So, I was at Drinking Right throughout election night. It was a good time and I met various "right leaning" area bloggers.
As I had been saying for quite some time, unless the polls were outrageously skewed, Obama was going to be our next president. Fairly early in the night, when Fox news an CNN called Pennsylvania for Obama, I said it was a done deal.
First, I am happy that the victory was decisive, much more decisive than the past couple for certain. I'm glad to see that we won't be wasting time on recounts and "hanging chad" type nonsense. I thought McCain's concession speech was gracious and appropriate; it may have been the best speech of his campaign.
Taking Obama on his word, I expect him to greatly increase the size of the government. While my wife and I make less than $250,000/year I expect that # to change. Through this and various other hidden items (such as the extra payroll taxes I previously identified) I expect my own tax burden to increase significantly by no later than Q2 2009. The degree that his various other plans are implemented will be the degree to which we move towards Germany-style chronic 12% + unemployment and zero GDP growth year to year. GDP typically grows even with your population plus a little extra for technology-driven per-hour productivity gains. If your GDP is staying "flat" but your population is still growing 3% a year or so, that's a chronic decline folks.
We'll see what we'll see.
The Republican Party and the Religious Right have taken some serious losses here. I attribute this to the Republican Party hitching its wagon to the various would be Theocrats in the evangelical christian population and to laying down their former mantle. The republicans clearly no longer stand for small government. As many pundits are saying, it will be fascinating indeed to see what comes next for the GOP. Will they
- Try to return to small government, low taxes (without deficit spending), and some semblance of individual rights?
- Simply move to the Left since a populist platform seems to be getting democrats elected?
- Decide that they didn't go far enough and that Sarah Palin and those like her are the future of the GOP?
Obviously I'm hoping for #1 but I wonder what the chances are.
This election season has taken far too many mental cycles for too long. I'm glad it's over and I sincerely hope the nonsense about Obama being an assassination target is indeed fear mongering nonsense. Among other things, America needs some stability right now.