ELECTION DAY - 2014

[Zach Caldwell]

It is finally here, election day 2014. Voting is important and the Castle Roland community wants to remind and encourage everyone to turn out and vote.

 

Let's try and have a little bit of fun with this. What are your election day predictions? Winners and Losers?

 

Remember to have fun, but also be respectful to and of those who may have differing views than your own.

[ken barber]

My Predictions.

Dems will keep control of the senate.

Repub will keep control of the house (not really in question)

Dems will gain in governerships

[ken barber]

Mitch McConnell Keeps his senate seat in KY. Can the Republicans actually take control of the senate and maintain control of the house.God help us if they do!

[ken barber]

Dems 36

Repubs 40

8:00 pm est

[Zach Caldwell]

Dems 36

Repubs 40

8:00 pm est

This being the US Senate numbers thus far.

[ken barber]

Thank you Zach 

[Zach Caldwell]

:::tips hat:::

[Rilbur]

It is finally here, election day 2014. Voting is important and the Castle Roland community wants to remind and encourage everyone to turn out and vote.

Even if all I do is write 'Edward Snowden' into the write-in field for every candidate?

[A.B]

my idea or crashing defeat for dems? they lost both congress and senate if I didn't understand it wrong?  as expected from all the discontent I've been seeing from the news the past year or more from the USA over Obama decisions and actions, his efforts to curb congress with executive actions etc. But think this as an outside perspective, could be wrong as I don't live in the USA.

[seabird]

The "PEOPLE" have spoken and the tide has turned Republican and being a long time Republican, I can only hope that we turn away from the extravagance of the last six years. We ALL must remember that as the Democrats have just learned, The American Public is a "fickle lover" that can turn on its mate at the drop of a hat. Do not want for rapid change and instant repeal of whatever law infuriated you most. The last six years has shown us what rampant and unrestricted change can do to those making the changes. I think it would be best if we all draw back and take a deep breath before we begin to change things.

 

 

We are presently faced with a problem so great, that it will require the cooperation of each and every one of us, Republican, Democrat or "whatever". That problem is "CLIMATE CHANGE". That problem is so great that it has the potential of eliminating the entire Human Race or, almost as bad, sending us into a downward spiral that ends up back in the caves.

 

 

Democrats, reach out to the Republicans. Republicans, reach out to the Democrats, otherwise, there will be no need of either in the future.

 

 

Charles Bird

SeaBird

[ken barber]

Funny how after 6 years of pure obstructionism the Republicans all of a sudden want to work together. My heart says to flip them off and fight them every step of the way, but my head says to realize that even those this is no way the American People "Speaking" just the candidate that could garner the most money to slander and in general drag their opponent through the mud, However I know the Democrats want to move the country past all this Parisian gridlock so we will be the better Americans and not sink to the Republican level. We will work with the Republican party however we will still be the loyal opposition, control of the house and senate is not a rubber stamp. 

[GayActivist]

I have my doubts about the republicans taking control of the senate. The Republicans, Mitch McConnell, said it himself on the night that Obama won election, that his and their goal was to make him a one term president and to obstruct his agenda. I have not seen the republicans in his entire term actually try and work with the President. They have opposed him on everything, even things the Republicans used to be for traditionally. Now they have control of the whole of Congress.

 

I hope they are willing to work with the President. But I suspect they will continue to obstruct the President, and attempt to force the President to do things he would not want to do. Such as putting poison pills into another bill putting the President in a tough position of signing it or veto it.

 

Also, I cannot help but feel that the Republican party in its present form as a multiple split personality, will be stupid enough to actually Impeach the President. They go on and on about how he abuses his authority using Executive Orders. Hello, he has less EO's on record than each of the past 4 or 5 Presidents.

 

If the Republicans get their way, our country can kiss the economic recovery we have had the last few years goodbye and race towards a depression again. You cannot argue that the economy has not or is not recovering, because it is. It is not growing or improving as fast or as good as it could. A lot more can and should be done so the general public as a whole feel things are better for them. How can our economy be recovering, yet the people say that they do not feel it? Simply, jobs being sent overseas, refusal to increase minimum wage to a living wage. Stop jobs going overseas and raise the minimum wage and people will begin to feel things are actually getting better.

 

I hope I am wrong and the Republicans get their heads out of their asses and actually work with the President to get things done for a change. But I seriously have my doubts.

[seabird]

I did not speak for all Republicans. I was speaking for THIS Republican. I do not like "professional politicians" of any kind, right OR left. That does not make my comments any less valid and I would like to think that the majority of Republicans feel much the same as I do do.

 

I am NOT in "lock step" with any of the front page Republicans any more than I believe the majority of Democrats are in lock step with Nancy Pelosi.

 

 

I repeat my call that we all gotta work together, otherwise we are all gonna sink together. I have sounded that theme for a very long time and it is just a valid today as it was back when I could first vote when one had to be 21 to participate in the election process.

 

 

We are in a terrible situation right now and there is enough blame to go around for us ALL to feel responsible. Blame is NOT the name of the game, correcting the problem MUST take priority. Once the problem has been properly addressed, THEN we can resume our finger pointing and name calling.  I COULD say "to hell with it" as I will be long gone before we reach the danger point, but I have children, grandchildren and even Great Grandchildren who follow me, whom I bear at least some responsibility to and I cringe at the thought that my legacy would be "the end of times"!

 

Charles Bird

SeaBird

[Rilbur]

Also, I cannot help but feel that the Republican party in its present form as a multiple split personality, will be stupid enough to actually Impeach the President. They go on and on about how he abuses his authority using Executive Orders. Hello, he has less EO's on record than each of the past 4 or 5 Presidents.

If there's one thing I cannot stand, it's when someone throws out a totally spurious argument that they have to realize is totally spurious.  The number of Executive Orders he signs has nothing to do with if he's abusing the power, it's the scope of the orders he signs.

[Wolfhighlander]

This is my opinion and it can be taken as you like it. 

 

Speaking as a Republican, although to people who believe as Rush Limbaugh and his ditto heads, probably most of the tea party and the religious right, I am a RINO (Republican in Name Only), because I support many things that are traditionally Democrat issues, Gay Rights and marriage, A woman's right to choose, just for a couple of examples.  I am a very moderate Republican and I think in reality, the majority of those who identify as Republican as a whole are moderate.  My republican side is anti union, because I think for the most part they cause more trouble, instead of working for a solution.  Anti Gun Control, it has been proven many times that when the good guys have the guns too, then the bad guys have a harder time.  I also believe in smaller government and less of the Nanny state that has taken hold in this country and political correctness.  We do not need the government regulating out lives as closely as they believe that they do.  I think that the everyone's a winner idea is lame.  How can you get better if you're never challenged to do better.  If you always win something, then you will strive for mediocrity instead of excellence.  it is only the loud mouths from either party that make people think that all Republicans or all Democrats think in lock step. They do not.

 

The Republican party was not always this way, it really started in the last 20-30 years as the Religious Right began to really get more influence within the party.  They wield a lot of power and a lot of votes and turned the platform more toward issues that they support.   Things like DOMA, for example.  The Religious Right like to quote 1 piece of scripture out of an entire chapter of the bible because it fits what they want everyone to believe and ignore the rest, because then they would be as much of an abomination as they say gay men and women are by "choosing" to be gay.  This gives them their 'moral' reason for doing everything that they can to fight gay rights.  I'll get off my anti religious organization soap box now.  Until all of them practice what they preach, instead of their, they like you as long as you believe like they do crap, I will not be a part of them.

 

I never voted for our President and he is our President for two more years anyway.  I personally think that overall, he has done a poor job.  His Foreign Policy choices have been poor.  Very few world leaders seem to respect him, so I look at that as a big fail on his part.  Some of these leaders seem to act nice to him, because they have to, not because they want to.  Maybe as some of his apologists have said, he hasn't been able to get his message out to the people.  That is what I've heard over the last couple of days to explain why the Democratic Party lost so much.  Well 6 years should be enough to get his message out. 

 

For the last couple of years, I have heard repeatedly, mainly from our President that all our woes are the Republicans fault.  During his first campaign he didn't say that, it was an entirely different message that gave some people hope, false as it turned out to be.  Again this is my opinion, but he almost sounds like he's whining about it at times.  Our President and his closest supporters are always calling the Republicans obstructionist.  Well in my opinion, our President is as much of an obstructionist but from the other side of the aisle.  I think he talks a good game, with the help of a teleprompter, but I do not think that the message he originally started out with, that whole "Hopey Changey" thing as President Bush might have said, never happened that I can see.  He could have done a better job, but I think he took things as a personal affront at times, and he made bad decisions because of that attitude, as did members of his administration.  He seemed to have almost a "How dare they not do what I want, I'm the President" sort of attitude.  And to be fair to my Dem friends out there I ahve an example from the Republican side: Richard Nixon in that interview with David Frost had the same attitude.  Which is why it seems to me, that he keeps pulling out this, "Well I'll just do it as an Executive Order."  It's like he saying "Well I'll just take my ball and go home."  I'm sure that attitude is probably true for pretty much every President in some form or manner.  But with him it seems like he has little or no interest in trying to work with Republicans, unless they go along with everything he wants.  He seems to have no give at all on his side.  Overall, I don't think he is respected by many and that is a part of the reason that he has had a hard time as President.  Look at this last election, a lot of Democrats, members of his own party, did not want him to campaign for them because they thought that his presence would be negative and in at least one case that turned out to be true.  He campaigned heavily for a governor or someone back east and they lost.  To me that shows that even members of his own party don't respect him.

 

Now I hope that the Republicans in power don't waste any time doing anything stupid, like trying to repeal Obamacare or impeach him.  I am sure some people hope for that, but it would be a waste of time.  I think that Obamacare is here to stay at least for now and impeachment would be an incredibly stupid waste of time, but I'm sure there are some that are actually thinking about it.  There are parts of Obamacare, that can help people, but it was not put together well and was and is poorly run.  Now those promises made by the President concerning the act, such as you can keep your own doctor and your premiums won't go up have been shown to be false.  There are more important things to take care of, instead of those type of items.  Both sides need to give and that includes our President.  So far it seems to me, that he has shown no interest in doing that anymore than Boehner and those that closely support him in the house.  The two of them are both obstructionists.  Hopefully cooler heads, meaning more moderate members of both parties will be able to get the country going at a better rate again.  Maybe with both houses of congress, the Republicans will work together better.  I don't know, only time will tell.   Yes the economy has improved and I think it will continue that way, but I'm sure there is more that can be done.

 

It is time for them to work together and the President really needs to get off the "It's all the Republicans fault" story line and back off from his own obstructionist tactics and quit blaming it all on the Republicans.  And this Executive Order thing is one such tactic.

 

But again that is just my opinion

 

Eric Aune

[ken barber]

Eric,

Thank you for bringing some logic in. While many call me a liberal I am in reality a moderate democrat and have some very similar views. As a matter fact It was until the 1990's early 2000's that I would even call myself a democrat. There is a lot of common ground out here among the citizens. Its the whole political landscape of trying to appeal to one base or another that has gotten us in the mess and will only make it worse. I fear the Republicans being in charge because in my opinion the next two years will be repeat of just blaming the President. Where as the last 6 years have been blaming the Republicans in the house. Here is the cold hard fact both are to blame, both have done very little to work together, both have snub each other, both have pointed the finger when things went wrong. As a democrat I watched the candidates from our side step away from the president and try to appeal to the more moderate voters. That obviously failed and now we some very hard line conservative republicans at the helm. For me that is very frightening. I hope beyond hope they serve the with honor and responsibility but seeing the things said by some of these guys I am definitely not very hopeful. 

[ken barber]

If there's one thing I cannot stand, it's when someone throws out a totally spurious argument that they have to realize is totally spurious.  The number of Executive Orders he signs has nothing to do with if he's abusing the power, it's the scope of the orders he signs.

Rilbur,

its a split argument how ever you look at it. Its all int he perception if you tally up all the executive orders form President George Bush and look at the scope of impact. The number of executive orders alone give weight to Gayactivist arguement, but the impact of all of them is in MY OPINION much deeper than the few used by President Obama to this point. 

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=45708

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=61520

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=61375

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=61406

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=61418

 

Just a few of President Bush's Executive orders we consider very powerful and question legality of

[Rilbur]

Rilbur,

its a split argument how ever you look at it. Its all int he perception if you tally up all the executive orders form President George Bush and look at the scope of impact. The number of executive orders alone give weight to Gayactivist arguement, but the impact of all of them is in MY OPINION much deeper than the few used by President Obama to this point. 

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=45708

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=61520

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=61375

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=61406

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=61418

 

Just a few of President Bush's Executive orders we consider very powerful and question legality of

Ken, he tried to argue that the number of executive orders had a direct relationship to whether Obama was 'abusing' the power.  The sum total of my peeve is that utter inanity -- the clear falsehood -- of that relationship.  False arguments like that drive me up the wall, wehther I agree with the conclusion or not.

[Zach Caldwell]

Rilbur, it might of been better, if you had asked GayActivist, if he was in error, or to clarify his comments. No one should be jumping on someone for expressing their thoughts, be those thoughts in error, mistakenly presented, or knowingly. Please consider this in future interactions. Thank you.

[tkyrchncs]

My positions on numerous issues are all over the board, but believe myself to be a Liberal in the true, old-fashioned sense of the word:  protector of the rights and freedoms of individuals, and enforcer of equality under the law.  That makes it practically impossible to vote for any recent Republican candidates for National, and lately even State office, and difficult to vote for Democrats.  I also have had a great deal of problems with our last Republican Presidents' foreign and economic policies, though it appears Obama has had his own fubars in the foreign policy arena too.  Nobody's economic policies are sound: Republicans favor the rich and their policies do not "trickle down" wealth, but concentrate it in the hands of fewer and fewer, and the Democrats increase the welfare class with government give-aways that keep people out of the work force.  I am heartily disgusted with our national policies in the Middle East altogether, both in Congress and the Executive branch, and think we should just bow out, and should have a century ago.  Period.  Provide aid in natural disasters, and buy resources from anyone strong enough to hold them long enough to sell them to us.  That's it.  No politics.  No soldiers except to aid earthquake victims or similar.  Americans should be able to have firearms, as many as we would like, that fire as rapidly as they can be made to fire, as long as you are not demonstrably insane, and carry them anywhere we choose to.   Whatever anyone's moral stand, it is beyond the scope of GOVERNMENT to decide AT ANY POINT that any citizen must bear a child.  Gay people are only an issue because straight people choose to make them one, but good Americans do not believe that people's rights are subject to mob rule.  I work the polls, and have for years, but each election makes me sicker.  I want one election before I die in which I have trouble deciding which GOOD candidate would be BETTER for my nation instead of always trying to decide which crook will hurt us least!  And we are subject to countless Executive Orders because the Congress refuses to do its job, and has for decades!