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United States Election: Nov 6, 2012 |OT| - Barack Obama Re-elected

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Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Any livestream anywhere for full coverage on the election day?
 

Evening Musuko

Black Korea
lol.

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Here is my prediction. Only doubtful state is Florida, going to be down to how much bullshit they pull there.

Same here except I gave Obama 1 NE vote to bring him up 333 because, meh, why not? I still think Florida will go Obama, but we won't know until tomorrow at the earliest.

PV wise: Obama: 52% Romney: 47% Other:1%
 

Effect

Member
Fuck Chris Matthews on MSNBC lambasting people for voting third-party.

As he should. Now bias and if republicans want to vote for a third party more power to them. If you lean left but vote Green instead of Obama then that is a vote for Romney. Stein has no chance in hell of winning. In a close election vote for who will best represent what you stand for and has a chance of actually winning. A dem getting voted in isn't going to be the end of the world for a republican. They aren't going to actually roll back laws that benefit people at large or take away rights from people and throw them to the wolves. A republican will and if you disagree with the republicans at all it's a waste voted not voting for Obama.
 
As he should. Now bias and if republicans want to vote for a third party more power to them. If you lean left but vote Green instead of Obama then that is a vote for Romney. Stein has no chance in hell of winning. In a close election vote for who will best represent what you stand for and has a chance of actually winning. A dem getting voted in isn't going to be the end of the world for a republican. They aren't going to actually roll back laws that benefit people at large or take away rights from people and throw them to the wolves. A republican will and if you disagree with the republicans at all it's a waste voted not voting for Obama.

or you could, you know, vote for someone you believe in. Statistically, in the larger race, your vote is completely insignificant.
 

TheNatural

My Member!
As he should. Now bias and if republicans want to vote for a third party more power to them. If you lean left but vote Green instead of Obama then that is a vote for Romney. Stein has no chance in hell of winning. In a close election vote for who will best represent what you stand for and has a chance of actually winning. A dem getting voted in isn't going to be the end of the world for a republican. They aren't going to actually roll back laws that benefit people at large or take away rights from people and throw them to the wolves. A republican will and if you disagree with the republicans at all it's a waste voted not voting for Obama.

You say that as if anyone in what - 47 states or so haven't already been decided blue or red.

Shut the fuck up with that shit. I'm not voting for this election as much as supporting a third party so that maybe 20 years down the line enough support is mustered to bring a viable third option to the table.
 

equap

Banned
Honestly, the more parties we have, the easier it's to get shit done when more than one party combines their votes in Congress.
agreed. but something else bigger has to happen before we can do that. right now, you're just throwing your vote away.

be selfless and vote for the lesser of two evils...for the greater good.
 

Zzoram

Member
The only true democracy is where people of opposing views must cooperate, not dominate each other.

Parliamentary systems are best because it makes multiple parties viable and minority governments force different parties to work together. It incentives opposition parties to work with minority governments because if one party doesn't, another may to get some of their interests met.
 
I've heard from both Republicans and Democrats that voting third party will weaken their candidates chances of winning. So rest assured that we're hurting both sides equally.
 

One of the greatest presidents? That's a joke (and I voted for him!) He's middling at best. He just looks good because George W. was such a disaster. I think when all is said and done, Obama will end up ranked in the forgotten middle tier of presidents.

The best modern president was Bill Clinton, surprisingly.

Fair enough. Just allow me to give a few reasons why I said what I said. Sure, I guess it may be different given I am Canadian, but that at least lets me see things from the outside without all the spin! Obama has done a lot for the U.S and the entire world... especially given the systemic hemorrhaging economy that he inherited. Most of the world was starting to cripple on the failures of financial meltdown and Obama came in and effectively stopped the bleeding quite swiftly. Though we were relatively unscathed in Canada due to our financial regulations, had he let the auto industry die in the U.S and not stopped the bleeding when he did, it would have sent ripples into Canada and likely would've started a wave of problems up here. He has consistently provided growth to the country, not just in economic issue, but social and foreign issues as well.

He has done more for social progress in the United States than many before him and continues to set precedents with his support for gay marriage, a first for a sitting President in history. His repeal of DADT (and opposition to DOMA) was long overdue and it was his and his administrations lead that helped it happen. Coming from a country where we don't have the same social issues as the U.S (gay marriage has been legal in all of Canada since 2005 and gay and lesbians have been able to serve openly in the military since 1992), this has been quite a remarkable thing to watch. He has actively lead and successfully helped women's rights in their personal life and in the workplace and strongly advocated his support for a woman's choice in abortion. Obama being the first black President in U.S history is amazing and will forever be an important milestone for the country and for many, many people across the United States.

His healthcare law is by far his signature achievement and one that should applauded, even if it didn't go far enough. In Canada, we have a modern healthcare system; a publicly funded system so every person in Canada is provided healthcare irrespective of their finances. Seeing Obama pass legislation that at least starts to work the healthcare system towards a smarter, better system that at some point will hopefully evolve into a system that can provide healthcare to each and every single American is important and it at this point currently improves the lives of millions of people which enough to rank him highly.

He has done very well considering he came into the Presidency during a terrible time and he has made significant strides to fix it and help it grow. He has battled one of the worst partisan Congress' I've ever seen who have been nothing but obstructionist and vehement in opposition. He has kept his cool and still tried to work across partisan lines to get shit done. Unfortunate that he has to battle with such a Congress, because I see so much more potential out of it.

I could get into foreign policy too, but the post is too long as it. Has everything been perfect? No. Was everything he did right? Not necessarily. But he is at least working hard with the tools he was given. I at least look at him like I do very few others... someone who actually gives a damn about the people he is elected to serve. If you you disagree, by all means I respect that.

Bill Clinton was a very good President and I'd throw him up there too. He did a lot for the country... which it why it is nice to see him and Obama together. Two of the greats. Just so important for him to win this election and continue on.... especially with the GOP being so batshit crazy right now. U.S doesn't that nor does the rest of the world.
 
I've heard from both Republicans and Democrats that voting third party will weaken their candidates chances of winning. So rest assured that we're hurting both sides equally.

I've heard pretty much equal amounts about and from Gary Johnson and Jill Stein so I'm pretty sure they will just cancel each other out and whatever votes they steal from either side will also be negated.
 

TheNatural

My Member!
I've heard from both Republicans and Democrats that voting third party will weaken their candidates chances of winning. So rest assured that we're hurting both sides equally.

Or if you're like me - I just wouldn't cast a vote if I only had to choose between two corporate funded parties. So I'm not taking a vote away from anyone.
 
agreed. but something else bigger has to happen before we can do that. right now, you're just throwing your vote away.

Right, like the Democrats and Republicans holding a joint conference to announce they're welcoming equal and fair competition with open arms?

What has to happen before we can do that, is get enough to people to think outside the box and stop voting for candidates they don't even support.

Or if you're like me - I just wouldn't cast a vote if I only had to choose between two corporate funded parties. So I'm not taking a vote away from anyone.

I'm in the same boat.
 

Arjen

Member
Just a "funny" observation. Earlier today i saw Gaffers posting how long they had to wait in line to vote and other ways that make it difficult for people to vote.
Media coverage here on the Election, only mentions how they go out of their way to set up places to vote in NJ and that people are super determined to vote.
 

ezrarh

Member
I found out one of my friends who recently moved to Florida decided to vote Jill Stein. I naturally had to tell him it's people like him that gave us 8 years of Bush.
 

Josh7289

Member
I found out one of my friends who recently moved to Florida decided to vote Jill Stein. I naturally had to tell him it's people like him that gave us 8 years of Bush.

To be most accurate, it's people who voted for Bush who gave us 4 more years of Bush.
 

JeTmAn81

Member
I found out one of my friends who recently moved to Florida decided to vote Jill Stein. I naturally had to tell him it's people like him that gave us 8 years of Bush.

I have to laugh at the idea of blaming voters for not picking your weak candidate.
 
In theory, voting third party seems like a good idea - it would bring new ideas and differing viewpoints into US politics. Unfortunately, with the way our voting system is set up (first past the post), there will never be a third party for any extended period of time (at least not at a national level). If a third party ever arises, one of the other two parties will cease to exist after a short time, or one of them will simply change to incorporate the ideals of the third party, thus negating it.

If you want to have multiple parties, the first step is to reform our election/voting processes. In the current system, you actually are throwing your vote away by voting third party.
 
In the current system, you actually are throwing your vote away by voting third party.

patently false.


There wouldn't be a Kerry if Gore had won in the first place. And it's much harder to displace an incumbent.

Doesn't make your assessment of those elections any less inaccurate.
The Dems beat themselves by putting up weak candidates.
 

Zoibie

Member
would love to vote for obama if i were an american. i'm way more left wing than him so don't agree with him on that much but i really love the maturity and calm he brings to a horrible and fractured political culture. he seems to be a genuinely great role model for a generation of people, even globally, and close to the ideal leader type for the executive role in your political system.

Well said. I'm always stunned whenever a GOP talking head accuses Obama of being a divisive, obstructionist President. I can't imagine how tempting it must have been during the manufactured debt limit crisis for him to just up and say "you guys are dicks, you know that" and walk out of there. They're the ones whose idea of compromise is an unyielding devotion to no tax increases and then they blame Obama for not offering up enough ground during negotiations. It's mad!
 
In theory, voting third party seems like a good idea - it would bring new ideas and differing viewpoints into US politics. Unfortunately, with the way our voting system is set up (first past the post), there will never be a third party for any extended period of time (at least not at a national level). If a third party ever arises, one of the other two parties will cease to exist after a short time, or one of them will simply change to incorporate the ideals of the third party, thus negating it.
Getting rid of the Republican Party or changing it so that it actually values civil liberties sounds like a pretty good idea to me.
 

RDreamer

Member
In theory, voting third party seems like a good idea - it would bring new ideas and differing viewpoints into US politics. Unfortunately, with the way our voting system is set up (first past the post), there will never be a third party for any extended period of time (at least not at a national level). If a third party ever arises, one of the other two parties will cease to exist after a short time, or one of them will simply change to incorporate the ideals of the third party, thus negating it.

If you want to have multiple parties, the first step is to reform our election/voting processes. In the current system, you actually are throwing your vote away by voting third party.

This. Plus the fact that we have primaries and we have down ticket races for a reason. If you want third parties to be strong help them in your town, then your county, then your state. Once enough states do this they'll have the ground game and infrastructure needed to possibly take on the national level. And in primaries you already have the ability to help put in people with differing ideals. Democrat and Republican can encompass quite a bit. Remember, Ron Paul was labeled a republican and was in the republican primary. They're not that strict.

Voting third party for president is like waiting until the very end of the game to throw a hail mary... while you're down 40 to nothing. Sure, I guess you can say you tried... sort of. But, it was all completely worthless, and may even hurt your best interests (and the best interests of your fellow citizen) in the process. Be a responsible citizen. Vote pragmatically.
 

Jonm1010

Banned
Right, like the Democrats and Republicans holding a joint conference to announce they're welcoming equal and fair competition with open arms?

What has to happen before we can do that, is get enough to people to think outside the box and stop voting for candidates they don't even support.



I'm in the same boat.
No it needs to happen at a grass roots level. Local races, congressional races, regional growth and support building efforts.

More then just making a protest vote every four years using the worst possible way to try and build your third party and then ignoring it for another four years.

Did Ross Perot change anything? Why the fuck will 1% for Jill Stein do anything? It won't.

I hate to say it, the tea party has it right. Yes it was largely AstroTurf and top down designed by large money interests that faked a lot of the grassroots image but the structure is absolutely right. Work from the ground up in local elections. Which will pressure lawmakers, which will influence candidates and eventually shift the platform of the party and possibly create a new one down the road. Then within that platform push voting reform that supports the possibility of more parties gaining meaningful power.
 
Well said. I'm always stunned whenever a GOP talking head accuses Obama of being a divisive, obstructionist President. I can't imagine how tempting it must have been during the manufactured debt limit crisis for him to just up and say "you guys are dicks, you know that" and walk out of there. They're the ones whose idea of compromise is an unyielding devotion to no tax increases and then they blame Obama for not offering up enough ground during negotiations. It's mad!

Manufactured debt limit crisis? Granted, it was turned into a PR opportunity for the Republicans, but I think it's a stretch to suggest the crisis itself was manufactured.
 
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