http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...n-the-coming-post-election-gop-freak-out.html From The Daily Beast Michael Tomasky on the Coming Post-Election GOP Freak Out by Michael Tomasky Nov 4, 2012 4:45 AM EST If Romney loses on Tuesday, watch for the rightÂ’s outrage machine to kick into high gear. What's the state of mind this weekend of the conservative outrage machine? With regard to liberals, I think it's fair to say as of Saturday that most of us (excepting your allowed-for percentage of nervous nellies) expect Barack Obama to win. If he somehow doesn't, we'll be surprised and deeply depressed. But provided the outcome doesn't involve some kind of Florida-style shenanigans, in a couple days' time, we'll come to terms with it. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaign in Ohio on November 2, 2012. Romney at Screen Machines Industries in Etna and Obama at Lima Senior High School in Lima. (Getty Images ; Reuters / Landov ) Meanwhile--conservatives? I think that they are certain that Mitt Romney will win and that all information to the contrary is a pack of lies; that they will be completely shocked and outraged if he doesn't; that, if he loses, it will be the inevitable product of foul play; and that therefore they'll immediately start scouring the landscape looking for parties to blame and will keep themselves in a state suspended agitation for...days, weeks, four years, forever. Which wouldn't matter to the rest of us but for the fact that they'll continue to have the power to screw up the country. The conservatives I read, and certainly my conservative commenters, just can't wait for Tuesday, when the American people will arise out of their torpor and finally send Obama to the dugout. I'm continually struck--nay, impressed, even--by the iron certainty with which they say this, and by their unswerving ability to pluck out the favorable polls (getting fewer and farther between, incidentally) and throw a bucket of ice-cold water on the ones they don't like. Objective reality says Obama is ahead. But to conservatives, there's always something wrong in objective-reality land, always a reason to claim that the world is in fact spinning in the opposite direction. Quinnipiac has too many Democrats! PPP is a Democratic firm! This one oversampled blacks, that one Latinos. And of course, these objections are never merely just stated. They're the rhetorical equivalent of dirty nuclear bombs. Conservatives on Twitter howl derisively at these polls as if their purveyors are offering alchemical cures for venereal disease. We're all prey to "confirmation bias," as Paul Waldman called it in his American Prospect column Friday. We look at the polls that we know will be more likely to show the result we want to see. With Republicans, that has meant Rasmussen, obviously, and Gallup. With liberals it has meant...well, virtually every other polling operation under God's golden sun, more often than not, because the simple fact remains that Obama has led in most polls for a year, nationwide and statewide. But there's confirmation bias, and there's denial. Pennsylvania is up for grabs? If you say so, wingosphere. But Obama's led in 53 straight polls there, journalist Eric Boehlert tweeted yesterday. In the last two days we've seen about 20 different state polls. Obama led in 18. If my guy were on the business end of results like those, I'd be psychologically preparing myself. Which, indeed, I am anyway. You never really know. The mess in Eastern Pennsylvania could, maybe, so discourage turnout in the Obama-friendliest areas of the state he could lose. Fifty-three straight polls, and 18 out of 20, could be wrong. That many polls have never been that wrong before, but I guess there's a first time for everything. (Please don't mention 1948, wingers--comparing polling then to polling today is like comparing a '48 Plymouth to a new Lexus.) If Obama wins, the excuses will start coming; the excuses will mushroom into reasons why the victory was illegitimate; then the next mission will be to oppose Obama at every turn. You never really know. Most liberals acknowledge this simple reality. But wingers seem to know, or think they know. Of course they don't know, and deep down they know that they don't know, which must be a kind of psychological torture to them, and so they compensate for having to endure that torture by putting up that front of absolute certainty, which in turn brings its own rewards whatever the result. Their guy wins, they get to say, "Ha! I knew it all along." Their guy loses, they get to be outraged and blame the blacks, the media, the pollsters, Nate Silver. In a weird sort of way I suspect many of them prefer the latter outcome. Yes, it's strange. And it's made all the stranger because I would imagine that outside the political realm, most conservatives are pretty reasonable people who accept outcomes just like the rest of us. If their team loses the Super Bowl, or their kid's project doesn't win the science fair, or even if they get passed over for that promotion, most conservatives surely are unhappy, as anyone would be, but they fundamentally accept the legitimacy of the outcome. But not in politics. In the political realm, we have this hate machine, this massive propaganda apparatus, that tells conservatives that any turn of bad luck is not merely bad luck but the result of a conspiracy that society has hatched against them. Thus, Mitt Romney--whom conservatives used to hate, before they were forced to embrace him--has made no mistakes on the campaign trail. The furor over the 47 percent remarks, the two debate losses, and much else--these aren't signs of his misjudgment or fallibility. To conservatives, they're all part of the broader plot against him, and more importantly against them. And so, when you look at the world that way, the conspiracy never dies, the rope never stops spinning. If Obama wins, the excuses will start coming; the excuses will mushroom quickly into reasons why the victory was illegitimate; illegitimacy thus "established," the next mission is to oppose Obama at every turn with even greater fervor. Any political means necessary to stop or even remove him will become justified. It's all as predictable as a goose sh*tting. And if Obama does win, it will start Wednesday morning. What am I saying? I meant Tuesday night. Newsweek/Daily Beast special correspondent Michael Tomasky is also editor of Democracy: A Journal of Ideas. Follow Michael Tomasky on Twitter at @mtomasky. For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.
Whoever the candidate is who loses there will be people who voted for the other candidate who will be outraged maybe be outraged for a few weeks maybe call voter fraud especially if it's close which I think it's going to be but that's just a complete guess with no actual backing. I do want to see who wins but not for the normal reasons mostly because I know a few people that have said it's a definite win for whoever they are supporting. Like all the Obama supporters over a few months ago and now the Romney supporters after the first debate.
If I had to bet money I'd say Obama wins. I don't think people are going to freak out any more than they usually do. There will not be riots in the street unless Obama loses. Look at who makes up most riots and see who they are more likely to support. Obama or Romney. I don't think Romney's middle/upper class affluent white people like to burn down their own neighborhoods.
I mostly agree with you here especially after that four years ago he had the whole Messiah thing going on I don't blame him as much as I do the people who supported him and put him up on that pedestal except with his over promising which was stupid to begin with. Though after watching the last four years of all the people shouting communist, socialist, Muslim, Kenyan and all that stuff I am actually looking forward to see the next thing they will go after if Obama wins even recently they went as far as to call Obama's mom a porn star. Though I have no doubt whoever wins there will be a massive amount of people claiming voter fraud even if they are proven wrong.
People didn't riot when Gore lost and Bush was being called everything from Satan to the leader of the Bildenburg group with him and Cheney issuing in the One World Government. It would take a helluva punch in the gut for Americans to riot en masse. We are simply too apathetic to care. Well grunt and moan for a couple days then forget about it till the next election.
It's not really just after the elections I'm talking about it's just the whole term. No matter who wins the economy will get better they will get a lot of credit from the people who supported them and the other will say their candidate would have done it better and if anything goes wrong along the way the opposing people will shout and scream. Also again we will have a very low turnout rate for all other elections because nobody cares about their local government which affects them more than the presidency. Though this is just cynicism on my part. Elections get boring after a while, especially when people talk about change when talking about politicians yet never make the effort to make change themselves.
If Obama wins I will personally feel the same way I did when the Iraq war started and when Obama was elected the first time: a terrible mistake has been made and there's not a darn thing I can do about it. How will conservatives react? I predict you can expect impeachment proceedings to begin almost immediately.
Pretty much describes my feelings as well....should it happen. I would simply be hurting for the love of my country; that's all. As far as impeachment proceedings.....it could happen. With Fast and Furious and this Benghazi attack, and several important Senators saying it's been a massive cover-up, I wouldn't doubt it. Not right away, though. There would have to be more investigatiions and possible court proceedings to get to the bottom of both issues. The country will not stand for any administration LYING purposefully to the people as has been done in BOTH of these issues. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that.
Well, they certainly stood for it when Bush&Co purposefully lied us into the Iraq war. There were legitimate grounds for impeachment several times through the Bush presidency - why didn't these "important Republicans" begin proceedings then? I've been watching scummy Republicans try to drive legitimately elected Democrat presidents from office for many years now and letting the country go to hell in the process. If the country had wanted to continue the disastrous Bush/Repub policies, they wouldn't have elected Obama in the first place but all Repubs have been interested in is making sure Obama "failed" and was a "one-term president" and are perfectly willing to take the country down with him. Aren't you the least bit bothered that they care so little for you and your family that they don't give a (*)(*)(*)(*) what happens to you while they're trying to unseat current Dem presidents for their own personal gain? Lmfao!
Good gawd! You are fully supporting the most prolific lair to ever set foot on American political stage, mitt romney, you fully supported bush the failure and his outright proven lies that started not one but two wars and has the blood of over 100,000 humans on his hands as a result and you say something like this??
