2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumI must ask, what are those who worried warted and handrung over the election thinking now?
Worry worry worry. WASTE ENERGY WASTE ENERGY WASTE ENERGY is more like it. PISS on Debbie Downerism. Show STRENGTH !
Show CONFIDENCE ! Show GUTS ! Show BACKBONE ! It was so SHITTY having to hear all that negative CRAP before the election.
People wetting themselves when every damn real predictive model out there showed us beating the MittTwit. I hope no one wasted so much energy that they didn't GOTV when they should have. The Re-SCUM-LICK-UNS need to learn a lesson from this election, but with all due respect, so do the Debbie Downers who wasted so much time and energy Debbie Downing on this forum.
PS: I know the MAJORITY here DID NOT Debbie Downer over anything, and thanks for that, and THANKS to all you wonderful Dems who campaigned and donated and VOTED. GREAT WORK !!
still_one
(92,358 posts)Line for hours, due to the extraordinary effort by some in the Republican Party to suppress their vote, things would be much different
We owe much to those folks. The country owes much to those folks
I must ask, how long did you stand in line to vote?
RBInMaine
(13,570 posts)long lines, and yes the Pukes did their voter ID shenanigans, etc. BUT, we were also prepared for it, stood up to it, and had the ground CRAWLING with lawyers. You need to grow a spine and have confidence. Also, in Maine they RePUKES tried to pass voter suppression laws, and we CRUSHED them LAST YEAR at the voting booth with a people's referendum on it AND we just took back the legislature.
I love the state of Florida and those other states, but in places like FL, OH, and PA, Dems stayed home and whined and bitched in 2010 over purity, and the TeaFucks got in. So elections have consequences. They need to get the fuck out and VOTE next time so these vote suppression motherfuckers don't get it. Mobilize and toss these fuckers out of state level office. THAT is the solution.
still_one
(92,358 posts)Glad you find it easy on those folks, because, they put up with a hell of a lot more than I had to, and I suspect than you did also
That is what makes their sacrifice extraordinary. ( even though The Perez didn't need them) then again, that is what made Dade County and Cleveland voters extra-extraordinary; some of them stayed in line LATE into the night, even though it was long called for The President. They didn't care, they wanted their voice to be heard.
I know this is off subject, certainly I didn't enjoy the anxious, but what the voters that night did was not normal human behavior, it could have been expected.
ProudProgressiveNow
(6,129 posts)Richardo
(38,391 posts)In a way, I'm like Rove - I'm flabbergasted they let Obama have Ohio. Florida too for that matter. I'm HAPPY, but amazed.
I felt Obama would win, but I had 276 as my likely scenario.
RBInMaine
(13,570 posts)Sekhmets Daughter
(7,515 posts)And you are overlooking the value of the Debbie Downers out there. Every time you read a downer post, your own determination was strengthened. Every time a downer worried about turnout, or rigged voting machines or voter suppression, others became even more invigorated. Frankly, I was amazed when DUers jumped on the worry warts amongst us. If your convictions are so fragile they can't stand up to scrutiny, what does that say about you? (I am using the pronoun in the general sense, not the personal) The Romney campaign believed they were going to win because they never took into account the polls that showed Romney trailed in all of the swing states but one. Had they been more worried and worked harder to change those polling results instead of believing they were wrong, this election might have had a very different result. The Obama campaign was full of Debbie Downers, but they kept they anxiety hidden from public view, geared up, doubled down on turnout and won. DU is not a public forum in the sense of the national media...so this should be a safe place for the worriers to vent their anxieties.
qwlauren35
(6,148 posts)I was a Debbie Downer. Still am. 47% of the American people voted against our President. That's a HUGE number. 20% of all Americans hate Michelle. I think that speaks to the number of staunch racists we have. After all, what's to hate... except her race? We are still a divided nation. We still have a majority of Republicans in the House.
It will still be uphill every step of the way. We needed a majority in the House. Maybe in 2014.
And in 2014, I will campaign. Just as I put in my many hours this time. And I put in MANY hours. And kept my negativity away from my volunteers. And coached them on how to flip voters, how to stay positive, how to encourage our supporters. My negativity may have manifested here, but I also felt that this was a safe space. And for the most part, a place to find comfort when I needed comfort, encouragement when I needed encouragement, and even sometimes answers.
And I tried to ignore those who were angered by my negativity.
I am a Debbie Downer by nature. It drives me. I don't believe I got an A until I see it on the paper. It keeps me from being disappointed. An electoral landslide is not the same as a popular landslide. Our president did not have a popular landslide. Frankly, I think he got lucky, and had a shitty opponent. No matter what he inherited, the economy isn't that great, and if the other candidate had actually had a sound plan, we would have lost. It's not normal for presidents to win a second term when the economy sucks.
So, I appreciate your kindness toward us Debbie Downers. It takes all kinds to make a world. As long as we contribute, give money, volunteer, vote, make a difference, it should not matter how we feel in private. So, I stand by my view that the president had a battle to win. But with 8 million volunteers, 10 million contributors and the majority of votes, he did win. In the end, that's all that really matters.
Sekhmets Daughter
(7,515 posts)Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)And both have been from what can only be called "the bog".
I suggest you all stop trying to start a fight.
Squinch
(50,990 posts)And Rove's weird outburst, and Husted's leaving his post at 10pm on election night shows us that we had some reason to fear another theft of Ohio.
RBInMaine
(13,570 posts)Squinch
(50,990 posts)RBInMaine
(13,570 posts)still_one
(92,358 posts)Cha
(297,503 posts)LiberalLoner
(9,762 posts)madinmaryland
(64,933 posts)It just gave us all even more motivation to donate, volunteer, GOTV, etc., to get even more democrats elected.
still_one
(92,358 posts)madinmaryland
(64,933 posts)RBInMaine
(13,570 posts)madinmaryland
(64,933 posts)vote, you were not the least bit concerned about the possible results??
To say that I was concerned about all of that makes me part of paranoid fringe, is in and of itself quite bizarre.
LiberalLoner
(9,762 posts)patricia92243
(12,598 posts)During the first of the results - when Romney was ahead - I was cringing in fear.
RBInMaine
(13,570 posts)onecent
(6,096 posts)Sounds like someone just wanted to beat up on someone today...
Jeff In Milwaukee
(13,992 posts)It's all right for people to be worried. If you're a woman, a loss by Obama might have meant a loss of your basic human rights. Pissing on people for being legitimately concerned is not exactly a productive use of your time.
Many of those people who were worried about the outcome of the election were out there working just as hard.
LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)and I worried. You don't like it? TOO BAD!
LiberalLoner
(9,762 posts)BlueDemKev
(3,003 posts)I just hope that average Americans will finally reject the extremism and childish attitude of the far right in this country instead of being suckered in by it.
alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)These people have mental issues that they're working out in public. There's little more that can be said about the handwringing posse than that. They're engaging in a very weird and self-destructive form of group therapy.
They have no ability to reflect on themselves. If Obama lost, they were right. If Obama wins, they were helpful and their interlocutors are still the ones with "blind faith" or some similar nonsense. It's a personality disorder.
Silent3
(15,257 posts)Romney's loss totally blindsided a great many of Romney's supporters. Apparently even Romney himself foolishly bought into the notion that his winning was inevitable.
I will agree that some people worry way too much, some people destructively wallow in doubt and fear.
I will not agree, however, that the only correct way to behave is putting up a front of unalloyed confidence and bravado. I'm sick to death of the cult of positive thinking, the idea that somehow unrelenting optimism and confidence magically produces positive outcomes, that "real" winners never admit that they could possibly lose, never express any doubts or fears.
LiberalLoner
(9,762 posts)Firebirds01
(576 posts)Oh, you mean like the Republicans did when they showed nothing BUT confidence right down to when Ohio was called for Obama? Sorry, but "worrying" about something is actually bringing a problem to light and then addressing the problem before it does any damage. I guess we could just be confident and not give a shit about voter suppression or pull numbers. Let me know how ignoring the facts works out for you in the future.
Firebirds01
(576 posts)great, thanks, we appreciate it.
Do we really need yet another posts that does nothing but shit on the DU community. The topic and the responses here are just going to incite a flame war on DU. What is the point of this thread other than to piss people off and start a fight.
Cool, you were perfect while others worried a bit. Where should we send the trophy?
LiberalLoner
(9,762 posts)pnwest
(3,266 posts)I had every confidence in the world that everything was going our way, and most signs pointed to Prezizzle prevailing. I also had every confidence that "they" knew it too, were scared shitless, and were highly motivated to lie, cheat and steal it right out from under our noses. I mean, they've proven it can be done. My lack of blind naivete makes me a debbiedowner? Whatthefuckever, dude.
ladjf
(17,320 posts)apprehensions on the DU as I feared it might, in some small way, harm the President's
changes. But don't rule worriers like me out. We are just as pleased over the election results as everyone else.
flamingdem
(39,316 posts)This is Saturday morning quarterbacking to some extent. Plus, there was evidence of vote tampering and suppression that created a reminder of two previously stolen elections.
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)I will never apologize for taking into consideration ALL angles and aspects.
flamingdem, you sight a perfect example, 2010, of why the good, bad and ugly angles need to be taken into account, considered, contemplated and debated. Pukes, Baggers, Haters and the Limp Media cannot be trusted...hell, the Happy-Sunshine Chitty-Chat among us us, cannot be trusted (anyone remember reading the book about the original Braniff Airlines and their demise? Suffice to say, those Happy-Sunshine reports to the President of the company [the minions were afraid to tell the truth] DOOMED the carrier...got it!?!). The glass half full and the glass half empty need to be honestly discussed. Anything else spells doom. Even we Dems, Libs and Progressives have lazies and sheepeople.
You can never let up, until the final song has been sung.
Take back the House in 2014! And...take back thousands of state/local positions too!
frazzled
(18,402 posts)It is a catalyst for action. I worried in 2008 (even though polls showed Obama well ahead) and I worried this time (despite consulting Nate Silver six times a day). Worrying this election season is what got me to donate more money than I could really afford, and to man the phone banks for Iowa and Wisconsin in the final week of the race.
The Republicans should have worried more. They believed their own hype and were left holding the bag on election night. Their crowing and fake confidence probably kept people who otherwise might have voted home, so certain they were that their guy would win.
I worry about everything. I'm already worried my turkey will be too dry on Thanksgiving. And though it never has been, this worry will make me focus on brining and basting to perfection. I like to worry (within reason). It can be a helpful prod.
lunamagica
(9,967 posts)Although I didn't post much, and was mostly optimistic, I'd get those panic attacks... what if, what if, what if...
Cal it Gore and Kerry PTSD. Those were awful times, and the wounds are not fully healed.
Floyd_Gondolli
(1,277 posts)There's at least one thread that states the only reason we won was because the pukes botched the theft in Ohio. The evidence of this is found in Ann Romneys hairstyle on election night, they say.
cthulu2016
(10,960 posts)Good work.
EmeraldCityGrl
(4,310 posts)Jennicut
(25,415 posts)Be aware but be confident. It is how to be a winner. And Obama and co are winners.
Evergreen Emerald
(13,069 posts)Jeeze
bhunt70
(1,944 posts)Who cares if people worried? They voted and it was decided. Why make a post to tell people how much energy they wasted? If you didn't want to read it before the election, you should have skipped the thread.