Congratulations to Obama and his supportersFollow

Mmm hmm. For how ethnically uniform the Republican party is it certainly has a variety of different viewpoints wrapped under it's umbrella. Seems like quite the pickle energizing all of your respective bases sufficiently while still appealing to the moderate swing voters.

Especially when compromise is such a dirty word. Not much common ground to rally on there...

Edited, Nov 8th 2012 9:05am by someproteinguy

The 'next' and 'previous' arrows are on the wrong side. It's confusing.

I'll largely buy that. The biggest difference being with the Republicans at the moment you get the added bonus of having the government take a greater role in regulating morality; which I'd rather not have.

Also the anti-cute puppy thing needs to be dropped already, how can you guys seriously believe that?

I wrote a post elsewhere about Hispanics and the GOP and may as well get a free +1 by pasting it here.

1) Obama will likely aggressively seek immigration reform this term. The GOP will either be the guys who blocked it or the guys who facilitate giving Democrats a big win with Latinos.

(2) Conservatives seem legitimately befuddled when they trot a minority out on stage before a sea of white people and that doesn't magically make things better. Romney was using "self deportation" as an immigration platform, making dog-whistle welfare attacks, talking about the "47%" of welfare and government benefit moochers and leeches, and saying he'd reverse Obama's immigration enforcement policies. Then he loses minorities in huge numbers and... "But we had Rubio and Rice and Martinez on a stage! What else could they want?"

(3) Number 2 doesn't even address the rank-and-file members of the GOP who press for Constitutional amendments against "anchor babies", "English as National Language" laws, compare undocumented aliens to rapists and child molesters because "They broke the law!", call for barbed wire fences and machine gun nests along the border, think "Put them all in cattle cars and send them to Mexico" is an immigration policy, ID laws treating Hispanics as second-class citizens, etc.

(4) The GOP underwent a campaign to actively disenfranchise minority voters in many states. Conservatives are putting up billboards in minority neighborhoods threatening arrest if the people vote without (legally unnecessary) ID and there's a question of why they're losing votes? GOP allies are sending fliers out to minority voters giving incorrect voting dates and locations and then people wonder why the GOP got 7%? No one else sees the dissonance there?

(5) Immigration isn't the silver bullet that will bridge the rift between Latinos and the GOP. The GOP won't reap tons of free votes based just on religion: Latino Catholicism isn't Italian, Irish or Polish Catholicism and there's a stronger tilt towards social justice and familial compassion as opposed to sin guilt and adherence to dogma. Hostility to immigration is just one piece of a much larger and systemic issue and, until it's addressed in full, trotting out Rubio or Martinez will be rightfully seen as tokenism.

Interesting and provocative post, Jo. Unquestionably, the GOP is as scattered on immigration as Romney was on nearly every issue. How to fix that? I don't know, but at its' present state, our national immigration policy is in shambles. I personally think that an agreement with Mexico where our industries are given greater lattitude to operate there for greater access of their populace to our working markets or some varient of that is a good starting place.

In the meantime, deport illegals by placing them on a plane and sending them on a one-way trip to the farthest reaches of the Yucitan peninsula is sound policy. Hey, don't mock it! That particular policy was VERY effective at stopping recidivist illegals from using the revolving door up until Mexico complained and got Texas to stop.

Totem

Or you could just go to talk to different Hispanic populations, ask them how they want the law reformed, and then do that.

Edited, Nov 8th 2012 11:33am by someproteinguy

The differences in platform on social issues are huge - in fact in many cases they're polar opposites. And with every issue the Republicans come down on the opposite side of the social group that is being affected by any change to policy. No wonder they lose elections.

Economically, Republicans want to cut taxes, Dems want to raise taxes - Austerity vs stimulus.

On foreign policy, even energy and the environment I could agree the platforms have similarities. Healthcare - no. Bush only simplified and pushed forward a health care plan that the Clinton administration created. Since Bush has been out of office the Republicans have made it very clear they oppose Universal Health Care.





Edited, Nov 8th 2012 8:45pm by Elinda

I bet if you look at the total amount of money collected in taxes and total government expenditures of a Democrat and Republican budget plan they'd be within a couple % of each other on both ends. That's hardly a difference.



Didn't we already do the Obama stole Romneycare from the Republicans and applied it nationwide thing? Granted they've hardened their stance since 5 years ago, but still...

Social issues are a killer though.

Edited, Nov 8th 2012 11:59am by someproteinguy

Even if the GOP itself isn't fundamentally anti-gay, anti-woman, anti-color, anti-poor, etc., that honestly doesn't matter when we're talking about voting. What matters is the perception.

As a gay man, I can't support the GOP's ruling stance on gay rights (and I define ruling stance in terms of majority--most opposition to gay right laws comes from the right, and the right is left is most active in fighting for them). That's not universal amongst all Republicans, or all Democrats, but it's a very, very strong correlation.

I'd also imagine that many of those politicians do imagine they're opposing it for reasons other than "teh gay is icky." Most of them are probably convinced that they are not homophobic. I happen to disagree, of course. Thing is, either way, I don't care.

I'm obviously going to side with the party that is actively trying to give me, and other groups like me, rights and protections. Not the party that is doing everything it can to ensure that doesn't happen. Even if you believe that we aren't a disenfranchised group, it doesn't matter. We obviously believe that.

Repeat this for all those "fringe" groups and it's no surprise the GOP is struggling. Even if you actually believe the GOP's policy aren't anti-whatever, that actually makes no difference. The point is that those groups feel abandoned by your party, and they aren't going to support you as long as that continues. That's what it comes down to.

If it's simply a perception issue, than your job should be exceedingly simple--prove that those groups are important to you, a part of your central platform. That's what the Dems have been doing for decades now. The GOP hasn't been--they've failed miserably in maintaining their image if they actually aren't the party of wealthy white men.

And I totally understand that; a large disruptive change is hardly beneficial to anyone. But given the amount of time they spend bickering over relatively minor changes you'd think the world was going to end or something.

Besides, the Republicans are the ones who want to raise my taxes.

HA! I think I know the girl in this picture (it's from Gainesville, which I left in September). I kinda want to post it to her wall... but I already pissed off her husband and father-in-law, so perhaps not

Yep just what I figured. The republican party is full of drama queens.

Edit: I absolutely love the look in the little girls eyes in this image.

Edited, Nov 8th 2012 4:32pm by Criminy