What happens when they lose in November?

There is enough sentiment building in our ranks to suggest that if we lose in November because another election is stolen from us, we will not take it quietly. (At least, that's what I hope would happen in such a scenario.)

But let's look at the other side for a minute: the neoconservatives and "low-information" (i.e., "stupid") Republicans who are filled with anger and hatred toward the real America. If they lose -- and, by all rights, they should -- what will happen? Will they go quietly into the night and spend the next four years licking their wounds and sprouting concern trolls over how they had better not offend the party in power?

I Don't Think So.

In an excellent post over at the TPM cafe, Jim Sleeper characterizes the people he saw at the Republican convention:

And we see it in our own conversations and daily interactions. Here at DU, there's an increasing number of posts from people who are losing friends or family members over this election -- people who are so diametrically opposed in their thinking that reconciliation seems only a distant dream. And Obama's pledge to help bring America back together? The other side gets especially angry over such "threats": They don't want to reconcile with us, and I dare say that many of us don't feel much like reconciling with them after everything they've done and are continuing to do.

And even here in the pseudo-world of the internets, the divisions are becoming more widespread and more bitter. Right now, one of my chat buddies has an away message that reads:


Let's even set aside all of the ugly things that the actual people in power might do between Election Day and the inauguration day for President Obama. Those are scary enough in their own right. Let's talk about our cities, our families, our workplaces. As the reality sets in that a new regime is coming to Washington, do we run the risk of erupting into our own form of "sectarian violence"? You can be almost certain that violence against African-Americans, gays (especially when the anti-marriage amendment in California is defeated), Muslims, and other groups will begin to spike. And, yes, there's also that ultimate super-scary act of public violence against a president-elect that dare not speak its name.

After all that they have done to us over the past eight years, I'm certainly in no mood to shake hands and let bygones be bygones -- even if my new president tells me to. I want accountability, I want reconciliation, I want retribution, I want restitution. And the friends and family members with whom we're no longer on speaking terms probably won't feel much like a group hug, either. They'll want to cause a nonstop torrent of vitriol that they hope to use to effectively paralyze the new administration and render it ineffective.

No matter which way things go in November, I'm growing increasingly skeptical that this won't end without domestic violence on a scale not seen for 150 years. Yes, part of the burden should be on me for helping to make sure that doesn't happen, but we've been screwed over far too many times, and no, I don't feel much like doing my part unless our new government takes absolute, strong, decisive action to ensure that the mistakes of the past eight years never happen again. And let's be realistic: I just don't see that happening, no matter our margin of victory in November.

This home is a few blocks from where I live in Columbus.

Note that the other side has been publicly using violence against us since at least November of 1963, however...

All abusers become enraged with the abused strike back...

It's still on slow simmer. The politics of divisiveness will ultimately undermine much of what makes America great, IMO. The last civil war created a geographic divide that we've never fully recovered from. The burgeoning culture war doesn't yet have as strong a geographic identity, but I suspect that it will, eventually, perhaps growing out of the red/blue state divide combined with traditional bible belt geopolitics.

But yeah, I think there's far more ugliness ahead.

in the minority, whining and bitching about how much better this country would be if they controlled everything ...

Except that especially this time around, they won't just whine. Think of all the energy spent on derailing the Clinton administration. Now multiply that by 100 or 1,000, and take it down to every street in the nation, fueled by an army of Limbaugh-fed and O'Reilly-fed drones who see their world imploding around them and are being told that "the libruhls" are to blame.

Of course, when we criticize them for their lack of factual information, that makes us "elitist."

We all know how these people think. We've seen it twice already - the shootings at the Unitarian Church in Knoxville and at the Arkansas Dem HQ.

I'll just leave it at that.

but then anything is.

the Obama Administration fails. If the country collapses, they win. That's what they call "patriotism".

But what you are talking about is what they pay Rush Limbaugh $50 million per year for. I say, make that slime ball earn that money. Do what you can to restore unity.

They won't mind.

It seems they won't even realize whether they voted for the winning candidate or not.

These mindless morans decide so much for this country that it's scary.

The right wingers will frothe at the mouth, but they are as helpless in the face of the low information voters as we. Maybe they deserve it. It's just that we don't.

And that's a multi-generational problem that I don't see any resolution to in a short period of time. We have a generation of low-information children being raised by low-information adults who are being spoon-fed by a low-information mass media.

Our last great move away from anti-intellectualism came with Sputnik. I'd like to think we don't need the Russians to prod us into action, but maybe that what it's going to take.

Back then the righties did everything in their power to discredit him with lies and when that didn't have enough dirt thrown around and the Monica thing broke there was constant vilifying of the Clintons by the RW. Every time I would run into these Rush-bots at the bar they couldn't leave it alone. Many of these people who were, perhaps not friends, but pretty good acquaintances, I barley talk to anymore.

When Obama is elected, we're going to have to have his back because it's going to be much worse. The first thing that they're going to do is blame the rotten economy on him and that'll just be the start.

monopoly of speech that the reich wingers need.

Remember what they did to Clinton:

Drum up fake investigations (like Whitewater). Doesn't matter if it's true--just keep the distraction going so people don't focus on the improvements happening ----stay negative.

Try to look for any impropriety (maybe even fake it)and make an impeachment case or a criminal case.

Anything to keep focus off of the real issues and the real successes of a democratic progressive government.

I wonder if they'll waste a lot of our tax money again on investigations---and will the American people stand for it?

There are a lot or rich republicans for whom a loss will be taken very personally. With Clinton, that means private I's digging up any dirt possible and even exaggerating it---It doesn't matter if it's true, as long as it's said on the news people will believe it.

And now the tough question: What do we do to pre-empt that very scenario? Because you're absolutely right; that's exactly what they'll have planned, and especially with a complicit corporate media, they'll again have control of the noise machine.

A Democratic majority in the House for sure, and quite likely in the Senate too, albeit not a filibuster-proof majority.

That means that they won't have many if any chairmanships of any governmental committees, and they can do what they did to us when it came to * impeachment: hold the meetings in the cellar and hope to get some coverage on C-Span 3 if they're lucky.

Mark.

If we get 60 Senate seats, I'm totally expecting them to find some arcane rule that effectively starts requiring a two-thirds supermajority to pass anything.

Don't laugh.

"if" they lose, they will do nothing, just like the majority of americans -- when the elections were stolen from us, what did we do, that's right, NOTHING, even tho we're a majority and they a rich minority

the threat of violence is an empty one when you're talking about a passive populace such as ours

And there will be violence, you bet your bottom dollar on it. The extreme Right as been whipped up into a frenzy by Rush & Co. The White Supremacists will be apoplectic.

It is probably not wise to assume that we would have "two-sided" violence. Just as we're often deeply divided over issues, the other side is at least as split -- and to many of them, it's a matter of whether they rapture to heaven or descend to hell, so they're not about to smile and stay quiet.

and there may be more Knoxville-like incidents

You know it will be 100% nonstop evil. Reinstating the Fairness Doctrine isn't the answer -- the FCC has no jurisdiction over cable and satellite, so Fox News can go on making up all the lies they want.

How can the purveyors of lies be held accountable? Because I certainly want them held accountable, forced to pay for their lies, and not just under some cloak of corporate invisibility. I want individuals named and individuals penalized for what they have done. But I don't want a state-controlled media, either.

The answer probably lies somewhere in an informed populace -- which, sadly, we lack, and are a long, long way from having again.

Not to mention a lot of "End Times" predictions and more donations to the preachers.

Hell, they may even demand a recount and get a "reverse Florida" with their Supreme Court sleeper cell.

Problem is, they need accept the rules going into this election, and we need to do whatever it takes to make them understand that.

When the votes are in, the counts are final and there is no Florida-Ohio crap, they need to accept it.

Yeah, they're going to be pissed.

But what REALLY scares me is that the sheer corruption, lying, and dirty tricks of THIS administration is going to make them desperate to hold onto power.

They've got things JUST as they want them right now. The largest bank robbery in history is happening RIGHT NOW and that bank is the US Treasury.

AND they've honed fear mongering to such an extent, they can bully the populace AND Congress into doing whatever they damn well feel like.

Sweet deal for them. Disaster for the country.

Now they're getting that sinking feeling that the jig is up. No more compliant courts, Justice Dept. and Pentagon to do their bidding. No more sweetheart contractor deals. No more "revolving-door" corporate/public service jobs.

Oh, yeah. One more thing. The future Justice Department MAY have a few things to say about certain laws being broken. And it may go all the way to the top of the food chain.

They're going to be like a wild, cornered animal getting their last bone taken away.

I have a premonition, that Mr. Obama WILL win, but will be assassinated. I know that's a very cynical way to think, but like LIVING COLOR sang in their tune CULT OF PERSONALITY... "When a leader speaks, the leader dies". And so it goes with almost anyone you can think of who fought for a better world for everyone, not just themselves.

I sincerely believe, though I will probably never be able to ask the man personally, that Mr Obama choose Biden as his VP pick, because he has 30+ years of experience under his hat. And if anything DOES happen to him, the Democratic party WILL still have a man who can lead.

I can never understand for the life of me, why people, who claim to have this great spirituality and righteousness given to them from the teachings of Christianity... (which in of itself, is a fine religion), can be so thoughtless, and cruel, and hateful to those not of their "CLASS"

Hell I have seen it happening even hear on DU as I have read these forums for a few years now. Someone doesn't like someone else's view and they call them a "FREEPER" or something like that. Whatever the hell that is, I don't exactly follow some of the lingo here at times.

But getting back to what I was saying... the indications are already there... weirdo right wing fanatics getting aggressive with anyone who holds a progressive view... killing them, assaulting them... yes this is the mentality... I doubt the GOP HARD LINE REPUBLICAN BASE will go out quietly. But I do believe they are becoming extinct.

To that I say... good riddance... I'm sure I will probably be old and dead by the time it happens, but one day "whitey" is not gonna be the race... race won't exist anymore, we will have all melded.. It's almost inevitable that it happens unless you live in back woods Alabama somewhere and are still practicing Eugenics with your cousins to keep "WHITE PRIDE" alive..

White pride... now THERE is a joke of words if I ever saw it.

Why does Black pride, and Hispanic pride, and European pride, and Mid-Eastern pride, and all other types of pride focus on the culture that defines them, while "white pride" focuses on hatred and removing those who are not fit in their world out?

One of my favorite pieces about pride: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7Vl0peys90

So in summary... I also fear what will happen when the GOP finally gets the boot, but, when that time comes I'll be singing "NA NA NA NA, NA NA NA NA, HEY HEY HEY... GOODBYE !!

The Republicans have thrown three elections in my memory: 1976, when they needed to move past the Nixon pardon; 1992, when they needed to get Poppy Bush out before the shit really hit the fan; and in 1996, when the Democrats hadn't finished fixing the economy.

This year, the major threat to America's security is the economy: it's balanced on a circus ball and there are three clowns named China, India and Latin America trying to keep it level. If one of those three clowns decides to jump down, for any reason, the American economy will flop over and dump the other two clowns on their asses. The GOP cannot fix the problem we're in right now, largely because their policies caused it.

What they are going to do is very simple: They are going to throw the 2008 election. Here's how.

Step 1: pick the last fucking guy in the world anyone would want to be president, and run him. Done.
Step 2: pick a running mate for him who will scare off really staunch Republicans. Done.
Step 3: go to great lengths to expose exactly what the two people they got in steps 1 and 2 are all about. That's happening now--within the next couple of weeks, expect a LOT of stories about how badly Palin ran Wasilla, and how badly she is running the state of Alaska, to make the papers. Also expect a few reminders, in the wake of the federal takeover of McCain's kid's bank, of the Keating Five scandal.
Step 4: make sure that as well as throwing the presidential election, they throw enough House and Senate seats to give Obama a supermajority in both houses.
Step 5: let Obama fix the country on party-line votes: with a Democratic supermajority in both houses, no Republican will have to vote in favor of one of Obama's bills to ensure its passage. They, therefore, can vote en masse against his work knowing it will pass anyway.
Step 6: go on all the Sunday talk shows to discuss how "Barack Hussein Obama" is destroying the country, being careful always to use his middle name.
Step 7: give all the credit to Chimpy for any successes Obama has, and pin any failures squarely on Obama.

Trust me on this: they're planning for 2016.