Obama and the 2012 Election

How dare obama not leave terrorist in our malls and schools? i bet you would love to have a terrorist next door, watching you as with hate in his eyes ploting to kill hundreds if not thousand of people just like you. but hey at least he was born in america right?

@ President

What are you referring to?

This may not be the right place to post this, but oh well.
I have no idea about anything about politics right now, honestly. I don't pay too much attention to debates, and I watch the news, but I'm not particularly engaged in it. If anyone can link me to some information sites or something to inform me more about Obama and Romney, I would be grateful.
Right now, I'm doing what every other kid in my school is doing: regurgitating what my parents say. I don't argue against others with the arguments my parents propose, but I plainly state that our family supports Obama, and that's that.
It's unbelievable, though, how many kids bash Obama just because their parents don't support him. They talk about taxes and schools and the economy like they know about it, but the truth is, they don't have a clue. I don't even have a clue.

@ whomping willow.
I think disliking a candidate because your parents do is just as bad as supporting a candidate because your parents do. Both are driven by the same lack of information.

This site provides a survey, and you answer with your opinions, and it tells you which candidate most closely matches your own beliefs. It's a good place to start. You can also check out Obama and Romney's official campaign sites for their platforms (just remember they're designed to make each candidate look good). This site does a side by side comparison of their views on major issues.

Personally, I'm a strong Democrat. I am a member of my college's Young Democrats organization and proud of it. I early voted for Obama Biden, and I voted basically strictly Democrat on my entire ticket. I did this for a reason, and I am not ashamed of it. I am a student who wouldn't be able to afford school if it wasn't for government help, it doesn't mean I am less smart--I kept a 3.5 cumulative my Freshman year, and on a fast track to do the same my Sophomore year.

I am tired of Republicans screaming about how they want to cut taxes, but not talking about all the programs they want to cut or decrease funding in. So the money I won't be saving on taxes because I am a full time student can be used to pay for the cut in Pell Grants they want to give for everyone, including people who already have a pell grant. They love to scream about the good cuts they want to make, but not the horrible cuts they want to make.

On to more things I love about Democrats. They want equal rights for everyone, I love the idea of having equal rights, but I can't quite have them yet because I am not a majority by any sense of the word in America. They are cautious about the Keystone XL Pipeline; I live in Arkansas, the people around me have seen the effects that fracking can have on our state and states around us--yet it's just another way to get more oil...at the expense of the middle of the US. They stand up for Women's issues like abortion rights and the right to be able to afford birth control; I am a Pro-Choice person, I love the fact that women should be able to chose, I would never chose abortion, but I'd like to be able to if I wanted to. My body doesn't belong to the United States, it belongs to me. People like to think that they would care if someone got an abortion, but the truth of the matter is that people get abortions all the time and we don't cry/mourn each time one happens. The mother has to live with that decision--not you.

Sure Democrats aren't perfect, by any sense of the word...but I would rather have a Democrat in office than a Republican. I want someone who is at least going to try to fight for whats right for everyone, and be everyone's president--not just the extremely wealthy businessmen.

@ AmandaAdenine
Not all Democrats want equal rights for everyone. Not all are pro-choice and not all are pro-gay marriage. Some are against abortion and some are against gay marriage/prefer civil unions.

Not saying the Democrats are bad, but they differ and do not all have the same beliefs.

I vote Democrat, but honestly I think they're not liberal enough and need to grow a pair in regards to certain shit.

I'm really miffed that the the UAW isn't holding their press conference to announce Romney's ethics violations until Thursday. They should have done it last week before the election so that voters would be aware of the sleazy shit he pulled with bailout money (that is so vehemently against!)

Also, I thought this was a good article about the possibility of a popular vote/electoral college split this election.

In other news, it's raining cats and dogs here, but I decided not wanting to get my hair wet would be a bad reason not to vote. Rainboots and jacket on, I'm off to the polls!

Ready to start watching the polling results come in.

I think I'm more concerned about the possibility of Todd Akin becoming my senator than anything else.

Obama re-elected.

I'm freaking excited. I didn't particularily favor either of them, but I just had bad gut feelings about Romney. I mean, when your home state and the state you were governor in were against you, to me that just screams something is up. Then in the case of Obama, Bill Clinton was on his side, and while I was a bit too young to really be knowledgable of his presidency, I've heard he was one of the best. I've heard things about Romney that I didn't like: IE: Wanting to get rid of FEMA. Calling 47% of Americans lazy and dependant on the government. Hearing that in the last debate on foreign policy, he didn't mention the veterans, and being a veteran myself, that just tells me that he doesn't care about our military and those people sacrificing their time and their lives.

People want to bash Obama for not getting us out of the recession in the last four years. Honestly, I believe that is something that is done over years upon years. I don't believe that is something that can be done in four years. it takes more time.

In my honest opinion, presidential elections are based on who lies less (because we all know that politicians will do anything to get votes) Obama isn't perfect, no other president was perfect, but I just believe in Obama, and I'm really glad he was re-elected.

I'm excited beyond belief that this man is being re-elected. I've supported so many of his actions and they mean a lot to me.

I love that he sees women as equals and deserve equal pay, I love that he supports our right to choose. I love that he supports the marriage between to people of the same sex. I love that he wants to help college students with their funds. I love that he was involved in taking down Osama Bin Laden. I just love him and believe he is a great man for President.

I don't know what I would have done if Romney would have been elected. It honestley terrified me because he was so unsure of his views that it wasn't even funny.

I seriously want to shed tears of joy right now because of this victory. Congratulations, President Obama! Four more years of this amazing man! Four more years of moving forward!

I'm so happy and feel so lucky to not have to worry about all the shit that would happen had it gone the other way. My boyfriend's parents are misinformed Republicans and they were upset, but I'm hoping the next four years shows them that Obama was the right choice. They are small business owners and they will do a lot better with a president who wants them to succeed rather than a president who wants to squash them for the big competition.

I am so glad Obama was re-elected. I was so worried that Romney would be our next president.

My parents are Republicans to the extreme, and went to bed early last night (they have to wake up at 4am) while I stayed up to watch the election. Needless to say they had a really bad morning. They don't know I am Liberatarian. (I'd like to avoid telling them until I move out, haha)

Okay, so I have a question. I've lived my whole life in Mexico and I know everything about electoral laws here, but I know very little from the U.S.

How can a president win without the popular vote? That's just new to me

@ sobre mi cadaver
Because it's not the popular vote that counts; it's the electoral votes.

So like say Romney overall got more votes--but let's say all those votes were from people in states with smaller populations (and thus less electoral votes). So even if he got millions and millions of votes and won lots of small states, he'd only get, for example, 200 electoral votes.

Then say overall fewer people voted for Obama, but those votes were from states with lots of electoral votes, like Cali and New York. So even if he got less votes overall, as long as he wins those states with high populations, even if it's by the tiniest margin, he can easily get 270+ electoral votes.

And that's the main reason people hate the electoral college; it's totally undemocratic and unrepresentative. For example, let's say 49% of people in California voted Republican, the other 51% voted Democrat. Even though it's clear that nearly half the population wants the Republican, all 55 of Cali's electoral votes would go to the Democrat.

That's why candidates freak out about Ohio, Florida, etc. They're states with lots of electoral votes, but they can very easily go for either party.

I hope any of that made sense or helped at all. I'm terrible at explaining but I can answer any specific questions. The whole system is really, really, really stupid, tbh.

chai latte:

@ sobre mi cadaver
Because it's not the popular vote that counts; it's the electoral votes.

So like say Romney overall got more votes--but let's say all those votes were from people in states with smaller populations (and thus less electoral votes). So even if he got millions and millions of votes and won lots of small states, he'd only get, for example, 200 electoral votes.

Then say overall fewer people voted for Obama, but those votes were from states with lots of electoral votes, like Cali and New York. So even if he got less votes overall, as long as he wins those states with high populations, even if it's by the tiniest margin, he can easily get 270+ electoral votes.

And that's the main reason people hate the electoral college; it's totally undemocratic and unrepresentative. For example, let's say 49% of people in California voted Republican, the other 51% voted Democrat. Even though it's clear that nearly half the population wants the Republican, all 55 of Cali's electoral votes would go to the Democrat.

That's why candidates freak out about Ohio, Florida, etc. They're states with lots of electoral votes, but they can very easily go for either party.

I hope any of that made sense or helped at all. I'm terrible at explaining but I can answer any specific questions. The whole system is really, really, really stupid, tbh.

Thanks! That did make sense. In Mexico is simply by popular vote; you get the majority of votes, you win. It doesn't matter if they come from Mexico City or from a small pueblo in Yucatán, the votes count. Of course, Mexico is beyond corrupt and there are bribes, threats, burning of electoral urns that hold the votes, wiping off an entire city/town/pueblo's votes because they don't favor a particular candidate. So, even if there's more of a democratic system, it really is not democratic at all.

@ sobre mi cadaver
No problem!
Yeah, while I do think the electoral college system helps deter that kind of corruption, I still think it's very flawed, wayyy too convoluted, and undemocratic. I think it also discourages a lot of people from voting because they feel like their vote doesn't matter (especially those in deep red/deep blue states), which is unfortunate because voting is supposed to be this powerful symbolic thing and this rite of passage.

I'm really not a fan of presidential systems at all, though. I wish we had a parliamentary or at least semi-presidential system.

I heard in Australia (yesterday) that citizens rate candidates from 1-10. And it helps against the two-party system. I liked that.

dru will wait.:

I heard in Australia (yesterday) that citizens rate candidates from 1-10. And it helps against the two-party system. I liked that.

I wouldn't want to vote in preferential voting, because if I don't like certain candidates, I shouldn't be forced to rank one of them higher when neither represents me. I don't see what's Democratic about that. Ranking only comes into play (if I understand correctly) when no candidate has a majority. (In which case, the last place candidate is eliminated and the ballots redistributed). But, we might need an Aussie to explain that better.



I'm imagining this in my state, where we had one legitimate Democratic Senator running. Everyone else was Republican, and it looked like Claire McCaskill was going to lose most of the race (until Todd Akin screwed up...). Under this system, I would have voted for McCaskill as my first choice... and if she didn't have a majority (which without "legitimate rape," she would have lost), my vote then would have counted as a tie breaker between some Republicans who don't represent me at all.

I understand the idea of not wanting votes to be "wasted," but as a liberal living in a conservative state, after I vote for the Democratic candidate, there is no one else who represents me and I'm fine with my vote going to a losing candidate.

And I think preferential voting is more designed to allow competition within a party, rather than promote many parties, because Australia does have a two party system with the Labor Party and Liberal/National Coalition, though it might be more flexible than ours. Another name for how they vote is "two-party preferred vote," because it assumes two parties will end up with the most votes. They have other parties like we do in America, but they don't make up a significant part of the government (Ie, how we have Independent Senators in a two party system).

@ Kurtni
I just assumed you could stop at a certain point, like I didn't have to fill out the ballot on things I didn't know/didn't want to vote on (like the unopposed Republican candidates running for two offices).

@ dru will wait.
I think it depends on what you're voting for but in full preferential elections you have to number each box to make your ballot count. I think full preferential is used for Australia's House of Representatives election.

The only place I would really like this style of voting would be in Democratic/Republican primaries, because you're not officially electing someone, just trying to find the most universal candidate for the party.