Will the GOP admit and then adapt to their loss?

[Spectral]

There is no such thing as a mandate. There's only winning and losing. The idea of a mandate is just something conceived of to be a sore loser/winner, as in "I won handily, I have a mandate to do what I like!" or "that guy doesn't even have a mandate!".

[Milkjug]

Haven't read the entire thread, but just my 2 cents worth. I think it has to be the bitterest irony that the GOP must now adapt to survive.

[Deleted]

There is no such thing as a mandate. There's only winning and losing. The idea of a mandate is just something conceived of to be a sore loser/winner, as in "I won handily, I have a mandate to do what I like!" or "that guy doesn't even have a mandate!".

Well the argument from the left is that because Obama won, it means that the people now support him and his ideas and that the republicans in the house should just do what Obama tells them to.

[starlord]

Well the argument from the left is that because Obama won, it means that the people now support him and his ideas and that the republicans in the house should just do what Obama tells them to.

more like.. they need to get over the "1 term president" thing & start getting things done.

[Spectral]

Well the argument from the left is that because Obama won, it means that the people now support him and his ideas and that the republicans in the house should just do what Obama tells them to.

I'm fairly sure this isn't a widespread argument. Something more along the lines of desiring them to knock it off with the "single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president" routine and cut deals. If there was a wholesale rejection of tax increases or spending cuts, one side or the other would have swept the election.

[Felya]

I don't understand the mandate discussion. If Obama has a mandate, then doesn't every Republican in congress also have a mandate considering they were elected by popular vote over their Democrat challenger?

It's like a silver medal winner in Olympics asking to hold the gold medal and declaring a moral victory when the gold medal winner refuses to let them hold it.

The mandate is a perception of Obama's win leading to more liberal agenda. Republicans winning enouph votes to be within 4 million votes, was a symbolic win to hold this agenda back. It's all imagined and assumed... As usual, the ability of a president to push his agenda through, still depends on our system of checks and balances. He is still bound by what gets to him from congress and what the supreme court deems constitucional, which does not change even if he won the popular vote by 10%.

[Jackmoves]

There is no such thing as a mandate. There's only winning and losing. The idea of a mandate is just something conceived of to be a sore loser/winner, as in "I won handily, I have a mandate to do what I like!" or "that guy doesn't even have a mandate!".

To me, it's more of an indication that certain policies are supported, and as such a mandate should be an encouragment by the elected politicians to make those things happen, yes even the opposition. Of course the opposition can cock block it all they want.

[Deleted]

I'm just gonna jump in without reading the thread and post my opinion on the OP's question:

I think they won't admit that they have made any mistakes. It's not in their nature - they are, for the most part, old, rich, fundamentalist christian white men. I hope that they will lose a lot of support, possibly allowing another party to step onto the U.S. political stage. Probably the best scenario that is realistic would be U.S. political system becoming more like the UK system - three parties, with one being smaller than the other two, although still big enough that they are able to take advantage if the other two parties are really fucking their shit up.

[Deadvolcanoes]

To me, it's more of an indication that certain policies are supported, and as such a mandate should be an encouragment by the elected politicians to make those things happen, yes even the opposition. Of course the opposition can cock block it all they want.

The opposition you speak of, being the Republican members of congress, are also elected officials. It is their job to uphold the local beliefs and values of the constituents that voted them into office. It is not their job to uphold the values of the national popular/electoral vote.

[Jackmoves]

The opposition you speak of, being the Republican members of congress, are also elected officials. It is their job to uphold the local beliefs and values of the constituents that voted them into office. It is not their job to uphold the values of the national popular/electoral vote.

Yeah, I was just giving you guys my definition of what a mandate is, I realize the US is different with the congress, senate etc.
But if a party wins the election here, they got a mandate, the bigger the win the stronger the mandate, it's an indication that people support their policies either way. The opposition can disagree of course. We got a minority government atm, they don't have a majority of the seats in the parliament, but since they still got most of the votes, they got a mandate, the other parties could stop them, but what good would that lead to? A government that gets nothing done.

[Zhangfei]

Well the argument from the left is that because Obama won, it means that the people now support him and his ideas and that the republicans in the house should just do what Obama tells them to.

It all started with the Bush re-election when he referred to his victory as a mandate. It's now part of the political sphere in America.

[Grizzly Willy]

Nope! It's still 47-46. The 32 and 15 are some variant of acceptance of evolution.

Trust me, I'm sufficiently bothered by this anyway.

Yeah, had a hiccup in my brain and forgot that a majority has to be >50%.

[Dakia]

I'm just wondering. Do people forget how much the political pundits on both sides were saying that the Gore loss to GWB was the death of the Dem party?

[Chrysia]

Been following this thread off and on, and frankly, I'm getting sick of seeing this crap:

"Obama won the popular vote by a slim margin. Almost half the country is being forced to follow a president they didn't vote for! This is unjust!"

Guess what? That's how democracy works! Someone wins, someone loses, and we move on with our lives.

Liberals pulled the same shit when Bush won (both times.) They got over it, eventually. Most of them, anyway. Obama won. He did it within the system. We'll make it through his presidency. The sky is not falling.

[starlord]

I'm just wondering. Do people forget how much the political pundits on both sides were saying that the Gore loss to GWB was the death of the Dem party?

didnt they kind of shake things up because of it?

[belfpala]

I wish I could be a pundit. It would be nice to live in a goldfish bowl-shaped echo chamber.

[Shadowmelded]

I wish I could be a pundit. It would be nice to live in a goldfish bowl-shaped echo chamber.

Not to mention how easy it is currently. Most of their material seems to write itself!

[Spectral]

I'm just wondering. Do people forget how much the political pundits on both sides were saying that the Gore loss to GWB was the death of the Dem party?

To be fair, it was the death of the party until it reinvented itself (or at least reinvented how it campaigned). Kerry was running against one of the weakest Presidents of all time and didn't win.

[Deleted]

I'm just wondering. Do people forget how much the political pundits on both sides were saying that the Gore loss to GWB was the death of the Dem party?

It's just like every election is the most important one in a generation/lifetime/history of US.

[Ausr]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/n...-election.html

I know it's Yahoo but bear with it.

When Newt Gingrich says you're an idiot... yeah, you pretty much are one.