The Political Whore

Just a sample of Tampa Bay and Florida conservatives with their reaction to last night’s Obama victory.

From Chris Ingram, a former Capitol Hill staffer and Republican consultant in Tampa:

Get Ready for Obamalism
I want to puke, but at least HRC isn’t the president-elect.

My friends, George W. Bush has left our Republican Party in disarray. Make no mistake, John McCain ran a lousy campaign, but McCain could have run a lousy campaign and won had it not been for the pathetic eight years of the Bush presidency. Bush I believe will go down in modern history as our worst president — even worse than Carter.

Despite being outspent by hundreds of millions of dollars, and taking bad advice by a bunch of (Bush) people who never had his interest at heart, John McCain’s numbers on Election Night were actually respectable. Had George W. Bush been on the ballot for re-election to a third term, I’m not sure he would have even carried Texas. McCain for his part put up a good fight and managed to win enough states to show this wasn’t a clear mandate on Obamalism. But in the long run, McCain was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or as my friend and noted political scientist Darryl Paulson likes to say, George W. Bush defeated John McCain not once, but twice.

So where do we go from here? I can tell you one thing, as sick as I am that Barack Obama (a man with no experience leading anything other than a bunch of little old ladies as a community organizer), is our next president, I am thankful every time I get ready to puke about that fact, that it is not Hillary “Rob’em” Clinton who is our president-elect. Yeah, Obama sucks. He’s a socialist. He cavorts with terrorists. He has no spine. He’s untested. He has no record. But he’s not a Clinton.

And for that, I am thankful.

The Democrats will do their damage to our country, and it will take a few years to fix things. We’ll survive. And something good may come of all this. Perhaps our (GOP) faithful will wake up and smell the coffee and quit defending the losers in our party that have created the mess we’re in. The same people many in our party see fit to want to protect instead of forsaking for no other reason than “they’re our morons/losers.”

To all my Republican friends I challenge you: let’s quit electing people because they have an “R” after their name. Let’s start electing people because we believe that “R” represents “responsible,” “conservative,” “leader,” “freedom,” “entrepreneurial,” and all the other things our party stood for when Ronald Reagan was president.

Justin York Florida Students for McCain on Facebook:

My friends,

I know this will be a rough day for many of us. I know for many of us it will be a day of rest as well. But for all us, it is a day of historic significance.

We can be proud to have supported an extraordinary American hero in John McCain. His call of service to a cause greater than our self-interest has been the cause of our organization, our party and ourselves for the past seven months. I thank all who came out, made phone calls, walked door-to-door, manned the offices across Florida, and worked your hearts out for the campaign and for this great man. You will always hold a special place of honor in my eyes.

Issues and parties aside, we can be enormously proud as Americans. The election the first African-American president is the culmination of a long journey from slavery to abolition; from segregation to civil rights. And now, an African-American will lead this nation during these challenging times.

Today is not a day to point to the flaws of Barack Obama. Today is a day of national unity. Today we can celebrate the successful practice of democracy and renew our shared dedication to self-government.

For too long, opposition partisans railed against our president. We challenged them and called them out on their irrational disdain for George W. Bush. We cannot fall into the same trap: no matter what happens, we must earnestly wish for the success of the new president. His success is intertwined with that of our country.

There will be many times we oppose President-elect Obama, but for now, let’s embrace a patriotic grace and wish him well.

I encourage you all to pray with me for the safety and success of the new president.

Thank you, and God bless you all.

Justin York

From Jim Johnson, State of Sunshine blogger, on the GOP holding serve in the Fla. Legislature:

Here is something amazing:

Florida voted for Barack Obama for president – the first Democrat to win since Bill Clinton in 1996 and the first northern Democrat since FDR in 1994.

Florida also ousted two Republican Congressmen: Tom Feeney and Rick Keller.

Hillsborough County voters sent Republican incumbent County Commissioner Brian Blair packing.

The mood was anti-incumbent, and anti-Republican.

Except on the state legislative races. Going into election night, the Republicans held a 77-43 edge in the State House and 26-14 edge in the State Senate. Coming out, the numbers are the same.

Florida House of Represenatives
Two districts switched in the House: District 32 saw incumbent Democrat Tony Sasso (who won in a special election) ousted by Republican Steve Crisafully. To be sure, the Republican Party of Florida had this seat as target number one. Surprisingly, District 81 – an open seat held by term-limited Republican Gayle Harrell – was carried by Democrat Adam Fetterman over Republican Michael DiTerlizzi.

Locally, almost all incumbent legislators won big – and none of them lost. The closest races were in House District 48 where Republican Representative Peter Nehr beat Democrat Carl Zimmerman by 2% in a rematch of 2006. In House Distrct 69, Democratic Representative Keith Fitzgerald won by 5% in another 2006 rematch over Republican Laura Benson. The rest of the incumbents all won by double-digits.

Florida Senate
On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate races were just as predictable. The only close race was in Orlando’s District 19 where incumbent Democrat Gary Siplin held off Republican challenger Belinda Ortiz by 1%. The next closest race was 16% (58-42). That is a strong incumbent advantage.

Interesting Results
In all, these numbers are fairly surprising. Given the general environment, the fact we had so few upsets has two factors: undervoting and lack of competitive races — even in open seats. Until the Democrats can (or perhaps if they ever can) field viable candidates in more races, the Florida Legislature will continue to be very Republican.

PEER Review:

VICTORY!

What?  Surprised to see a claim of victory on a Conservative blog after an election night where the most liberal candidate for president ever claimed the White House?  Don’t despair, my friends!  Though the Republican party suffered many defeats last night, True Conservatism scored some major victories, in our own state and some other unlikely places.

The State of Florida passed a Marriage Amendment.

The State of Arizona passed a Marriage Amendment.

And while the votes are still being gathered in California, their Marriage Amendment is ahead as well!  And with over 96% of precincts there reporting, signs are good that it will pass.

So what is the count?  As of now, 29 states have passed marriage amendments, with California pending, it could be 30.  Arizona, the one state to ever actually fail to pass a marriage amendment (in 2006), now has a marriage amendment.

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Texas
Utah
Idaho
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Virginia
Wisconsin
Colorado

We’ve already stared to hear, and will continue to hear the word “mandate” thrown around frequently.  Many are suggesting that this election broke the back of the Republican party.  Some are claiming this election was a referendum on Conservatism and that our ideology is on its way out.

But consider the fact that this year, when the democrat voting presence was stronger than ever, Marriage Amendments passed.  In our own state which went to Obama, it passed with more than 62%.  That tells me that traditional family values and True Conservative social values are both alive and well and there is indeed Hope for the future.  That gives us a reason to celebrate.

Posted in Tampa Bay Politics | Leave a comment