You Aren't Going To Like This

Well. We lost. We lost in a disappointing fashion. If these numbers hold, Romney and Obama will have received less votes than Bush and Kerry did in 2004. It was said that Obama would benefit from a low turnout election and he clearly has.

I warn you that this post may be rambling and incoherent. Anger and disappointment can do that to a man.

First, as Gabe pointed out, Romney ran a good campaign. I didn't like Romney and didn't want him in the primaries, but I won't deny that I came to like him as the campaign went along. He did everything he was supposed to do. He campaigned hard. He spent his money wisely. He ran competitively in a lot of states. He made a lot of gains on what John McCain lost in 2008. Unfortunately McCain lost by so much in 2008 and there was too much ground to be made up.

I don't know why or how we only turned out, as of now, some 56 million people. That's less than McCain got. Were those 3 million people independents who voted for McCain but decided to stay home? Were the 10 million people who voted for Obama in 2008 but didn't in 2012 also independents who decided to stay home? Were they demoralized Democrats and Republicans?

If it turns out those 3 million people belong to a demographic that normally votes Republican then we'll have to find a way to appeal to them in 2016 or find a way to win without them.

Regardless, we're going to have to find a way to cobble together coalitions to win elections in the future. The Democrats are the party of free stuff. We can't really compete with that. I'll leave this to better minds, but I can tell you that you probably won't like where we'll have to go to win votes. Think amnesty.

Now I'm of the Monty/Andy school of thought. That which can't go on forever simply won't. This system will collapse. Medicare, Social Security, our debt, etc. It can't last. My hope was that we'd win this election and be able to temporarily fix those problems until the economy started moving again. We needed to buy ourselves time.

Those problems will remain unfixed. Instead the Democrats do will everything they can to push the reckoning further down the road. They'll raise taxes on everyone. By itself, that isn't the end of the world, but it will be devastating when viewed in conjunction with their other policies. What does our future hold? Look at California and Illinois. Last night, those states re-elected all the people responsible for their current state of affairs. You think those responsible will get punished as things get worse? Did FDR ever lose a Presidential election during the depression?

What do I mean by that? Well, you'll have more of your money taken by the government. This isn't taking place in a vacuum. The cost of goods has been rising and will continue to rise. Thanks to the EPA, your utility bills are going to continually increase. Nat Gas, Oil, Coal are going to cost more. But Ben, what about the Marcellus shale and our great coal reserves in Appalachia? Well, in my state we elected an anti-coal/shale Senator and President. Chances are good that your state did as well last night. Do you think they're not going to hinder production with regulations? If the energy producing company has to pay more to comply with regulations, then guess who ends up paying for those increased costs.

Obamacare is now permanent. Are you medium to low income? Are you relatively young? Well guess what happens when you get older and need surgery? You can't afford to pay for it outright, so you won't get it at all. Our healthcare model will mirror Canada or Europe. The poor and middle class will get pain pills and the rich will pay for surgeries and treatments out of pocket. It's almost funny how the party of the working man is going to ruin the healthcare system for the common man.

Oh and the Supreme Court. Yes the Supreme Court. Scalia is 76, Breyer and Ginsburg are 74, and worst of all Justice Kennedy is 76. The same Justice Kennedy who voted against Obamacare and is the swing vote on the court. If he passes or retires...well say goodbye to all the progress we made on gun rights and to some extent on property rights.

I can't even go on. The list is endless.

This isn't Bill Clinton's win in 1996. I hated the Clinton, but I didn't fear that he'd destroy our way of life. We are entering a brave new world. Prepare yourself.

[update] Let's wait for the analysis to come in before we start blaming RINOs, Conversatives, Pro-Lifers, etc etc. We don't yet know who stayed home or voted for Obama over Romney.

[update 2] There is one consolation. Chances are good that the people who voted for Obama will be those who suffer the most. People like you and I can take care of ourselves to an extent. We will suffer, but we're compentent and capable. We will survive, they won't. Quite literally in some cases.

posted by BenK at 09:23 AM

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