Quote of election night.

"Well, that really could have gone better."

Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo.

I laugh every time I read that. I have read it on his blog and almost every other blog.

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My thoughts on the parties and candidates.

The Republican party wanted it, fought for it, and won it. They also showed that misrepresenting themselves and negative campaigning works. They have convinced the middle that they are fighting for them, when it is fairly obvious that they were not. The Republican strategy of using the 9/11 and the war to obscure the truth worked. Now watch the party lurch right, and right into the front pocket of big business. They ran one hell of a campaign.

The Democratic Party showed complete incompetence. They never developed a platform. They never really explained the differences between a Republican and a Democrat to the voters. They never showed how the Republicans were misrepresenting themselves. They were scared and timid. Some Democrats veered into conservative policies. However, why would somebody vote for an imitation Republican when they could vote for the real thing. Democrats need to stand up for their core beliefs, and still appeal to the middle. That is what Clinton did so successfully. How is an imitation Republican ever going to inspire the Democratic base to get energized?

I think Barnes did a great job as Governor. He did what needed to be done, knowing it was unpopular. The only way the flag issue was going to be fixed was by ramming it through. Somebody had to be the bad guy. The same with the Northern Arc and transportation issues. I think Barnes's education reform was indeed working. SATs are really no benchmark. Children that age have had their education patterns cemented a long time ago. His campaign was pathetic, however.

Perdue? Lucky to be there. He misrepresented Barnes and himself. If he brings up a flag referendum like he promised, there will be consequences. I hate to see the repercussions for Atlantans. After his career as an elected official, I see him as spokesperson for Moon Pies!

Cleland is the man. With two legs and an arm left in Vietnam, he was pleased as punch to be serving his state and country. He had a few miscues and not a very effective campaign. He really should have hammered on the fact that he was one of the senators that first suggested a Department of Homeland Defense when Bush was still against it. He needed to explain that he could not vote for it because of some ill-advised parts that Bush was insisting on. Nobody ever really brought that up.

Chambliss is truly a piece of garbage in my opinion. Anybody who questions a war veteran and triple amputee on courage is scum. I don't think Chambliss would have the courage to get out of bed, much less serve his country, if he was missing three limbs. When the record shows he used all deferments at his disposal to avoid service, that makes him even lower. I wish some television ads of him jogging would have been made while talking about the "bad knee" that kept him out of the war. His twisting and distorting of Clelend's voting records probably had Bush more aroused than viagra. The most telling thing had to be his speech after Cleland conceded. He did not say that he was pleased to be working for the people of Georgia, he specifically said that he was so happy to be working for George W. Bush. A rather interesting comment.

The press is not liberal. The right keeps yelling that as the press moves farther and farther to the right. They have figured hugely in the last two elections. They personally like Bush, so avoid bringing up question and stories that may be embarrassing to him. The hated Gore and pounded on him, keeping up the Republican misrepresentations. Fox News is a joke. MSNBC had Rush Limbaugh as a political commentator? CNN keeps veering to the right trying to hold conservative viewers. The press needs to become impartial again. Worry about truth, not ratings.

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The people of Georgia and the people of the country have spoken.

I don't like the results, and I do not like what is about to happen to our country, but that is the American way. I will live with it. Actually, as a straight white male, who is single with no children, many of the policies I am worried about will not affect me. I still think America could have done better. My worries? These are local and then national.

1) Georgia Governor Elect Perdue has said that he plans to hold a referendum on the state flag. Barnes accepted a lot of heat for changing the flag. It was a political hot potato that nobody wanted to touch. Yes, he rammed the change through. It was the only way it was going to get done, however. Georgia needed it changed. If they try to bring back the old one, their will be serious backlash to Atlanta, and some for Georgia. This issue needs to go away.

2) What will happen to the Northern Arc? This is another political hot potato and a huge example of "not in my backyard" politics. We need a complete outer perimeter. An outer perimeter that is complete will drain a very high percentage of trucks off 285 and other highways around Atlanta. People forget this. Trucks are a huge percentage of the traffic on 285, and a huge factor in accidents. Safety and energy savings would be big. Commute time would be greatly helped. The odds of getting a complete outer perimeter decrease as sprawl eats up the land that is needed. It would be almost impossible to get one now, but the Northern Arc as a partial perimeter would be a help. Many more delays and it will vanish also.

3) Schools are going to be hurt. Barnes was hammered by the last place SATs of Georgia. However, by the time kids are taking the SATs their scholastic efforts are pretty much set. The younger children have been doing better, and I believe Barnes was on the right track. Republicans normally divert money away from schools and children's programs. Other than trying to get part of their children's private schools tuition paid for by pulling money out of the public school system through vouchers, I don't see the Republican party doing much for children.

4) Locally and nationally I see children being the victim in this election. More specifically I see middle class and poor children being hurt. Read this editorial on this how children faired in this election. Republicans pandered to the seniors with promises of low cost prescriptions. Where do you think that money is going to come from? The huge tax cuts are also going to pull money out of programs for children. The huge tax cuts Bush has pushed through, where families with incomes of over $1.5 million a year will save $85,000 in tax cuts and families with an income of $20,000 save only $375, will become permanent. Deficits are increasing and are going to surge over the next 6 years. Do you think the government is now going to cut defense spending or quit handing out million and billion dollar bailouts to the companies that give them most of their campaign money?

5) Young seniors and older middle class are really going to pay the piper. Kiss Social Security good-bye as any serious form of supplemental retirement. The money will not be there as the baby boomers flood into the senior set. It is being drained, and will be depleted, by our Republican government. Defense contractors and oils companies will benefit, as will the richest of Americans. No form of Gore's lockbox plan will ever be setup. Company retirement plans will continue to be raided by their companies or just wiped out by a crashing stock market. Privatization will only further hurt it.

6) Women's productive rights will be devastated. Roe vs. Wade will be revisited, and if Republicans remain in power for more than 2 years, their will be enough votes on the Supreme Court to overturn it. It would take 30 years to change it back. Even if you factor out abortion, any type of planned parenthood and education about birth control and safe sex is going to be continually attacked and gutted by the right wing. Confused young women will be left without knowledge and information. The Republicans will let them lead this battle. Once all the birthrate skyrockets among young women, and poor young women, do you think the social services to help these babies and their mothers will be there? Mothers mired in poverty cannot afford the $6000 a year it costs to keep a child in daycare. There will be no programs to help them- see #4. There will be more babies in need and less money. The right wing wants the babies born, but does not seem to care about them once they are.

7) The environment is shot. Bush and the Republicans will gut every piece of environmental legislation. They have showed no shame in doing so before this election, and will only become more open about it now.

I could list more, but those are probably the top issues. Again, the impact of these on me is minimal. I think that the impact on the country will be huge in the coming years. Correcting these problems in the future will be almost impossible. Some leftist thinkers are envisioning a return to the gilded age. That may be an extreme statement, but one based partially in truth, I believe. However, while not an overwhelming mandate, the people have spoken. I hope they are now prepared.

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