Very odd election under the surface

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Up front, Democrats got wiped out. No excuses at all. They lost everywhere at every level.

 

Having said that, there were a lot of interesting developments that may be good for progressives going forward if we can stop tripping over our own reproductive organs.

 

1. Massachusetts elected a Republican governor (which they do a surprising amount of the time actually). But they approved paid sick leave.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/11/05/even-in-some-red-states-voters-overwhelmingly-approve-paid-sick-days-minimum-wage-hikes/

 

 

2. Voters in four states that elected Republican senators, also voted in minimum wage hikes. And these votes were not remotely close.

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/in-plain-sight/minimum-wage-hikes-where-voters-gave-themselves-raise-n241616

 

Alaska

Nebraska

Arkansas

South Dakota

 

3. Recreational marijuana use passed in Washington DC, Alasksa and Oregon. It was approved overwhelmingly in Florida, but did not hit the necessary 60 percent threshold in Florida, which exsits because Florida is filled with crazy people, I guess.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2014/11/04/voters-deciding-on-marijuana/18485541/

 

4. Colorado overwhelmingly voted down a personhood amendment for the fourth time, even as they elected a Republican senator.

 

http://dailycaller.com/2014/11/05/colorado-personhood-amendment-defeated-again/

 

5. Alaska voters essentially banned mining in the Bristol Bay watershed.

 

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/223119-alaska-votes-to-restrict-large-mine

 

6. GMO labeling narrowly lost in Oregon but GMO crops were banned in Maui. This issue is very early in its infancy, and is gaining momentum, I think.

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/11/05/361750308/colorado-says-no-as-gmo-labeling-continues-to-stumble-at-ballot-box

 

7. Gay marriage bans appear to be dead. Nothing on ballots. Hardly an issue in most states.

 

http://dailycaller.com/2014/11/05/colorado-personhood-amendment-defeated-again/

 

The weird take-away from a lot of this is that voters agree with Democrats on a lot of issues, even if they don't like Democrats at the moment. Right now, if I'm the Democrats, I think I wrap myself in economic populism and push hard on the minimum wage. If Nebraska is overwhelmingly in favor, EVERYONE is overwhelmingly in favor.

 

 

 

[Chew]

Lombardi,

#4 in colorado, there is a lot of fear that Cory Gardner will go too far on abortion/contraceptive. There are HUNDREDS of jokes on twitter saying "can I still buy condoms at 7-11?"

He's super conservative, and he scares me

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Lombardi,

#4 in colorado, there is a lot of fear that Cory Gardner will go too far on abortion/contraceptive. There are HUNDREDS of jokes on twitter saying "can I still buy condoms at 7-11?"

He's super conservative, and he scares me

 

The Republicans discipline in this election was remarkable. There were no "legitimate rape" gaffes or "macaca" moments or "something God intended" statements or "I am not a witch" commercials.

 

I have faith that these maniacs will start to reveal themselves not that they are in office though. That scares me in terms of legislation but comforts me in terms of politics.

[MattFancy]

Agree LKB. Seemed that people wanted some liberal ideals, but didn't want Democrats in charge. We'll see what happens in 2 years if things don't change.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Agree LKB. Seemed that people wanted some liberal ideals, but didn't want Democrats in charge. We'll see what happens in 2 years if things don't change.

 

There was a lot of weird polling too.

 

I'm flabbergasted by Kansas. 55 percent of voters said that Brownback's cuts hurt them directly. Yet, he won.

 

It's like voters in the Reddest states said, "We want a hire minimum wage. We know tax cuts on the wealthy don't help. We are against the drug war. We are agnostic on gay marriage. And we like a lot of parts of Obamacare. But we are voting for Republicans becaus f-you that's why."

[MattFancy]

There was a lot of weird polling too.

 

I'm flabbergasted by Kansas. 55 percent of voters said that Brownback's cuts hurt them directly. Yet, he won.

 

It's like voters in the Reddest states said, "We want a hire minimum wage. We know tax cuts on the wealthy don't help. We are against the drug war. We are agnostic on gay marriage. And we like a lot of parts of Obamacare. But we are voting for Republicans becaus f-you that's why."

 

Essentially what happened across the country. I don't think it's so much that the GOP won, it's more that the Dems lost it.

[gbear]

As a progressive, I am happy.  Why should I care under whose name the changes I want to see happen occur?  Obama's landmark ACA doesn't happen without Romney's healthcare in MA. 

 

Truth told, I am a bit sad so many liberals view this as a lost election.  Maybe just maybe, the pendulum is swing some what.  People forget many of the most liberal ideals happened under Republican lead governments.  The old racist South was a Democrat strong hold for a long time.

 

We get too tied up by party labels when we should be looking at what is actually proposed and happening.

[nonniey]

Up front, Democrats got wiped out. No excuses at all. They lost everywhere at every level.

 

Having said that, there were a lot of interesting developments that may be good for progressives going forward if we can stop tripping over our own reproductive organs.

 

1. Massachusetts elected a Republican governor (which they do a surprising amount of the time actually). But they approved paid sick leave.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/11/05/even-in-some-red-states-voters-overwhelmingly-approve-paid-sick-days-minimum-wage-hikes/

 

 

2. Voters in four states that elected Republican senators, also voted in minimum wage hikes. And these votes were not remotely close.

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/in-plain-sight/minimum-wage-hikes-where-voters-gave-themselves-raise-n241616

 

Alaska

Nebraska

Arkansas

South Dakota

 

3. Recreational marijuana use passed in Washington DC, Alasksa and Oregon. It was approved overwhelmingly in Florida, but did not hit the necessary 60 percent threshold in Florida, which exsits because Florida is filled with crazy people, I guess.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2014/11/04/voters-deciding-on-marijuana/18485541/

 

4. Colorado overwhelmingly voted down a personhood amendment for the fourth time, even as they elected a Republican senator.

 

http://dailycaller.com/2014/11/05/colorado-personhood-amendment-defeated-again/

 

5. Alaska voters essentially banned mining in the Bristol Bay watershed.

 

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/223119-alaska-votes-to-restrict-large-mine

 

6. GMO labeling narrowly lost in Oregon but GMO crops were banned in Maui. This issue is very early in its infancy, and is gaining momentum, I think.

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/11/05/361750308/colorado-says-no-as-gmo-labeling-continues-to-stumble-at-ballot-box

 

7. Gay marriage bans appear to be dead. Nothing on ballots. Hardly an issue in most states.

 

http://dailycaller.com/2014/11/05/colorado-personhood-amendment-defeated-again/

 

The weird take-away from a lot of this is that voters agree with Democrats on a lot of issues, even if they don't like Democrats at the moment. Right now, if I'm the Democrats, I think I wrap myself in economic populism and push hard on the minimum wage. If Nebraska is overwhelmingly in favor, EVERYONE is overwhelmingly in favor.

Just a little rain for this parade

 

#1 Massachussets is a progressive state approving any ballot measure really isn't indicative of future national advantages. Additionally, traditionally any state level measure on ballots that provides some financial relief is popular. The issue is when the federal government does it (more on that below). 

 

#2 See #1 above. Also will point out each of those states approved minimum wages substancially lower than the one championed by the President at the Federal level. People may support increases in minimum wage but it doesn't mean they like the idea that this should be set at the federal level. A minimum wage in New York should likely be higher than a minimum wage in Alabama.

 

#3 Marijuana results of the Colorado Washington experiments are still in flux the anticipated negative results seem to be occuring. Serious question - would you approve legalization of tobacco if it was currently illegal? (BTW I'm one that thinks all drugs should be legal - not just pot).

 

#4 Personhood is the most extreme response, however current law is the opposite end of the spectrum (just as extreme). Believe the majority of Coloradons, like most people in the US, believe some restrictions of abortions are needed. 

 

#5 Can't comment- don't know the cost benefit analysis on this.

 

#6 Opposition to GMO is actually a regressive stance. There is no scientific evidence that GMO crops or livestock is in the least bit harmful, but there are vast amounts of evidence that GMO is and has been enourmously beneficial (We've doing this for 5,000 years). This movement is just another Luddite movement.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

I think people just didn't vote on this, and I think its just a midterm election that your average american doesn't really care about.

 

Let's take the latter.  People are much more interested in voting in the general election than in the midterms.  You always have bigger republican turnouts in the midterms because that is the type of person that votes.  

 

More importantly, I think people were just saying "hey, the economy sucks, let's try something else."  That's sort of what people do.

[No Excuses]

The regression on social issues, save for abortion in some deep red states, isn't really happening.

 

Instead of happening at the federal level, states are doing a good job of legislating social matters. Does anyone think we are going to get more regressive in our social policies regarding drug laws or gay marriage? Or minimum wage? I could MAYBE see us regressing on environmental regulations but the scientific community is becoming more and more vocal about it. Soon it will be extremely embarrassing to be a politician who aligns with the "hoax" position.

 

This is why I will be voting for foreign policy in 2016. Whoever advocates for a less hawkish policy will have my vote: Republican or Democrat. I think it's our #1 issue as a country and it ties into many other parts of our governing; energy policy, defense spending etc.

[JamesMadisonSkins]

I don't necessarily think race or prejudice has that much to do with it, more so than the impact of Citizens United ... but the level of total disgust I see on facebook and in general among certain sects is astounding considering the economic health of the country and the lowering gas prices and the fact that Obama not only got Bin Laden under his watch (yes 3 years ago but still) ... and there hasn't been a terrorist attack ... (knock on wood) ... 

 

Just don't understand the animosity. and I'm pretty a-political these days. yes we all fear an ineffective and large govt.. but for the most part, he isn't doing a bad job. Yet, the dems lost everything Tuesday because the Republicans ran on an anti-Obama platform.

There's something underlying here. Just doesn't seem right. Oh well. 

[War Paint]

6. GMO labeling narrowly lost in Oregon but GMO crops were banned in Maui. This issue is very early in its infancy, and is gaining momentum, I think.

 

This is one that makes me question if voting is manipulated somehow.  Unless there is some massive hidden cost I don't know about, why would anyone vote against GMO labeling, especially in Oregon, where organic foods are so popular?

 

#6 Opposition to GMO is actually a regressive stance. There is no scientific evidence that GMO crops or livestock is in the least bit harmful, but there are vast amounts of evidence that GMO is and has been enourmously beneficial (We've doing this for 5,000 years). This movement is just another Luddite movement.

Do you work for Monsanto?

[No Excuses]

Do you work for Monsanto?

 

Maybe he works for UC Davis or the EU? Or the hundreds of independent sources who have found no health and safety risks in GMOs?

 

EDIT: I hope this doesn't turn into the GMO thread so this will be my last post about it.

[Stugein]

Frankly this whole election, republicans winning with progressive ballot measures by and large passing, feels like "me" more than most elections have.  I'm one of those guys that gets split by elections because I feel like I lose either way because of how I split along conservative and liberal issues; I side with republicans on quite a few things but for the most part I'm pretty liberal socially.  So it's nice for me to see some more red on the map but to see sensible progressive ballot measures passing.

[Duckus]

Dude from 538 tweeted this out, went pretty viral.

 

[Duckus]

The Republicans discipline in this election was remarkable. There were no "legitimate rape" gaffes or "macaca" moments or "something God intended" statements or "I am not a witch" commercials.

 

I have faith that these maniacs will start to reveal themselves not that they are in office though. That scares me in terms of legislation but comforts me in terms of politics.

There is a great article in the WaPo about how the GOP prevented this. The national GOP's #1 goal was to prevent the crazy. Good read. T

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/battle-for-the-senate-how-the-gop-did-it/2014/11/04/a8df6f7a-62c7-11e4-bb14-4cfea1e742d5_story.html

[JamesMadisonSkins]

Fiscally responsible and socially liberal. While I have no issue with most of Obama's policies, I do think this election signals more of a return to middle-politics ... I THINK.

 

Get rid of the Michelle Bachmans and Ted Cruz's of the world and that might happen...

[War Paint]

Maybe he works for UC Davis or the EU? Or the hundreds of independent sources who have found no health and safety risks in GMOs?

 

EDIT: I hope this doesn't turn into the GMO thread so this will be my last post about it.

There are also studies that show rats eating GMOs developing tumors.  I can understand a warning label not being voted in, like "consuming GMOs can increase cancer", because that isn't 100% proven.  That said, simply labeling if a product is GMO or not?  Sorry.  That's BS.  Not buying it.  In the land of organic foods, the public voted against that.  Bologna.

 

Besides, my argument is not about whether GMO is safe or not.

[Duckus]

There are also studies that show rats eating GMOs developing tumors.  I can understand a warning label not being voted in, like "consuming GMOs can increase cancer", because that isn't 100% proven.  That said, simply labeling if a product is GMO or not?  Sorry.  That's BS.  Not buying it.  In the land of organic foods, the public voted against that.  Bologna.

 

Besides, my argument is not about whether GMO is safe or not.

 

Portland is organic. The rest of Oregon is wayyyyyyy different. 

[War Paint]

Portland is organic. The rest of Oregon is wayyyyyyy different. 

Still, I find it hard to believe that people don't want a label on what's in their food, unless their is a huge economic cost in doing so.  If there is, I can understand it.  Even if people don't care or not concerned about it, I don't get why people would vote no for that.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Maybe he works for UC Davis or the EU? Or the hundreds of independent sources who have found no health and safety risks in GMOs?

 

EDIT: I hope this doesn't turn into the GMO thread so this will be my last post about it.

 

Yea.....can you guys do this somewhere else? It's a worthwhile discussion, but it probably needs its own thread (if it doesn't have one).

[Duckus]

Other strange indicators:

 

Gas is under $3

Unemployment under 6%

Stock market at record highs

GDP growing at a healthy rate

 

Usually those would be strong indicators that the party in power would hold, but clearly not the case.

[War Paint]

Yea.....can you guys do this somewhere else? It's a worthwhile discussion, but it probably needs its own thread (if it doesn't have one).

No one is trying to debate if GMO's are safe or not.  At least I'm not.  Look at all the polls done over the past couple of years about GMO labeling.  The polls show overwhelming support for the labeling, yet the vote fails in Organic country.

 

The New York Times: 93% support

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/science/strong-support-for-labeling-modified-foods.html?_r=0

Consumer Reports: 92% support

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2014/10/where-gmos-hide-in-your-food/index.htm

ABC News: 93% support

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=97567&page=1

MSNBC: 96% support

link no longer works for the MSNBC poll

[Predicto]

Other strange indicators:

 

Gas is under $3

Unemployment under 6%

Stock market at record highs

GDP growing at a healthy rate

 

Usually those would be strong indicators that the party in power would hold, but clearly not the case.

 

Americans seem perpetually angry and scared these days.   We can all argue about why that is, of course.  

[Slateman]

So, what we're saying is that if you can vote out all the religious crap, the Republican Party is actually preferred by most of the country?