Do Republicans have a 'Yes, we can'?

From the Christian Science Monitor:

To regain traction, it must re-invent itself as a party of hope and of ideas relevant to a wider range of Americans. To do so, it must reject the partisan conservative media that peddles in political stereotypes and personal venom. It cannot fall into the trap of being only an opposition party whose primary focus is designing "wedge" issues, such as a call for more offshore oil drilling, in order simply to split Democrats.

Right now, a finger-pointing debate has started among Republicans about the mistakes that McCain made in his campaign and George W. Bush made as president. That backward-looking discussion can go only so far. A conservative movement needs forward momentum by employing fresh ideas.

The GOP brand has been reduced to one word – freedom – in the way that the Democrats were stuck with the one-dimensional brand of equality. But if there is one reason for Obama's victory, it is that he seeks to move his party, and the country, toward that classic American brand: opportunity.

If Republicans want a comeback, they could become the loyal opposition that debates Democrats on the best way to create more opportunities for Americans, allowing them to increase their social mobility through hard work and education.

The party can still be for limited government, but a government effective in providing tools to support innovation and entrepreneurship.

Democrats ready to reward unions

Congressional Democrats are already trying to move on some of their crony-capitalist ideals by announcing that they intend to double the aid to U.S. automakers. The aid would be included as part of a second stimulus package; the first stimulus package did very little to prop the ailing economy but maybe if they try it again, it might just work, right? Democrats are beholden to union members (a very small portion--7.5%--of private sector workers and responsible for spending $400 million on the election) for their support during this last election, so it is no surprise that such a tasty little aid plan ($50 billion in taxpayer funds) would be brought to the feet of the United Auto Workers and the fledgling car companies. Ask yourself, would Democrats do the same for other industries that didn't pass their ideological muster? A better question is should government be aiding any failed business at the expense of others? We have already seen what the $700 billion bailout has borne out, should our government be allowed to play favorites again?

Around the Horn...

Posts and comments of worth regarding yesterday's election:

Jeff Perren at Shaving Leviathan notes that Obama is a hard left liberal.

The Real World on the beauty of the American election.

Bobo at The Bobo Files weighs in on the election and he is not a happy clown.

From Copious Dissent: Ten Reasons to be happy about this election. Excellent!

And finally a pithy comment from Michael Tanner at the Cato Institute:

Yesterday's massive Democratic landslide cannot be seen as anything but a repudiation of George Bush and the current Republican congressional leadership. But to suggest that in electing Barack Obama and a Democratic congressional majority, voters were choosing big-government over small-government would imply that either the Bush administration, the current Republican congressional leadership, or, for that matter, John McCain actually supported smaller government. In reality, by almost every measure, government grew bigger, more expensive, and more intrusive under President Bush and the Republican Congress.

Exit polls show that Republican losses were heaviest among upscale suburban voters who tend to be economically conservative but socially moderate. These formerly reliable Republican voters did not suddenly decide that they wanted a bigger, more expensive, and more intrusive government. But, faced with the big-government status quo or big-government "change," they opted for change.

Republicans now have two more years in the wilderness to decide whether or not they actually stand for limited government and individual liberty. One wonders, whether they will hear the message.

When the election turned

Gallup Poll Daily tracking through much of 2008 showed a tight race between Barack Obama and John McCain. Obama moved ahead at the height of the economic crisis and never trailed McCain after that, expanding his lead in the final month of the campaign.

Barack H. Obama---44th President of the U.S.A.

Well, it's finally over. Barack H. Obama is now the President-elect and on January 20. 2009, he will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. Mr. Obama ran an effective campaign and is a very good and clever orator; John McCain simply could not counter Obama's carefully worded political spin, rhetoric, or the popular tide against Republican rule. Now comes the honeymoon period and I expect it to be quite a celebration. It is a historic moment in American History.

After the back slapping and accolades end, it will be back to business and it will be interesting to see how Obama attempts to deliver all his grandiose campaign promises. I doubt that he will and I hope that I am wrong but I have a strong feeling that the government will continue to grow by leaps and bounds at an even faster clip than under George W. Bush. All in all, I do hope that Obama turns out to be a good President for the sake of the country; I hope that he surprises me and doesn't make a hard(er) turn to the left (Jeff Perren comments that he's already there). Otherwise, all the celebrating will be forgotten rather quickly to harder times.

The Rational Voter?

From Bryan Caplan's "The Myth of The Rational Voter:"

Aristotle says that "all men by nature desire to know," but that is not the whole story. It is also true that all men by nature desire not to know unpleasant facts.

Much of the time, both motives are at work. The human mind has mixed motives: people want to learn about the world without sacrificing their worldview. Investigating only the first motive yields a distorted picture of the way we use our heads.

And with that, we head off to the polls today. Happy voting, folks.

Dixville Notch has spoken: It's Obama in a landslide

The first results are in. The little hamlet of Dixville Notch has decided:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama emerged victorious in the first election returns of the 2008 presidential race, winning 15 of 21 votes cast in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. People in the isolated village in New Hampshire's northeast corner voted just after midnight Tuesday.

It was the first time since 1968 that the village leaned Democratic in an election.

Obama's rival, Republican John McCain, won 6 votes.

A full 100 percent of registered voters in the village cast ballots. And the votes didn't take long to tally.

The town, home to around 75 residents, has opened its polls shortly after midnight each election day since 1960, drawing national media attention for being the first place in the country to make its presidential preferences known.

Judge rules Ohio homeless voters may list park benches as addresses

No, this is not a joke.

At the McCain Rally

Chef over at the Economist's Cookbook attended a McCain/Palin rally; interesting comments.

Hmm...even rednecks love this guy

It looks like Alaska's largest newspaper has endorsed Obama. The quote that gets me is this one: "Of the two candidates, Sen. Obama better understands the mortgage meltdown's root causes and has the judgment and intelligence to shape a solution, as well as the leadership to rally the country behind it." All I have heard Obama say is that it all has to do with deregulation. Um, what about all the other causes?

Waiting for Godot

We have been hearing a lot about how the youth vote will make a difference in this coming election. The graph above (from pollster.com and politicalarithmetik.blogspot.com) trumps the pundits who believe that the youngsters are a voting force to be reckoned with. It's possible but not likely. As usual it's always the older folks that turn out in large numbers. Now how they will vote, Obama or McCain, remains to be seen.

Some people should NOT vote

John Stossel on how some voters are simply melon heads.

Say it isn't so, John

In the last presidential debate, John McCain threw out a populist bomb right out of Liberal Land--A mortgage rescue plan that calls for the government to pay full face value for troubled mortgages on properties that are now worth less than the loans. What!? When I first heard McCain utter his proposal I thought that I had misunderstood him but that is not the case. It seems that some liberal groups have actually praised McCain’s idea which has immediately raised the ire of fiscal conservatives everywhere.

I wish McCain would just stick to fiscal conservative principles and just stop worming his way towards a populist center-left which is already occupied by Obama. There should be no doubt that we are experiencing a massive systemic change in America's financial and economic paradigm. This is the moment that Progressives have been waiting for--a moment of financial weakness to pounce on with leftist propaganda and to send us into even more crony-capitalism and corporatism. McCain should be the maverick that he claims to be and rage against the machine.

59% Would Vote to Replace Entire Congress

Wouldn't it be great to kick some of these bums out. It is very obvious that Congress is chock full of politicians that will sell this country down the river to salvage their interests.

McCain is still behind in polls

It's not looking good for McCain right now. His failure to properly attack Democrats and Obama on the true causes
of our financial crisis has made him seem part of the problem just by having an "R" next to his name.

Barack Obama leads John McCain among registered voters across the country by a 50% to 42% margin in Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Oct. 3-5, the tenth straight day in which Obama has held a statistically significant lead. More

The Election gets tighter...

John McCain has moved ahead of Barack Obama in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking, 48% to 45%, following last week’s Republican convention. This is McCain’s best showing since May.

Gallup Poll

Yes, I know, this poll is basically meaningless but I still think that the elections are going to be a lot closer than many believe it will.

Sarah Palin gives McCain camp $7 million Bump

As much as Democratic strategists and blind liberal followers have tried to portray McCain’s pick of Palin as a catastrophe, there is a sure sign that her choice for Veep has started to mobilize and energize the Republican base:

From the Washington Post: Sen. John McCain has taken in $7 million in contributions since announcing Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, a top campaign aide said today.

The money bounce may owe to Palin's appeal with conservative donors, many of whom said privately they had planned on sitting out the campaign this year. The money comes in just under the wire -- after McCain accepts the GOP nomination Thursday, he will accept public funds and no longer be permitted to raise private money for the campaign.

That will not, however, stop McCain and Palin from raising money for the Republican National Committee. In coming weeks, McCain will host four megafundraising events in major cities aimed at bolstering the accounts of the party. Palin, meanwhile, will be sent out to headline more than a dozen fundraising events for the RNC.