining the value of limiting filibusters on appointing conferees.

#3) Create an Expedited Path for Nominations:
The Senate is failing in its responsibility to “advise and consent” on nominations, doing extensive damage to the other branches of government. This is an abuse of its responsibility.

We should consider, therefore, an expedited regular order for nominations. The regular order for each nominee might still be subject to a filibuster, but only under the revised filibuster requirements discussed below.

#4) Require a filibuster petition:
Require a substantial number of senators, perhaps 10, to file a filibuster petition to block a simple majority vote on an amendment or a bill. By creating a public record, senators have to take responsibility for obstructing the process. This also prevents a single senator from blocking the regular order.

#5) Require filibustering senators to hold the floor:
The public believes that filibustering senators have to hold the floor. Indeed, the public perceives the filibuster as an act of principled public courage and sacrifice. Let’s make it so.

Require a specific number of Senators -- I suggest five for the first 24 hours, 10for the second 24 hours, and 20 thereafter -- to be on the floor to sustain the filibuster. This would be required even during quorum calls. At any point, a member could call for a count of the senators on the floor who stand in opposition to the regular order, and if the count falls below the required level, the regular order prevails and a majority vote is held

More info: Daily Kos summary, Washington Post editorial
posted by flug at 9:37 PM on November 8, 2012 [22 favorites]

From yesterday's WaPo:

Some top donors privately unloaded on Romney’s senior staff, describing it as a junior varsity operation that failed to adequately insulate and defend Romney through a summer of relentless attacks from the Obama campaign over his business career and personal wealth.

“Everybody feels like they were a bunch of well-meaning folks who were, to use a phrase that Governor Romney coined to describe his opponent, way in over their heads,” said one member of the campaign’s national finance committee, who requested anonymity to speak candidly.

“Romney World,” the fundraiser added, “will fade into the obscurity of a lot of losing campaigns.”

...

A second member of Romney’s national finance committee said that while the campaign’s tactics and fundraising organization were executed well, the strategy and message were “total failures.” This fundraiser added that the campaign’s cautious and adversarial relationship with the news media proved detrimental.

In the middle of the piece, there's a lot of yammering about Chris Christie.
posted by rtha at 9:38 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

As I think about it more, ORCA sounds like something one of my former employers would have thought of during one of his coke binges. Create or promise some solution, that works on a small scale, but is so cobbled together by people who just barely knew enough to make things work, that it had to be continually finessed and maintained. More importantly to him, it meant that maintaining it would mean continual revenue, so the fact he had underbid the original project and not allocated the write staff or hours to work on it wasn't a problem, since any additional work the customer would continue to pay most of the time, since he'd just keep convincing them it was going to work, and keep lying through hist teeth and convince his deluded, coke addled brain that the problems were the customers fault.
posted by mrzarquon at 9:39 PM on November 8, 2012 [9 favorites]

So ORCA = Dunder Mifflin Infinity.

Also, knowing how "we should build an app" discussions go with corporate types, I can guarantee someone in the room would not shut up about how they need to prioritize Blackberry support.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:43 PM on November 8, 2012 [12 favorites]

marsha56: Edgeways, I'm interested. What's the most liberal County in Minnesota?

Not to answer for Edgeways, but my data suggests Ramsey county had the highest percentage of voters for Obama. If you're interested, a page at The Guardian has the results to download, and there's a Google Spreadsheet embedded there that you can use for questions like this. (There isn't sorting, but I eyeballed the numbers.)

Someone on Hacker News made a color-coded map on the county level, with notes on how they did it.
posted by Pronoiac at 9:49 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

(a) it has narrowed the possibilities right down from something huge (one in twenty-five million people to scrutinise) to something just manageable; (b) there is a rational basis for suspicion, which justifies an investigation; (c) my assumptions were pulled out of my rosy tuchus and the Secret Service undoubtedly have a better idea of what things warrant investigation.

I think all of these are useful points. (a) and (c) taken together are quite compelling to me, but obviously can't answer the question of whether checking any "threatener" is the best use of resources given a probability of any check having a one in 125,000 hit rate. It of course depends on how many people you're checking and what the cost of doing so is. (b) in some ways seems odd, because I can see where you're coming from, there is a rational basis for suspicion of everyone, and there is probably a rational basis for suspicion of certain groups that we do not wish to see discrimination against (those with radical views, for example). I think part of the argument that goes unspoken here is about a level of culpability on the part of the person making the statement.
posted by howfar at 9:49 PM on November 8, 2012

Can I just say that I'm SO HAPPY that common sense seems to have won! I realize it won't last very long, but F those guys until they regain their strategy!
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 9:54 PM on November 8, 2012

Narwhal is what the President's - what his operation is called - so orca is the only known predator to that.

So that's what ORCA is. I thought it maybe was some reference to Command and Conquer. Which would make sense if Republicans thought Obama was like Kane or something.
posted by FJT at 10:12 PM on November 8, 2012

flug: "Upthread some folks were asking what filibuster reform in the Senate might look like."

Thanks for pointing this out. If this is what the new rules look like, I for one am all in favor. I've long thought the filibuster does serve some good purpose, but have seen it abused mightily this past few years. Reducing its scope but still keeping it around in a more difficult to use form is exactly the sort of compromise I'd hoped for. Let's hope the Democrats get serious and change the rules come January.
posted by wierdo at 10:16 PM on November 8, 2012

rtha: "a junior varsity operation that failed to adequately insulate and defend Romney through a summer of relentless attacks from the Obama campaign over his business career and personal wealth."

He was probably damaged more by those same attack coming from his own party during the primaries. It seemed like no one on Fox news liked him until after he was the last conservative standing.
posted by the_artificer at 10:23 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've long thought the filibuster does serve some good purpose

Care to elaborate on what that good purpose is? I'm sure there have been some bad bills that have been blocked by the filibuster, but it seems like the negatives far outweigh the positives, and that it ought to be eliminated completely. (I'd totally settle for reform, of course.)
posted by tonycpsu at 10:28 PM on November 8, 2012

tonycpsu: "Care to elaborate on what that good purpose is? I'm sure there have been some bad bills that have been blocked by the filibuster, but it seems like the negatives far outweigh the positives, and that it ought to be eliminated completely"

Obstructionism, which I don't have a problem with when it's used judiciously. However, when every bill is a mortal affront and is thus filibustered, it goes too far. I think bringing back the requirement that the floor actually be held is great, because like any powerful, but possibly abusive, tool its user should pay a high price.

I prefer my government operate on consensus as much as possible. Obstructing the majority should not be easy, but I think the mechanism's existence is important to protect the minority. That the present Republican party is devoid of anything approaching scruples makes it easy to say the filibuster should be cast aside, but I think that's taking a short view.
posted by wierdo at 10:48 PM on November 8, 2012 [6 favorites]

Mitt Romney planned Boston Harbor fireworks show that was scotched by election loss
posted by homunculus at 10:53 PM on November 8, 2012

So have conspiracy nuts already started linking OFA's Project Narwhal with the NSA and ECHELON and all that jazz? Because they totally will.
posted by jason_steakums at 11:00 PM on November 8, 2012

Federal Judge on Ohio's Ballot Order: 'Democracy Dies in the Dark'. There are hundreds of thousands of ballots left to count in Ohio -- and a federal judge is angry about how the secretary of state there plans to count them.
posted by homunculus at 11:05 PM on November 8, 2012 [7 favorites]

Paul Krugman: Let’s Not Make a Deal
posted by homunculus at 11:10 PM on November 8, 2012 [8 favorites]

I see where you're coming from, and I would certainly be on board with all of Merkley's reforms as an incremental step, but for reasons outlined in this post, I think keeping the filibuster around, even in a neutered form, is a bad idea. If anyone could point to one major progressive goal that was achieved using the filibuster, then maybe I could be on board, but as it is, it's just another tool for the maximalist Republicans to use against the Charlie-Brown-who's-convinced-he's-finally-going-to-kick-the-football Democrats.

Lemieux's point about how the Senate's malapportionment naturally skews the effect of the filibuster toward protecting conservatives is particularly compelling to me. The Senate is already a body in which Wyoming's two Republican senators representing 0.2% of the population have as much voting power as California's two Democratic senators representing 12% of the population. If anything, I could maybe be on board with use of the filibuster in the House, but the supermajority requirement in the malapportioned upper chamber makes no sense whatsoever.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:14 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

I assume Reddit is just squee-ing over the fact that Obama's team named their program "Narwhal". (And check out the logo.)
posted by benito.strauss at 11:20 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Miko (In regard to the Romney President-elect transition site): I would guess: not a mistake. Twist of the knife.

Possibly. That work (and it looks super professionaland impressive); the branding, design, layout, copy, strategy, and Info Architecture and coding had to all be produced by a web agency over a number of months and part of the contract or the Statement of Work (SOW) includes migrating it to a proprietary secure server for the Romney-Elect team, and it all costs mucho dinero, and so getting it up is in the contract and that's what the agency did, any other extenuating circumstances, like Romney losing, isn't their concern.

It's real crucial a site of this importance go live when it's supposed to go live, or there's hell to pay on the business end.

TL;DR: The Romney president-elect transition site was under contract to go live 100%, perfect and running on a certain secured and dedicated server, on a certain due date, regardless of the outcome.
posted by Skygazer at 11:33 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Paul Krugman: Let’s Not Make a Deal

Krugman doesn't explicitly say it there, but the central question here is "if not now, when?". The Democrats are unlikely to have a better opportunity to stand up to Republican economic blackmail than they have now. It's hardly a great opportunity, but it probably has to be taken.
posted by howfar at 11:40 PM on November 8, 2012

The tales of hubris keep on coming: Mitt Romney planned Boston Harbor fireworks show that was scotched by election loss

The Romney show had a patriotic theme, heavy on red, white, and blue colors, and featured crowd-pleasing large chrysanthemum bursts.

Such a display usually costs around $25,000, half for the fireworks and half for the permitting, barge, and other costs.

Smaller, Simpler, Smarter, my ass.
posted by bakerina at 11:49 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

From homunculus's link "Federal Judge on Ohio's Ballot Order" — this is one pissed-off judge (Mr. Epstein is the lawyer for the state of Ohio).

THE COURT: Mr. Epstein, I have said on the record that Mr. Coglianese is probably one of the best election lawyers who's been in my courtroom; maybe one of the best lawyers, period. I believe the same thing of you because of the nature of the work that you've done. Do you honestly believe what you just told me?

MR. EPSTEIN: I do, Your Honor.

THE COURT: If you honestly believe that, show it to me, because you were -- in another context, and in this case, you have argued that it's literally not there. You have argued that the absence of the language means the absence of the law. Now you're telling me to look at this and find an obligation, a burden, if you will, within the penumbras of this statute. Show it to me. All I'm asking is to see it. If I can see it, I can believe it. But if you can't show it to me, then make your penumbras argument. We're going to be transparent, and you're going to tell me -- if you expect to prevail, somebody is going to answer my question because no one is answering it from your side as to where it is.
So tell me if it's in the penumbras because you can't point to the language. So show me where it is. Show me where it's meant. Show me the legislative history. Show me the facts that the secretary used to make the decision to change this directive at seven o'clock on a Friday night on the eve of an election. I want to see it, and I want to see it now. Show it to me.

MR. EPSTEIN: Your Honor, I have no legislative history to present to the Court.

THE COURT: Continue with your argument.

posted by benito.strauss at 11:49 PM on November 8, 2012 [15 favorites]

From Homunculus' link:
Mitt Romney planned Boston Harbor fireworks show that was scotched by election loss
Atlas Professional Fireworks Displays unloaded the pyrotechnics from mortars set up on a barge near the Bank of America Pavilion and carted them back to its headquarters in Jaffrey, N.H.
There should really have been a trombone making a waah-waahh-wahhhhh sound to accompany that.

Look, I don't have a dog in this fight (except insofar as I have relatives in the USA) and I don't feel vindictive, but if we want to have more than one serious political party in the USA the Republicans really need to wake up to the fact that they failed calamitously and that their failures were ludicrous. They need to stop being driven by loons (the image of Rush Limbaugh stuffed into a miniature clown car comes to mind) and figure out what an electable right-wing political party would do and say.
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:51 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

tonycpsu: "I could be on board, but as it is, it's just another tool for the maximalist Republicans to use against the Charlie-Brown-who's-convinced-he's-finally-going-to-kick-the-football Democrats."

There will come a day, maybe in 4 years or maybe in 40, when Democrats are again out in the wilderness and Republicans are ascendant. Perhaps it's nothing more than Linus' security blanket, but I like the idea of a safety valve.

As far as good uses, Google News brings up some interesting things like filibustering anti-abortion legislation and Republican attempts to end integrationist policies. I dare say it's at least sometimes been used for good.
posted by wierdo at 11:51 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

I feel like if the filibuster goes entirely the Republicans might switch to quorum-busting.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:05 AM on November 9, 2012

We have to keep some form of the filibuster around because Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.
posted by DaddyNewt at 12:08 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Apparently, all Colorado volunteers could not login to the ORCA system because they were given incorrect phone PINs, twice. They were pretty much told to use pen and paper and "project confidence".
posted by FJT at 12:34 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Apparently, all Colorado volunteers could not login to the ORCA system because they were given incorrect phone PINs, twice. They were pretty much told to use pen and paper and "project confidence".

Ladies, gentlemen, and it's-freeform-go-nutsers: the federal government you could have had.
posted by jaduncan at 12:40 AM on November 9, 2012 [15 favorites]

We encountered a little voter suppression in PA. My bro-in-law was voting for the first time in PA, and that requires an ID requirement separate from the new photo ID law (that has been mostly struck down, requiring no photo ID). He had to show one of a few various IDs, there is not a photo requirement. He showed his voter registration card.

The (we assume) Republican poll watcher pitched a shit fit over this. My sister had to go outside and bring in the posted flyer that listed the requirements before they would let him vote. After they were gone (I was a bit behind them in line) he was still trying to argue the vote should be stricken. (Can you even do that after it is locked in?) but the poll workers repeated, "She showed us the flyer, he doesn't need photo ID!"

It was somewhat chilling to see the supression attempts in action, my sister is a lawyer and if she wasn't forcefully arguing for him I don't know if he would have been able to get his vote counted.
posted by Drinky Die at 12:47 AM on November 9, 2012 [10 favorites]

"Ladies, gentlemen, and it's-freeform-go-nutsers: the federal government you could have had."

Fortunately, when Republicans tried to demonstrate that government can not work by running a campaign that could not work, that campaign failed to work.
posted by klangklangston at 1:01 AM on November 9, 2012 [7 favorites]

Wow.

From a November 1 Huffpo post on Project ORCA: "There's nothing that the Obama data team, there's nothing that the Obama campaign, there's nothing that President Obama himself can do to even come close to what we are putting together here," Romney Deputy Political Director Dan Centinello said Wednesday night in a training call for Project ORCA volunteers".

Well. I guess that actually turned out to be true; nothing the Obama team did even came close to such spectacular failure. Incredible.
posted by taz at 1:04 AM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

Romney supporter a bit disappointed in the results of election night (YouTube mostly audio link)

This butterscotch schnapps lady is like the bizarro universe version of me, as read by Joan Cusack.
posted by fleacircus at 1:05 AM on November 9, 2012

NASA May Unveil New Manned Moon Missions Soon

NASA is serious about sending astronauts back to the moon's neighborhood and will likely unveil its ambitious plans soon now that President Barack Obama has been re-elected, experts say.

...

The new plans have probably already been cleared with the Obama Administration but have been kept under wraps in case Republican candidate Mitt Romney won Tuesday night's (Nov. 6) presidential election, said space policy expert John Logsdon, a professor emeritus at George Washington University.

posted by homunculus at 1:06 AM on November 9, 2012 [10 favorites]

My last comment tonight before I konk out. POLITICO spills more beans on Project ORCA:

"Among other issues, the system was never beta-tested or checked for functionality without going live before Election Day, two sources said. It went live that morning but was never checked for bugs or efficiencies internally."

"It's been reported the system crashed at 4 p.m., but multiple sources familiar with the war room operation said it had actually been crashing throughout the day."

Here, they say that perhaps Project ORCA failed because it was based on old "HTTP Web Architectures" as opposed to something used to real-time like HTML5. Anyone app developers here that can comment on this would be welcome. Especially if you've worked on the Romney Apps.

I'm amazed at the amount of fail for this. I know in the other post they were saying how Democrats shouldn't feel so good about their tech and organization, since the Republicans felt the same way with Rove during the Bush years. And, I might agree, though for a different reason. It's not that Obama is THAT good. It's just that Romney is so bad by comparison.
posted by FJT at 1:15 AM on November 9, 2012

NASA is serious about sending astronauts back to the moon's neighborhood

God, I hope they send an African-American to walk on the moon. And dedicate the mission to Gil Scott-Heron.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:19 AM on November 9, 2012 [18 favorites]

The moon's neighbourhood, sadly, is known to many in the science-based community as a location worryingly deficient in actual moon.

I recommend NASA recalibrate their destination considerations.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:32 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

I recommend NASA recalibrate their destination considerations.

They should go to Planet Awesome where marriage equality was just approved in three more U.S. states.

OH WAIT HERE WE ARE.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:37 AM on November 9, 2012 [16 favorites]

Here, they say that perhaps Project ORCA failed because it was based on old "HTTP Web Architectures" as opposed to something used to real-time like HTML5. Anyone app developers here that can comment on this would be welcome.

I have not worked on the Romney apps, but:

a) you will note that all HTML5 web addresses start with http://. Almost like HTML5 is itself generally sitting on top of the net (as in this case).
b) regardless of if HTML5 might have improved responsiveness very slightly over plain HTML static pages, the dev team should each write "I am an idiot who did not buy enough server capacity although I knew the amount of users, the amount of data required, and controlled the release date" a hundred times.
c) Amazon Web Services. This allows people to rent computation and web serving capacity; this type of temporary burst of usage is one of the core use cases.
posted by jaduncan at 1:41 AM on November 9, 2012 [9 favorites]

It would be irresponsible to not at least check.

You figure they've long since got it down to a routine science

It would be incredibly bad PR if someone said something like this, wasn't investigated and then attempted an assassination, but that's not the same thing as this being a good use of the resources devoted to protecting the US president.... Is a person who has indicated that they'd like someone to be assassinated measurably more likely to be part of a plot than someone who has indicated that they hate him, his race and his policies? I'd actually be interested to know the answer to that.

Well, first of all, most recent assassins and wannabes -- at least the ones that got close enough to get a shot off -- haven't been part of any discernible plot at all.

But the resources here are Secret Service. What they do when the President is not in town needing protection is investigate counterfeiting (you know, their other job -- which turns out to be a good resource match despite not having been planned that way). So you're essentially diverting resources away from making sure the guy with a color printer isn't running off a bunch of twenties.

As to the first point, I don't think you can really get a gut check about someone by looking at Facebook, but I bet you could if you spoke to them for five minutes. Better those not pan out 99 times out of 100 than not. (And consider how much experience those other 99 interviews give you for the one that matters.) Hinckley, after all, managed to stalk TWO Presidents for months before getting a good firing position.
posted by dhartung at 1:42 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I do still wonder what the hell the Romney campaign was doing dropping money on ad buys in Pennsylvania in the final weeks, though.

See, money talks and bullshit (aka most punditry) walks. So there must have been some belief that it was worth spending money there for this to happen. The only question is whether they were doing it because they really thought they could flip it, or whether they were bluffing and trying to get the Democrats to spend resources (not just ads, but perhaps Obama visits, etc.) there. Because that sort of thing does happen. The other reason it might have happened would be to project confidence and help down-ticket races -- though in this case it looks like the only tippable race was Rothfus v. Critz.
posted by dhartung at 2:10 AM on November 9, 2012

I do still wonder what the hell the Romney campaign was doing dropping money on ad buys in Pennsylvania in the final weeks, though.

OH, VA and FL advertising was saturated - there literally wasn't much left to buy. They had spare money for a hail mary. Et voila.
posted by jaduncan at 2:13 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

OH WAIT HERE WE ARE.

Twenty yard penalty for pandering!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:21 AM on November 9, 2012

Panda ring? That's baseball.
posted by fleacircus at 2:30 AM on November 9, 2012

Did someone say panda ring?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:51 AM on November 9, 2012

That badass Ohio judge is named Algernon Marbley. Just saying.

And the logo for ORCA has to be a Fail Whale
posted by spitbull at 4:27 AM on November 9, 2012 [5 favorites]

You know ... there’s some evidence to suggest that maybe they genuinely could have been caught completely flat-footed by losing. There were several very visible moments in the campaign when it became clear that Romney and Ryan were not only repeating the untrue talking points of the right-wing echo chamber, but that they ACTUALLY BELIEVED THEM.

The most memorable was during the debate when Romney said it took Obama two weeks to call the attack on the Consulate an “act of terror”. He was sure of it, even argued about it while Obama was telling him to “check the transcript”. And there were others. Even the 47 percent comment was based on another inaccurate right-wing talking point.

They really were demonstrably listening to the right-wing pundits and closing their ears to other voices. And before the election, all the right-wing pundits – all of them – were saying that Romney was going to win.

The Romney campaign might very well be an example of one of the dangers of constantly spewing out false propaganda. At some point, it stops becoming entirely something that people at the top use to control the people at the bottom. At some point, the people at the top start to believe it as well.

I’m reminded of one of the key points of "1984". Those in charge didn’t just eliminate or co-opt those who might rebel against the system. They eliminated those who understood the system too well. So that eventually there would be no one left who even knew that they were lying.
posted by kyrademon at 5:05 AM on November 9, 2012 [19 favorites]

Here's a take on ORCA from a disappointed user. It's pretty stunning how badly this went. At the same time, this is just another form of poll denialism, an "if only, if only" to distract from the fact that they lost because they're terrible.
posted by gerryblog at 5:14 AM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

I prefer to take it as an object lesson in what kind of terrible they were. "This system is awesome, it's going to do wonders for our turnout!" "Did you test it to make sure it works?" "Of course it works, it's awesome."
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:06 AM on November 9, 2012 [7 favorites]

Wow. So on election this very dedicated Romney volunteer spent six hours trying to get his poll watcher certificate that the campaign had forgotten to notify their volunteers they would need- six hours! on election day!

So, I headed back home to see if I could get my certificate. I called their official help line. It went unanswered. I tried their legal line. Same thing. I emailed them. No response. I continued to do this for six straight hours and never got a response. I even tried to call three local victory centers. All went straight to voicemail.

While I was home, I took to Twitter and the web to try to find some answers. From what I saw, these problems were widespread. People had been kicked from poll watching for having no certificate. Others never received their pdf packets. Some were sent the wrong packets from a different area. Some received their packet, but their usernames and passwords didn't work.

It sounds like ORCA was not their only problem.

I used to smile every time I passed the group of election signs at the major intersection on my way to the gym. In amidst all the "Vote for" signs was one asking for Romney Campaign Volunteers. That sign went up about 4 days before the election. I always smiled to myself because it seemed a little desperate, after all the Obama volunteer force had been in place for months and they recruited by word of mouth and emails, not street signs. As it turned out Obama lost NC-- but his loss was not due to a poor ground game, the votes just were not there.

But I wonder about the future of volunteerism. Will the Republicans ever have ground support as enthusiastic (and young) as the Obama campaign? Will the Democrats?
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:14 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

OK, sorry... I went to bed before answering the "most liberal county in MN" bit:

Kind of a trick answer in sorts, there are 4 counties in the running, Cook, Hennipen, St. Louis, Ramsey: One (Cook) very Rural, 2 (Hennipen/Ramsey) very Urban, and 1 (St Louis) a strong mix between urban and rural)

I looked at 4 factors, Marriage equality, Voter ID law, % vote for president, and

Cook County is a SMALL populated county in the very NE section of the state, abutting Canada, % wise it had the highest numbers against Voter ID, 64%, Ramsey 62%, St Louis 62%, Hennipen 60%

In Voting for President Ramsey and St Louis where close 67% and 64% (Cook takes 4th with 60%)

Marriage Equality: Hennepin 63% Ramsey at 61% Cook at 59% St Louis 55%

Out of the top 4, only St Louis has an estimate 0% of ballots let blank on the Amendment issues,

MN once again led the nation in voter turnout %, with about 76% of eligible voters. 95% turn out in St Louis Co, 95% in Cook, 99.7 in Hennipen and 99.8 in Ramsey.
posted by edgeways at 6:17 AM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

That badass Ohio judge is named Algernon Marbley.

Actually, it's Algenon (no "r".) Wikipedia.

A full transcript of the hearing is available on Scribd here. It's good stuff.

At one point Judge Marbley actually takes some pity on the state's lawyer and asks him if he had any involvement in writing the directive. When the answer is "No", the judge calls a recess so the court can attempt to track down who actually wrote it and put 'em in front of the judge to explain what the hell they were thinking.

When the answer comes back as, basically, "The directive was written by staff in committee," this exchange takes place -

THE COURT: Mr. Epstein -- by the way, just to confirm, you weren't in this chain?
MR. EPSTEIN: That's correct.
THE COURT: They just sent you down here to argue it but they didn't ask you to help create it.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:26 AM on November 9, 2012 [6 favorites]

Brietbart says there are reports that entire states' worth of volunteers received incorrect PINs and couldn't log into the system even if they got the right site and it was working.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:26 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

And so it begins...I just received this text this morning from a family member:
"Gas rationing in NYC. STOCK MARKET tanking, million people with out electric, IRAN shooting at our aircraft in international airspace! ONLY 3 DAYS IN! Good job AMERICA!?!"
posted by newpotato at 6:29 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

NASA May Unveil New Manned Moon Missions Soon

The article is about establishing a presence at L2, which results in the "neighborhood" reference. You'd think Space.com could do a more accurate headline.
posted by achrise at 6:42 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

> IRAN shooting at our aircraft in international airspace!

What was America scouting for? Ocean debris?
posted by de at 6:51 AM on November 9, 2012

I just received this text this morning from a family member:
"Gas rationing in NYC. STOCK MARKET tanking, million people with out electric, IRAN shooting at our aircraft in international airspace! ONLY 3 DAYS IN! Good job AMERICA!?!"

If I got that I'd text back:

"Gas rationing + no power: superstorm aggravated by climate change.
Iran attacks: blowback from Gulf Wars started by Bush.
Stock Market: weakened by deregulations brought about by Reagan.
Good job GOP!"
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:52 AM on November 9, 2012 [11 favorites]

I'm an Obama supporter, out of a blue city in a blue state (I'm proud to say that I've only ever lived in blue cities of blue states: MD, NY, NJ, CT, WA, CA)

I'm a Republican strategist nightmare: not male, not white, highly educated, not Christian (and you better believe I vote!). But I just read Mitt Romney's bio, and what with the fluency in French, going to Stanford before BYU, coming out of Boston, and his wife riding dressage, he sounds like a lot of upper middle class Democrats I know.
posted by honey badger at 7:04 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Federal Judge on Ohio's Ballot Order: 'Democracy Dies in the Dark'.

I know I'm being impatient about this, but I really want to hear about a Jon Husted recall campaign. Can you impeach a Secretary of State? Because I'd be good with that, too. Come on, Ohio, this aggression will not stand!
posted by Room 641-A at 7:07 AM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

> But I wonder about the future of volunteerism. Will the Republicans ever have ground support as enthusiastic (and young) as the Obama campaign? Will the Democrats?

2008: Obama successfully uses social media in campaigning. Twitter/FB replace word-of-mouth. Volunteerism reaches masses of enthusiasts. Campaign is more far reaching.

2012: Both parties use social media in campaigning. Republicans almost use ORCA technology to mobilise flash-mob voting at crucial voting booths.

2016: Both parties using social media and exit-polling apps.

2020: e-Voting goes national.

Good times ahead.
posted by de at 7:07 AM on November 9, 2012

If I got that text I'd text back: "If you send me another text like that I will block your number."
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:08 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

If I got that text I'd text back: "If you send me another text like that I will block your number."

I responded that if he could back up his assertion that any of these things happening were a direct result of Obama being re-elected president, I would be happy to have a discussion with him, but I needed facts to understand his point of view. He responded that it's been three days since a president who had no power to get anything done had been re-elected.

I'm sure you can figure out how I took it from there.
posted by newpotato at 7:18 AM on November 9, 2012

Kind of a trick answer in sorts, there are 4 counties in the running, Cook, Hennipen, St. Louis, Ramsey: One (Cook) very Rural, 2 (Hennipen/Ramsey) very Urban, and 1 (St Louis) a strong mix between urban and rural)

St. Louis county is also the second largest county east of the Mississippi.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:20 AM on November 9, 2012

Ohio’s GOP Secretary of State Already Has A Plan To Rig The 2016 Election For Republicans

Husted’s solution to this perceived problem of Democrats and the national media picking on him? He says we should make Ohio less important in the election by dividing up our electoral votes by Congressional district.

This is huge and should raise giant red flags. Under the current winner-take-all system, Obama won all 18 of Ohio’s electoral votes. Under Husted’s plan, 12 of those 18 electoral votes would be handed to Mitt Romney, the popular vote loser.

Fucker.
posted by Room 641-A at 7:21 AM on November 9, 2012 [7 favorites]

MN once again led the nation in voter turnout %, with about 76% of eligible voters. 95% turn out in St Louis Co, 95% in Cook, 99.7 in Hennipen and 99.8 in Ramsey.

That's not right. We have compulsory voting in Australia and our turnout in 2004 was 94.32%. There's no way you can have 99.8% turnout in a county.
posted by Talez at 7:26 AM on November 9, 2012

honey badger: I'm an Obama supporter, out of a blue city in a blue state (I'm proud to say that I've only ever lived in blue cities of blue states: MD, NY, NJ, CT, WA, CA) ... I'm a Republican strategist nightmare:

You're actually not, regardless of your race or gender. Voting blue in a blue city in a blue state just puts you firmly in the "no" column, you're not even on the radar. What keeps the strategists up at night is independent voters in purple cities in swing states. Some indies are small-govt indies, some are low-info indies, some are greens, some are Randian, etc. How to convert enough without alienating others is the challenge.

But I just read Mitt Romney's bio, and what with the fluency in French, going to Stanford before BYU, coming out of Boston, and his wife riding dressage, he sounds like a lot of upper middle class Democrats I know.

Had the prevailing winds favored a run as a Democrat, Romney would have switched parties.
posted by headnsouth at 7:29 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

2008: Obama successfully uses social media in campaigning. Twitter/FB replace word-of-mouth. Volunteerism reaches masses of enthusiasts. Campaign is more far reaching.
2012: Both parties use social media in campaigning. Republicans almost use ORCA technology to mobilise flash-mob voting at crucial voting booths.
2016: Both parties using social media and exit-polling apps.
2020: e-Voting goes national.

2021: president "moot" is inaugurated.
posted by entropicamericana at 7:30 AM on November 9, 2012 [5 favorites]

Wait. I know why now. Same day registration. They only count the number of votes vs the number of registered voters at 7am on election day. If masses of new voters show up at the polls you could get obscenely high turnout numbers.
posted by Talez at 7:30 AM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

I just received this text this morning from a family member:
"Gas rationing in NYC. STOCK MARKET tanking, million people with out electric, IRAN shooting at our aircraft in international airspace! ONLY 3 DAYS IN! Good job AMERICA!?!"

I'd be tempted to text back:
"Wait until next week; the banks will be closed and soldiers will be marching in the streets!"
posted by TedW at 7:31 AM on November 9, 2012 [16 favorites]

Obscene numbers. I like the sound of that. But then again, I'm a math perv.
posted by grubi at 7:31 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Husted’s solution to this perceived problem of Democrats and the national media picking on him? He says we should make Ohio less important in the election by dividing up our electoral votes by Congressional district.

This is huge and should raise giant red flags. Under the current winner-take-all system, Obama won all 18 of Ohio’s electoral votes. Under Husted’s plan, 12 of those 18 electoral votes would be handed to Mitt Romney, the popular vote loser.

The Electoral College is a bulwark against the tyranny of the majority, no? EVs by district is anathema to that.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:36 AM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

So I'm being called a gloater and a sore winner by the party whose candidate was going to shoot fireworks over a city that didn't vote for him when he won?
posted by almostmanda at 7:41 AM on November 9, 2012 [29 favorites]

I sent the plan from flug's comment to my friend who works for KBH's office, and after talking about the point Merkley makes about how they need to be desegregated because they don't socialize enough we stumbled upon (what I think is) an excellent idea.

There needs to be a monthly social, that only the senators go to and they have to get drunk. They can bring one staff member/ babysitter who has to stay sober to make sure they don't start making out or ranting about the redeeming qualities of communism. The pages have to be the bartenders obviously.
posted by DynamiteToast at 7:47 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

The vote by county/district option comes up every few years for swing states. It's always the party that loses the electoral votes and it always gets shot down because it's a horrible idea for the state.

I can recall it's been floated here in PA by the republicans and in CO by the democrats back before the 2004 election. It never gains traction because it takes your state out of the game.

Ohio goes from being a net +18 in the path to 270 EV's to a net +3-6 for the candidate of either party who wins. Ohio goes from being the central focus of the campaigns to the equivalent of Idaho or Mississippi.
posted by cmfletcher at 7:49 AM on November 9, 2012

MN once again led the nation in voter turnout %, with about 76% of eligible voters. 95% turn out in St Louis Co, 95% in Cook, 99.7 in Hennipen and 99.8 in Ramsey.

I'm pretty sure two different types of turnout figures are being used in this sentence. The statewide figure is an estimate of the percentage of persons eligible to vote who voted and the county-wide figures are the percentages of registered voters who voted. Minnesota has relatively easy same-day registration, so in big elections we can have lots of people registering at the polling place. Given that very low barrier to entry, I find the percentage of eligible voters who vote a much more interesting figure.
posted by Area Man at 8:09 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

See, money talks and bullshit (aka most punditry) walks. So there must have been some belief that it [Pennsylvania] was worth spending money there for this to happen. The only question is whether they were doing it because they really thought they could flip it,

One of the postmortems I read said that the Romney campaign had internal polling following a very similar scheme to the unskewed polls guy. So it was skewed like +3 or +5 or +7 or whatever towards Republicans and under that scheme Pennsylvania looked like it was on the cusp of winnable and just needed that little extra boost.

In short--yes, they were drinking their own kool-aid.
posted by flug at 8:30 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

This is a pretty funny cartoon from the Salt Lake Tribune - double funny if you know anything about Utah or Mormon culture.

Triple funny for me because one of the first Facebook messages I saw after the election results were announced was from a Mormon friend about how we all need to just stay calm, take a deep breath, and make sure our two year supplies* are topped up.

The two year supply of food & staples Mormons spend a lot of time talking about--disaster preparedness, see. The guy in the cartoon has packed his two-year supply and his 20 kids in the car, with the dog crate conveniently tied on top of it all. See, Romney is having a positive effect on Mormon culture!
posted by flug at 8:39 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ohio’s GOP Secretary of State Already Has A Plan To Rig The 2016 Election For Republicans

"We oppose the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact or any other scheme to abolish or distort the procedures of the Electoral College."
posted by dirigibleman at 8:49 AM on November 9, 2012 [5 favorites]

"Gas rationing in NYC. STOCK MARKET tanking, million people with out electric, IRAN shooting at our aircraft in international airspace! ONLY 3 DAYS IN! Good job AMERICA!?!"

I'd text back "a) without; b) relax, he's got this."
posted by jaduncan at 8:59 AM on November 9, 2012

ORCA: "Working primarily as a web developer, I had some serious questions. Things like "Has this been stress tested?", "Is there redundancy in place?" and "What steps have been taken to combat a coordinated DDOS attack or the like?", among others. These types of questions were brushed aside (truth be told, they never took one of my questions). They assured us that the system had been relentlessly tested and would be a tremendous success."

AH HA HA HA HA HA. The secret-plans irony is almost too exquisite, no?
posted by jaduncan at 9:02 AM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

NASA is serious about sending astronauts back to the moon's neighborhood and will likely unveil its ambitious plans soon now that President Barack Obama has been re-elected, experts say.

Where do I sign the petition to make sure Neil Degrasse Tyson gets to go?

I just received this text this morning from a family member:
"Gas rationing in NYC. STOCK MARKET tanking, million people with out electric, IRAN shooting at our aircraft in international airspace! ONLY 3 DAYS IN! Good job AMERICA!?!"

Heh. My parents have been sending my sister and me ridiculously fake Alexis de Toqueville quotes (no doubt cut and pasted from some Tea Party glossolalia that passes for a newsletter or website) implying that we supported Obama because we're on welfare and want America to become a dictatorship (or possible a monarchy; not sure which it is that I'm in favor of) so that we can live off government handouts for the rest of our lives.

It should go without saying that my parents are on Social Security and Medicare.
posted by scody at 9:13 AM on November 9, 2012 [19 favorites]

To be fair they tried to make blackpeoplemourningromney.tumblr.com and it was just a picture of Clarence Thomas.

and Stacey Dash, of course. Plus, who's that utter batshit guy, oh yeah, Allen West. Did he LOSE? Sweet. And my least favorite of all, Condoleeza Rice.

I think my favorite so far from WPMR:

"at least mitt is more popular"

...

"i don't care, my daddy still makes millions"

...

"what a mess"
posted by mrgrimm at 9:22 AM on November 9, 2012

So I'm being called a gloater and a sore winner by the party whose candidate was going to shoot fireworks over a city that didn't vote for him when he won?

Yeah, there's gloating going on. But, from my Canadian perspective, I'm also getting a profound level of seven-year-olds-having-a-tantrum sore loser-ishness.

And again (because it's been haunting my dreams), look no further than Greg Nog's link from a while back:

If I meet a Democrat in my life from here on out, I will shun them immediately. I will spit on the ground in front of them, being careful not to spit in their general direction so that they can't charge me with some stupid little nuisance law. Then I'll tell them in no un-certain terms: "I do not associate with Democrats. You all are communist pigs, and I have nothing but utter disgust for you. Sir/Madam, you are scum of the earth." Then I'll turn and walk the other way.

Buttons. Boy, you can have a lot of fun with this. I plan to make up a bunch of buttons, and wear them around town, sayings like "Democrats are Communist Pigs," or "Welfare moochers steal from hard-working Americans," "Only Nazis support Seat Belt laws" or "No Smoking Ban: Nanny-Staters go Fuck Yourselves."

As I said before. We do need a new word for this moment when satire and reality become indistinguishable. Earlier, I suggested SinguHilarity. But over drinks last night, I was convinced that that's one syllable too many. So now it's just SingHilarity. Though if you've had a few drinks, you can just slur it any way you like.

God Bless Barack Hussein Obama II Riding A Unicorn Firing Rainbows Of Perversity And Satanic Communism.
posted by philip-random at 9:37 AM on November 9, 2012 [10 favorites]

Oh man, I didn't click that link before and had no idea it was Eric Dondero we were talking about. That guy regularly gets kicked out of far-right and libertarian groups (online and meatspace), for hating Democrats too much. Think about that. He's walking, talking proof of Poe's Law.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:48 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

FJT: "Here, they say that perhaps Project ORCA failed because it was based on old "HTTP Web Architectures" as opposed to something used to real-time like HTML5. Anyone app developers here that can comment on this would be welcome. Especially if you've worked on the Romney Apps."

That's just gobbledygook.
posted by wierdo at 9:48 AM on November 9, 2012 [5 favorites]

Re investigating threats against the president:

TURLOCK -- A Turlock woman who posted inflammatory comments on Facebook about President Barack Obama has been fired from her job and reported to the U.S. Secret Service.

Turlock resident Denise Helms, 22, posted shortly after the president's re-election Tuesday on her Facebook page, "And another 4 years of the (n-----). Maybe he will get assassinated this term..!!"

...

Helms has since deleted the post and posted again about the incident. It reads: "So apparently my post last night about Obama got onto Twitter and Fox 40 came and interviewed me cause apparently a lot of people in Sacramento think I'm crazy and racist. WOW is all I got to say!! I'm not racist and I'm not crazy. just simply stating my opinion.!!!"

(Er, you called him the N word. Hello? Maybe you're not racist, but you're acting like one.)

[Secret Service Agent] Gillingham said his office would be assigned to review any report from Turlock, but he would not comment further on any possible investigation into her posting.

"We get a lot of these kinds of referrals, especially off of the Internet," he said.
posted by rtha at 9:48 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm not racist

lol okay
posted by elizardbits at 9:50 AM on November 9, 2012 [10 favorites]

I don't know if it will be televised, but the daybook for today says: 1:05 p.m.: (President Obama) Delivers a statement on the economy. White House, East Room. Open Press.

And the AP just tweeted: BREAKING: AP source: Obama inviting leaders of Congress to White House next week for fiscal cliff talks.
posted by cashman at 9:50 AM on November 9, 2012

Some helpful information for unhappy Romney supporters courtesy of Fox 23 News in Tulsa.
posted by Dojie at 9:55 AM on November 9, 2012 [8 favorites]

Boehner Still Threatens Future of Humanity
posted by homunculus at 9:59 AM on November 9, 2012

President Obama Cries While Thanking Campaign Staff
posted by homunculus at 10:02 AM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

President about to speak from the East Room of the White House.
posted by cashman at 10:05 AM on November 9, 2012

Thanks, Joe in Australia, that was awesome.

Two more funny things about ORCA:

They kept calling it an "app," but it wasn't an app, it was a mobile optimized website. But this meant that volunteers who signed up went looking for it as an app in the Apple and Android stores, couldn't find it, and gave up in frustration.

Orcas aren't the only known predators of narwhals. Polar bears are their major predators. I wonder why they didn't recognize that - maybe reminding people about anything polar is too climate-changey.
posted by Miko at 10:06 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Link to C-SPAN stream
posted by cmfletcher at 10:07 AM on November 9, 2012

DynamiteToast: "... we stumbled upon (what I think is) an excellent idea.

There needs to be a monthly social, that only the senators go to and they have to get drunk. They can bring one staff member/ babysitter who has to stay sober to make sure they don't start making out or ranting about the redeeming qualities of communism. The pages have to be the bartenders obviously."
---

No - you don't do this with alcohol, you do it with MDMA. Regular, therapeutic group sessions of MDMA and political representatives.
posted by symbioid at 10:07 AM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

cmfletcher: "Link to C-SPAN stream"

Context: Where Obama is addressing "the fiscal cliff".
posted by boo_radley at 10:12 AM on November 9, 2012

philip-random: "As I said before. We do need a new word for this moment when satire and reality become indistinguishable. Earlier, I suggested SinguHilarity. But over drinks last night, I was convinced that that's one syllable too many. So now it's just SingHilarity. Though if you've had a few drinks, you can just"

If I'm drunk enough, it's "SingHi...ccup...larity."
posted by symbioid at 10:12 AM on November 9, 2012

The fun thing about people who say they are going to dash off to Canada because of the election results is that they will become illegal aliens pouring through the weak southern border, using the public resources, and taking jobs away from citizens (of Canada).
posted by benito.strauss at 10:22 AM on November 9, 2012 [15 favorites]

I've seen some "run away to Canada" talk too. So weird. Canada is where liberals are supposed to run away to on a bad election result. These conservatives are going to be in for a mighty shock to the system when they get to Canada, I think. Shouldn't they have their own place to run away to on a bad election result? Somewhere that makes more sense? Somalia, perhaps?
posted by Flunkie at 10:25 AM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

I was scared there for a minute with his overly conciliatory remarks, but then the other shoe dropped. I don't think the Republicans will be willing to pass an extension of the "middle class" cuts, though. That would put the President in an even better negotiating position for the rest of the deal.
posted by wierdo at 10:26 AM on November 9, 2012

Obama: bringing in expert advice, seeking consensus, open to balanced ideas.
The negotiator who's about to keep the public informed of plans.

He won't be easily replaced.
posted by de at 10:27 AM on November 9, 2012

Shouldn't they have their own place to run away to on a bad election result? Somewhere that makes more sense? Somalia, perhaps?

Given that Somalia's head of state is black, I'm not sure that moving there would address the primary concern that many have with Obama's re-election.
posted by howfar at 10:29 AM on November 9, 2012 [10 favorites]

I've seen some "run away to Canada" talk too. So weird. Canada is where liberals are supposed to run away to on a bad election result. These conservatives are going to be in for a mighty shock to the system when they get to Canada, I think. Shouldn't they have their own place to run away to on a bad election result? Somewhere that makes more sense? Somalia, perhaps?

What? This election the conservatives have been seeking refuge in Australia.
posted by Talez at 10:29 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

wierdo: " There will come a day, maybe in 4 years or maybe in 40, when Democrats are again out in the wilderness and Republicans are ascendant. Perhaps it's nothing more than Linus' security blanket, but I like the idea of a safety valve."

That day will come, but if you assume that both parties will hold the Senate about an equal amount of time (which they generally have) then the presence of the filibuster leads to worse outcomes long-term for progressives. Democrats are also far more circumspect in their use of the filibuster, generally in line with norms going back many decades, whereas the GOP uses it to turn the Senate into a body that requires a supermajority to name a post office.

Better to do away with the damned thing than keep it around as a weapon they're not as willing to use as the other guys are.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:30 AM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

That whole drinking togeagther thing? Use to be pretty common practice. And yeah I think a certain amount of that is helpfull. Time not spent grandstanding and knowing your fellow lawmakes as human is valuable. Too much is bad though, backroom deals etc...

FWIW,our new REP is saying the first thing he will do is introduce legislation to do away with Citizens United ... we'll see.
posted by edgeways at 10:33 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hey wingnuts: don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:33 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

oh, now Boehner's speaking. Interesting stuff.
posted by boo_radley at 10:34 AM on November 9, 2012

Yeah, when Bushes got re-elected, I made (non-serious) noises about wanting to move to Canada, because Canada more closely resembled the country I wanted my country to be. The tweets I've seen where conservatives are making noises about moving to Oz get all defensive when it's pointed out that Oz has everything the conservatives claim to hate: No First Amendment; extremely strict gun control; and universal health care. Not just universal, but single-payer universal health care!

I wonder how some people even manage to put their shoes on the correct feet.
posted by rtha at 10:35 AM on November 9, 2012 [11 favorites]

jeez, why do congressional republicans always insist on working with the president? I'm sure there's some congressional democrats they could chat with.
posted by boo_radley at 10:36 AM on November 9, 2012

I'd think Western Sahara, or even Somilia would be more up their ally... oh wait...too many brown folks, damn
posted by edgeways at 10:42 AM on November 9, 2012

You're going to be hard pressed to find anywhere that'll take Republican-refugees, let alone satisfy their needs.
posted by de at 10:44 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

jeez, why do congressional republicans always insist on not working with the president? I'm sure there's some congressional democrats they could ~~chat with~~ give wedgies to.

FTFY.

In all seriousness, I do think that having Reid and Pelosi cut out of the negotiations (at least that's how it looks) is a bad precedent. It shows that if you're willing to strap yourself to a bomb and take down the President's agenda, you get rewarded by... getting a whole lot of his time and attention. I'm sure Harry and Nancy are more involved in back-channel negotiations than we're aware of, but having them be the only way they get to communicate with the President would show that they're negotiating with Barbara Lee's position as the left flank, not Obama's.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:48 AM on November 9, 2012

Flunkie: "I've seen some "run away to Canada" talk too. So weird. Canada is where liberals are supposed to run away to on a bad election result. These conservatives are going to be in for a mighty shock to the system when they get to Canada, I think. Shouldn't they have their own place to run away to on a bad election result? Somewhere that makes more sense? Somalia, perhaps?"

As Jello Biafra sang "Saying 'love it, or leave it' I'll get beat up if I criticize it... You want a banana republic that bad? Why don't you go move to one..."
posted by symbioid at 10:53 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

That whole drinking togeagther thing? Use to be pretty common practice. And yeah I think a certain amount of that is helpfull. Time not spent grandstanding and knowing your fellow lawmakes as human is valuable. Too much is bad though, backroom deals etc...

Maybe they should start a Senatorial bowling league.
posted by Golden Eternity at 10:54 AM on November 9, 2012

Shouldn't they have their own place to run away to on a bad election result? Somewhere that makes more sense?

Arizona.
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:56 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Per "Move to Australia" there's something called the Australian Tea Party that some conservatives were posting in my feed before the election.

I'm sure people who don't know much about Australia just think "lots of whites" and "Crocodile Dundee" and so they want to go.
posted by sweetkid at 10:57 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

THEN: "It's the economy, stupid."

NOW: "It's the math, stupid."

President Obama, all the surrogates, and the media should be saying this every time a Republican doesn't want to "increase revenue". Make Mitch McConnell defend his math.
posted by Room 641-A at 11:00 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I find it sad and funny that if the rightiest rightwingers in the US could just put aside some of their xenophobia, they'd find plenty of oppressive and theocratic countries that would suit their ideological needs quite well.

Then again, if they were capable of setting it aside in the first place, they wouldn't be clamoring to emigrate because they would be able to get the hell along with everyone else.
posted by cmyk at 11:00 AM on November 9, 2012

I'm sure people who don't know much about Australia just think "lots of whites" and "Crocodile Dundee" and so they want to go.

Actually, I usually think of the wonderful Christian man who is the president of Australia and how he always keeps his word.

Why, yes, I am going to the Big Rock Candy Mountain. Why do you ask?
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:01 AM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

What was America scouting for? Ocean debris?

Patrol boats, most likely (see previously).

That's not right. We have compulsory voting in Australia and our turnout in 2004 was 94.32%. There's no way you can have 99.8% turnout in a county.

This type of figure (at least in the US) is measured against registered voters. If you have a surge in registrations, there's no reason you can't have 110% or more turnout (here in Wisconsin, we have same-day registration, so that can indeed happen). This, of course, is often misinterpreted by the right as proof of vote fraud, but it's just the way that the measurement works.

Orcas aren't the only known predators of narwhals. Polar bears are their major predators. I wonder why they didn't recognize that

Well, orcas have good press as predators.
posted by dhartung at 11:02 AM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

Oh, and some love for Alan Grayson -- welcome back! Give 'em fucking hell!

Warren and Grayson bring Occupy to Congress
posted by homunculus at 11:02 AM on November 9, 2012 [7 favorites]

The tweets I've seen where conservatives are making noises about moving to Oz get all defensive when it's pointed out that Oz has everything the conservatives claim to hate: No First Amendment; extremely strict gun control; and universal health care. Not just universal, but single-payer universal health care!

This is what happens when people eschew public education.

Australia also has an atheist prime minister, the aforementioned compulsory voting, no death penalty, and gives its citizens abortion access (no waiting, no consent needed of spouse/partner, and only one state requires parental consent, PLUS the mother's life generally takes precedence over the welfare of the fetus), etc.

But TP conservatives should totally move to Australia. I'm sure they'd be very happy there. We'd certainly be happier with 'em there, at any rate.
posted by zarq at 11:07 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm sure people who don't know much about Australia just think "lots of whites" and "Crocodile Dundee" and so they want to go.

... We'll save Australia; don't wanna hurt no kangaroo...
posted by Flunkie at 11:21 AM on November 9, 2012

Shouldn't they have their own place to run away to on a bad election result? Somewhere that makes more sense?

Arizona.

Seriously, this is getting old.
posted by Superplin at 11:24 AM on November 9, 2012

The amount of memory this thread requires is making work difficult, and the river of sweet reactionary tears is starting to dry up, so I'm closing it for now.

Before I go, let me leave you with a bit of grumpy griping from a well-dressed white supremacist
posted by clarknova at 11:27 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am very excited about the return of Alan Grayson to the house, but I wish there was a way to pull Russ Feingold into the administration to work as a liason with congress. I miss Russ.
posted by readery at 11:27 AM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

Media Matters: WaPo's Jennifer Rubin Admits She Misled Her Readers

The Right's Jennifer Rubin Problem: A Case Study in Info Disadvantage. Conservatives lobbied hard to install one of their own at the Washington Post. But it didn't work out as they imagined it would.
posted by homunculus at 11:35 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Obama was on the teevee today talking about the fiscal ~~cliff~~ slope negotiations, and he already seems to be conceding extension of the "middle class tax cut" -- i.e. only allowing the cuts for the top 2% to expire. This is a strategic error. Yes, the bad press coming from "Obama to allow tax cuts on 98% of the population to expire on December 31" will be brutal, but on Jan 1, he suddenly has a much better negotiating position, and can pin the failure to pass a middle class tax cut on the Republicans. Yes, this is high stakes poker, but conceding anything before negotiations has begun is not what people voted for on Tuesday.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:37 AM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

a bit of grumpy griping from a well-dressed white supremacist

Jesus. I guess that guy really likes Cool hWhip on his pie.
posted by howfar at 11:39 AM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

conceding anything before negotiations has begun is not what people voted for on Tuesday

They voted for Barack Obama, so....yeah, they pretty much did.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:40 AM on November 9, 2012 [5 favorites]

Shouldn't they have their own place to run away to on a bad election result? Somewhere that makes more sense?

A lot of the disgruntled conservatives been making noises about Texas. Apparently Rick Perry will give them a promised land of milk and honey and guns and no abortions and low, low taxes.

It is funny to me that there is almost literally nowhere else in the world they can go. Looking at their criteria for a refuge:

1-White leadership
2-Unlimited access to guns
3-Very low taxes and no socialism of even the mildest sort
4-Strong and vocal Christian majority
5-No regulations
6-More or less first world conditions

I'm coming up blank. There's nowhere I can think of which would give them even 5 out of 6. There are places which would give them 4 but they wouldn't like it very much.

One nice thing about being a liberal: there's a lot more places to choose from.
posted by honestcoyote at 11:40 AM on November 9, 2012 [13 favorites]

clarknova:

That video mad me feel dirty. What horrible, horrible shit pours out of that guy's mouth.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 11:42 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Before I go, let me leave you with a bit of grumpy griping from a well-dressed white supremacist

More like hwite supremacist.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:42 AM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

There's nowhere I can think of which would give them even 5 out of 6.

From what I understand, Putin's Russia is an unregulated free market paradise right now (well, a paradise if you were one of the ones to help "privatize" all of the former government assets)
posted by sparklemotion at 11:43 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Lovely bit of verbiage from Gary Wills in the NYRB-

Many losing candidates became elder statesmen of their parties. What lessons will Romney have to teach his party? The art of crawling uselessly? How to contemn 47 percent of Americans less privileged and beautiful than his family? How to repudiate the past while damaging the future? It is said that he will write a book. Really? Does he want to relive a five-year-long experience of degradation? What can be worse than to sell your soul and find it not valuable enough to get anything for it?

I'd love to imagine that there's something there, inside that bubble, that will read this and recognize its truth. But I don't know if I can...
posted by hap_hazard at 11:45 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am very excited about the return of Alan Grayson to the house, but I wish there was a way to pull Russ Feingold into the administration to work as a liason with congres

You know what would be awesome? Russ Feingold, Supreme Court Justice. It would be a huge shot across the bow of Citizen's United.
posted by drezdn at 11:46 AM on November 9, 2012 [8 favorites]

But according to Romney, the supposed lead spokesman for the Republican Party until very recently, Putin's Russia is the biggest enemy of our "freedoms".
posted by Benny Andajetz at 11:46 AM on November 9, 2012

clarknova: "Before I go, let me leave you with a bit of grumpy griping from a well-dressed white supremacist "

Don't you mean "race realist?" *barf*

hwite hwite hwite hwite hwite hwite hwite
posted by brundlefly at 11:47 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Russia has a flat tax too. It's starting to sound like a conservative's dream.
posted by cmfletcher at 11:50 AM on November 9, 2012

The amount of memory this thread requires is making work difficult, and the river of sweet reactionary tears is starting to dry up, so I'm closing it for now.

Google Chrome shows this page taking up only 440 megs of memory. Damn lightweight.
posted by Talez at 11:52 AM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

> clarknova: "Before I go, let me leave you with a bit of grumpy griping from a well-dressed white supremacist"

... and that's what happens to your fricatives if you practise talking with a pillowslip over your head.
posted by de at 12:17 PM on November 9, 2012 [5 favorites]

I wonder what Mitt Romney is doing right now. Yeah, yeah, he's shell shocked and all, but what is he doing? Lounging by the pool? Off exercising? Just hanging around the house?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:24 PM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

It is funny to me that there is almost literally nowhere else in the world they can go. Looking at their criteria for a refuge:

1-White leadership
2-Unlimited access to guns
3-Very low taxes and no socialism of even the mildest sort
4-Strong and vocal Christian majority
5-No regulations
6-More or less first world conditions

Hate to say it, but Alberta fits ... although there will be a few restrictions on guns.
posted by philip-random at 12:24 PM on November 9, 2012

... and that's what happens to your fricatives if you practise talking with a pillowslip over your head.

So hwile hwe're on the subjhect, what's with the skhull behind that guy's left shouldher?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:28 PM on November 9, 2012

"Before I go, let me leave you with a bit of grumpy griping from a well-dressed white supremacist "

This might be controversial, but if certain Stormfront whites really wanted to separate and form their own Snow Crash-esque community, I wouldn't be against that (depending on how it's implemented). I think they honestly feel disenfranchised and no amount of evidence or exposure to diversity will get them caught up with the 21st century. And they would probably be like the Amish, but just with more pickup trucks and stupid Confederate flags.
posted by FJT at 12:35 PM on November 9, 2012

The skull belongs to the last black woman who tried to run for Republican pre-selection, I'm sure.
posted by de at 12:38 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Before I go, let me leave you with a bit of grumpy griping from a well-dressed white supremacist "

I think I'm really glad that accessing youtube is currently not a straightforward business for me.
posted by bardophile at 12:39 PM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

FJT: "This might be controversial, but if certain Stormfront whites really wanted to separate and form their own Snow Crash-esque community, I wouldn't be against that (depending on how it's implemented). I think they honestly feel disenfranchised and no amount of evidence or exposure to diversity will get them caught up with the 21st century. And they would probably be like the Amish, but just with more pickup trucks and stupid Confederate flags."

It might be okay if they ran off somewhere and did their own thing without bugging the rest of us, but would Stormfront types be satisfied with sitting at the kids' table? It seems to take the supremacy out of white supremacy.
posted by brundlefly at 12:45 PM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

This might be controversial, but if certain Stormfront whites really wanted to separate and form their own Snow Crash-esque community, I wouldn't be against that (depending on how it's implemented). I think they honestly feel disenfranchised and no amount of evidence or exposure to diversity will get them caught up with the 21st century. And they would probably be like the Amish, but just with more pickup trucks and stupid Confederate flags.

They've been trying for a few years now. And they are not really so much into the idea of peacefully keeping to themselves and not bothering the outside world the way the Amish are.
posted by kagredon at 12:46 PM on November 9, 2012

Obama victory infuriates Pakistani drone victims
posted by homunculus at 12:53 PM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

Hate to say it, but Alberta fits ... although there will be a few restrictions on guns.

Please don't give them ideas.
posted by arcticseal at 12:58 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Paul Krugman: Let’s Not Make a Deal

Charles Pierce: How the Democrats Can Make the Republicans Pay
posted by homunculus at 1:20 PM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

That badass Ohio judge is named Algernon Marbley.

Actually, it's Algenon (no "r".) Wikipedia.

We should send him some flowes, anyway.

posted by Herodios at 1:21 PM on November 9, 2012 [19 favorites]

That badass Ohio judge is named Algernon Marbley.

Actually, it's Algenon (no "r".) Wikipedia.

We should send him some flowes, anyway.

Are they fo him?
posted by grubi at 1:24 PM on November 9, 2012

Daniel Day Lewis congratulates "Obama chair"
posted by homunculus at 1:27 PM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

I wonder what Mitt Romney is doing right now.

No one will refer to him by his code name, Javelin.

For six years, Mitt Romney pursued a singular goal, fervently seeking to fulfill a dream his father, too, once held: winning the presidency.

On Wednesday, for perhaps the first time since 2006 when he sat down with his longtime advisers to sketch out his first presidential run, he had to face the reality that it wasn’t meant to be.

His Secret Service protection is now gone, and there is no longer use for the code name he chose after a car once made by his father’s company. There is no more campaign plane, no daily schedules to follow, no battery of aides making sure he has the peanut butter and honey to make his beloved sandwich.

Instead, some Republicans speculate he’ll return to being an outcast in his own party and could relocate to the West Coast to start anew without the harsh glare of the national political spotlight.

By the end of his campaign, Romney seemed to have a sense of peace about the type of race he had run. But the man who loves data also has to accept that he was rejected by young voters, by minorities of every kind, and even by his hometown of Belmont and his home state of Massachusetts.

By the time he addressed his supporters on Tuesday night — in a massive convention hall that opened when he was governor, in the same building where he staged the national call day for his first campaign — the crowd had thinned. They chanted “Mitt! Mitt! Mitt!” and attempted to sing “God Bless America.” But it was lackluster and half-hearted. Some donors, who were vital to making sure his campaign was flush with cash, had left the convention hall when the result had become clear.

The country had moved on, and not in the direction they had hoped.

... It is unclear what Romney, 65, will do next, but those close to him expect it could be nonprofit work, becoming more active in the Mormon Church, or, for the time being, becoming a full-time grandfather.

But even his supporters don’t anticipate any political future. The post-campaign blame is already being targeted on some of Romney’s longtime Boston-based aides, which could alienate him from the Washington power brokers who never fully embraced him.

“I think he just fades,” said one top donor who has been close to Romney for years and spoke on the condition of anonymity. “I don’t see him doing anything in Washington. Maybe some advisory stuff, speeches now and then. But I think we’ve seen, for the most part, the last of Mitt Romney.”

... One supporter Wednesday said that the Romneys would likely move to La Jolla, Calif. They had been trying to renovate their home but put it on hold during the intensity of the race.*

Buh-bye.

Door. Ass. You get the drill.

Buh-bye.
posted by ericb at 1:39 PM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

hey guys maybe he will travel the country giving entertaining and informative speeches about climate change
posted by sweetkid at 1:43 PM on November 9, 2012 [5 favorites]

...aides making sure he has the peanut butter and honey to make his beloved sandwich.

What?! Peanut butter and honey was one of my favorite childhood sandwiches! I hope this revelation hasn't ruined it for me.
posted by TedW at 1:44 PM on November 9, 2012

Russia's Putin Invites Obama to Moscow

Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin academic, is cautiously optimistic. He said, “I think we have quite good [perspective] for improving the relationship between Russia and United States because Barack Obama is not hostage of stereotypes of the Cold War period.”
posted by Golden Eternity at 1:47 PM on November 9, 2012

hey guys maybe he will travel the country giving entertaining and informative speeches about climate change

and how to best profit from it, yeah
posted by grubi at 1:47 PM on November 9, 2012

A telling anecdote that a neighbor of mine just told me over the phone: When Romney was Governor here in Massachusetts she had to deal with his office on numerous occasions. She said that the hallway that Mitt would enter upon arriving every day at the State House was cordoned off with a velvet rope so that he could enter on his own ... and that he would ride up in the elevator alone, so as not to have to interact with anyone else.

Christ, what a Masshole!
posted by ericb at 1:50 PM on November 9, 2012 [6 favorites]

Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin academic, is cautiously optimistic.

Whenever I read "cautiously optimistic", I always imagine its opposite: carelessly pessimistic.

Just once I'd love to hear a public official say, "There's still a long way to go with these negotiations, but we're feeling carelessly pessimistic."
posted by philip-random at 1:53 PM on November 9, 2012 [11 favorites]

ericb: "For six years, Mitt Romney pursued a singular goal, fervently seeking to fulfill a dream his father, too, once held: winning the presidency."

This was the most offensive part of his campaign for me: That he just seemed bored about the campaigning and the speechifying and so on. His attitude just seemed like "why am I doing this? why am I not president already?"
posted by boo_radley at 1:54 PM on November 9, 2012 [5 favorites]

Instead, some Republicans speculate he’ll return to being an outcast in his own party and could relocate to the West Coast to start anew without the harsh glare of the national political spotlight.

And I'll be right there ready to spearhead the GOTV against this asshole if he even thinks about entering California politics.
posted by Talez at 1:57 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

...the result of someone blowing smoke about how amazing software could do things, but not realizing the scale of the logistics involved in it.

Yep. Most people don't realize what an enormous impact scale can have. For example, this started out to be a great idea, but the people initially running it had no clue how to implement something of its magnitude. Consequently, it is in big trouble.
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:00 PM on November 9, 2012

ars technica - Inside Team Romney's whale of an IT meltdown
posted by charlie don't surf at 2:02 PM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

CNET: Why Romney's Orca Killer App Beached On Election Day -- "Project Orca was supposed to give the Romney campaign a technological advantage over Obama when it mattered most. It turned out that Orca couldn't save the day."
posted by ericb at 2:03 PM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Talez: "Instead, some Republicans speculate he’ll return to being an outcast in his own party and could relocate to the West Coast to start anew without the harsh glare of the national political spotlight.

And I'll be right there ready to spearhead the GOTV against this asshole if he even thinks about entering California politics."

Because California politics isn't in the national spotlight? What? Yeah, little backwater state here, no real media markets to speak of....

And I'm with you on that, Talez.
posted by gingerbeer at 2:05 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

charlie don't surf: "ars technica - Inside Team Romney's whale of an IT meltdown"

Holy shit that graphic.
posted by boo_radley at 2:10 PM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

Not to answer for Edgeways, but my data suggests Ramsey county had the highest percentage of voters for Obama.

Hey, that's where I live! My precinct voted ‎87.36% against the same-sex marriage amendment and 82.73% against the voter ID amendment. We really are flaming libtards here in the middle of the heartland.
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:10 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

ORCA was probably Ryan's concept. He and Mitt were to micromanage the election from some dashboard, spitting out spreadsheets of flash mobs for distribution to Indian call centres. Today the election, tomorrow the world.

Wonder if Ryan's still lecturing his kids on what happened to daddy?
posted by de at 2:17 PM on November 9, 2012

“We find ourselves with about 8 million fewer white voters than we would expect given turnout in the 2008 elections and population growth,” Mr. Trende wrote Thursday. (Whites were the voters for whom Romney had the biggest appeal.)

The no-show pattern surprised many conservatives, who thought their base was energized to vote.
posted by Golden Eternity at 2:19 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

[YouTube - 8:25] Video for President Obama's 1pm statement earlier today.
posted by cashman at 2:22 PM on November 9, 2012

"There's nothing that the Obama data team, there's nothing that the Obama campaign, there's nothing that President Obama himself can do to even come close to what we are putting together here," Romney Deputy Political Director Dan Centinello said Wednesday night in a training call for Project ORCA volunteers.

What's baffling me about this is, as far as I can tell they're just talking about a mobile website to let poll watchers input strike lists. Is that really it? It seems hard to believe that any campaign with time and money wouldn't have that -- it's the first thing you'd think of when you got around to "how shall we gather the information from our poll watchers?" I know Elizabeth Warren had one, and it's explicitly allowed for in the Massachusetts Secretary of State's rules on election monitoring. Not exactly cutting edge top secret stuff.

Was there a backend that was novel somehow? Or was this just an Iraqi-Minister-of-Information level of overstatement?
posted by jhc at 2:29 PM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

It sounds like ORCA was not their only problem.

ORCA is a symptom of the problem, and that's that Romney is a privileged asshole born on third base and thinking he hit a triple. Therefore, everything he does is automatically awesome and he doesn't need to actually do anything to assure success, like hire the best people, monitor progress, inspire the troops, or instill a sense of mission and duty.
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:30 PM on November 9, 2012 [7 favorites]

I went looking for some detail on the "fiscal cliff" cuts, found this general overview. I'm with Krugman. It seems almost too good to be true - you would never get the Repubs to agree to 50/50 defense vs. nondefense cuts, and once all those Bush tax cuts are gone the Dems and Obama can be the good guys - "we want tax cuts for the 99%, and these guys are blocking it".

Let's drive over this cliff, it sounds like the right thing to do.
posted by Meatbomb at 2:35 PM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

To build Orca, the Romney campaign turned to Microsoft

The Windows candidate.

The bitter irony of this entire endeavor was that a supposedly small government candidate gutted the local structure of [get out the vote] efforts in favor of a centralized, faceless organization in a far off place (in this case, their Boston headquarters). Wrap your head around that

My irony meter exploded sometime around the RNC.
posted by mrgrimm at 2:45 PM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Karl Rove on why Romney lost: Obama was 'suppressing the vote'

I like that. Telling voters why the other candidate sucks is voter suppression because they can't bring themselves to vote for a black man.

The no-show pattern surprised many conservatives, who thought their base was energized to vote.

They probably forgot to account for all of the working and middle class white people who don't like outsourcing jobs to foreign countries. That's what Romney represents.
posted by mrgrimm at 2:53 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Because California politics isn't in the national spotlight? What? Yeah, little backwater state here, no real media markets to speak of....

I know that we're a giant state with a lot of people and a unmatched influence in the pop culture side of media but when I watch this segment it makes me realise that nobody on the east coast (i.e. most of the rest of the country) pays much attention about what happens politically in California unless it's highly extraordinary. Just like I wouldn't expect people in CA to really give much of a toss about the governor race in the other 49 states either.
posted by Talez at 3:00 PM on November 9, 2012

Mandates aren’t quite “myths”, as political scientist Robert Dahl argued in a 1990 article, but neither are they readily identifiable entities about which we can make confident assertions. Arguing whether Mr Obama has a mandate is like debating whether somebody has mojo, or whether basketball star LeBron James is "in the zone" on a given night: there’s a discussion to be had, but no way to come to a definite conclusion.

Wittgenstein is helpful here. Consider proposition no. 114 in his "Philosophical Investigations": “One thinks that one is tracing the outline of a thing’s nature over and over again, and one is merely tracing round the frame through which we look at it.” So in claiming that President Obama “has” a mandate or “lacks” one, we are just giving voice to our conception of what a mandate is and whether we’d like to confer one on a given president. The mandate is in the eye of the beholder.

Presidents have mandates, then, if we perceive them as having mandates, and don’t if we don’t. Which means that President Obama has one and doesn’t have one. And nailing down the matter is even more problematic than that. When we perceive a president as having a mandate, we are making a claim about what the American people meant when they cast their votes. To be a little too obvious: there is no “mandate” box to check on electoral ballots. You just vote for a candidate. There is no formal or informal way for the people to “give” a president a mandate. So when journalists and politicians weigh in on the subject they are really psychoanalysing the electorate writ large. That’s no mean task.

A matter of perception.
posted by Kattullus at 3:09 PM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

Forward! Time for some foreign policy change we can believe in.

Back to Work: 7 things the U.N. can finally get around to doing now that the U.S. election is over.
posted by homunculus at 3:19 PM on November 9, 2012

homunculus: "Forward! Time for some foreign policy change we can believe in."

But Obama eked out a narrow victory on Tuesday -- narrow partly for reasons beyond his control (the ongoing global recession, for instance), but partly because the Democratic base was far less energized this time around.

Man, Romney got beat in his face and ass on Tuesday. Where's this "narrow victory" narrative coming from?
posted by boo_radley at 3:26 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mapping Racist Tweets in Response to President Obama's Re-election
posted by plastic_animals at 3:27 PM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

Where's this "narrow victory" narrative coming from?

Well, the pundit class has been saying it was neck and neck. They can't exactly admit that it wasn't especially close without looking like (bigger) idiots.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:30 PM on November 9, 2012 [6 favorites]

boo_radley: " Man, Romney got beat in his face and ass on Tuesday. Where's this "narrow victory" narrative coming from?"

The electoral college notwithstanding, President Obama only took the popular vote by 3 million. Which is (predictably) why the losing side is making noise about eliminating the EC again.
posted by zarq at 3:32 PM on November 9, 2012

I have a vague recollection Bush's defeat of Kerry in 2004 (2.46% of the popular vote; about 3 million votes) was hailed as a righteous and clear victory by those who loved Bush.
posted by rtha at 3:36 PM on November 9, 2012 [10 favorites]

zarq: "President Obama only took the popular vote by 3 million. "

Oh, I don't know. I suppose if 3 million people told me I was a winner I'd listen to them.
posted by boo_radley at 3:38 PM on November 9, 2012 [6 favorites]

I have a vague recollection Bush's defeat of Kerry in 2004 (2.46% of the popular vote; about 3 million votes) was hailed as a righteous and clear victory by those who loved Bush.

It weren't just them
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 3:44 PM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

Man, Romney got beat in his face and ass on Tuesday. Where's this "narrow victory" narrative coming from?

I thought that was bizarre too; the author risks derailing the rest of the article over that. But the rest of the piece is okay and I've enjoyed her writing before, so I didn't dwell on it.
posted by homunculus at 3:50 PM on November 9, 2012

Not really election related, but this is an awesome letter from the Jesuit head of Fordham regarding the school's college Republican club's choice to invite Ann Coulter to speak at that college.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:50 PM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

I have a vague recollection Bush's defeat of Kerry in 2004 (2.46% of the popular vote; about 3 million votes) was hailed as a righteous and clear victory by those who loved Bush.

Will go you one better: Gore won the popular vote to Bush in 2000. Bush had -0.0262% of the popular vote and still treated his election as if he had a mandate.
posted by zarq at 3:51 PM on November 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

I have a vague recollection Bush's defeat of Kerry in 2004 (2.46% of the popular vote; about 3 million votes) was hailed as a righteous and clear victory by those who loved Bush.

Yep. This is because the pundit class and Republicans treat the Republicans and Democrats the same way supposedly neutral sports commentators treat large market teams and small market teams, respectively.

For example, when the Lakers are playing a smaller market team -- even a well-known smaller market team that contends for titles -- every Laker rally, dunk, and 3 point shot is HUGE and announced in great excitement, while there is markedly less enthusiasm for the smaller market team's accomplishment.

Similarly, every Republican victory is absolute and sends a clear message to the Democrats; every Democrat victory is only by the slimmest of margins and certainly no reason for the Democrats to move forward confidently, as they're still on very shaky ground. This holds true no matter the margins.

It'd be hilarious if it didn't have such serious consequences for the way the country is governed.
posted by lord_wolf at 4:06 PM on November 9, 2012 [10 favorites]

TPM: After 2004, there was a lot of talk about a permanent Republican majority that turned out to be premature. How durable do you think the Democrats’ gains are this time around?

TEIXEIRA: I think that it can be fairly durable. I think the word “permanent” is not appropriate since there are no permanent majorities in American politics even if the Democrats are able to do quite well with these emerging constituencies like Hispanics and Asians for awhile. Obviously, blacks are the group you’d least expect to defect, but certainly the rest of the growing minority population is in their corner and even more than they were just a few years ago. Democrats are doing well with college eduated women, they have professionals on their side, and of course the Millennial generation continues to vote pretty heavily Democratic.

But it’s all very dependent on how Republicans respond to this. If that party moves back towards the center in some meaningful way over time — which they show some signs of doing now — if the electoral vote stays against them long enough, eventually the forces in the party that see it as a problem will prevail. But that could take years. I think permanence isnt the issue so much as how long is a long time. Five years? Eight years? 20 years? I certainly think for this decade it looks like Democrats could have a continuing advantage because it’s likely to take the GOP awhile to right itself in the sense of getting more sensible on politics. And even when they develop the desire to do so, it takes time to implement it credibly and thus win constituents over. That sounds more like an eight-year project than a two- year one, but that’s just a guess.

Also, as the GOP looks for an answer, the same changes that have disadvantaged them over time are going to continue. It’s a moving target, a problem that is growing larger not smaller. For all these reasons I suspect the Democrats, while they will not win every election in the next 10 years, will have some sort of significant advantage from demographic shifts.

Forget Nate Silver: Meet The Guy Who Called 2012 In 2002.
posted by Kattullus at 4:12 PM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

Man, Romney got beat in his face and ass on Tuesday. Where's this "narrow victory" narrative coming from?

Some of my Facebook friends have claimed that Romney won the popular vote. One of them actually insta-defriended me when I pointed out to her that, well, hey, you know, that's not actually true.
posted by Flunkie at 4:13 PM on November 9, 2012 [6 favorites]

The World Reacts to Obama's Reelection

Tzipi Livni, a leader of the (Israeli) opposition, expressed joy on her Facebook page, and Yossi Verter, the political analyst at the newspaper Haaretz, dwelt gleefully on the irony of Sheldon Adelson—the Jewish American casino tycoon who lavished money on the Romney campaign—betting on the wrong man. “You’d expect a guy who made his fortune in gambling to handle himself a little more wisely.”
posted by Golden Eternity at 4:15 PM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

this is an awesome letter from the Jesuit head of Fordham regarding the school's college Republican club's choice to invite Ann Coulter to speak at that college.

Actually, I found the follow-up letter underneath it even more awesome - the student officers of that college Republican club admitting that "we looked a little more into what she's been saying and we actually changed our minds and already told her 'never mind' so she's not coming after all".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:16 PM on November 9, 2012 [6 favorites]

The electoral college notwithstanding, President Obama only took the popular vote by 3 million.

I wonder how many Obama supporters hit by Sandy didn't vote.
posted by futz at 4:24 PM on November 9, 2012

Or vice versa.
posted by futz at 4:24 PM on November 9, 2012

Meatbomb: "Let's drive over this cliff, it sounds like the right thing to do."

Yeah, there's a pretty nice bridge to drive on, but many people claim not to be able to see it.
posted by wierdo at 4:39 PM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Actually, I found the follow-up letter underneath it even more awesome

Agreed. That update was added since I first posted the link.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:45 PM on November 9, 2012

My colleagues left 2, maybe 3 days ago for a "victory celebration" of some sort. I still remain in the boiler room, in the basement of a Tallahassee PR company, awaiting the vote totals from a few remaining counties, to upload to the campaign server. I am subsisting on stale leftover pizza crusts and have 2 granola bars left over that I stole from a field office last week. I fear my wife has moved on without me and started a new life. But here I shall remain until the last of Florida's votes are counted.
posted by Cookiebastard at 4:54 PM on November 9, 2012 [22 favorites]

Slate interviews photojournalist Scout Tufankjian, who took both the bear hug photo and the photo that was used in the victory tweet.

Of photographing Barack and Michelle Obama together, Tufankjian says:

"Any interaction between the two of them is always going to be the best stuff that I shoot in any given day, almost without exception"

Also, from the story, don't miss the picture of the two kids kissing in the back row!
posted by Bokmakierie at 5:02 PM on November 9, 2012 [7 favorites]

futz: " I wonder how many Obama supporters hit by Sandy didn't vote."

Reportedly, voter turnout was down 15% in NYC, 12% in NJ. But even though those states are traditionally Blue, there's no guarantee those votes would have gone to Obama. There are lots of Republican districts in both states that were hard hit -- in New York, especially on Long Island and Staten Island.
posted by zarq at 5:08 PM on November 9, 2012

Will go you one better: Gore won the popular vote to Bush in 2000. Bush had -0.0262% of the popular vote and still treated his election as if he had a mandate.

Yeah, this. I very clearly remember the exact moment when W asserted that he had a "mandate" on camera; it was the moment I realized that whoever was in the White House could redefine a word to mean its exact opposite and nobody would say shit to them.

I also very distinctly recall the chill that went up my spine at that moment. It didn't go back down again for 7 more years.

DO NOT get me started on Frank "Doublespeak Is Doubleplus Good" Luntz, by the way. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.
posted by Aquaman at 5:09 PM on November 9, 2012 [6 favorites]

From the Ars Technica Orca article:

At one point the network connection to the campaign's data center went down—apparently because the ISP shut it off. "They told us Comcast thought it was a denial of service attack and shut it down," Dittuobu recounted. "(Centinello) was giddy about it," he added—presumably because he thought that so much traffic was sign of heavy system use.

Not only were they undone by their own hubris and believing their own propaganda, but they also got screwed by the poster child for corporate shittyness Comcast! That's the icing on the schadenfreude cake!
posted by vibrotronica at 5:27 PM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

I very clearly remember the exact moment when W asserted that he had a "mandate" on camera

Mandate? To this day, I still wouldn't even call his presidency legitimate.

One of the challenges Democrats faced though in those days were that the MSM were nearly openly supporting Republicans and biased towards Democrats, especially liberal-centrist ones (as opposed to Blue-dog Democrats). Democratic leaders at the time like Gephardt and Daschle did refuse to accept Bush's legitimacy at first, but unfortunately they eventually caved in.
posted by Bokmakierie at 5:30 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Actually, I found the follow-up letter underneath it even more awesome - the student officers of that college Republican club admitting that "we looked a little more into what she's been saying and we actually changed our minds and already told her 'never mind' so she's not coming after all".

I don't know, are Millennial college students really that naive? I actually find the club's backpedalling disingenuous given Ann Coulter's notoriety/prominence as a rightwing demagogue, and I'm quite surprised that they withdrew the invitation.

About a decade ago, the (teeny) Republican Club at my New England all-women's college caused a furore when they invited Ann Coulter to speak at our campus. I almost suspected them of trolling but in the end, free speech won out and the event actually attracted a large crowd. Many student activists showed up to boo and protest, but there were also self-identified liberals who decided to just hear her out. The event failed to change anybody's minds about Ann Coulter, but all in all, it was a very good exercise in tolerance that jolted a bunch of sheltered, privileged students from their bubble.
posted by peripathetic at 5:37 PM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.

Are you as frightening as The Rock Obama?
posted by homunculus at 5:38 PM on November 9, 2012

Red State: Campaign Sources: The Romney Campaign was a Consultant Con Job

I thought I'd be tired of the election by now, but it just keeps on giving and giving.
posted by honestcoyote at 5:38 PM on November 9, 2012 [12 favorites]

I hope a good ORCA thread gets made, because the whole story is amazing.
posted by codacorolla at 5:45 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Red State: Campaign Sources: The Romney Campaign was a Consultant Con Job

I thought I'd be tired of the election by now, but it just keeps on giving and giving.

fraudenshadenfreude?
posted by hap_hazard at 5:47 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

The end of honestcoyote's link:

The result of all of these false numbers and inaccurate ground reports is simple: Mitt Romney had no idea what was coming on election day and his false sense of confidence directly translated into how the campaign operated in the closing weeks. In the words of one source, it was a con job. As David Mamet famously said, “If you’re in the con game and you don’t know who the mark is … you’re the mark.” Mitt Romney had no idea what was coming.

The "you don't know who the mark is" thing doesn't quite work; I doubt Romney had any idea he was in a con,whereas most poker players (from whence the saying originally came) know they are at a poker table.

But there is the fact that for a con man Romney was a perfect mark, absolutely self-confident and ready to believe any story of his own superiority.
posted by localroger at 5:53 PM on November 9, 2012 [6 favorites]

This comment from honestcoyote's link is kind of amazing:

It just keeps getting worse. My wife and I made the decision over a month ago that we were not going to vote in the presidential race. I had come to the conclusion that both Romney and Obama met the Biblical definition of a false teacher and we are instructed to not give such even a greeting. I understand the nation elects a president not a preacher, but that Biblical principle is sound and applicable in these circumstances. And when I read that on the very day the Graham ads begin to run he is meeting with the Log Cabin Republicans (whose endorsement he ultimately garnered) and when his surrogates in swing states begin telling potential supporters not to worry about Roe v. Wade immediately after the first debate it is sickening.

Evangelicals need to realize that we are called to make disciples and be witnesses for Christ and continuing the fetish we have exhibited for 36 years for political power must stop. Many of our pastors got involved this time. Think about this — we believe that the leaders of nations are chosen in the sovereign providence of God. The mechanism for that choice here is democratic elections, but the result of that choice is in God’s hands. We now have hundreds of pastors who stood in their pulpits, used their God given authority and directly encouraged their people to do something that is demonstrably contrary to God’s will. Encouraging them to vote, to engage in the process by which God’s will works itself out would not be so bad, but to directly advocate for an earthly political leader damages them, impacts their people and raises barriers to making disciples and being witnesses. Every single one should humbly repent and given other Christ followers an example that may help lower those barriers in the weeks and months to come.

I have been truly appalled by the things that have started to come out about this campaign. I believe if we had been following Biblical principles, informing ourselves and demonstrating wisdom and discernment, Christ followers should have just refused to cast a ballot in this presidential race. Neither man, neither campaign was worthy of our support.

(paragraph breaks added)
posted by rtha at 5:53 PM on November 9, 2012 [5 favorites]

President Obama and the white vote? No problem.
posted by homunculus at 5:56 PM on November 9, 2012 [6 favorites]

Red State: Campaign Sources: The Romney Campaign was a Consultant Con Job

Good lord, the comments on that article. This one: Dear Reader:

Far be it from me to advance a "conspiracy theory" to explain the results of the 2012 presidential election. I refuse to do that. Frankly, the people who advance such theories on a routine basis make me more suspicious of them than the situation they are describing. But neither do I believe in multiple coincidences. Not when the control of the government of the United States is at issue. Not when the future of the world is at stake. And not when, in criminal law parlance, there is motive and opportunity.

That said, I was taken aback by the election results. They raise in my mind one pivotal question: How could a president who is a pathological liar and has a track record of failure in foreign and domestic affairs--which is obvious to anyone who has been paying attention, manage to win re-election against a candidate who appeared to have the credentials and track record required to rescue the country from the current malaise, and who was in fact prevailing according to credible pollsters until the last minute?

Big media would have us believe that the election result is attributable to changing demographics. However, that argument assumes that age, race and gender trump judgment. Furthermore, big media tells us that the Republican Party is controlled by the Tea Party, who are racist to the core. Yet they offer no proof. Finally, big media is joined at the hip to Obama, and has undermined every opponent he has had, from Hillary, to McCain, to Romney. It therefore follows that we should be skeptical of any explanation big media presumes to offer, to cover up their own corruption. In legal parlance, their explanations are tainted with bias and/or self interest.

Republicans on the other hand, have their own explanations for the election result. For example, Grass Roots Republicans claim that Romney was not conservative enough. That argument assumes that conservative social issues are wildly popular in battleground states--a dubious proposition at best. Meanwhile, Establishment Republicans offer an entirely different explanation. They claim that their message is fine, but Romney ran a poor campaign, failed to appeal to Hispanics, and lacked the massive ground gameof their opponent. They forget the fact that he was their candidate. They forget the fact that in bad economic times, most people prefer more government help not less.

In my view, none of these explanations suffice. If you set aside conventional wisdom and connect the cots, it becomes obvious that reason Romney lost because the election process itself was rigged--to a degree most of us neither realize, comprehend, or care to admit. The conventional response to that statement is predictable: Tell me who rigged this election and how they did that, so I can disprove what you say, and dismiss you as a tin foil hat job! No thank you. I am not walking into that trap. I will merely refer you to something Ben Hogan said when he was asked a question about his classic golf swing: "Dig it out of the ground like I did". If you investigate the possibility that the election was rigged rather than dismissing it out of hand, and if you are educable, then it is quite possible you will learn something in the process.

To that end, the following fact patterns and anomalies are material:

1. In 2008, John McCain was leading in the polls six weeks before the election. Then came the financial crash. Thereafter he lost the election.

2. Financial markets have been known to crash like this, once every eighty years.

3. Human beings have the ability to cause markets to crash. Soros did this in Britain in 1992, and in Asia in 1998

4. In 2012, Mitt Romney was surging in the polls a week before the election. Then came the hurricane Sandy. Thereafter he lost the election.

5. No prior hurricane has devastated all major battleground states to this degree. Was this the long awaited Was this the long awaited October surprise?

6. Human beings have the ability to manipulate weather patterns. Bush 43 set up project HAARP to generate sand storms in Iraq. Obama has expanded it

7. Voting machines in swing states switched Romney votes to Obama. How widespread this was has not been determined.

8. The DNC targeted Republican Allen West.

9. His vote count changed abruptly, he lost, and a court ordered recount is now in progress

10 The Obama campaign designed its website to accept illegal foreign donations.

11 One of his foreign bundlers Roach is closely connected to the government of Red China.

12 Obama received a wall of untraceable money-- with hidden strings attached to it.

13 Would a market crash or a hurricane visited on the largest battleground states on the eve of the election favor the candidate who advocates big government?

14 Would a market crash or a hurricane divert public attention from a massive cheating operation in battleground states? Or from the Benghazi scandal?

15 Would a mind capable of dropping bombs on a civilian population have moral compunctions against crashing markets and creating storms to secure political power?

Either you believe in multiple coincidences, or you do not. If you believe in them, then you will accept the conventional wisdom and fail to connect the dots. That is how your mind works. But if these fact patterns and anomalies make you curious, or even a trifle suspicious, given all that is at stake, then you will get the sense that maybe--just maybe, you are not being told the truth, and you may find yourself repeating the words of Marc Anthony:" Oh mischief thou art afoot".

Under Obama, we are drifting toward a one party system based on the Chicago model. That model rewards connected insiders, disenfranchises the electorate, bleeds the middle class dry. The American People must question conventional wisdom and start by asking the right questions. Otherwise, the republic will be lost. When Benjamin Franklin emerged from the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and was asked by a passerby what kind of government we have, he replied "A republic sir--if you can keep it". Nunc pro tunc--then as now. And the quickest way to lose a Republic is to allow unscrupulous politicians like Obama to bribe you with your own money.

*speechless*
posted by zarq at 5:57 PM on November 9, 2012 [8 favorites]

The Romney Campaign was a Consultant Con Job

Honestly, the more I learn about the Republican campaign this time around, the less surprised I would be if it turned out that the whole thing was some kind of Producers-type scam.
posted by Kattullus at 6:00 PM on November 9, 2012 [5 favorites]

Far be it from me to advance a "conspiracy theory"

"Though this be madness, yet there is method in it"
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:08 PM on November 9, 2012 [8 favorites]

Supreme Court Appears Ready to Nuke the Voting Rights Act
posted by homunculus at 6:14 PM on November 9, 2012

All the more reason to push for election reform.
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:22 PM on November 9, 2012

Maybe they should start a Senatorial bowling league.

You mean something like this?

Yes, not senatorial, I know. I'm sorry. I can, however, offer this very important bit of Bowling-Related Congressional Information.
posted by flug at 6:30 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

To that end, the following fact patterns and anomalies are material:

or it could just be that it's all God's work and he's on Obama's side.
posted by philip-random at 6:31 PM on November 9, 2012 [5 favorites]

This is too cool not to share:

Senator Sherrod Brown's (D-OH) wife, Connie Schultz, takes over victory speech after Brown's voice gives out. Around 5:05. Then at 7:20, it gets really awesome.
posted by Bokmakierie at 6:46 PM on November 9, 2012 [19 favorites]

and he's on Obama's side.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..."
posted by localroger at 6:46 PM on November 9, 2012

The conventional response to that statement is predictable: Tell me who rigged this election and how they did that, so I can disprove what you say, and dismiss you as a tin foil hat job! No thank you. I am not walking into that trap.

Yeah...you can prove anything with facts.
posted by howfar at 6:47 PM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

Interesting story on the Romney campaign's financial problems and a possible answer as to why he didn't move to the center earlier:

How Race Slipped Away From Romney

Alec McGillis has more: Did Romney’s Cheapness Doom His Campaign?
posted by Bokmakierie at 6:56 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Obama to Boehner: Put Down the Gun
posted by homunculus at 7:07 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nine Jobs That Mitt Romney Would Be Perfect For
posted by homunculus at 7:12 PM on November 9, 2012

Republican Soul Searching Probably Mostly Pointless

Not a link to The Onion.
posted by Pudhoho at 7:12 PM on November 9, 2012 [7 favorites]

6666 comments! Is that a sign?
posted by homunculus at 7:13 PM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

LÖL! We're immanantizing the Obamaton!
posted by hap_hazard at 7:16 PM on November 9, 2012 [8 favorites]

Oh my goodness, that Sherrod Brown/Connie Schultz video was adorable. Say it with FEELING, Connie!
posted by HotToddy at 7:20 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Okay I have an important question. Do Michelle Obama and the little Romney tyke have the same dress?

Exhibit A
Exhibit B
posted by HotToddy at 7:31 PM on November 9, 2012

Some interesting infographics showing how the election would have shaken down without the universal suffrage we have now (maps showing demographically how each state would have gone if only men had the right to vote, only caucasians, only people older than 21, etc.).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:35 PM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Some interesting infographics showing how the election would have shaken down without the universal suffrage we have now (maps showing demographically how each state would have gone if only men had the right to vote, only caucasians, only people older than 21, etc.).

how are they determining that?
posted by sweetkid at 7:42 PM on November 9, 2012

how are they determining that?

I assume exit polls which took demographics and were reasonably well aligned with the final result.
posted by Talez at 7:47 PM on November 9, 2012

Angry at Obama's Victory, Bosses Reportedly Force Workers to Go Galt for Them

My thought on the "We'll Go Galt" thing was always "cool, I'll drive you to the airport." These "job creators" think they're so indispensable, but every one of them that decides to leave for Galt's gulch opens up an opportunity for someone who recognizes that jobs are created when consumers want something, not when a self-styled captain of industry decides to invoke his job creation superpower.

Turns out they're not going Galt. Instead, they're un-creating jobs to make headlines and prove a political point. Thanks for all you've done for our society, oh benevolent Masters of the Universe!
posted by tonycpsu at 8:38 PM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Bob the Angry Flower goes Galt
posted by homunculus at 8:45 PM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Lundgren going down would make me happy.

Bera lead over Lungren wider in Sacramento County House race
posted by homunculus at 9:28 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I know! I am so happy about Lungren possibly losing that I contributed to Bera's vote count fundraising today. That and refreshing the CA Secretary of State website all day. They have helpfully put all the close contests on one page for me. And if that's not fast enough, I recommend the Sacramento Co Dept of Elections web page.
posted by gingerbeer at 10:14 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

More bad news for the Koch Bros. -- their gubernatorial candidate in WA, Rob McKenna, just conceded earlier this evening.
posted by scody at 11:21 PM on November 9, 2012 [14 favorites]

Papa John's CEO John Schnatter Says Company Will Reduce Workers' Hours In Response To Obamacare
posted by homunculus at 11:44 PM on November 9, 2012

Charles Darwin, Georgia Write-In Candidate, Cast Into 'Pit Of Hell' By Paul Broun
posted by homunculus at 9:43 PM on November 7

UPDATE -- 11/8: The Athens Banner-Herald reports that Darwin received more than 4,000 write-in votes for congress in Athens-Clarke County alone. Total write-in vote counts for the other 24 counties comprising the 10th Congressional District will be available next week.
posted by Room 641-A at 11:55 PM on November 9, 2012

Some interesting infographics showing how the election would have shaken down without the universal suffrage we have now

How about an infographic showing what the vote would have been if we really had universal suffrage, without all the voter suppression efforts?
posted by msalt at 12:06 AM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

A Children’s Treasury Of Ridiculous Write-In Votes Against Georgia Congressman and Witchfinder General Paul Broun
posted by homunculus at 12:41 AM on November 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

"Papa John's CEO John Schnatter Says Company Will Reduce Workers' Hours In Response To Obamacare"

John Schnatter just can't afford to provide his employees with a living wage or access to health care, he said from his 40K square foot castle, with a drawbridge over a private lake and an underground 22 car garage, complete with an office for valet parking, a car wash and a motorized turn table to move limousines.
posted by Blasdelb at 1:34 AM on November 10, 2012 [30 favorites]

Man.... Americas rich really art going nuts, aren't they?
posted by Mezentian at 1:53 AM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

The reports there are funny because what the consultants did to the Romney campaign is what Bain did to all those companies it looted.
posted by Anything at 2:26 AM on November 10, 2012 [10 favorites]

More bad news for the Koch Bros...

Never leave me, megathread.
posted by fleacircus at 3:06 AM on November 10, 2012 [4 favorites]

Looks like Mitt thinks he lost because of Sandy:

At the Wednesday breakfast, Romney told the donors he believed Hurricane Sandy stunted his momentum in the final week of the campaign, according to multiple donors present.

Although Romney himself stopped short of placing any blame on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who praised President Obama’s leadership during the storm, several Romney supporters privately pointed fingers at the outspoken governor

At that breakfast one of the supporters attributes Christie's "betrayal" to disappointment, "Christie and his wife were unhappy with Romney’s vice presidential search process, believing they were “led a little bit far down the garden path” without being picked, the fundraiser said." Christie's wife? That's an interesting tidbit to me. Makes me wonder if Ann Romney pulled her aside and started making plans about the two of them taking Washington DC by storm.

In Washington, meanwhile, scores of transition-team staffers who had been preparing for a Romney administration started packing their belongings Wednesday.

Mike Leavitt, the former Utah governor running the transition, convened a conference call at 10 a.m. to inform the staff they had until Friday to organize their files, return their laptops and cellphones and vacate their government office.

Man. You think you've got your dream job....

I'm still curious as to who it was that canceled the Romney staffers' credit cards so quickly. That seems like a dick move. There was an enormous pile of cash for running that campaign, is it all spent? If there are shortages who covers the bills?
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:53 AM on November 10, 2012

The Onion has been hilarious post-election, but I think they have yet to write a funnier headline than this one from the New York Times: For Romney, All His Career Options Are Still Open. Except One.
posted by Kattullus at 6:10 AM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think, if I were in a large crowd of co-workers, and I was forced to listen to a political screed that concluded with "...and so, you're fired" -

- The next words out of my mouth would be "LET'S GET'IM!"

Are workers really so cowed today? Are the bosses really that secure in their arrogance?
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:36 AM on November 10, 2012 [11 favorites]

The Republicans' resistance to learning anythiing from this teachable moment is breathtaking. Let's see, we've noticed that they...

never did come up with an economic policy (wasn't that the big issue this cycle?) which had any specifics and didn't violate basic arithmetic
alienated every enumerable voting bloc except wealthy white men
drank their own Fox News koolade so enthusiastically that Mitt got caught with his pants down on the Libya thing in the second debate
"unskewed" their own internal polls, rejecting reality in favor of a fantasy that caused them to target the wrong states
did not bother to train or properly credential their volunteers
abandoned traditional GOTV for an untried enterprise-level centralized system which failed spectacularly on deployment

...and the lesson Mitt is drawing from it is...

It's Hurricane Sandy's fault.

Really? How did this moron amass such a fortune without losing it in the sofa?

And the rest of the party isn't doing any better. With no shortage of real obvious undeniable problems that could be addressed, only a few of the R talking heads are talking about anything that's real, and they seem exasperated that they can't get anybody to listen to them.
posted by localroger at 7:17 AM on November 10, 2012 [16 favorites]

"The Onion has been hilarious post-election, but I think they have yet to write a funnier headline than this one from the New York Times: For Romney, All His Career Options Are Still Open. Except One."

I really appreciated that piece though I think for different reasons,

"But aides said that he would be receptive to a high-profile job in the private sector, the advocacy world or academia. 'I know he will do something,' said Eric Fehrnstrom, a longtime Romney political adviser. 'I just don’t know what it will be.' Not on his list of likely jobs: punditry. Friends said Mr. Romney could not imagine following the well-worn path of defeated Republican candidates to Fox News." ... "For now, Mr. Romney has shown up at his campaign headquarters every day since the election, where he seems preoccupied with the futures of members of his campaign staff. He arranged for them to receive severance pay through the end of November. His No. 1 priority, so far: establishing a system to organize the 400 résumés of those staff members whose paychecks will run out in 21 days."

Bokmakierie: "Interesting story on the Romney campaign's financial problems and a possible answer as to why he didn't move to the center earlier:"

I suspect this is more spin than anything. If the right wing noisemakers can convince everyone the loss was because Romney was a crappy candidate and not because the message isn't what Americans by and large want to hear, they live to fight another day.

They are desperately trying to make it Romney's failure, Romney's consultants' failure, anything but the message. Sadly, they will probably succeed once again. It is imperative that Democrats keep the turnout machine going for 2014 or they're going to get shellacked again. Like it or not, old white people are a lot more likely to vote in a midterm election.

Someday they'll learn to put the crazy on the shelf in Presidential years and then we'll be in real trouble.
posted by wierdo at 7:29 AM on November 10, 2012

We were listening to NPR last night while making dinner and they had a Republican pundit/adviser/funder/warlock on who was saying that the party needed to do a better job of getting its message out to Latinos and women and African Americans. And we were like, um, no, we heard you twice the first time. Y'all did a *great* job of getting your message out; that's why so many of us didn't vote for you.

The Republicans got the race they paid for. It will be...interesting to see, over the coming months and years, if the leadership can really confront its mistakes and begin making changes. I'm not going to hold my breath, though.
posted by rtha at 7:30 AM on November 10, 2012 [11 favorites]

Heh, a word from the walrus.

I give a fuck what Romney does with all his free time now, unless he'd like to write a book explaining exactly how morally bankrupt his party had to be for him to run the kind of campaign he ran -- a mea culpa exposé, as it were.

I'm glad he's working hard to find jobs for his staffers. He always did want to be thought of as a job creator. But these people all came out of the nepotistic world of upper class financial management bullshit, and I feel not a shred of sympathy for their poor little prospects without the governor's good word to old William Citibank Chase the Third or whatever to make sure the handoff is sweet.

Passed the only Mitt bumper sticker I've seen on any vehicle in NYC this morning as I took my constitutional. It was on a Porsche that I believe runs about $130,000 fully loaded, parked in front of a west village brownstone that would fetch 6-10 million on the open market easy.

Somehow that was a fine thing to see, a reminder of what all the baloney of their regressive economic argument was about.

Occupy that dude.
posted by spitbull at 7:40 AM on November 10, 2012 [14 favorites]

For all of his political craziness, awfully selective empathy, and blind privilege, Romney seems like a fundamentally pretty decent and generous human being with obvious talents and an admirable commitment to public service. In this race he got in bed with some truly awful people but I hope he now finds something nice and productive to do.

So what you're saying is...apart from the fact he's a fucking idiot prepared to endorse entirely unworkable policy in order to "win", he's a nice, talented guy who should be given a job. Fuck that shit. His performance in public life has been an exercise in unmitigated (ha) mediocrity. Just because he's a rich guy doesn't mean he should get a job that could go to someone who has demonstrated actual talent. If he wants to do some volunteering, that'd be great.
posted by howfar at 7:45 AM on November 10, 2012

Are workers really so cowed today? Are the bosses really that secure in their arrogance?

Yes and yes. Most of those guys he laid off probably voted for Romney and listened to Limbaugh in the truck on the way to work.
posted by dirigibleman at 7:57 AM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

"... If he wants to do some volunteering, that'd be great."

That is pretty much all he has done for the last decade and a half, you know he hasn't actually cashed a paycheck since the 90s right? Granted he certainly hasn't needed to, but he could have been spending that time with his big family, his apparent ski habit, or whatever the fuck it is that rich people do that is no doubt infinitely more fun and less stressful.
posted by Blasdelb at 8:03 AM on November 10, 2012

Yeah, and he's been running for president for that decade and a half, so let's see if he keeps up the public spirited show or calls it quits.
posted by spitbull at 8:06 AM on November 10, 2012

If the right wing noisemakers can convince everyone the loss was because Romney was a crappy candidate and not because the message isn't what Americans by and large want to hear, they live to fight another day.

He only got positive movement in the polls around the first debate, after he abandoned the message and became Moderate Mitt.
posted by kirkaracha at 8:16 AM on November 10, 2012

"Yeah, and he's been running for president for that decade and a half, so let's see if he keeps up the public spirited show or calls it quits."

If that really is all that was, I hope more people run for president.
posted by Blasdelb at 8:18 AM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

> "I suspect this is more spin than anything."

I disagree, actually. This is a known problem that especially affects challengers against incumbents in presidential races. Certain funds aren’t accessible until they accept the nomination at the convention, and the sitting president can fundraise for years and doesn’t have to use up any earlier funds on primaries. It’s part of what sunk Kerry in ’04. Yes, that campaign had many other problems, but the “swift-boating” catastrophe happened in part because he didn’t have the money to respond during the summer months.

When I heard, quite some time ago, that Romney’s plan was to hold back until the final months and then unleash an onslaught of advertising, my very first thought was, “That was Kerry’s born-of-necessity ‘master plan’. Good luck with that. Are they somehow hard up for cash?” Finding out that he blew his years of fundraising on the contentious primaries and then refused to sink his personal fortune into the campaign didn’t really come as a surprise to me after that. The SuperPACs were spending like mad in the summer, of course, but they can’t coordinate with the presidential campaign, which makes direct response difficult.

Even if you think (as I do) that Romney had a lousy message and incoherent policies, do NOT underestimate the importance of having a supply of money in the summer. The fact is, lots of different pieces add together to create a whole. The people who are blaming the loss on Sandy, or on ORCA, or on lack of appeal to Hispanics, or on funding issues, or whatever, aren’t entirely wrong. They’re simply laying all the blame on one piece of the puzzle. A successful candidate can’t alienate every demographic but one, AND ALSO has to offer a more coherent and attractive policy than “Trust me because BUSINESS plus I’m totally not the other guy ”, AND ALSO has to be able to raise gobs of cash and manage it effectively through the primaries and post-primaries, etc., etc.
posted by kyrademon at 8:25 AM on November 10, 2012 [11 favorites]

A local Tulsa, Oklahoma traffic reporter answered a special request put forth by some viewers on Wednesday.

"I know a lot people said that if their candidate lost the election, they’d be moving to Canada," reporter Jeff Brucculeri said. "Not sure why, but that's what some of the folks promised out there. So let me give you the quickest and directest route from Tulsa to Canada."
posted by futz at 8:32 AM on November 10, 2012 [12 favorites]

From reader emails to Andrew Sullivan:

Obama executed quantifiable long-term plans, adaptable short-term planning, an innovative GOTV initiative and plotted better ad strategies, while Romney had the ORCA trainwreck, inaccurate internal polling, poorly informed managers and insufficient fiscal planning (e.g. coffers too low in July to react to the Obama ad blitz seems so minor league!). Not to mention its upper management was rewarded with bonuses in September, right after the languid convention and the embarrassing European trip.

On the macro level, if you take the entire campaign at its face value as a business - a job creator, even? - the Obama campaign had a higher return on investment, ran a better strategy, implemented better tools and metrics to achieve its targets, spent its money more wisely, had a more efficient staff org chart and better managers. In the free market system, it was a strikingly successful example of entrepreneurial acumen. Romney and Rove were beat at their own game.

There's more at the link.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:00 AM on November 10, 2012 [8 favorites]

I'm still irritated by Romney's graceless, perfunctory concession speech. Knowing that he was too arrogant to prepare one in advance doesn't help.

McCain's concession speech in 2008 was a model, and one of the high points of McCain's career.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.
...
Tonight -- tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama -- whether they supported me or Senator Obama, I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president.

posted by kirkaracha at 9:07 AM on November 10, 2012 [19 favorites]

I guess I didn't realize how heavily the possibility had been hanging over my head, because it is now four days after the election and I still find myself experiencing random moments of relief (and involuntary grinning) when I remember that my fellow Americans are not, in fact, going to choose an entitled, unscrupulous, say-anything mannequin as our next president.

There was a lingering joy of accomplishment four years ago, but this is something completely different. I'm not naive enough to think that President Obama is the answer to all the country's problems, but America just withstood four years of the republicans playing "let's fuck shit up as badly as we can, and blame it all on the president, because the majority of Americans are stupid enough to fall for it and vote for us again" and it turned out that the majority of Americans are in fact not that stupid. And that actually came as a surprise. A big surprise. A big, awesome surprise that continues to bestow real joy and real hope for the future.
posted by Balonious Assault at 9:10 AM on November 10, 2012 [27 favorites]

That is pretty much all he has done for the last decade and a half, you know he hasn't actually cashed a paycheck since the 90s right?

This is actually a big part of my point. Public service should be something that people get properly selected and adequately paid for doing, so that the power and prestige of the roles don't simply accrue to whoever is rich enough to buy his (almost invariably his) way in by devoting the time and resources that other people don't have access to. This is partly because I think it's fair, but largely because I think doing it the traditional way causes a massive distortion of power toward those who already have more than enough.
posted by howfar at 9:44 AM on November 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

Real friends stick with you through good times and bad.

By that measure, many of Mitt Romney’s Facebook friends weren’t real friends at all: In the three days after Romney conceded the Presidential election to Barack Obama, more than 50,000 users have unliked his page.

As noted by the San Francisco Chronicle, Romney and Obama were both steadily gaining fans on both Facebook and Twitter through Tuesday evening, though Obama gained about five times as many on both networks.

Soon after Romney conceded the election, though, his social media followers began dropping quickly. Since 11:30 on Tuesday, more than 55,025 users have unliked the Massachusetts Governor, at a rate of about 847 an hour.
posted by futz at 9:46 AM on November 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

Are the bosses really that secure in their arrogance?

Look at the guy who was applying for Boss-In-Chief; when his lies about Jeep were repudiated (in an unprecedented manner) by the head of Jeep and Chrysler, he doubled-down on those lies.

As the adage goes, 'The fish stinks from the head down'.

"Papa John's CEO John Schnatter Says Company Will Reduce Workers' Hours In Response To Obamacare"

On the plus side: Less Papa John's pizza.
posted by Room 641-A at 9:47 AM on November 10, 2012 [7 favorites]

Everyone I know who "liked" Romney's fb page is a commie pinko queer who "liked" the page so that they could keep on eye on shenanigans and/or point and laugh at what the true believers were posting.

ericb linked to this in the other election thread (the 56% one):

The election results are just one indication of larger trends in American religion that Christian conservatives are still digesting, political analysts say. Americans who have no religious affiliation — pollsters call them the “nones” — are now about one-fifth of the population over all, according to a study released last month by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

The younger generation is even less religious: about one-third of Americans ages 18 to 22 say they are either atheists, agnostics or nothing in particular. Americans who are secular are far more likely to vote for liberal candidates and for same-sex marriage. Seventy percent of those who said they had no religion voted for Mr. Obama, according to exit polls conducted by Edison Research.

“This election signaled the last where a white Christian strategy is workable,” said Robert P. Jones, chief executive of the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and education organization based in Washington.

Yes. I wonder long it's going to take the GOP to figure out that it's not that they're failing to get their message out, it's that increasing numbers of people think their message is wrong and bad and awful.
posted by rtha at 9:59 AM on November 10, 2012 [6 favorites]

I still find myself experiencing random moments of relief (and involuntary grinning)..

Me, too. And, at times I just burst out laughing ... and, at others, find myself shivering when realizing what I would feel like if Flip Romney and Eddie Munster had won.
posted by ericb at 10:05 AM on November 10, 2012

Bradley Manning's still being tormented to the point of madness in a military prison. Julian Assange is still an enemy of the state.

Julian Assange says victorious Obama ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’

U.S. WikiLeaks Criminal Probe ‘Ongoing,’ Judge Reveals

Bradley Manning Offers to Plead Guilty to Partial Charges, Including Leaking to WikiLeaks
posted by homunculus at 10:09 AM on November 10, 2012 [4 favorites]

Meet the Stars of "2012: The Movie" - Jon Hamm as Mitt Romney. Steven Seagal as Joe Biden. Casting the inevitable TV movie based on the 2012 election.
posted by homunculus at 10:29 AM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Steven Seagal is a hardcore Republican. You couldn't pay him enough to play Joe Biden.
posted by Talez at 10:33 AM on November 10, 2012

I still find myself experiencing random moments of relief (and involuntary grinning)..

Me too. Just last night I woke up in the middle of the night and thought to myself "Whew, the Supreme Court is safe."
posted by ambrosia at 10:34 AM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

DO NOT SULLY THE HAMM
posted by palomar at 10:35 AM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

okay, perhaps DO NOT TAINT THE HAMM is better. But seriously, I reject this with every fiber of my being. That high-pitched sound making your dog bark is the sound of me plugging my ears and squeezing my eyes shut and screaming NOOOOOOOOOO.

...maybe it is time for me to close this browser tab and, like, shower and go for a walk.
posted by palomar at 10:37 AM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Everyone I know who "liked" Romney's fb page is a commie pinko queer who "liked" the page so that they could keep on eye on shenanigans and/or point and laugh at what the true believers were posting.

I went over there to check it out after reading this and you seem to be right. At this point (and not sure for how long) it reads like an Obama page with a few Romney trolls in it, rather than the other way 'round.
posted by Miko at 10:39 AM on November 10, 2012

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
posted by homunculus at 10:42 AM on November 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

That is pretty much all he has done for the last decade and a half, you know he hasn't actually cashed a paycheck since the 90s right?

True, but that's immaterial. He's declared income every year since then, mostly investment income. He has declared that he made $13.7 million in 2010; he estimates he made $21 million in 2011.

In related news, let us not forget that he didn't take some tax deductions so as to "'to conform' to Romney's statement last month that he never paid less than 13% in income taxes over the past 10 years."*

Ah, memories of his previous statement:

"I don't pay more than are legally due and frankly if I had paid more than are legally due I don't think I'd be qualified to become president. I'd think people would want me to follow the law and pay only what the tax code requires."

Such prescient words!
posted by ericb at 10:54 AM on November 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

This is the message he stood in opposition at first in the primaries and then not really able to get out
posted by Blasdelb at 10:58 AM on November 10, 2012

And ... it's official: Barack Obama wins Florida

Gov. Rick Scott defends Florida election as his chief says, 'We could have done better'
posted by homunculus at 11:04 AM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Steve Schmidt, a campaign adviser to Senator John McCain in 2008. “He can do whatever else he wants to do.”

He had a warning, though: “Losing a presidential campaign is something you never get over. The question is whether you can move forward without bitterness or rancor.”

Bitterness, of course, may be inevitable. Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain made some halfhearted efforts at postelection comity four years ago, with phone calls and meetings, but have subsequently kept a chilly distance. It is unclear whether the president’s election-night promise to sit down with Mr. Romney was anything more than a polite gesture.

Mr. Romney’s eagerness to work with the president is equally uncertain. Just after conceding, Mr. Romney told those close to him that he was anxious about the nation’s financial health under Mr. Obama.

I cannot fathom the disappointment. On the one hand if you win, you become the most important, the most powerful person in the world, in charge of making decisions that could affect billions of people. You will be of great historical importance and all eyes will be on you and your family members as long as you live. On the other hand if you lose, it is because you are not smart enough or charismatic enough or charming enough-- you are simply not good enough to be the chosen one. And you never will be. How do you live with that?
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 11:11 AM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

On the other hand if you lose, it is because you are not smart enough or charismatic enough or charming enough-- you are simply not good enough to be the chosen one.

Buck up, Mitt. Just tell yourself: "I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And doggone it, people like me."
posted by ericb at 11:24 AM on November 10, 2012

Hey, Mitt's money works really hard to make him more money. You're just jealous that his money works harder than you do, prole.
posted by spitbull at 11:36 AM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

From a Romney poll watcher/volunteer and ORCA user: The Unmitigated Disaster Known As Project ORCA.
posted by ericb at 11:39 AM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

"Hey, Mitt's money works really hard to make him more money. You're just jealous that his money works harder than you do, prole."

Umm, is this directed at someone or is it just snark into the ether?
posted by Blasdelb at 11:42 AM on November 10, 2012

a Republican pundit/adviser/funder/warlock on who was saying that the party needed to do a better job of getting its message out to Latinos and women and African Americans. And we were like, um, no, we heard you twice the first time. Y'all did a *great* job of getting your message out; that's why so many of us didn't vote for you.

“The conservative movement should have particular appeal to people in minority and immigrant communities who are trying to make it, and Republicans need to work harder than ever to communicate our beliefs to them.”

Also, when you go to a foreign country, be sure to speak English VERY LOUDLY AND SLOWLY so that the idiot locals can understand you.
posted by scody at 11:51 AM on November 10, 2012 [9 favorites]

Are the conservative media only hurting conservatives?

For a long time, liberals envied conservatives their media, the echo chamber capable of whipping up stories out of nothing and forcing the mainstream media to pay attention, capable of keeping their troops in line and bucking up their morale, capable of quickly disseminating messages far and wide, creating new stars and enforcing discipline. But perhaps it's time to look at the conservative media as a weakness, even the right's Achilles' Heel.

It isn't only that their media cause them to delude themselves; the effects sometimes bleed out beyond their brains. Consider the single most damaging moment for Mitt Romney in this election, the 47 percent tape. Where did Romney learn that number, wrapped as it was in an argument about the shocking numbers of Americans who mooch off the efforts of virtuous hard-working job creators? He almost certainly got it from Fox or conservative talk radio, where it had been in wide circulation for some time, and if it wasn't directly from listening to Limbaugh or Hannity, it came to him from somebody who did.

The article points out the danger of living in the Republican bubble. FOX reminds its watchers over and over that all other news shows are "lamestream media" that can't be trusted. Therefore when all other news sources reported that Obama was going to win, was winning, had won, the FOX news consumers were sure that was all a lie.

There is a very thoughtful comment after the article (the second one down) which points out how President Obama pays no attention the frothing over at FOX but instead reaches out directly to people like the LGBT community. It makes me realize that a Republican President would probably have to appease the FOX pundits or at least appear to pay attention to them.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 11:57 AM on November 10, 2012 [6 favorites]

All Ballots Counted, Allen West Solidly Defeated By Patrick Murphy
posted by homunculus at 12:22 PM on November 10, 2012 [6 favorites]

Fun read: 5 Very Bad Things That Happened to Karl Rove in Just 2 Days

Karl Rove needs to be humiliated to the point where he chooses to retire forever. He has been bad for America. Never forget, he is the man that got W into politics and he did it by lying, cheating, and smearing the other side. He is loathsome, a true American villain.

Unfortunately, I don't see this finishing him off. In the movies he would come to a deliciously bad end, sadly this is real life and nothing will happen to him.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:29 PM on November 10, 2012 [7 favorites]

SLoG, I would love to see what Carl Hiaasen could come up with for a fitting end for Karl Rove. That would be a fun read.
posted by ambrosia at 12:36 PM on November 10, 2012 [6 favorites]

What Romney Lost by Garry Wills in the NYRB

Many losing candidates became elder statesmen of their parties. What lessons will Romney have to teach his party? The art of crawling uselessly? How to contemn 47 percent of Americans less privileged and beautiful than his family? How to repudiate the past while damaging the future?

A pretty devastating read. I almost feel sorry for him.
posted by readery at 12:37 PM on November 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

All Ballots Counted, Allen West Solidly Defeated By Patrick Murphy

Every time I see that I keep thinking it's other Patrick Murphy and then get annoyed when I realize that makes no sense. (Still great to see West go down)
posted by Drinky Die at 12:40 PM on November 10, 2012

Ambrosia, me too! Somehow I'm sure it would involve a boa constrictor, an alligator, the everglade swamps and fire ants.

David Frum being brutally honest on Morning Joe

I believe the Republican Party is a party of followership. The problem with the Republican leaders is that they're cowards....The real locus of the problem is the Republican activist base and the Republican donor base. They went apocalyptic over the past four years. And that was exploited by a lot of people in the conservative world. I won't soon forget the lupine smile that played over the head of a major conservative institution when he told me that our donors think the apocalypse has arrived. Republicans have been fleeced and exploited and lied to by a conservative entertainment complex....Because the followers, the donors and the activists are so mistaken about the nature of the problems the country faces the nature--I mean, it's just a simple question. I went to Tea Party rallies and I would ask this question: "have taxes gone up or down in the past four years?" They could not answer that question correctly. Now it's true that taxes will go up if the President is re-elected. That's why we're Republicans. But you have to know that taxes have not gone up in the past. And "do we spend a trillion dollars on welfare?" Is that true or false? It is false. But it is almost universally believed. That means that the leaders have no space to operate.

There is more and it is really shocking. He doesn't spin the message or soften it or dumb it down, the media are out of touch with the real concerns of Americans because they, the TV news personalities, all have secure jobs and they all have medical insurance.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:43 PM on November 10, 2012 [23 favorites]

> “The conservative movement should have particular appeal to people in minority and immigrant communities who are trying to make it, and Republicans need to work harder than ever to communicate our beliefs to them.”

Maybe the conservative movement should start off small and actively recruit party members from the majority-coalition of minority and immigrant communities. Seems obvious to me.

Given the Republicans were always going to lose, how much more interesting would the campaign have been had it been Condoleezza Rice running as the hopeful?

That would have been a thriller. Yikes!
posted by de at 12:59 PM on November 10, 2012

Interesting take by the UK paper, The Guardian, on where the Republican Party goes to from here.

Even though the corpse of the defeated Romney campaign is still warm, a bitter fight has started to break out over its meaning in Republican ranks. On one side are the modernists, who understand that the party cannot afford to be seen as a backwards-looking ghetto for white voters. On the other are the nativists, angry at a crippled and ineffective immigration system, who believe that only a true message of pure conservatism will save the day. It is a battle for the soul of the Republican party and the first shots are being fired. "I think it is going to be a war. I really do," said Larry Haas, a political commentator and former aide in the Clinton White House.

Two of the extremes are Krauthammer "The answer to Romney's failure is not retreat, not apeing the Democrats' patchwork pandering," he thundered. "No whimpering. No whining. No reinvention when none is needed. Do conservatism, but do it better." vs. using Rubio to reach out to Hispanics while softening their stance on immigration.

The Observer goes on to point out that nominating a moderate may have actually prolonged the Republican struggle to redefine itself.

It is not likely to be an easy process. Some believe Romney came close enough to victory to allow an even fight in the coming Republican civil war and thus ensure a protracted and painful debate that will stretch on for years. What the party really needed, some think, was to have nominated a died-in-the-wool ultra-conservative in 2012 such as Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich who could have led the party to an overwhelming defeat, forcing the reformist wing to triumph. But the selection of Romney denied them that piece of creative destruction, even though the party has now lost the popular vote tally in five of the last six presidential elections. "They are still maybe at the early stages of denial," Bowler said.

posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 1:02 PM on November 10, 2012

President Barack Obama wins Florida, topping Romney in final electoral vote tally 332 to 206
posted by homunculus at 1:07 PM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ambrosia, me too! Somehow I'm sure it would involve a boa constrictor, an alligator, the everglade swamps and fire ants.

Make that: a boa constrictor, an alligator, the everglade swamps, fire ants, and a rigged voting machine.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 1:08 PM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm still irritated by Romney's graceless, perfunctory concession speech.

Indeed. An exhortation to pray for the nation, and a backhanded request for bipartisanship clearly aimed squarely at his rival rather than his own party. It was pretty passive-aggressive.
posted by dhartung at 1:14 PM on November 10, 2012 [10 favorites]

Add Skink and his favorite shock collar and we're all set with Hiaasen vs Rove.
posted by cmyk at 1:18 PM on November 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

Speaking of the GOP, although this is relatively old news I was intrigued about something I read recently-- perhaps in connection to Ted Cruz. It was a mention that the Texas GOP platform included cutting funds for education. I thought "That can't possibly be true. Nobody is that crazy." but I looked it up and yes, it is true:

Since data is (sic) clear that additional money does not translate into educational achievement, and higher education costs are out of control, we support reducing taxpayer funding to all levels of education institutions

I guess one way for them to retain GOP voters is to cut education. Everything I've read shows that the more education you have the likelier you are to vote Democrat. So possibly we will see this platform plank adopted at a national level. What the hell, right? In the Republican play book, anything is OK--voter suppression, lying, smearing the opposition-- as long as the Grand Old Party gets more votes.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 1:19 PM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

That Morning Joe segment that Secret Life of Gravy is really quite something. David Frum (David Frum!) is trying to have a deep discussion about something quite fundamental to the election result, and Chuck Todd, David Gregory, and the rest just don't even seem to hear what he's saying. In that context, some credit goes to Joe Scarborough for at least trying to respond to what Frum was saying.
posted by Kattullus at 1:22 PM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Something that strikes me as interesting here is how frequent comparisons are between current GOP rhetoric and their '50s rhetoric — the red baiting and Birchers were dominant in the party then too — miss something that I think is important: In Congress, the Republicans had a minority in part because they were extremists who had preached the same message during the Great Depression and WWII. For the majority of the 20th Century, they were a minority in Congress.
posted by klangklangston at 1:41 PM on November 10, 2012

From The Secret Life of Gravy's linked article -5 Very Bad Things That Happened to Karl Rove in Just 2 Days ...

CBS Boston: Opinion: Karl Rove Is The Most Overrated Person In Politics Today

The two best words to describe Karl Rove are OVER and RATED.

Rove has managed to spin himself a personal fortune in national politics despite his work in the field. His reputation, however, does not match his accomplishments.

I hope they finally put 'Turd Blossom' out to pasture where he belongs.
posted by ericb at 1:46 PM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Soon after Romney conceded the election, though, his social media followers began dropping quickly. Since 11:30 on Tuesday, more than 55,025 users have unliked the Massachusetts Governor, at a rate of about 847 an hour.

The un-like-ing rate is accelerating. I saw the number of "like"s on his page drop by 1063 in just 32 minutes (12,061,746 at 3:10pm to 12,060,683 at 3:42 pm).
posted by marsha56 at 1:50 PM on November 10, 2012

David Frum was pushing that same kind of message (though with a bit less intensity) well prior to the GOP's electoral shellacking, and guys like Bruce Bartlett and David Stockman been sounding some of the same alarms about the GOP's impending electoral doom and intellectual bankruptcy. When I first started noticing it a couple of years ago, I figured they were all just bummed that they weren't part of the conservative power structure any longer, but after seeing them linked from some leftyish blogs, I began to realize that they actually cared about their party, and were just pissed off that the charlatans in charge of it (Limbaugh, Hannity, Drudge, Rove, Norquist, etc.) were destroying it. Frum used to participate in a Marketplace radio program segment where he would represent the Republican point of view on a wide variety of issues, but had to step down when he felt he couldn't represent today's GOP any longer.

I don't think you get to redeem yourself after being "The Axis of Evil Guy", but I do at least respect someone who speaks truth to power and has the integrity to step aside when he isn't really buying what his team is selling. There are so many pundits out there who you can clearly tell are just going through the motions and don't actually believe what they're saying, but love getting a nice paycheck to catapult the propaganda.

I think MSNBC would do well to put a guy like Frum on in the morning instead of Joe Scarborough's three hours of vapid whimsy. Analysis like this fits very well within the MSNBC world view without being explicitly the kind of "Go Team Democrat!" message you get from progressive talkers.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:51 PM on November 10, 2012 [8 favorites]

A pretty devastating read. I almost feel sorry for him.

Raises hand. I don't.
posted by ericb at 1:59 PM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

"Hey, Mitt's money works really hard to make him more money. You're just jealous that his money works harder than you do, prole."

Umm, is this directed at someone or is it just snark into the ether?
posted by Blasdelb

The latter. Sarcasm, dude.
posted by spitbull at 2:03 PM on November 10, 2012

All we are is ~~dust in the wind~~ snark in the ether.
posted by homunculus at 2:05 PM on November 10, 2012 [9 favorites]

Out of all the stuff that I have read today, and I have read a lot, the piece I can't stop thinking about is Fantasyland by Frank Rich ( thanks to ericb for bringing it to my attention) and in particular this:

Such is the conservative version of history that when the website Right Wing News surveyed 43 popular conservative bloggers to determine the “worst figures in American history” two years ago, Jimmy Carter, Obama, and FDR led the tally, all well ahead of Benedict Arnold, Timothy McVeigh, and John Wilkes Booth.

The Right Wing Media are either liars or insane, I'm not sure which and it probably doesn't matter because they have poisoned America with their toxic bile. And while the Left is enjoying the tears of the Right, we have to remember that we are all Americans-- even the ones that live in a Right Wing Bubble. I know they were taken by surprise that they lost and I know it is their own fault but they are our neighbors and our family and our fellow countrymen and I wish there was somehow we could help them out of the bubble and get back to a place where reason, facts, and logic are all part of our political decisions.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 2:08 PM on November 10, 2012 [18 favorites]

"I post my snark,
looking for a favorite,
but the favorite's gone."
posted by symbioid at 2:44 PM on November 10, 2012

I think MSNBC would do well to put a guy like Frum on in the morning instead of Joe Scarborough's three hours of vapid whimsy.

Friday morning Frum was on Scar's three hours of vapid whimsy and he made quite a show, linked today on quite a few lefty blogs. He was hawking an ebook he must have had nearly finished before the election called Why Romney Lost and he was really calling out the Party leaders and pundit class for having no connection with the concerns of regular middle class people.

The other panelists mostly ignored the substance of his points, which kind of reinforces his points.
posted by localroger at 2:59 PM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

All Ballots Counted, Allen West Solidly Defeated By Patrick Murphy

Meanwhile.... Rep. Allen West finally loses reelection, refuses to concede

A Children’s Treasury Of Ridiculous Write-In Votes Against Georgia Congressman and Witchfinder General Paul Broun

It was hard to choose just one, but I think my favorite is 'Literally Anyone Else'.

All we are is ~~dust in the wind~~ snark in the ether.

Kansas is solidly red.
posted by Room 641-A at 3:25 PM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

If Robert Byrd can resign from the KKK and end up an elder statesman of today's Democratic party, Frum can certainly redeem himself after Axis of Evil.
posted by infinitewindow at 3:28 PM on November 10, 2012 [4 favorites]

Secret Life of Gravy: I know they were taken by surprise that they lost and I know it is their own fault but they are our neighbors and our family and our fellow countrymen and I wish there was somehow we could help them out of the bubble and get back to a place where reason, facts, and logic are all part of our political decisions.

Doing my best by engaging them. Spending real time to debunk the apocryphal stories they're picking up here and there. Doing hard research, going to source data. I'm bringing the facts, reason and logic to them, and showing them the error of their ways.

I'm also being snarky out in the open. I'm not sure how effective that is, but I have a reputation with my friends and acquaintances as a reasonably smart guy. One who used to be conservative. So I hope my disdain for the bs pumped out by the right makes them at least think twice about where I'm coming from, and whether I might have a point.

Otherwise, I really don't know the best course of action. It's not always easy.

One thing I will say, however, is that MetaFilter helped me along in my conversion from conservative to progressive - thoughtful people arguing with me reasonably, based on facts and logic. This was really the first place I ever came across thoughtful, intelligent, eloquent people who were also progressive, and it made me think twice about the 'reality' I'd been taught while growing up.
posted by syzygy at 3:41 PM on November 10, 2012 [27 favorites]

Robert Byrd never redeemed himself, in my opinion.
posted by tonycpsu at 3:44 PM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

All his presidential campaigns were hampered by Dewey's habit of making overly vague statements, defining his strategy as not being "prematurely specific"[27] on controversial issues. Truman joked that Republican Party (GOP) actually stood for "grand old platitudes".[29] Walter Lippman, in 1940, regarded him as basically an opportunist, who "changes his views from hour to hour... always more concerned with taking the popular position than he is in dealing with the real issues".[30] Adding to that, he had a tendency towards pomposity[31] and was considered stiff and inapproachable, with even his own aide Ruth McCormick Simms once describing him as "cold, cold as a February iceberg".[32]

Replace Dewey with Romney, the sentence works today as well.
posted by mrzarquon at 3:44 PM on November 10, 2012 [4 favorites]

Robert Byrd never redeemed himself, in my opinion.

Nor in mine.
posted by marsha56 at 4:03 PM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

I hope they finally put 'Turd Blossom' out to pasture where he belongs.

I was just thinking about that nickname. During the Bush years many people, myself included, thought 'Turd Blossom' was just another example of George W. Bush being an overgrown frat boy and/or asshole when, in fact, he was simply telling the truth.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:07 PM on November 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm still irritated by Romney's graceless, perfunctory concession speech. Knowing that he was too arrogant to prepare one in advance doesn't help.

Graceless, perfunctory seems a fair summary, but everyone in the Australian media commentariat described it as heartfelt, honest and almost regal.

I don't know what they were were watching.

[Hits post comment, waits for brower to crash]
posted by Mezentian at 4:42 PM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Adorable Baby Donkey Celebrates the Democrats’ Win With a Roll in the Dirt

For the Sake of Bipartisanship, Here’s a Baby Elephant Playing in a Bathtub
posted by homunculus at 4:55 PM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

One of my friends posted that baby elephant, and I have to say it was counterproductive. Watching him try to bathe in a tiny plastic tub, instead of fully wading into an African river the way nature intended, just pointed out to me everything that is so vastly wrong with global politics, environmental ethics, and western dominion. It just sent me further down the spiral.

From the comments:

"Hey, I know that elephant! He was a surprise baby at Elephant Nature Park in Chaing Mai, Thailand. ENP is a sanctuary that rescues Asian elephants. Navaan's mama stepped on a landmine. When ENP rescues her, they didn't know she was pregnant and she gave them no indications until one morning, baby elephant! ENP is awesome - elephants roam free, form their own family groups, and generally lead very happy lives. A new baby like Navaan is a reason to celebrate - he'll be safe from mistreatment his whole life and surrounded by elephants and people who love him."

I mean yeah, elephant stepping on a landmine is a terrible thing, but...this is kind of an awesome thing they're talking about here.
posted by sweetkid at 7:16 PM on November 10, 2012 [4 favorites]

The thing about Condoleeza Rice is that, aside from her demographic profile, what possibly recommends her as a candidate? She was the hawkish leader of a foreign policy that was an astounding disaster, serving a president Republicans are too embarrassed to even name. That's not much of a qualification.
posted by msalt at 7:19 PM on November 10, 2012 [8 favorites]

.this is kind of an awesome thing they're talking about here.

Understand all that but it's kind of a terrible thing in the first place that elephants can't just be in their natural habitat because of fucked up human shit like land mines.

If you see what I mean.
posted by Miko at 7:24 PM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

The thing about Condoleeza Rice is that...

..she's pro-choice.

Fin.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:26 PM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Eyes of Thailand, A Documentary About Injured Thai Elephants & The Woman Who Helps Them
posted by homunculus at 7:28 PM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

..she's pro-choice.

Bare minimum qualification. Otherwise, smart person in willing service to a profoundly corrupt regime. Thanks, we'll call you. Moving on.
posted by Miko at 7:33 PM on November 10, 2012 [6 favorites]

From Scody's comment: The conservative movement should have particular appeal to people in minority and immigrant communities who are trying to make it, and Republicans need to work harder than ever to communicate our beliefs to them.

He just doesn't get it. On my last trip to the US I was chatting to a guy who had flown across the country to get married to his husband in one of the first places it was legal. He was not only married to another man, but he went to Broadway musicals and they had a bunch of small yappy dogs. So, not just partially gay but very gay indeed. He kept banging on about taxes destroying entrepreneurial spirit and welfare being bad for initiative and Obama is just a front for socialists and goodness what. He lives in a gated community and works for an oil company, which incidentally is struggling to survive in the face of anti-business regulation dressed up as concern for the environment. There was something about Afghanistan and Iraq too, but I couldn't follow it.

This man is almost a caricature of a right-wing Republican voter. I have no idea how he voted. Perhaps he voted for Romney, but the Republican party really went ostentatiously out of its way to lose his vote. And why? Because the GOP is against marriage. And it is in favor of government regulation of private life. And there are no more pressing issues for the USA than whether this incredibly conservative guy gets to tick the box which says "married" when he fills out his insurance.

This means it isn't a matter of spreading the Republican beliefs. There are lots of people (gay, Latino, on benefits, dope smokers, whatever) who, for better or worse, already share those beliefs and would likely vote for the Republican Party but don't. Some of them are probably turned off by its bad, very bad candidates; but many of them are undoubtedly pissed off by the fact that the Republican Party has defined them as the enemy. Here is a hint in case anyone from the GOP is reading the Monster Thread: you cannot afford to do this. Not only do you lose those votes, not only does this sort of stupidity swallow up genuine policy development, but the nastiness you encourage turns off other voters - ones who don't care about gay marriage or immigration or anything other than having representatives they can like and respect.

So drop the politics of division; it's not as though you're ending up with the biggest slice anyway. Focus on reasonable policies and electable candidates and send a memo around that Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh are not welcome any more. From now on you need to be a party that people can vote for. The only question they should have to consider is whether they agree with your message. Because at the moment you are throwing votes away, and you are making yourself look nasty, and hateful, and stupid.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:36 PM on November 10, 2012 [13 favorites]

..she's pro-choice.

I think tonycpsu's point is that this disqualifies her for the Republican nomination.
posted by bardophile at 7:37 PM on November 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

Here's a question: given the margin to which Latinos and the young went to Obama, what is the high-level Republican strategy for the next 4-8 years?

George Prescott Garnica Bush.

George P. Bush Is Ready to Save the GOP
posted by homunculus at 7:42 PM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you see what I mean.

I see what you mean, and actually brought that up myself. But given where we are, surprise elephant birth at an elephant sanctuary is something that's ok for people to find uplifting. It's not Barnum and Bailey.
posted by sweetkid at 7:43 PM on November 10, 2012

..she's pro-choice.

Pro-choice and black and a woman. The day that candidate gets through the Southern Republican primaries is a day that satan gets chilly.
posted by jaduncan at 7:51 PM on November 10, 2012 [4 favorites]

Here’s a Baby Elephant Playing in a Bathtub

Don't let Grover Norquist near that poor thing.
posted by Flunkie at 7:56 PM on November 10, 2012 [12 favorites]

George P. Bush Is Ready to Save the GOP

We'll never be free of that clan, will we?
posted by octothorpe at 8:02 PM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Nope.
posted by de at 8:05 PM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

... nor will you be free of the aspiring Romneys I suspect.
Another dynasty.

> Pro-choice and black and a woman. The day that candidate gets through the Southern Republican primaries is a day ~~that satan gets chilly.~~ the GOP demonstrates change.
posted by de at 8:09 PM on November 10, 2012

MOAR BUSHES! GIVE US MOAR BUSHES! Serious. After Dubbya, the single worst name to have in national Politics, right after Nixon, is Bush.

OK, even when they're drunk or hopped up on tranqs, you can trust a Kennedy to produce some rock-solid win/win legislation. Even our own little Portsmouth pill-head, Patrick "Patches" Kennedy, was feared as a take-no-prisoners back-room deal maker.

You can't trust a Bush to do shit. Two of them were president, the first was laughably bad, the second a never-ending horror show of misrule. You want to run with that? Lots of luck, chuck.

OK, let's stop, and think about what the GOP part faithful have been saying:

1) No compromise on policy positions.

2) Get Latino and Asians and African Americans to run on party policy positions.

3) Hope like hell no-one mentions Uncle Tom, and if they do, THEY'RE the racists! Ha! Take that! We have tricked you black and brown and yellow people with our superior doublespeak!
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:10 PM on November 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

The thing about Condoleeza Rice is that...

Is there a reason for Nikki Haley's low profile this election season? I thought she was being groomed for something bigger.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:14 PM on November 10, 2012

We'll never be free of that clan, will we?

America loves its dynasties. They're like royalty you can keep around for 4-8 years when you get nostalgic for the time that they ruled the country.
posted by Talez at 8:29 PM on November 10, 2012

Six Things We’ll Never Know About Mitt Romney
posted by homunculus at 8:32 PM on November 10, 2012

Song of Mitt's Self

Mitt is large. He contains multitudes.
posted by homunculus at 8:33 PM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Huffington Post has been running a slideshow gallery of past presidential election losers on the eve of defeat delivering their concession speech. (There doesn't seem to be a way to link to it anywhere, but just click on any of the recent huffpo links in this thread, such as this one.) I got a real kick out of McGovern in 1972 conceding to Nixon. What seemed presidential in 1972 sure wouldn't fly today.
posted by Rhomboid at 8:35 PM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Texas Republican Wants State To Leave U.S. Over Obama Win, Ryan J. Reilly, Talking Points Memo, 9 November, 2012

A Republican official in Texas called for his state to separate from the United States and the “maggots” who reelected President Barack Obama in a newsletter he sent out this week.

posted by ob1quixote at 8:36 PM on November 10, 2012

“We must contest every single inch of ground and delay the baby-murdering, tax-raising socialists at every opportunity,” Morrison wrote. “But in due time, the maggots will have eaten every morsel of flesh off of the rotting corpse of the Republic, and therein lies our opportunity.”

Oh, wow. Just...

And now, one out of context quote:
Batman was surprised by the content of Morrison’s Tea Party newsletter.

Yes, I was surprised to.
posted by Mezentian at 9:01 PM on November 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

Mezentian: Batman was surprised by the content of Morrison’s Tea Party newsletter.

Yes, I was surprised to.

I did a double-take at that too, so I looked it up. The dude's real name is apparently Kent Batman.
posted by ob1quixote at 9:17 PM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fucking traitor.
posted by klangklangston at 9:19 PM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

U.S. Battle strategy in a Texas war of Independence:

1) Clone William T. Sherman
2) Introduce him to nuclear weapons.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:24 PM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

I like Matt Taibbi's take on the republican problem as expressed by idiots like Limbaugh:

There's been a lot of hand-wringing among conservatives of the Rush/Hannity school in the last few days, a lot of concern about this outreach question, and honestly, the tone of the discussion is beginning to sound like the last days of a failed 1950s marriage. The husband who's gone all day at work comes home and throws his hands up in the air in mock frustration: what do you want from me, another Cadillac? Another fur coat? I just got you new shoes last week!

And the wife, who's loved this man for 20 years despite his abject stupidity, just sighs. All she wants her husband to do is listen to her, or take a day off work sometime and take her for a drive in the country, or make some spontaneous show of affection, maybe popping home for lunch like in the old days – just some evidence that he's even faintly aware of what's going on in her head. But when they try to talk it out, things just get worse, because in his very manner of asking her what's wrong, all hubby does is reveal that he thinks of his wife entirely as a nagging, financial parasite who's always on his ass about something.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:24 PM on November 10, 2012 [10 favorites]

Just to make it clear, Mr. Batman does not condone Mr. Morrison's publication of the referenced call for secession. This notice was posted on the Hardin County Republican Party page:

In light of the 2012 presidential results, it is understandable that members of the Republican Party of Hardin County may choose to share his or her views with the public as people have done throughout the history of American politics. We respect the rights of these members to express their opinions. However, NONE of these views are intended to be the opinions of the Hardin County Republican Party, its Chairman or its Executive Board. We do not endorse any member's publication, nor have we been consulted before the publication of any such newsletter or article. Any and all comments about any newsletter or article should be directed, personally, to the author of the newsletter or article.

Commissioner Gordon could not be reached for comment.

Sorry. I just couldn't resist. I'll get me coat…
posted by ob1quixote at 9:35 PM on November 10, 2012 [5 favorites]

Yeah I saw the Morrison secession thing linked elsewhere and a quote from Batman that said something like "Wait, what? I guess I'll have to start taking a look at his newsletters." Kind of hilarious.

The petition is on the Whitehouse.gov site, and so is one for Louisiana.
posted by sweetkid at 9:40 PM on November 10, 2012

ob1quixote: "A Republican official in Texas called for his state to separate from the United States and the “maggots” who reelected President Barack Obama in a newsletter he sent out this week."

I hear that threatening to move to Canada is the wingnut threat du jour, so can we move Texas to Canada? Maybe with some precisely-timed oil well explosions or something?
posted by tonycpsu at 9:58 PM on November 10, 2012

octothorpe: "We'll never be free of that clan, will we?"

The last time the Republicans won a presidential election without either a Nixon or a Bush as part of the ticket was 1928.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:22 PM on November 10, 2012 [7 favorites]

“Wow,” Batman said. “OK, well — I guess I need to start taking a look at his newsletters.”

I'm having a good time imagining this being said in Christian Bale's Batman voice.
posted by brundlefly at 10:40 PM on November 10, 2012 [4 favorites]

tonycpsu: Can we move Texas to Canada?

Isn't that Alberta?
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 10:50 PM on November 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

Chrysostom wrote: The last time the Republicans won a presidential election without either a Nixon or a Bush as part of the ticket was 1928.

That sounds more impressive than it is, partially because 1928 sounds like a long time ago. But really only 12 people have been elected President since Hoover, who won the 1928 election, and only five of those were Republicans. Also, what does "a Nixon" mean? It's not as if there were two of them who served as either President or VP.

A less portentous way of saying it would be "The past five Republicans to be elected President of the USA were Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, GHW Bush and GW Bush. Nixon and GHW Bush also served as vice-Presidents to Eisenhower and Reagan, respectively."
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:09 PM on November 10, 2012

A Republican official in Texas called for his state to separate from the United States and the “maggots” who reelected President Barack Obama in a newsletter he sent out this week.

Isn't the US in a state of war? Why aren't we throwing seditious right-wingers into prison? This is such bullshit.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:21 PM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

After Dubbya, the single worst name to have in national Politics, right after Nixon, is Bush.

Worse than Hitler? And Stalin? And Mao? And Satan? That IS bad.
posted by msalt at 11:37 PM on November 10, 2012

Hitler? Is this thread about to end?
posted by de at 11:41 PM on November 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Is there a reason for Nikki Haley's low profile this election season?

I dunno, maybe her adulterous affair?
posted by msalt at 11:42 PM on November 10, 2012

Why aren't we throwing seditious right-wingers into prison?

Old political rule of thumb: when a politician is self-destructing, don't interrupt them.
posted by msalt at 11:44 PM on November 10, 2012 [5 favorites]

Old political rule of thumb: when a politician is self-destructing, don't interrupt them.

Please proceed, Governor.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:24 AM on November 11, 2012 [32 favorites]

can we move Texas to Canada?

well, from down here in Austin- where we went 60.2%(!) for Obama, I'd like to suggest that we start by expanding Vancouver southeastward 'til we eventually meet. After all, we're basically already that stoned and just generally odd, and having more Chinese joints to compete w/ the ubiquitous taco places seems pretty win-win. (oh, and it's 4:30 am in the middle of November and it's 71F right now, if that moves the needle at all. Pretty Canadian down here already, y'all, but warm)
posted by hap_hazard at 2:46 AM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Peter Morrison Report:Romney was probably the smartest person to run for President since the Founders, and if he would have continued his data-driven approach to management in government, he could have done a lot of good. In the America of 2012, being successful and smart can unfortunately be a political liability, not an asset.

Bwaaaaaaaahahahahaha!
posted by bardophile at 2:58 AM on November 11, 2012 [8 favorites]

Is there a reason for Nikki Haley's low profile this election season?

I dunno, maybe her adulterous affair?

I thought of that, and while it might preclude a run for president one day I'm not sure if that's a barrier to becoming a surrogate (official or not) when Republicans really, really need to raise the profile of women and people of color in their party. I don't recall seeing much, if any, of Jindal, either, for that matter.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:31 AM on November 11, 2012

works for an oil company, which incidentally is struggling to survive in the face of anti-business regulation dressed up as concern for the environment

Oh, and he was a liar, just like a republican too! Name one oil company "struggling to survive."
posted by spitbull at 4:54 AM on November 11, 2012

Is there a reason for Nikki Haley's low profile this election season?

I dunno, maybe her adulterous affair?

I live a few hundred feet from South Carolina and so have followed Haley's career for a while. The adultery claims are nothing new and have never managed to gain any traction in her home state; generally they come across as disgruntled ex-staffers trying to damage her the easiest way they can think of. My take on it is that she is smarter than many people realize and did not want to associate herself with the current crop of losers at the top of the Republican hierarchy; she was born in 1972 and is young enough to bide her time and make a move when it is in her best interest. I think she could really be a contender for the first woman president a few election cycles down the road. Not that I want that to happen or that I agree with her politics, but I think liberals dismiss her at their peril.
posted by TedW at 4:54 AM on November 11, 2012 [4 favorites]

The billionaire donors I hear are livid," one Republican operative told The Huffington Post. "There is some holy hell to pay. Karl Rove has a lot of explaining to do … I don't know how you tell your donors that we spent $390 million and got nothing."

This is what happens when you try to buy votes with fear instead of promote goals with information. The GOP machine no longer understands what democracy is, or why it exists. They have been using the government as their personal ATM machine by leveraging relentless lies for so long that they are shocked that people without money get to make decisions about the future of this country.

I have a lot of empathy for the people who are trapped in the propaganda cycle that the GOP has created, but none for puppeteers. If there is evil in this world, it's in the hearts of people who would knowingly prey on the downtrodden so they can wield their political power for one pathetic goal: the parading of more material riches.

Thankfully, it is much more expensive to sell lies as reality.
posted by deanklear at 5:58 AM on November 11, 2012 [6 favorites]

Name one oil company "struggling to survive."

Define oil company.
They are out there.
Even if you skip the pure exploration companies, there are any number of E&P companies with over-extended circumstances, or just bad management. Or both.
posted by Mezentian at 6:03 AM on November 11, 2012

My take on it is that she is smarter than many people realize and did not want to associate herself with the current crop of losers at the top of the Republican hierarchy;

Ahh, now it makes more sense.

I think liberals dismiss her at their peril.

Well this liberal, who is about as far-removed from southern politics as one can be, considered her absence pretty conspicuous, so I will take that advice.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:03 AM on November 11, 2012

Is there a reason for Nikki Haley's low profile this election season?
I dunno, maybe her adulterous affair?

Republicans do not care about adulterous affairs. Republicans care about adulterous affairs by Democrats.

Their previous Presidential nominee, McCain, is an adulterer. At least one of their major potential Please-Jesus-Give-Us-A-Non-Mitt candidates this time around, Gingrich, is a serial adulterer.

In fairness, another major non-Mitt, Cain, dropped out after public allegations of adultery, but (1) there were simultaneous allegations of sexual harassment from multiple women, and it seems to me that that's what most of the fuss was made about, and (2) he was back on his feet as a beloved of the Tea Party in no time, with, if I remember correctly, a lot of noise being made like "why oh why did this sainted non-Mitt drop out".
posted by Flunkie at 6:18 AM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

Rustic Etruscan:
tonycpsu: Can we move Texas to Canada?

Isn't that Alberta?

Alberta can't be Texas as long as it has glaciers.
posted by localroger at 6:19 AM on November 11, 2012

Another beatified non-Mitt adulterer: The Donald. Well, he wasn't an official non-Mitt, but a whole lot of them were sure loudly praying to Jesus that he would be.
posted by Flunkie at 6:26 AM on November 11, 2012

Wait, are Republicans saying that one of the other occupants of the clown car would have been more electable than Mitt?
posted by Rhomboid at 6:38 AM on November 11, 2012 [5 favorites]

Is there a reason for Nikki Haley's low profile this election season?

I dunno, maybe her adulterous affair?

Republicans do not care about adulterous affairs. Republicans care about adulterous affairs by Democrats.

Their previous Presidential nominee, McCain, is an adulterer. At least one of their major potential Please-Jesus-Give-Us-A-Non-Mitt candidates this time around, Gingrich, is a serial adulterer.

Children, children... all of those adulterers are men.
posted by bardophile at 6:43 AM on November 11, 2012 [33 favorites]

Children, children... all of those adulterers are men.

I was just about to say that. I think that we've seen in the last election what Republicans think of women and their bodies and I really doubt that they'd give her the same pass that they gave Newt or McCain.
posted by octothorpe at 7:06 AM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, and this thread is killing my browser.
posted by octothorpe at 7:08 AM on November 11, 2012

Oh, and this thread is killing my browser.

Note the thread title.
posted by localroger at 7:32 AM on November 11, 2012 [13 favorites]

Define oil company.
They are out there.

Poor babies.
posted by spitbull at 8:01 AM on November 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

Wow, I'm reading Jezebel this morning about the spate of racist Tweets that followed the election. They actually started identifying the individuals who wrote the Tweets, and many were high school students. They began calling the schools the students attend to ask whether this kind of speech is consistent with the school's codes of conduct, and there seem to have been at least some repercussions.
posted by Miko at 8:40 AM on November 11, 2012 [5 favorites]

That damn liberal media, always taking things so seriously.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:53 AM on November 11, 2012

A Republican official in Texas called for his state to separate from the United States

The Supreme Court has already said, in a case involving Texas specifically (Texas v. White, 1869), that leaving the Union is unconstitutional.

The union between Texas and the other States was as complete, as perpetual, and as indissoluble as the union between the original States. There was no place for reconsideration or revocation, except through revolution or through consent of the States.

Note that we do have the option to let them go.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:12 AM on November 11, 2012

Note that we do have the option to let them go.

Addition by subtraction FTW. Puerto Rico, come on down!
posted by tonycpsu at 9:17 AM on November 11, 2012 [5 favorites]

Well, at least these teenagers are finally taking an interest in politics.
posted by Flashman at 9:21 AM on November 11, 2012

I think I'm going to skim this thread periodically to re-live election night. (Also awaiting batch-favoriting.)
posted by univac at 9:27 AM on November 11, 2012

Miko: "Wow, I'm reading Jezebel this morning about the spate of racist Tweets that followed the election. They actually started identifying the individuals who wrote the Tweets, and many were high school students. They began calling the schools the students attend to ask whether this kind of speech is consistent with the school's codes of conduct, and there seem to have been at least some repercussions."

Super conflicted about this which feels pretty weird.
posted by boo_radley at 10:11 AM on November 11, 2012 [4 favorites]

Let me know when you're done bashing Texas, I'm getting tired of rolling my eyes.
posted by DynamiteToast at 10:20 AM on November 11, 2012

Super conflicted about this which feels pretty weird.

Yes, it makes me feel very uncomfortable. The speech is vile and worthy of retort, but I'm not sure that the appropriate response to a child saying something disgusting is to contact their school. Would you contact the employer of an adult? Would it be appropriate to bring their exercise of a private right into their professional lives? I'm not sure it's OK.
posted by howfar at 10:24 AM on November 11, 2012 [5 favorites]

I am a little torn about it too, but I do think that "what you say on the internet is public and you are accountable for it" is a lesson that kids absolutely need to learn, and learning it in high school is preferable to learning it by being fired from a job ten or fifteen years later. Me, I would prefer this to be one of the many critical lessons that should be added to the high school curriculum, but hey, sometimes the only way to learn to duck is to get punched in the face.
posted by restless_nomad at 10:31 AM on November 11, 2012 [9 favorites]

Yes, it makes me feel very uncomfortable. The speech is vile and worthy of retort, but I'm not sure that the appropriate response to a child saying something disgusting is to contact their school. Would you contact the employer of an adult? Would it be appropriate to bring their exercise of a private right into their professional lives? I'm not sure it's OK.

The best thing would be to contact the parents which might be difficult. The schools, on the other hand, usually have a code of contact (notice that most of the students were team players) and several of the schools were Christian schools. So if, for example, a group of football players wearing their team jerseys were to scream "Go back to Africa ya Nigger" at a passerby, the school would and should be notified. They are representing the school and the school should have a chance to clear its reputation. I was surprised by the last entry where the school did nothing and the twitter account was still active along with the offensive tweets.

I did laugh at the students claiming their accounts had been hacked.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 10:37 AM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wow. That Jezebel outing thing is pretty intense.

I worked through super-conflicted to a state of acceptance. I get that these are "kids" (not all of them actually) from ignorant families in ignorant towns for the most part, victims of the same propaganda machine we mostly deplore here. But goddamit, someone has to shake these communities and their families by the fucking lapels and tell them this is not OK, this is incivil, this is hate speech, this is confusing politics with tribalism, this is un-American. If the kids are the point of the spear, that point needs to hit bare metal and bend. And this extends more broadly into a lesson about citizenship in the digital era. Say whatever you want, the platform is yours. But you may have to own your words.

None of them are going to suffer anything worse than humiliation or maybe a lost college scholarship or two. And do people who call the President the N-word and wish for his death in a public forum under their own names, teenagers or not, deserve any special consideration from us?

I don't think so. Sort of a Republican position, actually, but then these kids are mostly also speaking in favor of the Republican party, whose platform enshrines (with all due hypocrisy) a language of individual responsibility, and whose misplaced identities are rooted in a delusional self-perception of superiority owed solely to pigmentation.

It's their parents who really deserve condemnation though.

Way to confirm the right's racism, idiots, and the belief of many of us who will always vote against your party precisely because y'all are such bigots. You could have proved us a little wrong, huh? Can't help yourselves, we can't help you either.
posted by spitbull at 10:38 AM on November 11, 2012 [10 favorites]

Saturday Night Live - Cold Opening: Mitt Romney On a Balcony
posted by homunculus at 10:42 AM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Heh, one of the Jezebel commenters suggested we think of it as "Scared Straight" for racist teenagers.
posted by spitbull at 10:46 AM on November 11, 2012

I did laugh at the students claiming their accounts had been hacked.

It's the millennials' "Dog ate my homework."

And yes, these kids definitely need to know their racist behavior is unacceptable. Notifying their schools is the best route because home is where they most likely learned the hateful language in the first place.
posted by Pudhoho at 10:46 AM on November 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

George P. Bush Is Ready to Save the GOP

This reminds me of something I heard during the reign of Bush 43.

"George W Bush is proof of the American Dream since even your stupidest son can grow up to be President."

Remember the GOP has a bad habit of doubling down on its mistakes.
posted by charlie don't surf at 11:13 AM on November 11, 2012

Re: Nikki Haley's adulterous affair vs. McCain, Gingrich, Cain, etc.
bardophile: Children, children... all of those adulterers are men.

Absolutely. I can't think of another female politician with a sex scandal like this. (Unless you count the fringe Hillary/Humana stories.)

And a woman's sex scandal has all sorts of different spin, which is not just conservative sexism. How many times have you read, after a male politician's scandal, "Why is it just men who have this compulsion to cheat? You don't see women politicians doing so." So a philandering woman politician breaks all sorts of dearly held illusions, from a perceived ethical advantage for women politicians to the silly old stereotype that men are dogs and women are saints (math fail: wouldn't there be roughly an equal number of women that those dogs are cheating with?)

Plus, there seems to be a politican rule that the first person caught doing something pays a higher price. Douglas Ginsberg is not on the Supreme Court because he smoked marijuana once, but but politicians routinely admit that now. Even adultery (among men) is becoming old hat. So if this allegation is borne out, I think Haley would pay a real price.
posted by msalt at 11:21 AM on November 11, 2012

Man, I'm glad somebody else felt weird about that Jezebel link — I don't think the school should be the authority contacted, and I don't think that things written online should necessarily be connected with school or employers. That was one of the few ways that the Reddit thing bugged me, and I finally rationalized it with thinking that ViolentAcrez had probably been being a shit on company time, which is something that I don't have any problem with him being fired for.

It's one of those things where it's not the school's job to raise these kids to not be fucking racist, but obviously the people who should be doing that job are failing pretty hard.

(But would we want the kids doxed enough to find their parents?)
posted by klangklangston at 11:39 AM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

I don't think the school should be the authority contacted, and I don't think that things written online should necessarily be connected with school or employers

I feel a little oogy (oogey?) about the jezebel thing. I wonder why.

If I saw tweets from a co-worker, under her real name, like those in the jezebel link, would I let our employer know? Maybe. What if I were a classmate of one of these kids, and saw tweets from someone's real-name account, and knew it was a violation of our school's code of conduct (and also felt grossed out and maybe scared, personally) - should I report it, or not?

Is the thing that makes other folks here have mixed feelings about this the fact that the kids were reported at all, or was it who reported them, or what?
posted by rtha at 11:51 AM on November 11, 2012

I for one am skeptical as fuck about Jezebel's motives. I think calling the schools is a reasonable response; I think talking about the phenomenon and the school's responses is interesting journalism; I think calling out specific kids and their schools is edging towards exploitative, and I know that Jezebel does nothing except to get more clicks.
posted by restless_nomad at 11:54 AM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

I for one am skeptical as fuck about Jezebel's motives.

Jezebel could have easily contacted the schools without publishing a post about the whole thing.

Posting this up, makes it seem like they're just stepping aside and saying to everyone, "Get 'em boys (and girls)"
posted by FJT at 12:24 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

The author of the article is kind of known for being controversial.
posted by book 'em dano at 12:34 PM on November 11, 2012

It is incomprehensible to me that someone would equate the Jezebel article with cyberbullying or even doxxing. The stuff they posted about the people making the racist tweets was nothing more than what was available on the Twitter accounts to begin with. They also included some information about what their schools had to say about it, but that's fairly standard journalism.

If you want to tweet stupid and racist shit and not have it blow back on you, don't link your damn Twitter account to your real life identity. I would understand the reaction if this were hidden/difficult to find information that wasn't already available for the entire damn Internet to see, but that is not what happened. You can't even really argue that it was "accidentally" public, given that it came from their twitter pages and/or tweets in the first place.
posted by wierdo at 12:37 PM on November 11, 2012 [10 favorites]

I guess my problem with the article is that while all those Twitter accounts have now been closed, those students' names are still there in the Jezebel article and will be there and searchable forever. I'm not saying the kids don't need to learn a lesson here, but surely at some point - once they leave high school? - some stupid (insensitive, racist, abhorrent) tweets they made as teenagers should be allowed to disappear.

I'm not saying Jezebel was wrong to do what they did - kids need to learn these lessons; reporting adults to their employers? I think that's an entirely different situation. And kids will learn from this. But at some point, I think they should be able to put this behind them. Your high school record shouldn't be branded across your life.
posted by crossoverman at 12:39 PM on November 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

If you want to tweet stupid and racist shit and not have it blow back on you, don't link your damn Twitter account to your real life identity.

Yes, because shaming teenagers has NEVER backfired.

So, what's wrong with eliminating real names and schools and maybe even publishing the offending tweets only after the accounts have been deleted?
posted by FJT at 12:50 PM on November 11, 2012

I think Jezebel crossed a line by publicly naming the minors invloved, regardless of the public or private status of the twitter accounts. If the goal was to highlight young people's racist reactions, surely there was no shortage of college-aged kids who could have been named while still informing readers of the other actions that were taken with minors.

Children, children... all of those adulterers are men.

I think Haley would pay a real price.

And yet, according to TedW's first hand/hundred-foot experience, this has not been the case at all.
posted by Room 641-A at 12:53 PM on November 11, 2012

Maybe Jezebel did cross a line, and the click-bait aspect of it makes me really uncomfortable. But these were tweets sent out under real names, and they were not friend-locked. The senders were apparently fine with sending them out to people who were following them - and those people could obviously retweet those tweets. It's not as if they were secret to begin with.
posted by rtha at 1:03 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

"You Keep Saying That, but He Won, Karl, He Won"
posted by futz at 1:03 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Weekly Standard editor and Conservative commentator Bill Kristol said Sunday that Republicans in Congress should “take Obama’s offer” to raise taxes on the wealthy because the GOP shouldn’t “fall on its sword to defend a bunch of millionaires.”

Kritol added, “Four presidents in the last century have won 50 percent of the vote twice: Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Reagan, and Obama,” the conservative pundit explained. “It pains me to say that, to put him in with those other three, but it’s a fact. Democrats picked up seats in the House and the Senate. The president is in good shape. … I think there will be a big budget deal. It will be an Obama budget deal much more than a Paul Ryan-type budget deal. Elections have consequences.”
posted by futz at 1:07 PM on November 11, 2012 [9 favorites]

Where's the right to freedom of speech in all of this? Hate speech isn't speech?
School kids don't have the right to express themselves or their peer-pressured-selves?

I can imagine a first generation American woman with Indian parents, raised Sikh and still attending out of respect for her parents' culture, getting similar treatment to the Kenyan born muslim come her time to run.

Add to that the forethought -- and malice? -- of true-confessions journalism claiming a sexual encounter in the front seat of a car and you have all the makings of intimidation as good in 2024 as today.

Neither Obama nor Haley strike me as easily intimidated but any number of good people inbetween may be. Multinationalism isn't easy for "real America". Good thing American presidents need to be American born ... there's some protection in that, but it removes entirely the right to claim that all Americans can aspire to be anything they want to be.

America sure is in transition to multiculturalism and doing it hard.
posted by de at 1:09 PM on November 11, 2012

I don't really see why these precious little snowflakes/vile pieces of shit/people who said ridiculously horrible things/whatever you want to call them should be treated any better than the jackasses at my high school who went from shaming/mildly bullying gay kids and minorities to actively pummeling them. Their names are in the newspaper archives (online..on the Googles) forevermore, as they should be.

These kids can live it down just like the rest of us who have stuck our feet in our mouths. It's not like they are now registered sex offenders or something.
posted by wierdo at 1:20 PM on November 11, 2012 [4 favorites]

A look back at the election's biggest babies
posted by The Whelk at 1:23 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Where's the right to freedom of speech in all of this? Hate speech isn't speech?

Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences. This is a super common misapprehension and exactly the sort of thing that kids need to learn early enough that the learning of it doesn't do them serious harm. You can say whatever you want (within limits - yes, there are limits) and the government will not punish you. Jezebel is not the government. Forum moderators are not the government. Other people who now think you're a racist moron are not the government. Other people are, in fact, allowed to say what they think of your speech, also free from government punishment.

This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, and also a serious concern, because it seems like people get the idea of "free speech" in their heads and are then genuinely shocked when people react negatively to what they say. "But... but... the First Amendment!" doesn't fix any of that.
posted by restless_nomad at 1:25 PM on November 11, 2012 [45 favorites]

I guess my problem with the article is that while all those Twitter accounts have now been closed, those students' names are still there in the Jezebel article and will be there and searchable forever.

Just like if I got into some trouble when I was a teenager and it got in the local paper, those articles would be forever part of the public record and available to any of you to look up today. Fortunately, the only thing I was getting my name in the local paper for was for things like winning essay contests and shit, but you can totally still pull a copy of my local paper from the late 80's and find that picture of me and my school principal with goofy grins on our faces.

The public record is the public record. It doesn't go away. The only difference now is that people forget the Internet is part of the public record.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:29 PM on November 11, 2012 [6 favorites]

With the internet and all that, consequences will never be the same.
posted by Flashman at 1:29 PM on November 11, 2012

No. I'd argue that consequences will silence and therein is the loss of claim to freedom of speech. If I'm refraining from saying something because of the gun at my head my freedom is gone.
posted by de at 1:29 PM on November 11, 2012

EmpressCallipygos: "The only difference now is that people forget the Internet is part of the public record."

13-18 year olds, I think, barely have a conception of "the public record". I guess I worry that if young people get confronted like this they'll wind up doubling down on asshole because they are stubborn and etc., which will make it more difficult for them to have the self-reflection needed to not be internet dickasses.
posted by boo_radley at 1:33 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

people who said ridiculously horrible things/whatever you want to call them should be treated any better than the jackasses at my high school who went from shaming/mildly bullying gay kids and minorities to actively pummeling them

Now, is this about making you feel good or making those assholes solve their problem? Because, I agree about punishment. If there's any form of violence, throw their asses in juvenile detention. But does printing names do ANYTHING? Honestly, did those guys that get their names printed suddenly become angels and start apologizing and giving gift baskets to everyone they wronged, or are there names still being printed in the paper, but for carjacking and drug abuse?
posted by FJT at 1:38 PM on November 11, 2012

I guess I worry that if young people get confronted like this they'll wind up doubling down on asshole because they are stubborn and etc., which will make it more difficult for them to have the self-reflection needed to not be internet dickasses.

And what I'm saying is, kids were getting publicly confronted with their own idiocy before this. Kids got their names in the local paper for shoplifting, vandalism, etc. And while some of them did stubbornly continue to act out, most of them were embarrassed enough to knock it off. Why is this different now from what's been happening before this already?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:39 PM on November 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

This is a super common misapprehension and exactly the sort of thing that kids need to learn early enough that the learning of it doesn't do them serious harm. You can say whatever you want (within limits - yes, there are limits) and the government will not punish you. Jezebel is not the government. Forum moderators are not the government. Other people who now think you're a racist moron are not the government. Other people are, in fact, allowed to say what they think of your speech, also free from government punishment.

I am not exactly comfortable with Jezebel naming and shaming in quite this manner, but if they were college kids instead of minors I'd feel less conflicted.

At the barest of minimums, I do hope that school teachers and parents around this country use that Jezebel piece to do two things: 1)have conversations about nasty epithets and racism generally, and 2) this is why you don't say stupid shit on the internet, because it will haunt you forever.
posted by ambrosia at 1:42 PM on November 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

FJT: "Now, is this about making you feel good or making those assholes solve their problem? Because, I agree about punishment. If there's any form of violence, throw their asses in juvenile detention. But does printing names do ANYTHING? Honestly, did those guys that get their names printed suddenly become angels and start apologizing and giving gift baskets to everyone they wronged, or are there names still being printed in the paper, but for carjacking and drug abuse?"

It's not about making me feel better or making these assholes solve their problem. It's about understanding the distinction between nasty shit that people do to other people on the Internet like doxxing and people being stupid enough to say racist things publicly with their names attached.

Honestly, as far as I know, those guys are now accountants and car salesmen and boring shit like that. Lives aren't ruined because things you said/did publicly are out there except in the mind of the drama queens themselves. The rest of us realize that kids do stupid shit and try to find reasons to believe they've learned.
posted by wierdo at 1:50 PM on November 11, 2012 [4 favorites]

Yeah, as I said above, I'm not at all convinced that Jezebel did this the right way. Other than io9, I am profoundly skeptical of anything that comes out of Gawker and generally I avoid reading them because I think they're the worst sort of tabloid journalism.

No. I'd argue that consequences will silence and therein is the loss of claim to freedom of speech. If I'm refraining from saying something because of the gun at my head my freedom is gone.

But that's my point. The only "claim to freedom of speech" you have is freedom from government censorship. It's not a blanket right. Community pressure against certain kinds of speech is orthogonal to that argument.
posted by restless_nomad at 1:51 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

I wish that this derail could have its own ffp.
posted by futz at 1:52 PM on November 11, 2012 [5 favorites]

Why is this different now from what's been happening before this already?

Because the vast majority of citizens can agree that shoplifting, vandalism etc are wrong. The person knows this and, in theory, if they aren't a sociopath, feel things like shame, empathy and guilt and eventually change their behavior. In this case a good proportion of the local community thinks that calling the president a racial epithet and calling for his resignation/removal/death is perfectly appropriate.

Keep in mind these are kids. They don't get a lot of socializing outside their local high school. When your family, community social networks, religious network, political persuasion is encouraging you and telling you that your conduct is appropriate those things don't work as a behavior changing apparatus.

Kids don't have the appropriate emotional skill set to push back on that amount of peer pressure that a small, insular, homogenous society can push out. Kids can barely push back when half a dozen other kids tell them smoking is cool. That's what makes them... say it with me... KIDS. If their guidance is faulty there's no hope for them until they get out into the real world and find out that at least half the people in America (not just bleedin' heart libruls on Twitter) aren't hateful bigots and don't approve of their sort of behavior. Penalizing them for being brainwashed by the local cult of hatred does them no service for when they do make it into the real world.
posted by Talez at 1:53 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

We contacted their school's administrators with the hope that, if their educators were made aware of their students' ignorance, perhaps they could teach them about racial sensitivity. Or they could let them know that while the First Amendment protects their freedom of speech, it doesn't protect them from the consequences that might result from expressing their opinions. (For example, an adult woman is currently being investigated by the Secret Service for calling President Obama a "nigger" and suggesting he be assassinated on her Facebook page.)

I have rarely seen so much po-faced hypocrisy and ignorant vice in a single paragraph.

I bet the author doesn't generally go to this much effort when she sees a racist tweet. She did this to sell page-hits, not because she had some pious hope about education.
The First Amendment restricts government censorship and is an utter red herring in this context.
She is conflating a government investigation of an alleged threat with her own attempt to make some idiots miserable.
The woman who allegedly called the President a "nigger" could have done it as many times as she pleased without legal consequence; she may have broken then law by calling for his assassination.
The author has something in common with the students: they each see people as means, not ends, and they will abuse them to gain advantage.
Where is this woman's school so that I may complain to her principal?

posted by Joe in Australia at 1:56 PM on November 11, 2012

And what I'm saying is, kids were getting publicly confronted with their own idiocy before this. Kids got their names in the local paper for shoplifting, vandalism, etc. And while some of them did stubbornly continue to act out, most of them were embarrassed enough to knock it off. Why is this different now from what's been happening before this already?

Because an HR employee at a company in another state ten years later can't just type in their name and look up every dumb thing they've ever done or said and decide not to bring the kid in for an interview from the local paper before the internet. The local paper is only an infinitely accessible record if someone actually went to the paper and looked at archives or something, which is far, far less likely than some drone sticking a name into google and hitting 'search'.

I cannot believe I am defending racists, but this is classic let the punishment fit the crime, and the punishment of being forever weeded out of the resume pile for saying something dumb as a kid is highly disproportionate.

This is also why I never google people I know - the last thing I need is to find additional reasons to dislike people with whom I'm acquainted.
posted by winna at 2:00 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sorry restless_nomad, I misread you in the heat of it all. I'd be happy for the kids' words to have stayed right where they were, attracting no immediate attention, left for future reference should they be required. They're on record.
posted by de at 2:03 PM on November 11, 2012

Who put a gun to anyone's head? Freedom of speech is not threatened in any possible way by other people exercising their freedom to respond.

Again, these kids said the shit they did in public, under their own real names. Case closed.
posted by spitbull at 2:05 PM on November 11, 2012 [10 favorites]

EmpressCallipygos: "
And what I'm saying is, kids were getting publicly confronted with their own idiocy before this. Kids got their names in the local paper for shoplifting, vandalism, etc. And while some of them did stubbornly continue to act out, most of them were embarrassed enough to knock it off. Why is this different now from what's been happening before this already?"

Well, Jezebel is seriously different than "local paper" or county clerk's records. In the 80s, you could shape up and just move the fuck away. Boom, pretty much tabula rasa. Maybe somebody would go dig up those records if so inclined, but for most things? People didn't give a shit what you did in your home town. The internet is pretty much everywhere and everybody has it.

Two, Jezebel's not going to the the parents, pastors or scoutmasters of these communities. It'd be seriously different if Auntie Jez was coming over to Johnny's family for the conversation. In this scenario, maybe there'd be some action or maybe the whole family's racist nutbags and things continue as is. With Jezebel announcing their actions, the whole world gets the names, schools and account information of these children. They have no skin in the game and no blood in the community. They're never, ever, ever going to check back on those schools in a meaningful way and they're never going to involve themselves in those kids' lives in a way that will help them correct their actions, either by example or by rote correction.

Honestly, this should be the latest AHAH moment for why metafilter frowns on "look at these asshole posts".
posted by boo_radley at 2:05 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

In this case a good proportion of the local community thinks that calling the president a racial epithet and calling for his resignation/removal/death is perfectly appropriate.

All the more reason it needs to be publicized. A huge part of the progress in civil rights in the early 1960s came from showing the uglier side of Southern racism to the rest of the U.S. via the media, things that were accepted locally.

Defenders of these kids are also ignoring the way in which public statements of racism are intimidating to all minorities. When such statements are allowed to stand without consequences, this creates an climate of fear and an impression of official approval.
posted by msalt at 2:10 PM on November 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

Jezebel can be assholes, it's free speech too. I'm a bit repulsed by the meanness of it too. But that's an editorial decision, not a question of law.

There is no putting this genie back in the bottle, in this case or in general. This is the downside of the Internet, possibly even its dystopian side. But we are all in it now. These kids are native to this world. They know what it means to tweet.

Or they do now.

Of course the upside is that in the future google will know so much shit about everyone that there will no longer be any sense of shame. Problem solved.
posted by spitbull at 2:13 PM on November 11, 2012

The local paper is only an infinitely accessible record if someone actually went to the paper and looked at archives or something....

More accessible than that -- every public library has access to the the Reader's Guide to Periodicals, which is an archive index for just about every newspaper and magazine out there. You then use that index listing to look up the article proper. Your library may not have it, but you can use interlibrary loan to get it from another library.

Mind you, it is indeed easier to look things up now with Google; you're correct in that. But in ye olde days before the Internet, you also didn't see too many kids moving too far out of their home towns, so it's possible the HR person they're facing actually HAD read things in the local paper themselves a couple years back. But you are right that the accessibility of information is a difference between then and now; and honestly, I'm not sure I want to reverse the clock on that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:14 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Defenders of these kids

Loaded and misleading language.

When such statements are allowed to stand without consequences, this creates an climate of fear and an impression of official approval.

The fact that there should be consequences for something doesn't mean that any and all consequences that flow from an action are just, sensible or justified.
posted by howfar at 2:18 PM on November 11, 2012 [5 favorites]

All the more reason it needs to be publicized. A huge part of the progress in civil rights in the early 1960s came from showing the uglier side of Southern racism to the rest of the U.S. via the media, things that were accepted locally.

So these kids can be the one to fall on the sword for their parents' shitty guidance?

Please. This whole dog and pony show is just the liberal equivalent of a crazed lynch mob.
posted by Talez at 2:20 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

A kid from Brooklyn is living in some kind of racist cocoon and just can't help but shout nigger every day and then call the President that and call for his assassination? Nobody is advocating violence against these kids, only saying that it's not somehow inappropriate to highlight what they chose to say publicly. They could have had anonymity if they so desired.
posted by wierdo at 2:22 PM on November 11, 2012 [5 favorites]

The consequences of free speech are more free speech. That's how it works.

And msalt's point is key: this is hate speech, intended to intimidate, incite, and demean both the President (whose office supposedly enjoys some deference went the inhabitant is white) and his supporters, as well as African Americans in general. There is a cost to excusing it from whatever non-violent response it earns.
posted by spitbull at 2:24 PM on November 11, 2012 [8 favorites]

Fall on the sword? Gun to their heads? Where y'all getting this material? They were publicized for their racist comments, boo hoo.

You in turn are free never to click on a gawker media link again. Your brain will thank you.

Has one of these hateful brats tweeted an apology? Might be just the thing!
posted by spitbull at 2:28 PM on November 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

Again, these kids said the shit they did in public, under their own real names. Case closed.

Oh boy we're thinking like conservatives now! Personal responsibility is the order of the day when it comes to racism! These kids are being raised in shitholes of hate and we just pile it on and continue the circle.

A kid from Brooklyn is living in some kind of racist cocoon and just can't help but shout nigger every day and then call the President that and call for his assassination? Nobody is advocating violence against these kids, only saying that it's not somehow inappropriate to highlight what they chose to say publicly. They could have had anonymity if they so desired.

Yes. Kids are perfectly mature creatures that make rational decisions all of the time. That's why we make certain things inaccessible to them until they reach a certain level of implied maturity.

There is a cost to excusing it from whatever non-violent response it earns.

Would you like some sugar cubes for that high horse? There are ways to do it that don't involve branding children for life for doing something dickish that their parents both condone and encourage.
posted by Talez at 2:28 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

The way you've formulated that argument suggests that we have a moral duty to go as far as we can in ruining their lives, spitbull. Is that what you mean to say?
posted by howfar at 2:29 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

spitbull: "Has one of these hateful brats tweeted an apology? Might be just the thing!"

What do you think the click-through rate on apologies is? Pretty bad, I bet.
posted by boo_radley at 2:30 PM on November 11, 2012

I said my position was republican, or conservative, actually.

I enjoy the view from my high horse, too.

Ruin their lives? That's quite melodramatic. Lynching ruins a life. This is just public humiliation. They'll get over it.
posted by spitbull at 2:32 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

That's not what I asked. I didn't ask whether you think this ruins their lives, it plainly doesn't. I asked whether the responsibility to not defend them from non-violent consequences implies a positive duty to impose them. If not, I'm not sure that your argument is logically consistent.
posted by howfar at 2:34 PM on November 11, 2012

These kids are being raised in shitholes of hate and we just pile it on and continue the circle.

So you're saying the way to tell these kids "that shit you're saying sucks" is....to NOT tell them "that shit you're saying sucks"?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:36 PM on November 11, 2012 [4 favorites]

So you're saying the way to tell these kids "that shit you're saying sucks" is....to NOT tell them "that shit you're saying sucks"?

Obvious strawman. These children are not their schools.
posted by howfar at 2:37 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

On the one hand, these kids are just being kids and calling them out on the internet has some troubling aspects to it.

On the other hand, stupidity should be painful and being called on your bullshit is part of being an adult.

I think Jezebel could have handled it more gracefully, but that being said, these kids aren't swinging from trees and in two months nobody will remember who they are. Sure, a google search will bring up the article, but so to can gaining notoriety for making productive changes in their behavior and attitudes. It's not the end of their world for them.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 2:39 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

EmpressCallipygos: "So you're saying the way to tell these kids "that shit you're saying sucks" is....to NOT tell them "that shit you're saying sucks"?"

"hey, some strangers on the internet don't like what you said" has zero weight, even before you get to the fact that school principals are being enlisted as the messengers: "Hey, so some some strangers on the internet have told me, your principal, they don't like what you've said."
posted by boo_radley at 2:39 PM on November 11, 2012

Obvious strawman. These children are not their schools.

Ah, you're objecting to Jezebel having contacted the schools. I misunderstood; sorry.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:40 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

So you're saying the way to tell these kids "that shit you're saying sucks" is....to NOT tell them "that shit you're saying sucks"?

I'm saying the way to tell these kids isn't to brand them for life as racist nitwits using the million watt spotlight known as Google. All the reform and remorse in the world won't matter shit when the faceless HR drone googles their name and then proceeds to shred their resume. Then what? They just become cynical assholes and go full retard on the racial epithets and the cycle beings anew.

Congratu-fucking-horrible to you.
posted by Talez at 2:40 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

go full retard

classy.
posted by sweetkid at 2:44 PM on November 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

Talez, Google is just as capable of looking up their original tweets as it is of looking up the Jezebel article. The damage you're fearing has already been done by the kids themselves - because you KNOW that if Jezebel didn't call them out, those tweets would still be out there.

So which is worse: the faceless HR drone Googling and finding the Jezebel article - which notes that the tweet was removed - or the faceless HR drone Googling and finding the original tweet still there?

Because I'm sure that shit is happening to a lot of other kids. Who do you think is messing up THOSE kids' lives?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:44 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

Talez I really don't think anyone here is trying to do anything on account of being a vicious monster. We are all, I'm sure, appalled by what these children have said, and what is to be done about that isn't necessarily an easy question. That's why we're arguing about it. It's a sensitive subject, so can we try to be sensitive to each other?
posted by howfar at 2:47 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think that, as our society becomes made up of people who've made their own mistakes in the past, it's likely that there will be new norms made about what you can hold against a person and what you can't.

Or, alternately, someone will devise a service that uses NLP to whitewash (so to speak) your Internet history for you and they will become a millionaire.
posted by codacorolla at 2:47 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

So which is worse: the faceless HR drone Googling and finding the Jezebel article - which notes that the tweet was removed - or the faceless HR drone Googling and finding the original tweet still there?

The kid can go back, remove the tweet and try to repair the damage in two/five/eight/whatever years if/when they get out of their shithole, wise up and join the rest of polite society. They can't do that with a Jezebel article.

Because I'm sure that shit is happening to a lot of other kids. Who do you think is messing up THOSE kids' lives?

And the perfect solution is final vengeance against these kids in return for all the racism in society? What the hell is wrong with you people?
posted by Talez at 2:48 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

OK, folks, time for me to use mod-voice and suggest that everyone take a couple of deep breaths and dial it back some.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 2:51 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

I wish that this derail could have its own ffp.

I made one this afternoon: Being called to account ....

But, it was nixed:

"This post was deleted for the following reason: I think we all agree that racists suck. Let's try to contain this election-outrage stuff to the existing election threads. -- LobsterMitten."

Personally, I think the framing was not about 'racists suck', but more along the lines of the impact of one's online behavior on one's 'real world' life.

I would hope the FPP could be re-opened, as the conversation is interesting.
posted by ericb at 2:51 PM on November 11, 2012 [4 favorites]

Talez, Google is just as capable of looking up their original tweets as it is of looking up the Jezebel article. The damage you're fearing has already been done by the kids themselves - because you KNOW that if Jezebel didn't call them out, those tweets would still be out there.

Without taking a stand on whether Jezebel's actions were good or not, there's a real qualitative difference here.

While it is true that tweets are public, unless one of them specifically has attention called to it, you can't really find it in the future except by specifically looking for it already knowing it is there. Certainly just googling the name of one of the kids wouldn't produce it.

On the other hand, googling for one of these kids' names now brings up this story as the first hit I just tried on one), and probably will for years to come.
posted by dfan at 2:53 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

There are plenty of racist adults on the internet. Let's focus our mob outrage on them instead of kids.
posted by cell divide at 2:55 PM on November 11, 2012

racist kids grow into adults.
posted by futz at 2:56 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Agreed, ericb, the FPP should have stuck. I have the feeling LobsterMitten wasn't aware of the context here and killed it as outragefilter rather than realizing the actual issue it was about. Probably the addendum made it easier to misread (as "here are some racist idiots!" rather than "should these kids be shamed publicly?").
posted by dfan at 2:59 PM on November 11, 2012

From my deleted FPP:

"Should teenagers have their racist election tweets in their Google results for life?"

Mapping racist Tweets: where post-election hate came from.

posted by ericb at 2:59 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Racist kids don't necessarily grow into racist adults.
posted by de at 3:00 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Koch-Backed Group Warns Chris Christie: "Now, in the aftermath of the election, a powerhouse conservative outfit partly funded by the billionaire Koch Brothers is coming after Christie on another front, sharply questioning whether the governor will sell out conservatives in the latest battle over Obamacare."
posted by homunculus at 3:02 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have the feeling LobsterMitten wasn't aware of the context here and killed it as outragefilter rather than realizing the actual issue it was about.

Actually, I have had e-mail exchanges with LobsterMitten ... and explained why I thought it was worthy of remaining an FPP. Following MetaFilter guidelines it would be inappropriate to share publicly our e-mails.
posted by ericb at 3:02 PM on November 11, 2012

Hillary’s Next Move
posted by homunculus at 3:05 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Koch-Backed Group Warns Chris Christie: "...a powerhouse conservative outfit partly funded by the billionaire Koch Brothers is coming after Christie on another front, sharply questioning whether the governor will sell out conservatives in the latest battle over Obamacare.."

Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease! Seriously, were either of the Koch Brothers within Earth's atmosphere the last month?
posted by Room 641-A at 3:17 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

From the Guardian:

Also-ran? Darwin once came second in an election for a seat in the US House of Representatives.

I never knew that. When did this happen? Last week.

But he's dead! He wasn't alone there. A dead man was elected to the Texas senate last Tuesday. Another dead guy was voted city council president of Rochester, Minnesota, and yet another won a seat on a county commission in Alabama.

OK – but he's not even an American citizen. He wasn't on the ballot either. Nevertheless, Charles Darwin received more than 4,000 write-in votes in Athens-Clark County, Georgia. The numbers from the other 24 counties in the 10th congressional district were not available at the time of writing.

Could he still win? It's unlikely. The incumbent, Republican Paul Broun, received more than 209,000 votes.

And the Democrat? Broun was running unopposed. The write-in campaign was sort of a protest.

But why Darwin? It has to do with a speech Broun gave to a church group in September in which he denounced both evolution and the big bang theory, as "lies straight from the pit of hell".

So he credits Satan with the theory of natural selection? He also said he believed the Earth is 9,000 years old, and was created in six literal days.

Perhaps his remarks were misinterpreted. There's a video of him saying it, standing in front of a wall of mounted deer heads.

I've said it before – that America is one crazy place. It gets worse – Broun is a qualified doctor, a climate-change denier and a member of the House committee on science, space and technology.

Do say: "It's shameful that in this day and age such a politician even exists."

Don't say: "Poor show, Darwin. In America, being dead is no excuse for being second best."
posted by futz at 3:21 PM on November 11, 2012 [5 favorites]

"We just spent hundreds of billions of dollars in a failed effort to buy elections. For our next trick, we're going to try to take on a guy whose approval rating is higher than kitten videos on Youtube and free beer. What could possibly go wrong?"
posted by tonycpsu at 3:23 PM on November 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

Talez: "Yes. Kids are perfectly mature creatures that make rational decisions all of the time."

Nobody said they were. Let's do keep in mind we're not talking about 8 year olds here, we're talking about high school kids. I'm not sure why immaturity means they should get a free pass, though. Nobody is saying these kids should be put in jail or should even have serious consequences meted out.

Saying these kids are somehow being severely punished by being roundly mocked for saying something stupid and racist reeks of the persecution complex I've come to expect from those on the right. I suspect some of that may in fact be because they got away with saying stupid, racist shit their entire lives and never got called out on it, but that's just my own pop-psychology analysis.

If you're old enough to drive, you're old enough to know the difference between public and private, not to mention right and wrong. People don't learn and grow by being coddled. Nor do they learn and grow from having the book thrown at them. There is, however, this place in the middle where consequences are not unduly punishing and in fact reinforce the idea that certain behavior is socially unacceptable. And yes, if it makes me a right winger to believe that actions have consequences and that at some point you have to take personal responsibility for things, perhaps those things that you choose to make come out of your mouth (or you choose to post to twitter!), I'm guilty as sin. A regular tea partier, I am.

Of course, I'm also one of those people who has stupid teenage shit out there associated with his real identity and easily searchable on the interwebs, so maybe I'm just arguing that it doesn't really matter in the end if they turn themselves into decent people so that I can feel better about myself.
posted by wierdo at 3:23 PM on November 11, 2012 [7 favorites]

Saying these kids are somehow being severely punished by being roundly mocked for saying something stupid and racist reeks of the persecution complex I've come to expect from those on the right. I suspect some of that may in fact be because they got away with saying stupid, racist shit their entire lives and never got called out on it, but that's just my own pop-psychology analysis.

My problem is that an ordinary person can't possibly show remorse that will achieve public notoriety similar to the publication of their hate speech in widely read and indexed tabloid news.

Call them on it when you're there. I'll be right there alongside with you. But I don't think effectively publicly branding them is the solution here.
posted by Talez at 3:41 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

My problem is that an ordinary person can't possibly show remorse that will achieve public notoriety similar to the publication of their hate speech in widely read and indexed tabloid news.

I have only two words to say on the topic of whether people can recover from being trounced by tabloid news (not for a racist speech, but for another kind of misconduct):

Bill. Clinton.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:45 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bill Clinton is not an ordinary person. Please stop being facetious.
posted by Talez at 3:48 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

Alright, Talez, I give up - -what do YOU think is the appropriate thing to do with these kids?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:50 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

My problem is that an ordinary person can't possibly show remorse that will achieve public notoriety similar to the publication of their hate speech in widely read and indexed tabloid news.

They don't need to, though. In the first (worst?) case, that racist nonsense won't be a factor, or possibly a net positive. In those situations where it might matter, they can do what other people do when faced with bad publicity - swamp the bad thing with good things.

Show some growth. Show some capacity for learning.

We all make mistakes or do something stupid and poorly thought out. As this goes, it's not particularly bad - compared to say a DUI or what have you.

They aren't branded for life, and it is entirely possible for them to use this to their advantage.

And hopefully, stop being so openly and willfully stupid in the process.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 3:54 PM on November 11, 2012 [5 favorites]

Children, children... all of those adulterers are men.

That's an excellent point, actually, which I hadn't considered. I retract my previous statement about Republicans and adultery.
posted by Flunkie at 4:02 PM on November 11, 2012

So there I was…

A Facebook friend who said he was driving to Florida to "help with the Allen West recount" posted a rather breathless comment about voter fraud in the Florida District 18 race:

This all started when we were asked to help Alan West recount votes in Florida. I noticed something about the voting districts. That all had over 100% of registered voters vote. Furthermore some counties has 170% of the vote. This is an official PDF for St. Lucie County. This is not a blog this is the government site. This caused me to stare in shock as Florida was about to validate 15+ counties that had obvious election fraud. So I started digging around.

Florida
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Colorado This one is not “guaranteed fraud”, just stated there are more people registered to vote than population.

There is no way to write this off as a legitimate election. even democrats have to see that 150%+ of the vote is invalid.

I wasn't interested in trying to tease links to actual information out of what people had to say on their blogs, but that link to the PDF of election results was worth investigating on an afternoon when my team lost because the O-line got blown up on a 3rd and Goal run play. Some copying and pasting later, I had a spreadsheet, and what I think is a reasonable conclusion.

[T]he explanation is right on the slcelections.com website. "NOTE* - TURNOUT PERCENTAGES WILL SHOW OVER 100% DUE TO A TWO PAGE BALLOT. NOT ALL VOTERS VOTED THE SECOND CARD CONTAINING THE AMENDMENTS"

Even so, I decided to do my own analysis of the data you provided. I picked four precincts at random and added the one you were concerned about "093 Gold Pond Rec Ctr - County" that had the 171% turnout. All of the data in the attached spreadsheet comes from the PDF you linked.

Comparing the "Times Counted" columns for Rep. West's race and Amendment 1, it appears they both appeared on the first card of the ballot. My analysis of the data in the PDF suggests that all of the political races plus Amendments 1 through 3 were on the first card, with the remainder of the amendments on the second card.

As can be seen in the spreadsheet, I compared the vote totals for House District 18, Amendment 1, and Amendment 4. It is clear that the totals for Dist. 18 and Amd. 1 are the same, while the total for Amd. 4 is somewhat lower. Adding the totals for Dist. 18 and Amd. 4 you arrive at the "Cards Cast" number from the "Turn Out" sheet. From this we can conclude that there was no systematic over-vote in St. Lucie County.

Moral: "A lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on."
posted by ob1quixote at 4:02 PM on November 11, 2012 [14 favorites]

Alright, Talez, I give up - -what do YOU think is the appropriate thing to do with these kids?

Speak to them privately. Therapy. Normalizing relations with minorities wouldn't go astray. Sociologists need something to do. Fund a few grants and send a few of those into small town America to try and figure out how to start ending endemic racism. That way maybe we can get the parents to guide these kids properly instead of trying this "make an example" patchwork solution.

They don't need to, though. In the first (worst?) case, that racist nonsense won't be a factor, or possibly a net positive. In those situations where it might matter, do what other people do when faced with bad publicity - swamp the bad thing with good things.

You know what I've personally never heard an HR person say in my life? "Let's take a chance on this person". In an ever-increasing competitive environment highly publicised youthful stupidity is a massive liability.

To turn Ms Callipygos's example back on herself, Monica Lewinsky. This is where mob justice style shaming notoriety goes, folks. Thankfully she's got a memoir with titillating stories about an ex-president to fall back on since she can't seem to shake her notoriety.
posted by Talez at 4:10 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

> "You Keep Saying That, but He Won, Karl, He Won"

Oh, incidentally? That claim that Rove made in that clip? That little factoid he and others have been throwing around the Obama is, and I quote, “the first president in history to win a second term with a smaller percentage of the vote than he did in his first term”? ...

Andrew Jackson: First term, 55.93% of the popular vote. Second term, 54.74%.
Grover Cleveland: First term, 48.85% of the popular vote. Second term, 46.02%.

Well, maybe they misspoke? Maybe Obama was the first in history to win a second term with a smaller electoral vote?

Woodrow Wilson: First term, 435 electoral votes. Second term, 277 electoral votes.

Well, perhaps they meant the first in history to win a second term with a smaller popular vote count?

George freakin’ Washington: First term, 38,818 votes. Second term, 13,332 votes.

Yep. Just a lie. Lie as phrased, lie even if you think they were trying to say something else.

Thing is, they could even have said something true. While it’s irrelevant to his victory, it’s not unreasonable to point out that Obama’s popularity seems to have waned somewhat. It’s even potentially relevant to break that down by demographic and discuss why.

But nope. He has to be the “first ever”, even though he is not, because he must be Hitler Satan Stalin Nomandate Guy! They are so, so confident, even now, that no one is going to call them on it, no one is going to just go “wait, is that true?” and look it up on goddamn Wikipedia, and that even if some people do look it up, plenty of people will believe the lie anyway. Because they want to.

And you know what? It probably mostly works. Because they say it with confidence and authority and would they really, really, just flat-out lie that blatantly right on record like that? I only looked it up because, at this point, if Karl Rove told me it was raining I would start slathering on sunscreen. But even I sort of half-expected to find out he was telling the truth because really? Would he really just totally lie about a number I can just look up?

Yes, he would. Yes, they do. Yes, he did. Arg.

I will take solace in the fact that at least in the election, IT FINALLY BIT THEM IN THE ASS.
posted by kyrademon at 4:13 PM on November 11, 2012 [36 favorites]

Talez, you seem to be attacking me in particular and I'm not sure why.

Speak to them privately. Therapy. Normalizing relations with minorities wouldn't go astray. Sociologists need something to do. Fund a few grants and send a few of those into small town America to try and figure out how to start ending endemic racism. That way maybe we can get the parents to guide these kids properly instead of trying this "make an example" patchwork solution.

It strikes me that "funding a few grants" and "sending a few sociologists into small-town America" is just as patchwork a solution, speaking to them privately isn't going to work because you're just some stranger on the internet so why would they listen to you, and therapy is something only their parents would be able to send them to and how would they know their kid needs if no one calls their attention to it?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:17 PM on November 11, 2012 [5 favorites]

> Alright, Talez, I give up - -what do YOU think is the appropriate thing to do with these kids?

Isn't best practice on any sort of trolling to ignore it? As for the divide between private and public, the very generation being challenged here are the generation repositioning that divide forever. Good luck holding them to an older standard.
posted by de at 4:22 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Isn't best practice on any sort of trolling to ignore it?

The reason why you ignore trolls is because they don't mean what they say. These kids DO mean what they say.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:25 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

Talez, you seem to be attacking me in particular and I'm not sure why.

You were being facetious and I thought Monica Lewinsky's inability to get a job was a slightly coincidental counter-example. I don't see how this is attacking you.

It strikes me that "funding a few grants" and "sending a few sociologists into small-town America" is just as patchwork a solution, speaking to them privately isn't going to work because you're just some stranger on the internet so why would they listen to you, and therapy is something only their parents would be able to send them to and how would they know their kid needs if no one calls their attention to it?

Let me rephrase. People they somewhat respect speaking to them privately. I'm just spitballing ways on how to start looking at why racism happens at its core (which is what really needs to be done to solve the root problem) which is far diverging away from the "putting a permanent black mark against their name is neither effective or productive nor does it encourage a person to try and redeem themselves later in life" I'm trying to make.

I hate having to defend these people. But making them into martyrs for the racist underbelly of society is counterproductive and only makes us feel better because we're trying to shame and punish some racist kid somehow.
posted by Talez at 4:28 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

I hate having to defend these people. But making them into martyrs for the racist underbelly of society is counterproductive and only makes us feel better because we're trying to shame and punish some racist kid somehow.

That's really why I think Jezebel went about this the wrong (if controversy- and therefore click-generating) way. If they'd talked in general about high school kids' racist tweets, even reproduced some of them anonymously, and then talked about the schools' responses, that would have been interesting, thought-provoking, and not ethically questionable. (I don't have a problem with them contacting the school. That is a reasonable way to get someone that the kid has a chance of respecting to intervene in this really dumb and potentially self-defeating behavior.) But, being Jezebel, they outed everyone involved and moved the discussion onto the site's typically shoddy ethics rather than the actual subject of the story.
posted by restless_nomad at 4:34 PM on November 11, 2012 [8 favorites]

Geez, I leave this thread for the day and come back to find it's gone about 100 miles off the rails.
posted by octothorpe at 4:43 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

From November 8, 2011: See, I Told You So by Erick Erickson of Red State. This is how Erickson introduces his year-old post:

Yep, I’m going to label it that way.

Only after the first debate did I start to think Romney could win (and frankly, given the way some of you people reacted when I said the polls weren’t rigged, I’d have kept my mouth shut if I thought otherwise), but for five years I have been saying roughly what is now happening would happen — Romney would be the nominee, lose, and the GOP would start trying to throw the conservatives out in an effort to redefine conservatism.

And yes, after weeks of hysteria from even some readers of this site for me not been keen on Romney, his team, telling you all the polling was not rigged and he was running behind, etc. I now post in its entirety a post I wrote one year ago on November 8, 2011.

His old post was called "Mitt Romney as the Nominee: Conservatism Dies and Barack Obama Wins."
posted by Kattullus at 4:44 PM on November 11, 2012 [4 favorites]

I haven't decided what I think about this, but I had already seen ericb's map along with some images aggregating the racist Tweets online, on Facebook, by a couple days after the election and long before the Jezebel post. And a few other outlets presented them in a way in which you could see usernames, some of them also with further identifying information from Google research. So this post doesn't represent outing something that wasn't already out there. The difference was in taking the step of contacting schools.
posted by Miko at 4:44 PM on November 11, 2012

I hate having to defend these people. But making them into martyrs for the racist underbelly of society is counterproductive

But you are the one who seems to be making them into martyrs. When people do stupid stuff in public, they get criticized for it, and it may affect their job prospects in the future. As it should.

It's possible they may be unintentionally racist, or glibly repeating parents' slogans, but they may very well also be deeply evilly racist. The one thing we know for a fact is, they chose to broadcast racist messages to the public. Future HR directors should be able to know that, and at the very minimum these kids should at that time be forced to explain what was going on and how (if) they are different.

There are literally millions of minority kids getting actual criminal records for minor crimes, weed and false accusations. I just can't fathom how that's no big worry, but white, actively racist kids deserve protection against the natural consequences of their action.
posted by msalt at 4:44 PM on November 11, 2012 [8 favorites]

You were being facetious and I thought Monica Lewinsky's inability to get a job was a slightly coincidental counter-example.

I actually was being perfectly serious. As near as I could figure your argument, you were claiming that being smeared in a tabloid was a setback that was too great an obstacle for people to overcome. I was pointing out an instance where someone seemed to have done so just fine. I'd honestly missed your disclaimer in which you were referring to "ordinary people," although I'm not sure that it matters. But my point - that there are plenty of people who have indeed overcome being called out and gossiped about - still stands, and was not made in the pursuit of being facetious.

I don't see how this is attacking you.

"Attacking" wasn't quite the right word; my apologies.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:45 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

There are literally millions of minority kids getting actual criminal records for minor crimes, weed and false accusations.

For the record I've talked about this too (it's an abhorrent practice by the "justice" systems involved) and I've also had a discussion at length with Valkyrn about the role of punitive/retributive/rehabilitative aspects of prison (at which I'm very much in favour of pure rehabilitative approaches). If you'd like to make an FPP about the shitty and unfair state of excessive minority convictions for petty, trivial bullshit I'll be happy to write about the topic and support you at length.

Bringing it up in this discussion is a giant red herring and I'm dismayed at you resorting to it.
posted by Talez at 4:54 PM on November 11, 2012

Future HR directors should be able to know that, and at the very minimum these kids should at that time be forced to explain what was going on and how (if) they are different.

Jeez, I think these kids were stupid, but they were kids. I don't think doing drugs should make you lose your college funding and I don't think that saying dumb shit on the internet before you were old enough to know better should prevent you possibly being hired in the future. Seriously, people think that would be a good thing? A progressive way to handle prejudice and ignorance? That someone's bad choices should haunt them the rest of their lives? I'm pretty sure I called other girls "sluts" at some point as a teenager. That's ugly and prejudicial and I grew out of that kind of thing. I can't even imagine how invasive and non-relevant it would be to have someone looking at my resume only to ask, "so, when you were seventeen you called Margaret Thatcher a ' brainless slut' and a 'leathery old cunt'. Care to explain that to me?" That's fucking dystopian.

you don't combat racism by holding people responsible for ugly things they said as children many years later. You simply don't.
posted by oneirodynia at 5:10 PM on November 11, 2012 [7 favorites]

I just can't fathom how that's no big worry, but white, actively racist kids deserve protection against the natural consequences of their action.

Because they're minors. We erase the police records for most violations committed by minors once they turn 18. Can you guarantee that this isn't going to follow them after that? I think that's the big objection.

If Jezebel had blocked out the names/pictures (like many of these kinds of things did after the election) and then contacted the schools or whatever authority behind the scenes, that would have been great. I'm not too excited about pillorying minors.
posted by LionIndex at 5:14 PM on November 11, 2012 [4 favorites]

Essentially, the fact that the racist statements are being made is the story. Revealing minors' identities and then lashing out at them for it is the tabloid-y sensationalistic circus element.
posted by LionIndex at 5:19 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

> These kids DO mean what they say.

How is that a known? Kids say all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons: peer-pressure; parroting parents; shame of own heritage; disadvantage; and opinions (in some cases).

And even if (some of) these kids do mean what they say, are we going to lynch them before they mature? You either have a law against hate speech, or you don't. America's constitution is such that no such law can be written. No?

Jezebel's on her own little vigilante trip for praise and clicks. She's the other side of a bad coin.
posted by de at 5:20 PM on November 11, 2012

Can we maybe reconsider the use of "lynching" to describe a verbal response to white people using racist terms to describe a black man?
posted by rtha at 5:26 PM on November 11, 2012 [30 favorites]

It's pretty terrible that some teenagers who posted racist tweets enduring potential consequences for their actions keeps being compared to lynching. To me, it completely undermines your argument.

And, once again, the very real bad that has been done - the racist tweets - is being minimised when compared to the potential harm that could befall those who have now had their misbehaviour exposed. It comes across as saying, "Sure, they were racist, and that's bad, but that doesn't mean they should lose a job for it ten years down the line." If we're speculating about the consequences in such terms, perhaps they'll be more likely to get a job because the person hiring them is also a racist.
posted by gadge emeritus at 5:28 PM on November 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

> These kids DO mean what they say.

How is that a known? Kids say all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons: peer-pressure; parroting parents; shame of own heritage; disadvantage; and opinions (in some cases).

But none of that is "trolling". Trolling is when you deliberately say outrageous shit expressly because you think it's funny to watch people freak out over it. It often gets followed up mocking those same people for actually believing what you said.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:33 PM on November 11, 2012

... and for anyone who thinks this is the same as some small town paper publishing the names of juvenile offenders, where I come from, and in many places today (I'm not going to make assumptions about anyone's actual small town papers and what their practices were) juveniles' names are kept out of the papers. Setting aside the scant chances of anyone publishing the names of a teenager that spewed hateful racist shit (which is not illegal in America, however fucked up it is) in a newspaper, kids' names are generally not published because the expectation is that they can be rehabilitated, and that people who are not yet adults should not be held accountable for the rest of their lives for poor judgement. This has been the practice for years, taking into account the much more onerous task of searching newspapers compared to Googling. It's why we don't try minors as adults either, and why young people cannot give informed consent.
posted by oneirodynia at 5:36 PM on November 11, 2012 [4 favorites]

Do the people arguing that since the kids deleted their accounts this should all go away realize that the Library of Congress is archiving tweets? You seriously think that won't be googleable soon? Again, the reason why I can't be bothered to give a shit is because they chose to make these public statements. Public is different than private. You know that by the time you're in high school. Hell, you've probably taken shit for posting things publicly that you should have kept to yourself by the time you're in middle school these days.

It serves no one to bury this stuff. Not even the kids, who will be deprived of a learning experience that isn't all that costly in the grand scheme. Many folks have to learn their lessons a lot more..violently.
posted by wierdo at 5:39 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

You either have a law against hate speech, or you don't. America's constitution is such that no such law can be written. No?

de, once again (restless_nomad pointed this out the first time you brought this up), "free speech" as defined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution isn't relevant here. No governmental entities were involved. Kids tweeted as individuals, Jezebel is a commercial (theoretically journalistic) website. You should really lay off this aspect of your argument.
posted by soundguy99 at 5:48 PM on November 11, 2012 [4 favorites]

Yes, to explain "free speech does not mean freedom from consequences," I always use the example of John Galliano shouting anti Semitic slurs in Paris. In France, you can be prosecuted for such a thing and Galliano was brought up on charges. He was also fired from Dior.

In the US, our free speech laws make it so that Galliano could not have been brought up on charges. But he could still be fired.
posted by sweetkid at 5:59 PM on November 11, 2012 [9 favorites]

it’s not unreasonable to point out that Obama’s popularity seems to have waned somewhat. It’s even potentially relevant to break that down by demographic and discuss why.

Also when everyone hates your party in 2008, it's not really a big victory when they hate you less 4 years later. The context was heavily pro-GOP: economy, GWB forgotten, gerrymandering, Obama still black. Despite that, they lost ground. They got spanked about as hard as it was possible for them to get spanked.
posted by fleacircus at 6:41 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

More concerning still is the fact that none of these kids who are supposedly of high school age can spell worth a shit. Ignorant and poorly educated. Damn right their schools need to be exposed as well. What are they teaching in these places? But I do note each of them managed to spell the N-word correctly, so progress.
posted by spitbull at 6:52 PM on November 11, 2012 [4 favorites]

So Lindsey Graham and the Republicans are coming back to the table on immigration:

“It’s one thing to shoot yourself in the foot,” Graham said on CBS’ “Face The Nation,” referring to GOP support among Hispanics. “Just don’t reload the gun.”

“So I intend not to reload this gun when it comes to Hispanics,” he said. “I intend to tear this wall down and pass an immigration reform bill that’s an American solution to an American problem. But we have nobody to blame but ourselves when it comes to losing Hispanics. And we can get them back with some effort on our part.”

> de, once again (restless_nomad pointed this out the first time you brought this up), "free speech" as defined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution isn't relevant here.

No, Jezebel is intervening without law, taking hate speech to task, where the USG will never intervene with legislation against hate speech under your current constitution. Jezebel is acting paternally why?

If in the future these kids' words come back to legitimately affect their adult lives, well and good. They'll have some explaining to do. But naming and shaming children, with or without punitive consequences, is as ugly as what the kids are doing.

(Australia does have hate speech laws, so maybe my opinions are somewhat foreign.)
posted by de at 7:51 PM on November 11, 2012

Jezebel's on her own little vigilante trip for praise and clicks. She's the other side of a bad coin.

There is nothing that site does that isn't primarily involved with driving click-throughs and increasing ad revenue.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:00 PM on November 11, 2012

Jezebel is acting paternally because pointing at people who are acting badly gets lots of attention and therefore advertising revenue. Let's not make this into a bigger moral crusade than it needs to be.

That said, this is how modern media works, and I do believe that people should be aware of that and be aware of the public nature of things like Twitter. I don't think teenagers should be held up as specific examples, but I do think this whole brouhaha is a good example to show your kids and/or non-internet-savvy contacts just how far your casual social media remarks can go.
posted by restless_nomad at 8:01 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

I guess if there's an issue that's tearing your party apart from the inside, which you can't even talk about without stinking up the airwaves with hateful shit that costs important votes, you would like there to be a "bipartisan" solution to this immediately after a big election. The Dems better get a lot out of it.

The dems would get something out of immigration reform no matter what (a few million new voters who historically lead Democratic, which is one reason why the GOP will be very resistant to it). Immigration reform could be a poison pill for the GOP or an antiseptic, but either one is a win for the country.

I think it would be good leadership for Obama to give the Republicans the lead on immigration reform almost entirely, maybe in exchange for a decent deal on the fiscal cliff and more stimulus. It would add to his legacy as a potentially great President.
posted by Golden Eternity at 8:05 PM on November 11, 2012

No, Jezebel is intervening without law, taking hate speech to task, where the USG will never intervene with legislation against hate speech under your current constitution.

One thing doesn't have anything to do with the other. Lack of hate speech laws doesn't mean no one besides the government is allowed to point to racist speech and say "That sucks."

Jezebel is acting paternally why?

They're not. They're making money Clicks are dollars. It's that simple. They're not out to teach anybody here a valuable lesson about anything.
posted by rtha at 8:06 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

Also, thinking of Lindsay Graham as insightful and willing to say wildly unpopular things to and about his own party is kind of breaking my brain. I mostly think of him as saying appallingly stupid shit during Congressional debates about the use of torture a couple years back.
posted by rtha at 8:10 PM on November 11, 2012

I think it would be good leadership for Obama to give the Republicans the lead on immigration reform almost entirely, maybe in exchange for a decent deal on the fiscal cliff and more stimulus. It would add to his legacy as a potentially great President.

In a more rational world, I would agree with you.

I'm not sure the current GOP is there yet.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:10 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jezebel is acting paternally why?

Nothing "paternal" about Jezebel, but they are definitely manipulative. They know people's strings and how to pull them to make money.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:11 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Journalism is a for profit enterprise, 99% of the time. It also serves an important social function, illuminating outrages and mobilizing social opinion against them, as it did in the Civil Rights Movement. The former does not invalidate the latter. Both have been part of the nature of journalism since the 1700s.

As for the kids "making mistakes," I would agree with you if they sent private racist text messages to their friends. It would then be wrong to publish their identities. But tweeting is publishing, done intentionally to reach a large -- worldwide -- audience. It's more like they were putting up racist posters, or sending a letter to the editor with their hate speech. They are the ones who chose to enter the public sphere, and they don't deserve any protection from the consequences of that.
posted by msalt at 8:13 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

The n-word in this case is nothingburger.
posted by fleacircus at 8:25 PM on November 11, 2012

Paternalistic? Well, we've got some kids saying stupid, hateful shit, and their parents aren't doing anything about it, and somebody should, because they're kids, and unless someone sees that they suffer negative consequences for saying stupid, hateful shit they're going to keep doing it.

I understand Jezebel doesn't care about anything but its own click-stream, and what they're doing is far from the best way to handle it, but I much prefer it to having nothing happen.
posted by benito.strauss at 8:30 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

So, the Arizona races may not be over yet....
posted by Chrysostom at 8:32 PM on November 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

Josh Marshall on whether Romney et al believed their own poll spinning.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:01 PM on November 11, 2012

Rwanda: Obama's Is Victory for America but Not Undemocratic, Corrupt Africans
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:21 PM on November 11, 2012

I don't care what Jezebel's motives were, millions of children of all ages managed to make through the past week without calling the President a nigger. Those that had trouble managing that oh so simple task, i don't really care if their punishment was too public or overblown. Like my mama always told me, "If you're big enough throw a punch, you're big enough to take one."
posted by billyfleetwood at 10:26 PM on November 11, 2012 [13 favorites]

So after the single friend who's even remotely conservative (#firstworldproblems) posted about Texas seceding from Facebook I decided to look at the situation from a pragmatist sort of view and what would happen if they did actually secede. This is what I came up with:

Keep in mind if you were to secede you'd not only lose the US military bases and facilities that Texas houses (Fort Hood, Fort Bliss, Fort Sam Houston, Corpus Christi, etc) but also the nice high paying jobs that Lockheed Martin brings to the area (since a fair whack of that defense work being done by the US DoD is no "foreigners" allowed) along with Bell Helicopter Textron along with just about any other DoD contractors.

FAA regulations would mean you lose both AA and Southwest since if they were headquarterd in Texas they'd be counted as foreign airlines and not allowed to sell domestic route tickets. Clear Channel? That's moving away from Texas since the FCC says a broadcast station, for all intents and purposes for this conversation, can't be owned by foreigners.

You'd keep the oil companies. They'd probably become the driving force behind the economy of the New Texan Republic. But the hit from losing all that military and high paying, high benefit defense work is going to be a massive hit.

While we're on the economy let's take a look. You'd need your own currency. Is it pegged to the USD? You need hard currency to make that work. Floating? Interest rates? Since you're now a population of 25 million instead of part of the world's biggest economic power you can look forward to paying a 2-4% premium over the United States on your interest rates to attract foreign exchange into the country. Instead of 2-3% inflation expect 3-5% inflation as well. Bonds would be a much higher rate and unless you can quickly establish a AAA credit rating you're going to be paying 3-5% on bonds. Don't expect your current debtors to automatically shift their bond contracts over to the new Texan dollar either so you'd have to work through all that existing debt and pay it in USD. If the currency sinks you will be absolutely screwed. Run out of hard currency? That's another hike to interest rates thank you very much.

Citizenship. Since the US State Department doesn't officially acknowledge dual citizenship they'd probably start revoking the US citizenship of those who declare loyalty to the Texan Republic. You'd lose your SSN too. The Texan Republic would either need to quickly arrange for visas or deportation for non-citizens who wish to remain loyal to the United States otherwise the exercise becomes kind of moot. Since you wouldn't have access to the Visa Waiver Program right away you'd need a visa to head out of your fledgling country back into the United States. You ever had to apply for a US visa? You're in for a treat. A few of you will probably be denied entry to the US entirely due to strict entry requirements. You get to be harassed at every land border like Canadians.

Let's head back to defense. Remember 1846-1848? Well turns out the Mexicans are still pretty pissed about that. And there's more of them that live within 100 miles of Mexico City then what you have in your entire country and you have oil. Their total population? 110 million. About four and a half times as much as Texas. You don't have access to that cool "foreign" US technology anymore. You don't have a navy that can beat the entire G8 combined. You just pissed off the only people that could really protect you from an invasion. Don't get me wrong, you guys would assemble a hell of a militia and put up a hell of a fight but Mexico has been fighting a drug war for the past three decades. They can and will probably fight in the streets better than you.

The US might defend you but they'd would want your oil for it. You'd treat them as liberators and they'd have your hearts and minds as an M1A1 comes rolling into San Antonio but at that point you've gone from a US state to an occupied country. What exactly was the point of this exercise again?

tl;dr: Seceding is fun idea for liberals and conservatives alike but not as simple as it says on the box.
posted by Talez at 10:38 PM on November 11, 2012 [37 favorites]

Since the US State Department doesn't officially acknowledge dual citizenship they'd probably start revoking the US citizenship of those who declare loyalty to the Texan Republic.

They might start revoking citizenship if you take an oath of allegiance, although the State Dept's lack of official acknowledgement doesn't keep many, many American citizens from maintaining citizenship in other countries as well.
posted by bardophile at 10:51 PM on November 11, 2012

Dual citizenship for US citizens picking up another citizenship seems to be a DADT situation for sure. The onus is on the state department to prove that the citizen knew they'd lose their citizenship by swearing an oath to a foreign power.

Splitting a country though? That'd certainly be a different kettle of fish.
posted by Talez at 11:04 PM on November 11, 2012

Since the US State Department doesn't officially acknowledge dual citizenship

It's a bit more nuanced than that.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:14 PM on November 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

From Chrysostom's TPM link:

But I don’t see how not to believe that Republicans as a group were not working on the basis of internal polls that were just totally wrong.

Good Christ, that's not just a double negative, it's a Moebius negative.
posted by dirigibleman at 11:36 PM on November 11, 2012 [11 favorites]

Re: Texas seceding, there would be a looot of companies with operations in Texas who would pull out of the state and put those resources back into making money in the US, rather than waste assets on the sure-to-rapidly-tank economy of a seceded Texas.

Also, Texas would become an irresistible chunk of territory for the drug cartels. It would take some time for the US government to set up half-decent border security around the US-Texas border, and the feds would have pulled out along the Texas-Mexico border. Drugs would be able to flow into the US through Texas like water through a sieve.

On the plus side, suddenly Texas wouldn't have a say in US public school textbooks!
posted by jason_steakums at 11:41 PM on November 11, 2012 [4 favorites]

And of course there's the question of how dig up all of Austin and transport it wholesale... somewhere. I vote next to New Orleans, to shore up a nice oasis of refreshing blue in the region. Plus when I visit NOLA again (used to live there), restless_nomad would be right there in the Orleans-Austin Greater Metropolitan Area.
posted by taz at 11:50 PM on November 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

So, maybe that Romney face tattoo wasn’t such a good idea …
posted by homunculus at 12:23 AM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

2 Graphs That Should Accompany Every Discussion of the GOP's Demographics Problem

Wow. You really need to see these.
posted by Joe in Australia at 12:50 AM on November 12, 2012 [4 favorites]

Long game thought on Texas - many reliable people are predicting that Texas will be at least light blue within a decade or two. Let's not be too hasty.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:32 AM on November 12, 2012 [4 favorites]

For reference, NetNewsWire on my iPhone 4 took close to 3 minutes to fully render this thread at 6,000 comments, taking a full percentage point off the battery life in the process.
posted by LanTao at 3:01 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

So, maybe that Romney face tattoo wasn’t such a good idea …

“I’m a tattoo guy, and it was something fun,” he said. “[...]I’m no hero. But I shed blood for this campaign[...]”

"I'm no hero" is an interesting phrase because it seems to almost always connote false modesty, at minimum making the claim that someone might look at what you've done and call you a hero.
posted by nobody at 4:32 AM on November 12, 2012 [5 favorites]

"I'm no hero" is an interesting phrase because it seems to almost always connote false modesty, at minimum making the claim that someone might look at what you've done and call you a hero.

I don't know, I kind of admire him, apparently his 15 year old kid does. We could certainly sit here and laugh at him, pick apart his language, and try to impotently snark him to death; but really I just wish more people felt as strongly as he apparently does about American politics. In a country where only 57.5% of people who were eligable to vote did, he went and got a FACE TATTOO. Right after where your quote abruptly ends he says,

"...and I’m glad to know that I did all that I could.”

Well I'm glad he is too.
posted by Blasdelb at 4:54 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dual citizenship for US citizens picking up another citizenship seems to be a DADT situation for sure. The onus is on the state department to prove that the citizen knew they'd lose their citizenship by swearing an oath to a foreign power.

It's even more than that. Current policy is that you have to do one of the things listed in your passport (that's a fairly comprehensive list, I think) with the intent to renounce US citizenship. The part that makes dual citizens (well, me, anyway) paranoid is that this is State Department policy and not a matter of law. I think the current belief is that this may be the only policy the courts would ultimately allow.
posted by hoyland at 5:08 AM on November 12, 2012

My problem is that an ordinary person can't possibly show remorse that will achieve public notoriety similar to the publication of their hate speech in widely read and indexed tabloid news.

Awwwww. Have they even tried? Didn't think so. Not one public apology yet. Most won't even own their own words.

No, they'll probably have to take some leadership in educating their peers in anti-racism to have some nice little stories written about them in the future to replace Jezebel at the top of Google results for their names. Or do something else commendable and worthwhile with their lives. God forbid and probably unlikely, but sincere and sustained repentance is a path to restored reputation, and that's a good life lesson.

It's not like Metafilter to feel so sorry for teenage bullies.

We all did stupid shit as teenagers. But not all of us were racists or bullies. These aren't children. They're 16 and 17. They get off on being hateful and hurtful, which is sociopathic behavior. Good riddance to their reputations, but the claims of irreparable physical harm are laughable. If this is ok speech in their communities, let 'em find colleges and jobs there. Otherwise, kids, welcome to America in 2012, sorry your parents and peers we're so ignorant and hateful, grow up and change. Or don't. Who cares?
posted by spitbull at 5:12 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

That Romney face tattoo story is the best example ever of Mom's Anti Tattoo Argument that what you're passionate about today is sure to change.
posted by headnsouth at 5:17 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

So, maybe that Romney face tattoo wasn’t such a good idea …

He didn’t even tell his wife he planned to get the tattoo until about an hour before.

“Right away, she was taken aback,” Hartsburg said

You don't say. At least it's not a tattoo of Romney's face, which is what I was expecting. I give him credit for having a sense of humor about it, though:

“Totally disappointed, man,” Hartsburg told POLITICO. “I’m the guy who has egg all over his face, but instead of egg, it’s a big Romney/Ryan tattoo.

posted by Room 641-A at 5:20 AM on November 12, 2012

hoyland: I need to find out more about how this works. For instance, if I were to apply for and obtain citizenship in a country that requires me to give up citizenship in any and all other countries in order to get citizenship, does that count as doing something 'with the intent' to renounce citizenship?

I could apply for citizenship in, Austria, the country where I currently live. I'm a US citizen, born and raised in the US to two parents who were also citizens. I can actually trace my family name and ancestral line back to at least 1623 in the US, so we've been here a while, not that it's really important to the citizenship question :)

Anyway, I'd be interested in applying for citizenship here in Austria, but I'm not ready to give up my US citizenship, yet. Need to figure the ins and outs of all of that.
posted by syzygy at 5:20 AM on November 12, 2012

Also, am I the only one who thought that Romney/Ryan logo looked like two guys spooning?
posted by headnsouth at 5:24 AM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

I need to find out more about how this works. For instance, if I were to apply for and obtain citizenship in a country that requires me to give up citizenship in any and all other countries in order to get citizenship, does that count as doing something 'with the intent' to renounce citizenship?

Depends on Austria, I believe. Some countries make you renounce your previous citizenship properly before naturalising you, in the sense of going to the US consul and renouncing. Other countries don't mention renouncing or do what the US does, where there's a renunciation in the oath that lots of countries don't recognise (but some do or ban dual citizenship outright). Obviously don't trust me on this, but I believe that's how things go.
posted by hoyland at 5:26 AM on November 12, 2012

syzygy: Here's the relevant State Department page.
posted by hoyland at 5:31 AM on November 12, 2012

The Republican polls were wrong. There were completely wrong and they were always wrong. But not to worry! They are now spinning it as their polls were right, right up to the end when Romney screwed up. Yes that's right. It is all Romney's fault for sucking as a candidate.

“Clearly, I think the one takeaway here is, all indications are we did a good job on the early vote but lost the vote on Election Day and that is not the trend in past campaigns,” said Goeas, whose firm worked for winning Senate campaigns in Nevada and Arizona. “It seems like [Democrats] got a little boost at the end.”

Pollster John McLaughlin — who produced Mourdock’s upbeat poll and worked for unsuccessful Senate candidates in Connecticut and Virginia — argued that Republican candidates may have experienced a drop-off in support at the end, thanks to Romney’s weakness at the top of the ticket.

“In the last week he was really collapsing, and on Election Day he really did collapse,” McLaughlin said. “The incumbents who had a longstanding image were able to withstand it. The challengers we had? It was like, ‘Oh, you’re with him.’ ”

posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:38 AM on November 12, 2012

It is all Romney's fault for sucking as a candidate.

Well, that's kind of....true.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:43 AM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

nobody: ""I'm no hero" is an interesting phrase because it seems to almost always connote false modesty, at minimum making the claim that someone might look at what you've done and call you a hero."

Is there a term for these situations, where the denotation and connotation seem to be opposite? Another one is "classy," which generally seems to be used to mean, "quite trashy indeed."
posted by Chrysostom at 5:47 AM on November 12, 2012

That tatoo guy has changed his story. The LA Times wrote back in October 29

ndependent pro wrestler Eric Hartsburg, who I'm assume wrestles under the name The Ultimate Idiot, auctioned off tattoo advertising space on his face for $15,000 on EBay.

The winner, who has yet to be named, chose the logo of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Hartsburg had the tattoo placed on his right temple.

But get this: Not wanting to settle for just $15,000, he plans to auction off tattoo space on his forehead next.

So his story differs by the amount of money ($5,000 vs. $15,000) and where the idea came from for using the Romney logo (his choice vs. the choice of a winner of an auction.)

Wonder what version he told his wife?
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:49 AM on November 12, 2012

> "Is there a term for these situations, where the denotation and connotation seem to be opposite?"

Irony.
posted by kyrademon at 6:07 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Is there a term for these situations, where the denotation and connotation seem to be opposite?

Yeah, that's pretty much a textbook definition of irony, but I was wondering the same thing, whether there's a term for phrases that always function with that sort of irony at their core.

[For what it's worth, I think "classy" doesn't count; in certain subcultures it's probably only being used with the sort of sarcastic sneer I assume you're thinking of (like a sneering "way to go, slick; real classy."), but there's definitely non-ironic usage still out there ("The non-profit's apology was nothing if not classy"). That said, using "classy" in any sense might ultimately be classist? But that's a whole separate thought.]
posted by nobody at 6:22 AM on November 12, 2012

Well, that's kind of....true.

Yep, which is why they should be looking at how picked Romney.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:30 AM on November 12, 2012

And what I'm saying is, kids were getting publicly confronted with their own idiocy before this. Kids got their names in the local paper for shoplifting, vandalism, etc. And while some of them did stubbornly continue to act out, most of them were embarrassed enough to knock it off. Why is this different now from what's been happening before this already?

I think for me, a major point about what is happening here is that Jezebel has shifted from reporting the news (Hey, teens are making racist tweets!) to making the news themselves (by contacting the kids' schools.) And it's pretty clear that they are not doing it for journalistic reasons, ie to follow up on a story, but explicitly to get children punished, and they're doing it with the weight of their organization.

Not cool to me. Not even the tiniest bit.

It's even more than that. Current policy is that you have to do one of the things listed in your passport (that's a fairly comprehensive list, I think) with the intent to renounce US citizenship. The part that makes dual citizens (well, me, anyway) paranoid is that this is State Department policy and not a matter of law. I think the current belief is that this may be the only policy the courts would ultimately allow.

But there isn't any actual law that makes dual citizenship illegal, right? I mean, I feel like I'm pretty used to people picking up citizenship in, say, their parent's birth countries or what have you as dual citizenship pretty easily, and have never heard that the US might have a problem with it. I've even thought about it myself, I am qualified for dual citizenship. (Actually, triple citizenship, but I don't think anywhere lets you do that.)
posted by corb at 6:36 AM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's a two way street, guys. When you have a suck-tastic platform, you attract suck-tastic candidates. The smart conservatives (is there such a thing? One would presume yes) don't want to be tied to your xenophobic, gay-bashing women-hating whites only club.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:37 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Auto-Bailout Didn't Decide Ohio by Nate Cohn. Excerpt:

When Obama’s national standing faltered after the first presidential debate, polls showed Obama falling behind in the “new coalition” states while maintaining a slight but consistent lead in the key Midwestern battlegrounds, including Ohio. The president seemed to be defying gravity, and the Obama campaign told reporters that Ohio was the crux of the “midwestern firewall” that provided the president with a critical and durable advantage in the Electoral College. With the polls showing Obama ahead by 3 points with more than 49 percent of the vote, the state appeared poised to provide the president with reelection.

And yet Obama won Ohio by a smaller margin than Virginia or Colorado and only finished one point better in Ohio than he did in Florida. While many believed that the auto-bailout and attacks on Romney as an out-of-touch plutocrat would allow the president to win the state with the support of white working class voters, the exit polls show that Obama did worse among Ohio’s white voters than John Kerry. This was not true, however, in the other Midwestern battleground states like Wisconsin and Iowa. Moreover, if there was anywhere that the president should have excelled due to the auto bailout, it would have been northeast Ohio. But the president lost northeastern Ohio’s two classic white working class bellwethers: Lake County, home to the overwhelmingly white suburbs and exurbs east of Cleveland, and Stark County, home to Canton. The president also lost additional ground in traditionally Democratic stretches of eastern Ohio, where Obama performed worse than any Democrat since McGovern in a stretch of “coal country” along the Ohio River. And Obama’s problems weren’t limited to eastern Ohio. The president performed poorly in southwestern Ohio, including one deeply conservative and culturally southern county where Obama’s performance was the worst by a Democrat since at least 1868.

posted by Kattullus at 6:59 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yep, which is why they should be looking at how picked Romney.

Alex Wagner opened the doors of the 'Republican clown car' to try and answer this very question.
posted by Room 641-A at 7:03 AM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

But there isn't any actual law that makes dual citizenship illegal, right?

There's actually a Supreme Court ruling that dual citizenship cannot be illegal. In a later case, SCOTUS again reaffirmed that "the trier of fact must in the end conclude that the citizen not only voluntarily committed the expatriating act prescribed in the statute, but also intended to relinquish his citizenship."

In that second case, the man ended up losing his US citizenship because he made conflicting statements about whether he had intended to relinquish his US citizenship when he applied for a Mexican certificate of nationality. Note that the court ruled that simply making the oath of citizenship would NOT be sufficient to lose US citizenship.

(IANAL, just someone who has had good reason to be interested in US law on dual citizenship.)
posted by bardophile at 7:12 AM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

Washington Post: GOP’s Red America forced to rethink what it knows about the country. Excerpt:

[Beth Cox] turned on her computer and pulled up an electoral map that she had filled out a few days before the election. She had predicted the outcome twice — once coming up with a narrow Romney win and once more with a blowout.

Florida: red.

Colorado: red.

Virginia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin: all red.

Everything in her version of America had confirmed her predictions: the confident anchors on Fox News; the Republican pollsters so sure of their data; the two-hour line outside her voting precinct, where Romney supporters hugged and honked for her handmade signs during a celebration that lasted until the results started coming in after sundown. Romney’s thorough defeat had come more as a shock than as a disappointment, and now Cox stared at the actual results on her computer and tried to imagine what the majority of her country believed.

“Virginia went blue? Really?” she said. “Southern-values Virginia?”

“And Colorado? Who the heck is living in Colorado? Do they want drugs, dependency, indulgence? Don’t they remember what this country is about?”

posted by Kattullus at 7:27 AM on November 12, 2012 [5 favorites]

From the Daily Caller: White House deluged with secession petitions from 20 states.
posted by bardophile at 7:35 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

From the Daily Caller: White House deluged with secession petitions from 20 states.

One nation, under god, indivisible....

It's almost as if they hate America.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:41 AM on November 12, 2012 [10 favorites]

From the Daily Caller: White House deluged with secession petitions from 20 states.

Give me back my ball. I'm going home. Waaaaaah.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:45 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Also, I think this country sucks. I think I'll use my freedom of speech to write a petition for secession, which I'll use to petition the government for redress of my grievance. Then I'll use the postal service to mail it to them.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:48 AM on November 12, 2012 [13 favorites]

That article was something else, Katullus. If nothing else I'm a little bit in awe of the number of people who really have been conducting their lives in an alternate reality, not only confident that they are in the majority, but really unexposed to any information that might indicate they aren't.

Now would be a good time for some sort of organized campaign to get people to "take a Fox break" or something like that. A challenge to spend one week watching another news outlet or just reading a major newspaper instead of subsisting on the constant Fox IV. They're a big part of the problem.

Even getting away from TV cable news helps. I get most of my news from NPR stations, news sites, news papers and news magazines, and when I flip on the TV - even to a mainstream network - it seems like another reality entirely. The visual medium means there's a demand to present (even to choose the topics of) news differently. And the need to maintain eyeballs and advertisers in particular, high-drama, suspense-filled ways twists editorial choices too.
posted by Miko at 7:50 AM on November 12, 2012 [4 favorites]

It's almost as if they hate America.

Oh, FFS. America, a nation formed by a secession, which enshrined in its founding documents the right of a people to alter or abolish a government that was not going very well.

It is not un-American to thus want to alter or abolish or leave said government when it is not going well. It is, perhaps, un-American to keep people against their will.

That said, I agree that this thing is going nowhere, but more because I don't think the majority of people in any state actually want secession. If they did, I'd fight hard for their right to do so.
posted by corb at 7:51 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dowd:

Team Romney has every reason to be shellshocked. Its candidate, after all, resoundingly won the election of the country he was wooing.

Mitt Romney is the president of white male America....

In its delusional death spiral, the white male patriarchy was so hard core, so redolent of country clubs and Cadillacs, it made little effort not to alienate women. The election had the largest gender gap in the history of the Gallup poll, with Obama winning the vote of single women by 36 percentage points.

As W.’s former aide Karen Hughes put it in Politico on Friday, “If another Republican man says anything about rape other than it is a horrific, violent crime, I want to personally cut out his tongue.”...

Until now, Republicans and Fox News have excelled at conjuring alternate realities. But this time, they made the mistake of believing their fake world actually existed. As Fox’s Megyn Kelly said to Karl Rove on election night, when he argued against calling Ohio for Obama: “Is this just math that you do as a Republican to make yourself feel better?”

Romney and Tea Party loonies dismissed half the country as chattel and moochers who did not belong in their “traditional” America. But the more they insulted the president with birther cracks, the more they tried to force chastity belts on women, and the more they made Hispanics, blacks and gays feel like the help, the more these groups burned to prove that, knitted together, they could give the dead-enders of white male domination the boot.

posted by caddis at 7:55 AM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

Pointing out that the existence of the states arises from the foundational documents of the U.S. such as the Articles of Confederation which establish state participation as "perpetual" and alterable only by act of Congress, the Supreme Court has rejected any Constitutional right to secession. How do we know? Texas tried it before.
posted by Miko at 7:56 AM on November 12, 2012 [7 favorites]

Oh, FFS. America, a nation formed by a secession, which enshrined in its founding documents the right of a people to alter or abolish a government that was not going very well.

So, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being something along the lines of The Intolerable Acts, where does "re-electing a black president who wants to raise marginal tax rates 3.6%" fall?
posted by tonycpsu at 7:58 AM on November 12, 2012 [19 favorites]

Have people just forgotten the Civil War?
posted by bardophile at 7:58 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Miko: If nothing else I'm a little bit in awe of the number of people who really have been conducting their lives in an alternate reality, not only confident that they are in the majority, but really unexposed to any information that might indicate they aren't.

After reading the article I ended up with some sympathy for Beth Cox and others like her. I think she makes a failure of putting herself in other people's shoes, which is partly why I excerpted the bit that I did, but it's not like it's a sin that I have not committed myself on many occasions.
posted by Kattullus at 7:59 AM on November 12, 2012

It is not un-American to thus want to alter or abolish or leave said government when it is not going well. It is, perhaps, un-American to keep people against their will.

Not if it's to abrogate the rights of American Citizens who live there. We had that debate during the Lincoln administration. Had it quite vigorously, as it turns out.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:59 AM on November 12, 2012 [11 favorites]

i.e. Really? You want to try this again? Really?
posted by bardophile at 7:59 AM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

. I think she makes a failure of putting herself in other people's shoes, which is partly why I excerpted the bit that I did, but it's not like it's a sin that I have not committed myself on many occasions.

I see what you mean, and yet at least the willingness to do that, and treat other people's shoes with some dignity even if you lack the imagination to put yourself there, is a key skill for citizens in a representative democracy. Part of that inability is encouraged by bubbles of isolation and rightness like the one she is living in. She sounds like a smart and earnest person who's made different choices than I, but the disconnect she has from people who don't live like her allows her to turn them into monsters in her imagination, people who have strayed far from God's path. It also allows her to assume that the role of government should be promoting her religious values, and if it isn't doing that, something is wrong. These aren't just failures of imagination but of understanding the workings and civic values of a pluralistic democratic nation.
posted by Miko at 8:03 AM on November 12, 2012 [10 favorites]

Oh, FFS. America, a nation formed by a secession, which enshrined in its founding documents the right of a people to alter or abolish a government that was not going very well.

It is not un-American to thus want to alter or abolish or leave said government when it is not going well. It is, perhaps, un-American to keep people against their will.

Well, yes it is, considering most of those people didn't raise a peep during 8 years when the country was going to hell. In fact, many of them cheered it on.

Never mind that "not going well" is a pretty vague description. The people doing the complaining probably have a standard of living higher than 90% of the world, so it would be great if they could be a bit more realist about how things are and whether their succession dreams will ever come to light.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:04 AM on November 12, 2012 [5 favorites]

So, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being something along the lines of The Intolerable Acts, where does "re-electing a black president who wants to raise marginal tax rates 3.6%" fall?

Well, when he's also a president and a government that asserts the right to extrajudicially kill or indefinitely imprison US citizens, I think they have a very good case. I would certainly view that alone as a 10 on that scale. Attempting to remove the right of the people to keep and bear arms is probably about a 7.

However, more realistically: states looking to secede are generally states where the Republican won by an enormous enormous margin. This election has let them realize, once again, that it isn't enough - that their state will never, ever, have enough impact on the direction of the country in order for them to feel that they have adequate representation.

Lack of adequate representation was in fact a large part of the reason for the secession of the Colonies. It could, in fact, be viewed as one of the greatest intolerable acts that can be committed - to rule a people without giving them a chance to contest that rule.

We had that debate during the Lincoln administration. Had it quite vigorously, as it turns out.

Yes, well, and we all know that violence brings the moral right, and so any outcome which has been decided by a war can never, ever be questioned. Especially not by peaceable means. After all, what would everyone have died for then?
posted by corb at 8:08 AM on November 12, 2012

> "As W.’s former aide Karen Hughes put it in Politico on Friday, “If another Republican man says anything about rape other than it is a horrific, violent crime, I want to personally cut out his tongue.”..."

... and should he end up mute it's a gift from God?
posted by de at 8:10 AM on November 12, 2012

Lack of adequate representation

I recall the phrase as "taxation without representation", not "taxation without adequate representation". Not getting their way is not a lack of representation, and while I'm sorry these clowns are butthurt, they're still butthurt clowns. I'm not taking their hurt feelings very seriously; I'm too busy trying to deal with the havoc the folks they elected here in my home state have wreaked on our economy and government.

/native Texan, ain't seceding, sack up and stop whining, it's what we liberals do.
posted by immlass at 8:13 AM on November 12, 2012 [13 favorites]

corb: "However, more realistically: states looking to secede are generally states where the Republican won by an enormous enormous margin. This election has let them realize, once again, that it isn't enough - that their state will never, ever, have enough impact on the direction of the country in order for them to feel that they have adequate representation."

So, New England should have seceded during the W administration, when the GOP controlled the White House and both houses of Congress?
posted by Chrysostom at 8:14 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well, when he's also a president and a government that asserts the right to extrajudicially kill or indefinitely imprison US citizens, I think they have a very good case.

You will get no quibbles from me on the illegality of the kill list, indefinite detentions, and drone program, but I will note that there was no mass petitioning from these people under the Bush administration that engaged in the same activities. Do you seriously think any of these people are petitioning to secede because we're keeping suspected terrorists indefinitely?

I would certainly view that alone as a 10 on that scale. Attempting to remove the right of the people to keep and bear arms is probably about a 7.

Show me one incursion on the right to keep and bear arms under President Obama.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:15 AM on November 12, 2012 [22 favorites]

This election has let them realize, once again, that it isn't enough - that their state will never, ever, have enough impact on the direction of the country in order for them to feel that they have adequate representation.

Not only is this not analogous to the situation in the Colonies, where people had no direct representation (which is different from just losing in a national contest of the popular or electoral vote), but if this is a problem for some people, unfortunately it is going to plague them in any non-dictatorial enterprise. Sometimes in a contest of opinion, your point of view is the one that loses. It doesn't mean you weren't represented, it doesn't mean you take your toys and go home, it means you lost. It means your view did not win the opportunity to prevail for some short-term known period of time ahead.

The Civil War communicated that you can try to secede, but when you do it's against the Constitution and the agreement your state's founders made to ensure the protections of Federal government that brought you the security and prosperity you know today, and if you try it, we'll go to war to preserve that agreement and the integrity of the nation. This isn't a case of "might makes right;" it's a contest of principles. If the principles have failed under rule of law, and that means those espousing those principles decide to take arms, their ideas have already failed under the system, and they are just unhappy with the outcome.

Believe me, there's been many a time I've flippantly said "just let the assholes go and try to run their own country," but as an American I believe in upholding the confedaracy of the states. They thought about this long and hard, and the solution they came to wasn't "....until you don't like the guy in charge," or "unless you feel like things are headed in the wrong direction;" it was "perpetuity." A deal was made, a deal must be honored.
posted by Miko at 8:21 AM on November 12, 2012 [16 favorites]

Corb, what exactly is your angle here? What do you expect to come from this discussion? Isn't it a repeat of discussions that never went well on this site?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:23 AM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

This election has let them realize, once again, that it isn't enough - that their state will never, ever, have enough impact on the direction of the country in order for them to feel that they have adequate representation.

When liberals lose elections they contemplate moving somewhere more amenable; when conservatives lose elections they threaten to shoot people. Go figure. Now these Yahoos may feel a lot of things, but in fact they have the same degree of representation as every other American voter, so I'll remind them of the advice they repeated endlessly after the Supreme Court helped George Bush become President in 2000. GET OVER IT.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:27 AM on November 12, 2012 [9 favorites]

Kattullus quoted some republican lady: "“And Colorado? Who the heck is living in Colorado? Do they want drugs, dependency, indulgence?"

Well, people sure don't move to Colorado to live like the Amish...
posted by notsnot at 8:30 AM on November 12, 2012

Now these Yahoos may feel a lot of things, but in fact they have the same degree of representation as every other American voter

Actually, due to malapportionment in the Senate (which is mirrored in the Electoral College that chooses the President) the voters in primarily rural states who are making the most noise are, in fact, over-represented relative to blue states with big cities in them.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:31 AM on November 12, 2012 [8 favorites]

You will get no quibbles from me on the illegality of the kill list, indefinite detentions, and drone program, but I will note that there was no mass petitioning from these people under the Bush administration that engaged in the same activities. Do you seriously think any of these people are petitioning to secede because we're keeping suspected terrorists indefinitely?

Well, there was no mass petitioning from these people under the Bush administration at least partially because there was no national site set up guaranteeing an answer once you got to 25,000 signatures - which is one of the things the Obama administration has set up that I actually do like. Beyond that, it's all speculation. I'll give you that at least some of the people signing are probably just miffed because it's Obama, but I'm also seeing wide sharing of this in libertarian circles, and I will probably sign at least a few myself just to see what the Obama administration will answer/to support the right of people to peaceably leave. I think we just can't really know what the motivations of individuals are without knowing the individuals involved - even my own suggestions are just speculations.

Show me one incursion on the right to keep and bear arms under President Obama.

Well, he did sign that UN treaty the day after the election, which is pretty troubling - in addition, he's also said that he supports the assault weapons ban, which is really, really troubling to most people with a passing knowledge of what that would actually mean. (So many ridiculous things are included on that list that have absolutely nothing to do with functionality)

Corb, what exactly is your angle here? What do you expect to come from this discussion? Isn't it a repeat of discussions that never went well on this site?

To present reasoned discourse from the other side and help good-faith individuals understand why people who are unlike themselves might make choices different from their own. Also to represent that there are, in fact, different opinions, and it's not just that everyone who differs is a nutjob.

I'll also note though that I didn't start this topic, so I'm unsure why it's on me just for having a different opinion.
posted by corb at 8:32 AM on November 12, 2012

he did sign that UN treaty the day after the election, which is pretty troubling

Agreeing to talks about a treaty is not remotely the same thing as signing a treaty.
posted by bardophile at 8:40 AM on November 12, 2012 [14 favorites]

when he's also a president and a government that asserts the right to extrajudicially kill or indefinitely imprison US citizens, I think they have a very good case.

I wonder how many people currently advocating secession on these grounds supported the 43rd President's campaign to wage war on Iraq as well as to extrajudicially kill or indefinitely imprison US citizens?

I will probably sign at least a few myself just to see what the Obama administration will answer/to support the right of people to peaceably leave.

I expect his answer will be the will be the same as mine.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:44 AM on November 12, 2012

Agreeing to talks about a treaty is not remotely the same thing as signing a treaty.

Which would need to be ratified by 2/3 of the senate before he could even sign it.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:45 AM on November 12, 2012

corb: "Attempting to remove the right of the people to keep and bear arms is probably about a 7."

You're kidding, right? You're talking about Barack "Signed a bill to allow packing heat in National Parks" Obama?

One good thing about open carry in National Parks: I tend to just up and shoot the bull with whoever I meet. Now when I visit, I know who to avoid, because they're fuckin' crazy.
posted by notsnot at 8:46 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

he did sign that UN treaty the day after the election, which is pretty troubling

Agreeing to talks about a treaty is not remotely the same thing as signing a treaty.

Corb, could you please clarify exactly what treaty Obama signed the day after the election? There seems to be a bit of confusion going on.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:47 AM on November 12, 2012

> Have people just forgotten the Civil War?

i.e. Really? You want to try this again? Really?

Nope. despite the rhetoric, we're not going there, not even close.

(To the best of my recollection the 2000 election was a lot worse ... )

> Not getting their way is not a lack of representation ...

Yep. We had an election. One of the parties lost. They'll deal.

> I see what you mean, and yet at least the willingness to do that, and treat other people's shoes with some dignity even if you lack the imagination to put yourself there, is a key skill for citizens in a representative democracy. Part of that inability is encouraged by bubbles of isolation and rightness like the one she is living in. She sounds like a smart and earnest person who's made different choices than I, but the disconnect she has from people who don't live like her allows her to turn them into monsters in her imagination ...

Unfortunately, this isn't limited to Republicans. A lot of MeFites have pretty much the same attitude.
posted by nangar at 8:47 AM on November 12, 2012

The U.N. treaty about arms trafficking? The one that, if agreed to, would apply to exports and not actually have anything to do with domestic sales?

Regarding secession and the "right of people to peaceably leave" - people have the right to leave the U.S., forever, right now. They can choose whether or not to renounce their citizenship formally.
posted by rtha at 8:47 AM on November 12, 2012

Attempting to remove the right of the people to keep and bear arms is probably about a 7.

When has this happened under Obama?

To present reasoned discourse from the other side and help good-faith individuals understand why people who are unlike themselves might make choices different from their own. Also to represent that there are, in fact, different opinions, and it's not just that everyone who differs is a nutjob.

Seriously, I would be thrilled to get reasoned discourse from the other side if it followed any logic or real events. I feel like it's disingenuous to represent yourself as an expert from the "other side."
posted by sweetkid at 8:48 AM on November 12, 2012 [4 favorites]

Not sure if this was linked earlier: New Yorker on demographics, especially Texas going blue.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:49 AM on November 12, 2012

Show me one incursion on the right to keep and bear arms under President Obama.

Obamacare makes it easier to get amputations?
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:52 AM on November 12, 2012 [23 favorites]

Fair enough, you guys on the treaty call - I think I focused so much on the offensive timing of that move that I somehow spaced the small print. However, the only fact these talks are even moving forward at all is, per that article, the Obama administration.

The main reason the arms trade talks are taking place at all is that the United States - the world's biggest arms trader accounting for more than 40 percent of global conventional arms transfers - reversed U.S. policy on the issue after Obama was first elected and decided in 2009 to support a treaty.

I feel like it's disingenuous to represent yourself as an expert from the "other side."

Oh, in no ways am I an expert on "the other side." I would probably consider myself a SME on a few things, such as the nature of firearms and why assault weapons bans do not take that into consideration, but in general I'm just a person who is trying to point out that not everybody who disagrees is wearing devil horns.

I wonder how many people currently advocating secession on these grounds supported the 43rd President's campaign to wage war on Iraq as well as to extrajudicially kill or indefinitely imprison US citizens?

I wonder that too, but I think the numbers would be lower than you think they are.
posted by corb at 8:53 AM on November 12, 2012

Secession ala the American Civil War was a dumb idea in the 19th century, and it's a dumber idea in the 21st century where most states are purple and the major political divisions are urban/rural instead of regional. Assuming that the Robert E. Lee South (as opposed to the significant minority that makes up the Martin Luther King/Cesar Chavez South) did take up arms for independence, they'd lose the equivalent of the Western Campaign for the Mississippi and Sherman's March to the Sea from the start.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 8:55 AM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

Texas is currently the one state whose secession efforts seem to be reaching 25,000 votes. So let's focus on them for a moment.

With regards to Texas, this:

corb: "This election has let them realize, once again, that it isn't enough - that their state will never, ever, have enough impact on the direction of the country in order for them to feel that they have adequate representation."

...is utter, unadulterated horseshit.

There have been eleven Presidential elections since 1972. Care to take a guess how many times Texas has given their electoral votes to the winning candidate?

Eight.

Out of Eleven.

So let's recap: Texans have gotten their way in 73% or 3/4 of Presidential elections since 1972.

They have representation, and plenty of it. They have 38 electoral votes, and a very vocal, powerful voice which has not only made a sizeable impact, but has actually helped choose which person became Commander in Chief in eight elections out of 11.

The idea that they will "never, ever have enough impact on the direction of the country" is completely ludicrous.
posted by zarq at 8:56 AM on November 12, 2012 [21 favorites]

corb: " (Actually, triple citizenship, but I don't think anywhere lets you do that.)"

My SO is citizen of three countries. She acquired the last after being naturalized here unless I'm misremembering the timeline. It's really hard to give up US citizenship. Even if you do all the "proper" stuff to renounce, the consular official can decide you were only doing it as part of a procedure required to get citizenship elsewhere and not accept the renouncement.

corb: "Well, he did sign that UN treaty the day after the election, which is pretty troubling - in addition, he's also said that he supports the assault weapons ban, which is really, really troubling to most people with a passing knowledge of what that would actually mean."

Funny how it's really troubling in one sentence but in the parenthetical the entire law is "ridiculous". I happen to agree it's ridiculous. I disagree that it is troubling, however, since it doesn't actually outlaw any weapons. Cut the pistol grip off and all of a sudden your AR-15 is just a plain old rifle. That's because it's a ridiculous and nonsensical law. It's far too ridiculous and nonsensical to be troubling. That said, I disagree with the Supreme Court's contention that the Second Amendment outlines an individual right that can be enforced against the states. The gun laws that work fine here in Oklahoma may not work so well for more dense places, and that's OK by me. The Second Amendment is vague enough that there's no real there there, so its interpretation is entirely up to ideology, which the present Court has in spades.

Regardless, Obama has yet to do anything to restrict firearms possession or ownership, yet you list it as one of the things that people might find concerning about a second term. Bizarre, that.
posted by wierdo at 8:57 AM on November 12, 2012 [12 favorites]

So, everyone, it'd be really cool if we didn't do the whole "Corb V. everyone" thing in this thread again.

Ahem.

Caught an interesting bit on NPR this morning - one of their "we visit a small town and talk to people about shit" types of spots. They were in a diner and interviewing people who were grumbling about the partisan quality of debate, both in congress and during the election season. One woman opined that she wished Obama would go get a cocktail with Jon Boehner after work one night, they'd get a lot done just making nice like that.

But the interesting thing was, a number of the people they talked to were starting to realize "wait, this kind of is our fault." One of the people they talked to admitted he'd voted a straight Republican ticket, and only after the election did he realize that "wait, that one guy I voted for is really being a stuck-up stubborn guy and not cooperating with the rest of Congresss." He claimed that henceforward he's going to pay more attention to candidates as individuals. Antoher person they spoke to was talking about the vitriol she was seeing on Facebook among her friends after the election and she was thinking "well, no wonder Congress can't get it together, neither can the people who vote for them".

Honestly, people having those kinds of ephiphanies has me all happy.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:58 AM on November 12, 2012 [20 favorites]

"Oh, FFS. America, a nation formed by a secession, which enshrined in its founding documents the right of a people to alter or abolish a government that was not going very well.

It is not un-American to thus want to alter or abolish or leave said government when it is not going well. It is, perhaps, un-American to keep people against their will.

Oh, FFS.

The right of people to alter or abolish a government is enshrined — we do it through elections.

"Well, when he's also a president and a government that asserts the right to extrajudicially kill or indefinitely imprison US citizens, I think they have a very good case. I would certainly view that alone as a 10 on that scale. Attempting to remove the right of the people to keep and bear arms is probably about a 7. "

Actually, the signing statement he provided contradicts the claim that he's asserted it particularly, and the states that are represented by the secession petitions are all ones whose reps voted for the NDAA. As for attempting to remove the right of people to keep and bear arms — whose dubious individual locus is now grounded in a 5-4 decision — Obama's done nothing of the sort. It's rightwing bullshit to assert otherwise.

"However, more realistically: states looking to secede are generally states where the Republican won by an enormous enormous margin. This election has let them realize, once again, that it isn't enough - that their state will never, ever, have enough impact on the direction of the country in order for them to feel that they have adequate representation.

Lack of adequate representation was in fact a large part of the reason for the secession of the Colonies. It could, in fact, be viewed as one of the greatest intolerable acts that can be committed - to rule a people without giving them a chance to contest that rule. "

They contested the election — they lost. And I'm not sure if you're just generally ignorant of U.S. history or whether your ideology is overwhelming your good sense here — especially since the reason they lost was largely because they lurched further rightward than the rest of the country. (And even still, they have, generally, GOP senators and Reps, and if they can't influence politics with those, they're morons.)

"Yes, well, and we all know that violence brings the moral right, and so any outcome which has been decided by a war can never, ever be questioned. Especially not by peaceable means. After all, what would everyone have died for then?"

Oh, is this where your slavery apologia starts?

" I'll give you that at least some of the people signing are probably just miffed because it's Obama, but I'm also seeing wide sharing of this in libertarian circles, and I will probably sign at least a few myself just to see what the Obama administration will answer/to support the right of people to peaceably leave. I think we just can't really know what the motivations of individuals are without knowing the individuals involved - even my own suggestions are just speculations. "

Supporting secession is treason. Sorry. It makes you a traitor to the country and to democracy. I recognize that literally nothing will come of this, but if I recall correctly, you swore an oath to uphold the constitution and laws of the U.S. and, perhaps because you haven't thought about this very much, you're about to sign a public document that gives the lie to those oaths.

"Well, he did sign that UN treaty the day after the election, which is pretty troubling"

It's neither troubling nor true.

"To present reasoned discourse from the other side and help good-faith individuals understand why people who are unlike themselves might make choices different from their own. Also to represent that there are, in fact, different opinions, and it's not just that everyone who differs is a nutjob. "

People who support secession are not necessarily nutjobs. They are traitors. That's not a different opinion any more than saying black people are inferior is a different opinion.
posted by klangklangston at 9:00 AM on November 12, 2012 [16 favorites]

So, everyone, it'd be really cool if we didn't do the whole "Corb V. everyone" thing in this thread again.

It would be really cool of corb would get her facts straight before she starts posting nonsense.

It's not even a week after an election where the danger of believing one's own bullshit was throughly demonstrated, and here she is, pulling the same crap. Frankly, "everyone" isn't the problem here. Two minutes of Googling, combined with another minute of rational thought would prevent from posting blatantly false information.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:02 AM on November 12, 2012 [16 favorites]

One woman opined that she wished Obama would go get a cocktail with Jon Boehner after work one night, they'd get a lot done just making nice like that.

Yeah, this fetish for bipartisanship is bizarre. 60 Minutes had a segment about the Senate last week in which they spent the first half of the segment lamenting the loss of comity and cooperation in the Senate. Any discussion of the Senate that doesn't begin and end with "the filibuster is being used by the Republican minority to cripple the Democrats, and, by extension, the country" is a joke. Reid did mention the fact that he's had to deal with over 200 filibusters while Lyndon Johnson had to deal with one, but the framing of the 60 Minutes piece was that if only the Democrats would compromise, the Senate could get things done. Why is the majority party the one that has to compromise when the minority has said their number one priority is to obstruct?
posted by tonycpsu at 9:04 AM on November 12, 2012 [8 favorites]

I happen to agree it's ridiculous. I disagree that it is troubling, however, since it doesn't actually outlaw any weapons. Cut the pistol grip off and all of a sudden your AR-15 is just a plain old rifle.

Sure, sure. Except that a lot of people have spent good money, often thousands of dollars, modifying their weapons for ease of use, ease of carry, accessibility to people with different levels of strength, etc.

Supporting secession is treason. Sorry. It makes you a traitor to the country and to democracy. I recognize that literally nothing will come of this, but if I recall correctly, you swore an oath to uphold the constitution and laws of the U.S. and, perhaps because you haven't thought about this very much, you're about to sign a public document that gives the lie to those oaths.

You're completely wrong. I swore an oath to support and defend the constitution, sure. Please go ahead and find me where in that constitution it says that no state has any ability whatsoever to peaceably leave once they have joined. Go ahead, I'll wait. I guarantee I've read that document more times than you have, since, as you noted, I oathed to it. In addition, I've held a national security clearance during which process I talked for quite a long time about my political beliefs and still gained my clearance and was approved, because even the United States Government doesn't have your completely offensive ideas about what constitutes treason. (Which, you know, is a legal code that you are welcome to look up if you like.) You are welcome, as a citizen of the United States, to try every legal means you have to peaceably change or alter that government. The one thing you don't have is the right to take up arms against it or attempt to change it through illegal means. You may be confusing the two.
posted by corb at 9:06 AM on November 12, 2012

(Oh, also, on the weapons ban, it doesn't matter if you could quite easily change the weapon to make it law-compliant if less effective - you're still probably going to jail.)
posted by corb at 9:08 AM on November 12, 2012

the framing of the 60 Minutes piece was that if only the Democrats would compromise, the Senate could get things done

I don't know, I watched that piece too and thought it was pretty fair. I mean they could've harped on the filibuster more and I wouldn't've complained, but to me it seemed like they were blaming the Republicans at least as much as the Democrats. Also, it featured this great quote by Coburn(R-OK):

"The best thing that could happen is all of us lose, and send some people up here who care more about the country than their political party, or their position in politics"
posted by DynamiteToast at 9:09 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Please go ahead and find me where in that constitution it says that no state has any ability whatsoever to peaceably leave once they have joined.

Er, Article Three.
posted by Miko at 9:11 AM on November 12, 2012 [10 favorites]

Just to clarify, the argument being made here is that the Obama Administration expressing support for renewing the Assault Weapons Ban is equivalent to actually infringing on the right to bear arms?
posted by bardophile at 9:13 AM on November 12, 2012

I guess what really irked me about the 60 Minutes segment was the inclusion of Olympia Snowe and Evan Bayh, two Senators who, as moderates in their parties, had more sway over legislation than anyone else in Congress. The 60th vote on any bill can basically name their price and get what they want -- calling her "President Snowe" was just barely an exaggeration. And Evan Bayh left the Senate to go make money as a lobbyist, not because it was too partisan.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:13 AM on November 12, 2012

Concerned that the new compact might not sufficiently safeguard states' rights, the anti-Federalists sought to insert into the New York ratification message language to the effect that "there should be reserved to the state of New York a right to withdraw herself from the union after a certain number of years."[29] The Federalists opposed this, with Hamilton, a delegate at the Convention, reading aloud in response a letter from James Madison stating: "the Constitution requires an adoption in toto, and for ever." Hamilton and John Jay then told the Convention that in their view, "a reservation of a right to withdraw [was] inconsistent with the Constitution, and was no ratification."[29] The Convention ultimately ratified the Constitution, without including the "right to withdraw" language proposed by the anti-Federalists.

posted by Miko at 9:14 AM on November 12, 2012 [12 favorites]

I'm just a person who is trying to point out that not everybody who disagrees is wearing devil horns

You, in this very thread, implied that the Civil War should never have been fought, and that the blood and treasure expended in ending slavery - slavery, for crying out loud - was a waste. You have referenced firearms legislation that doesn't exist as a reason to secede.

You kind of are wearing devil horns.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:14 AM on November 12, 2012 [14 favorites]

"You're completely wrong. I swore an oath to support and defend the constitution, sure. Please go ahead and find me where in that constitution it says that no state has any ability whatsoever to peaceably leave once they have joined."

Texas v. White in 1868 clearly stated that there is no constitutional right to secession.

You can call them offensive if you want — I find the view that advocates a mythological right to secession as loathsome and inimical to a Republic.
posted by klangklangston at 9:15 AM on November 12, 2012 [12 favorites]

But there isn't any actual law that makes dual citizenship illegal, right?

As others have said, no.

Brings to mind the brouhaha stirred up by fellow conservatives when Michelle Bachmann gained dual citizenship with Switzerland (her husband's birth country) earlier this year. She was shamed into retracting it.
posted by ericb at 9:18 AM on November 12, 2012

bardophile: "Just to clarify, the argument being made here is that the Obama Administration expressing support for renewing the Assault Weapons Ban is equivalent to actually infringing on the right to bear arms?"

I think this gets to my problem with the "we're just concerned about tyranny" crowd. There's no actual tyranny, but they connect the dots and extrapolate from these tiny data points to suggest that rounding up the guns and jailing dissenters is just around the corner. Meanwhile, these folks were conspicuously silent when the indefinite detention policies were instituted, when warrantless wiretapping of suspected terrorists was happening, etc. Maybe one or two people were were consistent from the beginning about this, but for a vast majority, concerns over Obama's policies are fig leaf to cover their distrust of a president they don't think is legitimate.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:23 AM on November 12, 2012 [7 favorites]

The GOP's media cocoon
posted by octothorpe at 9:28 AM on November 12, 2012

Er, Article Three.

Could you tell me where you are looking, Miko? The only point I could find relevant to klangklangston's claims is "Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies." I do understand that the right of secession is not enshrined in the Constitution, and accept that the federalists certainly did not believe in it and no right was passed, but I don't see that the absence of a right is a positive statement against said right. I do really appreciate your links, though!

You, in this very thread, implied that the Civil War should never have been fought, and that the blood and treasure expended in ending slavery - slavery, for crying out loud - was a waste.

Yes, I think that the blood spent in subduing one half of the United States and turning brother against brother was absolutely a waste. The Civil War was one of the bloodiest wars we've taken part of, and the things we did during it (particularly in both side's POW camps and on Sherman's March to the South) were abominable. I think that the end of slavery could have been accomplished with less blood and less treasure. I am puzzled as to why this is somehow devil-horn worthy. Yes, we should have ended slavery, but I don't think I've heard anyone advocate (before, apparently, today) that we needed to kill people to do it or it somehow wasn't worthwhile.

Just to clarify, the argument being made here is that the Obama Administration expressing support for renewing the Assault Weapons Ban is equivalent to actually infringing on the right to bear arms?

More like "the consistent policies and stated intent show a willingness to infringe on the right to bear arms." The long process of gun control/gun rights fighting tends to move in the area of death-by-a-thousand-cuts, so there is rarely a Big Smoking Gun. I would consider a reinstatement of the Assault Weapons Ban as infringing on gun rights, though.
posted by corb at 9:28 AM on November 12, 2012

Show me one incursion on the right to keep and bear arms under President Obama.
Well, he did sign that UN treaty the day after the election, which is pretty troubling - in addition, he's also said that he supports the assault weapons ban, which is really, really troubling to most people with a passing knowledge of what that would actually mean...
Corb, what exactly is your angle here? What do you expect to come from this discussion? Isn't it a repeat of discussions that never went well on this site?
To present reasoned discourse from the other side and help good-faith individuals understand...that...it's not just that everyone who differs is a nutjob.
Agreeing to talks about a treaty is not remotely the same thing as signing a treaty.

I'd say your failing you're mission pretty badly.
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:29 AM on November 12, 2012 [5 favorites]

The Civil War was one of the bloodiest wars we've taken part of, and the things we did during it (particularly in both side's POW camps and on Sherman's March to the South) were abominable.

Everyone agrees with this. This is the new, reasoned perspective from the "other side"? Can we have a new representative, please?
posted by sweetkid at 9:35 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Could you tell me where you are looking, Miko? The only point I could find relevant to klangklangston's claims is "Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies." I do understand that the right of secession is not enshrined in the Constitution, and accept that the federalists certainly did not believe in it and no right was passed, but I don't see that the absence of a right is a positive statement against said right.

If you advocate secession, you are adhering to the enemies of the United States.

I don't see that the absence of a right is a positive statement against said right

That's the way the Constitution works. First, we do know it was intentionally excluded. But second, if a right was overlooked or originally not debated (which of course isn't the case here, but if) then the process for changing it would be by Constitutional amendment - not by secession, which by definition in Article 3 (as upheld by Texas v. White,) is an act of treason.
posted by Miko at 9:36 AM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

Question: When the Assault Weapons Ban was first put into place, was there serious talk of secession?
posted by bardophile at 9:36 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

It would be really cool of corb would get her facts straight before she starts posting nonsense.

Do you not trust the rest of us to recognize it as nonsense?

Frankly, "everyone" isn't the problem here.

If "everyone" just left her alone to talk into an echo chamber, then there wouldn't BE a problem.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:37 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

corb, this really does need to not turn into yet another referendum on whatever you feel like talking about. Please consider just taking a break from the thread at this point. If folks could just carry on, that'd be great.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:37 AM on November 12, 2012 [6 favorites]

Question: When the Assault Weapons Ban was first put into place, was there serious talk of secession?

No, it was more of an armed revolution from the militia movement thing. States were irrelevant.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:38 AM on November 12, 2012

I think that the end of slavery could have been accomplished with less blood and less treasure. I am puzzled as to why this is somehow devil-horn worthy. Yes, we should have ended slavery, but I don't think I've heard anyone advocate (before, apparently, today) that we needed to kill people to do it or it somehow wasn't worthwhile.

Civil War historian William W. Freehling speculates in this lecture that slavery might have lasted until the nineteen-sixties if the civil war were settled peaceably (either by allowing secession to happen or by some sort of agreement to protect slavery - which the confederates never would have trusted anyway).
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:41 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'd say your failing you're mission pretty badly.

I'd say I did, too. And with an edit button. I'll just log off now...
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:41 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

If "everyone" just left her alone to talk into an echo chamber, then there wouldn't BE a problem.

I use to advocate the same thing regarding corb, but frankly her schtick is getting old. There's absolutely no reason why anyone should leave the shit she single mindedly slings across this site just sitting there, steaming.

Enough. If she's going to continue to get her facts wrong and not learn from her mistakes, then yeah she needs to be called on it.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:46 AM on November 12, 2012 [11 favorites]

It's not like Metafilter to feel so sorry for teenage bullies.

spitbull, using the term "bullies" is loaded language. You're kind of ascribing all sorts of things to strangers on the Internet for making a few tweets. Though the tweets are definitely racist, I don't follow the rest of your speculations.
posted by FJT at 9:48 AM on November 12, 2012

Lack of adequate representation was in fact a large part of the reason for the secession of the Colonies.

if the thing had been put to a vote rather than war there is a real chance the colonies would have voted to remain part of the English empire, for good or for ill.
posted by edgeways at 9:49 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Civil War was one of the bloodiest wars we've taken part of

As are all civil wars, since the casualties on both sides are from your country.
Which is why people who push for secession (and demand the "right" to heavy weaponry) are so deeply wrong and dangerous.
posted by msalt at 9:50 AM on November 12, 2012 [4 favorites]

Enough. If she's going to continue to get her facts wrong and not learn from her mistakes, then yeah she needs to be called on it.

And she's crawled into bed with the Confederate apologists. Kind of underlines the GOP's whole demographics problem right there.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:51 AM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

On a different topic... it has been interesting to see the level of whining going on with the MN GOP this week, essentially it is everyone's fault except theirs, from voter ID to losing the legislature. I... uh... doubt any real lessons have been learned.
posted by edgeways at 9:53 AM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

If "everyone" just left her alone to talk into an echo chamber, then there wouldn't BE a problem.

No, the problem would still exist, but instead it would go unchallenged. Personally, I think that's worse.

As Brandon said, this election was close in part because one side was selling a pack of lies to their constituents, and those constituents were not hearing the truth. So many people took those lies to be true that they're now not only completely shocked their guy lost, but they're branding people who voted for the other guy scumbags and traitors.

This is what happens when you ignore lies. People tacitly assume they are true, and they in turn perpetuate. In 2008, 16% of Republicans thought President Obama was Muslim. This year, a study revealed that number had nearly doubled: 30% of Republicans thought he was Muslim.

Sorry, but no. Cortex did the right thing by telling her to walk away, and we did the right thing by challenging her. She's spreading outright lies that are easily countered with facts. Best that not be ignored.
posted by zarq at 9:53 AM on November 12, 2012 [18 favorites]

More or less on topic, I confess I smirked at a paragraph in yesterday's WaPo's "GOP’s Red America forced to rethink what it knows about the country" story:

" ... she had planned to celebrate in the office by hosting a dance party and selling Romney souvenirs. But instead she was packing those souvenirs into boxes, which would be donated to a charity that sent clothes to South America."

Romney/Ryan shirts and caps distributed to impoverished South Americans? Favela chic indeed.
posted by octobersurprise at 10:07 AM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

“What country would want more years of this?” asked the newly elected alderman.

EVERY OTHER WESTERN COUNTRY ON THE FACE OF THIS EARTH.
posted by Talez at 10:13 AM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

Romney/Ryan shirts and caps distributed to impoverished South Americans? Favela chic indeed.

The Romney/Ryan cap pairs well with a Texas Rangers World Series Champions 2011 shirt.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:14 AM on November 12, 2012

Romney/Ryan shirts and caps distributed to impoverished South Americans? Favela chic indeed.

As a New England Patriots fan, I'm just thrilled they'll be wearing something other than "UNDEFEATED CHAMPIONS SUPERBOWL XLII" T-shirts for a change.
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:16 AM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

Open Letter to the President: Physics Education
posted by homunculus at 10:17 AM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

If you advocate secession, you are adhering to the enemies of the United States.

Unless you believe all foreign nations are enemies of the US, which would be a dumb thing to think, that's not true at all.

Advocating peaceful, legally-achieved secession might be weapons-grade stupid, but it is not treasonous. In the absence of someone making war against the US, it is virtually impossible for any action to be treasonous.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:19 AM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

> Supporting secession is treason. Sorry. It makes you a traitor to the country and to democracy.

That's a bit much. There's a difference between being a traitor and being pissy. This is just the usual 'I'm moving to Canada' post-election BS. It's just amusing to see Republicans doing it this time. We don't have to re-fight the Civil War on MetaFilter over this.

There is something here about not really getting that this is a democracy, and that means the other parties get to run candidates in elections and you can actually lose if more people vote for them. (Entitlement something something something?)

The Republicans will continue their factional infighting and finger-pointing, and it's probably going to get even worse. They'll come up with a plan to retake the Senate in 2014, or more likely, different conflicting plans for their faction to retake control of their party and congress. We'll see how that goes.

(Meanwhile, what's going on with global warming and the economy?)
posted by nangar at 10:20 AM on November 12, 2012

“What country would want more years of this?” asked the newly elected alderman.

EVERY OTHER WESTERN COUNTRY ON THE FACE OF THIS EARTH.

You know, there's something I've been struggling to articulate for a really long time. It seems to me that even much, if not all of the "non-Western" world, agrees that a national government's job includes ensuring universal education, universal healthcare, etc. That the developing world doesn't do this very well (for values of "not very well" ranging from "pretty good" to "there's supposed to be a system here?") doesn't change the fundamental understanding that failing to provide these things is a failure of government. Granted, notions of personal freedom vary tremendously around the world, but I'm talking about the perception of citizens about the responsibility of government vis a vis social welfare. The US strikes me as really unusual in the proportion of the citizenry that rejects this basic premise that seems self-evident to much (really I think it's most) of the rest of the world.
posted by bardophile at 10:22 AM on November 12, 2012 [8 favorites]

this election was close in part because one side was selling a pack of lies to their constituents, and those constituents were not hearing the truth.

I think it's important to keep in mind that MANY of those constituents had/have absolutely no interest in hearing the truth. They don't want their worldviews or beliefs or biases and prejudices challenged in any way, they only want them confirmed.

The willful ignorance I've encountered in the past year engaging people on political topics is astonishing. I'm from the deep south and live in California's Bible belt, so I have a lot of opportunity to have these kinds of conversations with people whose worldviews are quite different from mine, and I'm actually pretty good at having them in a very civil and respectful way. I am so dismayed at how many otherwise smart, thoughtful adults are acting like children when it comes to hearing facts that disagree with how they want the world to be.

Confirmation bias is a pretty strong tendency in human beings generally (as is the avoidance of cognitive dissonance), but so many Americans right now simply want their worldview confirmed and never challenged, and Fox News et al is like heroin to them.

I think it is wrong to blame conservative media as specifically responsible: they are selling a product to lots of people eager to consume it. Epistemic closure is not forced upon an individual or group; it is chosen, sought out, and eagerly practiced. Anyone who doesn't know that Fox News or any far right "conservative" talking head, pundit, or blogger is disconnected from reality in verifiable, factual ways is willfully ignorant. No literate adult with access to the internet in the 21st century can plausibly claim ignorance, I'm sorry. People need to start taking responsibility (and being held more responsible for) the ideas in their heads. Fox News can't put a bad idea in your head if you don't let them.
posted by LooseFilter at 10:26 AM on November 12, 2012 [4 favorites]

I do understand that the right of secession is not enshrined in the Constitution, and accept that the federalists certainly did not believe in it and no right was passed, but I don't see that the absence of a right is a positive statement against said right.

The Constitution itself by its existence prohibits secession. The original constitution of the United States was the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. The Constitution was enacted to form "a more perfect union". From Texas v White:

It is difficult to convey the idea of indissoluble unity more clearly than by these words. What can be indissoluble if a perpetual Union, made more perfect, is not?

Abraham Lincoln made the same argument in his first inaugural address, before the Civil War:

The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of Association in 1774. It was matured and continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It was further matured, and the faith of all the then thirteen States expressly plighted and engaged that it should be perpetual, by the Articles of Confederation in 1778. And finally, in 1787, one of the declared objects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was to form a more perfect Union.

posted by kirkaracha at 10:27 AM on November 12, 2012 [5 favorites]

ess you believe all foreign nations are enemies of the US, which would be a dumb thing to think, that's not true at all.

On what are you basing that? The Article pertains to American citizens, people living under the Constitution, not foreign nationals. It's impossible to be treasonous against a nation you are not part of constitutionally.

Advocating peaceful, legally-achieved secession might be weapons-grade stupid, but it is not treasonous. In the absence of someone making war against the US, it is virtually impossible for any action to be treasonous.

The advocating for secession is just seditious. But there are a lot of ways short of war to be treasonous: revealing state secrets to a foreign power unauthorized, advocating armed war against the US like Axis Sally and Tokyo Rose (later pardoned because of witness tampering); defecting.

I mean it's pretty extreme and somewhat hyperbolic to run around accusing people of treason and sedition. But if there were a serious extralegal secession attempt, then I suspect that would be a time in which those accusations would be reasonably entertained.
posted by Miko at 10:33 AM on November 12, 2012

Grover Norquist: Obama Won Because He Called Romney A 'Poopy Head'.
posted by ericb at 10:33 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Conservative Knives Are Out for Bill Kristol After He Tells Fox News it ‘Won’t Kill the Country’ to Raise Taxes on Rich
posted by homunculus at 10:34 AM on November 12, 2012

Immigration Issues Could Turn Red States Blue.
posted by ericb at 10:34 AM on November 12, 2012

Newt Gingrich 'Dumbfounded' By Obama's 'Extraordinary Victory' Over Mitt Romney.
posted by ericb at 10:35 AM on November 12, 2012

Fox News can't put a bad idea in your head if you don't let them.

But I think there really is a cumulative effect that happens when you listen to them and listen and listen. There is a feedback loop that happens which becomes strongly self-reinforcing.
posted by Miko at 10:36 AM on November 12, 2012

On the lighter schadenfreude side of all things post-presidential-election: Mitt Romney's Facebook likes being removed in real time.
posted by Drastic at 10:36 AM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

Not really wanting to defend corb here, but from my Canadian perspective, Texas strikes me as America's Quebec -- a state that will always be unique in terms of how it plays with all the others. Different history, different myths, a large and valuable disproportionately powerful chunk of real estate.

So up here, the Quebec Question is pretty much always in play. Will they or won't they Separate? No one ever says secede. There have been two referendums on Quebec in my lifetime ... and both have failed. The people of Quebec have put it to a vote and rejected it. Which, to me, strengthens their position within the country. As opposed to the one time that federal military force was used (the so-called Quebec Crisis of 1970), which only strengthened the Separatists in the long run.

But yeah, if I was American, I'd say, "Hey Texas, you want to Separate, become Mexico's 32nd State (I'm sure they'd love to have you), refute all that Remember The Alamo foo-for-ah? Get to it. Because you're boring the hell out of me."
posted by philip-random at 10:36 AM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

corb: "(Oh, also, on the weapons ban, it doesn't matter if you could quite easily change the weapon to make it law-compliant if less effective - you're still probably going to jail.)"

This is a completely ridiculous assertion. There has yet to be a single federal gun law in this country that actually takes away existing guns legally possessed. Even actual machine guns are legal to own, although expensive to purchase and license.
posted by wierdo at 10:37 AM on November 12, 2012 [6 favorites]

ericb: "Immigration Issues Could Turn Red States Blue."

Hey, I linked that earlier!
posted by Chrysostom at 10:38 AM on November 12, 2012

Civil War historian William W. Freehling speculates in this lecture that slavery might have lasted until the nineteen-sixties if the civil war were settled peaceably (either by allowing secession to happen or by some sort of agreement to protect slavery - which the confederates never would have trusted anyway).

I don't think a peaceful settlement was possible given the U.S.'s generally expansionist (and genocidal) policies in the 19th century, terrorist militias on both sides, lack of support for the Confederacy in Europe, and the economic importance of the Mississippi valley. The U.S. repeatedly picked fights with neighbors, and almost always won territory by doing so. (Even the "stalemate" of the War of 1812 effectively ended Native American resistance in the Northwest territory.)
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 10:39 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

CBrachyrhynchos: "I don't think a peaceful settlement was possible given the U.S.'s generally expansionist (and genocidal) policies in the 19th century, terrorist militias on both sides, lack of support for the Confederacy in Europe"

Not so sure about the European support. Britain certainly could have ended up supporting the CSA.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:45 AM on November 12, 2012

Hey, I linked that earlier!

Great minds link alike.
posted by homunculus at 10:51 AM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

This thread will likely never be equaled in our lifetimes. Wow.
posted by grubi at 10:53 AM on November 12, 2012

But I think there really is a cumulative effect that happens when you listen to them and listen and listen.

I agree, but my point is that listening again and again is an action that is a conscious choice by each of those listening. "The Media" does not have monolithic sway over our minds and intellects, and facts and reliable data and verifiable reality all matter a great deal to the quality of each of our individual lives. That so many otherwise thoughtful people choose to outsource their intellects to such obvious charlatans is to me a more fundamental and worrisome problem than whatever bile and bullshit those charlatans spew.
posted by LooseFilter at 10:55 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

You know, if four years from now, the election thread on Metafilter isn't this big because the media decides not to make an obvious Democratic victory into a fake horserace... well, let's just say I'd be totally fine with that.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:57 AM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

This thread will likely never be equaled in our lifetimes. Wow.

Strongly disagree. For one thing, as long as Moore's law holds up, we'll all have machines that will be able to deal much better with a thread this long -- think of how many folks checked out of this one when browsing it became too much of a pain. Plus, the next election won't have an incumbent running, and most people think it will feature at least one representative of a group that has never held the presidency -- a woman, a Latino/Latina, etc. So, I would think the Election 2016 thread could easily hit 10k by the time the election is called.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:57 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Keep in mind, MeFi crashed for, what, ten minutes almost at the exact moment the networks made their call? There could be dozens if not hundreds more posts here were it not for that gap.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:01 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Is this where this goes?
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:02 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

The election day thread size will get pretty predictable as each active user makes their one required comment in support of Zod.
posted by fleacircus at 11:09 AM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

tonycpsu: "There could be dozens if not hundreds more posts here were it not for that gap."

Chat bled off a lot of chatter, too. If for some reason, we no longer have that, that will increase length as well.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:11 AM on November 12, 2012

I vote for killing the chat next time -- I think it's much cooler to have everything preserved in amber.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:12 AM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

Strongly disagree. For one thing, as long as Moore's law holds up, we'll all have machines that will be able to deal much better with a thread this long -- think of how many folks checked out of this one when browsing it became too much of a pain. Plus, the next election won't have an incumbent running, and most people think it will feature at least one representative of a group that has never held the presidency -- a woman, a Latino/Latina, etc. So, I would think the Election 2016 thread could easily hit 10k by the time the election is called.

Ooh, yeah, good point. Booker/Castro 2016 would have us speeding towards 10k in no time.
posted by grubi at 11:14 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Keep in mind, MeFi crashed for, what, ten minutes almost at the exact moment the networks made their call? There could be dozens if not hundreds more posts here were it not for that gap.

What was on the 10 minute gap? !!?

Cortex testified that while he was transcribing the thread, a ringing phone startled him, causing him to press a wrong button without removing his foot from the recording device's foot pedal, accidentally recording over the missing section of thread.
posted by mazola at 11:23 AM on November 12, 2012 [17 favorites]

... in fact they [Texans, for example] have the same degree of representation as every other American voter ...

Actually one of the cool things about this election is we have better models than ever before for how unfair our elections are. This is the problem of "voting power" -- "the probability that a single vote is decisive in the election."

We all know that voters in some states matter more than others -- that's what "swing states" are about. "Voting power" is basically a way to put a mathematical estimate on the relative importance of each voter. But as this paper explains, it's quite difficult to accurately measure voting power in a complex system like the Electoral College -- you end up needing to run simulations based on a behavioral model of all the actual voters in the system.

Turns out that a certain someone has been publishing the results of his behavioral model of the Electoral College all year! If you scroll down a bit you can find Nate Silver's "Return on Investment Index" over on the right, which is his phrase for voting power. For the first time (outside of high-level campaign strategy meetings) we have daily updates on voting power in each state.

And the results are pretty shocking, I think. For example, voting power in Ohio is 11.8. Voting power in the least important 38 states is 0.1 or less. So that means that persuading one voter in Ohio has a greater impact on the likely outcome of the election than persuading 118 voters in an average state. Three days of voter outreach in Ohio outweighs a year in Massachusetts or Texas. (Or maybe you could think of it as a popular-vote election where Ohioans each get 118 votes? Not sure about that one.)

None of this is exactly new, but it's a clearer picture of our disenfranchisement than we've had before. There's a fine line between having 1/118 of a vote and none at all.
posted by jhc at 11:29 AM on November 12, 2012 [6 favorites]

I vote for killing the chat next time...

Oh GOD no - all the people in chat probably took some of the burden off the server, whch was barely able to keep up as it is. If all those people were over here, it wouldn't have just crashed for ten minutes - it might have sprouted claws and talons and killed Matt in self-defense.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:31 AM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Q: Who like Mitt?
A: Fewer and fewer people.
posted by mfu at 11:33 AM on November 12, 2012

Clinton/Haley - 2016
posted by de at 11:44 AM on November 12, 2012

Who like Mitt?

Like Mitt this man. Who you?

I couldn't resist.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:46 AM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm bearish on Haley's prospects. Her approval rating as high for awhile but started to come back down to earth a few months ago. She's remarkably hawkish on immigration, she supported the Voter ID law and said she'd personally drive people to the DMV, then welshed on that promise. And, while I think the GOP could probably vote for a woman or a brown person in 2016, I doubt they'd do both.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:50 AM on November 12, 2012

She's remarkably hawkish on immigration

This is not that remarkable for Indian Americans - a lot of whom see illegal immigration from Mexico etc as a totally different and completely wrong version of what they/their parents or grandparents did in coming here legally.

I am Indian American and I do not agree with this.

But it's how a lot of people (diminishing I hope) seem to feel.

But not me. My brother kinda though.
posted by sweetkid at 11:56 AM on November 12, 2012

I'm not big on Clinton, and not familiar with Haley other than recent reading. Just dwelling on the prospect of two women fighting it out for American presidency appeals to me.
posted by de at 12:01 PM on November 12, 2012

MSNBC, Its Ratings Rising, Gains Ground on Fox News
posted by homunculus at 12:01 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I meant remarkably hawkish for a party that would be trying to find a way out of the corner they've painted themselves into re: immigration. She could surely begin to walk back her hawkishness and move to wherever the GOP goes on immigration, but her previous positions are in the public record, and we saw how previous positions haunted Romney.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:01 PM on November 12, 2012

On what are you basing that?

It is logically possible for a state to secede but not go to war against the US, so the seceding state would not be an enemy of the US. Merely becoming foreign would not make a state an enemy, any more than the Philippines became the enemy of the US when they ceased being an American possession. Making war against the US makes one an enemy, not foreignness.

But there are a lot of ways short of war to be treasonous

There are not. It would be virtually impossible to be convicted of treason against the US in the absence of somebody making war against it. Yes, it is possible to be convicted of treason without personally firing a shot at Americans, but it is ~impossible to be convicted of treason if you are not part of a nation or organization that is making war. Unless there is a war on at the time, it is ~impossible to be convicted of treason.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:02 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Unless there is a war on at the time, it is ~impossible to be convicted of treason.

I spent some time reading about treason this morning and found no such stipulation. If the US government wants to claim an act "levies war" against them, that's in the government's power to do - even if war hadn't been declared already. And what do you make of John Brown? The Lincoln Conspirators? Or cases of espionage where the nations involved aren't active combatants at the time?
posted by Miko at 12:17 PM on November 12, 2012

I spent some time reading about treason this morning and found no such stipulation.

There has to be an enemy for there to be treason. You can't have an enemy without a war.

And what do you make of John Brown?

He wasn't tried by the US for treason, so he doesn't matter.

The Lincoln Conspirators?

Fine; you can also be convicted of treason for guerrilla actions on the behalf of recently defeated military enemies who are still undergoing military occupation.

Or cases of espionage where the nations involved aren't active combatants at the time?

Espionage is a different crime from treason.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:34 PM on November 12, 2012

There has to be an enemy for there to be treason]

This is what I keep failing to find in the Article. There doesn't have to be an enemy to "levy war." If you decide to take up arms against a government power, you're levying war, committing treason. You don't have to be aligned with anyone. There's an "or" in the clause.

I'm not planning to die on this hill because it's mostly an abstract thing. Very few people have ever been convicted for it. But it's not the smallest thing to seriously propose secession; it's ridiculous, but shouldn't be treated as part of the normal course of affairs.
posted by Miko at 12:40 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Weren't two people convicted of treason in the Whiskey Rebellion? (And then pardoned by G. Washington)?
posted by Comrade_robot at 12:44 PM on November 12, 2012

I hope they're not planning on taking our natural resources with them when they leave.
posted by fleacircus at 12:48 PM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

ROU_Xenophobe: "He wasn't tried by the US for treason, so he doesn't matter."

Worth noting that he WAS tried (and convicted) by the state of Virginia for treason against it.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:49 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm bearish on Haley's prospects.

In the wake of Sanford's trail-hiking Haley rode to office on the back of the Tea Party and Sarah Palin (who campaigned for her) and still only beat her Democratic opponent by 4 points. So in the absence of similar circumstances, Haley's chances of being a Presidential candidate seem pretty slim and her VP chances only slightly higher. I think it's unlikely that the national media would overlook the allegations of financial and romantic improprieties that will probably continue to follow her and she's presided over only a few successes in her term and more than a few embarrassments, most recently a cyber attack on the Dept of Rev and the loss of over 3 million social security numbers. She's widely tolerated but not wildly admired, so at this point I don't think she has a lot to offer on the national stage.
posted by octobersurprise at 12:58 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

This is what I keep failing to find in the Article. There doesn't have to be an enemy to "levy war." If you decide to take up arms against a government power, you're levying war, committing treason. You don't have to be aligned with anyone. There's an "or" in the clause.

Sure. But advocacy of peaceful secession doesn't levy war, so that part doesn't matter to the advocacy of peaceful secession. I mean, fine, the federal government is free to assert that it does, in the same way that it's free to assert that I'm actually a kumquat. But that assertion would not get very far in a grand jury or court.

I'm not planning to die on this hill because it's mostly an abstract thing. Very few people have ever been convicted for it.

And I'm not aware of anyone ever convicted of treason for acts unrelated to an actual war against the US. Which is my point. If there is no war for it to be related to, if no actual enemy exists, then advocacy, propaganda, or other speech can't be treason against the US.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:31 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

ROU_Xenophobe: "And I'm not aware of anyone ever convicted of treason for acts unrelated to an actual war against the US. Which is my point. If there is no war for it to be related to, if no actual enemy exists, then advocacy, propaganda, or other speech can't be treason against the US."

How would you classify Philip Vigol and John Mitchell, convicted of treason during the Whiskey Rebellion?
posted by Chrysostom at 1:40 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I mean, fine, the federal government is free to assert that it does, in the same way that it's free to assert that I'm actually a kumquat. But that assertion would not get very far in a grand jury or court.

Says who? Of course they're free to claim it.

And I'm not aware of anyone ever convicted of treason for acts unrelated to an actual war against the US.

The Whiskey Rebellion is a really good example of a domestic insurrection found to be 'levying war' against the government.

The wording of the clause allows the federal government to construct a definition of "levy war' as an act that an individual or group can perform in opposition to the state, without the involvement of an enemy state or a pre-existing active war between declared combatants.

It just doesn't seem like you have a strong legal argument about treason here, in demanding that only allying with a foreign enemy can make you treasonous.
posted by Miko at 1:49 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

As a datapoint, I'm a quadruple citizen, I have citizenship in four countries.
posted by maxwelton at 1:50 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

As another datapoint, I have citizenship with three countries. It is currently not illegal to have two or more nationalities in the US. The government does encourage use of US paperwork when traveling abroad, but does not require it.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:05 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

So uh remember when Mitch McConnell was all like "our first priority is to ensure that Barack Obama is a one-term president."... yeah.

Senate leader McConnell a big loser on Election Day
posted by homunculus at 2:07 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

It just doesn't seem like you have a strong legal argument about treason here, in demanding that only allying with a foreign enemy can make you treasonous.

You're confusing me with someone who said that.

What I said was that you can't be convicted of treason in the absence of any war against the US. This is, as far as I can tell, true, and it would mean that advocacy of peaceful and legal secession wouldn't be treasonous.

If there's no war against the US, then you can't be levying war against the US. Because if you were levying war, there would be war.

And if there's no war against the US, whether foreigners or putative Americans engaged in rebellion, you don't have an enemy to adhere to, so you can't commit treason.

The Whiskey Rebellion is a really good example of a domestic insurrection found to be 'levying war' against the government.

Aren't you agreeing with me here? The Whiskey Rebellion was a war against the US. A very small and hopelessly one-sided one, but still an armed rebellion. Which is a kind of a war.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:15 PM on November 12, 2012

Not so sure about the European support. Britain certainly could have ended up supporting the CSA.

English support for the CSA would have been weak and short-lived for multiple reasons: dependence on Union grain imports, abolitionist sentiment, and the horrifying casualty counts and documentary photography come to mind.

And France? Napoleon III was a few bad years away from being unseated in a revolution.

I don't think that European support would have been stable enough or sufficient to maintain a peace between the Union and the CSA over multiple decades of hostility.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 2:17 PM on November 12, 2012

So if you don't pick up a gun it isn't war? So Virginia could secede and take almost all of MAE East with it, threatening almost the entire digital economy of the country? War is what the government defines it to be.
posted by introp at 2:20 PM on November 12, 2012

English support for the CSA would have been weak and short-lived for multiple reasons: dependence on Union grain imports, abolitionist sentiment, and the horrifying casualty counts and documentary photography come to mind.

Plus the fact that there was a European cotton surplus at the time meant there was no reason economically to side with the CSA.
posted by grubi at 2:21 PM on November 12, 2012

What I said was that you can't be convicted of treason in the absence of any war against the US. This is, as far as I can tell, true, and it would mean that advocacy of peaceful and legal secession wouldn't be treasonous.

You keep saying this --- but where are you getting it? Where are you reading that there must be a condition of war against the US in order to qualify an act as treason? The act of treason may itself initiate the war, and constitute a "levying" of war, but a condition of war doesn't seem to need to be pre-existing.

Aren't you agreeing with me here? The Whiskey Rebellion was a war against the US. A very small and hopelessly one-sided one, but still an armed rebellion. Which is a kind of a war.

But without a foreign enemy, which you seem to keep saying is a necessary condition. It was not called a war, but a "resistance."
posted by Miko at 2:25 PM on November 12, 2012

Just wanted to float something out there regarding the argument that all those Red Staters don't feel represented...

Regarding the Senate:

There where 24 states that voted for Romney this year --- 48 Senate seats --- Those 48 state represent just over 1/3 of the total of the population of all 50 states (lets exclude DC, because hey why should we included about 600 thousand disenfranchised citizens in a hissy fit about conservative representation). Ok... 1/3 of the population has nearly 1/2 of the Senate representation!

ooooh, not represented at the Federal government, oooh. There is a strong argument these States are OVER represented.

now, I don't mind that, I think the Senate as balanced by the house is well thought out.

Combine it with the fact that "blues states" hold about a 122 advantage in House seats, but somehow the Republicans still maintain control of the House because of gerrymandering, THAT I do mind. Conservatives who complain about under representation because their rick lying ass corporate candidate lost by a few % points can stick it up their ass and light it on fire... Talk about entitlement seriously.
posted by edgeways at 2:44 PM on November 12, 2012 [7 favorites]

I have a modest proposal: Republican reservations, with limited sovereignty.

No casinos though. And Native Americans get back the land vacated by Republicans in the rest of America.

(Honestly, I do keep thinking about what happens to Indian reservations in a state thate secedes. Sovereignty established under treaty with the United States depends on being *in* the United States. In my view, the federal government might be treaty bound to defend those reservations militarily. Since a number of the "we wanna secede" states have numerous reservations within them, how is that going to work? Even Texas, where settler colonial genocide was uniquely ruthless and effective, has two reservations within its borders. They are sovereign nations full of dual citizens.

And many of them are pretty good with a gun, by the way.
posted by spitbull at 2:52 PM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

The act of treason may itself initiate the war

IN WHICH CASE THERE WOULD BE A WAR, WOULD THERE NOT?

But without a foreign enemy, which you seem to keep saying is a necessary condition.

I never said that. I just said that there had to be a war for there to be treason.

You said that advocating secession is adhering to the enemies of the US. That's not true, because it would be entirely possible for the seceded state to be a foreign country that is not an enemy of the US.

If I advocate the peaceful secession of Texas, to be achieved in some way the US views as legal, and it comes about, and there is no war about it... how can I have committed treason? I haven't levied any war against the US, nor have I aided her enemies. I've aided what is now a foreign country, to be sure, but that isn't treasonous. For God's sake, the hypothesis even assumes that in some way my actions have been actively sanctioned by the US.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:58 PM on November 12, 2012

The idea that un-uniting the United States can be considered other than an act against these United States seems laughable on its semantic face, to me.
posted by droomoord at 3:00 PM on November 12, 2012 [4 favorites]

Laughably treasonous.
posted by spitbull at 3:01 PM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

Treasonously laughable.
posted by grubi at 3:03 PM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

From the Daily Caller: White House deluged with secession petitions from 20 states.

Well, this makes sense to me. Once you realize that every potential Canada that you might flee to is more socialist than the U.S.A., this is the only other option left. I mean, besides "sucking it up."

In regards to how much your vote counts, this once again plays into the belief that the presidential election is the only one that matters. We have Senators, Representatives, Governors and a whole bevy of state, city and county level elected officials who have much more impact on our lives than the President.

Yes, great, Obama won. But we better have the state houses and senates filled with not insane people by the time the next redistricting period roles around or we're looking at gerrymandering favored districts for Republicans (and, yes, in some cases Democrats) for another decade. Less insane people in state government means less insane state laws.

This belief that the presidency is the only thing that matters (and I'm not saying that that is what is being expressed here, but jeez, the "got to get out of my solidly red state now before I have to gay marry a black person" bullshit suggests a certain belief that the presidency is all that matters) is a huge part of the problem.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:05 PM on November 12, 2012 [4 favorites]

An act of Congress that removes a state from the Union is conceivable and would not be treason, yes.

That would not be secession, however, which is a state declaring itself no longer part of the U.S. Secession is considered an act of rebellion in defiance of U.S. law.

Such an act of Congress would be, well, Experialism, rather than secession. Which is theoretically legal, although it would probably take an amendment to the Constitution to do it.
posted by kyrademon at 3:12 PM on November 12, 2012

Senate leader McConnell a big loser on Election Day

I'll be much happier when I read that headline in 2 years. God, I was there in '84. Only reason he snuck into the Senate by 0.4% was b/c of Reagan's landslide (carried KY by 50 points or so). I can't believe he's become a powerful senator. And now he's going to be ousted by his party because he's not conservative enough?! The irony.

now, I don't mind that, I think the Senate as balanced by the house is well thought out.

It's really not. It makes no sense at all, unless you concede that House districts will be gerrymandered to the max.

Kill the Senate and expand the House. The average House district has 700,000 citizens. We, the people, need better and more proportionate representation.
posted by mrgrimm at 3:13 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

(Honestly, I do keep thinking about what happens to Indian reservations in a state thate secedes. Sovereignty established under treaty with the United States depends on being *in* the United States. In my view, the federal government might be treaty bound to defend those reservations militarily)

I only wish the federal government took native sovereignty seriously enough to defend it. I mean, I could certainly see where they might claim it, but the federal government does not treat reservations well under the current system. A case might be made that states might treat First Nations tribes better than the federal one does.

This is all speculation, though if memory serves there was an interesting alternate-history story where the Confederacy allied with the Native Americans and a third nation was formed. Sadly I am blanking on the title.
posted by corb at 3:14 PM on November 12, 2012

Why Nate Silver got drunk...
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 3:14 PM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

I think it is well thought out in that anytime you have a massive imbalance of power based on one factor (here, population) you run the risk of the majority always overriding the minority, no matter the merit of the minority's viewpoints. I don't like the idea of the majority always having complete unchecked power. It was horrible irt civil rights, it is horrible irt same sex marriage, it just tends to be horrible. There is no "wisdom of crowds" it is primarily idiocy. The problem with the House is gerrymandering, not too few members.
posted by edgeways at 3:19 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I don't like the idea of the majority always having complete unchecked power.

That's why you have a presidential veto and a supreme court to apply the limits of (and previous plethora of legal opinions on) the Constitution.

I see no reason why a second legislature is needed. It seems extremely inefficient to me.

I don't like the idea of the majority always having complete unchecked power. It was horrible irt civil rights, it is horrible irt same sex marriage, it just tends to be horrible.

A second legislature hasn't done much to ameliorate the tyranny of the majority in those cases. Regardless, Americans are ridiculously conservative in regard to the Constitution. Any discussion along these lines is pretty moot...
posted by mrgrimm at 3:26 PM on November 12, 2012

Our three branch checks-and-balances system already has many veto points. Keep in mind that the anti-majoritarian filibuster was used by racists to fight against the Civil Rights Act when opposition to it had become a minority position.
posted by tonycpsu at 3:27 PM on November 12, 2012

Why Nate Silver got drunk...

That was mostly interesting because it had the guy playing Silver bragging that he was getting "the babes", while Nate Silver is pretty openly gay. Heteronormativity dies slow, I guess.
posted by benito.strauss at 3:27 PM on November 12, 2012 [4 favorites]

"The problem with the House is gerrymandering, not too few members."

It's both, actually. Urban states and districts are under-represented.
posted by klangklangston at 3:41 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dude babes? I hear straight women describe guys as babes.
posted by msalt at 3:42 PM on November 12, 2012

Also, I didn't realize that Nate Silver was gay — his wikipedia page says he's never commented on it openly.
posted by klangklangston at 3:42 PM on November 12, 2012

Also, I didn't realize that Nate Silver was gay — his wikipedia page says he's never commented on it openly.

Tsk. Obviously you and the Wiki editors have not been spending enough time in the various MeFi election threads, or else you would have remembered seeing this link at least once earlier. Or maybe you're spending too much time here and everything just runs together.
posted by maudlin at 3:48 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Man Behind Citizens United Says 2012 Has Vindicated Him
posted by homunculus at 3:50 PM on November 12, 2012

Dude babes? I hear straight women describe guys as babes.

Hunh, I'd never heard that. The clip also uses "money, glory, or the chicks". Do straight women also describe guys as "chicks" too? (Though I've been known to describe a bunch of women as "guys", so this whole question is melting into a morass of gender confusion. Which is fine.)

Also, I didn't realize that Nate Silver was gay.

I'm not aware of him being outspoken about it. I think he's just sort of matter-of-fact gay. Which strikes me as a nice option to have exist.
posted by benito.strauss at 3:52 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

This election has let them realize, once again, that it isn't enough - that their state will never, ever, have enough impact on the direction of the country in order for them to feel that they have adequate representation.

How absurd. They had the semi-idiot crypto-fascist god-king of their choice less than four years ago. Don't worry, they'll have another semi-idiot crypto-fascist god-king of their choice again.
posted by Flunkie at 3:56 PM on November 12, 2012

This blog post summarizes many of the frustrations people have with the current Republican party.
posted by annsunny at 4:14 PM on November 12, 2012 [5 favorites]

Prediction Market Manipulation: A Case Study from 7 NOV:

If one really wants to manipulate a market, it has to be done by placing large orders that serve as price ceilings and floors, and to do this across complementary contracts in a consistent way.

As it happens, this is exactly what someone tried to do yesterday. At around 3:30 pm, I noticed that the order book for both Obama and Romney contracts on Intrade had become unusually asymmetric, with a large block of buy orders for Romney in the 28-30 range, and a corresponding block of sell orders for Obama in the 70-72 range.

posted by the man of twists and turns at 4:14 PM on November 12, 2012

Considering the rightward drift in fiscal policy for the past 30+ years and the never-ending social wars... where we have to fight over freedom to access birth control and that rape is, yes, rape and women actually vote (gasp) and there has been at least one high profile conservative commentator who public defends the idea that the right to vote should be taken away from women and youth. Where it is mainstream to start restricting free access to the ballot box, where money literally equals freedom of speech, where the idea of a center-center president is seen as threatening because he has a "D" after his name. Where even the most timid of Gun Control is pretty much a failed issue, but still used to scare people. Where Climate Change is a settled issue everywhere except in politics and public opinion, where evolution is STILL hotly contested, candidates advocate for the gold standard and elimination of paper currency with a straight face, where Unions are evil but Multinational corporations are models of near citizenship, where we have to settle for profit driven, insurance company run, healthcare as the nearest we can come to some almost sane national healthy care policy. Where guns are more important than carbon reduction

i don't think the problem is they don't have enough impact on the direction of the country, it is they have had too much for too long.
posted by edgeways at 4:14 PM on November 12, 2012 [10 favorites]

So my dad and I, just now while trying to fix my grandparents' porch, got into it about voter ID. he said something about certain counties in PA going 100% Obama. I looked at the PA Sec'y of State website and see nothing of the sort. Anyone who can stomach venturing inside the epistemic bubble got a clue what the fuck that's about?
posted by notsnot at 4:18 PM on November 12, 2012

Well, from the Inquirer.

Some Philadelphia neighborhoods outdid themselves in Tuesday's presidential election.

In a city where President Obama received more than 85 percent of the votes, in some places he received almost every one. In 13 Philadelphia wards, Obama received 99 percent of the vote or more.

Those numbers are not really as shocking as they sound. I'm sure you could find similar numbers for Romney in heavily red areas. Romney lost by almost 300,000 votes in PA, if there is fraud that massive, you aren't going to be able to hide it.
posted by Drinky Die at 4:31 PM on November 12, 2012

Grover Norquist says Obama is Old & Gray

“We are going to have to beat people in 2014 and beat a president in 2016 in order to abolish Obamacare. That is the goal. Our position is we want to abolish Obamacare as quickly as possible. As soon as we have the votes, we are doing it. If we can do a part of it today, all of it tomorrow – go, go, go. We are never not working to abolish Obamacare.

“You would also have to understand, we only have so many hours of the day and Obama is sitting there with a veto. There are certain things you can’t get done until you get a different president.”

With all of the attempts to repeal, Republicans were well aware that President Obama would veto it, nevertheless, they set out to spend countless hours, days, weeks, months, to unravel this necessary law.

posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:32 PM on November 12, 2012

Pogo_Fuzzybutt: "People who are bad at reading reporting statistics, basically."

No, he said specifically that it wasn't over voting due to same-day registration, it was exactly 100%.
posted by notsnot at 4:33 PM on November 12, 2012

Election Day should be a federal holiday
posted by homunculus at 4:34 PM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

This blog post summarizes many of the frustrations people have with the current Republican party.

Despite the snark, this is a (mostly) decent post - particularly on the issues of debt and science and such. Some things I strongly disagree with, but some points are fair. This is, though, one of the major problems with a two-party system. Each party can get away with doing things that are egregiously against what the party faithful want or believe. Republicans may not like debt and Dems might not like wars and civil liberty violations - but as it stands, they're stuck.

The real change seems mostly to happen on state lines. So for example, you get deep-South Democrats who oppose abortion, and New York Republicans that march in gay pride parades and legalize gay marriage. I'm not sure why it can't seem to spread, but that's where I put my hope, anyway.
posted by corb at 4:42 PM on November 12, 2012

notsnot, can you just ask him what counties? Then go to the websites of the county clerks of those counties.

Of course, he won't be able to tell you what counties in the first place, but even that in and of itself should say something to him.
posted by Flunkie at 4:43 PM on November 12, 2012

corb, you are misinformed. Under the Obama administration the federal government has taken Native sovereignty quite seriously. There has never been occasion in the modern era for the Feds to be treaty bound to defend a sovereign Indian nation's borders, and there are plenty of limits on sovereignty, but sovereign tribal nations aren't even recognized by states directly, which is the point. It's a national government to national government relationship.

You have a habit of pronouncing on subjects where you clearly have no expertise, and this is one of them.
posted by spitbull at 4:46 PM on November 12, 2012 [10 favorites]

Anyone who can stomach venturing inside the epistemic bubble got a clue what the fuck that's about?

They're either lying or believing something they were told that they want to believe is true.

A MeFite had a similar question on Facebook, where there was actual graphic that said all the registered voters in Cuyahoga County, Ohio voted for Obama. A quick look at the election results, from the Ohio Secretary of State website, showed this was not true.

This is exactly why everyone, Democrat or Republican or whatever, should be challenged when they start spewing information that sounds like bull.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:46 PM on November 12, 2012 [6 favorites]

PA does not have same day registration. Here is the deal, there were 59 voting divisions in Philly (NOT counties) where Romney got no votes. (Gary Johnson did though, lol) There are 1,687 divisions in total. This was a tiny subset of the city, representing not enough votes to swing the election.

If this was fraud, voter ID would have nothing to do with it. They would have had to eliminate Romney votes.

Here, look at this. Even a newspaper can't track down the Republicans in these divisions.

Take North Philadelphia's 28th Ward, third division, bounded by York, 24th, and 28th Streets and Susquehanna Avenue.

About 94 percent of the 633 people who live in that division are black. Seven white residents were counted in the 2010 census.

In the entire 28th Ward, Romney received only 34 votes to Obama's 5,920.

Although voter registration lists, which often contain outdated information, show 12 Republicans live in the ward's third division, The Inquirer was unable to find any of them by calling or visiting their homes.

If Republicans want to win there, maybe they should move there.
posted by Drinky Die at 4:48 PM on November 12, 2012 [6 favorites]

> ... where we have to fight over freedom to access birth control and that rape is, yes, rape and women actually vote (gasp) and there has been at least one high profile conservative commentator who public defends the idea that the right to vote should be taken away from women and youth. Where it is mainstream to start restricting free access to the ballot box ...

These aren't remotely mainstream positions, edgeways. There are still sane people in the country. If you're imagining that the entire country outside of your immediate circle of friends is just like the wingnuts on talk radio, you're wrong.
posted by nangar at 4:53 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Voter ID laws are not mainstream? Where maps are cranked out saying "hey look.. if only white men could vote Obama would have lost!" The 'war on women' certainly seemed pretty real this year yes?

I'm not saying all of this has or will happen in the next few years, but that Overton window has definitely shifted in my lifetime. The good news, folks who are gay have made significant strides towards equality and we managed to (re) elect a phenotype black man. But nearly all other fronts are in a holding pattern at best and sometimes in serious retreat.
posted by edgeways at 5:02 PM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

Here, look at this. Even a newspaper can't track down the Republicans in these divisions.

HINT DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE

But it is pretty funny. It is less funny when I have to read Facebook posts about how the illegals are stealing the elections in PA and you only need to know a dead guy's name to vote from someone who doesn't understand how absentee ballots. I am not at all surprised that there are areas in Philadelphia where 700 people do not like Mitt Romney; the math sounds a lot less scary when you realize how small the voting blocs they're talking about are.
posted by jetlagaddict at 5:03 PM on November 12, 2012

Did they finish counting Florida's votes yet? So hungry...so lonely...
posted by Cookiebastard at 5:03 PM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

Election Day should be a federal holiday

That's a great idea except that no one but government workers actually get federal holidays off. Today was one, did you get a day off? I didn't.
posted by octothorpe at 5:04 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

If Republicans want to win there, maybe they should move there.

Exactly. My wife, son and I are all white. We live in an area that is probably 99%+ middle- and lower-middle class black. Being a strongly Democratic household makes living where we do a joyous place during elections. It's like one big family.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 5:05 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

If Republicans want to win there, maybe they should move there.

But what if a BLACK PANTHER says hello to them there?!?!?
posted by jetlagaddict at 5:06 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

That's a great idea except that no one but government workers actually get federal holidays off. Today was one, did you get a day off? I didn't.

Election Day should be Election Week. Problem solved.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:11 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get the day off for Election Day either. It would have to build up steam as one of those holidays that people collectively decide they're not going into the office for because other activities like barbecues and fireworks are more important. Veterans' Day, much like Columbus Day and Election Day, has no convenient consumerist excuse not to go into work, so offices remain open. When Election Day has parties and its own signature food, then it will be a federal holiday people can actually take off of work.
posted by yasaman at 5:11 PM on November 12, 2012

I was listening to a political scientist being interviewed on NPR this past weekend. In addition to making Election Day a federal holiday, he suggests that in addition to receiving your "I Voted' sticker, each voter receives a free lottery ticket. It would be a federal lottery -- adding incentive to GOTV.
posted by ericb at 5:14 PM on November 12, 2012

Don't blame me - I voted for 6 14 16 22 35 41
posted by Flunkie at 5:17 PM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

Calling their bluff on secession
posted by tonycpsu at 5:25 PM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

A MeFite had a similar question on Facebook, where there was actual graphic that said all the registered voters in Cuyahoga County, Ohio voted for Obama. A quick look at the election results, from the Ohio Secretary of State website, showed this was not true.

The graphic actually exaggerates something unusual that did happen in Cuyahoga and has been commented on by a number of right wing blogs -- namely that there were seventeen precincts within that county that did not register a single vote for Romney. Of those, nine went unanimously to Obama, an impressive accomplishment.
Barack Obama dominated many portions of Cuyahoga County with better than 80 percent of the vote, but he also won some precincts in cities from Bay Village to Solon.

The vote, incredibly, was unanimous in Obama's favor in nine Cleveland precincts.

The largest of those voted 542-0 in favor of Obama. In seven other Cleveland precincts and one in East Cleveland, Romney didn't pick up a single vote, though votes for third-party candidates stopped the president short of unanimous victories.

On Cleveland's West Side, Obama won 76 percent. And he carried 69 percent countywide.

In the suburbs, Obama won 62 percent of the vote. This was helped, in part, by winning 98 percent in both Warrensville Heights and East Cleveland, but those towns and Cleveland alone did not provide the countywide margin.

Cities where Obama won every precinct stretched from Lakewood and Brook Park to Cleveland Heights and Orange.

Meanwhile, the only citywide precinct sweeps for Romney were in Brecksville, Highland Heights and Independence, though Romney also did so in a handful of villages on the eastern side of the county.

....

So put altogether, how important was Cleveland and the rest of Cuyahoga County in the 2012 election?

The unofficial tally shows that Obama won Cuyahoga County by 236,478 votes.

In Ohio's other 87 counties combined, Romney won by 129,219 votes.

In other words, without Cuyahoga County, Romney was the winner in Ohio.
Interesting story. Stupid graphic.
posted by zarq at 5:31 PM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

I think it could easily turn into a holiday like a cross between Super Bowl Sunday and the 4th of July. People on my block were setting off fireworks right after NBC called it for Obama. It's already a major TV-watching and socializing event in homes and at bars. All it needs is some kind of traditional post-voting activity, like you vote and then you go out for coffee. And coffee shops and restaurants can have Voter Specials for those wearing their "I Voted" stickers.
posted by HotToddy at 5:36 PM on November 12, 2012

From the City Pages: Fellow Republicans: An Emergency Plan to Stop Our Asses from Getting Kicked. {/}
posted by edgeways at 5:44 PM on November 12, 2012

One Who Helps People Throughout the Land Wins Second Term; Natives Await Proactive Agenda
posted by homunculus at 6:02 PM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

A MeFite had a similar question on Facebook, where there was actual graphic that said all the registered voters in Cuyahoga County, Ohio voted for Obama.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

*puff pant puff pant gasp*

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

whew. *wipes eyes*

Simply as an actual living breathing resident of Cuyahoga County, who keeps his eyes open enough not to walk directly into trees, that is unmitigated horseshit.

zarq beat me to the link, but the article in his link was actually on the front page of Sunday's Plain Dealer.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:05 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Obama is considering Kerry for Sec of Defense.
posted by madamjujujive at 6:08 PM on November 12, 2012

This may also be relevant:

Romney earned zero votes in some urban precincts

No doubt some people are deliberately conflating counties with precincts to make Obama's vote look fraudulent.

From the Plain Dealer article linked by zarq: In other words, without Cuyahoga County, Romney was the winner in Ohio.

This is just asinine. As if populous counties containing urban centres are somehow worth less.
posted by Bokmakierie at 6:10 PM on November 12, 2012 [4 favorites]

If Kerry leaves the Senate, we may end up with Senator Scott Brown after all.
posted by homunculus at 6:14 PM on November 12, 2012

With how the Senate calendar looks in 2014, I'd tell Kerry to take one for the team and hang on to his Senate seat.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:17 PM on November 12, 2012 [6 favorites]

Wait, I take that back -- I thought that read Secretary of State. Kerry at the Pentagon would be a great fit, and probably worth the risk of losing the MA-Sen seat.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:34 PM on November 12, 2012

Flunkie: "notsnot, can you just ask him what counties? Then go to the websites of the county clerks of those counties.

Of course, he won't be able to tell you what counties in the first place, but even that in and of itself should say something to him."

I *did* have the presence of mind to ask him to supply me with that. He's not responded.
posted by notsnot at 7:46 PM on November 12, 2012

Part of this song keep going through my head as I continue to read about the election.
posted by Joey Michaels at 8:14 PM on November 12, 2012

Going out to the new DFL leadership as soon as they take office:

To: the DFL leadership and the representatives of my home district

First of all congratulations. To those who ran and won this year congratulations for your wins and in the larger context congratulations for the DFL retaking the Minnesota legislature. As arduous as it may have been for some of you it can truly be said the most difficult part lies ahead. The budget, job creation, tax overhaul, LGA, Health and Human Services, education, environmental issues, all these things are terribly important issues I am sure the DFL and Governor Dayton will wrestle with over the next two years. As benefits someone who is politically active and takes a keen interest in the State I live in I have strong feeling about all these issues. However, today, I am writing with not only a plea on something not listed above, but a small piece of advice I hope is well received and which is at least taken seriously.

As you are well aware the last election saw the defeat of two Amendments, I am thankful for those defeats, they made me proud to be a Minnesotan. I wish to put it to you however, that the DFL takeover of the legislature may well owe no small debt to the incredible voter turn out to defeat the Constitutional ban on Marriage Equality, and the Voter ID bill. In an election year that saw the DFL win most close races state wide, those that turned out to specifically vote against those Amendments could well have spelled the difference between a divided legislature, or even a continuation of the Republican legislature, and how it turned out. I worked as an election judge here in Duluth on election day, and at my precinct of about 2300 voters I registered 419 new voters on election day, that was about a 20% increase. The majority of those voters where young, and insofar as it is possible to tell, they where fired up for one reason, to defeat those Amendments, each one of you benefited directly from this.

Now, I fully realize the temptation to move cautiously on the issue of Marriage Equality. Despite the Amendment's defeat it still remains a divisive issue. There are literally millions of people in the State of Minnesota that oppose it. I sympathize with the position each of you may be in. But, I urge each of you to consider tackling the issue of legalizing marriage equality sooner than later, not only from the point of view of someone who cares about the issue, not only from the point of view that in a sense I feel the DFL owes a certain potion of gratitude and debt to those people who helped not only defeat the Amendment, but elect you back to the majority at the same time, but... because I think it makes strategic electoral good sense as well. The Amendment defeat cries out for some action from the legislature, to ignore it completely in the next session would not only be tone-deaf but risk alienating a lot of the 2012 first time voters come 2014. To delay addressing it, as may be the natural inclination, until late in the session you run the real risk of invigorating and mobilizing all those voters who oppose such progress. The solution, I put to you, is to address it straightaway. Pass a marriage equality bill, if not the first thing then within short order. The longer marriage equality is the norm the longer people will have to get use to it. The longer people get use to it, the harder it will be to mobilize against it, and those that voted for it. The harder it is to mobilize against it the more secure your seats will be.

It is literally not only the moral thing to do but the electoral smart thing to do as well.

Thank you for your time and service to the State:

Edgewood Smith
Duluth MN
55803

CC: Gov Mark Dayton, Sen Reinert, Rep Thomas Huntley, Sen Thomas Bakk, Sen Katie Sieben, Sen Sandra Pappas, Rep Erin Murphy, Rep Paul Thissen

posted by edgeways at 8:36 PM on November 12, 2012 [9 favorites]

Cops: Ariz. woman runs over husband for not voting
posted by Golden Eternity at 8:37 PM on November 12, 2012

Oh, the AZ comment reminded me, looks like the first open bisexual was elected to congress as well (from AZ) - defeating a Tea Partier no less.
posted by edgeways at 8:41 PM on November 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

doesnt the gov get to pick the senator if kerry is appointed? wouldnt that be deval patrick?
posted by liza at 9:18 PM on November 12, 2012

My understanding is Patrick would nominate someone to hold the seat until a special election. Brown originally entered the Senate via the special election after Ted Kennedy died, which would probably make him the answer to a trivia question as the only Senator to become a Senator twice via the special election route. (I have no idea if that's true or not, but it feels true.)
posted by tonycpsu at 9:25 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cops: Ariz. woman runs over husband for not voting

Sometimes, the comments come through for me...

Country_First says:

In a related story, Holly Solomon has been named the leading contender for the Republican nomination for 2016!

alaskan1st replies:
Palin has competition?

posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 9:25 PM on November 12, 2012

doesnt the gov get to pick the senator if kerry is appointed? wouldnt that be deval patrick?

Nope. It was taken away from the governor in 2004 when then Gov. Romney was primed to appoint a Republican senator to replace Kerry in the senate during his presidential run. The appropriate legislation was passed with a veto-proof majority.

Since then vacancies in MA are filled via a special election.
posted by Talez at 9:27 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

If Kerry does bolt, I hope the Democrats have someone else on the bench besides Martha Coakley. I don't think she was a terrible candidate, but if you want to take down a recent election loser, it's probably best not to run another recent election loser who lost to him just a few years ago.

Surely one of the most reliably blue states in America has someone else who can beat Scott Brown?
posted by tonycpsu at 9:45 PM on November 12, 2012

Me? I'm all stoked for some supreme court vacancies over the next four years. (Not rooting for any deaths, mind you, just some retirements....) My understanding is that one is all but certain, and three would be nice. Especially if Scalia has to step down from choking on his own shit.
posted by kaibutsu at 10:20 PM on November 12, 2012 [4 favorites]

The Awakening: Why white nationalists are thrilled with Obama's victory
posted by homunculus at 10:58 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

CA to GOP: Adios

Assuming the leaders in the few remaining close races hold their leads, there will be 38 Democrats and 15 Republicans representing California in Congress come January. Of those 38 Democrats, 18 are women, nine are Latinos, five are Asian Americans, three are African Americans, four are Jews and at least one is gay. Just 12 are white men. Of the 15 Republicans, on the other hand, all are white men — not a woman, let alone a member of a racial minority or a Jew, among them.

The composition of the state's new Democratic congressional delegation merely reflects the state's demographic changes. Latinos (72% of whom backed Obama) were 23% of the California electorate in 2012, up from 18% in 2008. The share of Asian voters (who voted for Obama at a 79% rate) doubled, from 6% to 12%, between those two elections. Voters under 30 increased their share of state ballots cast from 20% in 2008 to 27% in 2012, and backed Obama at a 71% rate. The state's proportion of white voters, meanwhile, fell from 65% in 2004 to 63% in 2008 to just 55% last week.

More sentient Republicans now say the party needs to modify its position on immigration. But a deeper look into the politics of the increasingly young and multicolored electorate suggests that the GOP is estranged from this new America on more issues than just immigration. The exit polling on Proposition 30, the tax hike on the wealthy promoted by Gov. Jerry Brown to keep the state's schools and universities from further disastrous budget cuts, shows key elements of the Democrats' new majority consigning the old Howard-Jarvis-no-tax-hike California to history's dustbin. Voters under 30 supported Proposition 30 at a 67% rate, and Asian Americans gave it 61% support.

posted by Rhaomi at 11:14 PM on November 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cops: Ariz. woman runs over husband for not voting

This feels like closure to me. I think I'm outa here.
posted by philip-random at 11:44 PM on November 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

I think the scariest part is she wasn't even high or drunk when she did it.
posted by mannequito at 1:37 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

\I think the scariest part is she wasn't even high or drunk when she did it.

High on lies and drunk on hate.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:46 AM on November 13, 2012 [5 favorites]

Or, dare I suggest, high on fair and drunk on balanced.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:47 AM on November 13, 2012 [6 favorites]

Ironically, the car was fired up and ready to go.
posted by jaduncan at 2:06 AM on November 13, 2012 [9 favorites]

Apparently, the state is doing insufficient education on how motor voter works.

I think I'm outa here.

Yeah, the Jezebel detour and the whole secession treatment-in-wholly-unnecessary-depth (given this is NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN) business are sort of unproductive.
posted by dhartung at 2:50 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

at my precinct of about 2300 voters I registered 419 new voters on election day, that was about a 20% increase.

Part of me thinks that's a misleading number. I mean, I (re-)registered on Election Day as somehow my name was permuted on the voter roll. That's (hopefully) rare, but same-day registration means that people are a bit lazy about updating their registration when they move. (Motor voter should solve this for people with driver's licenses or state ID, but people are bad about changing their license when they move. And, of course, we know plenty of people don't have those.) Minnesota removes you from the voter roll after four years of inactivity. It's not clear to me if people who only vote in presidential elections get purged every time, but, if they do, they're probably a big same-day registration demographic.
posted by hoyland at 5:07 AM on November 13, 2012

The Daily What: Papa John's Boycott Campaign

American pizza restaurant chain Papa John's has become the latest target of an online boycott campaign after its CEO John Schnatter publicly revealed that employee hours may have to be cut in order to avoid paying for their medical insurance under President Obama's new health care reform laws. Head over to Know Your Meme for more deets!

Fellow Republicans: An Emergency Plan to Stop Our Asses from Getting Kicked.

They've obviously seen this jacket.
posted by Room 641-A at 5:43 AM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

corb, you are misinformed. Under the Obama administration the federal government has taken Native sovereignty quite seriously.

Let me be clear: I don't think any President since perhaps Jefferson has really taken tribal sovereignty seriously. I don't think Obama is worse than many other presidents on tribal sovereignty. I don't think that Romney would have been better on tribal sovereignty. But I think the standard many are judging by is one that does not accept full sovereignty. Full sovereignty cannot be given at a whim, by pleasure. Full sovereignty must be enshrined on the whole, as a right.

The Keystone XL Pipeline project and approval process showed how treaties are routinely violated even under an Obama administration. ( People were also arrested, on Lakota land, for attempting to block the trucks from entering against tribal wishes.) That's not to mention:
-Social services is still taking children from native parents and fostering them outside the tribe
-The Federal Government still practices extremely offensive practices for determining who is Native and entitled to protections as such.
-The Federal Government still refuses to recognize many tribes, even when states do, which means, again, many are left without protection.
-Tribal police are prohibited from arresting non-natives on tribal land, which, among other things, is leading to a domestic violence epidemic.
-They are not allowed to act on an international level or coin money. Federal laws still apply to them, and they still have to pay federal income tax

Man, I'm getting depressed just listing stuff off. But essentially, no, Native sovereignty hasn't been taken seriously for a long, long time. Obama may be slightly better, but that is just not enough.
posted by corb at 5:44 AM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

They are not allowed to act on an international level or coin money. Federal laws still apply to them, and they still have to pay federal income tax

They're also US citizens, so no big surprise there on the taxes.
posted by hoyland at 6:35 AM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

To clarify, the US requires citizens living overseas to pay federal taxes (though there is a fairly high lower bound for owing money). The only way people living on Indian land would not have to pay tax is if they couldn't have voted in the election in the first place!
posted by hoyland at 6:38 AM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

Key and Peele posted the video they made in case Obama lost. (apologies if link doesn't work outside the U.S., I couldn't find this on YT.)
posted by gladly at 7:04 AM on November 13, 2012 [12 favorites]

-Social services is still taking children from native parents and fostering them outside the tribe
-Tribal police are prohibited from arresting non-natives on tribal land, which, among other things, is leading to a domestic violence epidemic.

You realize these are pretty good examples of why Republicans are shitty, right?
posted by fleacircus at 7:05 AM on November 13, 2012

Heh, from gladly's link: "I threw a book".
posted by gaspode at 7:19 AM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

Don't make this personal folks - don't make it all about you, don't make it all about other people. Very Seriously Knock It Off. Thank you.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:37 AM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

Metafilter: Objectively pro-secessionist.
posted by octobersurprise at 7:45 AM on November 13, 2012

Re: Room 641-A, we are now getting news from I Can Haz Cheeseburger and Know Your Meme. I can't even begin to know what to make of this.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:56 AM on November 13, 2012

Texas, secession and Latinos: How we can make this work

So Texans conservatives (you know, those "patriots") want to secede. I say, sure! Go for it! Take your Texas, and your two Republican senators, and your 24-12 House delegation (with its +12 boost for the Republican majority) and play at being an independent country for a few years. Maybe a decade.

And then you can all come back once Latinos have taken over the joint to help deliver even bigger Blue majorities.

Sound like a deal?

In the alternative, you can remain a part of America, respect this thing called "democracy," and brace yourself like you've never braced yourself. Because Texas is going to look like California some day. And that day is coming up fast.

posted by tonycpsu at 7:56 AM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

So what was up with that "2016" movie that was in theatres, predicting the doomsday of Obama or something like that? WAS THAT ACTUALLY A THING???
...and to think Atlas Shrugged part 2 being released couldn't even sway the election.
posted by Theta States at 8:18 AM on November 13, 2012

Atlas Shrugged part 2: The Second Shrugging
posted by Mental Wimp at 8:28 AM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

Atlas Shrugged Part 2: The Shruggening
posted by usonian at 8:34 AM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

Re: Room 641-A, we are now getting news from I Can Haz Cheeseburger and Know Your Meme. I can't even begin to know what to make of this.

I'm not sure, but I'm moving them to the top of my Reader list. Your move, Josh Marshall.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:36 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sooooooo...

Crazy election, amirite?
posted by grubi at 8:59 AM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

grubi: guano
posted by syzygy at 9:03 AM on November 13, 2012

Previous post:

>>It's worth noting that so far Citizens United has simply enabled rich assholes to waste a lot more money

>I'll point out (again) that the approx. $1 billion in dark money, 81% of which went to Republicans, may well have stopped Obama from reaching 400 EVs, the Senate from gaining 2, 3, 5 or some other number more Ds, and the House from swinging D or at least a lot closer to it.

There seems to be something of a consensus developing that, "Well, we really dodged a bullet with Citizens United. All that private money doesn't really make much difference at all in elections. Democracy wins!"

Besides the obvious point I made above--that if you subtracted the $1 billion plus in Dark Money, Democrats may have done MUCH better than they did--I'd like to make a less obvious point:

The Dark Money enabled the Republican Party to get its 47% of the vote with far more extreme policy positions than they could have maintained absent the Dark Money.

The equations go something like this:

- With Dark Money: More extreme positions + $800 million of Dark Money spent convincing people that "extreme positions are really super good!" + $1 billion of own money = 47% of the vote

- Without Dark Money Possibility #1: More extreme positions (as above) + $1 billion of own money = 35-40% of the vote

- Without Dark Money Possibility #2: More moderate positions + $1 billion of own money = 47% of the vote

The basic idea is that money allows you to recruit, convince, motivate, and gather votes even with extreme policy positions that are not naturally that attractive.

Absent that money, you have to change your policy positions to those more naturally attractive to voters. If you don't have the money to do the work of gathering more votes, you have to do it in policy change instead.

50% is winner take all, so parties have a strong drive towards that percentage. The fact that Rs received 47% of the vote allows party hacks to argue that they are still basically on the right track--things just need to be tweaked a bit.

If they'd had a shellacking in the 30-40% range, they'd be singing a far different tune.

The different between narrow loss and shellacking is exactly that Dark Money.

Or in other words: The immediate result of Dark Money in elections is a mainstreaming of radical and extreme positions.

We didn't dodge that bullet. It was fired this election and it hit us square between the eyes.
posted by flug at 9:07 AM on November 13, 2012 [27 favorites]

Atlas Shrugged 2: Electric Shruggaloo.
posted by Kattullus at 9:12 AM on November 13, 2012 [6 favorites]

If a person who still eats Chick-Fil-A is a Chick-Fil-Atheist, what's someone who still eat Papa John's?

The immediate result of Dark Money in elections is a mainstreaming of radical and extreme positions.

But not might the long-term results of Dark Money be a greater recognition of its effect on elections and a better way to control commercial/electoral speech than by limiting funding? (I've tried and failed to defend the Citizens' United decision this way before...)

What we really need is ALL money out of elections.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:14 AM on November 13, 2012

If a person who still eats Chick-Fil-A is a Chick-Fil-Atheist, what's someone who still eat Papa John's?

Drunk.
posted by dirigibleman at 9:24 AM on November 13, 2012 [10 favorites]

If a person who still eats Chick-Fil-A is a Chick-Fil-Atheist, what's someone who still eat Papa John's?

Desperate?
posted by tonycpsu at 9:24 AM on November 13, 2012

If a person who still eats Chick-Fil-A is a Chick-Fil-Atheist, what's someone who still eat Papa John's?

Since there's plenty of other companies who will bring you a pizza? A dick.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 9:32 AM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

If a person who still eats Chick-Fil-A is a Chick-Fil-Atheist, what's someone who still eat Papa John's?

Definitely not a New Yorker. Their pizza is vile.
posted by corb at 9:35 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Atlas Shrugged Part 2: The Shruggening

James Fallows - Getting Back to the Atlas Shrugged Guy

He promises more to come, including a response from the Atlas Shrugged Guy.
posted by charlie don't surf at 10:02 AM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

Apologies for interupting the Atlas Shruggathon . . .

The immediate result of Dark Money in elections is a mainstreaming of radical and extreme positions.

Here are a few more thoughts about what makes this dynamic work:

- $800 million buys A LOT of advertising in the swing states, and like it or not, that advertising does attract votes. So the Republicans adopt positions that would get them only (say) 42% of the vote but this additional advertisement and outreach gains them (say) 5% more in votes and enthusiasm.

This is more important than it looks because if the Rs were polling in the high 30s to low 40s they would realize they were in a very bad losing position. They would be scrambling to change anything and everything needed to get back into contention. But with the Dark Money artificially bringing their support up to the high 40s, it looks like they are in striking distance and all they need is a little more tweaking to pull it off.

In short, the Dark Money reduces the party's incentive to change what are otherwise losing policies and strategies.

- Of course Dark Money might also move losing positions or candidates, who would naturally gain only 45% of the vote, into a winning position with 50% of the vote. I think we all realize that possibility, however. What we may not realize is the radicalizing effect: To gain that extra 5% of the vote 'naturally' would likely require some compromise or re-tooling of the policy to garner additional support. The Dark Money allows that position to power straight on through in more radicalized form.

- More directly, large single donors kept a number of the Republican primary candidates in the race long after they would naturally have dropped out. The large donors do this because they want to prop up support for their pet policies, and they succeed. Many months that Romney would have liked to have spent driving to the center he was forced to spend driving even further to the right--and that can basically all be chalked up to Dark Money's effect on the Republican Primary.

- We've previously mentioned the strong influence of Dark Money on local and statewide races. One result there has been a polarization of state legislatures and as a result, these gerrymandered Congressional Districts.

Gerrymandered Congressional Districts are a lot of bad things, but one of those is safe districts for either Ds or Rs. This allows more extreme candidates--from both sides--to be elected in these districts than would be possible if the districts were less one-sided.

To summarize: Dark Money allows a more radical agenda to win or, short of winning, remain viable when it would naturally die on the vine.

Dark Money is the primary reason we still have a Republican Party pursuing a 1980s strategy.

Absent the Dark Money Republicans would haven been forced to face the 21st Century reality and changing demographics much sooner. And that would be good for the Republican Party and good for America.
posted by flug at 10:34 AM on November 13, 2012 [9 favorites]

Yeah, the comments about money not affecting the election are mostly just post-election relief. I don't think anyone really misunderstands the effect the money had in terms of allowing both the Republicans and Democrats to run the kinds of campaigns they did. And I don't think anyone who's serious is taking a big deep breath and thinking that we're all safe from the scourge of unlimited spending, either.
posted by OmieWise at 10:53 AM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

Gawd, Papa Johns is so vile that I'd rather eat Domino's or Little Skeezers, both their own form of rancid. I was surprised the couple of times our office ordered there for the volunteers — when I order, I go Tomato Pie and get less pizzas but better pizzas.
posted by klangklangston at 11:01 AM on November 13, 2012

Really, worse than Domino's? Don't know about that.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:07 AM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yeah, especially since Domino's unveiled their new recipe. Papa Johns is everything that's wrong about Midwestern pizza — all the sweet, doughiness of Cottage Inn without the redeeming sesame seeds — and the only chain I can think of where I've had consistently worse pizza is Hungry Howies, which seems to exist primarily in highway rest stops in 1-94.
posted by klangklangston at 11:25 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Papa John's is fodder pizza - enjoyed mostly by people who don't know any better.
posted by Pudhoho at 11:40 AM on November 13, 2012

or drunk people. And yes, Domino's is worse.
posted by sweetkid at 12:04 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

New York Times: Democrats Like a Romney Idea on Income Tax. Excerpt:

The proposal by Mr. Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, was envisioned to help pay for an across-the-board income tax cut, a move ridiculed by President Obama as window dressing to a “sketchy deal.” But many Democrats now see it as an important element of a potential deficit reduction agreement — and one they can claim to be bipartisan.

The cap — never fully detailed by Mr. Romney — is similar to a longstanding proposal by Mr. Obama to limit income tax deductions to 28 percent, even for affluent households that pay a 35 percent rate. But a firm cap of around $35,000 would hit the affluent even harder than Mr. Obama’s proposal, which has previously gotten nowhere in Congress.

“Let’s just say there’s a renewed interest,” said Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota and chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. “Part of it is people reflecting on Obama’s proposal, but when Romney said what he said, it just added fuel.”

“I was a little surprised Romney proposed a dollar cap when he did it,” Mr. Conrad added.

The attention on the plan is evidence that ideas on deficit reduction are beginning to take firmer form as the January deadline for dealing with expiring tax cuts and automatic spending reductions draws close. The lame-duck session that begins Tuesday could be one of the most pivotal in years, and the political atmosphere is considerably different than when lawmakers left in October for the fall campaigns.

posted by Kattullus at 12:08 PM on November 13, 2012

James Fallows - Atlas Shrugged Watch, California Division

Readers eviscerate another Atlas Shrugged Guy from California.
posted by charlie don't surf at 1:03 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Papa John's is fodder pizza - enjoyed mostly by people who don't know any better.

Well then there are a lot of hurfdurf fodder-eaters out there. The guy's got a moat.
posted by headnsouth at 1:34 PM on November 13, 2012

[S]ecession is not in the cards for the Lone Star State.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) sought to distance himself from the ["We the People" program] petition on Monday. The Dallas Morning News reported that the Republican governor's press secretary wrote in an email, "Gov. Perry believes in the greatness of our Union and nothing should be done to change it. But he also shares the frustrations many Americans have with our federal government."*

posted by ericb at 1:51 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Robert Wolf, Obama's Top Wall Street Ally, Endorses Tax Hikes For Rich.
posted by ericb at 1:53 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

In other pizza news ...

Overstuffed Pizza: Pizza Hut Releases New Calzone-Like Pie.
posted by ericb at 1:58 PM on November 13, 2012

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal: End 'Dumbed-Down Conservatism.
posted by ericb at 2:00 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

Like the kind that doesn't understand why you might want to monitor a volcano?
posted by Drinky Die at 2:34 PM on November 13, 2012 [12 favorites]

Nine Republicans in the Wisconsin State Legislature want to arrest federal officials if they try to implement "Obamacare."
posted by drezdn at 2:34 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nine Republicans in the Wisconsin State Legislature want to arrest federal officials if they try to implement "Obamacare."

This is getting over the line of free speech and into sedition. They are threatening government officials with involuntary detention, backed by force of violence. Why is a civil society based on preserving law and order not responding to their violent threats with jail time?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:50 PM on November 13, 2012 [7 favorites]

Nine Republicans in the Wisconsin State Legislature want to arrest federal officials if they try to implement "Obamacare."

Wait, you can just pass laws that say you can arrest Federal government officials that are just doing their job?
WTF, America?
posted by Theta States at 2:56 PM on November 13, 2012

Well, from what I can tell, they said they'd back legislation (which doesn't seem to even be drafted) to compel the police to arrest the legislators. That's a threat on par with "if you kids don't quiet down back there, I'm going to get the family together to write a letter to your mother to ask her to come here and turn this car around."
posted by griphus at 3:06 PM on November 13, 2012 [9 favorites]

Shouldn't Wisconsin and Texas merge, somehow? Texconsin?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:10 PM on November 13, 2012

In other words.. "Hey I'm not going to write it, but you know if Joe Blow wants to well then I'll definitely, could sort of support it... perhaps. Just don't ask me to do it myownself."

Aircraft Carriers in Wyoming.
posted by edgeways at 3:12 PM on November 13, 2012

Obama the Dealmaker
By David Brooks

If you want a great example of how these deals might work, check out a new paper at Third Way called The Bargain.

Third Way is a think tank that answers America’s challenges with modern ideas aimed at the center.
posted by Golden Eternity at 3:24 PM on November 13, 2012

I was actually part of a focus group for the P'Zone from Pizza Hut — well, really, in a focus group for the first set of commercials announcing it. I told them it was a stupid idea with a stupid name — who wants to go to the pee zone except urine fetishists? — and that they should never let it see the light of day.

They ignored me, and I feel a mix of vindication and peevishness every time I see it.
posted by klangklangston at 3:25 PM on November 13, 2012 [11 favorites]

NYT: Academic ‘Dream Team’ Helped Obama’s Effort
posted by Golden Eternity at 3:28 PM on November 13, 2012

It seems that the amount of anger and invective is inversely proportional to the the knowledge of how government actually works. That's been obvious on Fox and Facebook for a long time. The fact that it now applies to statehouses is scary.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 3:29 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

My landlord (who was here to fix the toilet), a Chinese immigrant, just led off with a rambling speech on why he doesn't understand why Republicans and Romney thought they were going to win, and how supporting gay marriage was very smart for Obama. It's weird, he seems positively jazzed about this, but last time I talked politics with him, he seemed really conservative and concerned about Obamacare. It was kinda cool and kinda unexpected.
posted by klangklangston at 3:38 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Golden Eternity: Obama the Dealmaker By David Brooks

That's a ridiculous article by David Brooks, and I told him so.
posted by syzygy at 3:41 PM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

I live not fifteen miles from Papa John's corporate h.q., and I'm here to tell you that the pizza they deliver 'round these here parts is delicious.

I've not had it in other cities, but at my workplace we get employees from all over the country, and they all talk about how Papa John's pizza is better here than where they came from. I suppose it's because the coroporate headquarters is here.

Regardless, I'm switching. I'd rather eat bad take-out Chinese than give the Papa anymore money.
posted by magstheaxe at 3:49 PM on November 13, 2012

Also:

This has been a hell of a a thread.
posted by magstheaxe at 3:52 PM on November 13, 2012

The Quiet Campaign Against Elizabeth Warren: Some senators angling to keep her off Banking Committee

US Senate Banking chairman: Elizabeth Warren would be an asset
posted by homunculus at 3:55 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Looks like Paul Ryan is flexing his muscles, testing his strength. From Talking Points Memo:

Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) and Tom Price (GA) will go head-to-head Wednesday afternoon as the members hold a closed-door vote to elect the next House Republican Conference Chairman, the party’s No. 4 leadership role.

Speaker John Boehner is officially neutral but privately supporting McMorris Rodgers. Paul Ryan, the returning chairman of the Budget Committee whose profile rose enormously during his vice presidential run, is asking colleagues to back Price.
[...]
On Tuesday morning, Ryan sent out a “dear colleague” letter building support for Price: “I am asking you to join me in supporting Congressman Tom Price to be our next Chairman of the House Republican Conference,” he wrote, calling Price “uniquely qualified for the job” and noting that he was “instrumental in drafting our House Republican budget.”

“No one will work harder than Congressman Price at building a strong and compelling communications and policy strategy that reflects the will of our membership and the needs of the nation,” Ryan wrote.

Also from TPM: Karl Rove: GOP Needs To Copy Howard Dean’s 50 State Strategy.
posted by Kattullus at 4:02 PM on November 13, 2012

syzygy: I didn't think it was that bad. The 'Third Way' document does say in the 'balance the budget' section that Republicans need to accept a tax increase and Brooks mentions trimming the annual $1.1 trillion in tax loopholes, many of which go to corporations and the rich.

The wealthiest Americans, like Romney, seem to pay a very low tax rate (<15%) compared to the middle class; yet, the upper bracket income tax rates are quite high. It should be possible to to fix the regressive taxation without adjusting the rates themselves - if that is the best way to negotiate a deal. There are probably problems with corporate and small business taxes, as Republicans are constantly pointing out, that could be fixed without cutting taxes and possibly increasing them on very high profits.

Anyway, I think the dems should work hard to avoid a big confrontation and negotiate a good deal on taxes/budget cuts. If the GOP won't budge, then obviously they have to go to war. But that could go very badly for the dems - especially if the economy crashes. The economy hasn't been looking that good lately, and Obama can't pass any new laws without the House.

I wonder if the GOP will even try to negotiate in good faith; it will be interesting to see what happens. I hope they do.
posted by Golden Eternity at 4:09 PM on November 13, 2012

Republicans and Conservatives lost the last election. So now there's a lot of action by the less-extreme elements trying to blunt the Democrat's victory by claiming to represent the voice of moderation, in distinction to the Dem's.

Example 1) David Brooks' article mentioned above. "Today’s Republicans no longer have an incentive to deny Obama victories." What a load of crap. Of course they do, and of course they will try.

Example 2) Have you seen the cover of the latest issue of The Economist? Read it and barf.

Example 3) On election night I heard two or three commentators on TV saying, just before Obama's acceptance speech, that he needed to be "humble". This one really pisses me off, as it's just a hair's breadth away from calling him uppity.
posted by benito.strauss at 4:10 PM on November 13, 2012 [5 favorites]

According to Raw Story Ryan did not learn a damn thing from the election; after saying that Romney/Ryan lost because lots of urban voters showed up.

Ryan added that it was “disappointing” because “losing never feels good,” but insisted that the race had not been a referendum on his budget plan, which would have slashed the size of government and turned Medicare into a voucher program.

“I don’t think we lost it on those budget issues, especially on Medicare,” the former nominee explained. “We clearly didn’t lose it on those issues. I think what people want us to do is tackle the country’s problems, and what I got out of this is they don’t want only Republican ideas or only Democratic ideas, they want us to come together for common ground and to work this out.”

Although exit polls showed that six in ten voters wanted tax rates to be raised, Ryan said he didn’t believe that was what Americans really voted for.

I think the GOP is planning on pretending that since they are still a majority in the house that means they have a mandate from the American People not to raise taxes.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:12 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Election blurring of church, state separation draws complaints: Political watchdog and secularist groups are asking the U.S. government to investigate whether Catholic bishops and a Christian evangelical group headed by preacher Billy Graham should lose tax breaks for telling followers how to vote in this year's election.
posted by homunculus at 4:14 PM on November 13, 2012 [8 favorites]

New FPP by 0xFCAF:

Dole Kemp '96

The campaign website for Bob Dole's 1996 presidential run is still (mostly) operational. Read about the issues in tiny, centered text. See animated flag gifs. Download a 128x128 "wallpaper" bitmap. Vote Dole-Kemp.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:18 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Golden Eternity: "The wealthiest Americans, like Romney, seem to pay a very low tax rate (<15%) compared to the middle class; yet, the upper bracket income tax rates are quite high. It should be possible to to fix the regressive taxation without adjusting the rates themselves - if that is the best way to negotiate a deal."

A return to Clinton-era rates should be non-negotiable because it was something Obama specifically campaigned on, and he won the election.

It's way too easy to hide the ball when you're closing loopholes and limiting deductions, but the rates are the rates. The GOP is never going to hand over anything significant on raising corporate tax rates or estate taxes, and they have no leverage on spending because the sequestered cuts are already out there, so there's no reason to give them extension of the Bush cuts after the first 250k of income.

Don't get me wrong -- simplifying the tax code and limiting loopholes is important, but there is no reason to give up something Obama promised to do in Every. Single. Stump speech.
posted by tonycpsu at 4:24 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

I think the GOP is planning on pretending that since they are still a majority in the house that means they have a mandate from the American People not to raise taxes.

There's no such thing as a "mandate" in my mind. The election is over. All there is, really, are politicians doing their job running the country, or not, and the 2014/2016 elections. The fact is the Republicans still own the House and can block the Senate. So they will decide what to do based on how they think it will help them in the next election and, hopefully, what they think is best for the country. If they are instead making decisions based on a "mandate," they are making a strategic mistake, imo. Same thing goes for Obama.
posted by Golden Eternity at 4:25 PM on November 13, 2012

Golden Eternity: I didn't think it was that bad.

I disagree. It is another in an series of articles and/or statements from the right suggesting that the president and the Democrats must be willing to compromise now, in order to avoid gridlock. This is a narrative the right is trying to build that I disagree with. As a matter of fact, I've seen people on the right claiming that the GOP has signaled a willingness to compromise, while the president is taking a harder line. That is simply false. Both the president and the GOP have stated that they are unwilling to negotiate on the question of tax rates, so neither party is showing more of a willingness to compromise, at the moment.

I see this as the GOP trying to create the narrative that they were ready to compromise, but the president wasn't, and that they also made it clear that if the president wasn't willing to compromise, he'd be responsible for any economic damage done by the fiscal cliff, as well as any gridlock that resulted. I think this is bunk, vigorously so.

It should be possible to to fix the regressive taxation without adjusting the rates themselves - if that is the best way to negotiate a deal.

But it is not. This is what the GOP wants - no tax rate increases, but they will discuss closing loopholes. This is the GOP being unwilling to compromise, as I mentioned above. Please read this article for more info on why just closing loopholes won't do the trick. Basically, Brooks and the GOP are trying to get the Democrats to cave before negotiations even start, and they're setting up a narrative which they'll try to use to place the blame for any gridlock or negative economic impact of the fiscal cliff on President Obama.

The Third Way document looks OK from a quick skim, but Brooks' article is arguing for a modification of that plan - namely, one which includes no higher taxes on the wealthy.

I believe you are falling for a false narrative here.
posted by syzygy at 4:29 PM on November 13, 2012 [5 favorites]

Jimmy Carter's Grandson Strikes Again

He's unearthed audio of Lee Atwater's famous quote on how the Republicans can appeal to racists without sounding racist, themselves. The quote has been known for some time, but, apparently, the audio wasn't public until just now.
posted by syzygy at 4:42 PM on November 13, 2012 [11 favorites]

Jimmy Carter's Grandson Strikes Again

The 47% tape was released to Mother Jones and this one is released to The Nation. I have to say, I LOVE that they're picking these types of magazines to release the tapes to!
posted by triggerfinger at 4:51 PM on November 13, 2012 [4 favorites]

Both the president and the GOP have stated that they are unwilling to negotiate on the question of tax rates, so neither party is showing more of a willingness to compromise, at the moment.

That's not quite accurate. Obama is open to negotiation on rates, just not open to the position of "rates will not go up at all for the rich". His only intransigence is on not giving the Republicans everything they want and our stupid media can't say that clearly because they are stupid.
posted by Drinky Die at 4:53 PM on November 13, 2012 [4 favorites]

Drinky Die: That's not quite accurate.

I should have been more specific. The president has clearly stated that any deal will involve higher tax rates for high income-earners, and that this is not a negotiable item. The GOP has stated that higher rates are off the table, completely (Boehner talked about discussing options for raising revenue [loopholes], then had the GALL to go on and mention tax cuts for every one).

The GOP is playing the same dirty tricks they played last time. This election has taught them nothing.
posted by syzygy at 4:57 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

The wealthiest Americans, like Romney, seem to pay a very low tax rate (<15%) compared to the middle class; yet, the upper bracket income tax rates are quite high.

This is a natural consequence of marginal tax rates in a progressive taxation system.
posted by dhartung at 5:05 PM on November 13, 2012

Sure it has. It's taught them (meaning the House Republicans specifically) that no matter what bullshit they pull, they still get to keep their jobs.

At a time when Americans' approval of Congress is slightly higher than that of root canals, three members of the majority party lost their re-election campaigns.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:06 PM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'd really like to see someone credible come out with a 91% top marginal rate for incomes over $2.5M, just like we had in the '50s. McConnell was a real ass on the floor of the Senate today. He laid out the same tired bullshit they've been laying since 2010.
posted by ob1quixote at 5:08 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

These two posts from Digby are why I don't think conceding on the rates is acceptable. The Democrats have already signaled their willingness to budge on every one of their core principles, while the Republicans are opening negotiations at "the stuff Romney said he'd do." What the shit is that? There were times when I thought Digby was being too pessimistic, but then I basically watched the Democrats fold exactly as she said they would, time and time again, during the previous debt ceiling negotiations. Then we see the outlines of the "grand bargain" in that first post, and there's talk of cutting Tricare. Tricare! The one good thing we reliably do for our military and it's on the table? Are you fucking kidding me?

The rates should be a hill the Democrats are willing to die on. If it means no deal until mid-January or later, so be it.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:10 PM on November 13, 2012 [6 favorites]

I posted this in one of the older threads but it seems appropriate to mention it again:

Ben Stein jokes that Fox News might kill him for telling them taxes are ‘too low’

You do not think Washington just has a spending problem?” Steve Doocy wondered.

“I do not think they just have a spending problem,” Stein explained. “I think they also have a too-low taxes problem. And while all due respect to Fox, whom I love like brothers and sisters, the taxes are too low.”

[...]

“The evidence is that there is no connection between the level of taxation and the level of economic activity,” he pointed out. “The biggest growth we’ve ever had in this country was roughly 1941 to roughly 1973, that was the best years we ever had and those were years of much, much higher taxes than we have now, during war time and during peace time. So, the economy can grow very fast, even with much higher taxes. And we’re going to have to do something.”

“Taxes were like 70, 80 percent!” Doocy exclaimed.

“I know,” Stein agreed. “And yet, we were very prosperous, we were extremely prosperous. I mean, the highest rate was in the 90s during parts of the 50s and, yet, we were very prosperous.”
posted by Room 641-A at 5:12 PM on November 13, 2012 [11 favorites]

> The GOP is playing the same dirty tricks they played last time. This election has taught them nothing.

Of course the election taught them nothing. They've hardly been voted out of office in debilitating numbers. They're like learned rats at a lever, for reward; they're not likely to change.

From a distance it looks as if the Republican party is diluting the US Presidency to a figurehead role, however if the President is nothing other than a state figurehead, he or she cannot be blamed for damaging democratic decisions. The Republicans can't have it both ways.
posted by de at 5:13 PM on November 13, 2012

This election has taught them nothing.

Where I think this might head:

The difference between the fiscal cliff and the debt ceiling is that there were immediate and catastrophic effects to not raising the debt ceiling -- just being recalcitrant about it dinged our national credit rating. But the effects of letting the tax increases and budget cuts roll in are slower and there is more time to respond to them. So it's not so much a fiscal cliff as a fiscal valley.

Boehner's problem is that he has a significant minority of freshman nut jobs who will defy him on this. He does have, especially since the Grover Norquist coalition is no longer a majority in the House, the ability to cut a deal with his loyal non-stupid caucus members and the Dems to do a compromise. The problem is that if he does that he will be seen as a traitor by the idiots, it will refocus attention on the rift in the Republican party, and Boehner will probably be finished as Speaker.

However, Boehner is caught between this rock and the hard place of not wanting to go down as tanking the economy on the principle of saving tax cuts for Papa John. The sane Republicans know that's a sure loser next election, and Boehner can't be Speaker if he can't get re-elected because of a record like that.

So I see a really strong possibility the Dems will take Krugman's advice and let the deadline pass, all the while broadcasting that the holdup is tax cuts for Bill Gates. That's anthrax for the Republicans, and I think Boehner might cave and do a bipartisan compromise against his own wrong wing rather than go down in history as the person who drove that boat over the waterfall.
posted by localroger at 5:19 PM on November 13, 2012 [6 favorites]

The End of the Pledge: How Democrats Can Finally Beat Grover Norquist. Excerpt:

When President Bill Clinton raised taxes in his first year in office, he received exactly zero Republican votes. The Pledge had build a steel curtain between the tax raisers and the GOP. Four years later, Clinton cut investment taxes. Four years after that, President George W. Bush cut taxes again. And then again. We've never raised them since.

posted by Kattullus at 5:27 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

localroger, I wish I had as much faith as you do in the Democrats to hold the line. The mainstream press has already bought into the FISCAL CLIFF DOOM DESTRUCTION AND MAYHEM storyline hook, line, and sinker. Quarterly reports routinely cite the fiscal "cliff" as a potential risk for major companies. This means that as the "cliff" approaches, the markets are going to get jittery, and you know that means the Democrats will get jittery. The press will be full of reports about how "Congress" (not the Democrats or Republicans) are playing with fire. The pressure for a deal will be immense, and you know the GOP is more willing to shoot hostages.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:28 PM on November 13, 2012

localroger: I see a really strong possibility the Dems will take Krugman's advice and let the deadline pass

I think you're right, and the president spoke, off-the-record, in some detail with the Des Moines Register about this. He then decided to allow the paper to print the interview, after they complained in an editorial. The idiots went on to endorse Romney, but whatever.

Here's the president talking about the Grand Deal, in response to a question from the Register about how he planned to overcome the gridlock of the previous years:

After editor's blog, President Obama releases transcript of Register interview

In the short term, the good news is that there’s going to be a forcing mechanism to deal with what is the central ideological argument in Washington right now, and that is: How much government do we have and how do we pay for it?

So when you combine the Bush tax cuts expiring, the sequester in place, the commitment of both myself and my opponent -- at least Governor Romney claims that he wants to reduce the deficit -- but we’re going to be in a position where I believe in the first six months we are going to solve that big piece of business.

It will probably be messy. It won’t be pleasant. But I am absolutely confident that we can get what is the equivalent of the grand bargain that essentially I’ve been offering to the Republicans for a very long time, which is $2.50 worth of cuts for every dollar in spending, and work to reduce the costs of our health care programs.

posted by syzygy at 5:29 PM on November 13, 2012

localroger: I think Boehner might cave and do a bipartisan compromise against his own wrong wing rather than go down in history as the person who drove that boat over the waterfall.

I think he's going to have to. He'll only turn 63 on Saturday and he's not exactly sitting on "Fuck You" money.
posted by ob1quixote at 5:33 PM on November 13, 2012

The GOP is playing the same dirty tricks they played last time. This election has taught them nothing.

Literally:

Fox News revives Swift Boat ad to attack Kerry over defense secretary rumors
posted by Room 641-A at 5:40 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

tonycpsu: The mainstream press has already bought into the FISCAL CLIFF DOOM DESTRUCTION AND MAYHEM storyline hook, line, and sinker.

Perhaps oddly, I think that actually works in the Democrats' favor. Being reality based, they can be confident that the immediate repercussions of missing the deadline are actually minor. They will be in the position of standing arms folded, resolution firm (Spines! Democratic spines! If it happens someone get a picture) while the Republicans play Chicken Little. Hey, if you really believe this is a crisis on the order of hitting an iceberg, and your guys are holding it all up over tax cuts for Ebenezer Scrooge, you're on the wrong side of the christmas carol.

Nobody knows till it shows but I did get a definite sense that Obama may have been waiting for the second term to really show his spine. There's nothing the GOP can do to him now politically, and I'm sure there was a fear on Obama's part that it would look bad in the history books if the first black President was a one-term wonder.

So far Obama has proven to be an extremely shrewd operator. Over and over again he has prevailed against forces that the CW thought insurmountable -- against Hillary in the primary, against a decorated experienced white war hero in the 2008 general, and now against a tsunami of dark money. Meanwhile he got significant stuff done, including a healthcare bill that's eluded his predecessors for decades, despite an opposition that wanted to shut him down completely.

This man is now in the driver's seat. The Republicans may have a technical majority in the House, but the sane people still have a majority -- if some of them are willing to split with their insane colleagues. I think making that happen will be the next great strategic play of the American political scene.
posted by localroger at 6:16 PM on November 13, 2012 [4 favorites]

The New York Times has more on the GOP leadership fight in the House of Representatives.
posted by Kattullus at 6:54 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Slavoj Žižek: Why Obama is more than Bush with a human face: Ground-floor thinking can give Obama lift-off. His reforms have already touched a nerve at the core of the US ideological edifice
posted by homunculus at 7:05 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

The difference between the fiscal cliff and the debt ceiling is that there were immediate and catastrophic effects to not raising the debt ceiling -- just being recalcitrant about it dinged our national credit rating. But the effects of letting the tax increases and budget cuts roll in are slower and there is more time to respond to them. So it's not so much a fiscal cliff as a fiscal valley.

I would be interested in hearing more about what people think of a further debt downgrade. Only one of the ratings agencies (S&P I think) downgraded the US, the other two are holding fire to see what happens with the fiscal cliff. They have indicated that to avoid a downgrade the US not only has to put into place a meaningful plan to reduce the debt but also show that our politicians can work together. I don't know if it's widely known that the reason (cited by S&P) for the debt downgrade was due, yes, to our debt; but it was also due, in large part to our dysfunctional Congress. I was just reading somewhere today that one of the other agencies (Moody's I think, I'll try to find it) has said that if the US did go over the fiscal cliff, that would be a big step towards starting to reduce the debt but that it would also say something about the continuing concerns about Congress being able to work together. So....maybe another downgrade?

My question is: what is the real problem with a debt downgrade? Contrary to what one would think, Treasuries rallied after the last downgrade and the US still remains the best of a bad bunch in terms of safe haven status. So what other problems are presented by a downgrade? I know a lot of institutional investors (pension funds, etc) can only invest in AAA bonds - is this the only other major concern of a downgrade or is there something I'm missing? In the event of a debt downgrade, what would be the likelihood of the pension funds adjsuting their rules to allow for AA US bonds?
posted by triggerfinger at 7:22 PM on November 13, 2012

My question is: what is the real problem with a debt downgrade?

That people will stop paying attention to the ratings agencies.
posted by empath at 7:29 PM on November 13, 2012

Wasn't S&P just named in some kind of nasty not-actually-neutral scandal of some sort? If I had to guess I'd say some of that dark money got thrown their way.
But I am woefully under-educated due to recurring depression when reading the news.
posted by Glinn at 7:30 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

Holy crap I finally made it to the end!

To summarize: GOP may not have actually learned anything, Papa Johns continues to suck.
posted by strange chain at 7:40 PM on November 13, 2012 [12 favorites]

That people will stop paying attention to the ratings agencies.

I think the fact that people still pay attention after their AAA ratings of subprime securities shows that this isn't true.
posted by triggerfinger at 7:41 PM on November 13, 2012

Mitt Romney Finally Killed Reaganomics: Post-election chatter has focused on demographics, Latinos, and the culture war. But the most significant consequence of the election may be the death of trickle-down economics.
posted by homunculus at 8:23 PM on November 13, 2012 [8 favorites]

U.S. Budget Deficit Widens as Fiscal Cliff, Debt Limit Loom

The deficit expanded 22 percent to $120 billion from a $98.5 billion shortfall in October 2011, the Treasury Department said today in Washington. The gap exceeded the $113 billion median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The deficits add to national debt, which will most likely hit the $16.4 trillion limit at the end of December, with extraordinary measures enabling the U.S. to meet its obligations “until early in 2013,” the Treasury Department said on Oct. 31.

So....maybe another downgrade?

If we hit the debt limit, we would either have to default on our debt, or spend only what is received in taxes, which would mean massive spending cuts. I presume a default would cause rate increases. Spending cuts would hurt a lot of people and probably the economy. I think this is the big problem, not necessarily a debt downgrade.

Please read this article for more info on why just closing loopholes won't do the trick.

Based on Tax Policy Center analysis, it appears the increase to marginal rates adds $31B in revenue. This article estimates a $25k deduction cap to create ~$100B revenue ($1.3T over 10yrs). I'm sure there is something wrong with this analysis, but it would seem to indicate it's not impossible to get $31B by reducing tax expenditures instead. It would be nice for the Tax Policy Center to do an estimate on this.

The wealthiest Americans, like Romney, seem to pay a very low tax rate, 15%, compared to the middle class; yet, the upper bracket income tax rates are quite high.

This is a natural consequence of marginal tax rates in a progressive taxation system.

That's not what the Tax Policy Center analysis shows. Seems to me the only way to explain why Warren Buffet pays an obscenely lower tax rate then his secretary, is because of the capital gains tax rates, and possibly other deductions not available to the rest of us.

I don't understand why they don't seem to be proposing a capital gains tax increase. It's lower than it's ever been.
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:55 PM on November 13, 2012

Man, loading this thread makes me feel like a scientist looking at ice core, so many different strata of feelings and reactions.
Anyway:
I presume a default would cause rate increases. Spending cuts would hurt a lot of people and probably the economy. I think this is the big problem, not necessarily a debt downgrade.

It would be a little like Greece, and gradually become a lot like Greece over time, I assume.

And don't worry about Reagonomics: trickle-down job creation theory will rise again, because people are apparently to stupid to learn from the last. Like 2008.
posted by Mezentian at 10:56 PM on November 13, 2012

^ But the most significant consequence of the election may be the death of trickle-down economics.

"Some time will be needed before any reformation is accepted. But as far as the voters are concerned, that god is dead."

Wishful thinking? The voters will need to demonstrate that more convincingly in 2014 because trickle-down economics remains alive, well, and the Republican's MO. There's been no smack down by the electorate in that regard.

Voters have delivered as good as a 'hung parliament' to Obama. It happened in Britain and it happened in Australia after the Bush/Howard/Blair years. Welcome to ambivalent democracies.

So far half of Obama's first term has been squandered. It's looking like the 1st half of his 2nd term will likewise be squandered. ... pity Obama made his run in 2008 when, as the saying goes, a drover's dog could have led the Democrats to victory.
posted by de at 11:05 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Obama made his run in 2008 when, as the saying goes, a drover's dog could have led the Democrats to victory.

That's what a lot of Democrats thought about 2004. Hindsight is 20/20.
posted by Quonab at 11:22 PM on November 13, 2012 [4 favorites]

But the most significant consequence of the election may be the death of trickle-down economics.

That article ignores a pretty big point, though. It's saying that people rejected a 20% tax cut overall. But from what I recall the Romney critics saying at the time, it wasn't that people disliked tax cuts, it's that no one thought it was real, because they couldn't figure the math on it and/or they listened to the Obama figures that said it would actually raise their taxes. Romney didn't do himself any favors either by promising vague things and not saying what he would actually cut.

So it's less "Would you prefer a ham sandwich, or a cheese sandwich" choice, and more "Would you prefer a ham sandwich, or a PONY-UNICORN?" "Uh, how are you getting the pony-unicorn? I see you have the ham sandwich right there in your hand..." "Don't worry about that, but it's totally going to get here." "In that case, I think I'll take the ham sandwich."
posted by corb at 5:47 AM on November 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

corb: "Would you prefer a ham sandwich, or a PONY-UNICORN?"

The problem is that supply side / trickle down economic theory is a pony unicorn.

In the past, voters would often vote for the candidate who promised them a pony unicorn. This time around, they demanded more details and realized that the actual choice they were being offered was between a ham sandwich and a lump of coal labeled "pony unicorn."
posted by syzygy at 5:56 AM on November 14, 2012 [7 favorites]

If we hit the debt limit, we would either have to default on our debt, or spend only what is received in taxes, which would mean massive spending cuts. I presume a default would cause rate increases. Spending cuts would hurt a lot of people and probably the economy. I think this is the big problem, not necessarily a debt downgrade.

I was thinking more in terms the end of year stuff, i.e. the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the sequesteration cuts that kick in on January 2nd, rather than the debt ceiling limit, which (from what I've read) probably won't be reached until later in January. Although I believe (hope) that any deficit-reduction plan would include raising the debt ceiling. Given the consequences of not doing so, I am more confident of an agreement to raise the debt ceiling than I am of Congress coming to an agreement on how to avoid the fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax increases. I was wondering what the chances of a debt downgrade are based on going over the fiscal cliff either partially or fully. It looks as though Moody's has said they will downgrade the US credit rating if no agreement is reached on taxes:

In early September ratings agency Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO) announced it would likely downgrade the U.S. credit rating if no deal is reached before the end of the year, and on Monday the company reiterated its stance.

"A scenario whereby action on the budget is delayed until sometime in 2013 appears increasingly likely; for example, via a temporary extension of most measures except the increase in payroll tax," Moody's officials said.

"Such deferment, if not accompanied by an apparent commitment to achieving agreement and a credible timetable for implementing the necessary reforms to preserve sovereign creditworthiness, would be inconsistent with maintaining a AAA rating," they warned.

It looks like Fitch has also threatened a downgrade. S&P of course has already downgraded the US.

In theory, the consequences of a downgrade would be higher borrowing costs as investors would demand a risk premium for US treasuries (which are the benchmark rate for a lot of consumer borrowing) and weakened consumer confidence. Given that Treasury yields were pushed to record lows last time this happened, I kind of wonder if a debt downgrade is really such a big deal at all.
posted by triggerfinger at 7:03 AM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

2012 Presidential Spending Scorecard by the Center for Responsive Politics:

"Blue Team:"

Candidate Spending $540,812,931
National Party Spending $263,223,785
Outside Spending $128,057,515
Total $932,094,231

"Red Team:"

Candidate Spending $336,399,297
National Party Spending $284,156,290
Outside Spending $409,662,799
Total $1,030,218,386

Interesting contrast between fundraising by the campaigns and outside spending. Note that this won't include the last couple weeks of campaign spending until early December.
posted by jhc at 7:51 AM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

That article ignores a pretty big point, though. It's saying that people rejected a 20% tax cut overall.

I'm pretty sure that Romney said he would cut tax rates, not taxes. Both he and Ryan insisted these rate changes would be revenue neutral through closing loopholes, which means net taxes would stay the same. Of course, this would require magic and many people were paying enough attention to realize this was BS.

Obama and Biden tried to make it clear that these cuts in rates would essentially shift the tax burden downward from the wealthiest. I'm not sure that message really got through, but the message of the magic nature of the tax rate cuts did to a large swath of the electorate.
posted by Mental Wimp at 8:24 AM on November 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

Oh, and I saw Trevor Potter on Colbert explain how to legally move money invisibly into your own pocket from a SuperPAC 501c3 through a dark 501c4, and, if I understood him correctly, without paying any taxes on the money.

And I have to say, Trevor Potter seems so engaging and bemused in all his exchanges with Colbert, like he's watching an amusing Restoration comedy, and it contrasts mightily with the actual insanity of the laws he's skewering and their impact.
posted by Mental Wimp at 8:34 AM on November 14, 2012 [13 favorites]

Nancy Pelosi's decided to stay on as Minority Leader, and Luke Russert can go eat a dick.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:08 AM on November 14, 2012 [6 favorites]

I love Nancy Pelosi.
posted by grouse at 9:38 AM on November 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

But the most significant consequence of the election may be the death of trickle-down economics.

It would be worth a lot to see the death of that old canard.

But it is so useful to the plutocracy that I find it hard to believe it will be gone forever.
posted by flug at 9:38 AM on November 14, 2012

This time around, they demanded more details and realized that the actual choice they were being offered was between a ham sandwich and a lump of coal labeled "pony unicorn."

Not even a lump of clean coal worked this time.
posted by usonian at 9:54 AM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

death of trickle-down economics.

The article starts with a discussion of the Laffer Curve, and each and every time that is mentioned I feel compelled to point out that at this time in history the Laffer Curve argues strongly for an INCREASE in the marginal tax rates for high income earners.

This time in history = (1) Large budget deficits and (2) a very, very low marginal tax rate of 35% for the highest income brackets. Not to mention (3) a ridiculously low capital gains rate of 15%.

The Laffer Curve shows the benefit of marginal tax rates of up to 70%.

In other words, it tells us the opposite of what the average nitwit means who starts blargghing on about 'Laffer Curve this, Laffer Curve that . . . '

And there is no need to go all the way up to 70% when times are good, but when we're in a crisis, facing a financial cliff, and the very future of our country is at stake--well, you know, in that extremely desperate situation, we just might consider it.

Thank you, thank you Laffer Curve for showing us the way out of this mess! And thank you, Republicans for letting us know that the time is right to implement this unpleasant, but necessary and effective, solution.
posted by flug at 9:55 AM on November 14, 2012 [7 favorites]

flug: The Laffer Curve shows the benefit of marginal tax rates of up to 70%.

Thanks for sharing those details. I've been wondering whether the trickle-down guys just keep re-drawing their Laffer curve graphs to push the curve farther and farther to the left, no matter what the current economic situation, to make it look like we're just "one more tax cut" away from prosperity at all times.
posted by syzygy at 9:59 AM on November 14, 2012

And thank you, Republicans for letting us know that the time is right to implement this unpleasant, but necessary and effective, solution.

In honor of your friend and mine, the Honorable Mitt Romney, I hereby propose and advocate for a top marginal tax rate of 47% for income above $1 million.

All in favor please say AYE!
posted by flug at 10:01 AM on November 14, 2012 [9 favorites]

pony unicorn

Ponicorn!
posted by Grangousier at 10:01 AM on November 14, 2012 [5 favorites]

flug: The Laffer Curve shows the benefit of marginal tax rates of up to 70%.

While we're talking about trickle-down economics and shutting down canards, you all saw the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service report that shows clearly that tax cuts for the rich do not translate into economic growth at all, let alone the overall growth in taxes that tax-cut-for-the-wealthy proponents keep flogging.

From the report:

There is not conclusive evidence, however, to substantiate a clear relationship between the 65-year steady reduction in the top tax rates and economic growth. Analysis of such data suggests the reduction in the top tax rates have had little association with saving, investment, or productivity growth. However, the top tax rate reductions appear to be associated with the increasing concentration of income at the top of the income distribution. . . . The evidence does not suggest necessarily a relationship between tax policy with regard to the top tax rates and the size of the economic pie, but there may be a relationship to how the economic pie is sliced.

posted by flug at 10:11 AM on November 14, 2012 [4 favorites]

Broward County Once Again Sucks At Life, Finds 963 Ballots In Some Warehouse
posted by homunculus at 10:14 AM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Teabilly Heaven is a Land of Piggly Wigglys, Love Segregation, and Flirtatious Sheep
posted by homunculus at 10:19 AM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Glenn Greenwald: Starting With Fiscal Cliff, Obama’s 2nd Term Rests on Organizing, Not Cheerleading
posted by homunculus at 10:32 AM on November 14, 2012

> But the most significant consequence of the election may be the death of trickle-down economics.

It would be worth a lot to see the death of that old canard.

But it is so useful to the plutocracy that I find it hard to believe it will be gone forever.

I assumed that after the election, Trickle-down Economics was immediately flown to a private clinic in Switzerland, where they drained the life essence of some younger, healthier doctrine and transfused it into Trickle-down Economics' tired old soul, so that it could continue to serve the plutocracy.
posted by benito.strauss at 10:33 AM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Awesome map of 2012 Presidential election, broken down by county. Gives a good sense of where the populations lives throughout the US.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:53 AM on November 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

I attended a symposium on a 'postmortem' of the election, with a number of political science professors presenting short presentations on takeaways from election night. It was interesting: mostly focusing on changing demographics, money in politics, and seeking explanations for why the republicans spent so much money on such small results. I thought it was pretty common sense stuff, repeating a lot of what has been covered over and over again in the press.

At the end of the session, during the question and answer section, an outraged self-identified republican stood up and said that she couldn't sit around while people were attacking Mitt Romney and the GOP (notably, she didn't really ask a question so much as she went off on a five minute rant). The first point (and only point I heard, as I had to go to class) was that immigration reform was a non-issue, since 'why don't they just come to this country legally'.

Her 'question' really summed up the Republican reaction to election night for me.
posted by codacorolla at 11:17 AM on November 14, 2012 [6 favorites]

West wants another recount: The increasingly desperate congressman from Florida still refuses to concede
posted by homunculus at 11:46 AM on November 14, 2012

How a canceled Boston Bruins game led to a Mitt Romney campaign Election Day meltdown
posted by mannequito at 11:52 AM on November 14, 2012 [7 favorites]

GOP Lawmaker Nominates Newt Gingrich For Speaker

I'd comment on this but I can't roll my eyes that far back in my head.

Nancy Pelosi's decided to stay on as Minority Leader, and Luke Russert can go eat a dick.

I saw that and, wow, it was Luke Russert who asked that? I have a feeling that, if asked, I would have liked Tim Russert's response to this.

West wants another recount: The increasingly desperate congressman from Florida still refuses to concede

And I hope he asks again. And again. And again, until he is only remembered as 'that guy who wouldn't concede'.
posted by Room 641-A at 12:51 PM on November 14, 2012

‘Are your there, God? It’s me, a foaming at the mouth, raving rightwing lunatic’
posted by homunculus at 1:06 PM on November 14, 2012

Nominating Newt Gingrich?

Jeez, if I were the Republicans right now, I'd consider pulling a Lucifer in 'Season of Mists' and handing the gavel over to Pelosi.

"Let's see YOU make this work, Representative Pelosi."
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:09 PM on November 14, 2012

until he is only remembered as 'that guy who wouldn't concede'

Just like Marilyn Musgrave four years ago. What is it about that particular stripe of crazy, that won't even allow them to acknowledge basic arithmetic?
posted by ambrosia at 1:11 PM on November 14, 2012

Krugman: Austerity metaphors matter. Should we call it the "fiscal cliff," the "austerity bomb" or something else?
posted by homunculus at 1:16 PM on November 14, 2012

Should we call it the "fiscal cliff," the "austerity bomb" or something else?

Let's call it "bunny" so people learn to love it. Awwww!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:20 PM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

I like to think of it as giving Grover Norquist the middle finger. Let those tax cuts expire and watch his hold over Congress shrink down small enough to drown it in a bathtub.
posted by ambrosia at 1:27 PM on November 14, 2012 [4 favorites]

Mitt Romney told his top donors Wednesday that his loss to President Obama was a disappointing result that neither he or his top aides had expected, but said he believed his team ran a “superb” campaign with “no drama,” and attributed his rival’s victory to “the gifts” the administration had given to blacks, Hispanics and young voters during Obama’s first term.

Obama, Romney argued, had been “very generous” to blacks, Hispanics and young voters. He cited as motivating factors to young voters the administration’s plan for partial forgiveness of college loan interest and the extension of health coverage for students on their parents’ insurance plans well into their 20s. Free contraception coverage under Obama’s healthcare plan, he added, gave an extra incentive to college-aged women to back the president.
posted by Drinky Die at 1:52 PM on November 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

Florida Man Angry Over Election Results Writes ‘Fuck Obama’ on His Will Before Taking His Own Life

A Florida tanning salon owner is believed to have taken his own life after becoming inconsolable over President Obama's reelection.

64-year-old Henry Hamilton of Key West was found dead last Thursday next to two empty prescription bottles. His will was also found nearby; the words "fuck Obama" were reportedly scrawled over it.

"[He was] very upset about the election results," Hamilton's partner Michael Cossey told police officer Anna Dykes.

posted by ericb at 1:54 PM on November 14, 2012

Residents In All 50 States File Petitions To Secede From U.S.

Jon Stewart Mocks Secessionists: 'Stop. Don't. Come Back.'.
posted by ericb at 2:06 PM on November 14, 2012

Should we call it the "fiscal cliff," the "austerity bomb" or something else?

I find the apocalyptic language in itself something that was probably designed to inflame voters, most of whom have no idea that it was actually a voluntary compromise with a human and political deadline rather than, say, the US magically transforming into Greece overnight replete with burning government buildings. Thus I propose "Worthwhile Canadian Initiative".^
posted by dhartung at 2:07 PM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

As much as I hate the "fiscal cliff" framing, arguing over it at this point is fighting the last war. The GOP won the framing battle as they always do, so anti-austerians are going to have to win with arguments, not euphemisms. Next time, the progressive messaging machine needs to push back against this kind of loaded terminology from the very beginning.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:11 PM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Top Georgia GOP Lawmakers Host Briefing on Secret Obama Mind-Control Plot (w/ video).
posted by ericb at 2:28 PM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Dear lawmakers: Please stop displaying your crazypants in public.
posted by rtha at 2:41 PM on November 14, 2012

Dear lawmakers: Please stop displaying your crazypants in public.

No, I say let 'em. That way we know who's who. And more people can vote against them.
posted by grubi at 2:49 PM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Georgia must have something in the water.
posted by de at 2:51 PM on November 14, 2012

Oh, good grief. What a complete douchebag Romney is. Sour f*cking grapes.

Romney Blames Loss on Obama’s ‘Gifts’ to Minorities and Young Voters

A week after losing the election to President Obama, Mitt Romney blamed his overwhelming electoral loss on what he said were big “gifts” that the president had bestowed on loyal Democratic constituencies — including young voters, African-Americans and Hispanics.

In a conference call on Wednesday afternoon with his national finance committee, Mr. Romney said that the president had followed the “old playbook” of wooing specific interest groups — “especially the African-American community, the Hispanic community and young people,” Mr. Romney explained — with targeted gifts and initiatives.

posted by syzygy at 2:52 PM on November 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

I suppose you're right, grubi. I'm allergic to things that make me cringe, so I tend to just not want to see it at all.

These guys. These fuckin guys.
posted by rtha at 2:53 PM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cross-posting from (of all places) the Guy Fieri MeTa:

wordshore: Speaking of deletion, guess who's deleted all his tweets of the last three months in a kind of "No no no that election thing Neeeeeever Happened. Not at all. No presidential election. Never happened, NOTHING AT ALL HAPPENED between early August and early November" way...

posted by Room 641-A at 3:04 PM on November 14, 2012 [6 favorites]

Of course Romney would think of it as getting out-pandered.
posted by fleacircus at 3:10 PM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney Blames Loss on Obama’s ‘Gifts’ to Minorities and Young Voters

He reminds me of school on Christmas Day.

And yet he'll be treated like a noble and worthy foe by the Democrats and the media, probably appearing on "news" shows weekly to criticize Pres. Obama and the Democrats at every turn, just like McCain was after he lost in 2008, just like Kerry and Gore were when they lost -- oops, that's right, they weren't.
posted by lord_wolf at 3:10 PM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

ericb: Top Georgia GOP Lawmakers Host Briefing on Secret Obama Mind-Control Plot (w/ video).

Jesus wept. I hate living here sometimes.
posted by ob1quixote at 3:10 PM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Every politician that blames Romney's loss on "people wanting things" should be sent a prize ribbon that reads "Lee Atwater Memorial Southern Strategy Award."
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:32 PM on November 14, 2012 [20 favorites]

From this to the handling of "Project Orca" everything I've heard about or from Romney post-election has increased my joy that he lost.
posted by drezdn at 3:43 PM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Grover Norquist Goodness:

Is it game over for Grover Norquist?
The anti-tax activist's grip on power, even in the GOP, has never been weaker -- just as he faces a critical test

Norquist faces an unprecedented rear-guard attack as the congressional GOP fractures on the tax issue. Last year, there were 238 members of the House and 41 members of the Senate who had signed Norquist’s pledge. This year, there are just 217 in the House — one shy from the 218 needed for a majority — and 39 in the Senate, an all-time low.

Grover Norquist Says Obama Won by Convincing Voters Romney Was a "Poopy Head." Seriously.

Watch the video, it's worth it. I think this may be the first time I've seen Norquist talk. It reminded me of the 'mawaige' scene in Princess Bride. This is the guy who's been terrorizing Washington DC with his iron grip for two decades?

What a poopyhead.
posted by syzygy at 5:05 PM on November 14, 2012

The candidate Ryan pushed for a house leadership position lost today.
posted by drezdn at 5:16 PM on November 14, 2012 [7 favorites]

Paul Ryan's Wisconsin neighbors supported his opponents
posted by Golden Eternity at 5:23 PM on November 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

Romney Blames Loss on Obama’s ‘Gifts’ to Minorities and Young Voters

He's right, but not in the way he thinks. They weren't gifts, just sensible rights that should have been made available decades ago.

In a conference call on Wednesday afternoon with his national finance committee, Mr. Romney said that the president had followed the “old playbook” of wooing specific interest groups — “especially the African-American community, the Hispanic community and young people,” Mr. Romney explained — with targeted gifts and initiatives.

“In each case they were very generous in what they gave to those groups,” Mr. Romney said.

“With regards to the young people, for instance, a forgiveness of college loan interest, was a big gift,” he said. “Free contraceptives were very big with young college-aged women. And then, finally, Obamacare also made a difference for them, because as you know, anybody now 26 years of age and younger was now going to be part of their parents’ plan, and that was a big gift to young people. They turned out in large numbers, a larger share in this election even than in 2008."

Look Mitt, making college not such a burden, enabling availability of contraception, not matter what any religion or boss says and a half ass system so that people 1) get some health insurance and 2) not go broke from medical bills are not gimmees. That fact you keep saying they are indicates many people were correct in thinking you're an insensitive jackass.

As for African-Americians, we came out in similar numbers to 2008 just to say a little something and that would be 'Fuck you, GOP'. And it felt good.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:42 PM on November 14, 2012 [25 favorites]

anti-austerians are going to have to win with arguments, not euphemisms

Well, no duh. This is just snark on the internets, it is not rigorously tested for effectiveness.

Paul Ryan's Wisconsin neighbors supported his opponents

Janesville generally leans blue -- and Rock County had the 3rd highest percentage voting against Scott Walker in the recall election (after Madison/Dane and Milwaukee/Milwaukee). In his past elections -- against weak or unknown opponents -- Ryan has carried Janesville and Rock County with sizable majorities, though. With Rob Zerban at least we gave him a run for his money.

Also, the headline is fairly literal -- just two blocks away from his house is a ginormous Victorian that has hosted one Democratic fundraiser after another and whose family actually gave various Obama/Democrat staffers room and board support. His actual voting ward, the 13th, went for Obama 932-483, or 65% to 34%. (It has some of the city's nicest historic homes, but also a fair number of working class rentals.) In the Congressional, they went for Zerban 807-569, or 57.5% to 41.5%.

Mr. Romney said that the president had followed the “old playbook” of wooing specific interest groups

Says the candidate of the party of older, wealthier white guys who were promised tax cuts and specifically NO CUTS to benefits for people over 55.
posted by dhartung at 5:47 PM on November 14, 2012 [6 favorites]

Brandon Blatcher: "Romney Blames Loss on Obama’s ‘Gifts’ to Minorities and Young Voters"

Republicans Could Learn A Lot From Obama's "Make People's Lives Better" Strategy
posted by tonycpsu at 6:36 PM on November 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

Who Is the 47 Percent Videographer?
posted by Bokmakierie at 7:14 PM on November 14, 2012 [7 favorites]

In combination with his "stop being dumb" comments from earlier, it looks like Jindal is going to try and set himself up as a reasonable centrist for 2016. Or at least as a Romney that doesn't say out loud what should be dog whistled to the base.

LAS VEGAS — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal forcefully rejected Mitt Romney’s claim that he lost because of President Barack Obama’s “gifts” to minorities and young voters.

“No, I think that’s absolutely wrong,” he said at a press conference that opened the RGA’s post-election meeting here. “Two points on that: One, we have got to stop dividing the American voters. We need to go after 100 percent of the votes, not 53 percent. We need to go after every single vote.

“And, secondly, we need to continue to show how our policies help every voter out there achieve the American Dream, which is to be in the middle class, which is to be able to give their children an opportunity to be able to get a great education. … So, I absolutely reject that notion, that description. I think that’s absolutely wrong.”
posted by Drinky Die at 7:17 PM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

And then, finally, Obamacare also made a difference for them, because as you know, anybody now 26 years of age and younger was now going to be part of their parents’ plan, and that was a big gift to young people.

Yeah, I just-- this was a great plan that probably helped saved lives. It wasn't free. It wasn't a giveaway. Millions of young Americans got (paid-for-by-themselves/families!) access to doctors, to drugs, to therapy, to biopsies, to prenatal care, to glasses, and whatever the hell else broken bodies need. How terrible! What pandering! I would much rather my peers have put off necessary surgery and died!
posted by jetlagaddict at 7:25 PM on November 14, 2012 [9 favorites]

Exclusive analysis: If trends hold, Texas will be a toss-up state by 2024. Excerpt:

If current demographic trends continue, Democrats would whittle about 5 1/2 percentage points off the 15.8-point margin of victory won by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2012 in every subsequent presidential cycle. That would transform Texas — the center of Republican resistance to Barack Obama’s agenda — into a competitive state at the presidential level by 2020 and a toss-up state four years later.

“I think 2020 is a reasonable time frame for Texas to become truly competitive, particularly if Republicans don’t begin to cut into the Democratic advantage with Hispanic voters,” said GOP consultant Matt Mackowiak.

posted by Kattullus at 7:40 PM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

These Romney comments being reported now is the reason why I think people thought his concession speech was "classy". I think a lot people would not have been surprised if he made some these divisive and irresponsible remarks during the concession. But he's making them now which kind of proves that plutocratic Mitt at the 47% fundraiser really was the real Mitt.

It's pathetic, really, to see him chip away what little reputation he has left. I can just see Romney years from now, sitting alone in his home theatre room, watching the first debate over and over again. Mr. Lehrer, I'm ready for question now ...
posted by Bokmakierie at 7:48 PM on November 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

My fingernails are 3 inches long and my beard has grown unkempt and scraggly and the PR company upstairs has forgotten I am here and WHY HOMUNCULUS WHY!?! I WANT TO BREATHE THE AIR AGAIN AND BE ALIVE
posted by Cookiebastard at 8:02 PM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Romney Blames Loss on Obama’s ‘Gifts’ to Minorities and Young Voters"

Romney Blames Loss On Obama Treating Minorities Like Straight White Men.

"It's all in the old playbook — treat the African-American community, the Hispanic community and young people like they deserve the same benefits and privileges as old white people."

Romney elided his terrible campaign, impossible math, and barely concealed seething resentment of what is now clearly 51 percent of the American public.
posted by klangklangston at 8:14 PM on November 14, 2012 [10 favorites]

"Romney Blames Loss on Obama’s ‘Gifts’ to Minorities and Young Voters"

Jindal rejects Romney’s ‘gifts’ theory

lulz
posted by Room 641-A at 8:22 PM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Romney, who lost to Obama by 126 electoral votes, said the president courted voters by offering policies - some of them this election year - that appealed to key constituencies.

Yes, for example, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act appealed to key constituencies such as a) people who are sick and b) people who might become sick at some point in the future.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:26 PM on November 14, 2012 [13 favorites]

Bokmakierie: "Who Is the 47 Percent Videographer?"

Wow, that's a great story. I never heard about the Chinese angle on that. Again, real life reads like a Gibson novel.
posted by octothorpe at 8:27 PM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Allen West demands recount in Florida

Allen West's campaign blasts rival for attending new member events in DC
posted by homunculus at 8:40 PM on November 14, 2012

Eh? Did you guys hear something?

Nah, probably just mice in the basement.
posted by homunculus at 8:41 PM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Whoever Anne Onymous is, I will one day marry her.*

* Marriage offer pending approval from current wife and relocation to a nation where polygamy is legal.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:50 PM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

In combination with his "stop being dumb" comments from earlier, it looks like Jindal is going to try and set himself up as a reasonable centrist for 2016.

Beware of false GOP rebranding efforts: When Bobby Jindal says Republicans must change their ways, he doesn't mean change their policies or anything
posted by homunculus at 9:11 PM on November 14, 2012 [5 favorites]

The price of Republican hubris: Republicans could have gotten a far better deal from President Obama last year, if only they hadn't been so cocky
posted by homunculus at 9:16 PM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm not so sure "we need to act like we give a shit about minorities because they have something we want now" is going to be a winning strategy there, GOP.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:12 PM on November 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

So this is what people who are not logged in are seeing right now in this thread.
posted by gc at 5:00 AM on November 15, 2012 [16 favorites]

In the wake of all the Allen West posts, I will say that one of the things Florida did right in 2010 was to vote for fair redistricting, making gerrymandering against our constitution. West (who actually lives in Debbie Wasserman Schultz's district) knew he would lose in his newly formed district -- so he went to the district where he ran this time. Murphy followed him, in a rare display of Democratic backbone.

However, the new district that West and Murphy ran in is pretty evenly split in terms of Republicans and Democrats. It covers parts of Palm Beach County, Martin County, and St. Lucie County. Martin is pretty firmly Republican, while Palm Beach and St. Lucie are pretty firmly Democrat. Notice where West has put all of his efforts.

I'll be happy when West finally realizes that it's over. I'm just not convinced that will be soon. Or ever.
posted by JustKeepSwimming at 6:28 AM on November 15, 2012 [3 favorites]

So this is what people who are not logged in are seeing right now in this thread.

Every click counts as a vote!
posted by Room 641-A at 6:32 AM on November 15, 2012

I'm not so sure "we need to act like we give a shit about minorities because they have something we want now" is going to be a winning strategy there, GOP.

I'm quite sure it will be. The way to reach previously-othered minorities is to find another group to other and invite the minorities to join in on the finger-pointing. Minorities aren't any more resistant to becoming part of the tribe, blaming someone else for their problems, and voting against their own best interests than majorities are.
posted by headnsouth at 6:38 AM on November 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

Senate liberals to Obama: 'Don't buckle' on cliff
posted by DynamiteToast at 6:46 AM on November 15, 2012

PETITION TO PUNCH GROVER NORQUIST IN DICK REMOVED FROM WHITE HOUSE PETITION SITE
posted by octothorpe at 6:51 AM on November 15, 2012 [12 favorites]

headnsouth: The way to reach previously-othered minorities is to find another group to other and invite the minorities to join in on the finger-pointing.

The problem with this theory is that the GOP is quickly running out of other groups to single out. The only group they haven't really singled out, yet, is the group composed of angry white males, which group also happens to comprise the vast majority of their base.
posted by syzygy at 6:58 AM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

Maine GOP Head Suspects Voter Fraud Because ‘Dozens, Dozens Of Black People’ Voted

"In some parts of rural Maine, there were dozens, dozens of black people who came in and voted on Election Day. Everybody has a right to vote, but nobody in town knows anyone who’s black. How did that happen? I don’t know. We’re going to find out…."

That's right, folks -- "Voting While Black" is now a crime. Because, as we all know, a few dozen black folks voting in rural Maine was totally going to swing the Pine Tree State from "Obama" to "even Obama-er".

Maybe Stephen Colbert's black friend could start up a "Better Know a Black Person" program in Maine.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:40 AM on November 15, 2012 [9 favorites]

PETITION TO PUNCH GROVER NORQUIST IN DICK REMOVED FROM WHITE HOUSE PETITION SITE

Damn! I woulda so signed that.
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:28 AM on November 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

I dunno, maybe the fact that you don't know a black person is part of why you lost.

That's what my black friend tells me, anyway.
posted by klangklangston at 9:28 AM on November 15, 2012 [6 favorites]

Has the Emerging Democratic Majority Emerged?
posted by Chrysostom at 9:44 AM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

I urge you all not to count the Republicans out yet. As mentioned a little above, they have done a terrific, horrific job of getting people to vote against their immediate interests. They can do it again. They are undoubtedly right now scheming to put in place organizations to "teach" people immigrants about the US. I think Gingrich may even have started planting the seeds of that on Colbert two nights ago, with his remark that he thinks it's great people can come from anywhere on earth and learn to be Americans. He doesn't mean our kind of Americans.

Neither side has survived this long without being to some degree protean, about to remake itself at need. The Republicans certainly aren't dead yet, and indeed gerrymandering has given them a durable hold on state legislatures that is doing to be extremely painful in the coming years. I'm sure that combined with the right-leaning Surpreme Court will give us lots of outrage posts in the coming years.
posted by JHarris at 10:00 AM on November 15, 2012 [5 favorites]

I urge you all not to count the Republicans out yet.

I personally am not.

But I do wake up every morning and enjoy picking large quantities of schadenfreude that are ripening on the vine. There's so much, we're canning some for a future winter, turning some into soap or candles or beer, while the rest is being laid out buffet style every night.

The house, it swells with happy and sated people.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:16 AM on November 15, 2012 [16 favorites]

Just be sure to preserve some of it for the long dark nights of the eternal Obamacare freakout.
posted by fleacircus at 10:27 AM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mitt Romney Says Bill Clinton Told Him Hurricane Sandy Won Obama Election

Romney:

”I spoke with President Clinton the day before yesterday, he called and spent 30 minutes chatting with me. He said a week out I thought you were going to win. And he said, but the hurricane happened, and it gave the president a chance to be presidential, and to look bipartisan, and you know he got a little more momentum, and of course he also said that when he was watching Ann speak at the Republican convention, he decided he was tempted to join the Republican Party. So he may have just been effusive with generous comments as he chatted.”

I don't know about you, but I'd like to hear Clinton's response on this. I hope he denies it and makes Romney look like a complete fool. Dunno, I'm skeptical that Clinton would say something like that, seriously.
posted by syzygy at 10:37 AM on November 15, 2012 [3 favorites]

and enjoy picking large quantities of schadenfreude that are ripening on the vine

I totally would advise against eating any of it... It's over-ripe (so much of it is leftover harvest from the talking head hacks of the 90's), so many of the grapes are SOUR, just throw it out, or better, use it as compost; seriously, it is not worth the trip to the ER. Also, I hear that if you eat it, then UN/USA AGENDA 21 will make you go into local sewers, and pull it out by the bucket-load and compost it anyway, and then grow all your Socialist Garden vegetables using it... using it as soap and candles sounds pretty cool though. I hear artisanal sour grapes candles burn forever.
posted by infinite intimation at 10:38 AM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dear news journalists peoples: it's okay, you can stop reporting what Romney says now.
posted by fleacircus at 10:47 AM on November 15, 2012 [5 favorites]

Dear news journalists peoples:

No, go on reporting on Romney. Please.

Sincerely,
The Democratic Party.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:50 AM on November 15, 2012 [3 favorites]

Here's where you know Romney is lying:

"[Clinton] said a week out I thought you were going to win."
posted by OmieWise at 10:52 AM on November 15, 2012 [5 favorites]

I urge you all not to count the Republicans out yet.

Absolutely not but they're going to have a tougher and tougher time getting over that demographic hurdle.
posted by octothorpe at 10:56 AM on November 15, 2012

I urge you all not to count the Republicans out yet.

Sorry, I counted them out back in 1992, and I'm not letting them back in now. Fuck those guys. Seriously.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:01 AM on November 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

Dear news journalists peoples: it's okay, you can stop reporting what Romney says now.

No, the schadenfreude needs fertilizer!

”I spoke with President Clinton the day before yesterday, he called and spent 30 minutes chatting with me. He said a week out I thought you were going to win. And he said, but the hurricane happened, and it gave the president a chance to be presidential, and to look bipartisan, and you know he got a little more momentum, and of course he also said that when he was watching Ann speak at the Republican convention, he decided he was tempted to join the Republican Party. So he may have just been effusive with generous comments as he chatted.”

That sounds like classic "I feel your pain" Clintonese.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:01 AM on November 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

Has the Emerging Democratic Majority Emerged?

Surely only until the next loud noise.

I'm skeptical that Clinton would say something like that, seriously.

Bubba is the ultimate schmoozer. The second bit, about Ann, is spot-on Bill -- with just a hint of cracking in his voice -- gently, flatteringly teasing his conversational partner.
posted by dhartung at 11:03 AM on November 15, 2012 [4 favorites]

Has the Emerging Democratic Majority Emerged?

I can't stop laughing at the unintentional hilarity of the line "As Jonathan Last points out, people were saying something like this in 2004 — Republicans had a kind of hammerlock on the hearts and souls of middle America that turned out not to exist." So, so easy to misread the intent on that one :)
posted by jason_steakums at 11:04 AM on November 15, 2012

People are seriously expressing scepticism that Clinton might lie to someone? Umm.
posted by howfar at 11:20 AM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

That sounds like classic "I feel your pain" Clintonese.

Totally -- though you can also really imagine him saying those things and then covering up the phone's receiver and snickering with whomever is in the room -- like "how long am I going to be able to pull this bullshit on these folks?"
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:24 AM on November 15, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'd like to think that at the end of the call, Romney made a contribution to the Dems because Clinton's just that good.
posted by klangklangston at 11:29 AM on November 15, 2012 [18 favorites]

Here's where you know Romney is lying:

His lips are moving?
posted by ambrosia at 11:29 AM on November 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

What I've learned from all of this: a 'garden-variety affair' in the CIA is somehow going to involve:

1) a shirtless rogue FBI agent
2) a cleaver wielding maniac
3) a faux ambassador / socialite
4) twins
5) a questionable charity
6) conspiracy!
7) lizard people

And those aren't even the primary participants!

Ho-hum. Just another day at the office...
posted by mazola at 11:35 AM on November 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

JHarris: "I urge you all not to count the Republicans out yet."

Especially when Republicans can win on policy even when they're losing elections:

What movement conservatism has accomplished is the imposition of severe limits on how far U.S. policy can move to the left on most issues, even when support for a leftward shift is overwhelming, and even when the liberal (or moderate) policies clearly work.

[...]

How do movement conservatives win these victories? By demonizing Democrats and liberals at every opportunity. Clinton is a murdering, raping, coke-snorting drug-trafficker. Obama is a race-war-leading Muslim Marxist. Nancy Pelosi is a witch; Ted Kennedy was a murderer; Al Gore is a serial liar; John Kerry won war medals via fraud. They all hate Jews and Christians and people who listen to country music; they all want to enslave America.

How much progress could we have made if movement conservatives hadn't spent the last generation standing athwart history, yelling "Oogabooga -- liberals must be destroyed"?

posted by tonycpsu at 12:04 PM on November 15, 2012 [5 favorites]

Wonkette: WITHOUT GALLUP’S CRAPPY POLLS, NATE SILVER IS NOTHING, SAYS GALLUP

You might point out that Gallup actually had Romney ahead way outside the margin of error going into the final week of the campaign, then rather abruptly changed to be more in line with every other reputable polling company. This may have looked like herding, where pollsters start adjusting their methods because they’re afraid they’re wildly wrong, but Frank Newport would like to make it clear that this was not the case and Obama’s numbers just suddenly shifted for the better at the last minute. Was it because of Superstorm Sandy? Hard to say, but the change came after the storm, so yes, almost certainly.

But then he really lets you know what he thinks of math and numbers nerds like Nate Silver, who dare to sift through multiple publicly available yet contradictory sources of information to make sense of them

posted by Skygazer at 12:35 PM on November 15, 2012

[Romney said that Clinton] also said that when he was watching Ann speak at the Republican convention, he decided he was tempted to join the Republican Party.

DUDE! He's hitting on your wife TO YOUR FACE. And you're so clueless you're bragging about it.
posted by msalt at 12:45 PM on November 15, 2012 [15 favorites]

[Romney said that Clinton] also said that when he was watching Ann speak at the Republican convention, he decided he was tempted to join the Republican Party.

DUDE! He's hitting on your wife TO YOUR FACE. And you're so clueless you're bragging about it.

Exactly. This is a classic lost-in-translation misplaced comma error:

[Romney said that Clinton] also said that when he was watching Ann speak at the Republican convention he decided he was tempted to join the Republican, party.
posted by mikepop at 12:52 PM on November 15, 2012 [15 favorites]

DUDE! He's hitting on your wife

This was my first thought, too, when I saw that quote. Bill's like, "Mitt, your wife is so fine she makes me want to join the GOP." What's more than a little pathetic about that quote is that Romney seems so eager to say "Bill Clinton, the man my Party impeached, who never had a good word for me, and who was, in fact, my opponent's most effective surrogate, thinks I'm a winner with a hot wife."

I can't wait to hear about Biden's call to tell Romney it looked like "he had it in the bag."
posted by octobersurprise at 1:16 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

Forget "Skyfall," it's election-edition "Downfall"!

I'm going to hell for this, aren't I?
posted by MonkeyToes at 1:17 PM on November 15, 2012 [4 favorites]

Ok, I can get behind the idea that Clinton was punking Romney.
posted by syzygy at 1:21 PM on November 15, 2012

Eh, I don't feel like that properly adheres to the Downfall parody guidelines. You need to stick closer to the actual dialogue.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:32 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

President Obama Mentions Climate Change! But Says the Wrong Things

Obama Makes It Clear He Isn't Willing To Fight for Action on Climate Change
posted by homunculus at 1:36 PM on November 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

Without knowing what was said between Clinton and Romney—if anything even was—I can only speculate, but my speculation would be that such a call was the ordinary networking of the rich and powerful, "Hey, Mitt, don't take it too hard, keep in touch, let's get together next tidal wave." What's remarkable about the way it's reported, however, is how revealing it is of Romney's need to be seen as a winner, even if only by Bill Clinton.
posted by octobersurprise at 1:39 PM on November 15, 2012 [5 favorites]

What's remarkable about the way it's reported, however, is how revealing it is of Romney's need to be seen as a winner, even if only by Bill Clinton.

Ding ding ding ding ding.

"Mitt, your wife is so fine she makes me want to join the GOP."

I dunno, it may just have been about her enthusiasm. It was pretty upbeat, and, I daresay, heartfelt.
posted by dhartung at 1:53 PM on November 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

> Obama Makes It Clear He Isn't Willing To Fight for Action on Climate Change

"If, on the other hand, we can shape an agenda that says we can create jobs, advance growth and make a serious dent in climate change and be an international leader, I think that’s something that the American people would support."

No surprises there. He has to pander, right? However, don't go believing the international leader propaganda. Some of us passed the US a couple of years back on climate change policy.

That bailed-out car industry? Expect its collapse sometime before the 2014 election. This is not crystal ball stuff so much as watching dominoes fall. US auto industry is next.
posted by de at 1:59 PM on November 15, 2012

That bailed-out car industry? Expect its collapse sometime before the 2014 election. This is not crystal ball stuff so much as watching dominoes fall. US auto industry is next.

I'm curious what makes you think the auto industry is doomed. What are the dominoes you're speaking of?
posted by tonycpsu at 3:10 PM on November 15, 2012

US auto industry is next.

Because shedding debt and increasing sales is bad for them?
posted by dhartung at 3:26 PM on November 15, 2012

Well, if it suits my political ends then yes, yes, it's bad for them.

Probably not otherwise though.
posted by aramaic at 3:29 PM on November 15, 2012

THE SKY IS FALLING
posted by grubi at 3:45 PM on November 15, 2012

If the auto industry falls again (it won't any time soon), we will bail it out again.
posted by Drinky Die at 3:51 PM on November 15, 2012

”I spoke with President Clinton the day before yesterday, he called and spent 30 minutes chatting with me. He said a week out I thought you were going to win. And he said, but the hurricane happened, and it gave the president a chance to be presidential, and to look bipartisan, and you know he got a little more momentum, and of course he also said that when he was watching Ann speak at the Republican convention, he decided he was tempted to join the Republican Party. So he may have just been effusive with generous comments as he chatted.”

Isn't it possible that this is Romney trying to be funny? Reading the quote, the tone sounds very similar to when he made that lame joke about not knowing why airplane windows don't open.
posted by Bokmakierie at 3:54 PM on November 15, 2012 [3 favorites]

Um...I just think it was the Big Guy being THE BIG GUY, meaning bubba meaning "I feel your pain" meaning "Dang, Romster, your wifey is HAWT!" and meaning "I know I basically screwed you really hard and enjoyed it, with my kickass speech at the DNC coming out swinging for Barack, I still need to be liked by you, cos I'm the Big Dog and because, I want you to write me a gosh darned check and come party with me and my gang of hoity toity ex-world leaders who party hardy....yeah boyee..."

And plus, Bill loves women...{Blink>LOVES EM {/Blink>...everything about em...and he doesn't care who knows anymore that he's got a serious eye for the ladies...
posted by Skygazer at 4:13 PM on November 15, 2012

Well, I don't think Romney was lying (as noted, that is something Clinton could easily have said), but his tone certainly fits with his normal jocular one (which is indeed often "trying" to be funny). I figure this is about as bipartisan a "generous comment" as Romney is likely to make, so let it go.
posted by dhartung at 4:27 PM on November 15, 2012

Hey, does anyone know a good source for the *total* Congressional vote by party? Like, raw numbers of how many votes were cast for a Dem/Rep/Other in all races across the country combined? I'm curious how that "generic congressional ballot" stat stacks up against the results in terms of seats.

I know they're still counting ballots in a lot of races, but since preliminary Presidential totals are out, I'm assuming the same should be available for Congressional races. And my google-fu is failing me.
posted by saturday_morning at 4:49 PM on November 15, 2012

Ezra Klein's Wonkblog had a post about that. Here's the bit you're looking for:

It can be a bit difficult to tally up the popular vote in House elections because you have to go ballot by ballot, and many incumbents run unopposed. But The Washington Post’s Dan Keating did the work and found that Democrats got 54,301,095 votes while Republicans got 53,822,442. That’s a close election — 48.8%-48.5% –but it’s still a popular vote win for the Democrats. Those precise numbers might change a bit as the count finalizes, but the tally isn’t likely to flip.

This is from Nov. 9th. I haven't seen any newer numbers.
posted by Kattullus at 5:26 PM on November 15, 2012 [3 favorites]

The real change seems mostly to happen on state lines. So for example, you get deep-South Democrats who oppose abortion, and New York Republicans that march in gay pride parades and legalize gay marriage.

Interesting about those New York Republicans. Liberal-to-Moderate Republicans have been a fixture in our state for a while. Think John Lindsay, or Nelson Rockefeller. Also, the term "Rockefeller Republican."
posted by Sticherbeast at 5:38 PM on November 15, 2012

Here's where you know Romney is lying:

~~"[Clinton] said a week out I thought you were going to win."~~ His lips were moving.
posted by Pudhoho at 5:47 PM on November 15, 2012

Speaking of Clinton, Hillary should run in 2016 and pick Al Gore as her running mate. Clinton/Gore '16!
posted by ooga_booga at 6:13 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hillary Clinton and Kristin Gore for Clinton/Gore '16.
posted by drezdn at 6:38 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

> dhartung: From your article: "Boy. All of a sudden, our sputtering, slow-moving auto biz is looking pretty good."

... because it has cash flow from bailout dollars. There's nothing real about the grand old car industry recovery, not in Europe, Britain, Japan, Australia, nor the US. The problem is chronic; government stimulus, with regulation to restructure, is common; the problem(s) and the perceived remedy are not unique to the US; and economic stimulus fails over a short-term (because it is not bailout that creates demand).

Meanwhile Brazil, India, China, Korea and Malaysia are all developing competitive car manufacturing industries. China's not so young car manufacturing industry is now 70% multinational with partners: VW, Peugeot-Citroën, GM, Ford, Suzuki, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Isuzu, Hyundai-Kia, Mitsubishi, Daimler, Audi and BMW all operating plants out of middle class China. Profitably.

Cars. New energy-efficient technology, new safety standards, new emission standards, all mod-cons. Cheaper than ever. "Cars of the future", in demand.
posted by de at 6:45 PM on November 15, 2012

NYT: Gay Vote Proved a Boon for Obama. Excerpt:

While President Obama’s lopsided support among Latino and other minority voters has been a focus of postelection analysis, the overwhelming support he received from another growing demographic group — Americans who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual — has received much less attention.

But the backing Mr. Obama received from gay voters also has a claim on having been decisive. Mitt Romney and Mr. Obama won roughly an equal share of votes among straight voters nationwide, exit polls showed. And, a study argues, Mr. Romney appears to have won a narrow victory among straight voters in the swing states of Ohio and Florida.

Mr. Obama’s more than three-to-one edge in exit polls among the 5 percent of voters who identified themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual was more than enough to give him the ultimate advantage, according to the study, by Gary J. Gates of the Williams Institute at the U.C.L.A. School of Law, in conjunction with Gallup. The results are consistent with earlier research on the number and political beliefs of gay voters.

Turns out basing your electoral appeal on gay-bashing comes back to bite you in the ass. And not in the nice way, either.
posted by Kattullus at 6:47 PM on November 15, 2012 [3 favorites]

Watchdog: Karl Rove And His Crossroads GPS Broke Election Law By Failing To Disclose Donors
posted by homunculus at 6:50 PM on November 15, 2012

because it has cash flow from bailout dollars.

OK, whatever. You obviously don't know that GM paid back its bailout via TARP, although a US government interest remains in stock, nor that Ford took no bailout dollars at all. I think you have a vague political axe-grind to make here, but you're factually inaccurate, since sales are definitely recovering and costs for all three "American" automakers have been significantly reduced. I live in one of the cities where a GM plant is on hold for an increase in production, so I do pay attention to this. The bailout happened, regardless, and it's done; there isn't any ongoing cash infusion, and the Big Three are going to have to make it on their own from here.

By the way, GM, Ford, and Chrysler are all in the Asian markets, profitably. You could even say that GM's Chinese presence is keeping the US arm afloat through all this.
posted by dhartung at 7:37 PM on November 15, 2012 [3 favorites]

SAIC Motor Corp. (600104), the Chinese partner of General Motors Co. (GM) and Volkswagen AG (VOW), said its vehicle sales growth will outpace the industry in 2013, driven by an improving economy and buyers shunning Japanese brands.

SAIC, which makes Buick and Chevrolet cars with GM, expects sales to increase seven percent to eight percent next year, faster than the five percent to seven percent growth for the industry, according to President Chen Hong, citing projections based on current conditions.
posted by Drinky Die at 8:19 PM on November 15, 2012

From the 47% to ‘gifts’: Mitt Romney’s ugly vision of politics

The Moocher Majority
posted by homunculus at 8:24 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

OK, whatever? No need to take offence. That's half the battle.

I didn't know GM paid back bailout money, no, but it will require assistance again if Western trends are anything to go by. America is not uniquely in this situation was my point.

I did know Ford knocked back bailout -- something to do with not accepting the regulations that came with it; and I recall reading Chrysler (I think) failed to meet the regulations after accepting bailout dollars and was somehow penalised. Not the point either.

These are companies that do have profitable plants in the East. In the long run the people who suffer through unsustainable auto industries being propped up are the communities who've build lives around these industries.

My concern is in Obama not pursuing Green reforms. I certainly heard him campaigning on it including the car industry's involvement. The auto industry failing again opens the way for Republicans to get a stronger regressive foothold than it already has and it'll be 1960 all over again ... and not just for the US but also for the countries within the US sphere of influence.

A social axe would be my only axe to grind. The Eastern plants may be keeping Ford, Chrysler and GM somewhat afloat in the US (doubt it), but it will not sustain communities of people beyond corporate reason.
posted by de at 8:29 PM on November 15, 2012

When there is demand for green vehicles, the US automakers will produce them

You know what? No, I don't buy this. I don't think that corporations are infallible determiners of what people will or will not buy. I don't think we really know what people will buy until they can buy it -- and know about, and is produced decently, and is marketed properly.

I don't think the US car industry has been entirely competent. I don't think that executives are always completely rational, in an economic sense. I am no expert, but I think that's a big part of why the issue of bailing it out arose in the first place.
posted by JHarris at 8:58 PM on November 15, 2012 [7 favorites]

Also, isn't part of the job of marketing/advertising to create wants and needs in people?

Electric cars aren't quite cost effective and convenient enough yet, but they are getting there. In the U.S. there will always be a large demand for trucks and large vehicles if gas prices are reasonably low.
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:04 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

I really believe that if an electrically powered small pickup existed, it would sell like hell. I just don't think that American companies care about this demographic. They get too much profit from large pickups.
posted by Quonab at 9:29 PM on November 15, 2012

China will make one for us.
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:37 PM on November 15, 2012

Also, isn't part of the job of marketing/advertising to create wants and needs in people?

Kind of. But not as much as people think. It is much more a reflection of what people already want and think they need.
posted by sweetkid at 9:40 PM on November 15, 2012

Golden Eternity, you are probably right. Even with the chicken tax, it only delays the inevitable.
posted by Quonab at 9:43 PM on November 15, 2012

China will make one for us.

Like all those other successful Chinese cars they make?
posted by msalt at 10:43 PM on November 15, 2012

I was really struggling to come up with a snappy Chinese Fire Drill joke about Chinese cars and switching seats, but I couldn't think of one that didn't sound more racist than it was worth to make a lame joke.
posted by klangklangston at 11:08 PM on November 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

China makes almost everything you use on a daily basis. I wouldn't discount their ability to make a car, it will just take time. To me, it seems pretty inevitable that the low end automobile will be made in China in the near future. South Korea pretty much laid out their avenue of competition.
posted by Quonab at 11:13 PM on November 15, 2012

Holder defends keeping Petraeus inquiry from White House until after election

In what world would Petraeus' bouncy funtimes actually be relevant to the USA's choice of President?
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:24 PM on November 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

In what world would Petraeus' bouncy funtimes actually be relevant to the USA's choice of President?

Conservistan
Population: +/-45 Million
Location: The fervent imagination of Glenn Beck
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:40 AM on November 16, 2012 [4 favorites]

If you didn't watch The Daily Show last night, this bit about conservative handwringing about demographic change is absolutely worth checking out.
posted by Kattullus at 4:19 AM on November 16, 2012 [16 favorites]

If you didn't watch The Daily Show last night, this bit about conservative handwringing about demographic change is absolutely worth checking out.

I was just coming here to post that.
It made me fall in love with Jon Stewart all over again.
posted by Superplin at 5:04 AM on November 16, 2012 [2 favorites]

Lundgren going down would make me happy.

Bera defeats Rep. Lungren in hard-fought Sacramento congressional race
posted by homunculus at 10:48 AM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

When there is demand for green vehicles, the US automakers will produce them

There would be plenty of demand for green vehicles if Americans had to pay the full/actual cost of driving.

You need to add $1/gallon tax just to pay the actual cost of the roads and highways we drive on, plus associated services like police, fire, and ambulance, plus other associated direct costs like environmental mitigation and runoff.

Then add another $.25-$.50-$1.00 per gallon (don't know the exact cost, but it is high) to pay the full cost of wars and project of force, the main justification for which is protect oil markets.

Then add on another $1/gallon to cover the cost of pollution and climate change burning that gallon of gas directly causes.

(A reference that summarizes many of the above costs--they are far, far higher than most people imagine.)

Add that $2-$3/gallon to the cost of gas in the U.S. and I guarantee you that green vehicles would immediately have a market--and a large one.

Right now we are subsidizing all of those costs from other tax dollars or, in the case of pollution and greenhouse gases, by shedding them off onto the general economy as externalities.

Automobile driving is one of the most heavily subsidized activities that 'average' Americans routinely participate in--truly a "motorist welfare state".
posted by flug at 11:10 AM on November 16, 2012 [12 favorites]

Thanksgiving: time to revisit classic Sarah Palin turkey-death video
posted by homunculus at 11:16 AM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's Elizabeth Warren's Senate, Not Bob Kerrey's

In the long term, a Senate with no Liebermans or Kerreys is a Senate with fewer Democratic media stars who want to cut entitlements. In the short term, doesn't this embolden the liberals who want to scrap a grand bargain? The theory of the bargain is that neither party really suffers from it. The angry voter will hate the Republicans for selling him out on taxes and the Democrats for selling him out on Medicare. But entitlements are more popular than tax cuts. There was a reason why dozens of Republican candidates promised to spend another $718 billion on Medicare if they won.

Also, an eye-popping statistic from the Atlantic article Weigel references:

The Blue Dogs, the caucus of self-styled moderate House Democrats, had 54 members two years ago. When the new Congress convenes in January, there will be 14 of them.

posted by tonycpsu at 11:25 AM on November 16, 2012 [4 favorites]

Thanksgiving: time to revisit classic Sarah Palin turkey-death video

No, it really isn't.
posted by headnsouth at 11:35 AM on November 16, 2012 [2 favorites]

Barbara Bush Tells People To Get Over Obama's Reelection.
posted by ericb at 12:01 PM on November 16, 2012

Chris Christie Disagrees With Mitt Romney's 'Gifts' Comment.
posted by ericb at 12:01 PM on November 16, 2012

The Tech Battle Between The Obama And Romney Campaigns And The Overconfidence Gap.
posted by ericb at 12:02 PM on November 16, 2012

West Palm Beach, FL: John Metz, Denny's Franchisee And Hurricane Grill & Wings Owner, Imposes Surcharge For Obamacare
Metz said he understands the problems that will create not just for his scheduling but for his employees. "I think it's a terrible thing. It's ridiculous that the maximum hours we can give people is 28 hours a week instead of 40," Metz said. "It's going to force my employees to go out and get a second job."

Despite the one-two hit his employees might take with possibly fewer hours and lower tips, Metz said he is not anti-insurance. His current coverage for full-time employees costs him $5,000 to $6,000 annually, he said. "Obviously, I'd love to cover all our employees under that insurance," he said, "But to pay $5,000 per employee would cost us $175,000 per restaurant, and unfortunately, most of our restaurants don't make $175,000 a year. I can't afford it."

Currently, the law states that employers with more than 50 full-time equivalent employees will be charged a penalty for any employees over 30 full-time employees that they don't cover. Several employers have cited that provision -- including Darden Restaurants, Papa John's, Apple-Metro and Jimmy John's -- in announcing plans to skirt the law by cutting employees' hours to make them part time.

Metz said he will take the extra step of adding a surcharge because he believes the law will eventually expand to include penalties for not covering full-time equivalent employees. If he has to pay a penalty for his average 35 full-time equivalent employes per restaurant, he said it would cost him $75,000 per location. In that case, he said raising prices wouldn't be an option, since he'd have to raise prices about 25 percent to cover the costs of Obamacare, which would be "catastrophic" for his business.

posted by zarq at 12:08 PM on November 16, 2012

which would be "catastrophic" for his business.

Not as catastrophic as millions of people not frequenting your establishment. These fuckers need to read about Henry Ford a little.
posted by grubi at 12:29 PM on November 16, 2012 [2 favorites]

(Specfically this.)
posted by grubi at 12:30 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Metz said he will take the extra step of adding a surcharge because he believes the law will eventually expand to include penalties for not covering full-time equivalent employees."

Go screw, Metz. I'm sure you'll be putting that money into a trust or HCSP for your employees, right? Right?
posted by boo_radley at 12:34 PM on November 16, 2012

Thanksgiving: time to revisit classic Sarah Palin turkey-death video

No, it really isn't.

Thanksgiving is the time to revisit the classic WKRP turkey death video.
posted by COD at 12:34 PM on November 16, 2012 [11 favorites]

zarq: West Palm Beach, FL: John Metz, Denny's Franchisee And Hurricane Grill & Wings Owner, Imposes Surcharge For Obamacare

You know what bugs me the most about assholes like this? You just know that they're the same people who oppose Medicare-for-all because of "reasons" and "illegals." Even though it would be the biggest boon to business, especially small businesses, in decades. Making all of the headaches associated with procuring and administering employee health insurance somebody else's problem would translate directly to the bottom line but the people that would benefit are adamantly opposed to "socialist" single payer health insurance.
posted by ob1quixote at 12:34 PM on November 16, 2012 [8 favorites]

Denny's Franchisee And Hurricane Grill & Wings Owner, Imposes Surcharge For Obamacare

Well that makes sense because Denny's hates black people.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:38 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

zarq: "West Palm Beach, FL: John Metz, Denny's Franchisee And Hurricane Grill & Wings Owner, Imposes Surcharge For Obamacare "

And immediately afterward stated that he's going to cut employees to part time to avoid having to provide health insurance.
posted by wierdo at 12:40 PM on November 16, 2012

Well that makes sense because Denny's hates black people.

Well but

After the $54.4 million settlement, Denny's created a racial sensitivity training program for all employees. Denny's has also made efforts at improving its public relations image by featuring blacks in their commercials, including one featuring Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford, both actors from the popular The Jeffersons television series.[21][22] In 2001, Denny's was chosen by Fortune magazine as the "Best Company for Minorities."[23][24] In 2006 and 2007, Denny's topped Black Enterprise's "Best 40 Companies for Diversity." [25]
posted by sweetkid at 12:43 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

ericb's "The Tech Battle ...." lead to a longer article in The Atlantic about Obama's tech team, that includes this picture of his campaign's CTO. You're going to want to click that picture link, and then you'll have to stop saying mean things about hipsters.

(Oops, it's a FPP already.
posted by benito.strauss at 12:51 PM on November 16, 2012 [2 favorites]

> "The Blue Dogs, the caucus of self-styled moderate House Democrats, had 54 members two years ago. When the new Congress convenes in January, there will be 14 of them."

Almost all of them got voted out in 2010 and replaced with rabid right-wing teapartiers who are still there. They weren't primaried out in 2012 and replaced with progressives or something, for the most part. So I wouldn't do a happy dance of progressive victory about that change quite yet.
posted by kyrademon at 1:45 PM on November 16, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hey! HEY YOU GUYS!

There's a petition to impeach the President and now the White House has to respond!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:46 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

So I wouldn't do a happy dance of progressive victory about that change quite yet.

I shall do my happy dance of progressive victory, purely on the basis of "addition by subtraction." At least with the wingnuts you know where they stand, and they aren't on television preaching right-wing ideas with a (D) next to their name on the chyron.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:51 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

corb: "Attempting to remove the right of the people to keep and bear arms is probably about a 7. "

tonycpsu: "Show me one incursion on the right to keep and bear arms under President Obama."

Arizona Gun Store: No Obama Voters Allowed

corb, I believe I owe you an apology! :)
posted by tonycpsu at 1:59 PM on November 16, 2012 [23 favorites]

Almost all of them got voted out in 2010 and replaced with rabid right-wing teapartiers who are still there. They weren't primaried out in 2012 and replaced with progressives or something, for the most part. So I wouldn't do a happy dance of progressive victory about that change quite yet.

Strategy-wise, it doesn't matter, because if Democrats picked up seats, that means their caucus is bigger now and has fewer members that reliably vote against its core issues.
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:02 PM on November 16, 2012

Republican Lock On Florida's Cuban-American Vote May Be Over
posted by peeedro at 2:38 PM on November 16, 2012

Godwin's Rule of Nazi Analogies
posted by growabrain at 2:40 PM on November 16, 2012 [2 favorites]

James Dobson: National Day of Prayer Task Force prayed for Obama defeat.
posted by ericb at 3:10 PM on November 16, 2012

Michelangelo Signorile: How Gay Republicans Lost Dismally When 2012 Should Have Been Their Year.
posted by ericb at 3:11 PM on November 16, 2012

There's a petition to impeach the President and now the White House has to respond!

Why on Earth would you petition the White House about impeachment? Have our schools stopped teaching the most rudimentary elements of civics?
/answers itself
posted by dhartung at 3:46 PM on November 16, 2012 [15 favorites]

"If you voted for Barack Obama your business is not welcome at Southwest Shooting Authority," the ad reads. "You have proven that you are not responsible enough to own a firearm."

Ok sure it's funny now but the way things are going we will one day have to carry around a blue card or a red card and that will determine where we can go and what we can do and what we can eat. Red cards will be needed to buy Papa Johns. Blue card members only may shop in Apple stores. Red cards can't buy arugula at the grocery store and blue cards can't buy camo underwear at Dick's Sporting Goods. You'll see. It will happen.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:14 PM on November 16, 2012 [11 favorites]

Nate Silver is back, and he's harshing my post-election mellow.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:57 PM on November 16, 2012

National Day of Prayer Task Force prayed for Obama defeat.

If Obama not winning would mean God heard their prayers and wanted Obama to lose, then doesn't it follow that Obama winning means God heard their prayers and wanted Obama to win?
posted by headnsouth at 6:19 PM on November 16, 2012 [5 favorites]

Obama winning means God heard their prayers and wanted Obama to win?

My crazy wackadoo father believes this.

He also believes it's so Obama can usher in the end times in anticipation of Jesus' return, possibly being the Anti-Christ himself.

I wish I was kidding.
posted by sonika at 7:09 PM on November 16, 2012 [3 favorites]

James Fallows - Let's Get Back to the Atlas Shrugged Guy
posted by charlie don't surf at 7:47 PM on November 16, 2012

From the Papa Johns guy, to this Denny's guy, all the way down to the countless smaller business owners/operators complaining about Obamacare, I am positive that a great deal of them received insurance refunds already because of the ACA (and never passed the money on to the employees who paid in) and are just quietly ignoring that fact.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:04 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

Also, if I had a nickle for every owner of a business with less than 50 employees I've heard complaining about IMPENDING OBAMACAREMAGEDDON as if it would really affect them at all, I could afford pre-Obamacare insurance.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:06 PM on November 16, 2012 [2 favorites]

Here's your late Friday night conspiracy theory:

Hackers defeat Rove's attempt to steal Ohio (and this is why he was so flustered on-air)

I don't necessarily believe it, but I do love a good conspiracy theory. I could almost believe it since, on odd-numbered days, I'm almost convinced Ohio was stolen in 2004.
posted by honestcoyote at 11:04 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow, that makes for some interesting reading.

Apparently, “The Protectors” were able to completely thwart Karl Rove’s attempts to manipulate this election by employing a firewall to stop man-in-the-middle tabulation attacks and improper transfers of tabulation data. Moreover, apparently, they were able to pinpoint and exploit flaws and structural weaknesses in Project Orca that caused a cascading of problems and subsequent catastrophic failure. Apparently, there was some connection between Mr. Rove and Project Orca, and they were probably both plugged into the same voter database.

So some possible conclusions:

1. "The Protectors" is one guy making up shit.

2. "The Protectors" hacked into Orca and caused mayhem on election day but didn't really affect the outcome.

3. Karl Rove is a criminal who planned to steal the election but luckily for us a group of nice guys prevented that from happening with their ninja hacking skillz. No need to thank us; yr welcome, America.

I'm going with number 2, but what the hell do I know.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:18 AM on November 17, 2012 [3 favorites]

"The Protectors" as another face of Anonymous?!?
I WANT TO BELIEEEEEEEEEVE!
posted by liza at 6:42 AM on November 17, 2012

Anonymous sure has come a long way since they were harassing n00bs and blowing up shit in Second Life.
posted by localroger at 6:59 AM on November 17, 2012

Barack Obama is not impressed.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:45 AM on November 17, 2012 [15 favorites]

No, it's not 'Christians'' fault Obama won -- "The outspoken Rev. Franklin Graham claimed today that the 'majority of Christians' did not vote. But Graham’s assertion -- and implication that had white Christian evangelicals just showed up in bigger numbers, Obama would have lost -- is off base."
posted by ericb at 9:33 AM on November 17, 2012

I don't necessarily believe it, but I do love a good conspiracy theory. I could almost believe it since, on odd-numbered days, I'm almost convinced Ohio was stolen in 2004.

In another article on this alleged 2012 hack, Mötley News discusses the possible 2004 Republican vote switching hack: The Ohio Computer Crash in 2004.
posted by ericb at 9:41 AM on November 17, 2012

That Anonymous hack letter is soooo fake.

We coded and created, what we call, The Great Oz. A targeted password protected firewall that we tested and refined over the past weeks

Nobody actually uses the phrase "password protected firewall". That isn't a thing. If you google that phrase, there's no actual instructions on how to do that because it's utterly bizarre phrasing. It's not technically wrong in the sense that it's impossible, it's just something that wouldn't ever be said by someone who knows what they're doing.

There's no such thing really as password protected firewall as a manner of normal implementation, because a firewall is designed to BLOCK PACKETS, you don't really password protect it, you can password protect access to the ACL, but that's implied. There's no place to put in a password when you're messing with iptables for a reason, you can theoretically set up a password protected port "knocking" packet, but nobody actually does that.

A password protected VPN, on the other hand does exist, but emphasizing the "password protected" part when talking about VPNs is bizarre too, because it's sort-of implied, and isn't impressive grandstanding. They didn't mention a password protected VPN, though. They mentioned a password protected firewall.

They also mentioned tunnels (VPNs that supposedly Rove set up) from 3 different states. Nobody does a geographic attachment to IP addresses when describing them. People normally say "3 different IPs". FAAAKEEEE.
posted by amuseDetachment at 9:46 AM on November 17, 2012 [6 favorites]

So... so far we can say Obama won because:

- Sandy
- Giving stuff away to minorities and shit
- The true Christians didn't show up to vote
.
.
.
posted by edgeways at 10:22 AM on November 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Finally, they issued the following warning to Mr. Rove: don’t do it again or they would turn over the evidence to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Riiiiiiight. This is about as real as all those Republicans who "know from a friend" that half the people on welfare are fraudsters. Evidence or STFU.
posted by dhartung at 10:33 AM on November 17, 2012 [4 favorites]

Out of all the Jackassy jackasses that won re-election just because they have an (R) next to their names, Scott DesJarlais takes the cake.

1. He ran as ProLife but he and his wife chose to have 2 abortions.

2. He attempted to talk his mistress into getting an abortion when she got pregnant.

3. That same mistress was his patient.

4. During the year his divorce was proceeding he had affairs with 8 different women while trying to reconcile with his wife.

5. (my personal favorite)

Susan DesJarlais said her then-husband had held the gun in his mouth in response to finding out that his mistress had become pregnant.

"He stuck a gun in his mouth and almost killed himself," she testified. "You don't think that he was upset?"

DesJarlais explained in court proceedings that he wasn't considering killing himself.

"It was never a loaded gun. It was never a suicide attempt," he said. "It was an attention-seeking act."

This is the man that the voters of Tennessee's fourth district have chosen to represent them in congress. Oh well done, you guys. He sounds like such a smart, reasonable chap. Although if I were you, I would send him some condoms.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 10:57 AM on November 17, 2012 [20 favorites]

We all know since America decided Romney was not The One that the Republicans have been flailing around, looking for a new leader. Well they can relax, GOP Identity Crisis Solved — Santorum Preparing 2016 Presidential Run. Yep. He's figured out what went wrong and has said that Romney didn't "vigorously defend the beliefs that he said he espoused and didn’t go on the offense.”

“A leading evangelical leader who is close to Santorum and asked not to be identified, told The Christian Post on Wednesday that Santorum is ‘organizing and making all the necessary preparations’ for another run in the 2016 Republican primary,” the Christian Post reports:

“Rick’s getting ready organized and is not going to be behind the eight-ball when it comes to fundraising and building a grassroots organization,” the anonymous source said. “I think you’ll see and hear a lot from Rick in the next 12 months.”[snip]

“As a result of this election,” Santorum wrote, “we now need to engage with even more energy and commitment not just in politics, but in our daily lives, to ensure that the values upon which our country has prospered will continue.” And here is the kicker: “Karen and I look forward to working side by side with you to make that happen.”

It looks like he is going to be Romney 2.0-- hold office, lose re-election, run for President, lose the GOP primary, run for President for 4 more years while doing very little else except fundraise. Plus extra add Far Right Christianity. Good luck trying to run for President in 2016 without LGBTs, women, or minorities. Oh and he will probably lose a good portion of that white man vote if he continues on with his War on Porn.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 11:29 AM on November 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

Santorum 2016

Dear Universe,

Thank you so very much, but I am not a good enough person to deserve such a wonderful gift.

Love,
benito
posted by benito.strauss at 11:56 AM on November 17, 2012 [16 favorites]

Ireally really really really dislike Santorum, and think he'd not only lose... but that he NEEDS to run and lose before things stop drifting forever right. However thee are two things he has going for him:

1. He actually means what he says, unlike Romney
2. He looks like a human being when compared to Romney
posted by edgeways at 1:06 PM on November 17, 2012

2. He looks like a human being when compared to Romney

I'm not so sure about this. Dude's got a distinct whiff of monster, from my standpoint.
posted by palomar at 1:19 PM on November 17, 2012 [5 favorites]

He looks more like a sperm when compared to Romney.
posted by y2karl at 1:38 PM on November 17, 2012

That's right America, make the necessary preparations for Santorum! Clean up a bit, light some candles, put on some smooth jazz and get out that fuck towel.
posted by Rhomboid at 1:46 PM on November 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

Dude's got a distinct whiff of monster, from my standpoint.

Santorum's a monster. Romney's a robot. Their runoff really should be held in Japan.
posted by localroger at 2:12 PM on November 17, 2012 [9 favorites]

Santorum's a monster. Romney's a robot. Their runoff really should be held in Japan.

And filmed in black and white.
posted by Superplin at 2:47 PM on November 17, 2012 [3 favorites]

Five Reasons Why Obama Should Reject The Keystone XL Pipeline
posted by homunculus at 7:23 PM on November 17, 2012

Their runoff really should be held in Japan.

Imagine the cleanup for a Santorum runoff...
posted by crossoverman at 7:52 PM on November 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

Their runoff really should be held in Japan.

Please, keep them home. One of the nice things about being in Japan is they aren't here. Besides, we've suffered more than enough from toxic waste recently.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:58 PM on November 17, 2012 [4 favorites]

I went to one of Santorums campaign meetings last year. It was ... odd. I was the token European there (somewhat surreal when he started talking about how Europeans were so lazy, causing their current downfall). Briefly spoke with him, shook hands, listened to his speech and him answer questions; tweeted during it (I had to stop at one point as what he was saying was just too extreme) and blogged about it later.

The thing is; he really does believe in what he is saying. That's a big point I'll give him; he's not fake in that respect (though he is fake in doing a 180 and endorsing Romney) and knows he is saying things that are unpopular. Got the impression he's inherently disappointed that most of America doesn't believe in what he does.

He hasn't a hope of becoming president. It would be a landslide of Mondale proportions. Actually, considering his performance in his "home" state of Pennsylvania, he'd lose that as well. Less landslide, more wipeout.
posted by Wordshore at 3:54 AM on November 18, 2012 [2 favorites]

Please, keep them home. One of the nice things about being in Japan is they aren't here. Besides, we've suffered more than enough from toxic waste recently.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:58 PM on November 17 [+] [!]

The Japan Times ¥150
NO NEW MONSTERS!
IT IS TIME OF HEALING, SCREECHES GHIDORAH
posted by fleacircus at 5:18 AM on November 18, 2012 [12 favorites]

Head Of Romney’s Hispanic Outreach: ‘I Was Shocked’ By ‘Gifts’ Comment
posted by homunculus at 9:31 AM on November 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

Lincoln Would Be a Democrat Today, Say Doris Kearns Goodwin and Tony Kushner

And now, says Lincoln screenwriter Tony Kushner, the GOP would not be recognizable to the 16th president, or a party to which he would belong.
posted by Golden Eternity at 10:02 AM on November 18, 2012 [3 favorites]

Just in case you haven't been paying attention, the Allen West people are kinda going off the deep end. For example:

#AllenWestRepubic - @Gary_Galiano cannot confirm but his source is reliable Florida Secretary of State WILL certify Patrick Murphy on the LAST VOTES. ARE YOU ANGRY PATRIOTS? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?????

The first comment on that post:

There is obvious fraud going on and I know there are others when they hear of this will not stand for it. This is why I think Obama trained the brown shirts and bought 2 billion rounds of ammo for them.

Apologies for Facebook links, but that appears to be the main vector by which this information is being transmitted.
posted by ob1quixote at 10:25 AM on November 18, 2012 [3 favorites]

As it turns out, there actually is cause for concern about vote counting in the West/Murphy race. I don't want to see him in Congress again, and these types of irregularities exist in virtually every race in every election year, but I think the powers that be should take these concerns seriously and do an exhaustive recount.

West is a hypocrite who would do everything he could to block a recount if he were in Murphy's position, but that doesn't mean the Democrats should stoop to his level.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:47 AM on November 18, 2012 [3 favorites]

West is a hypocrite who would do everything he could to block a recount if he were in Murphy's position, but that doesn't mean the Democrats should stoop to his level.

Dang, and I was getting all ready to fire a pistol near West's head to get him to admit he'd lost.
posted by benito.strauss at 11:33 AM on November 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

That Anonymous hack letter is soooo fake. "We coded and created, what we call, The Great Oz. A targeted password protected firewall that we tested and refined over the past weeks" Nobody actually uses the phrase "password protected firewall". That isn't a thing.

While I consider the possibility that it's a fake more likely, there are at least two other ways of explaining the jargon that's off in the letter:

(a) the knowledge of the technical details is secondhand -- that is, the author knows a technician who was part of this and explained it to him, but was non- or marginally technical himself.

(b) the author was awkwardly trying to communicate in terminology they felt would make sense to non-technical people.

I'm probably straining credibility a bit. But there's a part of my head that thinks it stinks that Rove and Romney were so confident about Ohio that they were publicly in denial after the count was coming in. That and the weird Romney intrade surge in the evening.

There are other explanations for those things too, of course: epistemic closure and selective attention could have created the false confidence, and depending on where you were getting your news in the evening and how well you understand the election process, it's possible you would bet on Romney doing well. But I wonder.
posted by weston at 12:59 PM on November 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

Head Of Romney’s Hispanic Outreach: ‘I Was Shocked’ By ‘Gifts’ Comment

...shocked! Shocked to find that gambling is going on here!
posted by small_ruminant at 1:19 PM on November 18, 2012 [9 favorites]

In my fantasy media happy place, every time a conservative complains about those comments someone else asks, "But do you agree with Obama on immigration, health care, and college loans? And you you agree with Romney on taxes?"

And after the answer is, "No, no, no, yes." everybody realizes what they are objecting to is only how Romney is saying it.
posted by Drinky Die at 2:25 PM on November 18, 2012 [2 favorites]

Obama, first sitting U.S. president to visit Myanmar, attempts delicate balance between praising reforms and pressing government for more

In Visit to Myanmar, Obama Will See a Nation That Shaped His Grandfather
posted by homunculus at 11:13 PM on November 18, 2012

Just received a survey from the Obama campaign which was half "how did we do?" and half "where should we take the organization from here?" so I'm a bit hopeful they're not going to repeat the mistake of 2009 when they let the campaign apparatus go silent and they didn't mobilize their volunteers at the times when it was needed.
posted by honestcoyote at 11:43 PM on November 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

Over the past couple of weeks, a lot of people have had a lot of advice for the Republican Party. Compromise more. Compromise less. Appeal to Hispanics. Stick to conservative fundamentals. Nominate better candidates. Improve your ground game. Etc. Some of this advice is good, and some of it is probably... the best advice ever offered to a party in defeat.

Kevin Drum
posted by y2karl at 4:11 AM on November 19, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wait, is that LA Time piece real? Seriously?
posted by octothorpe at 5:23 AM on November 19, 2012

Wait, is that LA Time piece real? Seriously?

"Charlotte Allen writes frequently about feminism, politics and religion." Although not in the way you think.
posted by fullerine at 5:42 AM on November 19, 2012

octothorpe: "Wait, is that LA Time piece real? Seriously?"

I feel like this dog.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:19 AM on November 19, 2012 [3 favorites]

Santorum and now Palin?

I thought 2016 was when they GOP was suppose to put out their A-list candidates? But you know, seeing a Jeb Bush and perhaps a Marc Rubio taken down in the primaries by Ms. Quitter and Mr Xtian Taliban... would be funny.
posted by edgeways at 7:30 AM on November 19, 2012 [3 favorites]

Santorum doesn't have a chance if Huckabee runs.
posted by drezdn at 9:03 AM on November 19, 2012

Or if it's a day ending in "Y."
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:20 AM on November 19, 2012 [3 favorites]

I read that Allen piece over the weekend and I thought it was a very serious, thoughtful, argument that has never been made in such detail or with such care. Today's GOP ignores it at their own peril. I endorse it wholeheartedly and in the interests of the nation, I'm ready to contribute to Palin's primary campaign.
posted by octobersurprise at 9:27 AM on November 19, 2012 [5 favorites]

Wait, is that LA Time piece real? Seriously?

You are talking about Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, and you think Sarah Palin is a joke?

The most attractive candidate (and 2012 was a HUGE cultural bellwether here, IMO) has won every presidential election since Carter-Ford.

You don't think Sarah Palin would beat Hillary head to head? I dunno. I think it would be pretty damn close (assuming Palin's positions move closer to GWB's...). Against a man, sure, she's kinda screwed, but against Hillary ... it would be an ugly ugly race.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:07 AM on November 19, 2012

Huckabee is a great natural candidate, and the best on TV in either party, but I think he's dead meat because twice now he has pardoned killers because they gave him a Christian song and dance, and then they went out and raped and murdered again.

TWICE. He'll never get through a Republican primary.
posted by msalt at 10:37 AM on November 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

mrgrimm: " The most attractive candidate (and 2012 was a HUGE cultural bellwether here, IMO) has won every presidential election since Carter-Ford."

Wait, to be clear, you're talking physical attractiveness? On some objective scale? As perceived by the "average" American? To you or me? I think I need to understand more about the point you're trying to make here, because I'm not buying it at all.

Also, re: Palin, keep in mind she's going to be four years older in 2016, and some people (even here on the blue) have started to notice that she's not looking as healthy / youthful / beautiful these days.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:46 AM on November 19, 2012

You don't think Sarah Palin would beat Hillary head to head? I dunno. I think it would be pretty damn close (assuming Palin's positions move closer to GWB's...). Against a man, sure, she's kinda screwed, but against Hillary ... it would be an ugly ugly race.

I think it wouldn't be close at all between Palin and Clinton, even granting the huge assumption that Palin would try to play the compassionate conservative and that she would actually succeed.

1) Palin has never been prepared to do the hard work of campaigning. Clinton would bury her.
2) Palin has an incredible job ahead of her to even approach Clinton's probable favorability rating in 2016 (given these 2012 numbers for Clinton). A substantial portion of the country in 2011 said that they wouldn't ever vote for her as president. Palin could possibly turn these ratings around, but that would require work. See #1.
3) I think the "most attractive candidate" rule, as well as the Redskins rule and tallest candidate rule, was broken this year. Hey, I think Obama is one handsome guy, ears and all, but I think the majority of the country still has a thing for Handsome White Daddy With Greying Temples But Otherwise Great Hair.
4) After a certain age, women tend to get compared on competence more than looks. Clinton is showing her age, but Palin is slipping there, too.

Now, the age difference between them may be an advantage for Palin as far as perceived energy goes, but she has such a gap on competence that memories of a 2008 hairstyle, a wink, and FM shoes won't be enough to make up for that.
posted by maudlin at 10:52 AM on November 19, 2012 [2 favorites]

Paul Krugman: Some Politicians 'Pine For The Days When Minorities And Women Knew Their Place'.
posted by ericb at 11:07 AM on November 19, 2012 [2 favorites]

Lindsey Graham To Romney: 'When You're In A Hole, Stop Digging'.
posted by ericb at 11:08 AM on November 19, 2012

Also: 'When You're An A-Hole, Stop Digging'
posted by mochapickle at 11:18 AM on November 19, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's probably a lot easier to keep digging a hole when you aren't the one who has to dig out of it.

As the Republicans keep piling on Romney, I'd love for him to just keep doing CYA on reasons why he didn't win that get more and more extreme. (Yes, that's sort of what is happening now - but my imagination is much more vivid.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:25 AM on November 19, 2012

IRT Palin and looks. I really hesitate to "go there", but I suppose it is in response to everyone saying she's a fox and good looking etc... Last time I saw her on television, oh a month or so ago, she really has changed from 2008. I've no idea if it is just aging, or poor plastic surgery or just a really bad day but she'd have a difficult time running on her looks. And that is probablly an ok thing as then people may pay better attention to her rhetoric.

I don't think Palin is that good of a debater, and I suspect that is one of those things that kept her out of the primary this year, as she'd have to stand up and talk semi integrable against other people without writing on her hand.

I've always thought she'd pull a 3rd party route. Minimal debating, no primary, has experience with 3rd party politics, don't have to talk policy, just slogans...

So, in the long run I actually doubt she'll actually make a play for the brass ring. Just someone else out there stringing people along.
posted by edgeways at 11:38 AM on November 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

You don't think Sarah Palin would beat Hillary head to head? I dunno. I think it would be pretty damn close

We are talking about a woman who declined to even contest the last Republican primary, in a season that looked like an easy win at the time. Tbh, I think that "Sarah Palin, Presidential material" is a proposition that appeals to pretty small fraction of the country, namely Sarah Palin and a group of people who deeply identify with her. The size of that group is the key question here and no one knows that for certain. But the evidence we do have suggests that it isn't—at this time, anyway—big enough to build a successful campaign on.

I sure would like to see her try, though.
posted by octobersurprise at 11:39 AM on November 19, 2012

I don't think Palin is that good of a debater...

Understatement of the entire Internet.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:47 AM on November 19, 2012 [5 favorites]

You don't think Sarah Palin would beat Hillary head to head? I dunno. I think it would be pretty damn close

We are talking about someone who didn't bother to prepare for standard television interviews. She couldn't discuss Supreme Court cases, foreign policy basics ("Do you support the Bush doctrine?") or even give the name of a newspaper she reads regularly. Not to mention QUITTING her job as Governor for reasons. And you think she would give HRC a run for her money?

I will admit I was not an ardent Hillary Clinton supporter the last time around, I'm not comfortable with the dynastic aspect of it, but Sarah Palin isn't fit to to kiss the hem of Hillary Clinton's pantsuit.
posted by ambrosia at 11:55 AM on November 19, 2012 [13 favorites]

Actually, right after the Palin nomination, I saw some video of her in a debate during the gubernatorial campaign, and she was actually fairly impressive. She spoke deliberately, had facts and figures at her fingertips, and seemed -- that word again -- competent.

Short excerpt.

Full debate.

The woman isn't stupid, she has shown discipline and determination before (as a runner, as a gubernatorial candidate and, for at least a little while, as governor), but once she got brought up to the national level, she floundered badly. She couldn't scale to the level of knowledge and stamina required to campaign for national office.
posted by maudlin at 11:57 AM on November 19, 2012

I don't think Palin is that good of a debater...

I think IF she's been practicing secretly with Karl Rove for the past 4 years, and practiced secretly for another 4 years (huge IF) she would be fine. GWB was fine in his debates and he was a horrible speaker, as bad as Palin, I think.

Look at Mitt Romney this year. He sucked. Badly. Even in the debate he "won." And yet he acquired HUGE legitimacy just be appearing confident and lying his ass off.

I think Palin's past nuttery does currently preclude any sort of serious consideration ... right now. I also think she could still turn it around and become GWB II, but I admit, it's a huge stretch.

even granting the huge assumption that Palin would try to play the compassionate conservative

What else is the GOP candidate going to do in 2016? We're going to have 3-4 more major natural disasters by then, unemployment will be double digits, and the Hispanic/Latino/immigration vote will be even bigger ... I'm not sure how they're going to do it, but they have to try. It's the only way they've (semi)won a presidential election in 20 years.

She couldn't scale to the level of knowledge and stamina required to campaign for national office.

A better earpiece + headset should fix all that.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:59 AM on November 19, 2012

Now Comes the Real Fight Over Healthcare
posted by homunculus at 11:59 AM on November 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

GWB used to be a good debater. I don't know what was behind his decline between Texas and the national level, but he did decline.

Anyway, an earpiece won't fix public perceptions of Palin. You'd have to call in Miracle Max, not Rove, to see any shift in how seriously she's taken. Plus, I think she just doesn't have the confidence any more. She's held together with bravado and chewing gum right now.
posted by maudlin at 12:08 PM on November 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

I also think she could still turn it around and become GWB II, but I admit, it's a huge stretch.

She'd have to be Nixon II, not GWB II, because Nixon's the only politician to resuscitate such a doomed career. More to the point, though, why would the GOP take a chance on Palin? What does she bring to the table? If it's Rich Lowry's "little starbursts," well, there are plenty of women out there who can bring the same dazzle. If it's wingnuttery, the GOP is all stocked up there, also. That's the only thing she brings and by either of those metrics, a FOX News babe/Liz Cheney ticket has better odds.

In some ideal set of circumstances, Palin could President. Stranger things have happened and American politics gets stranger every year. But winning the Presidency, rather than just being awarded it, would seem to require Palin become a completely different person than she has been until now.
posted by octobersurprise at 12:53 PM on November 19, 2012 [2 favorites]

I think Democrats would need to screw up badly to make Palin viable.

Given a choice between a moderate or Blue Dog Democrat, and a Tea Party ideologue, many swing moderates and conservatives go for the Democrat, or they stay home, or they register protest votes for Libertarian candidates. The Obama campaign did a brilliant job of highlighting Romney's uncertain political loyalties.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 12:54 PM on November 19, 2012

I think Democrats would need to screw up badly to make Palin viable.

As a lifelong Democrat, my heart sunk at this sentence. Because I won't underestimate our chances of doing exactly that.
posted by grouse at 2:14 PM on November 19, 2012 [3 favorites]

This is probably as good a thread to put this in as any:

Cory Booker, And One Of His Twitter Followers, Plan To Live Off Food Stamps For A Week

I fucking love this guy.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:27 PM on November 19, 2012 [9 favorites]

Didn't she make something of a half-assed primary run that went nowhere?
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 2:51 PM on November 19, 2012

She began a bus tour that she called "One Nation" tour but it was one more thing she quit half way through.

She still continued to raise campaign funds via her Super PAC, however, most of the money raised was spent on overhead.

My take on Palin is that she likes the beauty pageant side of politics. She likes the cheering crowds, the adoring fans , the millions of facebook followers. What she doesn't like is the work involved with actual government jobs. She has quit twice now, and I see no reason to believe that she wants to take on the tremendous responsibility of being President. Rather I see her giving her speeches and appearing on FOX until she gets too old to be appealing.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:16 PM on November 19, 2012 [12 favorites]

Now Comes the Real Fight Over Healthcare

If for nothing else, that article was worth it for the phrase, "Senator Grumpy and his sidekick, Huckleberry Closetcase." Senators McCain and Graham, please enjoy your new nicknames.
posted by peeedro at 4:13 PM on November 19, 2012 [2 favorites]

My take on Palin is that she likes the beauty pageant side of politics. She likes the cheering crowds, the adoring fans , the millions of facebook followers. What she doesn't like is the work involved with actual government jobs. She has quit twice now, and I see no reason to believe that she wants to take on the tremendous responsibility of being President.

Palin has turned what should've been a forgettable turn as a Nominee for VP into a major and ongoing payday. And I think it alll ends and begins with that for her. She has no interest in actually being in office again. I mean not until her star fades and it seems she's a perennial anti-Obama spokeswoman now, talking crap everywhere she goes and taking money from Right wing imbeciles who love the red meat garbage she floats out there, along with Rush, Malkin, O'reilly, Hannity, Coulter and that whole gang of right wing media assclowns...

They're one of the best things that's ever happened for the Democratic party because they keep their fans oblivious, misguided, misinformed, irrelevant, out of touch and impotent. Like cows being fattened for their payday slaughterhouses whenever anyone one of the puts out a book or somesuch "product" and makes major bank. Ka-ching.
posted by Skygazer at 8:04 PM on November 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think we, collectively, have spent more time on Palin's hypotehetical 2016 run than she did on her real-life 2012 run.*

* Yes, McCain/Palin was a real thing that actually happened. On Earth!
posted by tonycpsu at 8:12 PM on November 19, 2012 [5 favorites]

Obama’s message for North Korea in visiting Burma: Let’s make up
posted by homunculus at 9:16 PM on November 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow, bottom of the thread. This deal here is the gift that just keeps on giving. There's virtually no chance of Palin even making a half-hearted attempt at the nomination, but oh my wouldn't that be a treat on top of the '08 and '12 candidates?
posted by Nabubrush at 9:58 PM on November 19, 2012

There's virtually no chance of Palin even making a half-hearted attempt at the nomination ...

She wouldn't if her goal in running was to win the nomination (and the election). But serving in government is not her goal anymore; running for office is a way to keep the Palin brand alive, and to keep the money coming in.

Once you become aware of possibility of using the right-wing as a money making proposition, you see more and more public figures whose behavior is really well explained by it. Gingrich was the first one I had pointed out for me. The minute Palin resigned from being Governor you knew that's what she was doing.

So Palin might make an attempt at the nomination, but not for the reasons she will claim.
posted by benito.strauss at 11:17 PM on November 19, 2012 [7 favorites]

I think she gets a lot more benefit to her brand, and less of a downside, simply by keeping people guessing and playing coy about it. Another loss might negatively impact value of her brand, and there's really no need for it.

Look at all the dullards and dimwits, and emotional cripples, who've made lucrative careers simply through their own websites, and parlaying that into other income streams via the various deep pocketed wingnut media, convention and publishing trough, never going anywhere near any real political event or running for office.
posted by Skygazer at 11:33 PM on November 19, 2012 [3 favorites]

Didn't Michelle Bachmann have the same schtick as Palin and fail spectacularly in the primary? I thought the LA Times article would have recommended Palin to show that craziness doesn't work on national stage, but I was wrong on that count.
posted by ersatz at 6:54 AM on November 20, 2012

And in actual 2012 election news, Allen West has conceded in Florida.

That's the last of the national races right?
posted by DynamiteToast at 7:05 AM on November 20, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yup, that's all she wrote. Final score 234 R, 201 D. GOP -8 seats from 2010, or, as they would say, "proof that America is a center-right country, and that President Obama should cut tax rates on job creators."
posted by tonycpsu at 7:22 AM on November 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

In hopeful "can't we all just get along" news - I had an early Thanksgiving on Sunday with my parents, aunt, and my mom's cousins. Make that: my Democrat parents, my tea-party aunt, and my mom's Republican cousins.

About halfway through dinner, my father suddenly said, "okay - I'm only going to ask this one question and then I'm gonna drop it - the election. What do y'all think?" But despite my concerns for how that was gonna go (my immediate reaction was to crack a joke by telling Dad "ABORT THE MISSION! ABORT THE MISSION!"), everyone made a lot of "yeah, we'd better not go there" noises, and then my mother, my aunt, and their female cousin got talking instead about how many women got elected to Congress and how cool that was. In fact, my mom's cousin was talking about how she'd wished a Democrat woman had won her election (she couldn't remember name or state, so I'm not sure who ths was), because that woman had been stationed in Iraq at some point and had refused to comply with the request that all US Service Women and Diplomats stationed there should wear the hijab, and that kind of grit and resolve was more important to her than party politics.

I mean, I personally think the whole issue she was talking about was more complicated than that, but it's a sign that maybe people are turning away from the partisan "our party rules and your party drools" thinking that we've been faced with for so long.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:22 AM on November 20, 2012 [3 favorites]

Actually, I think there is still a runoff in LA-3, but it's between two Republicans, so there will be no change in the D/R balance.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:25 AM on November 20, 2012

Your family may be turning the other cheek Empress, but my family is already on the Rubio 2016 bandwagon.
posted by COD at 7:26 AM on November 20, 2012

I think she gets a lot more benefit to her brand, and less of a downside, simply by keeping people guessing and playing coy about it. Another loss might negatively impact value of her brand, and there's really no need for it.

I agree, I'd say Palin will end up the Brett Favre of the GOP.
posted by Nabubrush at 7:41 AM on November 20, 2012

Disheveled Mitt pumping gas in La Jolla.
posted by ericb at 9:09 AM on November 20, 2012 [3 favorites]

Was Rafalca strapped to the roof of the car?
posted by homunculus at 9:39 AM on November 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mitt, welcome to the 47%. See, you're not so special after all.
posted by ericb at 9:40 AM on November 20, 2012 [3 favorites]

No no it's okay he still has more money then you or I or anyone we know will ever see, ever, in our lifetimes, combined. It's going to be okay.
posted by The Whelk at 9:52 AM on November 20, 2012

But he went to see Breaking Dawn, so there's that.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:54 AM on November 20, 2012

So Mitt and Ann went to see Twilight 2?! I don't even know what to say about that except I am flabbergasted to find that I overestimated Romney in some small way. I mean I can totally see Palin getting into the series, but Mitt, really? Wow.

Once more relief washes over me as I realize we dodged a bullet.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 10:05 AM on November 20, 2012 [2 favorites]

Twilight 2? Nonononono, you're giving western civilization way too much credit. Twilight 5.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:07 AM on November 20, 2012 [3 favorites]

So Mitt and Ann went to see Twilight 2?! I don't even know what to say about that except I am flabbergasted to find that I overestimated Romney in some small way. I mean I can totally see Palin getting into the series, but Mitt, really? Wow.

Yeah, Twilight 5. My understanding is that the series is pretty popular among Mormons; Stephenie Meyer (the author) acknowledges that her faith has influenced her work.
posted by inigo2 at 10:22 AM on November 20, 2012

And in actual 2012 election news, Allen West has conceded in Florida.

I was beginning to think he would take it to the House of Representatives for maximum media exposure.
posted by zarq at 10:22 AM on November 20, 2012

I always link to this blog, but... The Rude Pundit has some more questions for Marco Rubio (based on his favorite rap songs)
posted by gaspode at 12:00 PM on November 20, 2012 [3 favorites]

Greg Nog: "holy shit, Bruce Campbell's really let himself go."

Ha! I noticed the resemblance myself earlier today. So bizarre.
posted by brundlefly at 12:09 PM on November 20, 2012

Nonononono, you're giving western civilization way too much credit. Twilight 5.

Seriously? Jesus Christ. What in hell is happening with American movies?! No, don't tell me, I would rather just stay in my non-American movie bubble.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:51 PM on November 20, 2012

Jesus Christ. What in hell is happening with American movies?!

Well, around 1940 or so, film studios realized if you keep putting out sequels, people will keep paying to see them.
posted by griphus at 12:54 PM on November 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jesus Christ what has happened with American movies?
posted by shakespeherian at 1:06 PM on November 20, 2012

Jesus Christ. What in hell is happening with American movies?!

You might say it's The Fall of a Nation.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:00 PM on November 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

It was always going to end this way ...

Poetic justice: Romney likely to finish at 47 percent

Mitt Romney '47 percent' watch
posted by Bokmakierie at 4:03 PM on November 20, 2012

Hey, the Unskewed Polls guy is back! You'll never guess what he's discovered now....
posted by Chrysostom at 4:10 PM on November 20, 2012 [4 favorites]

After Obama, Christie Wants a G.O.P. Hug

Duty Before Party
posted by homunculus at 7:48 PM on November 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

That Unskewed Poll guy is simply precious. He is going to make a fantastic bitter old uncle at Thanksgiving for decades. Does he look like Nate Silver, only with an evil black goatee? Why the ever loving Christ would Slate engage this wanker...
posted by edgeways at 8:14 PM on November 20, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's almost as if Christie was more loyal to his constituents than to his party. Imagine that.
posted by octothorpe at 8:18 PM on November 20, 2012 [3 favorites]

Poetic justice: Romney likely to finish at 47 percent

Thank you Santa!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:20 PM on November 20, 2012 [6 favorites]

7579 total comments. 1100 since your most recent comment, last 10 shown below

Holy pants-doffing McJesus of the Sacred Shitmittens!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:38 AM on November 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

After Obama, Christie Wants a G.O.P. Hug

Man, I thought I'd gotten inured to the callousness of political operatives--and I never thought I'd feel this sympathetic for the guy--but the way Christie's party is treating him is just gross.
posted by psoas at 6:01 AM on November 21, 2012

"Mitt Romney at my local gas station," Reddit user mkb95 wrote. "He looks tired and washed up."

It almost makes me feel sorry for celebrities: Someone sees them on a day their personal makeup artist, hairstylist and fashion consultant aren't there and suddenly it's a spectacle to see them as a normal human being.
posted by Theta States at 6:28 AM on November 21, 2012

...but the way Christie's party is treating him is just gross.

And completely unsurprising. This is a party that has systematically worked to force out moderates, while creating a narrative that Barack Obama is cheating, Kenyan socialistic that will march into your home and rip the guns from your hands and then use guns to force you to buy health insurance.

It's a sign of maturity that they haven't demanded that he resign.

"Mitt Romney at my local gas station," Reddit user mkb95 wrote. "He looks tired and washed up."

He is tired and washed up. He'll bounce back though.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:37 AM on November 21, 2012

...is is a party that has systematically worked to force out moderates, while creating a narrative that Barack Obama is cheating, Kenyan socialistic that will march into your home and rip the guns from your hands and then use guns to force you to buy health insurance.

I don't want to forget that the GOP ran on that. That they made this about Capitalism vs. Socialism. I say we hold them to it. Let's insist socialism won.
posted by clarknova at 6:59 AM on November 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

BREAKING NEWS via the Slate article: New tally released at http://www.Barack O'Fraudo.com/!
Obama: 252 EV
Romney: 206 EV
OBAMA FRAUD: 80 EV
posted by Theta States at 7:13 AM on November 21, 2012

Barack O'Fraudo

What in the I don't even what.

Is he Irish now? And also Hispanic?

How is this a thing?
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:22 AM on November 21, 2012 [5 favorites]

How is this a thing?

Hate is a mighty, but not exactly rational, power.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:24 AM on November 21, 2012

Next, I expect him to recant his apology for calling Nate Silver a scrawny little fag.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:32 AM on November 21, 2012

Barack O'Fraudo

What in the I don't even what.

Is he Irish now? And also Hispanic?

How is this a thing?

Maybe that was the only domain name he could get for his little project?
posted by TedW at 7:42 AM on November 21, 2012

BarackODumbo.com doesn't currently exist. What are the other things the Freepers and RedState people change his name to?
posted by Theta States at 7:55 AM on November 21, 2012

clarknova: I don't want to forget that the GOP ran on that. That they made this about Capitalism vs. Socialism. I say we hold them to it. Let's insist socialism won.

Probably as good an occasion as any - I've been musing lately about the Republicans' use of the word 'socialism,' and, in a broader sense, the use of the word 'socialism' in US political discourse.

What's puzzling to me is that the word has a pretty exact definition, and I don't really see how it can be correctly applied to really any of the policies of the current Democratic party. Can someone fill me in here? I've been arguing with conservatives lately that there is no socialism in the US, and hardly any in Western Europe. Is there something I'm missing here?
posted by syzygy at 7:59 AM on November 21, 2012

What's puzzling to me is that the word has a pretty exact definition, and I don't really see how it can be correctly applied to really any of the policies of the current Democratic party.

It doesn't matter. The actual meaning of the word doesn't matter, just what people of the Republican base think is the meaning of the word. There's a lesson here that I wish the Democrats would learn.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:04 AM on November 21, 2012

Yeah, the republicans are done talking about real things with words that mean stuff. That shit's for losers.
posted by fleacircus at 8:05 AM on November 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

I'm having trouble finding a proper link, but I think it was Hofstadter who quoted a woman as saying, "Bah! Four more years of socialism," after the re-election of Eisenhower in 1956.
posted by ob1quixote at 8:17 AM on November 21, 2012

So Mitt and Ann went to see Twilight 2?!

(Ann and Mitt are at the movie theater)

Ann: Look at that line, honey. It's way too many people. We don't have to see Twilight. How about another movie? We can go see Lincoln.

(Awkward silence)

Ann: Oh! I'm sorry, is it too soon?
posted by FJT at 8:18 AM on November 21, 2012 [7 favorites]

What's puzzling to me is that the word has a pretty exact definition, and I don't really see how it can be correctly applied to really any of the policies of the current Democratic party. Can someone fill me in here? I've been arguing with conservatives lately that there is no socialism in the US, and hardly any in Western Europe. Is there something I'm missing here?

Alright, so I'm going to attempt to explain this, from a little bit of my perspective and a little bit of potentially other perspectives.

First, to say that there is one clear, exact definition of socialism, I think is flawed. A little preliminary googling revealed a few different options - Wikipedia grants us

Modern socialism originated from an 18th-century intellectual and working class political movement that criticised the effects of industrialisation and private property on society. In the early 19th-century, "socialism" referred to any concern for the social problems of capitalism irrespective of the solutions to those problems. However, by the late 19th-century, "socialism" had come to signify opposition to capitalism and advocacy for an alternative system based on some form of social ownership... In the late 20th century, the term "socialist" has also been used by Third way social democrats to refer to an ethical political doctrine focusing on a common set of values emphasizing social cooperation, universal welfare, and equality

So under some of these definitions, Obama is absolutely, one hundred percent, espousing policies as a socialist. Whether he believes them or not, he is certainly arguing for a common set of values that emphasize social cooperation, universal welfare, and equality, and doing what he can to bring them about. Universal healthcare on the grounds that it will benefit the welfare of all is that. Universal education - access to higher education for all is certainly that. Universal food for all is certainly that.

I think that a lot of people who agree with more progressive values simply don't see that as socialist, because to them, socialism has a more strict definition - party socialism, or complete social ownership of the means of production, as is mentioned elsewhere. But that doesn't mean it is wrong to call Obama a socialist, by certain very real definitions of the word socialist. I think a lot of people bristle at the term, because it is considered derogatory in common discourse (a lot of holdover from the Cold War, primarily), but that doesn't mean that Obama is not in some ways a socialist or doesn't endorse policies that could legitimately be called socialist policies.

A lot of people I think also believe implicitly in those common set of values around social cooperation, universal welfare, and equality - people that are, in the common parlance, often termed liberals. They also, erroneously, tend to assume that those values are shared more broadly than they are. Social cooperation, universal welfare, and de facto equality are not, in fact, embraced by all of the population. This is, in fact, a controversy, even though it's hard for some people to imagine that it is.
posted by corb at 8:32 AM on November 21, 2012

corb: A lot of people I think also believe implicitly in those common set of values around social cooperation, universal welfare, and equality - people that are, in the common parlance, often termed liberals.

Quite right. The kind of people who might believe in a document that starts out with this startling display of liberal socialism:

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

posted by ob1quixote at 8:38 AM on November 21, 2012 [20 favorites]

Hell is freezing over and I'm almost agreeing with corb. I certainly don't think the right is calling Obama and the Democratic Party socialists because they understand socialism to be a broad enough concept to encompass the part of the Democratic Party with social democratic tendencies (perhaps that's Howard Dean's 'Democratic wing of the Democratic Party', if anyone remembers that). They're calling people socialists because 'socialism' is a dirty word.

Of course, Bernie Sanders and the state of Vermont would like to remind you that socialists are, in fact, electable in the US.
posted by hoyland at 8:41 AM on November 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

They also, erroneously, tend to assume that those values are shared more broadly than they are.

Well, the socialist did get elected twice as President, by a clear popular and Electoral College majority, so go figure.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:46 AM on November 21, 2012 [5 favorites]

Re: Obama as socialist.

While it is reasonable to characterize President Obama as having some of the values that characterize social democratic thought, and therefore, as some kind of socialist, when it is used as a pejorative, the term 'socialist' is being used as a stand-in for something like "damn communist," which is really not what Obama stands for, at all. It's a conflating of two very different meanings. It's convenient, and dangerously misleading.
posted by bardophile at 9:13 AM on November 21, 2012 [9 favorites]

"Man, I thought I'd gotten inured to the callousness of political operatives--and I never thought I'd feel this sympathetic for the guy--but the way Christie's party is treating him is just gross."

Why do Republicans hate America?

"I think that a lot of people who agree with more progressive values simply don't see that as socialist, because to them, socialism has a more strict definition - party socialism, or complete social ownership of the means of production, as is mentioned elsewhere. But that doesn't mean it is wrong to call Obama a socialist, by certain very real definitions of the word socialist. I think a lot of people bristle at the term, because it is considered derogatory in common discourse (a lot of holdover from the Cold War, primarily), but that doesn't mean that Obama is not in some ways a socialist or doesn't endorse policies that could legitimately be called socialist policies."

Well, yeah, it's an intentionally misleading slur from people who don't understand socialism and use it in the same way that they used "liberal" just a few years ago. It's nonsense, and reaching back to the 19th century to justify it just shows how strained it is.

"Social cooperation, universal welfare, and de facto equality are not, in fact, embraced by all of the population."

Right, they're rejected by blinkered Got-Mine-ism and fools ascribing to emotionally gratifying but objectively false philosophies of debased liberalism.
posted by klangklangston at 9:15 AM on November 21, 2012 [12 favorites]

But that doesn't mean it is wrong to call Obama a socialist, by certain very real definitions of the word socialist.

There's a difference between someone who is willing to use Socialist policies and a person who is a Socialist. (Do we call Otto von Bismarck a Socialist?) I'd hope for national leaders who are willing to use any range of market-based open competition measures or government supervised or government run strategies.

If "Obama is a Socialist", by the same definition Romney, Bush II, Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, Carter, Nixon, LBJ, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, and FDR were also Socialists.

But us hashing out the definition here won't go anywhere, because it misses the deeper fact that many, many Americans are living with a completely inaccurate view of just how self-reliant they are. "Government, Keep your hands off of my Medicare!" is just the most extreme expression of it.
posted by benito.strauss at 9:21 AM on November 21, 2012 [13 favorites]

But that doesn't mean it is wrong to call Obama a socialist,...

By that same measure, so can these guys be called socialists: GW Bush, Clinton, GHW Bush, Reagan, Carter, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, FD Roosevelt,...

On edit, second benito.strauss.
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:30 AM on November 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

Conservative minded scholars and philosophers of at least the last two centuries would argue that "a common set of values that emphasize social cooperation, universal welfare, and equality" are most definitively core to conservative thinking.

It is merely the modern talking heads who have come to dominate the mind space of TV-Conservatism (which is far closer to reactionary/revolutionary ideas which are connected to 'liberalism'); only they would refer to those "common values" as virtues, and laugh at the thought of people using "values" as interchangeable with virtues.

The very foundation of the United States is to emphasize social cooperation, the amelioration of regional differences in natural resources which lead from petty squabbles, into regional conflicts that have engulfed and enflamed the passions of violence so commonly in the history of Europe.

I don't know about the "common welfare" bit, which is pretty loaded in modern discourse, but, well, conservative scholars speak highly of community, family, cohesion and protection of "our own" -- the modern world means that "our own" are not always our biological families... but community health is absolutely a conservative "thing" (as much as a liberal "thing").
posted by infinite intimation at 9:32 AM on November 21, 2012

Barack O'Fraudo

Hilarious! The main argument for "fraud" is that the mainstream media trumpeted that Romney was weak and Obama would win, thereby "suppressing" the vote.
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:37 AM on November 21, 2012

Mental Wimp: "Hilarious! The main argument for "fraud" is that the mainstream media trumpeted that Romney was weak and Obama would win, thereby "suppressing" the vote."

They keep using that word. I do not think it means what they think it means.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:40 AM on November 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

Focusing on the literal definition of socialism instead of how it's being used by the people yelling "SOCIALIST" is an attempt to hide the ball. We all know what's going on, let's not pretend that this is about a principled concern about the size of government for 99.99% of these people.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:40 AM on November 21, 2012 [6 favorites]

corb: In the late 20th century, the term "socialist" has also been used by Third way social democrats to refer to an ethical political doctrine focusing on a common set of values emphasizing social cooperation, universal welfare, and equality

Thanks for your response, but I'm just going to have to call "malarkey" on that particular sentence in the Wikipedia article.

Here's the sentence that follows your quote: "It ['socialism'] is used in this way by Third Way proponent Anthony Giddens, who rejects conventional definitions and implementations of socialism."

Giddens is mentioned twice in the article, both times with very similar assertions about this nonstandard definition of 'socialism.' Helpfully, footnotes are provided, four of them, in fact. And all four of them point to the same exact page in a book written by Mr. Giddens. My reading of the page suggests that Mr. Giddens is summarizing another writer's work, one Anthony Crosland, rather than attempting to redefine 'socialism,' himself.

In short, the only support for this nonstandard definition of the word is what I would consider the misinterpretation of a single passage on a single page in a single book.

Furthermore, Crosland's work on socialism, The Future of Socialism, "was highly controversial at the time of its publication." Some on the left - i.e. the 'owners' of the term 'socialism' - felt strongly that Crosland was not a socialist. Crosland argued that the classic definition of 'socialism' was incorrect or too narrow, but it was only an argument, and a very controversial one, at that.

So, really, all Wikipedia has to bolster the credibility of this alternate definition of the term is one page in one book, in which the author's summarization of another man's controversial idea is misinterpreted as the first author's own opinion.

Color me highly unimpressed. Or, allow me to redefine the word 'capitalism' here and now, as state or communal ownership of the means of production and control over the distribution of goods, and I'll concede to your argument. In other words, a word either has a meaning, or it does not. Either anyone can redefine a word, at a whim, in which case every word means nothing (or everything, take your pick), or else each word has a meaning.

I'm generally not a linguistic prescriptivist, but I do think that terms such as "socialist" cannot simply be redefined on a whim, when they had very specific meanings beforehand.

Redefining politically-charged, well-defined words is something propagandists, ideologues and Republicans do. I don't think it's a practice serious thinkers engage in, often.
posted by syzygy at 10:20 AM on November 21, 2012 [18 favorites]

I find the following short passage on the Third Way instructive, as it relates to Giddens and the discussion of the meaning of 'socialism':

Put at its most basic the Third Way is something different and distinct from liberal capitalism ... and democratic socialism ... The Third Way is in favour of growth, entrepeneurship, enterprise and wealth creation but it is also in favour of greater social justice and it sees the state playing a major role in bringing this about. So in the words of one of its gurus Anthony Giddens ... the Third Way rejects top down socialism as it rejects traditional neo liberalism.

Again, I think the sentence corb quoted from the Wikipedia article is a very poor source to depend on if she wants to argue for the acceptance of a new definition of 'socialism' that differs greatly from the classic one.
posted by syzygy at 10:37 AM on November 21, 2012

If anyone is more interested in the "third way" (a fairly old idea, and not really just recently made up thing (Canadian traditions most closely [nearly uniquely] follow, and define this ‘third’ way), but definitely not encapsulated by that wikipedia quote posted earlier); read "Canadian Marxists and the search for a third way" by Peter Campbell (third way could be seen [broadly] as referring to “self-growth, towards a stronger, more equal society”, and it counters two other main ideas in the formational periods of Socialist ideas, one, “Marxist Evolutionism”- a belief, no, ‘faith’ that “Socialist Utopia is Destiny-whether ‘you’ act, or not”, as well as countering the more slippery ideas of “Syndicalism”, “disruption”, or “cog-stepping in” (syndicalism also relied on some degree of faith, that the resultant "torn down" society could reform, or be more equal, with little justification, I liken it to "ideological libertarianism" that is common in todays right. The third way is neither to wait for Godot’s Eutopia, nor to break the machine of civilization, and hope that the resulting order will be more egalitarian... It really goes back quite far to ideas such as “do actions matter”, or "is history destined" (it comes down on the side of earliest Canadian Conservatives [Social Responsibilities for those who 'have', to help those who 'have not']).

In order to understand the designation of the thrid way, it is neccessary to look at the history of Marxist thought and the development of Marxist-based organizations following the demise of the First International (1864-76), during the period of the Second International (1889-1914), and the Third or Communist International organized in 1919. The major Marxist tendency of the Second International period was the development of mass-based parliamentary socialism, whose leading spokespersons tended to identify working-class self-emancipation with the workers voting themselves into power by electing representatives to bourgeois-dominated legislatures.

The largest socialist party in Europe was in Germany, where the Social Democratic Party had not only survived but flourished under Otto von Bismarck's anti-socialist laws in the years 1878-90. The continued growth of the party, and increasing electoral success, produced a dominant leadership group which dedicated itself to not antagonizing the military and business leaders of Germany, sought to avoid mass action, and believed taht the triumph of socialism in Germany was inevitable. The growth of the party became an end in itself for many German Social Democrats, and revolutionaries such as Rosa Luxemburg criticized party leaders for their “organizational fetishism.” Most party leaders were characterized by what Roger Fletcher calls political “immobilism,” the belief that “nothing precipitate must be done to provoke the bourgeoisie into repressive action against the cherished party organizations”.

In effect on the eve of the First World War, the idea of working-class self emancipation had been almost entirely subsumed under the necessity of always acting for the good of the party as defined by the leadership, including supporting Germany’s entry into the war. Opponents of political immobilism and Germany’s involvement in the war, notably Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, found themselves very much isolated as constant defenders of the idea of working-class self-emancipation.
....
Ernest Winch typified what was best in Marxism of the thrid way. He always kept in view the end of the capitalist system and the creation of a socialist society in which the needs of all would be met. He realized that this society had to be created by the workers themselves - it could not be given to them. Throughout his life he attempted to educate the rank and file, to bring them to a realization of their class position and what they had to do to change it. He was a social democrat in the best sense, a man who cared for the poor, the dispossessed, the exploited, the imprisoned, and the ill - all those he felt had been victimized by a system over which they had no control.

If that passage doesn't hit home the "everything that happens has happened before, and will happen again" buttons...
posted by infinite intimation at 11:20 AM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

syzygy, I feel like you're trying very hard to argue that there's no way whatsoever that any policy Obama or the Democratic Party has ever espoused could possibly bear any resemblance whatsoever to socialism.

I mean, I agree that Tony Blair, perhaps the embodiment of the Third Way, was pretty much only a socialist inasmuch as the Labour Party Constitution declared him to be one and he found himself obliged to make a speech using the words "redistribute the wealth" every year. This doesn't, however, mean that Blair had nothing to do with socialism. Supposedly, the defining moment of New Labour was when Clause Four of the party constitution was changed (this was Blair's doing). Guess what sentence got added by New Labour? "The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party." Did New Labour mean it? Well, the cynical among us would say no, it was a way of trying to appease the left wing of the party. But the point is that they're coming out of an explicitly socialist tradition.

Ditto for Gerhard Schroeder, except that some of the left wing of the SPD walked--that's where half of the Linkspartei came from (the other half was the remnants of the SED successor party). (Hell, that's even how Merkel became Chancellor the first time around. They both refused to form a coalition with Die Linke. A CDU/CSU-Linke coalition would have been weird, but SPD-Linke is totally plausible, but Schroeder refused. Presumably because it would have cemented Linke as a 'real' party, but I assume he was also a bit pissed at the people who left SPD.
posted by hoyland at 11:25 AM on November 21, 2012

Er.. to clarify, they rewrote Clause Four significantly. The 'democratic socialist party' sentence is the new first sentence. It wasn't there before (I don't know if it was elsewhere in the constitution).
posted by hoyland at 11:27 AM on November 21, 2012

syzygy, I feel like you're trying very hard to argue that there's no way whatsoever that any policy Obama or the Democratic Party has ever espoused could possibly bear any resemblance whatsoever to socialism.

I think the point is that if you apply it to Obama, you have to apply to every president since the great depression, and even many before then. It becomes meaningless in the context of our current political discussion, other than an epithet flung by the right against the left to sway the ignorant.
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:24 PM on November 21, 2012 [8 favorites]

7616 comments? I love this thread.
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:26 PM on November 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

Maybe the tail end of a thread with more than 7600 comments wasn't the best place to start this discussion :) But the questions have been on my mind quite a lot, lately.

hoyland: I feel like you're trying very hard to argue that there's no way whatsoever that any policy Obama or the Democratic Party has ever espoused could possibly bear any resemblance whatsoever to socialism

Honestly, I'm trying to work it out. I've done some quick reading up on the Third Way, and plan to do some more. Interestingly, to summarize, rightists call it socialism in disguise, while real / traditional socialists call it capitalism in disguise. Third Way-ists seem to want to call it a compromise between the two systems.

Interestingly, leftists say it's an idea that was introduced from the center-left in order to make it palatable to the left, and that it's basically taken over the left; that a left-of-Third-Way movement needs to stand up and create a new, 'real' left. You might say the same about rightists - think tea party zealots who talk about RINOs, Republicans who are too moderate, and who need to be replaced with 'real' rightists.

But back to the point about the meaning of 'socialism.' Even Third Way-ists talk about 'traditional socialism' and 'modern socialism,' that is, they distinguish what they call 'socialism' from what it has traditionally meant. Socialists disagree, saying the Third Way has falsely co-opted the term in order to confuse the issue.

I'm inclined to agree with the socialists on this one - I see no reason why the term should be redefined at the whims of the Third Way-ists. As such, and in the absence of any policies that seem to conform to the traditional definition of the word, I see the shrill cries of 'socialism' by the right (as a label applied to any economic policy they disagree with) as illegitimate. I'm willing to have my mind changed, though.

Until I do, I'll continue to blow conservatives' minds by showing them the traditional definition of the word and arguing that there's very little that meets that definition in present-day Western Europe or the US. I like to sew discord and chaos inside their fantasy bubbles by forcefully and convincingly challenging the false narratives they're spoon-fed by right-wing demagogues every day.
posted by syzygy at 12:46 PM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

Frank Rich on the National Circus: Lessons for Obama’s New Cabinet
posted by homunculus at 1:52 PM on November 21, 2012

I love how this thread hasn't devolved into recipe-longboating (not that there's anything wrong with that; many silly longboats have I enjoyed!) - more than 7600 comments in and we're discussing/reading others discussing socialism.
posted by rtha at 2:13 PM on November 21, 2012 [3 favorites]

I see the shrill cries of 'socialism' by the right (as a label applied to any economic policy they disagree with) as illegitimate.

I don't disagree. I think I'm in a weird in-between space on this one. On the one hand, I do think the right has decided calling anything and everything they disagree with 'socialism' not because the particular thing they hate this week has anything in particular to do with socialism, but because 'socialism' is a dirty word. But on the other hand, I feel like, by trying to distance ourselves from socialism (whatever we decide to define it as), we're just buying into the idea that socialism is dirty or inherently evil and that's something I firmly disagree with.
posted by hoyland at 2:23 PM on November 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

hoyland: I feel like, by trying to distance ourselves from socialism (whatever we decide to define it as), we're just buying into the idea that socialism is dirty or inherently evil and that's something I firmly disagree with.

I understand where you're coming from. I'm not taking a moral position on socialism with this argument. I've had the opportunity recently to engage with some conservatives who don't go completely aggro when discussing politics and economics. I've found that some of them are receptive to sound, reasonable arguments based on fact, and it seems that bursting these little falsehoods that they're being fed is a way to at least get them to start engaging their critical thinking faculties a little more when listening to their favorite sources of information.

I find that pointing out lies and contradictions coming from the right is a way to help some of them out of zombieland a bit. If I can convince a certain type of conservative that 'socialism' is the wrong label for obamacare, for instance, he may be inclined to give less credence to Glenn Beck, if Glenn Beck calls obamacare 'socialism' over and over. I'm trying to build carefully-crafted messages for the different types of conservatives I have the opportunity to engage. For the 'fiscal conservative,' I usually talk about the quality of life here in Austria, a generous welfare state, as opposed to Texas, where I'm from. I try to point out that the US doesn't really have any true socialist policies, and that no one's really floating any real socialist policies. Basically, I'm trying to explode the myths they're hearing, in hopes of getting them to turn their brains on.

For an analog, I have a toolchest of talking points when engaging with Evangelical conservatives. During the election, that included talking about Romney's Mormonism, and the hypocrisy of many Evangelical leaders who, during the primaries, refused to support him due to his Mormonism, then all did 180 degree turns to support him after he won the primaries. I'm not taking a position on Mormonism, itself, here. Rather, I'm pointing out the hypocrisy of the leaders these people are listening to.

I wonder whether there's a place or community online that's discussing these sort of issues, and is also building up resources to counter lies from the right - either long-term lies like the ones about socialism, or lies of the day, like ones about Benghazi.

Conservatives are people, too, and the ones who are at all reasonable will listen to rational arguments based on facts, and I'm hoping to do my part to cause a few of them to think more critically about what they're being told.
posted by syzygy at 3:03 PM on November 21, 2012 [6 favorites]

Romney takes in Disneyland with the grandkids.

Planned photo-op to counter the 'Disheveled Mitt Pumping Gas' viral photo?
posted by ericb at 3:17 PM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

As much of a wanker I think he is, I suspect it's just a (rich) dude taking his family out for a good time post campaigning crazyness
posted by edgeways at 3:37 PM on November 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

Special election time! Jesse Jackson, Jr. resigned today.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:51 PM on November 21, 2012

Special election time! Jesse Jackson, Jr. resigned today.

The megathread lives on!
posted by DynamiteToast at 4:10 PM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

Special election time! Jesse Jackson, Jr. resigned today.

I think most people expected this. Personally I think he should have withdrawn as a candidate but what do I know?
posted by orrnyereg at 4:17 PM on November 21, 2012

Personally I think he should have withdrawn as a candidate but what do I know?

Stopping an ego that size too quickly can cause a rift in the space-time continuum.
posted by localroger at 4:33 PM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Grand Cynicism Of The Grand Bargain
posted by homunculus at 4:54 PM on November 21, 2012

You Can Vote On The Presidential Turkey Pardon But Neither of Them Is Going to Die So Why Bother
posted by homunculus at 5:13 PM on November 21, 2012

You Can Vote On The Presidential Turkey Pardon But Neither of Them Is Going to Die So Why Bother

Makes for a good West Wing episode, though. (Admittedly, I think there's only one turkey.)
posted by hoyland at 7:19 PM on November 21, 2012

"I think most people expected this. Personally I think he should have withdrawn as a candidate but what do I know?"

There was some strategic rationale for that which I've forgotten now.
posted by klangklangston at 7:30 PM on November 21, 2012

I don't know about Obama gifts, but it is evident that Romney is the gift that keeps on giving. I forgot all about that creepy Dan Senor and I am happy to remember we don't have him as part of the white house team, yay, yay, yay. I would love it if this creepy loser would just go away.
posted by madamjujujive at 9:34 PM on November 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

Return of the 47 percent: The right’s latest tax lie. Conservatives can't stop! A new Heritage study echoes Mitt's "47 percent" theme -- and gets facts and history wrong
posted by homunculus at 12:27 AM on November 22, 2012

"Yes, I think that the blood spent in subduing one half of the United States and turning brother against brother was absolutely a waste. The Civil War was one of the bloodiest wars we've taken part of, and the things we did during it (particularly in both side's POW camps and on Sherman's March to the South) were abominable. I think that the end of slavery could have been accomplished with less blood and less treasure. I am puzzled as to why this is somehow devil-horn worthy. Yes, we should have ended slavery, but I don't think I've heard anyone advocate (before, apparently, today) that we needed to kill people to do it or it somehow wasn't worthwhile."

Dumbest thing I've read in a long time. As if Lincoln got out of bed one day and decided to be mean to the plantation owners.

The Civil War was inevitable barring some huge change of heart among the southerners and that wasn't going to happen.

And you think Sherman's March was bad? How about the Middle Passage?

The Civil War was not a spat over states' rights that tragically led to a preventable conflict. It was about an evil empire based on slavery -- the fucking enslavement of fellow human beings -- that became traitors the moment they decided to secede. Yes, traitors.

If you agree that the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima was necessary to crush the spirit of another evil regime, than Sherman's March was actually a humanitarian act. Every year the American Civil War dragged on was another year of de facto genocide against blacks, not to mention the young (mostly poor, natch) southerners who would be thrown into the meat grinder of war. Sherman wasn't some big ol' meanie, he was highly conscious of the fact that he needed to make an example of Atlanta so that he could actually spare other major southern cities the same fate. (And it worked brilliantly.)

Both sides do it? Really? I'll grant that certain sectors of the northern economy profited from slavery and deserve blame as well but c'mon, this is straight up Glenn Beck-level bullshit.

And as klang pointed out, the South shot first. They were welcome not to.
posted by bardic at 2:19 AM on November 22, 2012 [30 favorites]

Linda McMahon (republican senate candidate, CT)=wife of WWE Vince McMahon, ran a really slimy campaign and spent a LOT of money.

Classy Wrasslin’ Two-Time-Loser Lady Linda McMahon Stiffs Staff, Invites It To Screw Itself
posted by homunculus at 12:27 PM on November 22, 2012 [5 favorites]

What the Case for Palin in 2016 Says About Conservatives

A response to the LATimes op ed about running Palin in 2016 that was posted earlier.

Likewise, when it comes to winning over less wealthy voters, Allen seems to think they are all suckers. Allen enthuses, “Hardly anyone could be more blue collar than Palin, out on the fishing boat with her hunky blue-collar husband, Todd.” Hardly anyone, that is, except for someone who is actually blue collar. “Blue collar” workers are those who perform manual labor that does not require a bachelor’s degree: janitors, firefighters, auto workers, plumbers. Palin is a college educated multimillionaire. Before going into politics she was a local TV sportscaster. Palin was not even raised in a blue collar family. Her father was also a college educated professional, a school teacher. Palin is upper class and white collar.

Allen’s false assertion about Palin is revealing. For many conservatives, class is not determined by objective measurements such as income, occupation or education. Rather it is a set of cultural affectations. If you fish and can’t name a single newspaper you read, you’re blue collar, since “blue collar” is, in this usage, just a shorthand for what conservatives deem to be a typical white American.

TL;DR: Just because Palin is a woman with a daughter who is a single mom and a son who is a war vet and she knows some gay people, that doesn't mean voters can be hoodwinked into accepting Republican positions.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:45 PM on November 22, 2012 [1 favorite]

Classy Wrasslin’ Two-Time-Loser Lady Linda McMahon Stiffs Staff, Invites It To Screw Itself

Oh god, what a horrible person. And now that just casts this evil pall over the WWE for me, I'm not going to be able to think of it again as an apolitical organization.

I think things like this should be tied around their candidates' necks and cause them to drown politically. There should be a wiki out there somewhere that just records all the terrible things they do, and it should become the first place people look when they want to find out if a person is really worth voting for. Not Wikipedia itself, although ideally it'd have its policy towards sources, but a place where it's okay to be really snarky about what a politician has done. No matter if they have an R, D or I after their name.

Again, what a horrible person.
posted by JHarris at 3:32 PM on November 22, 2012 [3 favorites]

corb: “The Civil War was one of the bloodiest wars we've taken part of, and the things we did during it (particularly in both side's POW camps and on Sherman's March to the South) were abominable.”

sweetkid: “Everyone agrees with this. This is the new, reasoned perspective from the 'other side'? Can we have a new representative, please?”

Not all of us.

For what it's worth: Sherman's March was one of the greatest moments in United States military achievement, if not the greatest moment. I genuinely believe it was an incredibly turn for the better in modern warfare. Fewer people died in that march than almost any other campaign in the Civil War; and it was instrumental in ending the war quickly through means that didn't include simply slaughtering people senselessly.

William Tecumseh Sherman was a hero. If he hadn't done what he did, millions more would have died in bloody battle. The idea that burning down buildings is worse than slaughtering thousands by the minute is really strange to me.
posted by koeselitz at 6:40 PM on November 22, 2012 [8 favorites]

Just came back for one more visit to this wonderful thread. I am very thankful for many things in my personal life, but on this particular Thanksgiving, it is this election outcome for which I truly give thanks.
posted by bearwife at 7:04 PM on November 22, 2012 [14 favorites]

Obama’s Only Presidential Pardon This Year Went To The Turkey
posted by homunculus at 7:31 PM on November 22, 2012 [2 favorites]

koeselitz: "William Tecumseh Sherman was a hero. If he hadn't done what he did, millions more would have died in bloody battle. The idea that burning down buildings is worse than slaughtering thousands by the minute is really strange to me."

The treatment of the South was also saintly in the context of military history. The traditional reprisal for failed rebellions is not just the destruction of railroads and civilian supply infrastructure, but more along the lines of genocides and decimating collective punishments.
posted by clarknova at 2:18 AM on November 23, 2012 [5 favorites]

I think that the end of slavery could have been accomplished with less blood and less treasure.

I don't really want to join the corb pile-on, but good grief I would hope to hell you could do better than resurrect the "reasonable" alternative to abolition, gradualism. Congratulations on taking conservatism back to its 18th century roots, more accurately than you ever imagined.

(It sickens me to think that school children were assigned the debate positions of "slavery is bad, we should end it immediately" and "slavery is bad, we should be cautious and slow in ending it" as early as a century prior to the Civil War.)
posted by dhartung at 7:45 AM on November 23, 2012

It is, though, perhaps worth asking why everyone else (where everyone = "European colonial powers", mostly) managed to abolish slavery without a war. Only Brazil took longer than the US. Superficially (this is something I don't know much about), Brazil's economy was enormously dependent on slave labour, in the same way the southern US was. But surely if you were a British slave owner in the Caribbean, you took a big economic hit at abolition and it's not like people who profited from the slave trade in the Caribbean weren't politically influential people. This is something I know very little about though. (I mean, I know a bit about William Wilberforce, but that's because he's from Hull and there aren't that many historically significant people from Hull.)
posted by hoyland at 8:07 AM on November 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

Slavery is unfortunately such a huge evil that I think it makes people see it in a light that is different than any other. Many good, kind, peaceful people will justify some of the worst excesses and butchery, on the grounds that it stopped or was intending to stop slavery. Sherman, John Brown, Nat Turner, and many others are whitewashed of their crimes. In some ways it's a reasonable emotional response, because the scope of slavery is so vast and awful that it seems to outweigh anything that could have been done to oppose it.

But that kind of cult of relative evil can be really dangerous, particularly when it comes to justifying war crimes. Sherman is admired and respected in many present-day military circles.

"War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out."

It is Sherman's words, on modern lips, often with accreditation, that preface the free-fire zones of Iraq, the revenge at Haditha, depleted uranium in the siege of Fallujah, "drop weapons", prisoner abuse, and a host of other ills.

It's also interesting, because you can often see the same responses on the lips of people who have committed these actions or who are justifying them. "We liberated the people from Saddam Hussein, anything we did pales in comparison to what he did" is not radically different from "We liberated the slaves, anything we did pales in comparison to slavery." And, likewise, the very suggestion that we could have done things differently, without the massive casualties and devastation, meets with a very strong response. But in both cases, it may be unjustified. It doesn't mean that we are endorsing Saddam Hussein's crimes if we say that we should not have invaded Iraq and should have found another way of dealing with them. It doesn't mean we are endorsing slavery if we say we should not have gone to war with the South, and should have found another way of dealing with them. It means we are looking at what happened and evaluating it in hindsight, finding better hypothetical ways of dealing with the past so that we can find better ways of dealing with the future.
posted by corb at 8:40 AM on November 23, 2012

The treatment of the South was also saintly in the context of military history. The traditional reprisal for failed rebellions is not just the destruction of railroads and civilian supply infrastructure, but more along the lines of genocides and decimating collective punishments.

It's possible that that's becuase a lot of the enlisted men in the Union Army were comparatively recent Irish immigrants who didn't have as much nationalist sentiment yet. Some did enlist to "prove themselves" as Americans, yes, but others may have enlisted to sort of "train themselves" with an eye towards a future Irish rebellion back in Ireland, and still others were just drafted.

I've also heard accounts of Irish soldiers in the Confederate Army as well, and heard anecdotes of the Irish brigades stationed on either side of a river, loudly singing Irish rebel songs together at night.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:40 AM on November 23, 2012

It doesn't mean we are endorsing slavery if we say we should not have gone to war with the South, and should have found another way of dealing with them.

But that isn't what happened. Lincoln didn't become president and say 'Slavery is fucked up, let's start killing southerners until slavery is eradicated!'
posted by shakespeherian at 8:47 AM on November 23, 2012 [5 favorites]

It doesn't mean we are endorsing slavery if we say we should not have gone to war with the South, and should have found another way of dealing with them.

That's actually the reverse of how the Civil War started - the South fired first to *save* slavery. It was abolished and the Confederate states decided "over our collective dead body."

You should read more on the timeline of the beginning of the war. I learned this stuff back in high school, so surely Wikipedia would be a decent start.
posted by sonika at 10:12 AM on November 23, 2012 [12 favorites]

Ah, the heady stew of revisionism and idiocy.
posted by klangklangston at 10:22 AM on November 23, 2012 [11 favorites]

There's a quote from General Sherman that sums up the military aspect of the Civil War, and the man himself, incredibly:

You people of the South don't know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end. It is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization! You people speak so lightly of war; you don't know what you're talking about. War is a terrible thing! You mistake, too, the people of the North. They are a peaceable people but an earnest people, and they will fight, too. They are not going to let this country be destroyed without a mighty effort to save it… Besides, where are your men and appliances of war to contend against them? The North can make a steam engine, locomotive, or railway car; hardly a yard of cloth or pair of shoes can you make. You are rushing into war with one of the most powerful, ingeniously mechanical, and determined people on Earth — right at your doors. You are bound to fail. Only in your spirit and determination are you prepared for war. In all else you are totally unprepared, with a bad cause to start with. At first you will make headway, but as your limited resources begin to fail, shut out from the markets of Europe as you will be, your cause will begin to wane. If your people will but stop and think, they must see in the end that you will surely fail.

- General Sherman's comments to Prof. David F. Boyd at the Louisiana State Seminary (24 December 1860) (via)
posted by griphus at 10:29 AM on November 23, 2012 [17 favorites]

It is Sherman's words, on modern lips, often with accreditation, that preface the free-fire zones of Iraq, the revenge at Haditha, depleted uranium in the siege of Fallujah, "drop weapons", prisoner abuse, and a host of other ills.

The people who hold this view of Sherman's statement in his "Letter to the City Fathers of Atlanta" signal their own lack of understanding of Sherman's strategy and their shallow view of American history, Civil War history, and the history of warfare itself.

Indeed, in Sherman's own words, he recommends "curses and maledictions," even in 1864 far from the height of military technology.

On September 2, 1864, the mayor of Atlanta surrenders, under the terms of "protection to non-combatants and private property." Sherman accepts, and two weeks later orders "the burning of all public buildings, machine shops, depots, and arsenals in Atlanta, and sent word to the city to evacuate all citizens." The city fathers protest, saying that there are mostly civilians, the weak, the old, women, children in the city, with nowhere to go, and the evacuation would be a hardship.

Sherman replies:

I have read it carefully, and give full credit to your statements of the distress that will be occasioned, any yet shall not revoke my orders, because they were not designed to meet the humanities of the case, but to prepare for the future struggles in which millions of good people outside of Atlanta have a deep interest. We must have peace, not only in Atlanta, but in all America. To secure this, we must stop the war that now desolates our once happy and favored country. To stop war, we must defeat the rebel armies which are now arrayed against the laws and Constitution that all must respect and obey. To defeat those armies, we must prepare the way to reach them in their recesses, provided with the arms and instruments which enable us to accomplish our purpose. Now I know the vindictive nature of our enemy, that we may have many years of military operations from this quarter; and, therefore, deem it wise and prudent to prepare in time

His goal in the burning of Atlanta is the end the capability of the South to make war. Not brutalize the inhabitants. Not maim, burn and kill. But to destroy the South's industrial and logistical base, to which Atlanta is vital. In the very same paragraph you quote he continues:

Once admit the Union, once more acknowledge the authority of the national Government, and, instead of devoting your houses and streets and roads to the dread uses of war, I and this army become at once your protectors and supporters, shielding you from danger, let it come from what quarter it may.

Indeed, Sherman is even more explicit:

the only way the people of Atlanta can hope once more to live in peace and quiet at home, is to stop the war, which can only be done by admitting that it began in error and is perpetuated in pride.

We don’t want your negroes, or your horses, or your houses, or your hands, or any thing that you have, but we do want and will have a just obedience to the laws of the United States. That we will have, and, if it involves the destruction of your improvements, we cannot help it.

He even counters the revisionism that had been occuring during the war by the media in the South:

I repeat then that, by the original compact of Government, the United States had certain rights in Georgia, which have never been relinquished and never will be; that the South began war by seizing forts, arsenals, mints, custom-houses, etc., etc., long before Mr. Lincoln was installed, and before the South had one jot or title of provocation

Sherman answers the city father's claim that Atlanta is home to civilians by talking of the evacuated and starving civilians he'd seen in Kentucky and Missouri, fleeing the Confederate Army. The Union fed them. He answers the Atlantan's claim they thei do not help the war effort:

Now that war comes home to you, you feel very different. You depreciate its horrors, but did not feel them when you sent car-loads of soldiers and ammunition, and moulded shells and shot, to carry war into Kentucky and Tennessee, to desolate the homes of hundreds of thousands of good people who only asked to live in peace at their old homes, and under the Government of their inheritance.

He ends the letter with another offer: "But, my dear sirs, when peace does come, you may call on me for any thing. Then I will share with you the last cracker, and watch with you to shield your homes and families against danger from every quarter"

From the analysis:

Few people bother to read famous documents, and so few people actually read the text of Sherman’s letter, and so most people believe it expresses a callous or gleeful attachment to war. They think it is Sherman saying, Screw you, rebels—I’m coming for your women and children and you can all burn! The fact that the town leaders refused to evacuate when given the chance meant that there were civilians in Atlanta when it was burned, and there was loss of life. Some vindictive Union soldiers without personal integrity or honor were allowed to set fire to private homes with women and children in them both before and during the official destruction. But the fact that all loss of civilian life could have been prevented was conveniently overlooked by later southern historians, who simply focused on the carnage and helped create the image of Sherman as a south-hating demon whose memory must be reviled in perpetuity.

The people who fall for the revisionist history of the March To The Sea are, by and large, 'useful idiots.' Those who perpetuate it are worse.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:49 AM on November 23, 2012 [30 favorites]

In fact, the major text that makes the same comparison that you did, corb, gets the basic facts wrong.

Mr. Reston is unsparing in his moral censure, speaking (the words are his) of Sherman's sins, his crimes, his villainy, his uncontrolled brutality, his atrocities.

That would be a fair judgment if Sherman's army had left behind a trail of civilian corpses and ravaged women. But it did not, and that fact imposes a considerable strain on Mr. Reston's Vietnam analogy.

posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:56 AM on November 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

I was about to respond, but the man of twists and turns did so better than I ever could. The upshot: Sherman saved lives.

And it should be noted that Sherman wasn't as roundly reviled by Southerners as we are led to believe. One of my forebears was a certain General Johnston of the Confederate Army. At the surrender he introduced himself to Sherman and thanked him profusely; and for the rest of his life he revered and respected Sherman for being intelligent enough to see a way to end the war without bloodshed and calculating enough to bring it off. In fact, when Sherman died, Johnston was a pallbearer at his funeral; it rained, and Johnston caught the pneumonia that finally killed him, too. But he made it clear to everyone he knew: Sherman's tactics were the tactics of mercy. I get the impression that plenty of Confederate military men felt the same, and had an admiration for Sherman that was genuine.
posted by koeselitz at 11:16 AM on November 23, 2012 [15 favorites]

How Obamacare Came To The Fiscal Cliff
posted by homunculus at 11:54 AM on November 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

It is, though, perhaps worth asking why everyone else (where everyone = "European colonial powers", mostly) managed to abolish slavery without a war.

The obvious answer is apart from the US, any wars between slaveholding areas and their mother countries would have been so laughably one-sided that they didn't occur. Whites in Jamaica or Trinidad could hardly defend themselves against the British Empire of the 1830s. Hell, they probably couldn't defend themselves against their own slave populations without the assistance of the mother country.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:16 PM on November 23, 2012 [4 favorites]

This thread has taken a very odd turn more than 7000 comments in. Let's celebrate Thanksgiving with apologetics for American slave owners!
posted by grouse at 1:27 PM on November 23, 2012 [5 favorites]

Yes, I think that the blood spent in subduing one half of the United States and turning brother against brother was absolutely a waste.

Isn't this essentially saying that abolishing slavery was "absolutely a waste?" There is no way the 13th amendment gets passed without the war.

I think that the end of slavery could have been accomplished with less blood and less treasure.

It seems to me the ideas that the CSA would have ended slavery on their own soon after secession are the most egregious and fallacious fantasies of neo-confederate counterfactualism. The end of slavery should have been accomplished on moral grounds well before the 1860's, and if it had been there would have been no need for the war. But the South had no intention whatsoever of ending slavery; they were trying to expand it, and this probably lead to the Civil War more than anything.

"We at the South are an agricultural people, and we require an extended territory. Slave labor is a wasteful labor, and it therefore requires a still more extended territory than would the same pursuits if they be prosecuted by the more economical labor of white men."
-Jefferson Davis

Assuming the CSA were allowed to secede, if/when slavery became untenable in the South for economic reasons a good guess is it would have at best been replaced by a system of apartheid far worse than Jim Crow.

As it happened, the fate of freed slaves immediately after emancipation is one of the biggest tragedies of the Civil War rarely accounted for:

How the end of slavery led to starvation and death for millions of black Americans

Refugeeing Virginia Slaves

One Kind of Freedom: The Economic Consequences of Emancipation by Roger Ransom, Richard Sutch, p.53-54 (2001)

General Howard, Freedmen's Bureau, estimated that 25% of African-Am. lost their lives by the war.

Instead, Ransom/Sutch estimate that 1.6% of African-Am. died as a direct result of the war. [based on the 3.5M blacks in the CSA, this would come to around 56,000 civilian deaths. Howard's est. would be 875,000 d.]

posted by Golden Eternity at 1:28 PM on November 23, 2012 [4 favorites]

The obvious answer is apart from the US, any wars between slaveholding areas and their mother countries would have been so laughably one-sided that they didn't occur. Whites in Jamaica or Trinidad could hardly defend themselves against the British Empire of the 1830s. Hell, they probably couldn't defend themselves against their own slave populations without the assistance of the mother country.

The less obvious answer is that in other slaveholding areas where slavery was abolished, the abolishing government provided monetary compensation to slaveholders for their property loss - the same suggestion that has been considered by many here as a ludicrous one. The English Abolition of Slavery act of 1833, for example, explicitly provided 20 million pounds for that compensation, as well as providing a gradual transition by keeping former slaves in "apprenticeships" for a period of six years. So while there was still economic loss, the loss was cushioned. Some have said upthread that doing it that way would have kept slavery until much, much, later - but somehow England managed to do it thirty years earlier than us, and without a war.

Yet for some reason (I am not quite sure why, and would certainly appreciate if someone else has data) that way was not favored by America. The only thing I could think of would be Puritan morality (the wicked must be punished) or perhaps a lingering distaste for the Southern aristocracy slavery allowed in the original, Northern colonies.
posted by corb at 1:29 PM on November 23, 2012

Yet for some reason (I am not quite sure why, and would certainly appreciate if someone else has data) that way was not favored by America.

A -- There were 4 million slaves in the south. There wasn't enough money to compensate southern slave owners for their 'property loss'.

B) The war wasn't fought to free the slaves. The slaves were freed as a consequence of the war, which the south started and lost. Maybe if the south hadn't started the war and were willing to compromise on ending slavery, they might have gotten a better deal.
posted by empath at 1:43 PM on November 23, 2012 [4 favorites]

Umm... maybe this is just my cynicism talking, but I think it had something to do with the slaveholders fighting tooth and nail against anything that could conceivably lead to slavery being further marginalised. That's why we had the Missouri Compromise, as far as I know. That's even why we have a state of Maine and not a really big, two-part Massachusetts.
posted by hoyland at 1:46 PM on November 23, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Confederate States of America
posted by homunculus at 1:49 PM on November 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

"The less obvious answer is that in other slaveholding areas where slavery was abolished, the abolishing government provided monetary compensation to slaveholders for their property loss - the same suggestion that has been considered by many here as a ludicrous one."

Glad to hear you support reparations. How much is the legacy of slavery worth to each African American now?

"Some have said upthread that doing it that way would have kept slavery until much, much, later - but somehow England managed to do it thirty years earlier than us, and without a war. "

And without the Missouri Compromise, and without a direct dependence of half of England on slave agriculture and without a continent to expand to…

But let's be clear: You are arguing that the Union should have paid off slave owners and that this would have prevented the Civil War. Please state your claims without the weaselry of "somehow" and tell us how you would have done it? Extra points if it at all resembles the actual history of the United States without delving into fantasies of alternate timelines in which ending slavery hadn't been hotly contested for roughly 100 years when Lincoln took office.
posted by klangklangston at 1:50 PM on November 23, 2012 [8 favorites]

I mean, as long as we're tossing out idiotic, historically blind nostrums, why not retreat to the traditional Libertarian prescription in such cases: Why couldn't the slaves have simply quit and found new jobs?
posted by klangklangston at 1:53 PM on November 23, 2012 [7 favorites]

Yeah, I didn't really mention this that I find corb's concern for the 'property loss' of the slave holders over basically any concern for the wellbeing of their 'property' to be nauseating.
posted by empath at 1:53 PM on November 23, 2012 [11 favorites]

Yet for some reason (I am not quite sure why, and would certainly appreciate if someone else has data) that way was not favored by America.

The south seceded and began a war before any such thing could be attempted or negotiated. Indeed, the south seceded and began a war when the only threat to slavery that Lincoln had actually proposed was not expanding it.

The south experienced immediate, total, and uncompensated emancipation because of the war, not the other way around.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:03 PM on November 23, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yet for some reason (I am not quite sure why, and would certainly appreciate if someone else has data) that way was not favored by America.

Bleeding Kansas demonstrated that partisans on both sides were willing to kill in order to influence regulation of slavery in a single territory. The assault on Sumner on the Senate floor further undermined any hope of compromise. The initial cause of the war wasn't full emancipation, but abolition of slavery in American territories.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 2:08 PM on November 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

This thread is beautifully surreal.
posted by rtha at 2:13 PM on November 23, 2012 [3 favorites]

At this point it seems futile to object to this as a derail, but if you're going to have this conversation, it should not become a referendum on one user's views, insulting comments not preferred, etc.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 2:15 PM on November 23, 2012

This thread is beautifully surreal.

Don't worry, the World War II analogies are due at any moment, and then it's just a hop skip and jump to Vietnam, the Cold War, the Soviets in Afghanistan, the Gulf War, 9/11, the occupation of Iraq, the Americans in Afghanistan and then we're back to the presidential election of 2012.
posted by griphus at 2:18 PM on November 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yet for some reason (I am not quite sure why, and would certainly appreciate if someone else has data) that way was not favored by America. The only thing I could think of would be Puritan morality (the wicked must be punished) or perhaps a lingering distaste for the Southern aristocracy slavery allowed in the original, Northern colonies.

When slavery was abolished in the North at the turn of the century, it was done gradually with more respect for property rights in some cases. I guess the better question is why didn't the South choose to abolish slavery in the 1830's by whatever means was acceptable to them? Why did they find it necessary to fight a war to protect slavery thirty years later? Why, instead of working to abolish slavery, were they making arguments that slavery was not merely a necessary evil but a positive social good and that "slavery anticipates the benefits of civilization, and retards the evils of civilization"?
posted by Golden Eternity at 2:19 PM on November 23, 2012 [6 favorites]

This thread is beautifully surreal.

I guess, if 'surreal' covers the depth of irony represented by the thread about the re-election of the United States' first African-American president evolving into a discussion about justifications for the Civil War.
posted by bardophile at 2:20 PM on November 23, 2012 [7 favorites]

I guess the better question is why didn't the South choose to abolish slavery in the 1830's by whatever means was acceptable to them? Why did they find it necessary to fight a war to protect slavery thirty years later? Why, instead of working to abolish slavery, were they making arguments that slavery was not merely a necessary evil but a positive social good and that "slavery anticipates the benefits of civilization, and retards the evils of civilization"?

Well, I can just turn history on its head and avoid these questions altogether while painting the liberal impulse in the US as some sort of evil jihad against US southern aristocracy, an institution we all should cherish. I've learned how to do this on this thread about Obama(!).
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:21 PM on November 23, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yet for some reason (I am not quite sure why, and would certainly appreciate if someone else has data) that way was not favored by America. The only thing I could think of would be Puritan morality (the wicked must be punished) or perhaps a lingering distaste for the Southern aristocracy slavery allowed in the original, Northern colonies.

This really seems to blame the North for not effectively ending Slavery earlier, without taking into account the political power wielded by the South.

Ta-Nehisi Coates discussed this back in January:
During forty-nine of the seventy-two years from 1789 to 1861, the presidents of the United States were Southerners--all of them slaveholders. The only presidents to be reelected were slaveholders. Two-thirds of the Speakers of the House, chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee, and presidents pro tem of the Senate were Southerners. At all times before 1861, a majority of Supreme Court justices were Southerners....

posted by ambrosia at 2:28 PM on November 23, 2012 [13 favorites]

Glad to hear you support reparations. How much is the legacy of slavery worth to each African American now?

40 terabytes with a local and cloud hosted backup solution.

Yet for some reason (I am not quite sure why, and would certainly appreciate if someone else has data) that way was not favored by America. The only thing I could think of would be Puritan morality (the wicked must be punished) or perhaps a lingering distaste for the Southern aristocracy slavery allowed in the original, Northern colonies.

It's odd how you completely ignore the fact that several states seceded from the Union because they wanted to maintain their peculiar institution.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:05 PM on November 23, 2012 [12 favorites]

Compromise between abolitionist and pro-slavery interests was American policy leading up to 1860. The Federal government dominated by Democrats repeatedly acted to both preserve slavery in the South and to allow for its adoption in some western territories. These compromises were unacceptable to pro-slavery Democrats in 1860, who walked out and nominated their own candidate, on a plank calling for the expansion of slavery in spite of Popular Sovereignty.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 3:52 PM on November 23, 2012 [2 favorites]

It doesn't mean we are endorsing slavery if we say we should not have gone to war with the South, and should have found another way of dealing with them.

Yeah, we tried. Between Lincoln's election in November 1860 and the beginning of February 1861, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas had seceded. On March 2, 1861, the US Congress passed the Corwin Amendment, which would have prevented Congress from abolishing slavery. Lincoln took office on March 4, 1861. The Confederates fired on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Lincoln called up troops to suppress the rebellion. Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina seceded.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:05 PM on November 23, 2012

There were 4 million slaves in the south. There wasn't enough money to compensate southern slave owners for their 'property loss'.

...in 1860 American slaves, as a financial asset, were worth approximately three and a half billion dollars — that's just as property. Three and a half billion dollars was the net worth, roughly, of slaves in 1860. In today's dollars that would be approximately seventy-five billion dollars. In 1860 slaves as an asset were worth more than all of America's manufacturing, all of the railroads, all of the productive capacity of the United States put together. Slaves were the single largest, by far, financial asset of property in the entire American economy. The only thing worth more than the slaves in the American economy of the 1850s was the land itself, and no one can really put a dollar value on all of the land of North America. If you're looking to begin to understand why the South will begin to defend this system, and defend this society, and worry about it shrinking, and worry about a political culture from the North that is really beginning to criticize them, think three and a half billion dollars and the largest financial asset in American society, and what you might even try to compare that to today.

-- Yale history professor David Blight, from his excellent course The Civil War and Reconstruction Era
posted by kirkaracha at 4:19 PM on November 23, 2012 [7 favorites]

Where is this ahistorical nonsense is coming from? Was there some series of "Unskewed American History" DVDs put out by Glenn Beck or Mike Huckabee that popularized these tendentious interpretations of events where Sherman was a brutal murderer motivated by opposition to slavery, and the slave states would have put down their weapons if the North had just cut them a big enough check?
posted by tonycpsu at 4:19 PM on November 23, 2012 [11 favorites]

It comes from a bad place where people are bad.
posted by elizardbits at 4:51 PM on November 23, 2012 [7 favorites]

tonycpsu: “Where is this ahistorical nonsense is coming from? Was there some series of ‘Unskewed American History’ DVDs put out by Glenn Beck or Mike Huckabee that popularized these tendentious interpretations of events where Sherman was a brutal murderer motivated by opposition to slavery, and the slave states would have put down their weapons if the North had just cut them a big enough check?”

It ain't new, friend. It was around before Beck or Huckabee were born. It's part of the bitter old Southern mythology of the Civil War – a mythology that once was rooted in understandably pained bitterness, but which was generally fueled by about fifty years of popular entertainment obsessed with the Southern mythology, even as it was aimed at both Southern and Northern audiences. Watch Gone With The Wind, for example, which portray's Sherman's march as just about the most hideous and horrifying war crime in history.
posted by koeselitz at 7:04 PM on November 23, 2012 [2 favorites]

corb: “It doesn't mean we are endorsing slavery if we say we should not have gone to war with the South, and should have found another way of dealing with them. It means we are looking at what happened and evaluating it in hindsight, finding better hypothetical ways of dealing with the past so that we can find better ways of dealing with the future.”

A lot of people have given answers to this – for example, that we totally tried, etc – but I don't know how much I agree with them. The United States at that point in time was a place in many ways obsessed with war; we'd just finished a very frothy westward expansion, and we were very happy to agitate for bloody battle in plenty of situations.

I really think the answer here is in Lincoln. There are many ways that Lincoln was brilliant, many ways in which he earns his place as the greatest President the United States has ever had; but this was one of his finest hours even in a presidency filled with great achievements. He worked very hard to hold back the Northern tide and even to stymie it in many ways, because he knew that a federal government ought not make war on its states. In fact, he lost some advantage as the war started because he forced the Union to wait until it was absolutely clear to all observers in every way whatsoever that the South had initiated agitation.

This is something that really can't be simplified if we want to really understand what happened. Lincoln was meticulous and incredibly careful in his speeches to explicate what he was doing and why; if you want a really good summary of the events leading up to the initiation of hostility and the North's response, probably the best place to start would be Lincoln's Address to the Special Session of Congress on July 4, 1861, in which he formally requested authorization of war powers. This was a tricky thing, since the Constitution neither gave procedures for states to leave the union nor gave provisions for its defense. But Lincoln, brilliant lawyer that he was, built a strong and miraculously convincing case for the position that prevailed, a position which I think should be kept in mind: the Confederacy was a group of criminals who stole federal and public property for their aims, and as such it was the federal government's duty to stop them and restore that property to its rightful owners.
posted by koeselitz at 7:19 PM on November 23, 2012 [11 favorites]

It's part of the bitter old Southern mythology of the Civil War

Don't you mean The War of Northern Aggression?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:50 PM on November 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

It ain't new, friend. It was around before Beck or Huckabee were born. It's part of the bitter old Southern mythology of the Civil War

Oh, I'm aware of the South's view on these matters. I have family in Georgia, and I've been to the laser show at Stone Mountain (on Independence Day, no less!) Still, to hear the March to the Sea compared unfavorably to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in terms of morality is one I hadn't heard before, and the idea that someone thinks the war could have been avoided with a financial settlement just boggles my fucking mind. It doesn't even sound like something that grew organically in the South -- more like something that was cooked up in the fringes of Glennbeckistan to stir up resentment.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:55 PM on November 23, 2012

It's part of the bitter old Southern mythology of the Civil War

Don't you mean The War of Northern Aggression?

AKA The Recent Unpleasantness.
posted by homunculus at 8:07 PM on November 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

We use "The Recent Unpleasantness" a lot, though usually referring to divorces, break ups, or really bad stomach flus. Second best historical euphemism ever, after "The Great Unwashed."
posted by sonika at 8:26 PM on November 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you're looking to begin to understand why the South will begin to defend this system, and defend this society, and worry about it shrinking, and worry about a political culture from the North that is really beginning to criticize them, think three and a half billion dollars and the largest financial asset in American society, and what you might even try to compare that to today.

I wonder: if you add up all the prisons, police, and all the shit they have stolen from the people over the last 40 years in asset forfeitures, what kind of money that would add up to?

So here we are with he government themselves as the interested stakeholder, and not just in some of the states but more or less nationwide. Not surprising that winding down the biggest and ugliest war is such an intractable problem.
posted by Meatbomb at 8:27 PM on November 23, 2012 [2 favorites]

tonycpsu: I've been to the laser show at Stone Mountain

homunculus: Don't you mean The War of Northern Aggression?

AKA The Recent Unpleasantness.

Speaking of Stone Mountain, when as schoolchildren we were taken to the park's now apparently defunct "War in Georgia" exhibit it was called "The War Between the States."

The exhibit was a narrated map study of Sherman's Georgia campaign. The most impressive part to a kid who had seen The Battle of the Bulge too many times was the large relief map of the terrain of Georgia studded with colored lights to indicate troop positions and movements. The area of operations for each phase of the Georgia campaign was highlighted by overhead lights. Created before cheap computer control, it was really a triumph of the electro-mechanical era. I couldn't find any video of it, and that's a goddamn shame.

v.q. The Story of The Civil War retold at Stone Mountain, Beatrice Levin, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 May 1985
posted by ob1quixote at 8:39 PM on November 23, 2012

koeselitz: One of my forebears was a certain General Johnston of the Confederate Army.

Oh man, that's awesome. My eagle scout project was all about the Peninsula Campaign: a photo essay, a bicycle queue sheet to ride and camp near all the battle sites, and some work with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and VDOT to get historical highway markers installed. As the history of that campaign is always told from McClellan's perspective, I hadn't heard of Johnston until I was knee deep into it. Once I read up on his career I had a lot of respect for what he did in Virginia and Georgia. You come from good people.

I'm a bit of a Civil War nerd and enjoy the twist this thread has taken.

My family is all postbellum Irish immigrants so I have no direct personal link to this. My best Civil War nerd brag: I got to hang this guy's cavalry sword on the wall of his decendant's dining room in a NE DC townhouse. It was awesome.
posted by peeedro at 10:17 PM on November 23, 2012 [3 favorites]

depleted uranium in the siege of Fallujah

Iraq records huge rise in birth defects: New study links increase with military action by Western forces

The victims of Fallujah's health crisis are stifled by western silence
posted by homunculus at 11:02 PM on November 23, 2012 [2 favorites]

I have family in Georgia, and I've been to the laser show at Stone Mountain (on Independence Day, no less!)

I went there this summer, while at a summer school. I think the organisers went to investigate Stone Mountain's potential for a program outing of the 'hike up a large rock' variety, discovered the laser show, had their minds blown and decided it was an Important Cultural Experience (with capitals), so off we went. I ended up watching the laser show with a German guy and the look on his face was priceless. I was alternating between thinking "Oh my god, this is not happening." and looking at the guy next to me, who I think said it was like something he'd expect to see on the Simpsons, not in reality. The laser show ends with what might best be described as an orgy of patriotism, where the most patriotic things they could think of are images of the Civil Rights Movement, the military and astronauts (we concluded this is because you could construe the space program as a military endeavour--or something). That's pretty damn awkward when you're projecting it onto a Confederate war memorial that the Klan were instrumental in building. I got asked to explain a lot of sort of awkward things about the US (like... why is every employee at the grocery store, gas station and cafeteria black), but that laser show was the most awkward, because none of the people from the US knew how to explain the Civil War in a way that could possibly explain Stone Mountain.
posted by hoyland at 7:02 AM on November 24, 2012 [11 favorites]

Yeah, Stone Mountain was a trippy experience for this Yankee boy who had never spent any appreciable time below the Mason-Dixon. Not knowing what to expect, my wife (then girlfriend) and I decided to play a punch buggy type game where we'd compete to see how many confederate flags we could spot. Within a few minutes of our arrival, however, we realized this was the equivalent to playing punch buggy with the rules relaxed to include any vehicle with four or more wheels.

The light show itself was certainly entertaining, and since it was July 4, there were plenty of fireworks as well. Quite a spectacle even before you consider the irony of spending a patriotic holiday at a park dedicated to men who turned against their country.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:49 AM on November 24, 2012

I can hear the post-laser show fireworks from my back porch, but I haven't actually been to the show since I was a teenager. I imagine it is pretty surreal for people from up north or overseas. I guess they don't close the show with Elvis' American Trilogy, anymore but it's still the part most people come to see I think. The last time I was the show, you could tell the locals from the out-of-towners because locals would still stand during "Dixie".

There's a program on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block called Squidbillies. The headquarters of Adult Swim are in mid-town Atlanta, not far from the Georgia Tech campus. What people who haven't spent time at the northern end of I-575 in Georgia don't realize is that it's a documentary. For example, my business partner lives in Cherokee county which is at the northern end of I-575 in real life. In the cartoon the squids have a sign in front of their house that says "P-nuts & Hair-dos." On the way to my partner's house you pass a real sign in front of a gas station that says "Tax Preparation and Deer Processing."

I bring it up because I imagine that to people who aren't native or naturalized southerners, the Squidbillies version of the Stone Mountain Laser Show is how the real thing looks.

More about Stone Mountain for the curious:

Someone's vacation video with information about the mountain and the carving.
A short travel documentary about Stone Mountain, showing some of the attractions and including some shots of the view from the top of the mountain.
A longer documentary, with some interesting facts about the history of the mountain.

I still haven't found video of "The War in Georgia" but I'm looking. I do have some bonus Georgia weirdness for you though: The Georgia Guidestones: America's Most Mysterious Monument.
posted by ob1quixote at 10:30 AM on November 24, 2012 [7 favorites]

I hasten to add that one of the interesting things about the Guidestones is that they were relatively unmolested by vandals until November of 2008.
posted by ob1quixote at 10:37 AM on November 24, 2012

"but that laser show was the most awkward, because none of the people from the US knew how to explain the Civil War in a way that could possibly explain Stone Mountain."

There are plenty of ways to explain it, but very few that don't make everyone involved look like an asshole.
posted by klangklangston at 11:12 AM on November 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

Letter from Los Angeles: Election Night Yeast Infection Nightmares by Yasha Levine
posted by clarknova at 11:25 AM on November 24, 2012

Thanks for the Stone Mountain education, ob1quixote.

Gutzon Borglum: defacing perfectly beautiful mountains at every possible opportunity.
posted by madamjujujive at 12:33 PM on November 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss Is Breaking With Grover Norquist To Make It Easier To Cut Social Security.
posted by various at 2:37 PM on November 24, 2012

OK, I am getting damn sick of these incorrigible bastards
Ohio GOP's Election Lesson: We Should Go After Planned Parenthood Again!
posted by madamjujujive at 3:32 PM on November 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

Former Komen exec. who pushed to defund Planned Parenthood weighing Senate bid
posted by homunculus at 4:57 PM on November 24, 2012

Why Orca is innocent, and no one wants to talk about it.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:11 PM on November 24, 2012 [2 favorites]

Before the Civil War side trip, JHarris wrote:
There should be a wiki out there somewhere that just records all the terrible things they do, and it should become the first place people look when they want to find out if a person is really worth voting for. Not Wikipedia itself, although ideally it'd have its policy towards sources, but a place where it's okay to be really snarky about what a politician has done. No matter if they have an R, D or I after their name.

Well, that's exactly what I've been trying to do with my website The Skeleton Closet (www.realchange.org) since -- ulp! - 1995. (Yeah, I'm that old.) Not a wiki, though I add a lot of contributions people send me. It's actually older than Wikipedia. And snarkier.
posted by msalt at 7:17 PM on November 24, 2012 [11 favorites]

Tea Party Path to Victory: Go After Moderate Republicans in 2014
posted by homunculus at 8:03 PM on November 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Please proceed, Teabaggers."
posted by tonycpsu at 8:30 PM on November 24, 2012 [15 favorites]

I bring it up because I imagine that to people who aren't native or naturalized southerners, the Squidbillies version of the Stone Mountain Laser Show is how the real thing looks.

You are correct, sir!

I was pretty gobsmacked that they would be using the frickin' Battle Hymn of the Republic -- sung by Elvis, natch, but whose lyrics symbolically call out the Confederacy as the Biblical "serpent" and which was directly related to the "John Brown's Body" anthem to the same music that became, despite its jocular and mundane origin, an abolitionist standard -- as a hagiographic background to the horse-back departure to Heaven of the leaders of the CSA. Unless there's something I'm missing, this is a passing strange inversion of meaning.

I found at least one self-described "Southron" who actually registered offense at its inclusion.
posted by dhartung at 11:21 PM on November 24, 2012 [5 favorites]

Hey msalt, that site's great! Thanks for the share!
posted by JHarris at 2:36 AM on November 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nate Silver: 'It's numbers with their imperfections versus bullshit.
posted by madamjujujive at 10:22 AM on November 25, 2012 [4 favorites]

On CNN's ' State of the Union' today, Rep. Barney Frank blamed ongoing Beltway gridlock on the Tea Party's 2010 rise:

"I do believe that there were elected some people in 2010, tea party influence, who repudiated the notion of compromise, and some of them said it exclusively," said the openly gay lawmaker. "You have to start from a position of principle and then you work together. I think in 2007 and 2008 we showed how can you do that."

posted by ericb at 11:25 AM on November 25, 2012

Nice to see Politico earning its "Tiger Beat on the Potomac" reputation by describing Frank as "the openly gay lawmaker" in a story having nothing to do about gay issues. Looks like they've since updated the post to change it to "the retiring Massachusetts Democrat", which is far more relevant to the story.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:30 AM on November 25, 2012 [7 favorites]

Election Spurred a Move to Codify U.S. Drone Policy

Obama Administration Was Not Willing to Trust Romney with a Secret Kill List
posted by homunculus at 11:43 AM on November 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

"You are idiots. Why did you write that?" asked the openly contemptuous reader.
posted by Drinky Die at 11:52 AM on November 25, 2012

If I were so consistently and thoroughly demonstrated to be wrong about some facts, I would feel compelled to examine the assumptions I had made based on those facts, and consider how they might also be wrong.

But I am not conservative.
posted by gadge emeritus at 12:17 PM on November 25, 2012

Slavery is unfortunately such a huge evil that I think it makes people see it in a light that is different than any other. Many good, kind, peaceful people will justify some of the worst excesses and butchery, on the grounds that it stopped or was intending to stop slavery.

And I completely agree. Although slavery was one of the smaller causes of the war, ending it was worth all the butchery, and a lot more. Every plantation manor should have been burned to the ground.
posted by clarknova at 6:35 PM on November 25, 2012

slavery was one of the smaller causes of the war

Oh man I bet your bigger causes of the war are awesome.
posted by fleacircus at 8:21 PM on November 25, 2012 [15 favorites]

Gun sales soar again after presidential election
posted by homunculus at 11:04 PM on November 25, 2012

Obama 'drone-warfare rulebook' condemned by human rights groups
posted by homunculus at 11:08 PM on November 25, 2012

Why Orca is innocent, and no one wants to talk about it.

This is filed in my "articles that totally miss the point" drawer. Going on and on about how ORCA's failure isn't the reason Romney lost assumes that people were saying it was (i.e., a classic strawman). ORCA was a symptom, not a cause.

slavery was one of the smaller causes of the war

This is the most persistent and pernicious myth of American history, told mostly by the losers of the Civil War and their sympathizers. It will not die as long as there are people who long for the "good old days" of "Southern gentility"(coded phrases, if ever there were ones).
posted by Mental Wimp at 8:51 AM on November 26, 2012 [7 favorites]

Although slavery was one of the smaller causes of the war...

Not according to Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens, who said this in his Cornerstone Speech, delivered on March 21st, 1861 (emphasis mine):

The new constitution has put at rest, forever, all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution African slavery as it exists amongst us the proper status of the negro in our form of civilization. This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution. Jefferson in his forecast, had anticipated this, as the "rock upon which the old Union would split." He was right. What was conjecture with him, is now a realized fact. But whether he fully comprehended the great truth upon which that rock stood and stands, may be doubted. The prevailing ideas entertained by him and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old constitution, were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and politically. It was an evil they knew not well how to deal with, but the general opinion of the men of that day was that, somehow or other in the order of Providence, the institution would be evanescent and pass away. This idea, though not incorporated in the constitution, was the prevailing idea at that time. The constitution, it is true, secured every essential guarantee to the institution while it should last, and hence no argument can be justly urged against the constitutional guarantees thus secured, because of the common sentiment of the day. Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error. It was a sandy foundation, and the government built upon it fell when the "storm came and the wind blew."

posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:17 AM on November 26, 2012 [10 favorites]

" .... Actually, there were numerous causes. Aside from the obvious schism between the abolitionists and the anti-abolitionists, there were economic factors, both domestic and inter..."

"Wait, wait... just say slavery."

"Slavery it is, sir."
posted by mrgrimm at 9:27 AM on November 26, 2012 [9 favorites]

This is the most persistent and pernicious myth of American history, told mostly by the losers of the Civil War and their sympathizers.

I don't know if it's the *most* pernicious myth, but it is persistent. "Historians Largely United on Slavery, But Public Divided"
posted by mrgrimm at 9:36 AM on November 26, 2012 [2 favorites]

But Public Divided

Apparently we've failed to educate half our population properly....
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:48 AM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

And now the historical revisionism zombies have gotten to Tony Kushner:

The inability to forgive and to reconcile with the South in a really decent and humane way, without any question, was one of the causes of the kind of resentment and perpetuation of alienation and bitterness that led to the quote-unquote ‘noble cause,’ and the rise of the Klan and Southern self-protection societies. The abuse of the South after they were defeated was a catastrophe, and helped lead to just unimaginable, untellable human suffering.

posted by tonycpsu at 9:58 AM on November 26, 2012

l though slavery was one of the smaller causes of the war...

It depends on how you define war. Slavery is why the south seceded. It was not the primary factor in the Union's decision to take up arms. That was about quelling a reunion and maintaining the country as a whole. If the CSA had offered up a compromise in 1861 or 1862 that left slavery in the states where it currently existed with a commitment to not try to expand it to any new territories, Lincoln very well may have taken them up on the offer.
posted by COD at 10:06 AM on November 26, 2012 [8 favorites]

The inability to forgive and to reconcile with the South in a really decent and humane way, without any question, was one of the causes of the kind of resentment and perpetuation of alienation and bitterness that led to the quote-unquote ‘noble cause,’ and the rise of the Klan and Southern self-protection societies. The abuse of the South after they were defeated was a catastrophe, and helped lead to just unimaginable, untellable human suffering.

Oh man this is clearly the real tragedy of slavery: Southern whites feeling alienated.
posted by shakespeherian at 11:25 AM on November 26, 2012 [4 favorites]

Death and the Civil War. "With the coming of the Civil War, and the staggering casualties it ushered in, death entered the experience of the American people as it never had before -- permanently altering the character of the republic and the psyche of the American people. Contending with death on an unprecedented scale posed challenges for which there were no ready answers when the war began. Americans worked to improvise new solutions, new institutions, and new ways of coping with death on an unimaginable scale."
posted by homunculus at 11:28 AM on November 26, 2012

What Are The Gobshites Saying These Days?
posted by homunculus at 11:33 AM on November 26, 2012

If the CSA had offered up a compromise in 1861 or 1862 that left slavery in the states where it currently existed with a commitment to not try to expand it to any new territories, Lincoln very well may have taken them up on the offer.

Southern Democrats had an even sweeter offer with Douglas's Popular Sovereignty in 1960. They chose to walk out because it was not sweet enough.

Sure, I will grant that the Marshall Plan probably did a better job of building bridges than the Radical Republicans did with Reconstruction, but that was 150 fucking years ago. The 21st century South is increasingly urban, multi-ethnic, integrated, and engaged in business intimately tied to the rest of the U.S. economy. Civil War revisionism strikes me as mostly a rationalization for the same white-flight dynamics you see northern cities.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 11:59 AM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ray Kelly Calls Out Obama on Gun Control
posted by homunculus at 12:45 PM on November 26, 2012

John McCain Backs Off Susan Rice Slightly, Says Republicans Should ‘Leave Abortion Alone’
posted by homunculus at 12:46 PM on November 26, 2012

Grover Norquist Has Nothing to Fear from You Puny Republicans
posted by homunculus at 12:55 PM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

There's the maverick we remember, sort of.

What? The fellow who talks out his ass for months on end until a sliver of a fact gets chiseled into his thick skull?
posted by edgeways at 1:14 PM on November 26, 2012

Revenge of the Reality-Based Community, Bruce Bartlett, The American Conservative, 26 November 2012

I’ve paid a heavy price, both personal and financial, for my evolution from comfortably within the Republican Party and conservative movement to a less than comfortable position somewhere on the center-left. Honest to God, I am not a liberal or a Democrat. But these days, they are the only people who will listen to me. When Republicans and conservatives once again start asking my opinion, I will know they are on the road to recovery.

posted by ob1quixote at 1:23 PM on November 26, 2012 [8 favorites]

Douglas ran for president in 1860, not 1960 obviously.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 1:30 PM on November 26, 2012

OK, I am getting damn sick of these incorrigible bastards
Ohio GOP's Election Lesson: We Should Go After Planned Parenthood Again!

State Legislators Propose Draconian New Abortion Restrictions, Because Apparently They Want to Fail Louder
posted by homunculus at 1:35 PM on November 26, 2012

Betting Site Intrade Shutting Down For U.S. Customers, Igor Bobic, Talking Points Memo, 26 November 2012
posted by ob1quixote at 2:43 PM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

If the CSA had offered up a compromise in 1861 or 1862 that left slavery in the states where it currently existed with a commitment to not try to expand it to any new territories

I don't think this was possible. If the South thought it was possible that slavery could survive political minority in the Union, they wouldn't have seceded in the first place, because that was the situation they were already facing. The abolitionists weren't going to disappear; a promise wouldn't have changed the way the wind was blowing.

Slavery had some inherent attributes that made it a difficult economic system to sustain. Revolt and escape were big problems that encouraged draconian, ugly legislative countermeasures like the Kansas Black Laws and the Fugitive Slave Act. Escaped slaves and their allies/agitators could not be allowed to just cross a border and be free. For slavery to exist to the South's satisfaction, the North would not merely have to tolerate it, but cooperate with it. That wasn't going to happen.

(And even if the South had seceded peacefully, I think the total commitment to slavery doomed the CSA to collapse or war anyway because the problem of escape and revolt does not magically disappear. How does the CSA exert pressure on the US after that? How does what used to be treason not become an act of war?)
posted by fleacircus at 2:50 PM on November 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

The Myth of the Obama Cave-In: With the "fiscal cliff" looming, the conventional wisdom is that the president capitulated during the last tax cut fight. Here's what really happened.
posted by homunculus at 4:22 PM on November 26, 2012 [4 favorites]

Looks like the trickle of counting the remaining votes has Romney down to 47.47% as of now. If Obama gets .2% more he'll be the first president since Eisenhower to hit at least 51% twice.
posted by edgeways at 4:50 PM on November 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

That would be cool. You know what's cooler though?

OBAMA WON. When Karl Rove tried to contest that by refusing to concede Ohio, Fox News told him he was wrong. Then Romney refused to concede Ohio, but Obama has so many paths to victory that when Colorado was called like 5 minutes later, Romney said "Oh, fartknocker" and hurriedly wrote a concession speech.

Then Romney ended up with 47% of the popular vote and then Santa tucked us all into bed with lots of good liquor and locally made cheeseburgers (or veggie burgers).
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:18 PM on November 26, 2012 [13 favorites]

Further Proof Of Florida's Plot To Suppress Voting
posted by homunculus at 7:13 PM on November 26, 2012

The real lesson to be drawn from ‘Lincoln’
posted by homunculus at 9:36 PM on November 26, 2012

Is our wingnuts learning? Signs point to 'No'.

By all means, Republicans, I know you've already given America the best Christmas ever, but if you really want to throw away a cinch Senate pickup in a state Romney won by 30 points, who are we to stop you?
posted by tonycpsu at 8:51 AM on November 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Susan Rice, Condi Rice and Republican hypocrisy

What More Does John McCain Want From Susan Rice?
posted by homunculus at 11:32 AM on November 27, 2012

If Obama gets .2% more he'll be the first president since Eisenhower to hit at least 51% twice.

I was gonna say 1980-whaaa! but then I remembered: John B. Anderson. My mom voted for him! People talk about Perot and Nader influencing elections, but JBA might be the one most responsible for setting us on the past 30+ years of Reagan era bullshit. (Eh, Carter would have lost anyway cuz of Iran ...)
posted by mrgrimm at 11:53 AM on November 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Grover Norquist Portrayed As The Wizard Of Oz
posted by homunculus at 12:24 PM on November 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Naked protesters storm office of John Boehner (possibly nsfw)
posted by homunculus at 12:32 PM on November 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

Naked protesters storm office of John Boehner

Never have I wished more that my workplace didn't automatically block Youtube.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:42 PM on November 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

McCain on Rice was embedded towards the end of that dailykos link from Homunculus, but its the best, most succinct explanation of the hypocrisy of the Republicans that I don't think anything else needs to be said about it:

In 2005, Mr. McCain argued that Condoleezza Rice was qualified to be the next secretary of state, even though she testified that there were WMDs in Iraq.

“So I wonder why we are starting this new Congress with a protracted debate about a foregone conclusion. . . . I can only conclude we are doing this for no other reason than lingering bitterness at the outcome of the elections. . . . We all have varying policy views, but the President, in my view, has a clear right to put in place the team he believed would serve him best.” (The Senate floor)

posted by DynamiteToast at 12:52 PM on November 27, 2012 [5 favorites]

What's most frustrating (to us rational folk) about this whole Susan Rice brouhaha is that her version of events seems to be totally accurate.

“It is a promiscuous use of ‘Al Qaeda,’ ” Michael Hanna, a researcher at the Century Foundation, said of those charging that Al Qaeda was behind this attack. “It can mean anything or nothing at all.”
posted by mrgrimm at 1:30 PM on November 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

More on the Boehner brouhaha: Nude Protesters Arrested After Swarming Speaker Boehner’s Office
posted by homunculus at 1:33 PM on November 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jonathan Chait: The Millennial Generation: Our Liberal Future
posted by Chrysostom at 1:33 PM on November 27, 2012

meanwhile Santorum uses his daughter as a prop as he expresses “grave concerns” over the possible US ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities... wooo scary. Mumble Mumble something something erodes American sovereignty

“This is a direct assault on us,”

Of course he is not a lone voice in the wilderness about this threat to our precious bodily fluids, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is right there with him, saying he has 36 signatures that would block any ratification of any treaty during the lame duck session.

Mind you the entire problem they have is not with the treaty, per se, but the fact that is comes from the UN (cue scary Mongolian throat singing)

“our concerns with this convention have nothing to do with any lack of concern for the rights of persons with disabilities.” -Lee
posted by edgeways at 1:56 PM on November 27, 2012

Boehner protest coverage (photos SFW).

Those are some of the same folks I got arrested with in front of the White House this summer.
posted by gingerbeer at 2:20 PM on November 27, 2012 [4 favorites]

Naked protesters storm office of John Boehner.

Remember newscasters, it's pronounced "bay-ner". Again, "bay-ner", not the other way, but "bay-ner".
posted by benito.strauss at 5:22 PM on November 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Myth of Second Term Failure. Excerpt:

Every second-termer since Dwight Eisenhower has had to reckon with the opposition party running at least one chamber of Congress, and yet few left the White House empty-handed. Some, like Eisenhower, simply passed items from their rivals’ wish lists. The Republican loss of Congress in 1954 reinforced Ike’s pragmatism. Today’s pundits like to reminisce about Ronald Reagan sharing drinks with House Speaker Tip O’Neill in the 1980s, but the original model of bipartisanship was Ike’s evening sessions (also lubricated) with Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson and House Speaker Sam Rayburn. Liberals managed to get Ike, a reluctant integrationist, to back a civil rights bill, which took steps (albeit baby ones) to stop racial discrimination in voting. Other laws, such as the 1958 National Defense Education Act, served both liberal ends like funding education and conservative ones like strengthening the cold war military. Never much of an ideologue, Ike seemed happy not to have to deal with his own party’s rabid right wing. Of course, handing over the policy reins to the opposition isn’t an option today. But there are other ways in which presidents can accomplish plenty in the face of a hostile Congress.

posted by Kattullus at 5:38 PM on November 27, 2012

it's pronounced "bay-ner".

Such obvious misdirection. We all know that knowing one's True Name gives an enemy power over you, so of course the Orange One seeks to hide this data from his enemies.

But of course his True Name is BONER, like the hard thing you hold in your hands when you are thinking of the glory you will soon behold, as his rich benefactors see him. Ah, boner Boner BONER BOOOOHHHHENNNNERRRRRRR

Best $300 million I ever spent.
posted by localroger at 6:12 PM on November 27, 2012 [4 favorites]

GQ names Romney one of "The Least Influential People of 2012"

Was anyone inspired by Mitt Romney? Did anyone vote enthusiastically for Mitt Romney? Of course not. Voting for Romney is like hooking up with the last single person at the bar at 4 a.m. The only successful thing he did this year was embody every black stand-up comedian's impression of a white person. Thank God the election's over. No more endless photos of Mitt staring winsomely off-camera with that attempted smile on his face. No more glaring campaign mishaps week after week after week. No more labored media efforts to make him look like anything other than Sheldon Adelson's pampered money Dumpster. Good-bye, Mitt. I hope you enjoy the rest of your life quietly ensconced at Lake Winnipesaukee, blissfully ignorant of the plight of anyone who doesn't have $300 million squirreled away in the Bahamas.

posted by ericb at 9:10 AM on November 28, 2012 [8 favorites]

meanwhile Santorum uses his daughter as a prop as he expresses “grave concerns” over the possible US ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities

Santorum, conservatives target UN treaty on disabilities

Unbelievable.
posted by homunculus at 11:12 AM on November 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Santorum, conservatives target UN treaty on disabilities

Is this the usual "no UN treaty that could bind the US to act ever" stuff, or are there any specific objections?
posted by corb at 11:51 AM on November 28, 2012

It's kind of a reverse UN treaty thing, in that this is requiring other countries to come up with something like the ADA.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:54 AM on November 28, 2012

Is this the usual "no UN treaty that could bind the US to act ever" stuff, or are there any specific objections?

The treaty merely brings the rest of the world up to the standards set for the U.S. by the 1990 ADA acts, signed into law by GHW Bush. It would impose no further regulations on the US than what already exist.

So yeah, the opposition is absolute bullshit.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:56 AM on November 28, 2012

Why Orca is innocent, and no one wants to talk about it.

This is filed in my "articles that totally miss the point" drawer. Going on and on about how ORCA's failure isn't the reason Romney lost assumes that people were saying it was (i.e., a classic strawman). ORCA was a symptom, not a cause.

If Orca was a symptom, what was Houdini, which failed just as badly in 2008? (And which I was chastised for even mentioning when I was in Chicago this summer).
posted by dersins at 12:02 PM on November 28, 2012

Way back in 2004 the conservative site RedState was complaining that their site sucked because all the good programmers are liberals and they can't get anybody to help them.

So maybe there is something to the idea that the Republicans are really lagging in software development skills.
posted by COD at 12:32 PM on November 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Taking It To The Streets
posted by homunculus at 12:50 PM on November 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Houdini: A missetep in a campaign that was run pretty well otherwise?
Houdini seems, by and large, the exception to the Obama 2008 campaign... and even then they where nimble enough to patchwork a working alternative on the fly. Orca however, crashed and nobody was flexible enough to salvage anything from it. Which was endemic of Romney's general inability to adapt to changing situations fast enough to be effective. It took him about 6 weeks to transition from a Primary campaign to a General Election campaign. and even then it was more to do with Obama having a bad day, and misreading his opposition's intentions. But even then, at no point did Romney ever lead in the Electoral College. the only question 3 weeks out from the election was going to be who won the popular vote... which is symbolic only.
There is the super secret conspiracy theory that Obama threw the first debate just so attention and main money remained on the presidential race rather then the Senate, thereby allowing the democrats to retain control of the Senate against pre-election expectations. I don't buy the conspiracy, but I think the outcome was the same.
At the end of the day there is just a lot to point to from the Romney campaign, even from a non-partisan point of view (Romney is Winning!! Ohio is NOT going for Obama... etc etc) of just plain getting it wrong. The question at this point isn't why Obama won, but why he didn't win by a greater margin.

(and I still wish Santorum had won the primary and lost the election)
posted by edgeways at 12:52 PM on November 28, 2012

Romney Campaign Did Great, Right? Yes, Says Man Who Ran Romney Campaign
posted by homunculus at 12:54 PM on November 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Romney Campaign Did Great, Right? Yes, Says Man Who Ran Romney Campaign

This article is perfectly summed up by Balloon Juice:

Why not just give the poors 3/5 of a vote each, and call it a day?

posted by zombieflanders at 1:09 PM on November 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

If Orca was a symptom, what was Houdini, which failed just as badly in 2008?

You should read that link. It's a pretty good read. For example

Obama's organizational advantage might have helped drive a 2.6 percent increase [PDF] in Democratic turnout over 2004. Republican turnout, meanwhile, dipped by 1.3 percentage points.

Note as well, that this happened before the 2012 campaign, and, so, presumably, served as an object lesson for a campaign that was well organized and paying attention. The article reinforces the fact that ORCA's failure is a symptom of the cluelessness of the Romney campaign.

...I was chastised for even mentioning when I was in Chicago this summer...

Poor baby.
posted by Mental Wimp at 1:15 PM on November 28, 2012

Way back in 2004 the conservative site RedState was complaining

Speaking of which, apparently Erick Son of Erick is thinking of challenging Saxby Chambliss for his Senate seat. I can't wait. Nothing like a candidate who's already written down every bad idea he's ever had and calls Justices "goatfuckers" and "child molesters." Now if only Moe Lane would challenge Johnny Isakson.
posted by octobersurprise at 1:25 PM on November 28, 2012

edgeways: "There is the super secret conspiracy theory that Obama threw the first debate just so attention and main money remained on the presidential race rather then the Senate, "

Aw man, now my notion is *super*secret*!?!? Dang.
posted by notsnot at 2:59 PM on November 28, 2012

GQ: The Least Influential Person of 2012: Mitt Romney.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:35 PM on November 28, 2012

Aw fudge, I missed that was already posted a few items above.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:36 PM on November 28, 2012

I'm paraphrasing/stealing this joke from someone on TV I don't remember -- but I think Mitt Romney was plenty influential this year. He convinced a lot of pissed off Dem leaning voters to still vote for Obama anyway.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:44 PM on November 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

That GQ article takes a severe turn for the stupid when it hits Michelle Obama, and it doesn't get much better later.
posted by JHarris at 3:48 PM on November 28, 2012

McMikeNamara, yeah, but any of the other candidates that were up back at the convention would have inspired even more votes for Obama. Mitt Romney was literally the most stomach-able candidate the Republicans could have possibly fielded this election, and he still lost.

Any of the other candidates would have gotten out more of the base, but almost certainly at the expense of getting out more outrage votes for Obama. This time, the Republicans hit the ultimate wall of the get-out-the-base strategy, and they lost for it.
posted by JHarris at 3:53 PM on November 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

homunculus: "Romney Campaign Did Great, Right? Yes, Says Man Who Ran Romney Campaign"

"Romney became the nominee the same way Ramen noodles become dinner: There’s nothing else around, and you have to pick something. And the Hot Pockets believe in evolution."

Oh, man. I'm stealing that.
posted by brundlefly at 4:54 PM on November 28, 2012 [17 favorites]

I'm paraphrasing/stealing this joke from someone on TV I don't remember -- but I think Mitt Romney was plenty influential this year. He convinced a lot of pissed off Dem leaning voters to still vote for Obama anyway.

There's a lot of truth in that joke.
posted by headnsouth at 5:37 PM on November 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Chuck Hagel being vetted for national security post
posted by homunculus at 6:29 PM on November 28, 2012

7777, and I can still get it to load on my iPad.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:51 PM on November 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Could Better Fonts Have Helped Save the Romney Campaign?
posted by homunculus at 10:06 PM on November 28, 2012

Jon Stewart Tears Into John McCain & Lindsay Graham For Hypocritical Outrage Over Susan Rice
posted by homunculus at 10:11 PM on November 28, 2012

Could Better Fonts Have Helped Save the Romney Campaign?

No.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:12 PM on November 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Could Better Fonts Have Helped Save the Romney Campaign?

Yes.
Of course.
It wasn't Romney's fault. It was the fonts. And the free-gifts, and vote rigging, and non-whites and... anything but Romney and taxes and 47% and his gaffs and the politics of hate.

And, since I am here, and it hasn't been posted as far as I can see: Fox News loses control of an expert.
Apologies if it is up there somewhere, but this thread scares me.

(Also, this is the first time I have risked loading this thread in days. Good work everyone. As a post-mortem it has been most educational.
And thanks be this thread a few thousand comments up for alerting me to Game Change. That movie was scary. Now, every time I see 'Palin 2016' I am terrified).
posted by Mezentian at 10:59 PM on November 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

7777, and I can still get it to load on my iPad.

Fairly impressive; my Nexus 7 really hates this page, it's almost impossible to write comments on it, it lags so much. (Android Firefox does a lot better, but still isn't perfect.)
posted by JHarris at 1:41 AM on November 29, 2012

It took my 2009 Macbook 15 seconds to load this page. An iPhone 4s took a minute. Typing on the Macbook shows a slight lag. Typing on the phone has a longer, but not completely prohibitive lag.

Will this thread make it to 8,000 comments?! That's up to you, dear reader.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:27 AM on November 29, 2012

20 seconds on crappy work HP laptop on crappy work LAN. My VP is still grieving Romney's loss, I get to make make oblique references to socialized healthcare for a while longer.
posted by arcticseal at 6:32 AM on November 29, 2012

Dear browser developers: we leave this gift here to you. YOU ARE WELCOME.
posted by Theta States at 6:43 AM on November 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

Southern Demographics - 90% for Romney among Mississippi whites.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 6:47 AM on November 29, 2012

Mitt Romney: A good man. The right fight. By Stuart Stevens, the man who helped him lose.

The whole op-ed really is a masterpiece of self-serving deceit: " ... I appreciate that Mitt Romney was never a favorite of D.C.’s green-room crowd or, frankly, of many politicians. That’s why, a year ago, so few of those people thought that he would win the Republican nomination. ... Nobody liked Romney except voters. ... Romney captured the imagination of millions of Americans. ... Republican ideals — Mitt Romney — carried the day."

But this is the best part:

"There was a time not so long ago when the problems of the Democratic Party revolved around being too liberal and too dependent on minorities. Obama turned those problems into advantages and rode that strategy to victory. But he was a charismatic African American president with a billion dollars, no primary and media that often felt morally conflicted about being critical. ..."

Gotta hand it to Stevens. I don't think anyone has ever tried so hard to make being a rich, powerful, white guy look like such a handicap.
posted by octobersurprise at 7:23 AM on November 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I don't think anyone has ever tried so hard to make being a rich, powerful, white guy look like such a handicap.

Well, he certainly managed to actually make it into a bit of a handicap, so at least he delivered on his ideals.
posted by OmieWise at 7:39 AM on November 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Nobody liked Romney except voters...

Which is why he just sailed through the primaries against those other folks who had no where near the amount of money or time invested. Guess Stevens un-remembered the 'anybody but Romney' problem.
posted by edgeways at 8:12 AM on November 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

It is mildly interesting to look at the 2012 and 2008 Republican primary maps.

Romney won (pop vote) 11 States in 2008, Santorum won 11 states this year, both candidates lost IA (the first to vote). There are only 3 overlaps (MN, ND, CO). Seems like both primaries where efforts towards finding someone other than who eventually ended up on the ticked. January 2007 McCain's campaign was broke

Just comparing the primary states they respectively won (and I know this is no surprise) Santorum seems to have his strongest support in the SE spreading into central midwest/west where the strongest base of the Republican Party is. Looking at Romney's primary wins seem to suggest his core was split between regional loyalty (around Utah) and in States where Republicans have a uphill battle to compete nationally (MN, MI, ME, MA, NV).
So, I guess in many ways Romney was suppose to be the 'moderate' candidate. And he might have pulled that off if he hadn't had to pander so strongly to the GOP base and then keep changing his stances. I think a Socially moderate/liberal and fiscal conservative who didn't keep changing their positions every other week would be a tough candidate to beat... (and I guess Obama kinda fits that category in some ways).
posted by edgeways at 8:37 AM on November 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

That is January 2008, or Dec 2007. I'm guessing Jan 2007 he was just fine
posted by edgeways at 8:48 AM on November 29, 2012

I think a Socially moderate/liberal and fiscal conservative who didn't keep changing their positions every other week would be a tough candidate to beat...

Such a Republican would not make it though the primary process in this day and age. Pro-choice is a dealbreaker. Pro civil union makes primary voters look at you sideways, forget marriage equality. And heaven forfend you believe in, you know, SCIENCE.
posted by ambrosia at 9:01 AM on November 29, 2012

Yeah, I don't disagree that a social moderate would be hard to get through the primary. But both McCain and Romney where suppose to be at least somewhat removed from the hard core conservatives and the primaries certainly tanked Romney's GE chance, and didn't do McCain much good because of all the running away from their prior positions.
It's a real dilemma for the GOP. You can see the dysfunction at play. They are unable to get a "real conservative" past the primary because too many primary voters either don't believe one could win the presidency or they actually don't care for extreme right wing candidates, and they are unable to get a real moderate who will not tie themselves into a pretzel, because too many primary voters are locked in full on culture war mode, no quarter given. So we end up with these half assed candidates, who may well have personal moderate leanings but are unable to run on them as the far right wing has just too big a slice of the pie.

fundamentally polices are important, but when it came down to it, above all else the reason I couldn't vote for Romney is 1 - he was too inflexible in responding to new situations 2 - he really came over as a entitled rich asshole. McCain genuinely seems to be a little unstable (plus showed monumental poor judgement in his VP candidate).

I doubt I would vote for him (flat tax, anti abortion), but someone like Huntsman(cap and trade, pro civil unions in Utah, immigration reform) I would actually listen to and take some positions seriously. Can you imagine a non hysterical debate between Obama and Huntsman just sitting in some comfy chairs with a beverage of whatever choice? It would put 3/4 of Americans to sleep, but it would be fantastic.
posted by edgeways at 9:28 AM on November 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

This Week In The Laboratories Of Democracy
posted by homunculus at 9:40 AM on November 29, 2012

Will this thread make it to 8,000 comments?! That's up to you, dear reader.

Will it go over 9,000?
posted by homunculus at 9:42 AM on November 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

In Silicon Valley, Technology Talent Gap Threatens G.O.P. Campaigns
posted by octothorpe at 10:08 AM on November 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh and Chrome on my Windows 7 Thinkpad at work has no trouble with this thread but Firefox at home crashed last night trying to load it.
posted by octothorpe at 10:09 AM on November 29, 2012

In Silicon Valley, Technology Talent Gap Threatens G.O.P. Campaigns

Gee, the anti-science party can't attract talented software developers? Who'd a thunk.

Interesting stats on contributions in 2012:

Google - Obama received 97% of donations
Apple - 91%
eBay - 89%

I'm not sure it is so encouraging. We're just transferring the benefits of insider access from one privileged group to another. I suppose as long as they can prevent the imminent climapocalpyse, I'm in.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:46 AM on November 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I doubt I would vote for him (flat tax, anti abortion), but someone like Huntsman(cap and trade, pro civil unions in Utah, immigration reform) I would actually listen to and take some positions seriously.

That would be pretty much why Obama sent him to China in the first place. Huntsman was the only Republican who might have theoretically squeaked through the primary nuthouse while remaining palatable to the middle of the road voters in a general election.
posted by ambrosia at 11:05 AM on November 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh and Chrome on my Windows 7 Thinkpad at work has no trouble with this thread but Firefox at home crashed last night trying to load it.

My Droid stopped being able to load this thread at around 7200 comments.
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:44 AM on November 29, 2012

So this thread is still open, and seems the apropos place. Like many, I recently spent time with older family, being that time of year and all. Things I learned, or had reinforced:

1: The only possible reason anyone voted for Obama is because they like handouts. Everyone knows the economy is terrible and the Obama people lied about improvements (all the more devious for those improvements being deeply sluggish at best, I suppose) but they want the free handouts that come from it. Really, Obama voters want the economy to be terrible.

2: There has never been an election more terrifying than this past one.

3: Republicans really don't like it when you point out that the GOP demonstrably doesn't care about actual fiscal conservatism or responsibility and that if you really want to be serious about cutting spending, there's no avoiding Medicare and defense. It makes them uncomfortable and quiet.

4: It also makes them uncomfortable and quiet to say that you find it kind of amusing that at some point, "conservatives" decided that ecological conservation was a liberal pursuit, and how did they live with themselves agitating for their state DNR to take better care of its land, and it would be much more business-friendly just to sell the whole lot and let the market handle it.

In all, it made the Onion reporting on one of the main planks of the GOP strategy being to try to keep its elderly voting base alive till after the elections that much more grimly funny.
posted by Drastic at 11:54 AM on November 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

That would be pretty much why Obama sent him to China in the first place. Huntsman was the only Republican who might have theoretically squeaked through the primary nuthouse while remaining palatable to the middle of the road voters in a general election.

Yeah, pretty much.. and yet despite running in the primary he didn't carry a single state and bowed out right after New Hampshire. This article says the Obama team considered Huntsman to be the toughest general-election threat. Same article is a summery of an interview Huntsman did. He actually sounds kind of sane. A bit too heavy on States rights perhaps.. but he when talking about Republicans and Government spending: also drops things like "We weren't coming from a position of strength [in 2012]," he said. "We sounded like hypocrites talking about spending when that was all we did under George W. Bush."

So again, wouldn't likely vote for him, but if he had won the presidency I wouldn't go into it with a all encompassing sense of doom either.
posted by edgeways at 12:19 PM on November 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

My conservative, faux news watching relatives didn't say a damn word in four days of Thanksgiving festivities and drinking. It was awesome.
posted by Big_B at 12:21 PM on November 29, 2012 [11 favorites]

When do the inside-the-campaign documentaries come out again? I cannot WAIT.
posted by KathrynT at 12:23 PM on November 29, 2012 [8 favorites]

Ohio's Still Hard At Work Screwing With Votes
posted by homunculus at 12:28 PM on November 29, 2012

My conservative, faux news watching relatives didn't say a damn word in four days of Thanksgiving festivities and drinking.

Even after you offered an incredibly effusive 20-minute grace thanking God for re-electing a good Christian like Obama and smiting those who bear false witness? That is impressive.
posted by msalt at 1:01 PM on November 29, 2012 [5 favorites]

The American Conservative: Reevaluating Huntsman.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:42 PM on November 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Lamar Smith, Global Warming Skeptic, Set To Chair House Science Committee

The Return Of SOPA? Controversial Bill Sponsor Lamar Smith To Chair House Tech Committee
posted by homunculus at 1:52 PM on November 29, 2012

After some (hopefully small) gains in 2014 I don't think tthe GOP base is going to go moderate in their 2016 nominee. Just hope the dems get themselves a moderately strong candidate. Depending on how strong she felt I'd eveven support a H Clinton run with someone like Casto as the VP slot. Doubt Texas wowould be in play in 16 but 20... 24? With a native son on the tix, and an increasing Latino population... be funny to see the GOP have to defend TX
posted by edgeways at 2:06 PM on November 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

My conservative, faux news watching relatives didn't say a damn word in four days of Thanksgiving festivities and drinking.

Mine, either. I had a whole bunch of deflections and jokes queued up to needle them or change the subject as needed. It was kind of like it didn't even happen.
posted by gauche at 2:12 PM on November 29, 2012

This thread still gives me the warm fuzzies. To think that Karl Rove gathered all that money almost entirely for naught makes me want to sing and dance. That was an epic smackdown. He must still be stinging!
posted by JHarris at 2:18 PM on November 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

From the Reevaluating Huntsman link: "No, he doesn’t speak in the kind of populist anger that has spread throughout the whole party."

Conservatives think the anger in the Republican party is populist? Being angrily supportive of the financial elites is not populism in any dictionary I can lay my hands on.
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:20 PM on November 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Conservatives think the anger in the Republican party is populist? Being angrily supportive of the financial elites is not populism in any dictionary I can lay my hands on.

A number of them do. There's definitely some cognitive dissonance at play in the contortions.

Rush Limbaugh (actually some understudy as he was on vacation) was on the car radio while I was getting a lift back to airport on Monday, and it reminded me strongly of the good rule-of-thumb statement that if you're not paying for it, you're not the customer but are the product being sold. The anger's a hook, a palliative for fear that's drumbeat-relentlessly pushed. The fear's not being sold (it's free!), but is pushed and spread as fertilizer to retain a good harvest of the actual product, which is of course impersonal numbers of ears for the advertisers (invest in gold as it doubles and doubles and doubles again!, an age-reversing vitamin mix, some sort of "get control of your horrible brat children!" program were the ones I most clearly remember). But as the field gets increasingly monocultured and overfarmed again and again, they have to use more and more fertilizer (so much fear. Most terrifying election ever. Ever!), and have to crank up the offered anger for the temporary relief. Even if it stopped tomorrow, it'll still take years for the soil to recover from the abuse.

Farming metaphors were on my mind due to the part of the country.
posted by Drastic at 2:42 PM on November 29, 2012 [6 favorites]

Here Is Obama Conceding To Mitt Romney
posted by homunculus at 3:16 PM on November 29, 2012

If Romney loses, they'll say that it's because he was a RINO squish who never really believed in all the evil shit he said. They'll nominate Erick Erickson next time.

Erick Erickson Asks Voices In His Head Whether He Should Run For Senate
posted by homunculus at 3:18 PM on November 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Pirates Behind The Campaign To Fix The Debt
posted by homunculus at 3:50 PM on November 29, 2012

Obama to GOP: I'm done negotiating with myself

That’s what you’re really seeing in this “proposal.” Previously, Obama’s pattern had been to offer plans that roughly tracked where he thought the compromise should end up. The White House’s belief was that by being solicitous in their policy proposals, they would win goodwill on the other side, and even if they didn’t, the media would side with them, realizing they’d sought compromise and been rebuffed. They don’t believe that anymore.

Perhaps the key lesson the White House took from the last couple of years is this: Don’t negotiate with yourself. If Republicans want to cut Medicare, let them propose the cuts. If they want to raise revenue through tax reform, let them identify the deductions. If they want deeper cuts in discretionary spending, let them settle on a number. And, above all, if they don’t like the White House’s preferred policies, let them propose their own. That way, if the White House eventually does give in and agree to some of their demands, Republicans will feel like they got one over on the president. A compromise isn’t measured by what you offer, it’s measured by what the other side feels they made you concede.

God we have only been saying this for the last 4 years. Better late than never I suppose.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:38 PM on November 29, 2012 [18 favorites]

Since Democrats had the support of 80 percent or 90 percent of the best and brightest minds in the information technology field, it shouldn’t be surprising that Mr. Obama’s information technology infrastructure was viewed as state-of-the-art exemplary, whereas everyone from Republican volunteers to Silicon Valley journalists have criticized Mr. Romney’s systems. Mr. Romney’s get-out-the-vote application, Project Orca, is widely viewed as having failed on Election Day, perhaps contributing to a disappointing Republican turnout.
posted by ersatz at 4:44 PM on November 29, 2012

George Romney had a card that gave him free McDonald's for life.
posted by drezdn at 4:58 PM on November 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Here's an update on the election worker in Clackamas County, Oregon who altered ballots to Republican votes. She got two counts of unlawfully altering a cast ballot, unlawfully voting more than once, and first degree official misconduct.
posted by chrchr at 9:45 PM on November 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Finally, we've ended the spectre of voter fraud.
posted by klangklangston at 10:26 PM on November 29, 2012

Not while Mayor Villaraigosa remains at large.
posted by homunculus at 11:00 PM on November 29, 2012

It's impossible to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative. The former requires money. I suppose if you mean "move defense budget to fund social programs" that's sorta fiscally conservative, if you stretch the definition.
posted by maxwelton at 1:22 AM on November 30, 2012

It's impossible to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

Show your work.
posted by JHarris at 2:23 AM on November 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

Yeah, "socially liberal" in this context is usually understood to mean, "not worked up over culture war issues." So, pro-choice, pro-pot legalization, not up for teaching creationism in schools, that sort of thing. Some of those things are fiscally conservative in themselves, such as ending (or at least narrowing the focus of) the Drug War. But most don't have a direct major fiscal impact.

Basically, it is the stance of the person who says, "I want low taxes, sure. But I'm not one of those CRAZY people who wants to ban books."
posted by Chrysostom at 4:58 AM on November 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's impossible to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative. The former requires money.

Hi, I'm your unicorn, and it's absolutely possible. Without giving you the laundry list, in general, I simply don't favor using the government to impose individual ideas of morality on other people. Thus, instead of being socially conservative, I'm socially liberal. However, I am still fiscally conservative - because not enforcing morality on people costs absolutely zero dollars more than we are already spending.
posted by corb at 5:28 AM on November 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Plenty of socially liberal but fiscally conservative people up here in Canada -- the result is a Stephen Harper government that despite being considered extremely right wing by some on the left has in fact only kind of tinkered around the edges of social policies. Harper knows that any crazy social policy changes to abortion, same-sex marriage, etc would be the death of his majority government.

What's stopping the rise of centrist, socially liberal but fiscally conservative parties in the US is not that such voters don't exist, but rather that the crazy primary system weeds out moderate candidates, particularly on the right. The extremist socially conservative voters have captured the GOP in the last two elections because they dominate the primary process by being more engaged than their moderate breathren.

I would argue in fact that the America is fundamentally a 'conservative' country in a fiscal sense, and this is reflected by the general similarity between dems and repubs on fiscal issues -- we're really talking about marginal differences in income tax rates, not an establishment of a european style cradle-to-grave social welfare state.

The GOP will be a contender in national elections again once they figure out how to rejig the primary process so that it is not dominated by the culture wars wing of their party.
posted by modernnomad at 5:52 AM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

New England used to reliably send fiscally conservative, socially-don't bother-me-with-that-issue Republicans to Congress; Massachusetts has elected lots of Republican governors over the years, and it's a solidly blue state. But the RNC has been hijacked and those Yankee (R)s are apparently now seen as RINOs. It's a shame.

This social liberal, though, does believe - lots of us do - that socially liberal policies include not only staying out of peoples' bedrooms and wombs, but also providing a strong safety net for those in need. That costs money.
posted by rtha at 5:53 AM on November 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

Politics is, by its very nature, the actions of the polis, i.e. "government," enforcing some notions of morality on some individuals. Unless you live as a solitary hermit, you probably endorse the imposition of one or another moral idea on the community around you. Believing otherwise is like thinking someone can't see you because you can't see them.

Chrysostom gets it right. "Socially liberal and fiscally conservative" merely means that you dislike taxes and the deficit more than pot and the gays.
posted by octobersurprise at 5:56 AM on November 30, 2012

This social liberal, though, does believe - lots of us do - that socially liberal policies include not only staying out of peoples' bedrooms and wombs, but also providing a strong safety net for those in need. That costs money.

I think a lot of social liberals do believe that, but I would argue that makes them fiscally liberal as well as socially liberal. Otherwise, I'd ask - what do you see as the difference between fiscal liberals and fiscal conservatives?
posted by corb at 5:56 AM on November 30, 2012

The New Republic's Noam Scheiber got his hands on some internal Romney polling, analyses them and interviews Neil Newhouse, Romney's chief pollster.
posted by Kattullus at 6:10 AM on November 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Chrysostom gets it right. "Socially liberal and fiscally conservative" merely means that you dislike taxes and the deficit more than pot and the gays.

This is warped thinking that implies political beliefs exist only on one axis. It is entirely possible to dislike taxes and the deficit and entirely LOVE pot and the gays. Americans need to get away from this idea that politics is a binary choice.

In other countries, it is entirely possible to be a pro-gay anti-immigrant pot-smoking militaristic deficit hawk, because political views aren't treated as existing only as a binary choice between two groups of values. This binary belief in the US is even reflected in the media - "MSNBC vs FOX".
posted by modernnomad at 6:17 AM on November 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

I think a lot of social liberals do believe that, but I would argue that makes them fiscally liberal as well as socially liberal. Otherwise, I'd ask - what do you see as the difference between fiscal liberals and fiscal conservatives?

Good point, but what if you're the person who follows the studies that show it is cheaper for a nation to provide that safety net then deal with the fallout from not having one?
i.e. providing a level of welfare drastically reduces emergency situations, fringe desperation, and increases economic foundations of a society?

Because I still look at those things with an economically hawkish perspective, and find the social safety net to be a worthwhile on an economic level. Not solely, I like helping people too, but the numbers are good.

It starts to seem like "economically liberal" becomes a bit of a strawman, associating "liberal" with just tossing away money.
Both sides can be smart and look at the bottom line and scour the books for value, that's not a conservative principle. But what does differ is the possibilities we are open to in the process.
posted by Theta States at 6:21 AM on November 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

It's impossible to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative. The former requires money.

Not if being socially liberal actually costs less in the long run and produces a net benefit. Building roads is socially liberal, yet good roads grease the flow of commerce, which produces tax revenue, development that creates jobs, etc.
posted by COD at 6:24 AM on November 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

It is entirely possible to dislike taxes and the deficit and entirely LOVE pot and the gays.

Well, yes. That possibility is covered by what I said, so it's unclear why my statement is so warped.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:28 AM on November 30, 2012

modernnomad: socially liberal but fiscally conservative parties in the US is not that such voters don't exist

I wish I could track down the relevant links, but I recall there being lots of evidence that there are a lot more fiscally populist and socially conservative voters out there than the reverse.
posted by Kattullus at 6:28 AM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I don't know about all "fiscal liberals" (in quotes because I don't know exactly what you mean by that, and I have no idea where I fit in your definition), but this one believes it's penny wise and pound foolish to spend more on prisons than we do on schools. I think a government safety net for those in economically dire straits is crucial; people who are on unemployment/food stamps, for instance, put that money back into their communities by buying things like food and by not getting arrested for sleeping in doorways and by not having their kids put into the system because they don't have housing. Like that.
posted by rtha at 6:29 AM on November 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

OK, I'm officially all GRAR at the idea a society could spend more on prisons than schools.
What great insidious communication experts managed to make it seem somehow a negative things to provide a social safety net? Who tarred that idea in America?
posted by Theta States at 6:43 AM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you think the government simply has no right at all to enforce socially liberal values when society, left to its own devices, has badly failed them, you're not a social liberal. Social anarchist, maybe.
posted by fleacircus at 6:45 AM on November 30, 2012

The New Republic's Noam Scheiber got his hands on some internal Romney polling, analyses them and interviews Neil Newhouse, Romney's chief pollster.

Wow. Romney seriously thought he was going to win. I thought the Romney confidence going into election day was just bluster, but his internal polls really made it look like he would win.

The story about him not having a concession speech is probably related to that. If he won, it would seem like a "confident leader" move. With his loss though, it becomes a tale of hubris and lack of planning.
posted by drezdn at 6:52 AM on November 30, 2012

As Theta States alludes to above, there really is no fiscally liberal versus fiscally conservative axis to speak of in the U.S. Both parties run deficits, but in recent times, Democrats do a better job of controlling them. Both parties believe in a bloated defense budget, and both parties believe in Medicare and Social Security. The fact that one party also believes in Medicaid, food stamps, and other poverty assistance programs and one does not has nothing to do with fiscal conservatism.

The real axis on economic issues is Keynesian economics on the left and trickle-down supply-side economics on the right. There is simply no constituency for a focus on the deficit.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:38 AM on November 30, 2012 [8 favorites]

That TNR article is a good first look inside the Romney campaign. The big takeaway I'd draw from it is Newhouse should never ever be let near a political campaign for the rest of his life. Republicans can, and should, pillory Romney/Ryan for a weak GE campaign, but right next in line to be cast into the wasteland should be Newhouse.
posted by edgeways at 7:47 AM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Am I the only person bothered by the fact the tables in that New Republic article are clearly screenshots from Word where someone failed to switch off spellcheck?
posted by hoyland at 8:00 AM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

The big takeaway I'd draw from it is Newhouse should never ever be let near a political campaign for the rest of his life.

Oh, it gets better. According to this Times graphic, firms hired by super PACs shared the same space as consultants hired by the Romney campaign. And according to Erick Erickson it's where dozens of consulting firms bled the Romney campaign of millions, delivered little, and mostly profited off each other. Mitt Romney, the business mastermind, was their mark.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:32 AM on November 30, 2012 [9 favorites]

I'll say it again ... slow to adapt to new situations.
posted by edgeways at 8:37 AM on November 30, 2012

first degree official misconduct.

This sounds kinda rad, and something I might have been convicted of several times in college.
posted by Big_B at 8:43 AM on November 30, 2012

Question about the The Pirates Behind The Campaign To Fix The Debt article, which amusingly I thought the same thing when I first heard of this group and noticed a CEO was speaking for them. What is their motivation? How in the world would cutting social security/medicare benefit them? Unless they're all CEOs of medical companies I really don't get why it is in their interest to back this nonsense. Inevitably "cutting spending" could very much hurt some of these companies/CEOs because of so much corporate welfare that is going on with contracting.
posted by Big_B at 8:52 AM on November 30, 2012

The comments on that Erickson piece are worth reading, "I guess there was just so much big money around this time, because of the new campaign finance laws, that the profiteers flocked to it, and nobody was minding the store." "Maybe the Citizens United decision should be reversed but can we also get the Soros and Koch Bros. money out of politics? Probably not. Is it better elsewhere? I know people who say they're fed up and moving to Canada." "I guess Limited Liability Corporations are limited liability people my friend."
posted by octobersurprise at 8:55 AM on November 30, 2012

And according to Erick Erickson it's where dozens of consulting firms bled the Romney campaign of millions, delivered little, and mostly profited off each other. Mitt Romney, the business mastermind, was their mark.

Oh God, a thrill resembling sex dipped in ice cream just went down my spine.

The utter hilarity of this happening in Romney's campaign is beyond price.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:57 AM on November 30, 2012 [11 favorites]

Fiscally conservative means maintaining the largely functional system that we have, taxing people at a sustainable level and investing in things that work. People who call themselves "fiscally conservative" would often be better described as "fiscally reactionary" or "fiscally revanchist."

So I suppose I should have asked, can anyone give a relatively unbiased and non-axegrindy definition of fiscal liberal and fiscal conservative? These things don't have to align with the two parties we happen to have in the US, because I think attempting to do so generally hampers those definitions.

Personally, I would tend to describe a fiscal conservative as someone who believes more benefit will be derived from less government spending overall, whereas a fiscal liberal is someone who believes more benefit will be derived from more government spending overall. In terms of deficits, I would define a fiscal conservative as someone who thinks reducing them is more important than short-term population benefits, while a fiscal liberal is someone who thinks reducing them is less important than short-term population benefits. (The old "This will be better in the long term/We're all all dead in the long term" debate) In terms of taxes, I would describe a fiscal conservative as someone who supports a lower level of progressivity in taxation and a fiscal liberal as someone who supports a higher level of progressivity in taxation.

Again, I'm willing to admit there might be bias in my definition, but I'm looking for a better one that's defined in good faith, at least.
posted by corb at 9:03 AM on November 30, 2012

octobersurprise: it's where dozens of consulting firms bled the Romney campaign of millions, delivered little, and mostly profited off each other. Mitt Romney, the business mastermind, was their mark.

Incredibly it's really hitting home that the rot in the Right wing Epistemic echo chamber extends even beyond the media services and the gold-digging personalities (Limbaugh and his radio imitators, Coulter, Malkin, Brietbart websites and it's imitators, the wingnut blogs and community sites, the whole Murdoch firmament of newspapers and publishing and of course FOX news) who sqeeze it for vast wealth and unlimited media exposure, BUT (and this is key), into the professional services companies that support the various Republican candidates, even up to the actual GOP Presidential Nominee.

All along the Romney campaign struck me as a massive lumbering and ineffectual company that wasn't really getting the proper feedback on it's outward facing stance, and I think it had to do with what you could see was a bubble Romney was in where he was trying to do exactly as he was advised, but without any of the proper understanding of a situation, so he always seemed like he was an actor repeating th words in a script without any real understanding of why he was saying and acting the way he was...it wasn't really until his wife and Tagg basically took over the hands on handling of Romney, around the first debate, that it seemed that he trusted himself, because he trusted THEM. Whereas before he was like a guy driving a massive truck with a really loose steering wheel.

Which is all to say, fuck yeah, every single, political PR, Strategy, branding, polling and marketing agency tried to get a piece of the massive chunk of change the Romney campaign had on hand via Citizen's United and the Kochs and they basically cannibalized the Romney campaign into utter impotent imminent disaster....

Honestly, all that money?? Who's going to risk losing out a pay day like that by mucking up the machinery with the unfortunate truth of the matter.

I don't think Romney would've won anyway, but the whole group of parasitic organizations that were around that campaign were more into the feeding frenzy of all that money rather than real quantifiable goals.

The irony of it all is that, it was supposed to be the private sector in one of it's finest moments helping to elect one of it's own true titans and prophets of the perfection of Capitalism and the Randian John Galtian spirit of true "genius."

Maybe, just maybe, there are more important and more effective ways of motivating people, other than only the money of self-proclaimed uber-menschen such as the Kochs and the Romney's and the Adelson's and the Texas Billionaires and all those folks who see themselves as the tip of the evolutionary spear, when in fact they're simply the tip of the gigantic-clusterfuck of right-wing Wall Street crony capitalistic oil company military industrial old-money, (whew) hubris??
posted by Skygazer at 9:16 AM on November 30, 2012 [10 favorites]

So the unregulated and unrestrained pursuit of short term profit on the part of private companies may have contributed to Romney's loss?

Karma really is a bitch.
posted by COD at 9:33 AM on November 30, 2012 [13 favorites]

whereas a fiscal liberal is someone who believes more benefit will be derived from more government spending overall.

I suggest that this is a fundamental misunderstanding of "liberalism," the sort of thing that leads conservatives to describe George W. Bush, in retrospect, as a "liberal." There may be people who believe that government spending is good purely as an end in itself, but that's not a very sophisticated understanding of either macroeconomics, government, or liberalism.

Broadly speaking, outside of specific contexts, I'm doubtful that abstract phrases like "fiscally liberal/conservative" mean much at all except as symbolic markers. I have no idea what "I would define a fiscal conservative as someone who thinks reducing [deficits] is more important than short-term population benefits" means practically. And I'm at a loss to what such phrases could mean to someone who doesn't even concede the necessity of government.
posted by octobersurprise at 9:36 AM on November 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

Personally, I would tend to describe a fiscal conservative as someone who believes more benefit will be derived from less government spending overall, whereas a fiscal liberal is someone who believes more benefit will be derived from more government spending overall.

As someone who started his political thinking as a Conservative but has come around quite a bit to the left, I don't think this is a good definition of what a fiscal liberal is. I think it's a good definition of what a conservative thinks a fiscal liberal is. I'd be inclined to say that a fiscal liberal is someone not opposed to spending a little more on prevention if it will prevent spending a lot more on cure. I'd say that your definition of a fiscal conservative is pretty accurate. (Which is to say, I know an awful lot of Conservatives who find reasons to oppose stitch-in-time sorts of government spending.)

Now, of course you may want to object to this definition because it makes the fiscal liberal seem, I think, more reasonable than the fiscal conservative in a way that is not just attributable to axiomatic preferences. To which I might say, "well, yeah, that's why I stopped being a conservative."
posted by gauche at 9:58 AM on November 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

I don't think Romney would've won anyway,

A swing of 100,000 people in a two or three of the swing states would have created a President Romney.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:02 AM on November 30, 2012

One would think tat after it all sunk in there would be a big conservative push to repeal Citizans. Not only did it not work, but in many ways it backfired. Tempted to make a Thank you John Roberts comment. But that is a step too far and would be disingenuous at best
posted by edgeways at 10:04 AM on November 30, 2012

A swing of 100,000 people in a two or three of the swing states would have created a President Romney.

You think the Romney campaign could've somehow, if it was more effectively run, been able to do that? In retrospect (and going by Nate Silver's data) it seems simply not doable (Especially in regard to the clear lead in Ohio by Obama), although I admit, in the run-up I did think such a feat was possible given their gigantic wads of CU cash.
posted by Skygazer at 10:10 AM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

corb: I would tend to describe a fiscal conservative as someone who believes more benefit will be derived from less government spending overall, whereas a fiscal liberal is someone who believes more benefit will be derived from more government spending overall.

In these conversations, that seems like such an arbitrary thing to focus on. "less government spending overall"? Why focus on that of all things?
Shouldn't the focus be on efficacy and efficiency? The mere bottom line says nothing about results, growth, society, mortality rates, etc.

I think this might be an example of politicos having the wrong conversations, and thereby keeping us in our rut.
posted by Theta States at 10:12 AM on November 30, 2012 [10 favorites]

In the interest of hashing out this definition in good faith, I'll have a go at your other points as well:

In terms of deficits, I would define a fiscal conservative as someone who thinks reducing them is more important than short-term population benefits, while a fiscal liberal is someone who thinks reducing them is less important than short-term population benefits. (The old "This will be better in the long term/We're all all dead in the long term" debate)

I kind of think that, to defend this position, you have to get into a no true scotsman sort of a position. Self-described Conservatives have not in my lifetime actually reduced the deficit. Now you can say that what you are describing is not aligned with any particular political position and that Republicans have actually been on the left on this issue. I'm not sure that's a satisfying place for you to be. I think it's accurate that Conservatives talk a great deal about short-term deficit reduction, but I don't see them doing much about it.

(For clarification, I'm talking about the Bush years and to a lesser extent the Ryan plan. I'm not trying to be unfair here and I do get that you are trying to divorce your definition from the US political parties, but this is a kind of specific issue and I think it's worth looking at the specifics of how various -- admittedly imperfectly implemented -- political philosophies have actually affected the deficit. You can disagree that what I'm describing are indeed Conservatives, but this is a conversation that doesn't just happen in a vacuum.)

In terms of taxes, I would describe a fiscal conservative as someone who supports a lower level of progressivity in taxation and a fiscal liberal as someone who supports a higher level of progressivity in taxation.

I'll accept that. Conservatives love ideas like a so-called "Flat Tax" or replacing the income tax with a sales tax, both of which are pretty deeply regressive. They also seem to like preserving preferential tax treatment on capital gains income, which I presume is fairly regressive.
posted by gauche at 10:20 AM on November 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Big_B: "What is their motivation? How in the world would cutting social security/medicare benefit them?"

In short: they're trying to sell it as a focus on the debt, but they really want tax cuts.

How Did ‘Fix the Debt’ Become ‘Protect the Bush Tax Cuts’?

And thus, Fix the Debt and its partners find themselves twisted in a knot. Because “comprehensive tax reform” is such a central component of their vision, they have to root for the Bush tax cuts, because there’s not much room for reform otherwise. But supporting the Bush tax cuts, as a baseline, is not “fixing the debt.” It’s the opposite, since the Bush tax cuts make up almost all of the long-term projected deficit, as this chart from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows:

CEO Council Demands Cuts To Poor, Elderly While Reaping Billions In Government Contracts, Tax Breaks

As part of their push, they are advocating a "territorial tax system" that would exempt their companies' foreign profits from taxation, netting them about $134 billion in tax savings, according to a new report from the Institute for Policy Studies titled "The CEO Campaign to ‘Fix’ the Debt: A Trojan Horse for Massive Corporate Tax Breaks" -- money that could help pay off the federal budget deficit.

posted by tonycpsu at 10:22 AM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

While a liberal, I would not sign up for the idea that I think more government spending is better. I would say that given the world we live in today, more government spending is necessary to achieve the goals I think the United States sould be pursuing.

From my point of view, the fundamental fact for fiscal conservatives is that the existing distribution of goods and services is optimal, or at least cannot be improved by forces outside the market. I would happy to be the complement of that assertion.
posted by shothotbot at 10:24 AM on November 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

You think the Romney campaign could've somehow, if it was more effectively run, been able to do that?

Absolutely. Swinging 100K should not hard to do.

Obama's biggest problem was the mess he mostly inherited.

Romney's biggest problem was himself. He didn't understand how the country had shifted and was insensitive to that. His outlook on the country was further thrown off by his own upperclass wall street like background.

From reading the various after election reports, I get a strong sense that the Obama campaign and its volunteers worked their ass because they felt they were the fight of their lives and could not afford to lose. They knew they might lose, but damnit, it wasn't going to be from lack of trying.

Romney's campaign comes off as "our country is going in the wrong direction and its all Obama's fault and we have to fix that. And get our beaks wet too, you know?" Mitt didn't inspire people the same way Obama did. Which isn't a big thing in and of itself. Mitt probably could have won against Obama 8 years ago. But demographics have shifted and I suspect even beliefs. For example, he idea of keeping government out certain areas such as healthcare is slowly crumbling, just from necessity.

I also think Obama is singularly unique candidate, in American politics, that is consistently under estimated. He doesn't fit the political mold, yet the mold keeps wanting to view him through its own lenses. This happens to both liberals and conservatives, who see what they want to see in him. The truth is that he has elements of both and usually itsn't too wedded to either if it means making some sort of half way decent deal. This manages to enrage the left and cause belittling from the right.

But it is, in my opinion, what we need more of. You get enough slices i.e. half decent deals and pretty soon you got a full loaf of bread. Mmm bread.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:27 AM on November 30, 2012

"CEO Council Demands Cuts To Poor, Elderly While Reaping Billions In Government Contracts, Tax Breaks"

One of the more galling aspects of that particular band of plutocrats is that only two of them have fully funded their own employees' pension plans. Fix the debt, indeed.
posted by klangklangston at 10:30 AM on November 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

Obama woul still have won if he lost FL, VA and OH. A PA, OH, FL would have done it and you know it wasn't impossible he would have won.... but Romney believing he had it in the bag and was favored? That was delusion built upon very bad polling anaysis.
PA would have required 300,000+ difference
OH 120,000
VA 140,000
FL 75,000
posted by edgeways at 10:32 AM on November 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

One of the more galling aspects of that particular band of plutocrats is that only two of them have fully funded their own employees' pension plans. Fix the debt, indeed.

That reminds me of how the Republicans are basically killing the US Postal Service by requiring them to pre-fund their pension obligations for the next 75 years, something that 100% of Fortune 500 CEOs would laugh you out of the room for proposing.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:34 AM on November 30, 2012 [12 favorites]

So one thing that's complicating this conversation is that since FDR, the term "liberal" in the United States means something fundamentally different from what "liberal" means in Europe, and what "liberal" meant before Roosevelt.

As I understand it, the older/European definition of liberalism focuses on freedom to do things — freedom to worship what you want, freedom to speak what you want, and so forth (today we can add freedom to smoke what you want, drink what you want, and love who you want to this list). In 1941 Roosevelt gave a very smart speech where he tied together these abstract freedoms-to-do-things with more concrete freedoms from certain things — freedom from starvation, freedom from exposure to the heat and cold and rain and snow, freedom from the fear of war — arguing convincingly that these freedoms-from-things are necessary for the earlier freedoms-to-do-things to be meaningful.

In most of Europe (I'm an ignorant American here, so correct me if I'm wrong), the mantle of defending the freedoms-from-things has been picked up by social democratic parties, whereas in America they've been in large part tucked into the definition of liberalism.

I agree with the idea that it's difficult to be a fiscal conservative (in the sense of wanting government to take in and spend as little money as possible, without regard to outcomes) and also a social liberal, in the sense outlined by FDR. I also agree with FDR that abstract freedoms-to-do-things are sort of a pale joke if most people aren't free from want and fear. Liberalism without an attempt to free people from want often ends up being reducible to defending the right of rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges.

Corb's idea of wanting to "shrink government" and of thinking of liberals as wanting to "expand government," without regard to the aims of government and without any reference to the idea that a representative democratic government is a servant of the people rather than an outside imposition on the people, is entirely specious and more than a little bit trollish. I'm comfortable saying this despite the fact that she has plenty of fellow trolls in the national media and the Republican party.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 10:36 AM on November 30, 2012 [7 favorites]

I think it comes down to this: There's a certain amount (quite a bit in fact) of money that needs to be spent by the government. Democrats think most of it should go to the betterment of the country and to deal with poverty and social justice. Republicans think that's a complete waste of time because it just creates dependence and "we own this country" and "we're the job creators" and "we're the REAL Americans who built this country" and to hell with everyone else, WE deserve that extra money in the form of our taxes being as low as possible.

That's it. That's the whole enchilada of this shitshow of a two party system, all this other stuff about "Fiscal Conservative" and debt and deficits and whatever else is put out there as being common sense is horseshit.

It's about the money. The money the government collects and WHO is going to get it. Throwing money at a situation causes waste and lousy results. It doesn't matter if it's the government doing it or the private sector. BOTH are susceptible to the same exact failures and organizational dysfunction. Both are susceptible to gross and extreme and horrible acts of injustice and human rights abuse. Only difference is government is supposed to never stop being of and for the people, and corporations inevitably act for an ever smaller group of privileged oligarchs.

Now, wheres my Nobel Goddamn Peace Prize?
posted by Skygazer at 10:38 AM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

but Romney believing he had it in the bag and was favored? That was delusion built upon very bad polling anaysis.

Totally agree. His campaign should switch to selling whatever they were smoking.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:01 AM on November 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Brandon: There's an alternet article that Salon picked up that argues that the Romney campaign was/is only pretending to get high on their own supply, because feigning that they had insider info that suggested they were still a good bet (instead of being just barely viable) was the only way they could convince big-money donors that they were still worth giving to — and so therefore the only way they could maintain what was left of their viability.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 11:19 AM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Neoliberalism As Water Balloon—Tim McCaskell
posted by ob1quixote at 11:24 AM on November 30, 2012

Fiscal and social liberalism/conservatism as defined in this thread and most of the political conversation in the US seem to follow along belief lines rather than outcome lines.

Of course, in what is in all likelihood not a coincidence at all, the outcomes throughout modern history have almost universally lined up with the beliefs of one side.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:40 AM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

... because feigning that they had insider info that suggested they were still a good bet (instead of being just barely viable) was the only way they could convince big-money donors that they were still worth giving to — and so therefore the only way they could maintain what was left of their viability.

That actually makes sense. One of the big criticisms of Romeny was his constantly shifting position. But it makes sense as a business person, you say whatever you have to seal the deal.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:46 AM on November 30, 2012

Exclusive: The Internal Polls That Made Mitt Romney Think He'd Win, Noam Scheiber, The New Republic, 30 November 2012
posted by ob1quixote at 11:51 AM on November 30, 2012

What Obama & Romney discussed at their White House lunch date
posted by growabrain at 11:58 AM on November 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

"It's about the money. The money the government collects and WHO is going to get it."

One of the definitions of "politics" given in any 101 course is that politics is the distribution of limited resources in a group.
posted by klangklangston at 12:03 PM on November 30, 2012

I think a government safety net for those in economically dire straits is crucial; people who are on unemployment/food stamps, for instance, put that money back into their communities by buying things like food and by not getting arrested for sleeping in doorways and by not having their kids put into the system because they don't have housing. Like that.

I'm no expert here, but I describe that as socialism, and is why I describe myself as socialist. Not exclusively, but in America we seem to have a "one drop" rule for socialism.
posted by benito.strauss at 12:13 PM on November 30, 2012

..but in America we seem to have a "one drop" rule for socialism.

No wonder the GOP hates the idea, it's something black people do!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:18 PM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

As I understand it, the older/European definition of liberalism focuses on freedom to do things — freedom to worship what you want, freedom to speak what you want, and so forth (today we can add freedom to smoke what you want, drink what you want, and love who you want to this list). In 1941 Roosevelt gave a very smart speech where he tied together these abstract freedoms-to-do-things with more concrete freedoms from certain things — freedom from starvation, freedom from exposure to the heat and cold and rain and snow, freedom from the fear of war — arguing convincingly that these freedoms-from-things are necessary for the earlier freedoms-to-do-things to be meaningful.

This is actually a really great statement, and I appreciate it. I know you didn't mean to use this as a separating statement, but I think this is actually a fantastically well-spoken definition of the difference between what I would see as a social liberal and a fiscal liberal - and I wonder how other people who consider themselves liberal would feel about it.

To me the idea that government also needs to provide "freedom from starvation", "freedom from exposure", etcetera, is in fact absolutely the heart of fiscal liberalism, but again, being a fiscal conservative (but social liberal according to your "older/European" freedom-to definition), I'm not the most unbiased party. I'd certainly like to find a definition of fiscal liberalism that those who practice it could actually agree with.
posted by corb at 12:33 PM on November 30, 2012

I don't think that definition works, because in theory, someone can believe that people ought to be free from starvation, freezing to death, etc. but believe that those freedoms will naturally flow from shrinking the size of government so that the wealthy can donate more to charity. The further you get away from specific policy preferences and into the realm of beliefs in various freedoms, the more room there is to hide the ball and pretend there's more agreement than there actually is.

I think setting out with a goal of defining fiscal liberalism/conservatism is a fool's errand. The real axes are social issues and the role of government.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:48 PM on November 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

This is actually a really great statement, and I appreciate it. I know you didn't mean to use this as a separating statement, but I think this is actually a fantastically well-spoken definition of the difference between what I would see as a social liberal and a fiscal liberal - and I wonder how other people who consider themselves liberal would feel about it.

Well and so but anyway, the point is that one of the reasons why classical liberalism is wildly unpopular nearly everywhere is that espousing abstract freedoms to do things without also affirming concrete freedoms from denial of resources is an incoherent doctrine. In practice it's either pollyannaism ("let's just pretend that everyone already has the resources needed to be fully human and to exercise human rights and maybe everything will be okay") or outright deception ("we'll buy off the suckers by dangling rights they can't use and keep the goods to ourselves") — and most people who have actually experienced lack can see through it pretty quickly.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 12:52 PM on November 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

Karl Rove: American Crossroads Was 'Worst Volunteer Job I've Had In My Life'.
posted by ericb at 1:01 PM on November 30, 2012

You Can't Tip a Buick: "Brandon: There's an alternet article that Salon picked up that argues that the Romney campaign was/is only pretending to get high on their own supply, because feigning that they had insider info that suggested they were still a good bet (instead of being just barely viable) was the only way they could convince big-money donors that they were still worth giving to — and so therefore the only way they could maintain what was left of their viability."

Color me skeptical on this one. Not that there is never such thing as a conspiracy, but I think idiocy/overconfidence explains this more easily than skulduggery.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:01 PM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

A Liberal Moment -- "What we're seeing is the advance of progressive political ideas by a majority that spurns an obvious label."
posted by ericb at 1:10 PM on November 30, 2012

Foreign Policy's Bad List Of Big Thinkers
posted by homunculus at 1:10 PM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

How Can We Help President Obama Today
posted by homunculus at 1:14 PM on November 30, 2012

Can Wall Street Tame Elizabeth Warren?
posted by homunculus at 1:17 PM on November 30, 2012

Things In Politico That Make Me Want To Guzzle Antifreeze, Part The Infinity

Infographic: A 3-D Map Of Where Votes Were Cast Most
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:25 PM on November 30, 2012

tonycpsu: I think setting out with a goal of defining fiscal liberalism/conservatism is a fool's errand. The real axes are social issues and the role of government.

Precisely. Not that such a re-framing really helps I think. It's difficult to have any kind of meaningful discussion about the role of government when the conservative/libertarian argument is that taxation is theft and there's no such thing as the common weal or res publica.
posted by ob1quixote at 1:28 PM on November 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

Color me skeptical on this one. Not that there is never such thing as a conspiracy, but I think idiocy/overconfidence explains this more easily than skulduggery.

I don't think of "pretend we've got better fundamentals than we do so we can keep the money flowing" as skulduggery, exactly. Maybe living in Silicon Valley has warped my worldview (he says, clicking away from the tab with the my little pony singularity fanfic), but I think of it as less "conspiratorial" and more like the standard behavior one sees in a failing/flailing startup.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 1:36 PM on November 30, 2012

...that the Romney campaign was/is only pretending to get high on their own supply, because feigning that they had insider info that suggested they were still a good bet (instead of being just barely viable) was the only way they could convince big-money donors that they were still worth giving to — and so therefore the only way they could maintain what was left of their viability."

I would totally buy that if we where talking about the depths of his low point, or even 2-3 prior to the election, but, internally, a few days to the day of the election? Nah that's Serlect time.

One drop of socialism rule... that kind of is an apt comparison. just as the One drop of black blood if accurately applied would have applied to a hell of a lot of whities, so too does the one drop of socialism (medicare, social security, public schools, libraries, ...) a big scare point despite there being a lot of so called socialism around.

FWIW, even though i may have inadvertently touched off the fiscal conservative debate, i gotta say i don't think there is such a thing as a fiscal conservative in American Politics, it just comes don to what either side wants to fund more.
posted by edgeways at 1:40 PM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

(2-3 weeks)
posted by edgeways at 1:47 PM on November 30, 2012

more like the standard behavior one sees in a failing/flailing startup

Drinking the Kool-Aid.

benito.strauss, I would say you're mistaken in equating a bare-bones welfare state with socialism. Now, I don't believe in shying away from the term, but as used in American politics it lately seems to subsume, well, one drop of social spending. Socialism per se is really about seizing the means of production and operating private enterprise for the benefit of the proletariat, and that only works if you believe all taxation is socialism. In the purest form, of course, socialism becomes communism, there is no more private property, and ownership is eliminated. But socialism as such really requires a direct intervention in the control of private property and wealth, which is really a stretch if you're only talking about a "safety net" (which is what conservatives call the bits of the welfare state they're willing to compromise on keeping).

A better term for what you describe is a mixed economy and social democracy. This essentially comprises most of the advanced economies, from the US to the EU to the G7 (Russia is a special case, naturally). Some of them, in technical terms, verge on socialism, but in practice mainly we're talking about capitalist economies with a large welfare state aka government sector.
posted by dhartung at 2:15 PM on November 30, 2012 [5 favorites]

I would say you're mistaken in equating a bare-bones welfare state with socialism.

Whatayaknow, I am. I had thought that the bright distinction between communism and socialism and was the former (and not the latter) advocating ownership of the means of production, but it's in the very first sentence of the Wikipedia article about socialism. I guess I have to re-think my labels.
posted by benito.strauss at 2:29 PM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

show your work

Do I still have to when smarter and more eloquent people have done so between my prior comment and this one? "Socially liberal and fiscally conservative" is nearly always code for "I believe we shouldn't let babies starve, but keeping my money is more important."

And I completely agree it actually makes more fiscal sense to prevent rather than respond, and in that way social programs are often the fiscally more coherent positions (which I agree with). But they're like medication for a mental condition: It's very easy to believe, while you're on the medicine, that you're healthy..."why should I keep taking this? I'm fine!" But the only reason you're fine is because you take your medicine. "Why should we fund all of this preventative medicine? Hardly anyone gets sick any more!"
posted by maxwelton at 2:39 PM on November 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

One more fussy distinction to consider is the difference between social democracy and democratic socialism. The former aims to gradually reform the economic system toward socialism through the tools of electoral democracy, whereas the latter aims to do the same and has the same respect for the will of the people, but without the faith in the ability to get to socialism/economic democracy through parliamentary means.

Not that it matters, but the only political party on this continent that I entirely agree with is Canada's NDP, which is more or less social democratic but with a democratic socialist element on its left wing.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 2:39 PM on November 30, 2012

Good news, everyone! 2001-2009 didn't happen!
posted by tonycpsu at 3:00 PM on November 30, 2012

I guess I have to re-think my labels.

Hey, at least you're not one of those Tea Partiers who think socialists are the ones who are going to take away their Medicare!

Worth remembering as well is that John Maynard Keynes saw expansive government intervention in the economy as saving capitalism from itself, and to a certain extent John Kenneth Galbraith explained the income tax the same way (see the NYT 'A Liberal Moment' link above). These were men who believed in entrepreneurial capitalism, who believe in the motivational power of profits, and neither of them wanted to see a society that crushed the lowest strata to a pulp because they would probably rise up and replace the entire economic system. Various terms have been bandied about for this sort of thing including humane capitalism.

"Socially liberal and fiscally conservative" is nearly always code for "I believe we shouldn't let babies starve, but keeping my money is more important."

I don't think that's quite fair. I have been deeply involved in local politics recently (Wisconsin/Walker/etc.) and have met quite a few traditional Obama voters -- pro-labor, pro-choice, pro-gay-rights, and all of that, but who are absolutely stone-cold terrified of the national debt. Most of them are older and retired, if that matters. These are persuadables from a GOP point of view. For the most part they remain in the D column because they want the welfare state "fixed", just by one of their own (like Clinton and welfare reform). But what makes them tricksy, so to speak, is that for many the only thing keeping them off the R reservation is that so many GOP candidates lately are so awful. Hewing to my Wisconsin milieu, Paul Ryan has been so successful here because that fiscal conservative line sells these older voters like crazy, and he's quite careful about crowing his social conservative voting record. With a hyperactive street game OFA and ourselves were able to cut his usual 20-point electoral margin in half, but then again only in half -- and his district is largely the district that was represented by Les Aspin for many years. So I think I have a bit of a handle on these voters.

The discussion I see here is pretty broken because American political parties are broken. In parliamentary systems there are much more obvious homes for such voters rather than one or the other that offends half of a voter's soul. I don't know what polls say, lately, but I think this type of voter is very real and much more numerous than some seem to think.
posted by dhartung at 3:00 PM on November 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

I know I am probably late to this realization, but I think why the GOP is so dead set against Rice as SoS is they want Kerry for the slot which would then likely let Scott Brown back in the Senate.
posted by edgeways at 3:30 PM on November 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Rachel Maddow talked about that a bit ago edgeways.
posted by sweetkid at 3:40 PM on November 30, 2012

I think it's just this daft Benghazi obsession they simply refuse to let go of, as if they can conjure something up from it simply by repeating the same stupid bullshit. And I think they intend to eventually try and build it up to an impeachable situation via that dickhead Darrell Issa, and having Rice as SoS, a supposed keyplayer in this phony thing just makes them look even dumber than they already look.

But the wheels are coming off of the whole pathetic ploy with people like Tom Ricks stating straight out that it's nonsense right on Fox news channel. So...they're basically sitting there like Wile E. Coyote and their ACME "Instant Impeachable Offense" has blown up in their faces...
posted by Skygazer at 3:48 PM on November 30, 2012 [6 favorites]

Not surprised someone else thought about it before me.

I will admit I am not that thrilled by the US's position on the Palestine statehood vote in the UN, and by extension Susan Rice's stated opposition, even recognizing she is just delivering the official US message rather than what may be her personal opinion... however the GOP opposition towards her nomination is really nothing but a whiny ass pissing contest. McCain wants his revenge!!!
posted by edgeways at 4:06 PM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Do I still have to when smarter and more eloquent people have done so between my prior comment and this one? "Socially liberal and fiscally conservative" is nearly always code for "I believe we shouldn't let babies starve, but keeping my money is more important."

I am not sure that this is the case, either in your statement about people making the point better than you could (there are also people making the opposite point, so you can't shrug and say "there you see") or in something being "nearly always code."

My point in saying "show your work" wasn't idle snark. It is not obvious, to me anyway, that social liberalism and fiscal conservatism are fundamentally incompatible. If you can show this is the case then it would help advance the conversation, if you can't, then this should be made evident.
posted by JHarris at 6:21 PM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

ACME "Instant Impeachable Offense"

Which version of the DM's Guide did you get that from?
posted by JHarris at 6:23 PM on November 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

I agree with JHarris. The cost savings of disassembling the prison-industrial complex created as a result of the drug war is clearly huge, but I've never seen an estimate of the savings. This is the kind of thing that a fiscally conservative, socially liberal person wants. Is there a party forwarding this agenda? I would like to know about it.
posted by Quonab at 6:56 PM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Part of the problem is that the words "liberal" and "conservative" are removed from their roots in a way that means everyone gets to decide what shades of nuance they want their particular phrasing to fall under — and there are professionals out there working to make idioms even further abstracted from any coherent meaning.

So, in a rational, common-language sense, the "conservatism" should be opposed to change irrespective of current mores, and we've had a good half century of a vision of citizenship that's based on shared reward for shared sacrifice. Conservatism should be conserving that. Instead, what's presented as "conservative" actually means dismantling the infrastructure we've built to support that shared vision of citizenship, tied to actually conservative religious and social views (place of women, gay marriage, etc.). Social conservatives are, honestly, conservative. Fiscal conservatives aren't, unless you discount the 20th Century and want to conserve us right back to the 1800s.

The "liberal" part really really doesn't make sense either; "neo-liberal" or "libertarian" is much closer to "liberal" than the modern epithet. The only way the common usage works is "liberal" like "profligate" (i.e. "free" as in "free spending"), and that only works if you've assumed your conclusion that government spending is inherently wasteful. (It's not, generally.)

Because of that, egalitarians (more often, "progressives") are more conservative than libertarians, who are radical (they want to create change under which current society could not function) and the current G.O.P. is certainly revanchist — they want to retake lost territory.

(Part of the problem is that social conservatives and economic revanchists both form minorities on their own, and do have a fair amount of overlap — many of the economic revanchist schemes involve removing safety nets that decrease inequality, including gender and racial inequality.)
posted by klangklangston at 7:00 PM on November 30, 2012 [4 favorites]

To steal a concept from Milton Friedman, the difference between conservatism and liberalism when it comes to the public purse, is a matter of their attitude to political instrumentalism. In liberalism, money is not really an end in itself, it is only useful as a tool to deliver real benefits (e.g. food, schooling, roads) to human beings. Basically, the liberal attitude to money is that it't not a thing in the same sense that a chair, or a flower, or an overcoat, are things. Money is transactional short cut, making the movement of a thing from where it originates to where it is needed. Money is a part of the system, but it has no value outside the system.

In conservatism, however, money has inherent value (in philosophical terms, not in the sense that 10 dollars will buy five large cups of coffee at Starbucks). Money is earned, not just in the sense of you get paid for your work, but the money you receive is a sign of moral value. People should get the money they deserve. Thus, as opposed to the liberal view, where money is amoral (not immoral, but rather without moral value), money is a moral good. So when money is removed from a person by coercion, you aren't merely taking money, you are taking someone's self worth. From this flows the idea that only things judged to be of high moral worth should receive tax money.

So, when it comes to fiscal issues, the liberal looks on money as an instrument to bring relief to those who want the basic necessities of life, but the conservative sees money not as an instrument, but as sign of human worth.

I realized, writing all this out, that my picture of conservatism is basically a crude kind of Calvinism, which I suppose isn't too surprising given its huge influence on American religious life.
posted by Kattullus at 7:16 PM on November 30, 2012 [34 favorites]

Obama to GOP: I'm done negotiating with myself

I don't know if that is great idea. Some very serious political experts have assured me it is crazy and impossible to propose a plan before you are 100% sure of each of the sixty votes in the Senate you need to pass it. I can't imagine any possible benefits of showing the American people where you stand.
posted by Drinky Die at 9:10 PM on November 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Kattullus: "In conservatism, however, money has inherent value (in philosophical terms, not in the sense that 10 dollars will buy five large cups of coffee at Starbucks). Money is earned, not just in the sense of you get paid for your work, but the money you receive is a sign of moral value. People should get the money they deserve."

A person who makes more money than you is better than you, and therefore beyond criticism. This is called The Worthington Law, and it's used to gauge the value of human worth.
posted by dunkadunc at 1:04 AM on December 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

JHarris, I don't think we're going to be able to hash this out here to any sort of mutually acceptable conclusion. As has been discussed many times above, we cannot even agree what "fiscally conservative" means, nor "socially liberal."

For example, I could easily label myself "fiscally conservative" if that meant "government should spend money wisely." Who wouldn't agree to that? But in my world, wise spending of money would mean continual maintenance and improvement of existing infrastructure, vastly increased spending on education, a basic stipend and housing for everyone, fully socialized healthcare, government investment in research and science, championing environmental causes...and on and on. "Fiscal conservatism", to me, would also mean halting stupidity like the "war on drugs", the vast over-spending on defense, government spying on citizens, our subsidizing rich corporations...and on and on.

This is not what anyone I have ever met who claims to be "fiscally conservative" is talking about. They inevitably talk about making government smaller and paying less taxes (even if they effectively pay no taxes at all).

Likewise, in my experience, people who claim they're socially liberal in conjunction with "fiscally conservative" are often using the term as a way to say "hey, all that moronic woman-hating, gay-bashing and religious stuff that the politicians who (claim they) are in our fiscal camp often support? That's not me."

Social progress is expensive, but the lack of social progress is even more expensive. Government is the only way to achieve social progress; we have seen that the "free market" is absolutely abysmal at anything related to human rights.
posted by maxwelton at 1:51 AM on December 1, 2012 [5 favorites]

> "Will this thread make it to 8,000 comments?! That's up to you, dear reader."

My internal polls indicate that it won't even pass 5,000 comments.
posted by kyrademon at 2:56 AM on December 1, 2012 [14 favorites]

it is crazy and impossible to propose a plan before you are 100% sure of each of the sixty votes in the Senate you need to pass it.

The main thing Obama wants, extended middle class tax cuts without extended 1% tax cuts, has already passed the Senate.
posted by localroger at 5:38 AM on December 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Florida Threw Out Christian Slater's Vote
posted by homunculus at 11:29 AM on December 1, 2012

Embarrassed House GOP picks woman to chair committee
posted by homunculus at 11:32 AM on December 1, 2012

In combination with his "stop being dumb" comments from earlier, it looks like Jindal is going to try and set himself up as a reasonable centrist for 2016.

Bobby Jindal Takes One In The Chops
posted by homunculus at 11:38 AM on December 1, 2012

Jon Huntsman Has A Job To Do
posted by homunculus at 11:44 AM on December 1, 2012

McConnell's vision of a 'compromise'
posted by homunculus at 11:48 AM on December 1, 2012

Okay, this is kind of amazing.

We all know Nate Silver called every state correctly, but what's more striking is how closely he forecast each state's margins -- even the non-swing states. According to my fancypants 538-Lite spreadsheet calculations, he erred on Romney's margin by an average of 0.80% and Obama's by only 0.22% across all fifty states, most of which were quite sparsely polled.

Here's a chart with the actual Obama/Romney margins in the center, with the final 538 projected vote shares for each candidate off to either side -- the actual percentages are from the vote totals on Wikipedia as of this morning, projected percentages are direct from the FiveThirtyEight sidebar:

STATE   538 O   OBAMA   ROMNEY  538 R
AL	36.7%	38.43%	60.67%	62.8%
AK	38.7%	40.81%	54.80%	59.8%
AZ	46.2%	44.45%	53.48%	53.1%
AR	38.6%	36.88%	60.57%	59.8%
CA	58.1%	60.11%	37.27%	40.7%
CO	50.8%	51.49%	46.12%	48.3%
CT	56.6%	58.06%	40.73%	42.5%
DE	59.6%	58.61%	39.98%	39.8%
FL	49.8%	50.01%	49.13%	49.8%
GA	45.5%	45.48%	53.30%	54.2%
HI	66.5%	70.55%	27.84%	32.7%
ID	32.1%	32.62%	64.53%	66.2%
IL	59.8%	57.55%	40.69%	39.6%
IN	45.3%	43.93%	54.13%	54.0%
IA	51.1%	51.99%	46.18%	47.9%
KS	37.9%	37.99%	59.71%	61.1%
KY	40.3%	37.80%	60.49%	58.8%
LA	39.3%	40.58%	57.78%	59.9%
ME	55.9%	56.27%	40.98%	43.0%
MD	60.9%	61.97%	35.90%	38.1%
MA	59.0%	60.65%	37.51%	39.9%
MI	53.0%	54.21%	44.71%	45.9%
MN	53.7%	52.65%	44.96%	45.1%
MS	39.4%	43.79%	55.29%	60.2%
MO	45.6%	44.38%	53.76%	53.7%
MT	45.2%	41.71%	55.36%	53.2%
NE	40.4%	38.09%	60.01%	58.9%
NV	51.8%	52.36%	45.68%	47.3%
NH	51.4%	51.98%	46.40%	47.9%
NJ	55.5%	58.12%	40.64%	43.5%
NM	54.1%	53.00%	42.84%	44.7%
NY	62.4%	62.50%	36.06%	37.0%
NC	48.9%	48.35%	50.39%	50.6%
ND	42.0%	38.70%	58.32%	56.7%
OH	51.3%	50.57%	47.62%	47.7%
OK	33.8%	33.23%	66.77%	65.9%
OR	53.6%	54.27%	42.18%	44.1%
PA	52.5%	51.97%	46.59%	46.6%
RI	61.8%	62.70%	35.24%	36.4%
SC	43.2%	44.09%	54.56%	56.1%
SD	42.5%	39.87%	57.89%	56.2%
TN	41.4%	39.07%	59.48%	57.8%
TX	41.2%	41.38%	57.16%	58.2%
UT	27.8%	24.75%	72.45%	70.6%
VT	66.2%	66.57%	30.97%	32.7%
VA	50.7%	51.16%	47.28%	48.7%
WA	56.2%	56.16%	41.29%	42.6%
WV	41.3%	35.51%	62.33%	57.5%
WI	52.4%	52.78%	45.94%	46.9%
WY	30.9%	27.82%	68.64%	67.7%

See also: http://www.isnatesilverawitch.com
posted by Rhaomi at 12:05 PM on December 1, 2012 [5 favorites]

Stephanie Cutter: We Never Understood Why Romney Campaign Didn't Push Back On Bain Attacks.
posted by ericb at 12:12 PM on December 1, 2012

We all know Nate Silver called every state correctly, but what's more striking is how closely he forecast each state's margins -- even the non-swing states.

This turns out to be not as hard as you might think. Silver is a bit shy about exactly what he's doing -- which isn't crazy or assholish since that's his livelihood -- but from what I can tell his models are actually very simple.

What Silver has been extraordinarily good at is presenting his results in ways that make sense to laymen, and explaining more or less how his model works in ways that make sense to laymen. Which is, to quote Biden, a big fucking deal.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:41 PM on December 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

Speaking of Stephanie Cutter: Obama Campaign’s Female Spokesperson Making Conservatives Basically Rip Their Faces Off in Rage
posted by homunculus at 12:46 PM on December 1, 2012

Is Fox Even Helping the Republicans Anymore?

The nightmare (free market) scenario the GOP faces: THEY’RE A VERY BAD INVESTMENT
posted by homunculus at 2:05 PM on December 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

Romney's best debate lines during the primary came when he was under pressure. I think he wanted to wait to respond to all the Bain/elitist/47% stuff until Obama came at him on it during the debates so he could do it when everyone was watching.

The problem was Obama was (and Cutter knows this) smart enough never to tee him up for that kind of thing. On 47%, Romney had to wait until a town hall question that didn't even apply and gave Obama the last word on the subject to tear apart his defense.

The primary opponents sensed his inevitability and had to go all out guns blazing, Romney never quite realized it was Obama that was now inevitable and that he should have been on the offensive rather than triangulating.
posted by Drinky Die at 2:10 PM on December 1, 2012

Speaking of Nate Silver, he wrote a very interesting blogpost about internal polls prompted by Noam Scheiber's scoop.
posted by Kattullus at 2:22 PM on December 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Down here where he lives a few of us have noticed that Bobby Jindal has never won an election against a non-trivial opponent. One thing he really did right was charging in on his white horse after Katrina and making a lot of loud noises about getting us some help; people who are hurting appreciate such gestures and it made a nice contrast with the then-sitting failsident. But that sort of thing only goes so far, especially on a national stage.

Jindal is, in addition to being a religious nut, a wonk with no personality, a screechy voice, and the personal presence of a 14-year-old gamer. It's hard to see at this point who the Dem candidate will be in 2016, but considering the roll the Dems are on it would be amazing if it isn't someone who would simply wipe the floor with Bobby Jindal.
posted by localroger at 2:24 PM on December 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

Bobby Jindal's Exorcism Problem
posted by homunculus at 2:41 PM on December 1, 2012

Speaking of Nate Silver, he wrote a very interesting blogpost about internal polls prompted by Noam Scheiber's scoop.

BTW, just to warn everyone, now that the election's over, the New York Times has gone back to their assholish paywall behavior regarding Nate Silver's blog, where (if I'm not mistaken):
1. You get a certain number of article loads over a period (I think a month) before it uses obnoxious Javascript to block you reading any more.
2. If you link from an outside site it'll let you read, but it'll silently count it against your reads per month.
posted by JHarris at 2:57 PM on December 1, 2012

NYTimes blogs have never been paywalled. Columns that appear in print are, though.
posted by wierdo at 3:23 PM on December 1, 2012

Are you sure? Because I clearly remember going to Silver's blog a few days ago, thinking about seeing what he was saying since the election, and got the obnoxious "for subscribers only" message. It happened when I entered the URL directly, instead of visiting it from elsewhere. I looked just now to test and I was able to read it, but then it's December 1 and any counts would have reset.
posted by JHarris at 3:33 PM on December 1, 2012

I just deliberately loaded up my ten articles for December from the NY Times. Then I got blocked by obnoxious JavaScript on number 11. Then I deleted all the parameters after the .html in the URL (you know, the part starting with ?), reloaded, and I was able to see the whole article.

I tried the Nate Silver blog and got blocked (so they are counting blogs against your total), deleted the extra parameters again, and was able to read the whole blog.

But I'm sure that was some kind of anomaly. I mean, what are the odds that trick would work again?
posted by maudlin at 3:34 PM on December 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

How to hack the New York Times paywall
posted by homunculus at 4:18 PM on December 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

The Lethal Presidency: Obama's Age of Enlightenment
posted by homunculus at 5:03 PM on December 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

the day after he was re-elected, the Administration had killed an alleged al-Qaeda operative whose reputation for moving in plain sight prompted his fellow Yemenis to ask why he couldn’t simply have been arrested.

Because they care a lot less about civilian casualties than the PR would suggest.
posted by Drinky Die at 5:08 PM on December 1, 2012

How to hack the New York Times paywall

A link to a link to a video = TML;DR.
But a standup comedian (Portland's Kyle Harbert) explained it simply: just clear your cache.
posted by msalt at 5:28 PM on December 1, 2012

It's a 30 second video. I didn't even wanna know and now I can't unsee it!
posted by telstar at 6:04 PM on December 1, 2012

Meh, for Fivethirtyeight and the Onion I just stop the page when it's half loaded. The javascript is the last thing to load, so it isn't difficult to cut it off.
posted by Orange Pamplemousse at 6:10 PM on December 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

You can always delete your NYT cookies. If you don't want to be bothered with the minor chore of clearing cookies/cache/pressing stop at the right moment, you can always read articles in an incognito window.
posted by honestcoyote at 6:19 PM on December 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

Nate Silver bashes Politico. Excerpt:

In the interview Friday, Simmons said Politico’s criticism seemed “passive aggressive,” like they “couldn’t really figure out a good way” to go after Silver.

“Politico is … it’s like ‘Who won the day?’ kind of thing, right?” Silver responded. “They’re trying to cover it like it’s sports, but not in an intelligent way at all, right? And they want to create noise, basically, right? Their whole thing is, you have to have a lead story about some gaffe that some candidate made on the campaign trail.”

In some Murakami novel, I think Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World, a character wonders if the best way to understand the world isn't to just read the stockmarket page in the newspaper and ignore the news section. That popped into my head when I read this story.
posted by Kattullus at 10:17 PM on December 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

That was the very first Murakami novel I read, going on twenty years ago now, which led to an obsession with him actually. Cos, God I loved that book. Especially that library...and just the whole sorta 80s quirkiness of it...

In regards to Politico, it's always been a lame site catering to pretty low quality analysis and I'm glad between Silver and Charles Pierce (Politico = Teenbeat on the Potamac), it's fun to see it get lambasted a bit.

Speaking of which, between Nate Silver and Esquire's Charles Pierce, for all the complaining we do about the lameness of the political media, right there we have two geniuses we're damn lucky to have in this country. They're two to be thankful for...hoorah.
posted by Skygazer at 5:57 AM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

the day after he was re-elected, the Administration had killed an alleged al-Qaeda operative whose reputation for moving in plain sight prompted his fellow Yemenis to ask why he couldn’t simply have been arrested.

Where to imprison him, what to charge with, how to deal with the human rights issues? For a certain mindset it's a lot less messy just to kill him.

See OBL, where interrogation and the resultant intelligence does not appear to have been a primary consideration.
posted by jaduncan at 6:14 AM on December 2, 2012

Mitt Romney tends wounds in seclusion
posted by never used baby shoes at 10:41 AM on December 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

Sadly, Bain Capital shut down America's only tiny violin factory.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:52 AM on December 2, 2012 [23 favorites]

From never used baby shoes' link, Mitt Romney tends wounds in seclusion: Romney has ruled out running for another office, adviser Eric Fehrnstrom said. Still, he doesn’t plan to recede completely from public life. [...] Friends said Romney has mentioned the Clinton Global Initiative as a model he might replicate.
Bill Clinton is apparently a very charming person, a Rhodes Scholar, and formerly President of the USA. The Clinton Global Initiative does a bunch of things, but its focus seems to be identifying potential future leaders and motivating them via exposure to other world figures. Mitt Romney is a former investor and not much fun. Why would he think that he could or should do anything similar? This is more delusional thinking.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:33 PM on December 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

George H.W. Bush wasn't the most charismatic guy, either, but he's done some good work teaming up with Clinton for philanthropic purposes. With Romney, I think it'll be more about a lack of desire to serve the public, not about any lack of qualifications to serve in that role.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:43 PM on December 2, 2012

Boehner 'Flabbergasted' Obama Offered His Campaign Promises in Debt Talks
posted by homunculus at 1:57 PM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well, as well, why the fuck would you replicate something if it is working? Why not, you know join it and work with it? But I guess that means you wouldn't get your name on it, which is the most important thing.

Just go away Romney, your motives are questionable at best and frankly I'm tired of your face.
posted by edgeways at 2:07 PM on December 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

You have to cut Boehner some slack, he's got to be pretty cranky, what with having to start all his statements with "Oompa-Loompa-Doompaty-Doo," and figuring out how to make them all rhyme.
posted by JHarris at 2:07 PM on December 2, 2012 [4 favorites]

Boehner is running scared for his leadership position, gotta wave his dick around
posted by edgeways at 2:22 PM on December 2, 2012

Conservatives: If You Can't Win the Presidency, Make It Weaker
posted by homunculus at 2:24 PM on December 2, 2012

Mitt Romney tends wounds in seclusion

Mitt Romney's Chance To Create Some Jobs
posted by homunculus at 2:41 PM on December 2, 2012

Yoo arguing for a curbing of the expansion of executive power is the height of an absolutely preposterous level of hypocrisy.

The man is a war criminal and he's another one, like Norquist, who prostitutes himself to very powerful established interests for what it does for his vanity and obviously crippled emotional make-up.

Yoo, Norquist, Rove, Scalia, Thomas, McConnell, Alito, Cantor, DeMint, Armey (there are quite a few operatives, I'm forgetting here, but I'm sure you guys could fill out that list), should all be put in a rowboat in the middle of the Pacific with one paddle and oh I don't know perhaps a happy meal or something. They'd probably all sit there waiting for the Koch Bros. to send out a private luxury helicopter to rescue them.
posted by Skygazer at 2:42 PM on December 2, 2012

Yes, John Yoo Is Still a Monster
posted by homunculus at 2:47 PM on December 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

Fiscal Cliff Fictions: Let’s All Agree to Pretend the GOP Isn’t Full of It
posted by homunculus at 2:59 PM on December 2, 2012

Exra Klein: The best idea in American politics: Kill the debt ceiling

How a sane political system would deal with the fiscal cliff
posted by homunculus at 3:01 PM on December 2, 2012

There's a new fiscal cliff thread, btw.
posted by homunculus at 3:07 PM on December 2, 2012

Third Eagle of the Apocalypse Offers Post-Election K-Pop Antichrist Analysis
posted by homunculus at 3:14 PM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, fer land sakes.

That is just about the stupidest thing I have read (and heard... I started to watch the video) in ages, and I am watching American Horror Story, so I know crack fic.

Psy and Call Me, Maybe Girl are not the heralds of the Anti-Christ.
I mean, they might feel like it sometimes, but they're just annoying, ever-present pop songs.

This is why you need a good health system. Crackpots like that can be treated and not expose their crazy on YouTube. Or voting. These people vote.

(Next, I'll see this dude on Fox.)
posted by Mezentian at 6:08 PM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

homunculus: Yes, John Yoo Is Still a Monster

Pierce links to something I'd not read, one of the greatest take-downs in the history of publishing, Molly Ivins' evisceration of Camille Paglia "I Am The Cosmos" that was originally published in the Sept./Oct. 1991 Mother Jones.
posted by ob1quixote at 6:55 PM on December 2, 2012 [5 favorites]

Oh jeez, I love Ivins but that article was just horrid.
posted by charlie don't surf at 7:31 PM on December 2, 2012

Third Eagle of the Apocalypse Offers Post-Election K-Pop Antichrist Analysis

From the comments:
Youtube: Come for the promise of porn, stay for the high functioning un-medicated schizophrenia....

posted by Theta States at 7:37 PM on December 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

Okay. Party's over. Bradley Manning's still being tormented to the point of madness in a military prison. Julian Assange is still an enemy of the state.

Bradley Manning: a tale of liberty lost in America. The US does nothing to punish those guilty of war crimes or Wall Street fraud, yet demonises the whistleblower

Assange to RT: Entire nations intercepted online, key turned to totalitarian rule
posted by homunculus at 7:47 PM on December 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

What Obama's leaked cybersecurity order means for your privacy
posted by homunculus at 8:26 PM on December 2, 2012

What Are The Gobshites Saying These Days?
posted by homunculus at 9:30 AM on December 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

Another election failure at the state level for Democrats in Michigan
posted by various at 9:51 AM on December 3, 2012

How involved will Obama get in fight for filibuster reform?
posted by homunculus at 11:12 AM on December 3, 2012

Petition posted to White House Web site seeks Death Star construction
posted by homunculus at 11:24 AM on December 3, 2012 [3 favorites]

The Keystone XL Pipeline project and approval process showed how treaties are routinely violated even under an Obama administration. ( People were also arrested, on Lakota land, for attempting to block the trucks from entering against tribal wishes.)

Keystone XL protesters blockade themselves inside pipeline
posted by homunculus at 11:38 AM on December 3, 2012

Public Opinion Has Moved on Climate Change. Will Obama Follow—or Fiddle? It's not jobs vs. climate. It's about a disaster economy vs. an adaptive one.
posted by homunculus at 11:39 AM on December 3, 2012

Progressive media claims they'll be 'tougher' on Obama now: Given the rationale they have embraced, is there any reason to believe this will happen, or that it will matter if it does?
posted by homunculus at 11:46 AM on December 3, 2012

The Mystery of the Pro-Obama Dark-Money Group: The 2012 campaign's most secretive nonprofit wasn't Crossroads GPS or Americans for Prosperity—it was the Democrats' Priorities USA.
posted by homunculus at 12:01 PM on December 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

Frontline did an excellent report on dark money groups leading up to the election, and interviewed some folks at Priorities USA. The TL;DW version of their explanation for why they take dark money was that the ends justify the means, and since the bad guys are using dark money, they aren't going to fight with one hand tied behind their back. Not the most satisfying answer in the world.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:27 PM on December 3, 2012

Right Wing Memewatch:The Obamas are engaging in a war on Christmas... trees.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:51 PM on December 3, 2012

Careful There, Obamas
posted by mannequito at 12:59 PM on December 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

Rick Santorum Joins John Rocker, Chuck Norris, Other Eminences, At Respectable Journal Of Conservative Thought ‘WND’
posted by homunculus at 1:45 PM on December 3, 2012

In random news I stumbled across..

Orly Taitz loses court case to access Obama's college records, Judge imposes $4000 sanction.
posted by charlie don't surf at 2:06 PM on December 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

“Your opposition will constitute Obstruction of Justice, Aiding and Abetting in the elections fraud in forgery and treason in allowing a foreign citizen to usurp the U.S. Presidency with an aid of forged IDs and usurp the civil rights of the U.S. citizens,” she (Taitz) wrote. “At any rate your opposition and your attempt of intimidation and your allegiance or lack of allegiance to the United States of America is duly noted. Just make sure not to forget to bring with you Mr. Obama’s application, registration, and financial aid application.” ...

Taitz had a different point of view. “The judge did not give a damn about this country,” she wrote on her blog in response to the ruling. “Sadly he is not any different from all the other judges. I am yet to see one single judge who gives a damn about this nation. I feel like I am in Nazi Germany in the 1930s.”

Wow.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 2:15 PM on December 3, 2012

Is she just made of money or what? Seems like she keeps getting hit with these fines and keeps on chugging.

Love this Taitz quote

“Your opposition will constitute Obstruction of Justice,
Aiding and Abetting in the elections fraud in forgery and treason in allowing a
foreign citizen to usurp the U.S. Presidency with an aid of forged IDs and
usurp the civil rights of the U.S. citizens,” she wrote. “At any rate your
opposition and your attempt of intimidation and your allegiance or lack of
allegiance to the United States of America is duly noted. Just make sure not to
forget to bring with you Mr. Obama’s application, registration, and financial
aid application.”

posted by edgeways at 2:16 PM on December 3, 2012

oh no!!!!
posted by edgeways at 2:17 PM on December 3, 2012

Guys, guys, don't lose the forest for the trees here. We totally have our national debt solution now! Since there is literally no end to the stupidity of birthers, we just need to double the sanction every time Taitz loses one of these cases. Within a couple years, we'll start running large enough budget surpluses that we can afford luxury items like a space station large enough to hold all of the birthers, so that they don't have to live in a country led by a Kenyan Muslim. Win-win!
posted by tonycpsu at 2:26 PM on December 3, 2012

Just check her blog, if you dare. The monday after she loses in court, she posts this item:

OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE ATTORNEYS WILL HAVE TO DELIVER TO MY OFFICE OBAMA'S RECORDS AFTER ALL. SEE ATTACHED SUBPOENA.

If you look close at the scans, they're dated 11/16/2012. This is just a filing that will be rejected on procedural errors, of course, since the Wash DC Courts don't have jurisdiction over California. I don't know what she could possibly achieve by shopping around for a sympathetic judge who still has no jurisdiction. And I doubt she has paid a single penny for her tens of thousands of dollars of judicial sanctions, she can tie those up in court forever with more frivolous motions, which will just get her more sanctions. I don't understand why she hasn't been disbarred yet.
posted by charlie don't surf at 2:30 PM on December 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

homunculus: "Rick Santorum Joins John Rocker, Chuck Norris, Other Eminences, At Respectable Journal Of Conservative Thought ‘WND’"

That would be this WND.
posted by brundlefly at 2:35 PM on December 3, 2012

GOP Pollster: Romney Blew It By Making Election a Referendum on Obama
posted by never used baby shoes at 2:39 PM on December 3, 2012

O RLY Taitz is still around? Seriously??
posted by JHarris at 2:45 PM on December 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

I always get my legal advice from a dentist!
posted by klangklangston at 2:56 PM on December 3, 2012

That "GOP Pollster" seems about on par clueless as the GE strategy was. Any debate about the economy would by necessity focus on plans and methods of the two men running, so it reverts to being a "Referendum on Obama" by default.

There are a lot of reasons Romney lost, and if we are talking 'economics' then it is because Romney did not do his homework and present a cognizant plan to counter what was being done, which I guess is somewhat what the article is trying to say - but they are kinda living in fantasy land if they think a presidential campaign against an incumbent is anything but a referendum, even if they just talk economics.

Add to it "let Detroit go bankrupt" and the "47%" and Romney by no means presented himself as a viable alternative, or one that had a handle of macro economics.
posted by edgeways at 3:01 PM on December 3, 2012

Orly Taitz has no public record of discipline, at least in California.

I don't know if she is admitted anywhere else.

My guess is that someone is paying those fines on her behalf, because I don't see how you can stay in good standing if you have outstanding court fines.
posted by ambrosia at 3:35 PM on December 3, 2012

March 19, 2010: California Bar Now Investigating Orly Taitz

The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine.
posted by charlie don't surf at 3:50 PM on December 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

Petition posted to White House Web site seeks Death Star construction

Oh, I had to sign that.

And we have to hit 8000.
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:58 PM on December 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

Weekly Standard: Obama’s Coattails Didn’t Extend to Obamacare

Clearly not, since "33 percent want to repeal it. This is down considerably from August ... when 40 percent of the public wanted to repeal Obamacare."

Elections have consequences.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 4:09 PM on December 3, 2012

From the "Orly Taitz loses court case to access Obama's college records, Judge imposes $4000 sanction" link.

“You should know that evidence is not stuff printed from the internet,” Marginis said, responding to Taitz’s continued argument after he made the decision to quash the subpoena and award $4,000 in sanctions to Occidental College.

So many times I would like to have a judge handy to say exactly that to commenters (not here but on other sites).
posted by Mental Wimp at 4:12 PM on December 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

My guess is that someone is paying those fines on her behalf, because I don't see how you can stay in good standing if you have outstanding court fines.

I'm sure someone finds her a very useful idiot.
posted by localroger at 4:39 PM on December 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

I forgot all about that creepy Dan Senor and I am happy to remember we don't have him as part of the white house team, yay, yay, yay. I would love it if this creepy loser would just go away.

GOP Rep. to Dan Senor: Investigate Bush WMD Claims Before Attacking Susan Rice
posted by homunculus at 4:49 PM on December 3, 2012

Who will win the Adelson primary? Several GOP 2016 hopefuls have met with the wealthy casino mogul, but keep an eye on Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell
posted by homunculus at 7:19 PM on December 3, 2012

We are not going to double Guantanamo.

Republican Senator Wants a Brand New Gitmo
posted by homunculus at 1:35 AM on December 4, 2012

Republican Senator Wants a Brand New Gitmo

Maybe she should try out the accommodations for a while without due process?
*sigh*
Four years ago I remember we were all happy that Gitmo was gonna be no more.

Also 7,996th! Arguably I am the only person in MeFeland to claim that wee honour, even if reloading this thread is akin to playing reboot Russin roulette.
posted by Mezentian at 2:53 AM on December 4, 2012

Four Ways Campaign 2012 Might Have Led to a Different President

Perry and Pawlenty stay in, Romney doesn't get sidetracked by immigration, and actually has a coherent response to the vulture capitalism attacks?

Unlikely.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:59 AM on December 4, 2012

Oh, and I must add: I swear to got, for the past month (until Sunday) I throught Grover Norquist was some sort of bizarre inside joke, not an apparently real person like Orly Taitz.

I'm still not sure y'all aren't having some kind of Situationalist comedy jape with the rest of the world. I mean... Trump? Has be been hauled up on charges yet?
posted by Mezentian at 2:59 AM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mostly what I take from that list is that the Republicans shot themselves in the foot for having a tooth-and-claw primary. But, given the system, wouldn't that happen every election?

Only this time, according to The Donald, it was all Karl Rove's fault.
Speaking of which, he seems to think that "My @foxandfriends interview discussing how the Democrats want to go over the fiscal cliff & a surprise visit".

I'm not even sure what that means. I'm not going to watch Fox.
posted by Mezentian at 3:05 AM on December 4, 2012

oh hey guys I'm up here on the mountain wusssup?
posted by mannequito at 3:06 AM on December 4, 2012 [3 favorites]

GODDAMNIT!

WELL PLAYED!
WELL PLAYED INDEED.

In the Game of Posts either you win, or you get up to get wine and lose. I lost.
posted by Mezentian at 3:08 AM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

I will share the wine with you.

It is good wine.

And we are actually in a cave, and those noodles are maggots. Maggots Michael!
posted by mannequito at 3:13 AM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Brad DeLong summarizes the Weekly Standard's polling coverage: "The remarkable thing is that Jay Cost sees himself under no obligation to his readers to explain why he was so wrong a month ago--and his readers feel no need to inquire."
posted by the man of twists and turns at 4:52 AM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bad news guys. The Even Post Game has been switched to binary and we're now 0xBE comments away from 0x2000.

I guess this will make it 0xBD.
posted by localroger at 5:36 AM on December 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

Republicans Get Religion On Campaign Data
posted by the man of twists and turns at 5:41 AM on December 4, 2012

Oh balls, I slept through 8000.
posted by cortex at 5:47 AM on December 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

The audience, like an overflowing freshman seminar with the cool professor, listens attentively as Strauss breaks down the fundamental issue with Silver's analysis of which states are most likely to swing back and forth. It assumes that the demographics most likely to swing one way or another are those in the middle. That's just not what the numbers say, Strauss insists. The problem, supposedly, is that Silver's information is limited to crude exit polling, whereas Strauss' information comes from phone calls and in-person contacts. "That's where it crumbles," he says. "That's where the house of cards fall down."

Dear lord, they STILL don't get it.

2008: Silver correctly predicts the winner of 49 out of 50 states. He missed Indiana, which went to Obama by 1%. He was correct on all 35 Senate races.
2010: Silver correctly predicts the winner in 34 out of 36 midterm elections.
2012: Silver correctly predicts the winner of all 50 states and Washington DC. He correctly predicts the winner in 31 of 33 Senate races. (He missed ND and MT)

I hope Strauss is sharing whatever the hell he's smoking with the rest of his audience. It's been three election cycles and Silver's had spectacular success rates in all of them.
posted by zarq at 8:15 AM on December 4, 2012 [3 favorites]

Well, but, [reasons]...
posted by OmieWise at 8:17 AM on December 4, 2012

The problem, supposedly, is that Silver's

A witch!
posted by rtha at 8:30 AM on December 4, 2012 [4 favorites]

“I put on my robe and wizard hat...”
posted by zarq at 8:31 AM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

I will say this -- Silver does value qualitative data like "phone calls and in-person contacts." In his book, for instance, he spends an entire chapter talking about the forecasts of baseball scouts versus pure SABR nerds, and explains how the scouts often do better because they have information that doesn't show up in SABR numbers. The hard part (and the part that the GOP probably overvalues their ability to do effectively) is valuing those qualitative assessments properly in the model. My guess is these GOP guys are vastly overestimating their forecasting ability based on these qualitative factors, though.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:40 AM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

The view from the Millennials should scare the GOP. Here is one example:

Here is what I learned about politics in my formative years: Under a moderate Democrat president, the economy was doing well and we had budget surpluses, while the Republicans threw fits, shut down the government, and impeached him over bullshit. A Republican won a close election after which he might have been expected to try for a bipartisan approach in the face of a weak mandate, but instead pushed a strident conservative platform that, even before two wars, erased the budget surplus. Republicans got us into a quagmire in Iraq that (no disrespect to you) was obviously a bad idea from the beginning. When another moderate Democrat won election, Republicans engaged in an epic tantrum and behaved like babies for four years, culminating in a disgraceful Presidential field in 2012.

For the record, I am not a liberal. I would describe myself as a moderate libertarian, and my political idols are Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight Eisenhower. What has the Republican party done since 1995 to convince me that it has any positive vision for responsible governance, or any solutions to the problems facing the country and the world? What have they done that measures up to the legacy of our country's historical leaders? With the sheer audacity of the volte-faces they have made in the last couple decades on every issue, how can they be trusted with any power?

posted by caddis at 8:43 AM on December 4, 2012 [15 favorites]

So essentially what is saving the GOP bacon on a national level at this moment is redistricting.
posted by edgeways at 9:38 AM on December 4, 2012 [3 favorites]

More that there are still a lot of angry old white people who turn up for elections.
posted by klangklangston at 9:55 AM on December 4, 2012

It would be nice to see the Democrats target some of those supposedly safe GOP districts, say about 40-50 of them.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:17 AM on December 4, 2012

Senate GOP kills disabilities treaty

Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) made a rare Senate appearance this morning, sitting in a wheelchair just off the floor so that members would have to see him as they entered the chamber.

It didn't work. The Senate killed the treaty this afternoon, with a final vote of 61 to 38, which seems like a lopsided majority, but which fell short of the two-thirds necessary for ratification. Eight Republicans broke ranks and joins Democrats in support of the treaty, but the clear majority of the Senate GOP voted to block it.
[...]
most Senate Republicans saw it as a threat to American "sovereignty," even though the treaty wouldn't have required the United States to change its laws.

posted by Golden Eternity at 10:18 AM on December 4, 2012 [3 favorites]

Senate GOP kills disabilities treaty

This. This is why we can't have nice things.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:48 AM on December 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

So essentially what is saving the GOP bacon on a national level at this moment is redistricting.

More that there are still a lot of angry old white people who turn up for elections.

No, I think edgeways is right. It's mostly redistricting/gerrymandering. Mother Jones has a simple chart that is effective in demonstrating the problem. From "Now That's What I Call Gerrymandering!"

quote:

Most Americans voted for Democratic representation in the House. The votes are still being counted, but as of now it looks as if Democrats have a slight edge in the popular vote for House seats, 49 percent-48.2 percent, according to an analysis by the Washington Post. Still, as the Post's Aaron Blake notes, the 233-195 seat majority the GOP will likely end up with represents the GOP's "second-biggest House majority in 60 years and their third-biggest since the Great Depression."

Also: How gerrymandering helped GOP keep control of House from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:48 AM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Also: How gerrymandering helped GOP keep control of House from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

This is why the Republicans and groups like ALEC have put so much emphasis on state-level politics. They rightly perceived that it was the key to keeping as much control at the national level as possible through redistricting, voter suppression, and wedge-issue ballots.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:52 AM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Rick Santorum Will Fit In Fine At WND: Barack Obama Is Trying To Murder My Baby
posted by homunculus at 11:29 AM on December 4, 2012

Fox's plan to make Petreaus president.
posted by empath at 11:30 AM on December 4, 2012

Ailes: Respected Non-Partisan News Organization ‘Fox’ Did Not Make Hot Monkey Sex On David Petraeus
posted by homunculus at 11:37 AM on December 4, 2012

Elizabeth Warren Wins Senate Banking Committee Seat

Senator Warren's New Job
posted by homunculus at 12:32 PM on December 4, 2012 [6 favorites]

An interview with the author Plutocrats. Wall Street’s worst bet since the bet on subprime’:

There’s a great joke on Wall Street which is that the bet on Romney is Wall Street’s worst bet since the bet on subprime. But I found the hostility towards Obama astonishing. I found the commitment to getting him out astonishing. I found the absolute confidence that it would work astonishing. On that Tuesday, the big Romney backers I was talking to were sure he was going to win. They were all flying into Logan Airport for the victory party. There’s this stunned feeling of how could we be so wrong, and a feeling of alienation.

And some interesting tidbits on how the rich feel, etc.
posted by FJT at 12:52 PM on December 4, 2012 [4 favorites]

Public Policy Polling's first post election national poll: Republicans not handling election results well

Some choice bits:

49% of GOP voters nationally say they think that ACORN stole the election for President Obama. We found that 52% of Republicans thought that ACORN stole the 2008 election for Obama, so this is a modest decline, but perhaps smaller than might have been expected given that ACORN doesn't exist anymore.

....

Grover Norquist is largely unknown nationally, and among voters who are familiar with him he is generally disliked. Only 15% have a favorable opinion of him to 37% with a negative one, with 48% not holding an opinion one way or the other. Even among Republicans just 18% see him positively, while 23% have an unfavorable view. Only 23% of voters think it's important for politicians to follow Norquist's tax pledge to 39% who think it's not important and 38% who don't have an opinion.

-----

The 39% of Americans with an opinion about Bowles/Simpson is only slightly higher than the 25% with one about Panetta/Burns, a mythical Clinton Chief of Staff/former western Republican Senator combo we conceived of to test how many people would say they had an opinion even about something that doesn't exist.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:02 PM on December 4, 2012 [5 favorites]

Public Policy Polling:

49% of GOP voters nationally say they think that ACORN stole the election for President Obama. We found that 52% of Republicans thought that ACORN stole the 2008 election for Obama, so this is a modest decline, but perhaps smaller than might have been expected given that ACORN doesn't exist anymore.

posted by brundlefly at 1:03 PM on December 4, 2012 [3 favorites]

Oh, damnit.
posted by brundlefly at 1:05 PM on December 4, 2012

There’s a great joke on Wall Street which is that the bet on Romney is Wall Street’s worst bet since the bet on subprime. But I found the hostility towards Obama astonishing. I found the commitment to getting him out astonishing. I found the absolute confidence that it would work astonishing. On that Tuesday, the big Romney backers I was talking to were sure he was going to win. They were all flying into Logan Airport for the victory party. There’s this stunned feeling of how could we be so wrong, and a feeling of alienation.

That is just way too delicious. It borders on being Shadenfreuden-PR0N...
posted by Skygazer at 1:12 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

That had to have been an awkward landing.
posted by JHarris at 1:20 PM on December 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

Outreach - this may take a while
posted by never used baby shoes at 1:20 PM on December 4, 2012

An interview with the author Plutocrats.

She and Matt Taibbi did and interview together on Bill Moyers's show a couple of months ago: Matt Taibbi and Chrystia Freeland on the One Percent’s Power and Privileges
posted by homunculus at 1:28 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

I highly recommend FJT's link just a few posts upthread about the bad Wall Street bet. It contains a great discussion about wealth allocation in our society.
posted by caddis at 1:52 PM on December 4, 2012

Bradley Manning wants to run for public office, lawyer says
posted by homunculus at 1:59 PM on December 4, 2012

Kinda sounds like "Wallstreet" really really perpetually loses itself up it's own asshole.

Seriously, the last four years have generally been good to Wallstreet, A 51% increase from the horrible closing on Oct 15th. 51% Increase. No one else in America that actually worked got a 50% increase over the last four years. And that is not enough.
posted by edgeways at 2:07 PM on December 4, 2012 [5 favorites]

Oh, damnit.

Ha. I was just coming here to post that ridiculous story. So ACORN has officially turned into the Republican boogie man. Next thing you know it will be made into a horror film: Night of the Living ACORN.

But seriously. How can we possibly have a Democracy when such a large number of the electorate is pig-ignorant? (Sorry, I mean no disrespect to pigs.)
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 2:48 PM on December 4, 2012

as Strauss breaks down the fundamental issue with Silver's analysis

Just FYI, this may be reportage. Strauss himself seems to generally like Silver judging by his G+/Twitter posting history. Do allow for differences of opinion between fellow experts; Nate's not God.

It would be nice to see the Democrats target some of those supposedly safe GOP districts, say about 40-50 of them.

You are Howard Dean and I claim my five pounds.
posted by dhartung at 2:51 PM on December 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

Gerrymandering less important than political geography.

(The main takeaway is that Dems tend to live in cities, which is a less efficient distribution of votes than spread out through suburbs, exurbs and rural areas.)
posted by klangklangston at 3:02 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Right Fears `Purge' As GOP Leadership Takes Control

Conservatives fear they're being pushed aside by Republican leaders as the party looks to regroup from its election losses.
...
"At the end of the day we lost seats in the House, we lost seats in the Senate, we couldn't win the presidency, and the response is to purge conservatives," Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) said Tuesday during a briefing at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington.

Huelskamp is one of four Republicans who were stripped of committee seats this week for bucking leadership over the last term. Huelskamp lost his spot on the Budget Committee, where he voted against the House GOP's budget last year along with Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), who also was removed this week. David Schweikert (R-AZ) and Walter Jones (R-NC), who also voted against the budget from the right, lost seats on the Financial Services Committee.

Looks like the warden's trying to take the asylum back from the inmates.
posted by tonycpsu at 4:30 PM on December 4, 2012

Whither the Repubs?

We may have to suffer through another cycle or two of the lunatics running the asylum, which may be good for the Democratic majority in the short run, but bad for the country.
posted by jeffen at 4:42 PM on December 4, 2012

Senate GOP kills disabilities treaty

In Which The GOP Reminds Us How Little They Care
posted by homunculus at 6:19 PM on December 4, 2012 [3 favorites]

Looks like the asylum inmates aren't going quietly into that dark cell.
posted by localroger at 7:15 PM on December 4, 2012

Well, yeah, plenty of assholes (Boehner included) won their elections, so there must be nothing wrong with them. And all their friends say they're right, so why does the President have to be such a Secret Muslim Kenyan Socialist?
posted by klangklangston at 7:20 PM on December 4, 2012

But seriously. How can we possibly have a Democracy when such a large number of the electorate is pig-ignorant? (Sorry, I mean no disrespect to pigs.)

On the contrary, I'm sure you were referring to the fact that they do not in fact know where bacon comes from. We all know pigs are actually quite intelligent.
posted by localroger at 7:28 PM on December 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

Secret Life of Gravy: "But seriously. How can we possibly have a Democracy when such a large number of the electorate is pig-ignorant? (Sorry, I mean no disrespect to pigs.)"

It's the fault of the education system and the media. But if you dig a little bit deeper, those things are because there are powers that want people to be pig-ignorant. Hence crappy school curriculums and NCLB, or propaganda like 24, or the news networks which are criminally lazy and servile to power.

I think if a commoner from ancient Rome were to appear among us today, they would seem completely brilliant.
posted by dunkadunc at 10:32 PM on December 4, 2012

Back then they were pig-Latin-ignorant.
posted by fleacircus at 11:25 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Today NPR reported that Obama is insisting on a real tax rate increase on the richest 2%, but might allow the rate to come back down next year as part of overall tax reform.

Now I wonder if he's simply trying to force relatively moderate Republicans to vote for a tax increase, just to induce Norquist attacks, and Tea Party primary opposition with Club of Rome funding. Like a triggered autoimmune disease; the HIV of congressional races. Look how many of the contested Senate seats that Dems won involved Tea Party primary winners.
posted by msalt at 11:56 PM on December 4, 2012

Is tomorrow really the last day for The Thread™ ?
posted by edgeways at 5:13 AM on December 5, 2012

Now I wonder if he's simply trying to force relatively moderate Republicans to vote for a tax increase

While I think that there is certainly some consideration on the Democratic team about how to embarrass the GOP on taxes, the way the situation is currently set up, Repubs, if they are smart, can get away with simply not voting to continue a tax cut, which is different. In other words, the Bush tax give-away is scheduled to end Jan 1, so for taxes to go up across the board, the GOP need do nothing. To lower them on the 98% is to vote for a tax decrease. There is still rhetorical power in this position for the Democrats vis-a-vis how the GOP likes to talk about taxes, but it's not quite the same as getting them to vote for an increase.
posted by OmieWise at 5:27 AM on December 5, 2012

It's a long shot but Tim Walz (D-MN) filed a discharge petition to try and force a vote on letting the tax cuts expire for those making over $250K (what the Senate approved earlier this year).
posted by edgeways at 5:42 AM on December 5, 2012

Is tomorrow really the last day for The Thread™ ?

Yes, and I feel like we should throw it a party.
posted by Theta States at 6:24 AM on December 5, 2012

the thread that does not live can not die
posted by The Whelk at 6:30 AM on December 5, 2012

In other words, the Bush tax give-away is scheduled to end Jan 1, so for taxes to go up across the board, the GOP need do nothing. To lower them on the 98% is to vote for a tax decrease. There is still rhetorical power in this position for the Democrats vis-a-vis how the GOP likes to talk about taxes, but it's not quite the same as getting them to vote for an increase.

I agree, except that over the last four years Republicans have done everything in their power to obscure this distinction during campaigns, calling every suggestions that the tax breaks expire a "tax hike" as in "with the economy the way it is, we can't risk a tax hike."

Siince the target audience for what I'm talking about is Republican primary voters, I think they've destroyed this escape hatch. Karma.
posted by msalt at 6:48 AM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think that the GOP primary voters will be able to handle the cognitive dissonance. At least they have in the past when things like this have come up. What I do think, as I alluded to, is that this will have an effect on how the GOP gets to talk about "tax hikes" in the future.
posted by OmieWise at 7:52 AM on December 5, 2012

Dana Milbank: Romney can retire later
posted by homunculus at 9:45 AM on December 5, 2012

Please don't talk about me when I'm gone
posted by mrgrimm at 9:55 AM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

Former President George W. Bush urges ‘benevolent spirit’ as US debates immigrant policy
posted by homunculus at 9:57 AM on December 5, 2012

How The Voter ID Crusade Backfired On Republicans
posted by homunculus at 9:58 AM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

How The Voter ID Crusade Backfired On Republicans

Hell, it made me want to vote more, and I'm not even a "minority" nor an Obama voter.

If the Democrats were smart, they'd come up with another pro-voting initiative like the motor-voter bill. It's been a loooong time. Conservatives bluster b/c they don't want everyone voting, but the general electorate eats that shit up. Enable voting instead of hindering it and you will get more votes. It's simple.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:03 AM on December 5, 2012 [4 favorites]

Karl Rove’s Election Night Meltdown on Fox News Led Roger Ailes to Restrict His On-Air Presence
posted by homunculus at 10:23 AM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sununu: Obama Won Because He Turned Out Voters ‘Dependent’ On Government
posted by homunculus at 10:24 AM on December 5, 2012

God, we don't talk much and when we do, I keep asking for the wrong things since I never meet female celebrates or their hot friends. I'm a flawed vessel, yes.

But if could see fit to keep the current Republican party to continue spouting crap like "Obama Won Because He Turned Out Voters ‘Dependent’", I promise to one day do something worthwhile with my internet browsing time.

Thanks for listening.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:29 AM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

I do wonder how Obama is "gonna fix that" problem with the long lines at the polls.

...

I've got it! Merge Veteran's Day and Election Day into one Veterans and Patriots Day holiday and give everyone the day off work to vote. You could even keep it on the 11th (though WWI was almost 100 years ago).

Now that would be a legacy.

(Some quick research indicates I'm far from the first to propose such a thing...)

Sununu: Obama Won Because He Turned Out Voters ‘Dependent’ On Government

That's not a surprise. It's almost like Mitt Romney was channeling John Sununu all campaign.

John Sununu don't give a shit. Mitt Romney’s Honey Badger. Another one of the campaign's many, many mistakes.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:32 AM on December 5, 2012

I do wonder how Obama is "gonna fix that" problem with the long lines at the polls.

Mail-in voting! Washington has 100% mail-in voting, and we have over 80% turnout with no lines.
posted by KathrynT at 10:35 AM on December 5, 2012

Mail-in voting!

I don't think anything that specific will happen on a federal level, though, will it? I'm just curious how the federal government expects to solve a problem that's different in every state ... oh well, Obama was probably just talking.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:37 AM on December 5, 2012

Karl Rove’s Election Night Meltdown on Fox News Led Roger Ailes to Restrict His On-Air Presence

A shame Crossroads GPS never disclosed their donor list. Would be fun to find out how much Ailes contributed.
posted by zarq at 10:45 AM on December 5, 2012

If the Democrats were smart, they'd come up with another pro-voting initiative like the motor-voter bill.

LINE (Lines Interfere with National Elections) Act.
posted by benito.strauss at 10:47 AM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Republicans Are Eating Their Own
posted by homunculus at 11:22 AM on December 5, 2012

From that Equire piece:

...this is why Republicans must oppose tax increases and insist on real spending reductions
.
.
.
We can stop the fiscal cliff with the bill that House Republicans already passed that simply extends the current tax rates and replaces the defense cuts with...

-Jim DeMint

As said before, there are no fiscal conservatives, just different priorities. DeMint could balance the budget with defense cuts alone, but he values that spending too highly, so the solution is to "...replaces the defense cuts with reductions in wasteful spending." You know, you could actually do both, raise taxes on the 3%, institute capitol gains taxes, tax all money made in America, or by people living in America, even if the money is stored off shore and hardly touch the safety net at all.

First on the wasteful spending chopping block, medical packages for congressional members, purchase it on the freeeeeee market baby.
posted by edgeways at 11:37 AM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]

The shame of it is that defense spending is amongst the most wasteful — it's some of the only government spending that doesn't have a positive multiplier for the general economy. (In part, this is because we demand a cutting-edge military, and that means researching a lot of things that don't pan out. But also because we build huge things with little coherent oversight and little incentive to complete efficiently.)

In fact, just about the only place where the conservative argument that government spending is inherently wasteful aligns with the facts of this reality is in defense spending. Most social programs do pretty well.
posted by klangklangston at 12:41 PM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]

Considering this thread expires at 6:37 AM EST tomorrow morning, this is probably my last chance to post.
Goodbye to you all!

See you all again in 4 years minus 1 month.
(or as soon as the 2016 primaries race really starts heating up mid-2013...)
posted by Theta States at 12:54 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

♫ Should auld acquaintance be forgot... ♪
posted by griphus at 1:00 PM on December 5, 2012 [4 favorites]

I'd like to thank everyone who posted links and comments in the election megathreads. They were informative, they were fun and seeing small political communities spring up in MeFi was pretty meta and enjoyable as well.
posted by ersatz at 1:17 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

This is the first Metafilter thread I've ever seen where it's still quite active, with a variety of people contributing, right up to the closing date. Seems a shame for it to end now.
posted by JHarris at 1:34 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

John Boehner’s Holiday Photo Snub & More Petty Political Moments
posted by homunculus at 1:35 PM on December 5, 2012

The shame of it is that defense spending is amongst the most wasteful — it's some of the only government spending that doesn't have a positive multiplier for the general economy.

Not only that, but as military secrecy continues to spread, I'd think that less of that technology is making it out into private sector applications. Fewer frying pans made with technology from the space shuttle and all that.
posted by JHarris at 1:38 PM on December 5, 2012

From homonculus' petty political moments link, I don't get where Obama saying "You're likable enough, Hillary" is petty? Maybe it's a context thing I'm missing, but it sounds to me a lot like they're trying to make an innocent comment seem like carping.
posted by JHarris at 1:43 PM on December 5, 2012

Goodbye, Cornelius Megathread III. You were not a long boat, or a longship for that matter. Just the biggest bestest thread that ever was.

I'm missing you guys already. Don't be strangers. *smoke bomb*
posted by fleacircus at 1:59 PM on December 5, 2012

It's been real.
long.
posted by iamkimiam at 2:06 PM on December 5, 2012

Why Are We Fascinated With Post-Election Romney? Excerpt:

I suspect it goes to something more fundamental in the human psyche: our fascination with fate. Put bluntly, it's rare in this day and age for us to witness a divergence of outcome as radical as what has just occurred with Mitt Romney. Here was a man who was awfully close—if not as close as he thought—to being elected leader of the free world. If a few hundred thousand votes had swung a different way in a few key states, he would have been presiding over the reshaping of the American tax code and federal budget in the year to come, dismantling the biggest piece of domestic policy legislation in more than three decades, and taking the reins on confronting Iran's mullahs. A special Secret Service team—code-name Hawkeye Javelin—was standing by on Election Night in Boston to swoop in and supplement protection for the president-elect. Instead, the agents melted away, and Romney was driven home by his son Tagg.

Fuck going gentle into that blue night, I'm gonna keep posting links until the damn thing dies.
posted by Kattullus at 2:12 PM on December 5, 2012 [8 favorites]

You know what this thread smells like? Victory.
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:12 PM on December 5, 2012 [10 favorites]

The shame of it is that defense spending is amongst the most wasteful — it's some of the only government spending that doesn't have a positive multiplier for the general economy.

Defense spending definitely provides jobs. I personally don't like the fact that the US has and maintains 10 aircraft carriers and is planning 3 more, while the closest competitor has 2 and they're allies to boot. But building and maintaining those ships provides jobs.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:15 PM on December 5, 2012

If I was worth $300 million I'd hire someone else to do my Costco shopping. Those parking lots are nuts.
posted by Theta States at 2:19 PM on December 5, 2012

I was here.
I couldn't participate as often as I would have liked, since the damned thread kills my browser, and my 8,000th post was stolen like the 2000 election, but I was here damnit.

I shed blood for the favourites. I shared in the joy of the victory, and the worry of the second term of a lame duck president, and took glee in Romney's defeat speech.

I watched Game Change. I enjoyed the high signal to noise ratio.

And now the challenge has been set for the next mega thread.

It's been real.
posted by Mezentian at 2:21 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

Why Are We Fascinated With Post-Election Romney?

What you mean we? I'd be happy to never see or hear about that smarmy putz ever again.
posted by octothorpe at 2:23 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

I've posted 87 comments in this thread, so far.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:24 PM on December 5, 2012

It's been real.
long.

That's what he said!
posted by ericb at 2:25 PM on December 5, 2012

JHarris: I don't get where Obama saying "You're likable enough, Hillary" is petty?

Yeah, me neither. To my memory Hilary was a bit stung by the suggestion, and seemed at a loss for words and Obama was just being partially a wiseass and partially conciliatory.

Let's not forget that one of Obama's closest foreign policy advisers at the time, the supremely intelligent Samantha Power, had in a moment of repulsion with Hillary's campaign style said she was "a monster," and was quickly taken off the campaign and put out of the running for a an Obama appointment if he won. {But I would venture Power is going to get something in Obama's second term, and that's a good thing.}

But going back to Hillary, there's no doubt she plays to win and plays for keeps, and so does her hubby (who's amazingly, considering the Lewinsky stuff has still managed to become, deservedly, this beloved American stateman. LOLZ.).

But also there was the real concern from the Hilary camp that she might not appear tough enough for the office of POTUS, during a time of two wars, which strikes me now, as downright quaint.

I don't know a woman running for the office at this point would have to work as hard to appear to be such a hard ass and all set to chew glass and take out the whole AQ and Talibaners network with her own hands if necessary. Clinton really was a pioneer, and I thnk she's definitely going to run and in four years, a thread similar to this one and the "MotherThread" will go at great and long length discussing her and the other candidates, so I'm going to end this thread with encouragement for Hillary:

HILLARY 2016

{Thanks everybody!!}
posted by Skygazer at 2:32 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

Why Are We Fascinated With Post-Election Romney?

Because we're glad that the smug, arrogant, flip-flopping opportunist who expected to win on the basis of his pedigree and supposed business experience was exposed for being nothing more than a hollow, core-less man. Fuckin' goodbye, Mitt. We're glad that you are relocating to La Jolla and hope that your visits to the office you are setting up here in Boston are minimal ... like the time when you were governor. Remember? It was one-term and you spent the majority of days out-of-state rather than in-state, as you dissed Massachusetts publicly and openly. By, bye ... Masshole. Soon to be only 'asshole.'
posted by ericb at 2:35 PM on December 5, 2012 [4 favorites]

"Defense spending definitely provides jobs. I personally don't like the fact that the US has and maintains 10 aircraft carriers and is planning 3 more, while the closest competitor has 2 and they're allies to boot. But building and maintaining those ships provides jobs."

I can't find the numbers right now — the gradual fiscal ditch seems to be taking up all the google juice — but basically the general consensus (and someone will be sure to correct me if I misremember) is that military spending ends up with, at best, a 1.5 percent multiplier in terms of economic stimulus, but investing in things like education and infrastructure leads to multipliers between 2 and 5 percent. Given limited resources, it makes more economic sense to divest from the military — especially given that military spending hits the diminishing returns point sooner — and invest in domestic infrastructure and education.
posted by klangklangston at 2:42 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Barack Obama Story (Updated): How a Community Organizer and Constitutional Law Professor Became a Robot President
posted by homunculus at 2:43 PM on December 5, 2012

I don't think there's any reputable info on the multiplier for defense spending specifically. This EPI paper has a table showing multipliers for various things (search the page for for "Appendix Table 1") but the closest you get is a breakdown of safety net stuff, infrastructure, and "other government spending."

A Romney advisor hilariously claimed defense spending had five times the multiplier of entitlement spending during the campaign, but I think we can safely discount that.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:57 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Veni, vidi, abii.
posted by y2karl at 3:03 PM on December 5, 2012

So close! At 0x1F9E we're just 0x62 from 0x2000!

(Make that 0x61...)
posted by localroger at 3:08 PM on December 5, 2012

There's actually a lot more work done directly on military spending — this is one recent paper — than non-military spending, because military spending is less dependent on outside variables.
posted by klangklangston at 3:20 PM on December 5, 2012

in before the end...

OMFG THIS IS LIKE THE POST TO END ALL POSTS HOT DAMN!

please turn off the lights on the way out. am done here :D
posted by liza at 3:22 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Before this dies, I just gotta say: I was so goddamn happy and relieved that Obama won. Despite all my Silver-worshipping and obsessive poll watching, I was still bugging out. I disagree with Obama on a lot of things, but I honestly think that electing him will help make the country a better place and that Romney would have been a shit show. And it's been great being here with y'all.
posted by klangklangston at 3:38 PM on December 5, 2012 [15 favorites]

.
posted by ColdChef at 3:40 PM on December 5, 2012

Good night, sweet thread, and Nathan Silver sing thee to thy rest.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 3:47 PM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]

Guess this thread wendelled after all.

Good night to yous all and God bless yous!
posted by lord_wolf at 3:47 PM on December 5, 2012

From homonculus' petty political moments link, I don't get where Obama saying "You're likable enough, Hillary" is petty? Maybe it's a context thing I'm missing, but it sounds to me a lot like they're trying to make an innocent comment seem like carping.

It came across as arrogant and condescending. Perhaps more so to those of us who supported her who were receiving an aggressive brush-off on every Democratic-leaning website, (such as Daily Kos) by Obama supporters.

It was an ugly primary campaign. Obama had difficulty courting women's rights groups, not just because Clinton was a woman, but because she was a known quantity and he was not. Obama's supporters were attacked as sexist and Clinton's as racist.

He made a joke. It fell flat and did not make him look good. And it won her New Hampshire.

I could be wrong about this, but I suspect it was a perception that he was being impolite to a woman on national television that mattered to the electorate. Probably more so because he was black. There's an unfair double standard which has been set for Obama, I think. As an African-American man, his behavior was being (and still is) scrutinized by people ready to take offense at even the slightest whiff of impropriety. That might have been a factor, too.

During the 1990 Texas gubernatorial race, there was a debate between governor Ann Richards and Clayton Williams. Williams refused to shake Richards hand, leaving her standing with her hand outstretched, looking awkward. This was a guy whose poll numbers had remained relatively high even after he'd made a rape joke: "If it's inevitable, just relax and enjoy it," back in March. Going into August, he led in the polls by close to a dozen points. As Molly Ivins quipped at the time, Texans had no problem with a candidate making a rape joke, but they wouldn't stand for him being disrespectful right to a woman's face. It wasn't gentlemanly. Williams lost the election. The incident wasn't his only misstep, but it was a biggie.

The two incidents differ in degree but perhaps the backlash was similar.
posted by zarq at 4:03 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

I've really loved how this has become a sort of catchall for minor political stuff, things that are interesting on their own but would never stand up to a whole new FPP. I hope someone posts something tomorrow at 6:38 AM EST sharp so we can keep it going.

Seconded.

I have a real weakness for politics-- sometimes nothing else will satisfy my cravings. So I always enjoy a good political FPP on MeFi where we can get an aggregate of all the stuff flying around plus intelligent discussion and thoughtful ruminations. I really loved participating in this monster of a thread and thank everyone else who contributed.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:13 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

It took 58.6 seconds to load this page on my otherwise normally speedy laptop and wifi connection. And the typing lags!

What a fantastic thread this has been. Many thanks to you all!
posted by rtha at 4:22 PM on December 5, 2012

I was thinking today that maybe it's identity politics but still, we re-elected a black guy named Barack Hussein Obama to the presidency of the United States. My mom died this summer and after most of a lifetime of civil rights activism starting in the mid-sixties, she actually lived to see a black president. In her last few years as she got sicker, the glossy photo that the Obama campaign sent her for what must have been a tiny contribution was one of her prize possessions. She was born in 1933 and was very close to her grandmother who had actually been born on a plantation in North Carolina during the Civil War. Sometimes it good to step back and remember how far we've really come.
posted by octothorpe at 4:28 PM on December 5, 2012 [22 favorites]

Goodbye, thread. I finally got some beer that wasn't 3.2.
posted by COBRA! at 4:32 PM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]

This has been the most wonderful thread of my Metafilter life. Thanks everyone!

SI SE PUEDE!!!
posted by HotToddy at 5:13 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

klangklangston: "There's actually a lot more work done directly on military spending — this is one recent paper — than non-military spending, because military spending is less dependent on outside variables."

But doesn't a multiplier of 1.5 contradict your earlier statement that defense spending isn't nearly as stimulative as infrastructure, etc.? Zandi comes up with 1.44 for infrastructure, and just a bit more for unemployment benefits. If anything, 1.5 sounds awfully high to me.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:28 PM on December 5, 2012

This thread has been epic. I hope that it holds the record as the longest longboat until the next election. Because the other reasons for epic long threads tend to be because a disaster happened somewhere, on a large or small scale. So here's to four years of lots of different shorter threads on lots of different fascinating subjects that I didn't even know were things until somebody made an awesome post on the blue.

See you 'round the neighborhood...
posted by ambrosia at 5:44 PM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]

Guess this thread wendelled after all.

It certainly fooped swell!

We could all have an after-thread party in this thread's legacy, chat.metafilter.com! Woooo!
posted by JHarris at 5:49 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks to everyone who made this thread and election season in general a pleasure here on MetaFilter.

I had all kinds of grandiloquent things I thought about writing, but in my opinion the best summation of the election is, "Thank God for ACORN, right y'all?"
posted by ob1quixote at 5:52 PM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]

In 2012, presidential election spending reached $6 billion and created all kinds of jobs, from community organizers to campaign managers, advertisers, web designers and political consultants. According to the Combined Federal Campaign website “more than 35,000 campaign workers serve the campaign every year, training, fundraising, engagement leaders, event planning, recording donations and more.”

Nevertheless, with the end of election season, campaign jobs vanish, leaving campaign workers in an uncertainty of post-election unemployment, which starts immediately.
posted by Drinky Die at 5:58 PM on December 5, 2012

The Amazing Reformation Of Mitt And Ann Romney .
posted by homunculus at 6:16 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

Thanks all. Been a great coulple of threads and good end result of a long season. Funny how everything seems inevitable in hindsight. Will be interesting what 4 years brings, this was my third MF election, certanly better than 2004, and in some aspects
better than 2008 just because it proved 08 wasn't a fluke. Thanks for all the info and links and humor and passion, hopefully I wasn't too obnoxious too often. Dogspeed to one and all. (hey no dios this year).
posted by edgeways at 6:22 PM on December 5, 2012

This thread has been an amazing experience. I've fretted, laughed, bit my nails, fist-raged, scrunched my face in confusion, and most of all learned so much. (I've also become a huge Charlie Pierce groupie.) Thanks, to all of you smart and clever people, for making it so swell.
posted by Superplin at 6:35 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thank you all for keeping me sane through the pre-election days and after. You're the greatest. *grouphug*
posted by jokeefe at 6:54 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Both Democrats & Republicans now agree that we are heading toward a fiscal cliff. Too bad we just elected the guy whose campaign slogan was 'Forward.'"
posted by growabrain at 7:00 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

Liberals stole my Oscar! Shocker: The director of the anti-Obama fever dream "2016" blames his nomination snub on left-wing bias
posted by homunculus at 7:09 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm going to miss seeing this browser-killer in my recent activity. (That said, it still loads fine and mefi navigator even works without a hitch.) I love all of you. Well, some of you. OK, I love one of you, but I'm not telling who it is.
posted by maxwelton at 7:19 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Obamacare architect leaves White House for pharmaceutical industry job: Few people embody the corporatist revolving door greasing Washington as purely as Elizabeth Fowler
posted by homunculus at 7:19 PM on December 5, 2012 [4 favorites]

The Secrets of the 2012 Campaign: Obama and Romney’s top strategists reveal their hidden hopes, fears, and a few lessons from this year’s presidential contest.
posted by homunculus at 7:55 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

I just want to wish you all good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by Mchelly at 7:55 PM on December 5, 2012 [4 favorites]

MetaFilter: I'm gonna keep posting links until the damn thing dies.
posted by homunculus at 7:57 PM on December 5, 2012 [12 favorites]

"Finally, it's almost over."

RIP Monster Thread.
posted by ericb at 7:58 PM on December 5, 2012

And thanks homunculus, I've enjoyed your drive by linkings in particular. I even subscribed it Esquire because of them.
posted by adamt at 8:09 PM on December 5, 2012

Liberals stole my Oscar! Shocker: The director of the anti-Obama fever dream "2016" blames his nomination snub on left-wing bias

Dinesh D'Sousa...

What an assclown.
posted by Skygazer at 8:12 PM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]

*walks in line behind Skygazer, holding right palm sideways at waist level*

good thread good thread good thread good thread good thread
posted by infinitewindow at 8:51 PM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]

We all counted on you and you delivered.
posted by shothotbot at 9:14 PM on December 5, 2012

It's still open.
So, I guess I can invite you all to the next election thread.
Australia's voting next year, and that'll be a nailbiter.
Dome on down. Join in the fun as Australia votes between Ju-Liar and The Mad Monk.
Partisan politics for all.
Sausage sizzle.
Expert commentary from Bob Katter.
Red Kerry will probably get drunk again.
Rob Oakschott will make a concession speech....

Come for the election, stay for the bitter infighting afterwards.
posted by Mezentian at 9:18 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Goodnight, thread. You really were a thing.
posted by cortex at 9:18 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

Music to close threads by. :)
posted by zarq at 9:20 PM on December 5, 2012

Needs more Jigglypuff
It was that kind of election.
posted by Mezentian at 9:28 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hey, I just woke up. Did Romney win?
posted by davidjmcgee at 9:28 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

-.-
posted by jessamyn at 9:30 PM on December 5, 2012

The first four words of this post were...
"Finally, it's almost over."
posted by msalt at 9:37 PM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm glad to know that this thread is getting the closure that I wish I had.
posted by Quonab at 9:39 PM on December 5, 2012

Other music to close threads by.
posted by maudlin at 9:44 PM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]

My horses ain't hungry, they won't eat your hay
My wagon is loaded and rolling away

Thanks all!
posted by hap_hazard at 9:49 PM on December 5, 2012

Hey, where y'all going? There are still at least five good hours left.

*dances alone mournfully in the empty disco*
posted by mrgrimm at 10:02 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Stewart Rips GOP: ‘They Hate The United Nations More Than They Like Helping People In Wheelchairs’
posted by homunculus at 10:03 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Goodnight moon, goodnight thread.
Can Presidents legally pardon threads?
posted by infinite intimation at 10:15 PM on December 5, 2012

With all of the absentee and provisional ballot counting, Romney did in fact receive a rounded 47% of the popular vote. Final counts:

Obama       65,428,715 (50.96%)
Romney      60,754,175 (47.32%)
(margin)     4,674,540 ( 3.64%)
Other        2,219,707 ( 1.73%)

posted by Rhomboid at 10:19 PM on December 5, 2012 [11 favorites]

Hey, where y'all going? There are still at least five good hours left.

We can still make it to 10,000! Row!
posted by mannequito at 10:21 PM on December 5, 2012

America's 50 Worst State Legislatures: Because it's never good when your state's greatest legislative achievement is "WrestleMania Appreciation Week."
posted by homunculus at 10:35 PM on December 5, 2012

Look, if you've had fun in this thread, you didn't get there on your own. You didn't get there on your own. I'm always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart MeFiites out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking MeFiites out there.

If you enjoyed this thread, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great moderator somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable MetaFilter that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in routers and servers.

If you enjoyed this thread -- you didn't build that -- somebody else made that happen. MetaFilter didn't get invented on its own. matthowie created MetaFilter so that all the MeFiites could enjoy MetaFilter. The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual comments, but also because we discuss things together. There are some things, just like fighting flame wars, we don't do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had moderator privileges. That would be a hard way to organize fighting flame wars.

So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this site, you know what, there are some things we do better together. That's how we built the longboats. That's how we created the epic threads. That's how we built the "my job is is not to worry about those people" and the "Sarah Palin as McCain's Running-mate". That's how we built MetaFilter. That's how we sent a thread to the moon. We rise or fall together as one user base and as one community.

posted by tonycpsu at 10:49 PM on December 5, 2012 [16 favorites]

"But doesn't a multiplier of 1.5 contradict your earlier statement that defense spending isn't nearly as stimulative as infrastructure, etc.? Zandi comes up with 1.44 for infrastructure, and just a bit more for unemployment benefits. If anything, 1.5 sounds awfully high to me."

No, that's addressed in the paper, at least tangentially. They base their methodology on studies that found between a 1.5 and 2.5 multiplier for all governmental spending, and while the researchers still think 1.5 sounds high for the military, they explain that by noting that military spending compared regionally gives a frame without countervailing monetary and taxation policy.

This difference between the response of national policy to a regional spending shock and an aggregate spending shock implies that the government spending multiplier we estimate, in effect, is conditioning on a relatively accommodative monetary and tax policy response. This likely explains why our multiplier estimate is higher than those of, eg Barro and Redlick (2011) and Ramey (2011).

posted by klangklangston at 11:03 PM on December 5, 2012

Santorum/Brewer 2016!
posted by homunculus at 11:52 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

More Reminders Republicans Will Never Change
posted by homunculus at 1:14 AM on December 6, 2012

Maybe an hour is long enough to wait
posted by homunculus at 1:37 AM on December 6, 2012

Chuck Norris Video: Obama Reelection Will Bring '1,000 Years Of Darkness'

Chuck Norris calls for Americans to 'choke the life out' of Obamacare
posted by homunculus at 1:51 AM on December 6, 2012

Brad DeLong: It Is Eay To Train A Parrot To Be A Republican Presidential Candidate
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:02 AM on December 6, 2012

A Bad Plan For Obama
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:05 AM on December 6, 2012

I've Had Enough Of You Water-Drinking, Air-Breathing Urban Elitists - the absurdities of the attacks on Nate Silver
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:08 AM on December 6, 2012

Paul Broun Expects To Remain On Science Committee After Calling Science 'Lies' From 'The Pit Of Hell'
posted by homunculus at 2:09 AM on December 6, 2012

Redstate: Fire John Boehner
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:13 AM on December 6, 2012

'Fox & Friends' Hosts: Why Weren't We Invited to the White House with MSNBC?
posted by homunculus at 2:26 AM on December 6, 2012

Chuck Norris calls for Americans to 'choke the life out' of Obamacare

That meme that jokingly made the guy sound like some kind of superhuman? Yeah, we feel kind of stupid for it now.

From "Maybe An Hour Is Long Enough To Wait," above, I can understand the purpose behind it and agree it's necessary. But do they have to call it "The LINE Act," with LINE standing for "Lines Interfere with National Elections?" Leave the stupid acronyms to the Republicans please.

Regarding Paul Broun, sadly, the moron is from my state.
posted by JHarris at 2:26 AM on December 6, 2012

With all of the absentee and provisional ballot counting, Romney did in fact receive a rounded 47% of the popular vote.

Excellent!
posted by OmieWise at 2:31 AM on December 6, 2012

Obama Will Not Play That Game

“If the Congress in any way suggests they are going to tie negotiations to the debt ceiling and take us to the brink of default once again as part of a budget negotiation… I will not play that game because we’ve got to break that habit before it starts.”

Man gets elected President, all of a sudden starts thinking he's in charge or something.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:31 AM on December 6, 2012

Michael Tomasky on the Ridiculousness of Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio: Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio recently laid out a vision for the GOP’s future. Too bad it shows Republicans have learned nothing at all from their historic trouncing on Election Day.
posted by homunculus at 2:39 AM on December 6, 2012

GOP 2016ers Push For New Focus On Poverty After Romney Disaster. Excerpt:

Based on remarks by Ryan, Rubio, and other rising politicians like Bobby Jindal, the GOP’s next generation appears convinced that a more inclusive tone can salvage the party’s platform as is.

posted by Kattullus at 2:40 AM on December 6, 2012

Flowers, an Estonian pillow and an inflatable walrus: Nato waves goodbye to Hillary Clinton
posted by homunculus at 2:43 AM on December 6, 2012

Maddow: Secret Petraeus audio means Fox News ‘officially’ part of the GOP
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:44 AM on December 6, 2012

Reason: Ed Krayewski on 3 Issues Team Blue Can Resume Caring About Now That They’ve Re-Elected Obama

Drug War, War in Afghanistan, Drone Attacks.

Interestingly, all three are linked (using drones to interdict drug trade in Afghanistan).
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:51 AM on December 6, 2012

The Counties That Cost Romney the Election. [NYT] Excerpt:

When it comes to presidential politics in Pennsylvania, Republicans are like the comic strip character Charlie Brown, who prepares to kick a football, only to have it pulled back every time by his pal Lucy.

This time, it was Mitt Romney who was tempted to go for the prize, and his camp poured $10 million into Pennsylvania in the closing weeks of the U.S. presidential campaign. He lost by more than five points in that state, suffering the same fate as every one of his party’s nominees in the previous five presidential elections.

To understand why, look at two suburban counties near Philadelphia: Delaware, a middle-class enclave, and Montgomery, a more affluent area. Republicans win many of the local offices in Montgomery and Delaware, and until a few decades ago, so did the party’s presidential nominees. This November, President Barack Obama carried both counties by about 60,000 votes.

posted by Kattullus at 2:52 AM on December 6, 2012

Robert Reich: 3 real “cliffs” facing America. Forget the budget crisis hysteria. Obama has sterner challenges in child poverty, health care and global warming
posted by homunculus at 2:57 AM on December 6, 2012

CSMonitor: Is Karl Rove's Media Career Kaput?
Probably not.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:58 AM on December 6, 2012

The No-Good, Very Bad Outlook For The Working-Class American Man

The U.S. economy has weakened, and much needs fixing—beyond the fiscal cliff—if it’s to regain its strength. A reelected President Obama and a still-divided Congress face a lengthy To Do list for the economy. We’ve chosen eight entries: innovation, jobs, rising health care costs, entitlement programs, college-completion rates, infrastructure, housing, and retirement security. None of them will be easy to fix.

posted by the man of twists and turns at 3:00 AM on December 6, 2012

Hispanic campaign donors look for new ways to flex their political muscle. Excerpt:

One of the most remarked-on stories of the 2012 election was the impact of the nation’s rapidly growing Hispanic population at the ballot box. Largely overlooked was the emergence of a cadre of wealthy Latinos as a force in political fundraising.

Especially successful was a network called the Futuro Fund, organized by television star Eva Longoria, San Antonio architectural-design-firm owner Henry Muñoz III and San Juan lawyer Andres W. Lopez. It pulled in upward of $30 million toward President Obama’s reelection.

“We wanted to make sure the Latino community stops being a number and starts being looked at as a market,” Longoria said in an interview. “It may have been a shock to some, but not if you look at trends in Hispanic buying power.”

Now the three are pondering how to build a Latino political organization that will help shape the national debate — not only on such issues as immigration laws and Puerto Rico statehood, but also on education and economic opportunity for Latinos.

“If we are ever going to get what we want, we have to be politically involved,” Muñoz said. “Politics has a currency. It has votes and money. Our community has been known for votes, and now it has to be known for money.”

That, however, is a tall order. An Associated Press survey found that while Hispanics account for 16 percent of the population, less than 4 percent of itemized political contributions (those of $200 or more) during the 2012 campaign came from predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods.

posted by Kattullus at 3:03 AM on December 6, 2012

Top Ten Most-Looked-Up Words Of 2012 - Lots Of Political Malarkey w/ video.
1: socialism/capitalism
2: touché
3: bigot
4: marriage
5: democracy
6: professionalism
7: globalization
8: malarkey
9: schadenfreude
10: meme
posted by the man of twists and turns at 3:06 AM on December 6, 2012

Obama vows progress with tribes. Excerpt:

President Obama promised Native American leaders Wednesday he will “keep working together” with them, and outlined policy changes across his administration that Native Americans long have sought.

Federal officials will pay the medical bills of Native Americans who have served in the armed forces, and tribes won’t have to pay taxes on aid to their members, administration officials said.

The White House also announced millions of dollars in new transportation grants and new programs to help schools on reservations.

“But we’ve got more work to do,” Obama said at the daylong White House Tribal Nations Conference. “We’ve got to rebuild America’s infrastructure — from roads to high-speed Internet — that will help connect native communities to other parts of the country and other parts of the world.”

posted by Kattullus at 3:09 AM on December 6, 2012

Alright, settle down everybody. This is more concentrated activity than we've had for weeks. This isn't my first longboat. Another will be along before long. /oldtimer

This has been a fabulous thread.
posted by OmieWise at 3:09 AM on December 6, 2012

A Strategic Plan for Liberals: Forty-one years after the Powell Memo inspired the rise of the conservative infrastructure, what’s the road map for a progressive future?
posted by homunculus at 3:14 AM on December 6, 2012

Chris Cillizza: The leaderless Republican party — and why it matters. Excerpt:

What’s left is a Republican party without a leader, a body without a head. And, that lack of a single individual to push the party in a specific direction is already hurting the GOP with cracks appearing in the party’s approach to the fiscal cliff negotiations.

First it was Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole proposing that his party pass the tax cut extension for all but the top two percent of earners, pushing that debate over rates for the wealthiest until the next Congress.Then it was Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn insisting that his preferred option would be to raise rates on the wealthy rather than cap deductions.

That fissured approach stands in stark contrast to the generally unified approach that Democrats have enjoyed thanks to President Obama’s bully pulpit.

posted by Kattullus at 3:16 AM on December 6, 2012

In other news: Congress Arrested On Manslaughter Charges - Negligent Group Believed Responsible For Millions Of American Deaths
posted by homunculus at 3:21 AM on December 6, 2012

GOPocalypse: A Guide to Republican Purges. Excerpt:

Between an electoral defeat that was wholly unexpected (by them, anyway) and a “fiscal cliff” that will compel them to support a tax increase, Republicans are experiencing present political reality as a sort of Apocalypse. That's how it feels, anyway; eventually they will adjust. But for now they’re channeling their resentment into internecine warfare, creating a tableau vivant of pitched battle and unending recrimination that Hieronymus Bosch could have set against a landscape of burning lakes and whirling locusts. It is deeply satisfying to behold. But there’s so much bile flying in so many directions that the uninitiated can find it difficult to keep track of who’s purging whom, and why. Here follows a guide to some of the more interesting enmities.

posted by Kattullus at 3:24 AM on December 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Obama

Romney

Election
posted by homunculus at 3:27 AM on December 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Goodnight, sweet thread.

.
posted by homunculus at 3:28 AM on December 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wow, what an amazing thread! It's like a time capsule of US politics. Thanks to all who participated. I was pretty burned out on politics by November 6, but have really enjoyed this. See you here again in 4 years!
posted by TedW at 3:29 AM on December 6, 2012

Farewell sweet thread. Sleep well. Dream of representative democracy.
posted by OmieWise at 3:30 AM on December 6, 2012

By the way, did any of the mods ever explain why we didn't get the Drudge sirens this tim?
posted by TedW at 3:31 AM on December 6, 2012

More Redistricting Ahead in Texas, Maybe Florida. Excerpt:

A handful of members shouldn’t get too comfortable in the districts where they just won. Those districts might be changing soon.

Texas, Florida and a few other states could have different congressional maps by November 2014.

“The one state with congressional lines that we still absolutely know have to be redrawn is Texas,” said Justin Levitt, a redistricting expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “In other states, there are a few legal challenges still pending.”

posted by Kattullus at 3:35 AM on December 6, 2012

Should Ron Paul Run for President in 2016?
posted by Drinky Die at 3:36 AM on December 6, 2012

How would you like 47%...
posted by Kattullus at 3:36 AM on December 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

By the way, did any of the mods ever explain why we didn't get the Drudge sirens this tim?

Tim?
posted by homunculus at 3:37 AM on December 6, 2012 [8 favorites]

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