The Big Hominid has posted our election e-mails here. He is more optimistic than I.

The Foreign Minister writes:

“I mean, look at the Republican Party circa Nov. 1 2000.

And look at us now.”

I can understand Republicans being excited about having a clear mandate and majorities as far as the sage can foresee.

But I would think that some Republicans would be at least a little uncomfortable about how this clear mandate has been achieved and by what it means.

My friend Greg is a tolerant man. I’m sure that once the euphoria of the victory wears off he will start reading the Bennet article I linked below, and then reading Larry Kudlow in the National Review.

Greg may like the idea of a smaller federal government - is he likely to get one from this administration and congress?

Greg may like the idea of fiscal responsibility - is he likely to get fiscal responsibility from this administration and congress?

Greg may like the idea of a muscular foregin policy - as I do - but is THIS muscular foreign policy likely to be effective? I’m willing to predict - mark my words - that either American boys will STILL be dying in Iraq in four years OR we will have pulled out and Iraq will be an islamic theocracy.

Greg probably will be happy to have his gun rights respected - even if he can’t exercise those rights in Germany.

I wonder, Greg, if not having to put child safety locks on your gun-show purchased handgun is worth letting the culture thugs dictate policy? Or is there something else about the Republican mandate you like?

Another question for Greg: How uncomfortable or comfortable are you with the ascendency of the morality police?

My concern about the election’s revelation about America’s complacent bigotry seems to be at least partially on track. Andrew Sullivan reports the following e-mail:

“I wonder if you noticed that yesterday all eleven states that considered the question of gay marriage voted to ban it. ALL ELEVEN. I think this sends a very clear message — true Americans do nt like your kind of homosexual deviants in our country, and we will not tolerate your radical pro-gay agenda trying to force our children to adopt your homosexual lifestyle. You should be EXTREMELY GRATEFUL that we even let you write a very public and influential blog, instead of suppressing your treasonous views (as I would prefer). But I’m sure someone like yourself would consider me just an “extremist” that you don’t need to worry about. Well you are wrong — I’m not just an extremist, I am a real American, and you should be worried because eleven states yesterday proved that there are millions more just like me who will not let you impose your radical agenda on our country.”

The Maximum Leader and Vater Smallholder both oppose calling gay relationships marriage but are willing to allow civil unions as a way of offering the vast number of rights attendant to heterosexual relationships to all citizens. Unfortunately, they are in the minority. The folks who were energized to turn out and push the election to Bush aren’t like my friend and father. They want to punish homosexuality legally.

Take Ohio for instance. The constitutional amedment added to the state’s supreme law did NOT stop at gay marriage; it specifically forbids any attempt to “approximate” the rights of marriage through civil unions or contracts. In fact, employers are now specifically prohibted from offering benefits to same-sex partners. Social conservatism has triumphed over believers in the free market.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader hadn’t planned on mentioning anything about this, but since the Smallholder has brought it up…

Your Maximum Leader is sure that he speaks for all the other friends here, and our readers, when he says that the Wee Smallholder and all his family are in our thoughts and prayers.

There is no greater concern in life than the concern a parent has for his child. The Smallholder is a devoted father and husband, and your Maximum Leader can only imagine how deep his concerns and fears may run. We are all here for your support.

If you would like to send well wishes to the Smallholder you can e-mail him directly at Smallholder - at - nakedvillainy.com. You could also send your messages to your Maximum Leader maxldr-blog@yahoo.com and he will forward them.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader will say it once again after hearing Senator Kerry’s concession speech. He is a noble and honourable American. The nation should be proud of him. And he earns a doff of your Maximum Leader’s bejeweled floppy hat.

Your Maximum Leader has been receiving calls today from people happy and unhappy with the outcome of the election. One of them asked your Maximum Leader, after reading this post this morning if there was a moderate midwestern/southern Democrat around whom his party could rally. At first your Maximum Leader couldn’t think of one. But reading this article suddenly caused your Maximum Leader to have an epiphany. Your Maximum Leader realized that to find a popular moderate southern Democrat who appeals to Democrats and Republican’s alike, he needed to look no farther than his beloved Commonwealth of Virginia. His governor in fact. Mark R. Warner of Virginia.

Carry on.

Its so hard not to gloat.

But basically, I am a weak person so I will say, told you so!

What a victory eh?
Politically, we are going to have to re-evaluate the history books here folks. Has there been such a successful president in the last 50 years? I mean look at the Republican party circa Nov 1, 2000.

And look at us now.

Oh those Dems were sure hot after the last “stolen” election. It was so close, that there “had” to be some Repub shenanigans.

But the mid-ter election should have clued the Dems into the mind set of America. (you know, all us red-necks out here). The Republicans Gained seats in the House and Senate. You know, for being a dumb “chimp”, that was spectacular.

And then last night. Oh what a night!

Despite Michael Moore, the Un-Biased Media, Hollywood elite, debates, pundits, Rock the Vote, etc etc.

The American public overwhelmingly supported their President.

Did I mention the total vote record? 58,878,565
First president since 88 to have over 50% of the Popular vote? 51%
Senate 55-44
House 234

Armchair quarterbacking on the Dem side can be saved for a later post.

Back to the Trenches…

UPDATE FROM YOUR MAXIMUM LEADER: Your Maximum Leader will posit that Ronald Reagan is still the most successful President of the past 50 years.

An Old Fashioned Win by David Broder.

Money quote:

A crucial element of the strategy is the mobilization of religious conservatives, those who are normally more conscientious about going to church than about voting. Exit polls showed more than one in five voters Tuesday named moral values as the most important issue determining their vote — more than cited terrorism, the economy or Iraq. More than three-quarters of them supported Bush.
Terrorism was Bush’s trump card in this political game, a high card he had picked up with his stalwart performance after the Sept. 11 attacks and the emotional bond he formed with millions of Americans at that time.
But the economy and Iraq had disappointed or dismayed most of those who went to the polls, and it was remarkable that Bush could overcome the issues of war and jobs that would have sunk most other candidates.
It may well turn out, once the returns are analyzed in detail, that the supreme court of Kerry’s own Massachusetts helped the mobilization of these traditionalist and fundamentalist religious voters by its decision last year approving gay marriage.
That decision spurred the submission of initiatives against gay marriage that were passed on Tuesday in all 11 states where they made the ballot — including Ohio. Phil Burress, who ran the Ohio initiative campaign, told me last week that the volunteers who collected the signatures to qualify it for the ballot also registered 54,000 new voters. The Massachusetts court decision was “a lightning bolt that hit right in the pulpit and ignited the whole congregation,” he said.
That will no doubt cross Bush’s mind when he contemplates choices for the Supreme Court — a process whose imminence was dramatized on election eve by the disclosure of Chief Justice William Rehnquist’s serious illness.

Robert D. Novak’s article on the opinion page of the Washington Post today (I couldn’t find it at the Washington Post website), ends with:

“It is Republicans who would be facing internal carnage had Bush been defeated. Karl Rove would have been blamed for catering to the religious right, and the battle to moderate the party would have been joined. Instead, the antiabortion, anti-gay-marriage, socially conservative agenda is ascendant, and the GOP will not abandon it anytime soon.”

The Big Hominid wrote to ask if I had seen any talking heads who reached the same dismal conclusions about the meaning of the election that I described here. At that point I had not seen anyone else seeing it and was hoping that my take on the surge of the influence of the bigot lobby was just a result of hallucinatory angst.

But Andrew Sullivan talks about the meaning here and here, and directs us to Bill Bennett here. Of course, Bennett does not see the meaning as being dismal.

They write about it so much more eloquently than this illiterate farmer-type that I’m embarrassed to link to them, but NK’s minions deserve nothing less.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is disappointed in the Hungarians. They will withdraw their troops from Iraq next year. What happened to the fierce decendents of the Huns? Are they turning yellow?

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader read this interesting article from the Washington Post. It discusses how bloggers disseminated leaked exit polling information yesterday.

A few questions:
1) Could bloggers have depressed Kerry turnout by reporting (incorrect) exit polling data showing their man ahead comfortably?
2) Could bloggers have increased Bush turnout by reporting (incorrect) exit polling data showing their man was behind?
3) Should bloggers have run with the leaked data when the mainstream press was mum on the subject?

A few thoughts:
It is too early to tell, if it will even be possible to tell, if bloggers had a significant impact on voter turn out. Your Maximum Leader voted later in the day (so that Mrs. Villain and the Villainous Offspring could join him). So he read the accounts and heard the buzz. It had no affect on him at all. That is not to say it didn’t with others.

Your Maximum Leader isn’t sure how he feels on the whole “bloggers scooped the media” aspect of the story. As all loyal minions know your Maximum Leader and his Ministers are not about scoops or exclusives. We are about commentary, analysis, and opinion. So words it is unlikely that any minion will read here are: “Exclusive to Nakedvillainy! Must give Credit where Credit is due!” This medium is, as you all know, a rapidly changing one that for the most part is all about the moment.

An example of this is the story of Theo Van Gogh’s murder yesterday. Your Maximum Leader had some thought collected about that story that he planned on sharing. But Rusty wrote about it faster than did your Maximum Leader. And now the story seems so… Yesterday…

That is the way blogs are. They are a medium of the moment. One shouldn’t rely on them as a primary news source. They are not news sources. While your Maximum Leader thinks that blogs serve a very important purpose in keeping citizens informed/educated they are not news services.

If your Maximum Leader had had some scoop on exit poll numbers yesterday, it is doubtful that he would have mentioned anything about it unless he felt very strongly about the provenance of the information. (And even then the partisan in him may have wanted to squelch it. Such is the lot of a pseudo-benevolent autocrat.) But your Maximum Leader certainly doesn’t condemn those bloggers who did.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader reads in Dave Kopel’s article on NRO that yesterday was a good day for gun-rights advocates. This is a little news your Maximum Leader will celebrate.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has just seen this on the AP News Wire.

AP: Kerry Calls Bush to Concede Presidency

John Kerry of Massacusetts. You are a good and noble man who fought a good fight. All Americans should be proud of you.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has been wondering about these exit polls that are all over the news. Let your Maximum Leader recount what he knows to make sure we aren’t missing something…

The exit polls were not accurate at all in predicting the vote count. They were way off because their sample set was not good. Yet, when the media want to report about what motivated Americans to vote, the exit poll data is what is reported.

Humm… Your Maximum Leader figures this is because they have to report something.

It is the exit poll results showing that “moral issues” were a primary factor in many people casting their votes that seems to be depressing the Smallholder. As his minions know, your Maximum Leader and his good Minister of Agriculture go round and round on the who gay marriage issue. In the end, our different moral beliefs make our positions rather rigid. This is the root of the gay marriage debate. And it is one of the factors in this election.

Your Maximum Leader admits that the gay marriage issue may have given Bush an edge in a number of states. But it is hardly surprising that the issue is so polarizing. Religious people, who might otherwise favour taking small steps towards legal status for gay marriage, don’t like having a troubling issue forced down their throats by judges. Your Maximum Leader knows plenty of deeply religious people who don’t really object to the vauge concepts of “civil unions.” Indeed, your Maximum Leader thinks most people would just as soon let people do what they want - provided you don’t flaunt your lifestyle.

What most people want is toleration. But the terms of the debate are anything but tolerant. On the one side it is “The damned queers want to tell me what I have to believe.” and on the other side it is “The damned religious right are just being bigoted hate-mongers.” The two sides aren’t trying to find any acceptable alternatives, of which your Maximum Leader believes there are many.

Anyhow…

Your Maximum Leader must agree with the good Smallholder on a whole bunch of other observations. First, concerning the Poet Laureate’s predictions that the Democrats may be well positioned for 2008 or beyond. As it stands right now, your Maximum Leader doesn’t think they are well positioned. But he does think that if they can find a moderate midwesterner/southerner with some charisma. They could easily make a presidential race competative. Your Maximum Leader just hopes it is too early for anyone to be thinking seriously about 2008.

Frankly, the Kerry/Bush race was competative. Your Maximum Leader doesn’t understand anyone who says the outcome was somehow predictable. And your Maximum Leader doesn’t understand the constant complaints that this election was “the nastiest election ever.” Look minions… No one went and called George Bush’s or John Kerry’s mother a whore (like John Quincy Adams did of Andrew Jackson); and no one said that Bush was going to crown himself king (like Thomas Jefferson did of John Adams). Okay, on that last point there are some people out there who do think the Bushes are trying to take over the country. (The notion of which is laughable.)

Your Maximum Leader also agrees that this election outcome is not a referendum on the “neocon” agenda. While that was certainly a factor, your Maximum Leader wouldn’t paint with that broad a brush.

Also, your Maximum Leader feels he must clairify his position of an earlier post. Your Maximum Leader doesn’t expect a second Bush term to be “moderate” in the sense that the Smallholder is taking it. Your Maximum Leader hopes that as a lame-duck Presient Bush will try to find a few domestic issues (like Education) and reach across the asile and include Democrats in the process. If Bush wants to better his (as of yet very mixed) place in history - he’ll have to make some concessions to statesmanship over politics.

And that touches on the last point that your Maximum Leader would like to make. All this talk of “moral values” may be much more than what TV commentators are saying right now. The talking heads on TV might not get it. Your Maximum Leader believes that what Americans want in a President is a statesman. We only have politicians to choose from it seems, but deep down we want statesmen. When Americans think of our presidents we think of the great statesmen we’ve had leading our country. Washington. Lincoln. Both Roosevelts. Jefferson. Reagan. These men all had a sense of moral clarity that has nothing to do with religion per se. These men had a sense of what is right by Americans and what wasn’t. They had a sense of our national consciousness. They had a clear understanding of what it means to be American. George W. Bush did a better job of communicating that he had an inkling of that understanding. Your Maximum Leader is convinced that John Kerry has an inkling of that understanding too. But didn’t do as well communicating it. Do not misunderstand your Maximum Leader, he doesn’t believe that George W. Bush belongs in the pantheon of great presidents. But if he does some soul searching and realizes that he can move beyond politics he might surprise us.

Carry on.

Kerry should have conceded last night. The Ohio provisional ballots won’t come close to erasing a margin of over a hundred thousand votes.

Congratulations to all of our blogosphere friends who were rooting for a Bush victory.

Special congratulations to the Foreign Minister, who celebrated thusly:

“And what a vote of confidence for all of us Neo Cons out here!”

Unfortunately, Greg, I don’t think this election will end up being a victory for Neo Cons.

Or for Beautiful Atrocities’ “fiscal conservatives.”

I’m sleep deprived, and all the returns are not yet in, but I think this may turn out to be a watershed election. BigHo thinks that the Dems will be able to win in 2008. I disagree.

The number one motivating factor for voters was “moral issues.” Translated: abortion and gay marriage. Abortion has brought people to the polls. We saw a record turn-out last night. Normally this is good news for the Democrats. But the turn-out was people angry enough to primarily cast their votes in an effort to keep Adam from marrying Steve - something like 80% of people who cited moral issues voted for Bush. I think this was probably the difference in Ohio and Florida - and thus the election. Anti-gay initiatives and state constitutional amendments won handily.

Folks who voted for other issues tended to support Kerry (except on terrorism).

There’s a new sheriff in town. And he t’aint a moderate who will reach across the aisle like the Maximum Leader wants. And he t’aint a Neo Con like the Foreign Minister wants. And he certainly t’aint a fiscal conservative.

The new sheriff don’t like the looks of dem “nancy boys.”

The American people have spoken.

This a a catastrophe for the Democrats. This is not an issue amenable to education or persuasion. Anti-gay animus is something that derives from a gut level. With the rest of the nation split between reds and blues, Evangelical Christians led by folks like Ralph Reed are the fulcrum of power. They know it, and have demonstrated it to the Republican party.

The only hope for the Democrats on a national level is if they shift to the right on social issues. But that probably won’t happen due to the influence of the left in the blue states. And it probably wouldn’t work anyway; too many Christians are too uncomfortable with the moral drift of the country to ever trust the Democrats on this issue.

Fiscal conservatives have demonstrated that they will be loyal regardless of what happens. Was it Rove who said that “deficits don’t matter?” Fiscal conservatives either supported Bush after he spent money like a drunken sailor OR stayed home. If they stayed home, they have demonstrated that they don’t matter in electoral calculus.

From now on, Republicans ought to run entire gay-bashing campaigns. It is what America wants and the Democrats have no answer. Someone with more wit than I can come up with a shorthand phrase that refers to the old practice of “waving the bloody shirt.” They ought to put “protection of marriage” initiatives on the ballot for every congressional and gubernatorial election. Republican control of the House and Senate should widen every two years. I don’t see how the Democrats will make a serious challenge for the White House in the next decade.

I hope I’m wrong.

I expected and predicted a Bush win. I thought he would win on security issues or the war issue. I could live with that. The tsunami of anti-gay vtes surprised me. I’m very sad. Not because Bush won. But because of how he won. I had hoped for better from my countrymen.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is giving a half-breath of relief. It appears s though George W. Bush has won a second term as President of the United States.

In case you missed the blow-by-blows…

Your Maximum Leader doffs his bejeweled floppy hat to Steve the Llamabutcher. What a trooper! Did you read his liveblogging of the election? Find part one here and part two here. If your Maximum Leader may channel Scotty in Star Trek II, “When other bloggers ran, he stayed at his post…” Bravo Steve. Yeoman’s work indeed.

As your Maximum Leader types these words it appears as though the President’s lead in Ohio will hold up. And the un-prognosticated states remaining look as though they will break (more or less) for President Bush.

Your Maximum Leader, at this point, is reminded of 1960. If minions will recall (from personal or historical memory), the election of 1960 was close. Razor-thin margin close. It came down to Illinois and roughly 100,000 votes in Cook County/Chicago. The historical record shows that most likely these votes were fraudulently recorded for Kennedy. Knowing that massive fraud likely occured in this critical state; but also knowing that he had overall lost the race to Kennedy, Richard Nixon conceded. He didn’t think that the nation should have to go through the bitterness of a long-contested recount/investigation. In your Maximum Leader’s opinion, this is one of - if not the - finest moment of Richard Nixon’s political career.

We all know the pain and divisiveness caused by a bitterly contested recount. Both the Gore and Bush campaigns are guilty of causing one in 2000. (And because this is his forum, your Maximum Leader will go ahead and say that he thinks that the Gore Campaign started it…) We, as a nation, need to move forward from here.

From what your Maximum Leader knows this morning, it seems almost mathematically impossible for John Kerry to pull out a victory in Ohio. Your Maximum Leader hopes that Senator Kerry will conceed and move on. Your Maximum Leader also hopes that Republican’s don’t gloat.

Any American can see what has happened. “Red States” got redder. “Blue States” got bluer. That is interesting. Your Maximum Leader will have to ponder it further. In order to govern effectively, President Bush will have to reach out to Democrats and try to include them in government.

This will be hard. It used to be that Republicans could reach out to old “yellow dog” Democrats (as we used to call them). These Democrats were of the socially progressive but fiscally conservative ilk. Alas, there aren’t that many left. Those Democrats have been replaced with socially conservative (and generally) fiscally conservative Republicans. The Democrats in the Senate and House tend to be more partisan and more liberal. That just makes it harder to do business together. Some Democrats will have to step up. As will some Republicans. The first six months or so of a Bush second term will be critical in setting the tone.

Don’t misunderstand your Maximum Leader. He is not suggesting that Republicans coddle Democrats. Nor is he suggesting that Democrats roll-over because they are a minority. What your Maximum Leader hopes is that both sides will try to find a few issues on which both sides can compromise. Bush can afford to do this as he is a lame-duck now. He can afford to spend some political capital to heal wounds. He needs to.

Now, it seems as though our friend Jeff at Beautiful Atrocities has put us on a list of “poor sports” thanks to a post from the very happy Foreign Minister this morning. Come on Jeff! We’re not poor sports. Can’t we be afforded just an outburst of enthusiasm early in the morning?

But Jeff does ask a rhetorical question that your Maximum Leader hopes will be answered in the affirmative. The question is: “Do you think we can find some Rpublicans in favor of fiscal sanity?” Damn, your Maximum Leader certainly hopes so. But the recent past doesn’t bode well for us…

Carry on.