Bush Wins - The Democrats are Toast for the Foreseeable Future

Kerry should have conceded last night. The Ohio provisional ballots won't come close to erasing a margin of over a hundred thousand votes.

Congratulations to all of our blogosphere friends who were rooting for a Bush victory.

Special congratulations to the Foreign Minister, who celebrated thusly:

"And what a vote of confidence for all of us Neo Cons out here!"

Unfortunately, Greg, I don't think this election will end up being a victory for Neo Cons.

Or for Beautiful Atrocities' "fiscal conservatives."

I'm sleep deprived, and all the returns are not yet in, but I think this may turn out to be a watershed election. BigHo thinks that the Dems will be able to win in 2008. I disagree.

The number one motivating factor for voters was "moral issues." Translated: abortion and gay marriage. Abortion has brought people to the polls. We saw a record turn-out last night. Normally this is good news for the Democrats. But the turn-out was people angry enough to primarily cast their votes in an effort to keep Adam from marrying Steve - something like 80% of people who cited moral issues voted for Bush. I think this was probably the difference in Ohio and Florida - and thus the election. Anti-gay initiatives and state constitutional amendments won handily.

Folks who voted for other issues tended to support Kerry (except on terrorism).

There's a new sheriff in town. And he t'aint a moderate who will reach across the aisle like the Maximum Leader wants. And he t'aint a Neo Con like the Foreign Minister wants. And he certainly t'aint a fiscal conservative.

The new sheriff don't like the looks of dem "nancy boys."

The American people have spoken.

This a a catastrophe for the Democrats. This is not an issue amenable to education or persuasion. Anti-gay animus is something that derives from a gut level. With the rest of the nation split between reds and blues, Evangelical Christians led by folks like Ralph Reed are the fulcrum of power. They know it, and have demonstrated it to the Republican party.

The only hope for the Democrats on a national level is if they shift to the right on social issues. But that probably won't happen due to the influence of the left in the blue states. And it probably wouldn't work anyway; too many Christians are too uncomfortable with the moral drift of the country to ever trust the Democrats on this issue.

Fiscal conservatives have demonstrated that they will be loyal regardless of what happens. Was it Rove who said that "deficits don't matter?" Fiscal conservatives either supported Bush after he spent money like a drunken sailor OR stayed home. If they stayed home, they have demonstrated that they don't matter in electoral calculus.

From now on, Republicans ought to run entire gay-bashing campaigns. It is what America wants and the Democrats have no answer. Someone with more wit than I can come up with a shorthand phrase that refers to the old practice of "waving the bloody shirt." They ought to put "protection of marriage" initiatives on the ballot for every congressional and gubernatorial election. Republican control of the House and Senate should widen every two years. I don't see how the Democrats will make a serious challenge for the White House in the next decade.

I hope I'm wrong.

I expected and predicted a Bush win. I thought he would win on security issues or the war issue. I could live with that. The tsunami of anti-gay votes surprised me. I'm very sad. Not because Bush won. But because of how he won. I had hoped for better from my countrymen.