"Best wishes on surviving your upcoming years in the wilderness."

Don't forget your coat!

The difference in these two campaigns and the people that ran them was so, so profound. It was apparent in the monochromatic field of McCain supporters waiting to greet him in Arizona. It was manifest in the boos which met any mention Senator McCain made of Barack Obama or the party which nominated him. Even here on the blogs, so many trying to extend the olive branch are being met with pure acidic vitriol. So many refuse to follow John McCain's dignified lead.

And then there was the winning team; a sea of young and old; black, white, brown, red, yellow. And when Barack Obama mentioned John McCain...... Applause! When the republican party was mentioned by name; nothing but attentive ears. And the words of the candidate....."humility," "working together," reaching out to those who did not support him.

Robert Morgan, Richard Hobbs, MOC, The counterfeit plagiarist "Fred Garvin," and the conservative blogger today who dreams of Southern succession: Now would be a great time to look in a mirror if you want to know why voters did not agree with the message which came from the candidate you gave tepid support. If you gents and gentle ladies have difficulty coping with the country's new direction, that will be a choice you have made. But it isn't the choice you HAVE to make.

I'll reply since you chose to call me out by name and give me advice. You act as if this victory was a whitewash referendum against conservatism. The electoral vote was a landslide, but we all know how that works. Looking at the popular vote....there were approximately 120 million votes cast. Last numbers I saw, 52% voted your way and 46% voted mine. A solid victory no doubt. But make no mistake, those numbers prove this country is still very much divided. 63 million voters chose Barry. 56 million chose McCain. So while we all look in the mirror, let's wonder why 56 million Americans don't agree with your candidate's message. To achieve this "new direction" you speak of, Barry has 56 million people to convince. They appear to be a little tougher to win over than the 63 million he got. He'd better come way back to the middle like Slick Willie did to get any buy-in to this "new direction". Spreading the wealth ain't a good start either.

By the way, if we have difficulty coping with the country's new direction....we'll just butch and moan like you have been.

Good evening. If you'd like to convince yourself that this was a small margin of victory for "conservatism" as a whole, that's your right. I would look at the power transfer that has occurred, however, and draw the conclusion that a major shift in the strength of the GOP has occurred. I'm not gloating. I'm just trying to be a two bit analyst. As for the "butching and moaning" part, I'm not sure how you will START the moaning being that the butching and moaning from conservatives started at the first mention of Obama for president. Before he has signed one national policy into life or even rested his haunches in the Oval office, you and Richard and Robert and the counterfeit plagiarist "Fred Garvin" have told us all with great certainty how bad Barack will be for our country. Many a hershey bear has attacked the christianity, patriotism, and character of Obama all while ignoring the fingers pointing back at herself. We have seen a year of predictions of how bad Obama will be as president. My question is this: If conservatives are such good judges of leadership ability, why did they not warn us of the coming Bush legacy in 2000 or 2004? Where were the predictions? Where were the 2000 and 2004 cries to vote John Kerry so that one party did not control everything? Now, MOC, I must say that I hold you to be a humongous cut above the average Garvin Hershy Winby. You write your own material, you stand over the plate and take the pitches, and you don't run from a debate. I see folks like you as being the hope for conservatives; but they have to unhook their wagons from rigid religious dogma and un demonstrated,imagined successes of "trickle-down economics.

But I digress. It has always been my hope that we all benefit from a united country and united world. Only one candidate could possibly unite the world behind us. I have friends in several countries who have filled my "In" box with emails of pride in and support for The USA. I have friends that can't speak a lick of English, but were in tears in their respective countries. When you're fighting an international war on terror, international support IMHO, is not just nice to have. It's essential. And we've got it. Obama has political clout that is his to lose. I pray he doesn't lose it. I'll be right here to criticize and critique if he screws this up; like when he voted "Present" in Illinois.

Cheers

First off, let me say I never claimed what happened Tuesday night was any sort of victory for conservatism. As I stated, it was a solid victory for your side. What I did say was it was in no way a whitewashing referendum against conservatism. Big difference.

The butching and moaning that I do/did against Barry was my own belief that he was not the best person to lead this country. John McCain would not have been either, but my choices were limited. Some people vote for the person running. Some vote for ideology. Some vote for the lesser of two evils. Some even vote for skin color. Of the two, his ideology is further away from mine. I could give a rats posterior what color he is. Like JeffC seemed to agree in a post about me, I was not voting race, but ideas.

Let me say this clearly also. I am very unhappy with my party. I think we had a chance to do things differently and squandered the chance. We have to reorganize and we will. We need all new leadership and we'll have it. This was a message that some people got. I personally did not contribute one dime to any candidate or my party because I am pissed off that we took our eye off the ball and let this happen. However, I am still a conservative and a loyal Republican. I believe the government needs to stay out of my life and govern. As in, provide the infrastructure we need and our national defense. I believe in personal responsibilty. I think the quote by a president that stuck with me the most in my life was from JFK. Yes, a stinking Democrat (HA!). "And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

I don't think I should pay more taxes because someone on the bottom rung of the income ladder chooses the welfare life rather than the working life. A help up, not a handout. Make welfare workfare like some have done. The other day I was in the grocery store and the lady in front of me had a fistful of food stamps and WIC vouchers. They were having to cull out the items she couldn't use food stamps on and it took forever. Meanwhile, she is chatting on a bluetooth stuck in her ear. And lo and behold, I walk out of the store and she is driving off in a Cadillac SUV. I don't have a bluetooth or a Cadillac and I sure as hell don't get food stamps. But she had it all. I don't know her whole story, but you gotta admit something stinks there. That is the kind of things people get pissed off about. Help the ones who really need it and make the ones who don't really need it....WORK.

Finally, we'll see about Barry. Pardon me for not being optimistic. Like you, I will be here to point out all his screw-ups. I hope you will criticize and critique him honestly. Again, we'll see. Why anyone wants to be President is beyond me anyway.....

Funny stuff. I've had that "what the heck is this high school student doing driving a nicer ride than me" experience often. That's the other side of that coin. Or the run down apartment or trailer with the nice sports car out front. Doesn't add up, does it? But we don't know the full stories. Maybe it was a huge litigation pay-out.....that didn't help did it? Cheers to you, and here's to more congenial contact in the future. And if I let Barack slide, feel free to call me a hypocritical bisnich.

I think when loyal Republicans regain control of their party -the country will be on the way to constructive improvement. I sincerely wish you well.

I have news for you, conservatism was not on the ballet this year, and when it was on the ballet it one. Even in states like California conservatism won in ballet initiatives. John McCain lost because he tried to appeal to the masses doing things like voting for the bail out etc... We need a true conservative leader and we will then win huge, the proof is in the ballet initiatives. You can't say Conservatism is a lost cause, because Obama hasn't gone up against it yet.
VOTE CONSERVATIVE

That California coalition that banded together to defeat the eeeeeeeevil onslaught of "gay marriage" certainly proved the old adage "politics makes for strange bedfellows".

You had Fundie Christians, the Mormon cult, and African Americans. The Fundies despise Mormons and blacks, the Mormons hate fundies and blacks, and the blacks mistrust fundies and Mormons.

Yet they all got together because of their cherished belief that one man having sex with another man is profoundly icky.

Best of luck trying to build a permanent coalition built on THAT foundation!

P.S. I like ya Shelby, and don't often criticize the spelling of others (that's MoC's job) but for heaven's sake it's "BALLOT" not "BALLET"..."Ballet" is tutus and Reagan's gay son!

Your point, "John McCain lost because he tried to appeal to the masses..." is indicative of the smaller and smaller tent the Republicans are constructing. You might want to reconsider the strategy that refusing to appeal to the masses and contracting the party into a narrower base is a path toward victory.

Do you see Palin as the future of the Party?

Especially the gay marriage amendment in CA. I didn't see that conservative win coming in such a liberal state. The future will be a very interesting place, won't it?

Maybe, just maybe, citizens will vote their 'gut' feeling rather than following the 'liberal'/'conservative' directives.

Your "gut" comment reminded me of Steven Colbert last night. He said McCain's strategy was to rip out the liberals livers and grind them up and serve it as pâté de foie gras on election night. When the vote came in there wasn't enough foie gras and the Republican Party was left with a lot of empty crackers.

LOL!