Friday, November 09, 2012

Wrapping up an election - The stars were not right, neither were the prognosticators.

It was amusing to watch the Stephanie Miller Show (on twitter as @SMShow) note Election Day that some astrologers were warning of November the 6th. It was a vague warning of a redux of 2000. Based on what the media was telling us, about horse races and nail biters, it might have been a safe bet.

Now, if you actually could see the future, or were doing good sound polling, you should have been able to tell otherwise.

But astrologers aren't serious (They AREN'T.). Neither are many of the poll takers, pundits, and analyst that wanted to push the the horse race or the indominance of the conservative position. And that we've been confidently fed.


And he wasn't alone. Among the throng:
  • Newt Gingrich - The Great Gingrino, who, if given a name, will tell you what that person does that is worse than any other in history.
  • Joe Scarborough - Mr. "Like The Rat Pack, If You Subtract The Pack."
  • Glenn Beck - The Friendly Neighborhood Thunderbucket
  • Peggy Noonan - Ms. "I Remember A Day When Old Fashion Values Were Respected, And Ladies' Drink Was Always Refreshed."
  • George Will - Made bow ties uncool.
  • Larry Kudlow - Mr, "No, I'm Not A Camp 70's Character Actor."
  • Rush Limbaugh - Lives in a bunker, rambles on incoherently, screams mad order through the radio waves to his fanatical followers...Just saying.
  • And to be fair. Jim Kramer - Jim "I May Be Mad, But Give Me Your Money" Kramer, who said Obama was going to sweep the country...He invests money for people.
  • Of course there's Karl Rove, Mr. "Slur Isn't A Dirty Word." who acted throughout the campaign like a man who had a lot of money riding on the results...for some reason.

And they were loud and sure.





And then the 6th came. And even as the night progressed...





Yeah. This guy is paid a lot to make this stuff up. In the months leading up to the election he railed about the bad people doing polling saying Obama was in a strong position. He made wild claim about secret polling he had seen that showed Romney being wildly popular in the country. He was ridiculous...and wildly well played.

And he will continue to get paid very well. As will all the others, who help feed the Right Wing beast's sense of Righteous Certainty. Election Night they were left bare, and shocked at Conservatism's HQ.


And when they were faced with a realization that they had been utterly wrong, they refused to see it as such. They yelled at the egg heads looking at the numbers, they spit at the system they had set up to call the election. It just wasn't supposed to go this way.

And FOX was left confused as to what to do. They had built up a sense of certainty. They had a script in hand, like every night. Events, reality, is expected to work a certain way, and no other. Reality begged to disagree. America begs to disagree.

No matter how certain things had been inside the FOX/Right Wing bubble, the sound polling was born out. As Nate Silver was seeing in the polls, Obama's reelection was a near certainty. Not guaranteed. But it was something that should have been expected. Conservatives rejected reality, substituted it, and found reality wouldn't go away.

Any conservative coming out of the bubble now, welcome. The light is a bit brighter. The air may smell different. But I am sure you will get used to it.

Those still in the bubble though, they still don't know what happen, but they have their suspicions.

  • Obama ran a mean nasty negative campaign against the good virtuous candidate...who is far too liberal and should never have been the candidate
  • Obama blocked the military vote.
  • Hurricane Sandy made people want to vote for Obama.
  • Obama just bribed the minorities.
  • Whites are loosing their rightful place.


So many of the Right Wing base have learned nothing. They are confused that their bad arguments, bad policy, and bad social views aren't being rallied to. They are confused that the country isn't falling in line. But, they see the real problem is the rest of the country, unwilling to do as told.

But let's look at what lessons the Right Wing have learned next.

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