How To Lose An Election

I was listening to NPR during my drive in to work like I do every morning and the discussion was over how the Republican party lost the Presidential election. A resounding agreement was that the GOP panders to white men over the age of 50 and has done a great job of alienating women, the LGBT community, minorities, and Americans younger than 30. Another point brought up was that it SEEMS Republicans only care for the wealthy and see the rest of Americans as moochers. They quoted Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity who said Obama supporters were just looking for a handout. These were members of the GOP citing these reasons. Some Republicans who called in said they were tired of GOP representatives being obstructionists while others said they leaned way to far to the right to be taken seriously. Perhaps it is time they finally take a long, hard look at themselves. And I hope they won't be proud of what they find.

I was jobless for nearly a year between 2009 and 2010. I never collected unemployment, was never late paying any of my bills and I voted for President Obama. Twice. So, if all of those who voted for Obama are a bunch of government moochers, I would like to know how I fall into that category. I don't have kids that go to school, I pay my taxes on time every year, and fall above the income level where I do indeed pay income tax. I am not Romney's so-called 47% and I still voted against him.

I guess what I am trying to say is that those of us who voted for President Obama are not evil deadbeats waiting for our next government handout. This nation is not going to crumble over the next four years under his leadership. It has never crumbled to the point of non-existence under any of our leaders, so what makes some believe its going to start now? Our nation has been in much worse shape and our economy IS slowly and surely recovering despite what FOX News will tell you. You can't unfix years of unchecked Dubya spending in 4 years. And you have to have both sides of the political aisle working together to get it done. So, if you want to complain about why its taking so long, point a finger to the GOP who has been unwilling to work with Democrats. Again, back to my first paragraph where Republicans admitted they were being obstructionists. Don't believe me? Let's use the GOP's own words against them. Minority Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said his number one goal was to make Obama a one term President four years ago. The goal wasn't to put Americans back to work or create new jobs or balance the budget or do ANY NUMBER of things for the American people. But his best interest wasn't the American people. It was creating political discourse. Now, just how did that help America?

How does it help America when corporation CEO's like Robert Murray punish the American people by laying off employees a day after the election. Murray laid off close to 200 people at Murray Energy citing a bogus "war on coal" by Obama. According to the Washington Post, "energy analysts say that the coal-mining business is suffering because of competition from low-cost natural gas and rising production costs of coal, especially in the Appalachian region." So, it's not Obama's fault these people are losing their jobs, but I suppose it's easier to blame the President than the actual competition stemming from free enterprise. 

I see online petitions flying around for states to secede. Well, I've got some news for you people. Do a little real homework and you'll learn that unless you live in the state of Texas, you can't secede. And losing Texas wouldn't be that big of a deal really. It's been a waste of red(neck) space for years. But, I have never cared for Texas, so that is my own prejudice rearing its ugly head. But seriously, besides pro-sports teams, what else does Texas have to offer? Traffic and strip malls. Where do I sign up? (ADDENDUM: It turns out that as a student in Texas, I was misinformed in my Texas history class and Texas cannot secede from the Union. So, chalk it up to Texas Public Schools. Gotta love a one-sided view of history for all!)

When Dubya won in 2000 and 2004, I wasn't upset. I was concerned. I didn't start throwing petitions around trying to get my home state to secede from the country. I honestly knew he wouldn't do a very good job and he didn't, but I didn't act like a sore loser and take to calling my Republican friends Facists and Nazis. You want further proof he was an unpopular President? He wasn't invited to the 2012 Republican National Convention and he was the last Republican to hold the Presidency. Romney intentionally separated himself from Dubya. And he was smart to do so.

I got off topic a bit here, but it seems to me that the GOP needs to stop alienating core groups of Americans if they want to win elections. They need to embrace the fact that the United States is evolving and things like gay marriage and global warming are real and will happen. They need to stop trivializing things like rape and supporting equality for women, minorities and the LGBT community. They need to pull away from the outrageous, ignorant, petty and sometimes racist agenda of the Tea Party. They need to stop clinging to the Christian religion as public law and forcing it on the American public.

In conclusion, I believe I have heard Ronald Reagan's name being brought up quite frequently since President Obama took office. The GOP lauds the days when he was President. Many Tea Partiers want to go back to the times when he was in office. Well, let's see, he supported a woman's right to choose, unions, infrastructure spending, tax hikes (and lots of them), corporate tax increases, the Brady Act, and amnesty for immigrants. Doesn't sound much like the Republican platform of today. But, when a platform reeks of the 1950's, then just about anything looks better than regression.