2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumSandy has ended the 2012 campaign.
Last edited Tue Oct 30, 2012, 07:53 PM - Edit history (1)
Any attempt at partisan leaveraging will only ignite a blow back.
It is sucking all of the oxygen out of the MSM. FOX News turned into a comedy central skit when they tried to continue to interview the father of the slain contractor from Libya with the pictures of the storm running in the background. It reeks of desperation.
More importantly it shows that government in fact, is not the problem, and is often a key part of the answer.
Christie isn't stupid. There are certain times when you pack up the partisan positions and actually get down to governance. In reinforcing his position he is also reinforcing Obama's position. He is also making any other partisan response against the President impossible.
There isn't going to be any great issue emerge in the last hours of the campaign, the campaign which has gone on for what seems to be 10 years to me, is effectively over.
Now it is all about getting out the vote and getting the votes counted.
Edited to add
JRLeft's great thread has this photo that makes my point better than I can. You cannot go from this back to the hate filled vitriol of the Republicans between now and election day. Also there will be dozens of stories that will be taking us, thankfully, away from the dreary tedious talking heads blathering about the election.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251191711#post25
PsychProfessor
(204 posts)It is truly as if the campaign has ended but no one told Romney. There is every sign that it is over. Yes, Christie's statements, the fact that there will be very few polls left to report, the fact that President Obama is seeing us through this disaster, being the President that he is and will be. Romney's actions look and feel embarrassing because it feels like he is walking around like he is in a different universe. All that is left is the voting and counting.
NYtoBush-Drop Dead
(490 posts)Christie will be endorsing the President.
tavalon
(27,985 posts)but Romney doesn't listen to the help.
courseofhistory
(801 posts)this would be a good post to make go viral.
You can send to the list at the "Resource Thread" and you could add your sources/links to that thread to help make it go viral. I have been posting some good threads from here to the list.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251190179
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)SleeplessinSoCal
(8,948 posts)libdem4life
(13,877 posts)the superstar he is ...and Governer Christie just began his 2016 campaign.
Wasn't Christie the RNC speaker that only mentioned Romney's name twice in his speech and used 'I' many many times? lol
libdem4life
(13,877 posts)Cosmocat
(14,535 posts)This has been my position since late Sunday.
It will suck the air (Sandy herself, then the aftermath) of out of any of the remaining viable campaigning.
Also, despite the mind numbing bad news for dems/good news for reps bullshit spin the media has to put to things, most assuredly is NOT good news for Romney, who IS behind electorally and is NOT bad news for the Barrack Obama ("well, gee, uh, he ugh, he has, exposure, yeah, uh risk, you see" who will do what he does, roll up his sleeves and do his job, and look like the ROCK President he is.
Faith9326
(304 posts)And I definitely didn't see it coming.
msongs
(67,128 posts)Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)Blub.
Blub, blub, blub.
FOUR MORE YEARS.
Texas Lawyer
(350 posts)about FEMA and the Obama administration's response to the storm reflect two facts:
(1) he sees the storm as his opportunity to "Giuliani" his name to the front of the GOP 2016 list, and
(2) Christi 2016 has begun because he knows that Romney is not going to win.
Liberalynn
(7,549 posts)MichiganVote
(21,086 posts)adigal
(7,581 posts)and a strong FEMA. Maybe. We can hope.
blazeKing
(329 posts)Shows how desperate he is right now.
uwbadgerdem
(40 posts)There's nothing to like about Mitt the Hoople. Nothing.
NICO9000
(970 posts)Please don't equate one of the greatest rock bands of the 20th Century with the greatest douche bag candidate of all time!
uwbadgerdem
(40 posts)I did not mean to insult Mott the Hoople. FWIW, post has been alerted as abuse.
Blanks
(4,835 posts)uwbadgerdem
(40 posts)I will now sit down and shut up!
Blanks
(4,835 posts)I hope you stick around.
RevStPatrick
(2,208 posts)My friend is Ian Hunter's son, and they are both very nice people.
Mittens is so fucking pathetic, he might actually be in a league of his own.
Zen Democrat
(5,901 posts)uwbadgerdem
(40 posts)I'm a newbie and certainly did not mean to insult anyone. I will "self alert" this so that my account can be removed (would do it another way but I can't find such a mechanism under the "account" tab.
For what it's worth I like Mott the Hoople... just thought this was funny because Mitt almost certainly would NOT.
C-ya and good luck!!
tavalon
(27,985 posts)One misstep and some overly sensitive people. Just blow it off.
SomeGuyInEagan
(1,515 posts)For this - *THIS* - some folks here are actually voting to tombstone you? Seriously?!
Don't remove yourself. It was posted in jest, the replies were respectful (I doubt they are the ones who voted to remove you, from reading their responses) and your replies to them respectful.
Some folks here get insulted if you say, "Have a nice day." I likely offended somebody named Pete (or knows a Pete or feels they need to represent all Petes not represented) with my use of the phrase, "Oh, for Pete's sake" in the title.
Stick around, enjoy the ride, learn and contribute.
DrummerMan
(23 posts)will be because of the very ugly anti-democratic voter suppression strategies of the GOP. If it's a real election, Obama will win it hands down.
renate
(13,776 posts)That is really my biggest fear at this point--the hacking of the vote and the suppression of the vote.
Glad you're here!
Divine Discontent
(21,056 posts)oh wait, I mean, DU! I sometimes play like I'm Ricardo Montalban from time to time...
Get it here -> http://www.zazzle.com/youre_not_in_the_1_why_vote_like_you_are_bumpe_bumper_sticker-128479630785214922?rf=238107662556833486
cliffordu
(30,994 posts)We need more pictures of Romney with canned goods.
In Ohio.
He could singlehandedly get the Prez re-elected.
central scrutinizer
(11,609 posts)look like water circling a giant drain - a perfect metaphor for the Rmoney campaign
Marthe48
(16,564 posts)was a perfect picture to describe the Mitt campaign!
craigmatic
(4,510 posts)He probably knows NJ isn't a swing state so there would be little mittens could do to win over the state and would only get in the way. Also I don't think Christie thinks mittens can win and doesn't want to share the spotlight so he can look good for 2016.
Inuca
(8,945 posts)Christie is just trying to do his job.
Maximumnegro
(1,134 posts)He knew what he was saying. He could just as easily given a terse thank you to the president and moved on to discussing how he's handling NJ. Make no mistake he was deliberately cutting Romney off at the knees.
CTyankee
(63,708 posts)cooperation and would offer him what he wanted (primarily, I believe, because Obama truly wanted to save the people of NJ but also because he would shine in the effort). Obama was canny enough to know that this was in large part Christie's designs on 2016. Obama was willing to let Christie further his political ambitions through him because Obama looks selfless doing it.
The MSM helped out enormously by playing Mitt's remarks on FEMA over and over and over, relentlessly. Everybody gets the message.
calimary
(80,521 posts)THANK GOD!!!!
CTyankee
(63,708 posts)any politician who is their victim!
Romney has been condemned as an Enemy of the People again and again and again in the eyes of the people and it ain't good. His campaign staff must be in acute agony right about now....
-LOKI -BAD FOR YA
(308 posts)davidn3600
(6,342 posts)Lets not lose focus here. Sandy was a category 1 hurricane. That's the weakest hurricane on the scale. This was no Katrina. This was no Andrew. Florida and Louisiana deal with these cat 1 storms like Sandy every year and they don't skip a beat. I understand the northeast ain't used to this. But it's ludicrous the way some people are talking about things like delaying elections and such.
For 95% of the country. It's business as usual today. And tomorrow 97% will be business as usual.
TomClash
(11,344 posts)That's why we never complain when our tax dollars are used to help. Every year.
That said, there won't be a need to delay elections here.
Maximumnegro
(1,134 posts)Maybe you missed it but Sandy is NOT just a hurricane. Actually your post is so mindnumbingly dumb it's not worth trying to correct it except to speak for the NE (and midwest) and say STFU. Thanks.
onecent
(6,096 posts)an election. People will not be back to work at 97% tomorrow in New York.
davidn3600
(6,342 posts)You have no idea what you are talking about. Katrina killed 1800+ people. Entire towns were underwater and coastlines were not just damaged, they were completely wiped away. The geography was altered.
Sandy is nowhere near as devastating as Katrina. I witnessed Katrina's devastation. Trust me, it was far worse than this. FAR worse.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)the high number of fatalities?
Not meaning to take away from your larger point (that Katrina was worse), but trying to situate the fatalities in the proper context.
OldDem2012
(3,526 posts)...Where did all of that water come from....outer space??
tavalon
(27,985 posts)Hurricanes usually weaken more than she is after hitting landfall. They are apples and oranges but they will both be remembered.
ieoeja
(9,748 posts)There is no way federal response to this was 100% perfect. By Thursday the Rightist noise machine will have manufactured some scandal based on a tidbit. If nothing else they will claim the response is too slow or could be done better.
Look at Benghazi. From what I can tell, Washington's response there *was* 100% perfect. Hasn't stopped the Rightists from making shit up about it.
bluedigger
(17,073 posts)It isn't even over yet. But you are correct in that it will have little impact on the election itself.
ashtonelijah
(340 posts)Sandy is horrible. It's tragic and too many lives have been lost.
But I saw my whole coast here in Mississippi annihilated. A woman who my mom grew up with was washed away into the ocean and her body wasn't found for a month. I saw bodies lining the streets in my favorite city in the South, NOLA, and a federal government that allowed over a thousand, including about 300 in my state of Miss, to die. Category 3, wiped out my coastline, drowned an entire city.
No, this isn't worse just because its right before an election. Don't try to quantify tragedies.
bluedigger
(17,073 posts)A tragedy is always absolute to a survivor. Sorry you had to go through that. I spent four years at FEMA's TRO in New Orleans and saw a lot of grief - it never really goes away. Don't tell me not to quantify a tragedy by using numbers to make your case that your tragedy was worse. Monetary damages are every bit as legitimate a measurement as any other. And Sandy will be at the top of that list, hopefully for a very long time.
whopis01
(3,463 posts)Not even in the top couple hurricanes.
I am not trying to say that it isn't serious and won't cause huge amounts of damage. But it just won't come close to some others.
Estimates right now are around $20Bn in damages from Sandy. Katrina caused roughly $81Bn in 2005 ($95Bn in today's dollars).
ashtonelijah
(340 posts)That's exactly my point. The numbers I used would suggest Katrina is worse. But numbers can never tell the story of an individuals tragedy and grief. The loss of one person I truly love is indeed worse for me than the loss of 10,000 others.
Point is, I could easily make an argument for Katrina being worse using quantities. But I recognize that numbers can never account for the complexity of human tragedy. Besides, we got a lot of help from Northeastern states during our tragedy, so I can't try to downplay their tragedy to have the greatest claim on it here.
It's just wrong, period. An American tragedy is an American tragedy whether it happens here in Mississippi or in New York.
Floyd_Gondolli
(1,277 posts)At least for those of us that don't equate the loss of flat screen TVs, cars and homes with the loss of human life.
Katrina was also a cultural tragedy in that it affected one race disproportionately. I don't see that with Sandy, bad as it is.
Tree-Hugger
(3,363 posts)Your comment obviously has no basis in reality. A regular category 1 hurricane isn't exactly a walk in the park and this storm was way more than a regular category 1 hurricane. Why don't you go tell all the people along the New Jersey coast, Long Island, Staten Island, NYC, Connecticut coast who have lost their homes, businesses and their loved ones and the millions who are without power that this was "only" a category 1 and no big deal. Ass.
Marthe48
(16,564 posts)The entire storm system covered over a million square miles. Over 50 million people felt the same wind, got the same rain from this storm. We voted yesterday in case our part of Ohio got hit worse than it did. We got hit by the derecho in July and it took us weeks to get ourselves back to something like normal. I think it'll take longer for the people directly in the path of Sandy, just because there are so many more people facing damage, loss of property, and worse.
morningfog
(18,115 posts)OldDem2012
(3,526 posts)...it equivalent to a very strong Category 3 hurricane. Category 3 hurricanes usually fall into a pressure range of 945964 millibars.
Additionally, you have to factor in the forward speed of Sandy as it approached the coast....a speed that increased to 28 mph as it made landfall. That means that the wind speed on the northern quadrant of the storm was approximately 115-120 as it made landfall with much higher gusts. That's equivalent to a Category 3 storm as well.
Finally, you have to factor in the immense size of Sandy. The damage from this storm was spread over a very large coastal area, much larger than your average run-of-the mile Category 1 storm.
It's truly amazing how some people try to make light of a situation that is very bad for the people affected by it. Maybe you should take some time and look at some of the video and pics coming out this morning and then tell us what you think about Sandy.
mwooldri
(10,291 posts)In terms of size of the storm, IMO it is unprecedented. I've been here 13years now in NC and I have seen these storms. I witnessed the Great Storm of 1987 when I grew up in England, a Cat 1 equivalent storm hit the south coast. That took a while to recover from. Delaying elections is possible and IMO in certain cases it might be a good idea to postpone elections in some areas and no numbers to be released state wide until everyone who has the opportunity to vote can. That said, I expect the general election on Tuesday took run ok, even if it means moving voting places.
adigal
(7,581 posts)Weather Underground talked about this, over and over. It had the potential of a 5.8 out of a 6 for surge damage, higher than Katrina. It devastated the Jersey shore. My brother and sister cannot get onto Long Beach Island to see if their houses are there at all for at least 10 days. Mantoloking and parts of lavalette are gone. Seaside Heights - parts are gone These people will be in shelters or living elsewhere on election day
It may well affect the numbers in New Jersey.
johnlucas
(1,250 posts)The campaign is over. Simple as that.
John Lucas
MynameisBlarney
(2,979 posts)I don't think he was trying to make himself look good for 2016.
It looked to me like he was actually concerned only with New Jersey and her residents, and disgusted by the person asking about photo ops with Romney.
But...I could be wrong.
LP2K12
(885 posts)ProudProgressiveNow
(6,127 posts)Inuca
(8,945 posts)Romney ignores questions about eliminating FEMA
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/10/30/romney-ignores-questions-about-eliminating-fema/
Karma... the bitchy one...
freedom fighter jh
(1,782 posts)Climate change.
At the Republican National Convention, Romney mocked Obama for having promised to slow the rise of the oceans. The Republicans laughed.
Even they probably don't think it's funny today.
Sandy is a wake-up call to climate change. Maybe, just maybe, Sandy got a message through to some of those Republican climate change deniers. And maybe it's gotten through to Democrats who are concerned about climate change but just don't think it's important enough to do anything about.
Marthe48
(16,564 posts)other storms in recent years, too, but Sandy is an eye-opener--waves washing out beaches on the East Coast, 30 foot waves on the Great Lakes from the same storm.
freedom fighter jh
(1,782 posts)with Irene, folks were saying no one event could be attributed to climate change, only trends.
Not anymore. The warm ocean, warmer than ever before, fueled the storm. Direct line from warmer temps to wilder weather.
I want to say this is the new normal, but the reality, I fear, is worse. The new normal is summers getting hotter and hotter and hurricanes get stronger and stronger. It's not just the change; the trend continues.
grantcart
(53,061 posts)freedom fighter jh
(1,782 posts)generation's survival comes to the fore.
Certainly there are people, like Sandy refugees, who have more immediate issues to deal with. But even in their emergency circumstances they may see the wisdom of working toward a future that doesn't include a whole lot more Sandys.
nichomachus
(12,754 posts)Anyone who hasn't made up their minds at this point is insignificant and probably not going to vote anyway.
What's going on now are GOTV efforts -- and those are local anyway.
grantcart
(53,061 posts)Kurovski
(34,655 posts)K&R
madrchsod
(58,162 posts)Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts)The campaign isn't over and no votes have been counted yet.
Sandy didn't end a damned thing!
Although Rachel won't reply to my e-mails about the horrendous bullshit concerning Nate Silver's oddball method of polling analysis, the fact that this storm happened doesn't end the campaign.
Not for me nor for you, because there are literally 100s of Democratic Representatives out there running for Congress that we need to support and vote for.
We have to take back control of the House of Representatives this year.
I think that we're going to do just that.
And there are also dozens of Democratic Senators out there that we need to support and vote for.
We need to keep control of the Senate and increase our majority this year.
I think that we're going to do that, as well.
Although I understand what you're saying, it just doesn't hold up under scrutiny.
I hate to say it, but you're wrong.
That's what friends are for.
They're the only ones who will tell you that you are wrong, when you're wrong.
Maximumnegro
(1,134 posts)and the Depends needs changing. Stat.
Raine1967
(11,589 posts)Seriously.
Posts like this make DU suck.
Maximumnegro
(1,134 posts)and negative motivational posts. Well good for you. Some of us believe you can actually be confident and win at the same time. It's 7 days from the election. SEVEN. DAYS. If someone is unable to to accept the fact that the president is poised to win without resorting to negative motivation or peeking out from beneath the sheets then they are not in fact getting out the vote. There's a reason polls consistently find Dem enthusiasm to lag behind Republican enthususiasm and that post is a great example why.
2000 and 2004 are over and gone. It's time for this party to learn to win with confidence.
grantcart
(53,061 posts)It will be subdued and if the Republicans try to ratchet up an angry campaign tone no one will listen to it, it will just fall flat.
After a great tragedy like this two things are going to happen;
There are going to be hundreds of more interesting stories, about the cat that survived, the grandmother who got lost, the wheel bound fellow that was saved by a neighbor.
There will be stories about the dozens that have died. The tremendous damage to the Stock Exchange. Schools that were damaged and how people are scrapping by to help each other cope.
Frankly everyone is tired of the campaign and the vitriol. In the midst of real human stories people will turn off any more campaign noise. No new issues will be litigated.
Campaign events will be held and a more mature somber tone will be present.
And if the Republicans return to the shrill tone of the angry white guy people will reject it.
If somebody is truely undecided on 10/30 they are not going to be decided on 11/6.
Sandy put this sorry ass campaign out of its misery and 95% of the American public will thank that miserable SOB storm for ending a campaign that has gone on about 3 months longer than it should have.
Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts)This horseshit that Sandy ended the campaign is just that -- horseshit!
I know people that don't decide on who they will vote for until the last week of the election!
Some people aren't even sure who they are going to vote for on the morning of the election!!
Not until they get in to the election booth!!!
They're not "dyed-in-the-wool Democrats" or "true-blueblooded Republicans."
Senator Tester in Montana is in the fight for his political life right now, as we speak, today.
His seat in the Senate could determine who controls the Senate come January.
So, you may think that the tone has changed for President, but don't be tone deaf when it comes to who controls Congress.
Because if President Obama doesn't have a friendly Congress (read: Democrats in charge of both Houses) then you'll see another 4 years of the same crap that we have witnessed for the last 2 years!!
Another thing, you've got bad breath.
Just remember, only your friends will be kind enough to tell you that.
tavalon
(27,985 posts)sucks to have such dumb friends. Anyone who doesn't know how they are voting on the national and local level well before the election are either a) not paying attention or b) really, really, really stupid.
Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts)tavalon
(27,985 posts)I didn't watch your video because I know what plethora means. While I am quite gregarious, I'm actually an introvert, so I need a lot of alone time. And since I don't suffer fools gladly, keeping my friend ratio down is pretty easy. I have no interest in debating my real friends about politics and it would be superfluous, since they are all extremely liberal. Living in King County/Seattle makes that the usual default anyway.
Oh, wait, I thought you wanted a real answer. You were just snarking at me. My bad.
grantcart
(53,061 posts)Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts)I worked on the Kerry Campaign in 2004.
I don't count my chicks until they show up to the beach party.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)But GOTV and making sure the polling places are open in states affect by the storm are important issues. I know some states had worse damage than others. Hopefully they will sort out the polling places.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)so that he can run for the open seat in 2016.
Celebration
(15,812 posts)+1000
First, he was telling the truth.
Second, he knew attacking the president at such a time would not work.
Third, it makes himself look good and not partisan.
Fourth, he would just as soon have a chance at 2016.
Response to grantcart (Original post)
Post removed
grantcart
(53,061 posts)tblue37
(64,847 posts)Way of viewing the reasons for such destructive and deadly storms, God has twice this election season sent major storms to smite the iniquitous Republicans--including the first one, which was aimed directly at their nominating convention!
hue
(4,949 posts)DallasNE
(7,390 posts)Ohio was not in the bullseye of this storm plus reporters were all over Romney about his comment regarding FEMA in 2011. Romney cannot effectively campaign in the current climate because if it is not FEMA it would be the Staples founders testimony or the rape comment by the Senate candidate in Indiana or his views on the causes of climate change. In some ways Sandy is a blessing in disguise for Romney and I think today opened Romney's eyes to this reality.
grantcart
(53,061 posts)Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts)As exposed in this thread --
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251196900
It doesn't get any lower than that, man.
Romney is a maggot on the bottom of the barrel!!
IMTreble
(6 posts)"Now it is all about getting out the vote and getting the votes counted."
Counting the votes is the issue!! Are we going to see fraud in the computerized vote counts again this election??? I am very worried about this issue and the lack of attention it is getting. Broward county is already switching totals from the ones reported by people to the ones pumped out by their computers. I ran a precinct in San Francisco for years and I don't see how it is possible for every precinct but, what, one to have submitted erroneous counts in Broward county!!
salinen
(7,288 posts)couldn't resist.
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)alongside Obama. Christy has been up ALL night and looks like hell. Glad to see him being bipartisan and praising Obama's help.
He sets a good example that I hope the rest of the nuts and congress will follow. Thanks Christy.
Skittles
(152,918 posts)than helping Romney
Girlieman
(403 posts)BootinUp
(46,847 posts)Next to that overweight blowhard from New Jersey.
bkkyosemite
(5,792 posts)if any thing seems suspicious with regard to vote flipping that we will scream bloody murder.
DCBob
(24,689 posts)he's done.
cheers!
RobinA
(9,862 posts)from my vantage point in SE PA, but there is a lot of ground out there not in the MidAtlantic. I wonder what they are thinking about the campaign ending due to an event 1000s of miles away. Of course, anything that stops the endless yammer of a late Presidential election may be welcome.