UsElection2004

ThoughtStorms Wiki

Almost certainly GeorgeBush has won (as endorsed by no less than BlahSploitation : http://blahsploitation.blogspot.com/2004/11/surprise-announcement-this-blog.html :-)

How the hell did that happen?

Better networking

DocSearls reckons it's better networking : The real story was, and remains, connected democracy. The tough lesson for those of us on the Left is learning that those of us on the Right were no less connected — just a lot less obvious about it.

http://doc.weblogs.com/discuss/msgReader$5126

Moral Issues

JohnRobb points to "moral issues" : and http://jrobb.mindplex.org/2004/11/03.html and says this is also a backing of TheNationState against a MarketState. I don't know if I buy that. Although I'm not entirely clear what a market-state is.

AdinaLevin agrees : 11 states voted to restrict civil liberties for gay people. The religious right won the election.

http://alevin.com/weblog/archives/001511.html#001511

As does DocSearls, tying it in with his networking theme : I don't know what difference conservative Christians made in this election, but I believe it wasn't small. Evangelical churches ... have done an admirable job of understanding, and using, the Internet, just as they did deploying almost countless "translator" transmitters all over the FM band, all over the country — except in major metropolitain areas where they might get more noticed. (Hit SCAN on a car radio in Phoenix and you'll hear up to six religious FM signals before you get to 91 on the dial.) Safe from the media mainstream (including the parts of it here in the blogosphere), their strength has gone unnoticed. It's there, and it matters. A lot.

AdinaLevin also says : (Interesting... this is the first election that I can remember in which Republicans abandoned Willie Horton/welfare queen race-baiting, and used gay-baiting to fill that rhetorical niche in the campaign.)

http://alevin.com/weblog/archives/001513.html#001513

Unfortunately the BBC is still pushing this line : Their http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3987237.stm Their correspondants need to pay more attention to what's going on in the blogosphere (see below)

Also : UsTheocraticCoup

Not moral issues

Or moral issues that aren't homophobia. Andrew Sullivan is tracking them : http://www.andrewsullivan.com/index.php?dishinc=archives/20041031dish_archive.html#109970714101084489

Jeff Jarvis : http://www.buzzmachine.com/archives/20041104.html#008408

Andrew Coyne : : http://andrewcoyne.com/archives/004035.php : Bush took 46% of first-time voters. He took 52% of college graduates. 48% of working women. 44% of those earning less than $50,000. 45% of those aged 18-29. Given these are conventionally supposed to be strongly Democratic demographic groups, it suggests the stereotype of Bush voters as middle-aged white guys is equally suspect. Reading between the lines it looks like the Republican spin against Kerry's personal credibility ("flip-flop") was also very succesful.