A few thoughts about the election:
1. Although most here were predicting a Romney win, I predicted that Obama would win with 290 electoral votes. Although at this hour the votes haven’t been totaled, it appears that I will be close. Two factors weighed heavily in my mind causing me to think that Obama would win:
a. The polls in most battleground states were leaning in his favor. I have learned over the years that, although there are exceptions, the polls are generally correct.
and
b. Romney’s move to compete in Pennsylvania late in the game was a sign of desperation in my mind. It generally hasn’t worked in the past (e.g., see McCain 2008). It was a “Hail Mary” pass that indicated a lack of confidence in a more typical path to victory.
2. Obama’s election is a serious problem for the country. But, contrary to what most conservatives are saying, I believe that Romney’s nomination might have been worse for conservatives. Historically, Romney has not been a conservative. He has especially not been a social conservative. If he had won, the next four years would have been an argument between liberal American and moderate America, with conservative America either looking on from the sideline or being told to toe the moderate line. The result would have been, not only a leftward drift for the country, but a continued leftward drift for the conservative opposition. Traditional conservatives, particularly social conservatives, would increasingly be marginalized as reactionaries unsuitable to modern society.
3. Can we nominate a conservative in 2016? The Dole, H.W. Bush, McCain, Romney model is a proven failure.
4. Liberal Republicans hate social conservatives more than they hate Democrats. The greatest enemies of social conservatives are liberal Republicans. Social conservatives who continue to vote for liberal Republicans just because they have an “R” after their name will only encourage establishment Republicans to nominate increasingly liberal candidates in the future. Conservative Republicans are the new “plantation” voters.
5. Long-term strategy is more important than short-term tactics. Those who insist on voting for the lesser of two evils (and who use scare tactics to pressure them into doing so) may occasionally win a short-term victory, but continue the inexorable downward slide in the handbasket on the slippery slope into the cesspool at the bottom. In fact, many of them are already wading hip-deep in that cesspool and saying that it doesn’t smell so bad. I might be drug into that cesspool, but I will never willingly jump in.
6. I’ve caught a lot of flak from conservatives over the last few months because I wouldn’t commit to pulling the lever for Romney. (I actually wrote in Tom Hoefling of the American Independent Party, although it won’t be counted. It just felt better than leaving the line blank, which would have been my other option.) As a social conservative, I would have lost regardless of who won. I will vote for those who earn my vote, not blindly rubberstamp those who want my vote but not my values. I’m sure that I will continue to be criticized by conservatives and liberals alike, but I can live with it. I am at peace with it.
7. As a Christian, I am part of a kingdom that transcends country. Nations rise and fall. I am thankful that, even if America falls and dissolves into the sea, that I am part of a kingdom that is eternal. Politics may be important, but it is not primary. We need to remember that America is not the church, and that no political party is the kingdom of God. We may like America, but we have a better country than America. (“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.” -—Hebrews 11:16a)
Your 7th point is the most useful and inspiring thing I’ve heard all evening. Thank you for the reminder and God bless you for posting it.
Where were all the independents and moderates Romney was supposed
To bring?
With all due respect, you ignore the elephant in the room.
The takers have over run the country.
The percent of takers will continue to grow in the next four years.
We are now a taker society. And it will only get worse in the next four years.
Hi, E-o-H-h,
I appreciate your well-thought out analysis. I hope you’re right. At some point, I couldn’t take the election coverage anymore and put on a taped ‘Touched by an Angel” and when my husband switched to CNN, I started crying when I saw the results.
There was an earlier poster who mentioned the possibility of a Palin-West ticket in 2016. I dearly hope that is the case. I voted for Sarah—not McCain—in the last election.
Romney, for all his faults, did his best—but the “hopey changey thing” is apparently working for too many Americans with their free government cell phones, etc. And who knows what was going on behind the scenes (fraud, etc.)
It is a dark day in America. I really did not believe this would happen, given the state of the economy.
God bless...