Democracy depends on an informed electorate. It was not an informed electorate that reelected Bush. It was an electorate that was lied to and chose to believe the lies. A faith based electorate. A delusional electorate. Today the American people failed democracy. The American people failed the world. How many more people must die?

The Dream Is Lost
Bush gets mandate for theocracy. Only the right can stop him now.

The dream has become a nightmare. Not only did George Bush win, but he captured the presidency by a margin of what now looks like 4 million votes. That's a clear mandate and a big green light for the right wing to push ahead with an ideological program. Barring an almost mathematically impossible outcome in Ohio, there will be no suprise win by John Kerry, no swooping in by a centrist Democrat to vanquish the specter of a modern American theocracy. Bush will have no meaningful opposition, with a fully Republican Congress at his disposal. Even Tom Daschle, the Senate minority leader, was beaten in what looks like a rout of the Democrats. The dream of a secular, liberal democracy is lost: Christians are stronger than ever, and whether it's true or not, the spin will be that they played a key role in building the Bush base. The visceral, cutting edge of the Bush mandate is the attack on same-sex marriage, led by the Christian right. African Americans may have voted overwhelmingly for John Kerry, but Republicans without a doubt have made some, if only marginal, gains among black voters. In black Ohio churches, Democratic leaders were experiencing muttering discontent from the congregations over the issue of same-sex marriage. Abortion may be a given in the black community, but gay people marrying each other is definitely not. Neoconservatives can proceed with business as usual—for the time being. But they will want to watch out for attacks—not from Democrats, but from the Reagan wing of the GOP. The Patriot Act will become the modus for the increasing activities of the federal police. And again, criticism will come from the right, not the left. People like former Georgia congressman and lead Clinton impeacher Bob Barr already are out against the act. Paul Weyrich, long the most important conservative voice in Washington, is against it. He fears Senator Hillary Clinton will use it against himself and others on the right. Abroad, the United States can only continue to lose standing as Bush presses his military agenda. European alliances will continue to wither and more and more people around the world will start seeing America as an empire in decline.

[more]

Steve Gilliard brings us this...

I Hate to Say I Told You So.

Scott Lemmons sent this my way and I wanted to share it with you. I Hate to Say I Told You So... ...but I told you so! Now here's the thing. I'm already hearing a few people getting depressed out there (as well as a few people who aren't getting depressed). But you see -- winning this election is the worst possible thing that could happen to George. From now on, when something goes wrong, he can't blame Clinton or Daschle. He went from a 90% approval rating to just over 50% (and let's be honest, it was a lot less than 50%. Diebold machines weren't working right, votes were being suppressed. Watch foreign media for the real story in a few days, though American media won't mention it for another four years). Nothing else good will happen to the Bushites. The economy will continue to tank. Soldiers will continue to be slain in Iraq and Afghanistan. The draft will get started up. Scandal will continue to dog this administration, no matter how much the media tries to cover it up. The Plame Affair, Abu Ghraib, Gitmo, Halliburton, Enron, Diebold -- more and more revelations will come out about this stuff, and the citizenry will not react well to them. The next time there's a terrorist attack, people won't rally 'round Bush -- they'll say, "Wasn't this the guy who campaigned that he'd keep us safe?" Bush's approval ratings will drop farther and farther and farther, and more and more people will start saying, "I wish I'd voted for Kerry." I think, in two years, that Bush is going to lose both the Senate and the House. After that, I think he'll be impeached before the next election. By 2008, the GOP will be lucky if they can get a candidate who'll get 30% of the vote, and it'll be another two decades before they'll be able to convince the electorate to give them the White House again. Bush and this current incarnation of the GOP will be viewed as little better than the Dixiecrats -- wrong about everything and abandoned on the ashheap of history. Take it from a certified prophet: we're going to enjoy the next four years. The next four years were going to be hard on anyone who won. Let it be hard on Bush.

[more]

And Billmon brings us this reminder...

Four More Fears

This may be the year when we finally come face to face with ourselves; finally just lay back and say it -- that we are really just a nation of 220 million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns, and no qualms at all about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable. Hunter S. Thompson Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail November 1972

[more]