America is Scary!
So glad I don't live there.
Seriously, one reason that has been expounded as to why Bush won over Kerry had to do with his stance to protect "moral values". So pretty much some Americans hold the "sanctity" of marriage to be much more important than their economy, health care, the draft, an illegal war, the deaths of thousands of troops and a woman's right to choose (of course this last one is probably another reason he won...). Woo! You go guys. If that's the thinking then they deserve that monster.
I'm so depressed.
Edited to add: Just for more clarity about what is so upsetting, you know despite the obvious of Bush having another 4 years to destroy the world, from cnn.com :
Voters in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah all approved anti-same-sex marriage amendments by double-digit margins.
Sigh. Over 86% of people who voted in Mississippi voted against same sex marriage. How sad it that. 86%. It kind of puts Alberta in perspective doesn't it?
Also from the same article:
"Millions of people understand that it's not bigotry to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, and it's not right-wing to think that children need a mother and a father, not two mothers and two fathers," said Gary Bauer, president of American Values, a group opposed to same-sex marriage.
Except that it is bigotry. It's denying a group of people their rights. And I honestly don't think that children need a mother and a father so much as they need at least one parent that loves them and takes care of them. It doesn't matter that person's gender, race, or sexual orientaion. Mr. Bauer please go to hell and take your fucking "American Values" with you.
Okay I think I'm done now. And please excuse the anger. I just really hate when other people try to control others around them by forcing their "morals" down their throats.
As a fellow Kerry supporter who's been following this election for two years, I feel your pain. Today was a very rough day for me.
After much thought though, I realise that, unfortunately, it's not America that was stupid, it was the Democrats. The Republicans made this election about gay marriage instead of Iraq and the Democrats took the bait and lost because of it.
Clinton knew how to appeal to the common morally-based population while Kerry did not.
So we've got 4 years to figure out how to make soft Republicans vote for the Democrats next round. I can almost guarantee you that Jeb Bush is going to be the Republican ticket for '08 so we'll need a strong, middle of the political spectrum, kinda guy. Maybe Ronald Reagan Jr. or John Edwards, round two? Kerry was just too left-wing, too liberal and too elite to appeal to the NASCAR watchin', Budweiser drinkin', gun lovin' America that is, sadly, the majority of the population.
-- Steve McQueen
I understand the American electoral system only well enough to know that my absentee vote doesn't mean anything because I agree with most of the people in the place that I'm from. That sucks. That is worth organizing a population move, creating more closer races, but more that the good guy would win.
I am unhappy too. But if it makes you feel any better, check out the recent court ruling in Saskatchewan. I think Kerry might have had a chance if the Democrats had run a smarter campaign. Blah.