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• Thoughts (Score:2)

  by pudge (1) on 2004.11.03 15:58 (#35752) Homepage Journal

  I don't care about the popular vote, because it is not a good barometer, in my opinion. People are more likely to note vote for President, or vote third party, in a state like MA or TX than FL or OH. The votes between two states are not comparable, so you can't really put them into one big pot and stir.
  
  That said, when you win by a few million or more, it sure does tend to factor out some of those discrepancies.
  
  I wrote in my Slashdot journal today that yes, this is a big GOP victory and a big Democrat defeat. The Democrats have had only one real victory in 10 years. The party is circling the drain. And my hope is that the Democrats either fix their party by getting a real message that resonates with voters apart from "the other guys suck," or split into two parties that can really make a difference.
  
  Expect more wars, more debt, more federal bureacracy, more privatization of federal programs, anemic job growth and reduced taxes
  
  On the debt, Kerry had only one thing to offer people concerned about it: that the Congress would not go along with his plans. He wanted to spend even more money than Bush, with no significant increased revenues over Bush. While the prospect of deadlock may be a reason to vote for Kerry, it certainly isn't something he can brag about. :-)
  
  I like privatization as a general rule.
  
  Job growth has been pretty good actually, almost 2 million in the last year, and unemployment is the same as it was when Clinton was re-elected (and so is the "discouraged" workers number, contrary to popular belief).
  
  I like lower taxes, of course, though I hate deficits too. But I would prefer we keep taxes low and lower, and reduce spending to match. Alas, I can't have all I want.
  
  As to war, I expect that in the short term we will see continued strife, but in the long term, the Middle East will be transformed for the better, significantly decreasing the threat of worldwide terror. I think we can all agree this is a great thing to hope for, and it is the greateast reason I supported the war.
  
  It's no use crowing about the future consequences of the neo-con agenda.
  
  Most of what you mentioned has nothing to do with neo-cons.
  
  A neo-con is a strange and rare animal. He is one who was a liberal in the 60s and became a "conservative" in the 80s. He believed in an aggressive foreign policy before 9/11, but is not especially socially or fiscally conservative. The average conservative today, even in Washington, only has serious intersection with the neo-con on issues of aggressive foreign policy.
  
  I mention this not merely as a semantic point: there is a big undercurrent in Congress right now to cut spending significantly. We heard it some a year ago, but less during the election year, but I suspect strongly we might start to see it come out again in the coming years. I hope so, anyway.
  
  

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