RationalWiki:2012 Election day

My fellow RationalWikians! Finally after what feels like 43 years of campaigning, election day is at hand! feel free to use this page to snark, tremble, quiz and gripe in the manner of this page here and that page there.

Obama and Romney? Fuck it.

RationalWiki congratulates our gargantuan cyborg president.

Pick your preferred alternate-reality candidates, fictional, zombie, etc. Osaka Sun (talk) 20:54, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Don't blame me, I'm voting for Bill and Opus. MDB ^{(the MD is for Maryland, the B is for Bear)} 21:28, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Guy Skywalker. A young man born from the illicit union of an oversexed Jedi Knight and a dead anti-protestant pyromaniac. Something for everybody there.Weirdstuff (talk) 21:36, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

From a gambling perspective

The news over here (UK) are reporting that it's 50:50, but the bookies have Romney as long as 7-2. If it really is that tight, then 7-2 is great value! DeltaStar_{Senior Sysop}^{Speciationspeed!} 22:20, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Is it the polls that are suggesting a dead heat? Because, given the electoral college, that won't matter. Even Romney himself stated that "50.1%" was all he needed...likening the presidency to controlling interest in a company. I don't think the man ever took Civics in high school prep school. -- Seth Peck (talk) 22:49, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Seeing as in school he walked a blind man into door for laughs, I'm with you on that last sentence. Sophie^Wilder 11:17, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

The news in the UK has been hedging all along, which rather backfired after the first debate when they struggled to report that a race they'd been reporting as tight all along had tightened. As a result, I haven't bothered with any UK coverage this time. Nate Silver and electoral-vote.com (among others) have been my news sources. rpeh •T•C•E• 11:27, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Al-Jazeera hasn't been much cop either, just a general overview. The specialist US politics sites have long had the best stuff. Sophie^Wilder 12:31, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Well it doesn't explain the British coverage of the entire cycle, but their last minute stuff about it being a virtual tie based on Romney's internal figures was caused by... Romney's campaign lying. Who'd have thought it? rpeh •T•C•E• 16:35, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Electionitis

Normally I start my internet day by going through my emails. This morning, straight to Nate Silver. Sophie^Wilder 11:19, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

The first returns are in

Dixville Notch has voted. It's five to five tie. MDB ^{(the MD is for Maryland, the B is for Bear)} 12:29, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

But Hart's Location, New Hampshire, has it Obama: 23 (67.6%); Romney: 9 (26.5%); Johnson: 2 (5.9%). rpeh •T•C•E• 13:26, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Any news from Dunny on the Wold? Sophie^Wilder 14:41, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Piss off you nosy bastard. rpeh •T•C•E• 14:53, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Predictions

Here's mine. Not entirely sure why. But I'm not just going to copy Nate Silver's map, anyway. On the fence about Virginia, though. DickTurpis (talk) 14:05, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

[Sigh] I really can't see how Colorado can go red...if you compare the sizes of the rallies, the Republicans had weak showings...but, I've been wrong before. -- Seth Peck (talk) 18:39, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Princeton says Florida will go Red but otherwise agrees with Nate Silver. rpeh •T•C•E• 21:42, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

I have a bad feeling

I have a bad feeling about Pennsylvania, based solely on my particular neck of the woods. The Romney/Ryan yard signs are double that of Obama/Biden, and a quick poll of my friends, a number of whom voted Obama in '08, have apparently become disenfranchised and are supporting Romney at a ratio of 3:1. Aboriginal Noise ^Punkrock 14:37, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

I don't know where your neck of the woods is but remember the phrase "Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between" from James Carville, a former Clinton advisor. I hope you live in Alabama. rpeh •T•C•E• 18:03, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

I live in Lancaster and I've noticed the same thing too, sadly. 174.59.44.27 (talk) 18:27, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

I thought you lived in Pittsburgh, Aboriginal Noise? --Andy^{not Schlafly} 19:29, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

I do, and that is the scary part. A majority of the suburbs are staunchly Democrat, many at levels of 5 Dems to each Republican. But more and more people I have encountered have turned from the current administration. I hope the eastern and more populated part of the state can carry us. Aboriginal Noise ^Punkrock 19:48, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Wow. That sucks. Hopefully it's just your pessimism. --Andy^{not Schlafly} 20:49, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

November 7th, 2000

I was sitting in the basement at the University of Arizona student union in Tucson, which is a small stage for musical sets/comedy sketch groups, watching the election results. Florida was still in tizzy, but seeing all those red splotches on the map as Al Gore went down for the count had me extremely depressed. CNN et al were already calling it for the oil barons. I turned to my friends and said, "Well, there goes the fucking country."

Please, please, please, please do not let this be a repeat... -- Seth Peck (talk) 16:58, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

That day started out poorly for me; I locked myself out of my house and had to pound on the door till my housemate woke up.

I also remember Dan Rather saying early in the evening that we might have a "good, old fashioned election night." I hoped he was right. I have never ever wished for that again. MDB ^{(the MD is for Maryland, the B is for Bear)} 17:01, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Standing in/on line (queueing up)

Mme. Cogswell and I were in and out in 30 minutes, mid-morning. About halfway through the wait, we saw an acquaintance leaving, who said it had taken him 40. We both put the time to good use: she knitted, and I finished memorizing Marriott Edgar's "Albert and the Headsman."

Your tales of woe, despair, ennui, and frustration may go here, although I prefer stories with a feelgood ending. Sprocket J Cogswell (talk) 17:22, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

I was so frustrated when I received my mail-in/early-vote ballot three weeks before the election. I was so not ready to vote. But it was only one card, front and back, with only six elections and five amendments/initiatives (plus a vote to retain several dozen judges, all of which I chose "no"). I had to compile my vote in the privacy of my own home, with access to the internet to do research, and then drive all the way to the DMV to drop it off without having to wait in line. Sigh. Colorado voting is so hard... -- Seth Peck (talk) 17:34, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

(Moved from above)I have never had to wait in line to vote before (20 minutes). Turnout seems pretty high here. Evil fascist^{oh noez} 18:54, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Is it the part of LA that's overwhelmingly red, or the part that's underwhelmingly blue? -- Seth Peck (talk) 19:39, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Where I live went to Obama in 2008. Evil fascist^{oh noez} 19:47, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

You voted "no" on legalized pot? I'm ashamed to call you friend! ;-) Colorado rocks for other reasons, like a law mandated 3 audit system, before, during and after the elections; a FAT certification ot make sure 1) all machines work, and 2) they scannign works, done by a committe made of members of both parties. 3) required two or more party participants in any questionable ballot when counting or scanning "problem" children, as well as a 3rd non-party paid person who inputs the mutual decision. yeah, voting in colorado sucks! :-) (course we had to royally fuck up in 2004 for those changes to be mandated.) GodotI hate waiting! 21:17, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Sorry for my lack of clarity...I voted "no" ONLY on the decisions to retain judges. I always vote no...never let them get too comfortable, I say (or, as Edward Abbey said, "Society is like a thick stew; you have to keep it stirred up or else you get a lot of scum on top."). I definitely voted YES on 64 (the pot one), 65, S, 3A and 3B. -- Seth Peck (talk) 21:37, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

You kids and your early/"absentee" ballots. Hrmph. In my day, absentee ballots were for people who were actually out of the country, or at least unavoidably out of their usual voting jurisdiction on election day.

On the telephone with a family member in Ohio— they had voted early, which amounted to filling and handing in an absentee ballot ahead of time. Said the least convenient part was getting into the parking lot at the place; after that, easy peasy. My two pages, marked with the gov't-issued felt-tip, were swallowed by the same old machine I see every time. No chads, no real likelihood of irrecoverable shenanigans. Sprocket J Cogswell (talk) 21:51, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

The Colorado ballots are also done with a pen, not with those old punch cards or whatever. -- Seth Peck (talk) 21:58, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

America's colonized people have spoken.

Obama wins. Theory of Practice Still tryin' to figure it all out. 20:42, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Dedication

Man drops dead at polling station, gets CPR, wakes and asks "did I vote?" Sophie^Wilder 21:11, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

You misspelled "balls". -- Seth Peck (talk) 21:38, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

(edit conflict) ...then goes to vote but finds he's been scrubbed from the list of valid voters by the Republican Voter Suppression effort. rpeh •T•C•E• 21:38, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

We can't have dead people voting now, can we? Peter ^{Subsisting on honey} 21:40, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Nate Silver just asked for more money

I'm guessing, but... well... wouldn't you??? rpeh •T•C•E• 22:08, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

If he did his timing is terrible. His numbers are about to tank. Also, what happened to his Senate analysis this year? It was basically non-existent. DickTurpis (talk) 22:25, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

AND THEY'RE OFF!

With <1% of precincts reporting in NH. -- Seth Peck (talk) 22:27, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Go `Others'! Peter ^{Subsisting on honey} 23:12, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Exit polls: Obama gets New Hampshire, Romney gets N Carolina and Florida, according to Drudge. Sophie^Wilder 23:20, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Florida

Romney just got ahead. Gibber. Sophie^Wilder 01:21, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

And back to Obama. And breathe... Sophie^Wilder 01:24, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Back to Mitt. Sadface. --Andy^{not Schlafly} 01:26, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

And after a while of leaning Obama, Mitt just pulled ahead. Evil fascist^{oh noez} 02:13, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Florida seems to be insanely neck and neck. Is it time to start worrying about a repeat of 2000? Vulpius (talk) 02:23, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Obama winning again by a little more than 300 votes. I sure hope not. Evil fascist^{oh noez} 02:24, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Obama appears to have Ohio in the bag. Florida might become irrelevant. Osaka Sun (talk) 02:45, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

I hope so, he's only 0.2% up. That'll mean an automatic recount. Sophie^Wilder 04:03, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Virginia

Looking solid for Romney :( Sophie^Wilder 01:29, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Mitt's got 61% in PA. (Obama has 36.) Mittens also has a ten point lead in New Jersey. Am I panicking too early??? --Andy^{not Schlafly} 01:32, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Yes you are. You get these weird numbers when hardly any votes have been counted. I just saw "other" leading in Illinois. Sophie^Wilder 01:36, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Good. Now they've predicted New Jersey will go Obama. Even though he's down 10 points. Which is kind of funny....unless he loses there, of course. --Andy^{not Schlafly} 01:37, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

At one point SC was solidly Obama, so you really can't trust any numbers right now. Peter ^{Subsisting on honey} 01:54, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Now being called for Obama. rpeh •T•C•E• 05:43, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

North Carolina

is very very close. It would be weird if Obama won there but not in Virginia. --Andy^{not Schlafly} 01:52, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Seems to be getting unofficially called for Romney. rpeh •T•C•E• 04:02, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Romney hasn't written a concession speech

That's gonna be awkward. Sophie^Wilder 02:01, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

I know. I was just like lololol at that. These guys are so overconfident. --Andy^{not Schlafly} 02:02, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

The West Wing's here for that. Osaka Sun (talk) 02:09, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Mourdock and Akin

The two rape idiots are both getting pwned, Mourdock more so. Good. Sophie^Wilder 02:07, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Twilight of the loonies

Allen West looks to be on his way out too. A shame in a way, he may be Dagenham Heathway but he's entertaining. Sophie^Wilder 02:13, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Excuse my ignorance but... Dagenham Heathway???? WTF? Innocent Bystander (talk) 03:08, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Brit slang. It's a train station in London three stops past Barking. Which he is. Sophie^Wilder 03:14, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

It's good that bad pols implode, from time to time, but I worry about the bastards that are too smart to say the evil/insane shit they're thinking. TheLateGatsby (talk) 04:02, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Tammy Baldwin

Not looking too good for the Senate's first out LGBT candidate :( Sophie^Wilder 03:15, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Ha! Spoke too soon Sophie^Wilder 03:37, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Indeed. Great win. rpeh •T•C•E• 05:35, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Obama vs Romney

As of 3.30 am GMT Obama leads Romney 172 to 163. I suppose the race isn't over yet. Proxima Centauri (talk) 03:36, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

They're saying Virginia could take days on Radio 5. Maybe Florida too. Sophie^Wilder 03:38, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Obama takes OH, COL, Iowa, and that makes FLA is irrelevant. And that's what will happen. Theory of Practice Still tryin' to figure it all out. 03:47, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Unskewed Polls

The big winner tonight is the polling process. It's still a touch early but it looks like Nate Silver has got another 49/50 night, and the idiots at unskewedpolls.com have been shown up as the idiots I always suspected they were. rpeh •T•C•E• 03:46, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

If Silver was wrong he'd never have a job in polling again. But he seems to be living up to his hype. Osaka Sun (talk) 03:56, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Yes, but that's not my point. For weeks, the right wing of the Internet has been saying that the polling model used by almost all the pollsters is totally wrong and that Romney was heading for a landslide. Even though the source of the idiocy ended up rolling back a little, they've still been proven wrong. rpeh •T•C•E• 04:09, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Colorado

The Denver Post just called Colorado for Obama. rpeh •T•C•E• 04:01, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Other Senate

Tim Kaine looks to have won in Virginia. George "Macaca" Allen has conceded. That basically ties up the Senate for the Dems. rpeh •T•C•E• 04:05, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

As expected, though not as hoped, Jeff Flake (R) beats Richard Carmona (D) in Arizona Senate race. That one was a long shot but it's still sad to see a miss. rpeh •T•C•E• 04:55, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Now the whole Senate is called Dem. rpeh •T•C•E• 05:44, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

They think it's all over...

Welp, according to the guardian coverage anyway, Fox has thrown in the towel and called Ohio for Obama. That's pretty much that then I guess. I expect Florida will follow suit shortly. --JeevesMkII ^{The gentleman's gentleman at the other site} 04:17, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Just beat me to it. That's it. Florida still too close but it doesn't matter. Four more years of Obama. rpeh •T•C•E• 04:19, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Hoozah! Sam ^Tally-ho! 04:25, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Looks like I picked a good moment to call it a night then. Vulpius (talk) 04:26, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Hey, even Virginia seems to have switched from pink to light blue. I wouldn't have thought it earlier. Might be quite a comfortable margin electoral college wise in the end, if not in the overall votes cast. --JeevesMkII ^{The gentleman's gentleman at the other site} 04:30, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Iowa

Called for Obama... rpeh •T•C•E• 04:19, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Called

Ohio called for Obama by ABC. Can I go to bed now? Sophie^Wilder 04:26, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Yup. The whole shebang has been called for Obama now, and Dems will control the Senate. Now onto the House, but I fear that's where the good news ends. rpeh •T•C•E• 04:28, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

We should start looking at the popular vote

If Obama doesn't gain ground here prepare to have 60 million Republicans against the Electoral College. Irony? Osaka Sun (talk) 04:29, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

The figures I'm seeing show a small lead for Obama, so no problem. rpeh •T•C•E• 04:35, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

They should abolish it anyway, it's predicated on "you're too dumb to chose the president, let us do it for you." Sophie^Wilder 04:38, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Most sane people agree. But when Faux is the one advocating it you know you're in bizarro world. Osaka Sun (talk) 04:42, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Taegan Goddard on Twitter: "Obama is very likely to win the popular vote as well.". rpeh •T•C•E• 04:56, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

FiveThirtyEight: "...California, Oregon and Washington — conduct much of their voting by mail, yielding a lag of several days to a week before all ballots are counted. As of 11:45 p.m., however, Mr. Obama trailed Mitt Romney by only about 150,000 votes nationally, a margin he should be able to make up on the West Coast." rpeh •T•C•E• 05:03, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Victory

This was the great danger and the single moment. This was the approaching darkness and a bright line. It was a big bet, made by both sides. Obama deferred the budget question and the success of Obamacare to the long term, knowing that if he lost on this day - and he could well have lost - then the resolution to the fiscal cliff would end up with slashed social services, burgeoning arms budget, and a dark future. And the Republicans went with harshly extremist candidates and agreed to the same budget bet, standing in the way of every success Obama managed to grind out of their obstruction. It was a big bet - not just betting this election and the immediate outcome, but betting the future of a generation. Obama, the Democrats, and the future won.

This day has gone better than I dared hope. Victories almost all across the board, far beyond what I expected. And what is even better: it was earned. Obama has won his re-election because he fought for the stimulus, fought for the auto bailout, fought for Obamacare, fought on the wars, and fought on so many other issues. He has been imperfect, but every general is imperfect. We will seek to do better in the future, with proportional voting and the end of the death penalty and the end of the security state. But this was not just a demographic victory, this was one that was purchased with gutsy decisions that defied polling and defied the opposition. Obama earned this. We earned this.

Victory. Victory. Victory.--^talk 04:44, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Good grief. You can even be long-winded and pompous over "We won! Yay". I'm impressed. rpeh •T•C•E• 04:47, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Dunno if Yanks can see this, but here is how the BBC broke the news of the victory. rpeh •T•C•E• 04:59, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

I'm really happy. A cause that I care about has succeeded after a long fight. I think that because of this success, the world will be better. I'm an American and I love my country. Go piss on someone else's glee, you asshole.--^talk 05:20, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Glee's one thing. Overblown, long-winded pomposity is another. Post it on your blog, dude. rpeh •T•C•E• 05:21, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Golly, I'm sorry my long-winded two whole paragraphs tested your patience. I'll let you get back to posting terse replies to yourself now.--^talk 05:48, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Can you try silence? rpeh •T•C•E• 11:44, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Text of the day

Not to me, unfortunately, but to Sam Wang at the Princeton Election Consortium: 'Randall Munroe just texted me “BREAKING: Numbers continue to be best tool for determining which of two things is larger."'. rpeh •T•C•E• 04:53, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Marriage Equality

The Washington Post calls the Same Sex Marriage amendment in Maryland: passed. rpeh •T•C•E• 04:57, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Also wins in Maine. rpeh •T•C•E• 05:00, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

The Minnesota amendment is running much too close to the "Yes" threshold for comfort. ListenerX^TalkerX 06:15, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

I almost started crying (in the good way) when I saw marriage equality passed here in Maryland. MDB ^{(the MD is for Maryland, the B is for Bear)} 09:44, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

The Minnesota anti-marriage amendment is confirmed to have failed miserably. Reckless Noise Symphony (talk) 12:12, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Puerto Rico

Since The republicans took the senate and house seats (and all three districts for the EV here), I'm mostly focused on a local senate election and how Puetro Rico will vote on the whole "commonwealth of the US" thing it's got going. Opinions?Mikal ^{Harass Follow} 05:07, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

At time of posting, this site reports 62% support with 63% reporting. According to a friend's opinion, the House and Senate approving it will be a formality due to historical bipartisan support. So... 51 states, huh? Kinda ruins the whole nice, round number we had for the last century and we'll need a slightly new flag design, but I guess they don't have much of a choice due to the financial situation. --CoyoteSans (talk) 05:29, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Depressing Thought of the Day

The electoralvote.com live blog (ish - it's a bit slow): "So Obama has been reelected, the Democrats will keep the Senate and the Republicans will keep the House. A year and $6 billion later and we are back where we started." Depressing but true. rpeh •T•C•E• 05:17, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Yes, indeed. With no supermajority in the senate and Republican control of the house, its another exciting 4 years of stasis ahead I fear. I suppose on the plus side, Obama might get to appoint some supreme court judges, but really this victory doesn't do anything but temporarily arrest the slow slide of the US in to a corporate looter's paradise. I guess for all you yanks, just try and enjoy the day for what it is. Tomorrow will be here soon enough. --JeevesMkII ^{The gentleman's gentleman at the other site} 05:22, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

The Supreme Court appointments in the next four years are a definite bright spot, deep disaster avoided, in my view. Another glimmer is that the faction in power during an economic recovery (never mind who started it) gets about a ten-year boost from the electorate, if history continues to rhyme. Don't have a link for that last bit, but my wishful thinking wants it to be so.

I'm not willing to cede free rein to the corporate looters just yet. I've heard enough "we are all in this together" to justify some hope. That message needs more exposure, and one of its proponents is Mass. Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren, whose opponent has conceded. Sprocket J Cogswell (talk) 05:33, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

And, of course, for those of us who consider the "slow slide to a corporate looters' paradise" idea to be a very superficial gussying up of Marx's "bourgeois takeover" story, we can rejoice that there is still a buffer in place against the wingnuts. ListenerX^TalkerX 05:57, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

If only I'd bought shares in TV companies in swing states, I could retire off the advertising revenue. Sophie^Wilder 13:21, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

While Republicans still control the House, Dems did pick up a few seats, and ALL of those seats will be up for grabs in 2013 or 2014. If they honestly believe they can continue to win on an obstructionist agenda now that Obama's presidency has been legitimized not once but twice, they'd be very hard-pressed to see their careers continue.

Additionally, I think we will see more petitions and recall elections over the next two-to-four years. People are starting to see that their voice does matter, their vote does count, and their beliefs do carry weight with their elected officials. The successes of women in this election will also inspire more women and minorities to run. Obama will get his chance to put in 2-3 Supreme Court justices who actually have citizens and not corporations in high regard. As the implementation of Obamacare, reaches completion in 2014, and other progressive issues such as marijuana legalization and gay marriage take hold, people will start to see "hey, this shit isn't all that bad, really." Expect to see compromises and retirings. -- Seth Peck (talk) 16:56, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Less depressingly

The Grauniad reports the odious Bachmann might be out on her ear. Surely that's something worth celebrating if it happens. You go, Minnesotans. --JeevesMkII ^{The gentleman's gentleman at the other site} 05:25, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

I wasn't going to post about that yet... she's ahead in the count so far, but it's really, really close. rpeh •T•C•E• 05:27, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

From the DailyKos liveblog: "With 57% in, Michelle Bachmann is clinging to a 350-vote lead." rpeh •T•C•E• 05:32, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

If it keeps on the way it is, a hand recount will be necessary. ListenerX^TalkerX 06:07, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Bugger, she squeaked back in. Генгис^{You have the right to be offended; and I have the right to offend you.} 12:05, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Love that Ganja

AP has called the Marijuana-legalisation vote in Washington as a "Yay. Cool." rpeh •T•C•E• 05:22, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Forgive my ignorance, but do various parties tack these ballot measures on to the general election ballot as a way of getting out some fairly marginal voters, or are they serious? I've seen a lot of various anti-contraception and such like measures put up for the vote in various states. I can't imagine they seriously expected them to pass. --JeevesMkII ^{The gentleman's gentleman at the other site} 05:32, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

I cannot speak for anti-contraception measures, but the two ballot initiatives we had in Minnesota this year were serious — the Republican-controlled Legislature was trying for an end-run around the Democratic governor's veto. ListenerX^TalkerX 06:47, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

there was a drive in 2008 and 2010 by the Republicans to put anti-gay-marriage initiatives on the ballot to motivate conservative voters. So yes, it can happen. Sophie^Wilder 13:18, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

The marijuana amendment in Colorado was non-partisan (being supported by liberals left of the Democrats, the Green Party and some libertarians). The group that wrote/sponsored the amendment pushed hard to get it on the ballot after the success of the MMJ amendment a few years ago. Did the bunch of stoners that turned out to vote, vote for Obama as well? Dunno...but the House reps for the most populous areas of Colorado went blue, so.... -- Seth Peck (talk) 16:59, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Tweet of the Night

If Romney won't concede, Obama can bring an empty chair out on stage with him tonight. rpeh •T•C•E• 05:40, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Hah. Nice one. Well, Virginia has fallen to the Democrats, so I'm thinking the only stumbling block to concession now is having to wake his speech writers up to draft it for him. --JeevesMkII ^{The gentleman's gentleman at the other site} 05:45, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

He might wait 'til Florida. If that stays Dem it's a total thrashing; if it goes Rep, Romney can claim partial vindication (yes, I know it'll be balls but that hasn't stopped him before). rpeh •T•C•E• 05:50, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

It seems Romney has called the President to congratulate him on his re-election. I think I'll get some shut-eye now. Sprocket J Cogswell (talk) 05:53, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Who the fuck doesn't write a concession speech? Unbelievable. Osaka Sun (talk) 05:54, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Concession

"Romney has conceded in a phone call to Obama" - PoliticalWire. rpeh •T•C•E• 05:54, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

After ob-congrats, speech's first act is to praise Ryan. rpeh •T•C•E• 05:56, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

That Romney, he sure throws a mean victory party. --JeevesMkII ^{The gentleman's gentleman at the other site} 06:05, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

House

The BBC just called it for the Republicans. Given their reluctance to say anything controversial and given that there's no evidence to the contrary, I'd say that's it. rpeh •T•C•E• 06:36, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Speech

The bit about long lines to vote: "We've got to fix that". This guy('s speech writer) is good. rpeh •T•C•E• 06:42, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

I'll bet $10 that wasn't on the teleprompter. Obama has a few zingers tucked away and pulls them out whenever he feels like he'll get a good reaction from the crowd. One I've seen him use more than once was after a crowd would "BOOOOOO!" at the mention of Romney's health plan (or whatever), he'd say "Don't boo, vote!" Otherwise, when you hear him tell a story about something that happened locally, it comes more naturally than just reading off the prompter. When I saw him in Boulder, he spoke about his experience at the Sink (a restaurant just down the street from where he was speaking)...it was very narrative, and not just another talking point. -- Seth Peck (talk) 17:03, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Thank you, America

You re-elected the incumbent with a last minute landslide, had good senate standing, shame about the house but at least maybe this term Obama will be more adept at working within the system, and two states decriminalised marijuana and two states had and passed a popular vote on teh icky gheys that didn't involve curbstomping our rights. You've finally reached critical mass.

I highly, highly, highly, highly doubt this will be a stellar term, but you did what you could and today's looking cheery. Much love, Ireland. Polite Timesplitter ^{talk to me sugar, but best keep it on the}_down-low 09:00, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Forget Romney vs. Obama

Rove vs. Faux News was much more interesting! Reckless Noise Symphony (talk) 12:15, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

The whole right wing "the numbers are wrong" meme took a hell of a beating last night. It's great to watch the fallout. rpeh •T•C•E• 12:51, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

The weird thing is, in 2008 Karl Rove gave a pretty much correct forecast of Obama's win. He's not delusional, definitely knows when he is and isn't lying - David Gerard (talk) 13:07, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

He's probably just upset as fuck that they wasted all that money on a few bad horses. -- Seth Peck (talk) 17:04, 8 November 2012 (UTC)