Why do I say this?
Well for one, overconfidence. The Democratic party has a recent history of obscene overconfidence. The Republicans and Karl Rove are brilliant, to treat them as anything otherwise is foolish.
Second, the perception that the Republicans are better for security was not effectively challenged. To be clear, I do not consider modern Republicans to be an effective catalyst for a safer world. However, to many Americans it is the Republicans that sent people to fight “the terrorists”, be it in Afghanistan or Iraq (many people still believe Iraq is linked to terrorism, even though it really isn’t). People might vote Republican out of a sense of need. It is like that episode of “King of the Hill” where the guys in the alley are discussing a jury trial and Bill comes out and says “I once served on a jury, we did our duty. Convicted on all counts”. Many people will disregard evidence out of a feeling of duty.
(As an aside, I believe that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats are good for security. I’ve met some hardcore Democrats believe that invading Saudi Arabia would have put a silver bullet terrorism – these are the same fellows who were complaining about gas prices, FYI.)
Finally, there is obscene gerrymandering in the US, just like up here in Quebec. It is funny to me that soccer moms march about pornography being obscene, but the systemic rigging of elections through making weird electoral boundaries is ignored. Mind you, porn is obscene; but subverting democracy is more-so. The Democrats are as guilty of this as the Republicans, but I get the feeling that the Republicans were far better at it.
I think we can all agree that even if the Democrats win, it will be a case of “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss”. In an effort to win Republican votes, the Democratic party will drift right-wards. To avoid charges of wartime political profiteering, congressional oversight will not be nearly as thorough as it probably should be. As always, political lobbyists will be welcome to offer comment on bills, and the US (and the World as a result) will continue its economic walk off a cliff.
In spite of all of that, I still do hope the Democrats win.
Comments Off
