Tag Archives: Election 2012

America Divided, With Reader Comments

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U.S. 2012 ELECTION RESULTS, BLUE STATES FOR OBAMA, RED STATES FOR ROMNEY. FLORIDA, THE LAST STATE TO BE DECIDED, WENT BLUE. (Map via Wikipedia)

U.S. 2012 ELECTION RESULTS, BLUE STATES FOR OBAMA, RED STATES FOR ROMNEY. FLORIDA, THE LAST STATE TO BE DECIDED, WENT BLUE. (Map via Wikipedia)

“This is the America that Obama will govern in his second term: A place divided not only by ideology, race and class but also by the very perception of reality. . . . The president who spoke ambitiously at his first inauguration about uniting America instead arrives at his second with the country further divided.” — Eli Saslow, The Washington Post, Jan. 20, 2013

Note:  This post was published in 2013 following the 2012 presidential election. It seems more relevant than ever as America prepares for the 2016 presidential election.

Divided by ideology, race and class.

English: Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth Presid...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

That sums up America in the decade leading up to the Civil War, as described in “Team Of Rivals,” Doris Kearns Goodwin’s history of Abraham Lincoln and the politicians, abolitionists, generals, and ordinary people of his era. The similarities between the present time and the decade before the Civil War are striking and frightening. Continue reading →

Post-Election Blues

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POST-ELECTION BLUES — It’s part of life. Comes with the territory. You go to college four or five years — You graduate?!  Get a steady job — Laid off?!  You get married — Maybe you get divorced?!  Work like a maniac on the big project — Suddenly, finished.  An election focuses your attention — Over, done, results are in.  Letdown, big time!  We might need a few days to catch our breath, figure out where the heck we are. And what to do next? — John

WHAT NOW?!

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What’s next?

Fiscal cliff? Nor’easter? Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s! It’s too much, too fast. Stop the news! I want to get off.

Doesn’t my apartment need serious cleaning? Wait. Don’t I have some bills to pay, like yesterday? Don’t I have a prescription to pick up? I could fold the laundry, unload the dishwasher, brush the cat.

I need an emergency nap.

For Ocean City, Maryland, mayor and council election results, click right here.

— John

Election Day 2012 Part 2

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ELECTION DAY 2012, 11:48 p.m. It was as cold as expected in Maryland today. I was wearing Obama T-shirt over my winter jacket (layering is key in cold weather). This is supposed to be a conservative precinct. Almost no minorities. Not many men, either, I guess. Women, esp. young  women, voting in much higher numbers than men. (I can’t explain it.)  Young women and young men — many first-time voters —  voting in surprisingly high numbers. I didn’t know we had so many women under 25 here. Lots of them signaling a quick thumbs-up. Obama wins this precinct, unless my eyes deceive me. Ohio has been called. Looks like Obama will be a two-term pres. Health care wins. Women win. I hope Obama wins the popular vote too, or it may be a long four years. — John

Election Day 2012

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ELECTION DAY — November cold and gray in Maryland. Must be bitter cold across the northern states. I’m working at the school from 2 p.m. to closing time. Done it many times before, from early morning opening to past closing time in the darkness. No more all-day shifts for me now. It’s mainly a matter of being present in warm clothes, standing silent witness for Obama and Democratic principals. Polls open until 8 p.m. in Maryland. Results from early voting will be announced shortly after 8. A long day and night. I can predict the results in MD (if you want to know, call my cell phone); who knows how it will end nationally.  — John

Vote Robin Hood

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Hmmm . . . I was going to say, “No comment” . . . Seriously folks, Robin Hood’s not running this year . . . But, if the winner-take-all economy continues . . . and rich patriots continue to accumulate all the money . . . and stash their wealth in the Cayman Islands and Swiss bank accounts . . . Well, Robin Hood might begin to seem like a good idea. 

Robin Hood and Maid Marian (poster, ca. 1880)

ROBIN HOOD AND MAID MARIAN (poster, ca. 1880) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Robin Hood is the English folk hero who fascinates the creative imagination. His popularity never wanes. Let’s see, at least eight films, according to Wikipedia. Also, some television shows on BBC, at least one music album, and two computer games.

Robin Hood. Hold that thought. It’s something to stash away for some future election . . . if they still allow elections in the future.

— John Hayden

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Maryland Election Ballot Questions: In-State Tuition, Redistricting, Same-Sex Civil Marriage, Gambling Expansion

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See that line? That’s the first-day of early voting at Berlin in Worcester County, Maryland.

You can expect long lines at Maryland polling places for the Presidential Election on Tuesday. The reason: Ballot questions that voters know are important, so they take the time to read all the questions in the voting booth and make their decisions. The solution: Get familiar with the ballot questions before you go to vote. Do this on Sunday or Monday. Make your decisions and mark them on your sample ballot or just jot them down on a scrap of paper. Or print out this post and take it with you. Walk into the polling booth, vote, and you’re out in three minutes. But you’ll still have to stand in line, because most people won’t take a few minutes to prepare themselves in advance.

The following comments on four of the ballot questions represent the opinions of the blogger.

QUICK GUIDE TO THE FOUR MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ON THE MARYLAND BALLOT

QUESTION 4, REFERENDUM: HIGHER EDUCATION, TUITION RATES.

Quick recommendation: QUESTION 4: VOTE FOR THE QUESTION.

Question 4 is the in-state tuition referendum, AKA the Dream Act referendum. Authorizes in-state and in-county tuition rates for all true residents of Maryland, including undocumented immigrants. It’s been passed by both houses of the General Assembly after considerable debate, and signed into law by the governor.

Continue reading →

Early Voting in Maryland

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A GOOD DAY TO VOTE — Nothing I write here, or say or do, is going to change the course of Sandy, whether she be a hurricane or a tropical storm.  Meanwhile,  early voting begins today in Maryland. I’m going over to Berlin (our early voting location in this corner of the state) and say hello to my friends in the parking lot. Then I’ll go inside and vote for my president, Barack Obama, my vice president, Joe Biden, and my U.S. senator, Ben Cardin. And I’ll write in the name of John LaFerla, the official Democratic candidate for Congress. By so doing I’ll also be voting for Peace, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and health care for all.  — John

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Politics Out of Control: Somebody Please Say ‘Amen’

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Did anyone notice the color of the carpet on the debate stage?  It was an almost blinding shade of bright red? Unusual color to see anyplace but on a fire truck. Don’t believe I’ve ever seen a carpet of that color before.

The logical explanation is that the debate planners didn’t want you to see the blood on the floor.

Yes, I recused myself from criticizing the debate performance of President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney. But I have to say I’m appalled by the state of American political discourse in general. Maybe we should skip the debates and select the next president by mixed martial arts in a cage. Or if that’s over the top, maybe an old-fashioned fist fight with civilized rules and a referee.

Continue reading →

No Debate Criticism Tonight

Aside

I hereby recuse myself from analyzing the debate performance of President Barack Obama, Gov. Mitt Romney, and moderator Candy Crowley. I reserve the right to criticize the performance of the cable TV commentators. Their constant analysis of the debates in the past few weeks has been over the top.  — John

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