Wasn't that the same argument used for this election? After 4 years of high unemployment and a slower than desired recovery the voters would vote for a conservative, any conservative, rather than reelect Obama? And we all know how well that idea worked out for the republicans.
"W" won handily in 2004, but by 2008 he had worn out his welcome. Clinton won re-election, but found his second term to be much more of a challenge and the dotcom economy had started unraveling.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
Fred, it is just stunning how you can totally miss the message from the voters this election. This isn't 2004, this is 2012, and voters rejected the conservative message....it's just that simple.
archer wrote: Fred, it is just stunning how you can totally miss the message from the voters this election. This isn't 2004, this is 2012, and voters rejected the conservative message....it's just that simple.
Don't burst his bubble...He's still stuck on regurgitating the 2012 talking-points that caused them to lose... I rather expect he'll still be squawking like a parrot and regurgitating them all the way to the next election... (I almost hope he does...since that will guarantee that they will lose even more seats in the House & Senate, and fall even further into extinction of their party...)
53%. 500,000 key votes in the battleground states would have changed the election. If voters rejected conservatism why were so many Republicans in Congress and the Senate re-elected?
Scott Brown(R) is already considering taking John Kerry's seat in a special election if the failed presidential nominee becomes our new Sec'y of Defense.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
archer wrote: Fred, it is just stunning how you can totally miss the message from the voters this election. This isn't 2004, this is 2012, and voters rejected the conservative message....it's just that simple.
I'm not sure that explains all of it archer. I think majority of people are comfortable with the status quo, sucky though it is. Most are oblivious to what's coming down the pipeline and are living in bubbles, grudgingly accepting what they have/get and not thinking that there's any need to do more or that they can make a difference with their active participation.
Yes, the Republican party is completely out of touch with the reality of the make-up of this nation and what its voters want, but the Democrats are just as bad with not addressing the hard issues that face us. A friend of mine shared an article on FB today that had a some sentences I'm going to paraphrase: We don't have a fiscal crisis, a tax problem. What we have is a spending problem. Washington speak is that "we save money" if we don't spend as much as we'd planned or wanted to.
That's not saving, that's still spending. Both parties are guilty of it, and the voters like them spending, despite their moaning and groaning of the budget problems and debt. That's why they voted them back in - because they don't want to give up that status quo.
Do I think we should gut our safety nets? Hell no, I think there's loopholes, tax breaks, and wasteful spending that the wealthy and powerful have inserted and are taking advantage of that is hurting our economy the most, and going to lead to revolution if the disparity is not addressed and stopped. I think we need to start being more proactive, rather than reactive, with our spending, our energy policy, and our infrastructure. That's the only way we'll pull through this bad economy intact as a nation, imo.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
Good point SC. A large number of Americans are either satisfied with the current state of affairs to not even bother voting, or don't think whoever they vote for the status quo will change.
The rich will get richer, examine Obama's first term. The well connected people will receive funding and tax breaks, Solyandra, Halliburton, etc. Debt levels will continue to rise, jobs will continue to migrate overseas.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
I don't disagree with your assessment SC, what I think you are missing is that while many voters do embrace fiscal conservancy and less spending along with raising revenue, they reject the social conservative message. That is what I believe brought down the GOP this election. I believe strongly in a pay as you go government, you don't spend what you don't have. If we are to balance the budget and reduce our debt, without irreparably harming our society by doing it on the backs of the poor, the elderly, the young people, and the middle class....then we have to make the tough choices to cut our spending AND increase taxes. I'm in favor of letting all the Bush tax cuts expire....it's about time Americans owned up to our economic problems and accepted an increase in taxes and a cut in government services. The GOP's idea that this can be fixed with spending cuts only has been rejected not just by voters but by most economists.
archer wrote: I don't disagree with your assessment SC, what I think you are missing is that while many voters do embrace fiscal conservancy and less spending along with raising revenue, they reject the social conservative message. That is what I believe brought down the GOP this election. I believe strongly in a pay as you go government, you don't spend what you don't have. If we are to balance the budget and reduce our debt, without irreparably harming our society by doing it on the backs of the poor, the elderly, the young people, and the middle class....then we have to make the tough choices to cut our spending AND increase taxes. I'm in favor of letting all the Bush tax cuts expire....it's about time Americans owned up to our economic problems and accepted an increase in taxes and a cut in government services. The GOP's idea that this can be fixed with spending cuts only has been rejected not just by voters but by most economists.
No argument from me here! I just didn't think based on how you worded your original post that the social conservative issues were that much of a game changer (although it's very easy to misinterpret written words so my apologies if I mistook your meaning), and I could certainly be wrong about that. I think the GOP would be very wise to drop all the social conservative crap - it is hurting them. They also need to start embracing science again too; I knew Obama was going to win the minute Hurricane Sandy hit and they had Romney's
joke to use against him
. (It probably wasn't fair of me to take advantage of residenttroll that way, but a girl can't resist a bet that involves a good bottle of wine, ya know?!).
Any politician who keeps denying climate change is going to find themselves out of step with the public who is finally recognizing it needs to be addressed. And it will be used against them.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
I just didn't think based on how you worded your original post that the social conservative issues were that much of a game changer (although it's very easy to misinterpret written words so my apologies if I mistook your meaning), and I could certainly be wrong about that. I think the GOP would be very wise to drop all the social conservative crap - it is hurting them. They also need to start embracing science again too; I knew Obama was going to win the minute Hurricane Sandy hit and they had Romney's
joke to use against him
. (It probably wasn't fair of me to take advantage of residenttroll that way, but a girl can't resist a bet that involves a good bottle of wine, ya know?!). 
