The short answer, yes. During the last month, President George W. Bush was re-elected to the dismay -- and panic -- of those on the left. Indeed my own sister-in-law wants to move out of the country. That or she wants NY to succeed from The Union.
Amusing.
Not to wallow in the opposition angst, but it is really amusing. If they win, we are "out of the mainstream" and that we need to get over it"; if we win, they want to leave the country.
The vast majority of John Kerry (D-MA) voters are no doubt honorable people of good will who simply disagree with the sitting president's priorities. However, there is a large and very vocal cadre that are explaining away this election's results as being nothing more than a manifestation of ignorance and bigotry of those in the less developed hinterlands of America. Here's a comment from author Jane Smiley, posted at Slate:
"I grew up in Missouri and most of my family voted for Bush, so I am going to be the one to say it: The election results reflect the decision of the right wing to cultivate and exploit ignorance in the citizenry. . . . My relatives are not ignorant, they are just greedy and full of classic Republican feelings of superiority".
Here's a great tidbit from Maureen Dowd of the NY Times:
"The president got reelected by dividing the country along fault lines of fear, intolerance, ignorance and religious rule".
Mercy.
Want I like best about all the Left's rationale for losing this election is that it seems to fall into a pattern where they can find fault with the other side for winning, while still maintaining their moral and intellectual superiority. It allows them to feel good about themselves while regarding the rest of America as ignorant bigots with whom they no longer wish to have any attachment.
The example I'm certain my sister-in-law will use is the Defense of Marriage constitutional amendments that passed in 11 states last week. She'll say this is the perfect manifestation of what she's talking about: people in red states just hate homos. And that's how Bush won, he mobilized the anti-homosexual / bible-thumping pitchfork brigades.
And that would be right, if the measure had not also won in the very Blue States of Oregon and Michigan, both states that Kerry won.
No, the deeper logic is this: the people that voted overwhelmingly for these constitutional amendments don';t fear or hate homosexuals, the fear and hate busybody Massachusetts jurist that issue decrees overturning everybody's culture. They resent being told by their so-called East Coast superiors that they have to change the way they live their lives by the way of judicial fiat.
And that's what the folks in Red State America think and feel. That also explains the success of the Fox News Channel, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Red State America is sick and tired of being preached to by self-appointed know-it-all busybodies.
dpny
