Open election day thread
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This is an open election thread. I have to babysit some sites today, so I can't be posting; I'll try to return for Obama's victory speech. Here's the electoral map today. As you can see, the landscape is considerably different from 2004.
It would be nice if someone would post a guide to the downticket races.
Any suggestions for a drinking game on the press coverage?
NOTE Atrios, as ever, sums it up nicely: "Kerry states+Virginia+(NM or IA) does it."
UPDATE Nifty dynamic map at WaPo.
UPDATE I cast my ballot and went off to the diner. Philly!
UPDATE Krugman. But what does he mean, "the left"? Ah, I see. It's snark on Bareback Andy. Memories....
UPDATE Real time election reports. Via OpenLeft.
UPDATE The filibuster proof number to watch is 9. Reading that article, it looks like the numbers are going to be like those back in 1979. It's like the tape is rolling back to the days when the Conservative ascendancy began. Now, if the ideologies and the policies were as easy to roll back -- or to fast forward, say to single payer -- we'd have something. We'll have to see.
UPDATE Bloomberg agrees with Atrios. When Obama wins VA, it's over.
UPDATE BTD says it's war in OH.
UPDATE Hat tip, amberglow for the Times Big Board. VA 55% McCain? WTF? Ah. The Times site has maps out to the individual districts. Nothing from near the Beltway yet at all.
UPDATE Most everybody's called PA for Obama.
UPDATE Fox has Obama at 207 not counting CA. Nighty night.
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Roundup of posts about how we voted / recommend voting
Senior Fellows
Lambert
Sarah
Vastleft
Guests
Aeryl
Bringiton
Hipparchia
Mandos
Paul_Lukasiak
Pie
If you've posted your decision in comments, or on a post at your own site, please add your link to this thread. My apologies if you've already posted here and I haven't included you in this list; I'll update as more such posts are made/called to my attention.
Rather than reduce them to a simple tally, I'll just keep adding links, so you can read everyone's statements about a decision that each of us has thought about for a long, long time.
Update: I'm running out of time to find and post all the "my-vote-and-why" comments. Some are in this thread, and some are in my thread, Hipparchia's thread, etc.
It's hammer (and sickle) time
http://www.williamkwolfrum.com/2008/11/0...
Really?
Well I did it
I voted Obama. McKinney wasn't on my ballot, Nader's an ass, and the rest of the ballot was old white guys, so I decided to vote for the person of color.
The write in option was available, but I, unlike everyone else in the blogosphere, do not believe that Obama has this in the bag. I think it's entirely possible that he'll lose, and if Clinton got enough write in votes to make the margin, well we'd be hearing WWTSBMHSVFO!!!!(Why Won't The Stupid Bitch Make Her Supporters Vote For Obama) for weeks in the lefty blogs, and I couldn't contribute to that, so I voted for Obama.
Please, please prove my cynicism wrong, Sen. Obama. I'm not much for faith in politicians, but I would like to have faith in you. Many people in your country need you to be the Democrat you haven't yet been, I HOPE you'll find that Democrat.
i can haz hillary nao?
My "excruciating little flick of the lever"
Posted during that great discussion we had on Lambert's thoughtful blog, "On Having a Place to Go."
Remember VastLeft's survey of what we want from Obama? Let's not lose that either.
http://www.correntewire.com/on_having_a_...
BTW, I finally figured out "hope" and "change"
We're supposed to hope that he's going to change.
May the FSM have mercy on us all!
You must have the official "Skeptic's Decoder Ring"
May the FSM's mercy include dropping more rings down everyone's chimney: to critical thinkers who've been good, and buy-the-narrative thinkers who need it even more.
I'm on my way to the polls
and writing in Hillary. It was either that or leave the top spot blank. There were several different ways he could have won my vote, but he failed to do any of them.
I'll remember this campaign season for a long time.
It will be nice to see someone else in the White House. I wish only the worst for the current occupant.
I wrote in Hillary as well-I stood in the curtained voting booth
going back and forth between Cynthia McKinney and Clinton.
I have never ever stood in a voting booth before actually not knowing how I would vote.
Came down to pushing "Write In," then typed in Sen. Clinton's name--partially to see how it was done and I'd never done a write-in before.
Then I tried to change to McKinney--and couldn't figure out how to do it! I finally decided to go with the machine's flow and left it as a write-in for Hillary.
I feel good about either--I was just not sure which vote would help more in the future.
Otherwise, straight Dem ticket. And Lautenberg won, bless his aging heart! He's a tiger on civil liberties and children's healthcare.
Tom Wyka, the guy running against the Repub House incumbent Freylingheysen probably won't win. Too bad Obama didn't put more of his millions into helping the Dems downticket.
Actions speak louder than words. Of course, Obama wasn't big on using the words "Democrat" and "Democratic Party"....
I voted this morning
McCain/Palin at the top of the ticket, as it is the only watertight way of voting against Obama. Frankly, I feel no guilt in betraying my party, as my party has already betrayed me. Still, in what is likely a foolhardy attempt to keep McCain in line, I voted Democratic all the way downticket.
I also voted YES to Pennsylvania's Clean Water Referendum.
For the curious...
My full ballot.
The Guy To the Right of Nixon
Not the guy to the right of Attila the Hun.
In the final analysis I will be voting not for Obama, but in hopes that he brings a Deputy Assistant Secretary or two that can muster 50 IQ points between them, a rarity the last eight years. Sure, I might get Chuck Hagel, but I might get EPA appointees who believe in science and Labor appointees who can spell OSHA. Or at least one or two of 'em.
I believe this is what is known as lowering the bar. Well done Village!
I have only two hopes for today: 1) that we come out of it with at least a bit of a narrative (it is the SCLM) that the GOP is in tatters, and 2) that Prop 8 goes down in defeat.
they're both to the right of Nixon--
they both make Nixon look like a "dirty hippie", in fact.
Yep
And both will spy on more Americans than Nixon did.
BDB -
Aren't you the one who commented that HRC is the only person who will be punished for her Iraq vote? I believe it was you.
If so, no truer words were ever blogged.
I was just sitting in my office thinking how tired I was and that I was ready to go home and hug my child. He's only 4 but I try to share all the important things as well as the importance of things with him. I hope the good things stick with him for a while.
Not sure how I'll feel in the years to come when we look back on this night.
That Was Me Corner Stone
All you have to do is look at the embrace of Biden to know that no one else is ever going to be held accountable.
Here's
mine, in comments.
Intended vote not in your linked comment
You say, "I still don’t know who I will vote for..."
Perhaps that was your intention, though?
In PA, I split the ticket: Barr + party-line Dems.
I kept searching, hoping for SOMETHING - one bloody thing - to make me forgive the sins of the Dem party this year.
Almost daily, I came close to resolving a vote for Obama - and usually, it revolved around the Clintons: whenever I thought about the best way to make Hillary's life not a living hell the next four years; or whenever the Big Dawg worked his magic on the teevee.
Then came that wonderful bit of faithiness from Donna Brazile on CNN about converting heathens and the claim that there's a proof of the existence of God - and my anguish was over. Yes, it was that recently. We face a lot of dangers in these days, and for me, I think a theocracy looms large, especially as times get more desperate, and angers rise, and scapegoats are needed. And for me this year, the vote is not so much about Obama, but the Democratic Party itself. That's what I really needed to vote against this year.
Also,
* McKinney is not on the PA ballot. Plus, she was a Green. (Ick.)
* Nader is dead to me. I wouldn't piss on him if he were on fire, and I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of his being able to spoil the next four years as he did the last 8.
* When McCain had his own "feeling blue" moment, and put sneering air quotes around "life of the mother" in debate #3, he lost any chance of getting my vote. A pox on both their daughters' vaginas.
that Brazile thing really was offensive--
as so much of their religious focus has been.
I'm one of the millions of her "heathens" and not Christian--and i will (and do) fight to the death to prevent this shit--and it's hard enough when it's just the Republicans--now Democrats too?
all absolutely and fundamentally unacceptable in so many ways.
Holy crap!
It was mobbed at my polling place and someone was doing exit polling. First time I've ever seen either occurrence. I wondered where these people were in 2004?! Then on the way back to the car, I noticed a "Life is precious" bumpersticker. Some of the churches have had signs up against Prop 2, which eases restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. That got some of them to come to the polls for sure.
We also voted on Prop 1, which would allow marijuana usage for medicinal purposes.
Big turnout bodes well for Obama.
i'll be McKinney-- the rest Dem on Working Families line--
i'll be trying to use the Working Families line instead of D where possible -- http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/nyregi...
just voted--that was sad
and depressing--the first time i didn't do all D in 24 years of voting.
Only 3 D names (and Obama) were on Working Families line for me -- Tom Duane (yay!), Nadler, and Gottlieb.
Similarly
McKinney at the top, Working Families line for Charlie Rangel and Eric Schneiderman, left blank for Assembly since I can't stand Espaillat and the only alternative was a libertarian.
I wore this T-shirt and a bright orange silk scarf.
There is oddly little electioneering going on (in fact, the only person I saw was a libertarian pushing Espaillat's opponent) and no posters at all. Maybe later?
There was a line at one of the tables in the polling place, but the line was equally long in 2004.
---------------
We can't afford not to have single-payer!
my polling place was empty as usual, but
there were far more election workers than usual--and they were checking each machine after each vote--going to the back to make sure the number turned over (i was the 88th to use my machine). Only 1 machine per subdistrict as usual by me--3 total.
my neighborhood is very non-residential--i've never had to wait to vote in the 10 yrs i've lived here (but they're putting up tons of giant new buildings on 10th ave so in the future i guess it'll be busier--all rezoned, and an extension of the 7 coming too--ugh)
i asked about new machines next time too-
the worker said she didn't know.
i said i'd rather keep the old ones and she agreed.
: >
There were so many parties
There were so many parties on my machine that I didn't even see McCain's name. I voted Working Families too as I do in most elections. Polling, as usual was something of a mess on the upper west side. One of two 40 year old machines was not working. Despite there being over 20 machines at this one site, there was no one who could fix it and that was before 9:00 am.
The two women checking names spent most of their time asking each other what number they had just written on the little cards they hand out that you give back as soon as you vote.
There is something bracing about having all those hundreds of people in one room with one purpose, to exercise their franchise. And though I often wonder if those old New York machines actually record anything, there is also something bracing listening to that clunk of the lever going back and forth.
Obama had people on Broadway manning an empty store front for weeks at all hours. They were registering lots of people and getting volunteers to go to Pennsylvania. Looks like he has one hell of a ground game going.
did you have to wait?
i love our machines too--it's so satisfying to click the little levers and then pull the handle across, i find--it's a real physical act for us, as opposed to touching a screen or a button, etc.
Crying in my beer about the election that got away.
Last night leaving work I'm riding the elevator and half way down I'm joined by a middle aged black man. We end up discussing the ridiculous news on the Captivate screen in the elevator. As we step off and say our good nights, he looks over at the security guard and says "remember to vote" to which the guard says "Absolutely, right at 7."
I realized how envious I was of their excitement and shared joy in having the first black president. I wish I could share their enthusiasm and I ache to be able to say to a woman, any woman, "remember to vote."
But it's not about affirmative action and it's not about our party. It's about our country. Country first.
I love this job!
"Networks May Call Race Before Voting Is Complete"
-- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/us/pol...
ugh.
It's tomorrow. It's over. Put country first and Kill Your TV.
Ugh, indeed.
If they go through with it, it's truly a night to wield pitchforks and torches through the streets of NYC, DC, and Atlanta.
My SO knows in his mind that watching these clowns is akin to watching pro wrestling, but he can't stop. (It was surprisingly easy for me.)
As long as he continues, I can't cancel cable.
[Sigh]
CNN is all "historic" and civil rights--not even pretending
to care about McCain (or any other races) at all.
Top of ticket left blank
Here. I'm honestly not looking forward to 2009. I think it'll be a total failure in missed opportunities in terms of rescuing America from the grips of conservatism. I mean, of epic proportions. I, especially, fear the return of Larry Summers in dealing with this economy.
I just finished watching Thirteen Days and I can't help but think Obama (in non-nuclear holocaust situations) will fail where JFK succeeded in foreign policy show-downs. And remember, JFK fucked it up when sitting down with Kruschev. I can't see Obama having any good sense of judgment. Status, power, and glamor seem to be the only motivating factors I detect from him.
Side news: The only humor I find in all this Obamania coverage is that in spite of having everything going right for him during the primaries, he still had to rig red state caucuses to "win" and even then he had to buy out and intimidate Superdelegates with threats of riots in Denver! And then he pulled off the RBC decision! Unbelievable, right? Shocking. This entire primary has just shocked me into numbness. It's like we're living in an alternate universe where up is down, left is right.
is Gregoire really toast?
i know she only got in with a recount last time, no?
Triple recount
and less than 200 votes.
3? whoa.
has she sucked as Governor? do people not like her? what's up---and what effect will it have on other races on the ballot?
Early results look bad for Gregoire
The budget has totally tanked since she came on board and I realize that she hasn't been a terrific governor, but Rossi is an absurd choice. He comes off as "moderate" (apparently he "smiles" during his ads and avoids hot-topic issues, like, global warming or abortion rights) but the guy is seriously a Bush Republican (Complete with his contempt for working families and women). Gregoire comes off as a policy wonk who's not warm and cuddly. Still, she's the only one of the two candidates remotely qualified to be governor.
It looks bad for her though. She would have to have an incredible showing in Western WA to pull this out.
so then, it's not a lock for Obama either?
it seems like that's what that article says, no?
(tv has all awarded him CO--for a while now)
"... It was voters in King County, the state's largest, whose overwhelming backing of Gregoire in 2004 clinched the razor-thin election, and so far they are voting at one of the lowest rates in this election, and the turnout dynamics discovered by the P-I indicate surprising weakness in the Democratic stronghold compared with other areas.
..."
The true believers like Rossi
At least the "Libertarian Democrat" types do.
The state budget has
sucked like a Hoover vaccuum. The state imposed a blanket freeze on hiring very abruptly. It seems that the economic meltdown caught her by surprise.
I never liked her much as gov (she was fine as Attorney General). Rossi is a trogdolyte, very much a child of the Reagan anti-government school (you know, the one Obama finds so transformative).
Last time around, I voted for a totally cool third party candidate. I was going to vote for Gregoire this time, but she couldn't jump on the Obama bandwagon fast enough (and never said a damn thing about the sexism). I'm sure Seattle will ultimately pull it out for her.
ah--i guess we'll see
you'd think that since she only got in by (one thin layer of) the skin of her teeth, she'd have spend her time doing things that would ensure her re-election (helping people foremost among them, i'd hope)--so that she could run on those achievements.
Also
She started her campaign with a lot of irritating commercials saying "Dino Rossi's just like George Bush." I guess her campaign people never realized that George Bush was going into forced retirement and that being governor was vastly different from being president. Gah!
I voted for McKinney
I woke up this morning to helicopters, police, and secret service. Half my hood is blocked off . . . the city of Chicago is in a stupor.
I have this tremendous sense of dread and I've broken two televisons listening to the spin (like a force fed goose) on political ESPN.
This shit is just surreal.
this is way way beyond the pro-Dubya stuff in 2000--
at least with tv and pundits.
unbelievably excessive--as if he's MLK and JFK and Jesus all in one.
Heh
and six months from now the editors will need all-new stories. Then they'll be interested in Michelle's magical raise and all the other scandalous stuff they've happily ignored. I predict a loooonnngggg Scandal-palooza if Obama wins.
forget 6 months--i bet by February--
during the "first 100 days" -- or even while getting his Cabinet approved.
Remember the "illegal nanny" and other stuff that killed some of Clinton's picks? (was it Kimba Wood?) They'll be all over those things even before actual action starts, i bet.
I think the landscape has changed
They're all in the tank now. No matter what, we never get news. We just get cheerleading or fan interference.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Ick
Can you imagine? Fox News ends up being the only major "news" outlet with any commitment to journalism simply because they need perpetual scandal? Yep, the world will have turned completely upside down.
bec they feel sure he won't do
anything to change the status quo--or anything that even smells populist or "liberal".
they have utter faith in him--and in the effectiveness of their own warnings/demands to him, i'd say.
(simply another giant reason why i couldn't hold my nose and vote for him like i've done before--among many many others)
In the tank, but setting him up
I'll have more to say, but I'm pretty sure a few things will be coming up a bit more after the inauguration. For one, the ACORN thing, as silly as it is. What is Obama's response going to be? Will he throw these voter reg orgs under the bus? Another thing, the campaign finance stuff. I'm pretty sure we haven't heard the last of that either. There may be nothing there, but it's just the sort of faux-scandal that the GOP loves to pursue and the media loves to cover--unless Obama starts to give Wall Street more of what they want and if we "do the right thing" in Afghanistan. Oh yeah, and I have a feeling that the caucus fraud/intimidation stuff will come more to light. The GOP loves to cheat themselves, but don't like it when others do.
The other thing to consider is that the media got what, half a billion dollars from Obama? They won't be getting that anymore so the love fest won't last much longer.
I'll be danged
You and Sarah go Nobama, and I vote for Mr. Hopey. Didn't see that coming.
What got you there?
Which part of the spin is the most egregious in your eyes?
And please do send us updates about the police state!
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