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Originally Posted by Sen
I've wrestled with how to post these thoughts because I know the audience on this board is traditionally more liberal than the population at large. In no way is this meant as disrespect or blatant flame-bait.
That being said, I have 2 thoughts about the rhetoric I've heard following the election.
1. There were 11 states that had laws banning gay marriage on the ballot last week. All of them passed overwhelmingly. In my state (MO) we passed a ban on gay marriage back in August with 73% of the population voting for it. Mississippi even had over 80% approve of their measure.(Please refrain from disrespecting the state of MS by reverting to jokes of rednecks and inter-marriage. The fact remains, even half or more of the Dems would have to vote for it to get those kind of numbers.) I hear this issue being discussed under the guise of dividing America. However, with such overwhelming opposition to gay marriage, my perspective is that it's uniting America instead of dividing it. In recent memory, there hasn't been any single issue that reached across all Party, racial and socio-economic lines to gain that kind of support. It seems to me that the talk of division comes from those in the minority who are in denile.
2. Traditional wisdom believed that if voter turnout was high, that the Dems would win. However, with record turnout Kerry still lost by 3.5 million popular votes. Furthermore, we all know that the Republicans picked up seats in both the House and Senate in addition to the White House. Rock the Vote and all of the other Democrat turnout tools failed to produce more votes than the Republicans and the so-called "value voters." Again, the talk of such a deeply divided country and discussions of how Bush needs to reach out by appointing Dems and moderates seems delusional considering that with the highest turnout in American history Republicans claimed victories and expanded majorities across the board. It seems to me that if there was ever a threshold for a mandate in American politics, this is it.
Am I the only one that feels like this or does anyone else share this perspective? Your thoughts...
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1. To be fair, there is some truth to this statement. Much of the country can agree that they believe marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman, and it does cross party, racial, economic and religious lines. There is (inexplicably to me) a sense in this country that sanctioning same-sex marriage will damage the institution of marriage and denigrate the moral standards of our nation. On this issue there is a great deal of agreement. However, this agreement does not extend to other issues, nor is the reasoning behind the opposition homogenous. It is alltogether too simplistic to say (and frankly sickening if true) that this issue is acutally bringing us together as nation. You said the initiative in MO passed with 73%, but the President only received 53.4% of the votes in this past election in MO. If this were such a homogenizing issue, I think we would have seen a true landslide (not a statistical one) in this last election.
2. I believe that there is a movement towards conservatism in the country. We have, throughout our history, had times when the country moves to the right and times it moves to the left. Frequently these movements are pushed by a Charismatic individual (FDR, Reagan) and at other times, like today and during the 1960's, there is simply a feeling within the populous that we need to move in a new direction. George Bush is riding that wave and has helped to strenghen it at the same time. It is a little silly, to call this a mandate in the traditional terms, but I don't blame the Bush administration or the GOP for claiming it. Any edge they can get to push through their agenda they will take. (Just as the Dems would). The point has already been made, but it is worth pointing out, that due to the large turnout, the President did received the most votes ever for President, but he also has the most votes against someone who won the presidency. This is not the recipe for a "clear mandate". As far a the concept of a large turnout helping the Dems. What do you know, the media and pollsters were wrong. What a shock. (Disdain for pollsters, may actually be a unifying issue)
The Republicans now have one of those very rare opportunities. They control pretty much the whole ball of wax. What they do with their power and influence will determine the fate of this nation and will have strong effect on the entire world. Extremism and hubris will not make them successful (IMO) in the long run. They have the opportunity to develop this victory into a true mandate. If they govern with prudence, even-handedness, forethought and equality they have an incredible opportunity to dominate our politics for many years to come. If they fail, they have the potential to severely hurt the country, the world and their party. This being said, the protection of Tom Delay and the attacks on Arlen Specter do not show me a party ready to create this true mandate.