Election update, the day after

At least we delivered Pennsylvania for Kerry. Turns out my predictions were right. My eyes weren't deceiving me, and the turnout in Southeast PA was mammoth in favor of the Dems, and sent Kerry on to easy victory. I also have been thinking all along that Bush would eek out a win nationally. I was hoping against hope that wouldn't be true, as it seemed like Kerry had some momentum and was well within striking distance, and when the early exit polls came out, the hope was turning into something more than hope. And then, right around when Bush suddenly invited the press corps into the White House living room for a phony royal family photo op, I felt a twisting in the gut. They weren't going to let this one slip away. They started spinning how the exit polls were wrong, and then the Florida and Ohio counts tipped the balance in Bush's favor. So it was like they taunted us with the sweet smell of success, only to gobble it, a shit eating grin pasted on their face. So it's over. So it goes. This morning I pulled the yard sign up. It's over. For real.

The only positive I can take from this election is the turnout. A lot of people on both sides participated in the elections, and the system "seems" to have functioned better, although it wouldn't surprise me to see stories begin leaking out. I hope the journalists and bloggers do their job and dig at the truth like they always should. But that's it. It's a clear majority for Bush, to the tune of 3.5 million. The people have spoken. There's no spinning that.

In blue state America, we must acknowledge the reality: Republicans are the majority party now and will remain so for a long time. If we couldn't kick out a president with a track record as botched and blemished as this one, there is no hope for a viable alternative. Fear (as I had feared) has trumped hope. America has said yes to deception, propaganda, fear mongering, torture, agression, surveillance, cowboy diplomacy, theocratic policy making, and the cause and irrationality of expanding empire. Welcome my friends, welcome to the ownership society.

Get a whiff of the air. Can't you feel the country tipping? Can't you feel the heat from those gay hating, gun wielding red states? I heard them today everywhere I went, gloating, chanting, pumping fists. They're out there, even in our blue states. And they're dead serious about holding onto this country, their God, and their tax cuts.