Here are my comments on the election results so far. It looks like the Democrats will take over the U.S. House of Representatives and need just three seats for Senate control. It is sad to see, but I can say that the Republicans did it to themselves. They have spent like drunken sailors, increased the size of government, had several scandals, and been disappointing in other social and domestic security issues such as illegal immigration. They have also ticked off a lot of people about the handling of the war in Iraq. My personal viewpoints aside, a lot of people find that to be an important issue.
Republican leadership on the county level is just as obtuse. Been there, seen that.
As of just after midnight, the Democrats will have a majority in the House by six votes. Hold on to your wallets. Expect bills for tax increases, hikes in minimum wage, failure to renew Bush tax cuts, more calls for impeachment of Bush (though it will never happen), bills to cut funding for the war in Iraq, and socialized medicine to pass the House. Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House? What are people thinking?????
Regionally, I can only wonder why people would vote for Ty Harrell over Russell Capps. Harrell is an arrogant liberal hack and tax dodger. Another race that surprised me is the one between Vernon Robinson and Brad Miller. Robinson led a harsh and shameless campaign. I loved his conservative stances, but his arrogant putz politics really hurt him. He lost in a big way.
In Durham, after all the negative press and the mishandling of the so called Duke LaCrosse rape case, voters actually re-elected Mike Nifong. If his opponent, Lewis Cheek had won, he already said he would not serve. If he wouldn't serve, then the Governor would have to appoint someone to fill that position. Nifong was in the position as a result of appointment by Mike Sleasely as it was. Even if he lost, he probably would have kept the job.
One good result that is yet to be finalized is the race for re-election for NC House Speaker Jim Black. As of just after midnight, the results are 95% reported and Black is losing by a thousand votes. Jim Black is an incredibly corrupt politician and I will be very glad to see him go away. However, I still wonder how anyone can vote for the man with a clear conscience, knowing his corruption. His disgrace was all over the news. I saw interviews with some of his campaign staff, and one Negro lady was raving about what a great man Jim Black is. Is she talking about the same Jim Black we have all been reading about in the newspapers and seen on TV? The same Jim Black who has had many liberally biased newspapers in NC call for his resignation? How can over 4,600 voters be that stupid?
Locally, I am glad to see the Town of Clayton has said yes to voting districts. I am saddened to see the nearly one billion dollar school bond referendum pass in Wake County. The current structure of schools is inefficient and millions of dollars are being wasted. Handle money and manage effectively and then maybe you deserve more. Stop paying for illegal immigrants to go to school free and then perhaps we can slow the rate of growth and need for new schools.
Here are the predictions I made and my comments on the accuracy or lack thereof:
US Congress Dist. 02
Bob Etheridge - my predicted winner in an unprecedented landslide victory Not quite the landslide I thought, but it was still a 2:1 margin.
Dan Mansell - my vote
NC State Senate Dist. 12
Sherry Altman
Fred Smith - my vote and my predicted winner in a landslide Got that one right.
District Attorney District 11
Dale Stubbs - my predicted winner in a tight race
Susan Doyle - my vote I got this one wrong, to my glee. I saw that the results see-sawed throughout the evening as results trickled in.
County Commissioner District 3
C.P. Thompson
Wade Stewart - my vote and my predicted winner Called that one right.
Sheriff
Jerry Holloman
Steve Bizzell - my vote and my predicted winner by a landslide Called that one accurately.
Clerk of Superior Court
Will Crocker - my predicted winner by a landslide I called the result correctly but was surprised that it was a closer election than I thought. I was glad to see that it was not as bad as I thought. Good run, James Gerrell.
James Gerrell - my vote
Supreme Court Chief Justice
Rusty Duke - my vote
Sarah Parker - my predicted winner Called that one right.
Supreme Court Associate Justice
Rachel Lee Hunter
Mark Martin - my vote and predicted winner Got this one right.
Supreme Court Associate Justice
Eric Levinson - my vote
Patricia Timmons-Goodson - my predicted winner Right again.
Supreme Court Associate Justice
Anna Marie Calabria - my vote
Robin Hudson - my predicted winner Correct.
Court of Appeals
Kris Bailey - my vote and my predicted winner I blew this one. Sorry. Wish I was right.
Bob Hunter
Court of Appeals
Linda Stephens - my predicted winner
Donna Stroud - my vote My vote getter is ahead in a tight race as of about midnight and the majority of precincts showing results on various web sites. Glad to see that I may have been wrong.
Superior Court Judge
Jackie Lee - my vote
Tom Lock - my predicted winner Got this one right.
Board of Education (3)
Brian Keith Hale - my vote and my predicted winner Got this one wrong. He came in fourth. Butler Hall came in third.
Dorothy Johnson - my predicted winner Got this one right
Larry Strickland - my vote and my predicted winner This one, too.
4 comments:
San Francisco values such as pushing an abomination like homosexuality? Only an ignoramus would actually think that the Democrats or Nancy Pelosi is for such things as fiscal responsibility, ethics in government, or equal rights.
Sorry, but during the civil rights marches, it was the Democrats that were in power. The KKK was founded by Democrats. It was Democrats that stood against de-segregation.
Habeas corpus? You are joking, right? Sorry, but the Constitution and principles of law do not apply off our own shores, you ignorant fool! Nor does it apply to prisoners of war. It applies even less to illegal combatants captured in warfare.
4th Amendment? Care to try again??? That is just plain ignorant once again. The interception of foreign enemy correspondence is not protected by the 4th Amendment. That is why the terminology "unreasonable" is used. Duh!
Torturing prisoners? Show the proof. Thus far, all we hear are allegations with no solid proof.
How are universal health care, entitlement programs, transfer of wealth, encouraging and giving amnesty for illegal immigration, and higher taxation the values of the Founding Fathers much less found in the Constitution?
Abject stupidity. If you actually had a blog or allowed anyone to see your email address instead of hiding like a coward, I would address all of this to you directly.
So Niphon has finally been voted in by the idiots in Durham. I would say "are you kidding me?" but we are talking about Durham. Now, they'll get what they deserve. Before they could have blamed it on the ultra idiot, so called "governor" Mike Easley. I hope Durham gets sued right out of existance! If God gives the world an enema, the tube will pierce Durham, but he better give it a dose of colon cleanse to rid itself of Niphon!
Mr. Smith did not win by a landslide. Ms. Altman received 37% of the votes and Mr. Smith received 63% of the votes, that is not a landslide. If you look at the numbers Ms. Altman raised $10,866.42 and spent $9,822.90. Mr. Smith raised $783,396.47 and spent $595,766.31. Although part of the money he spent was for his next race if you take the numbers and run them as a percentage spent per voter she wins. With no name recognition she did fantastic.
Mr. Smith's issues for his campaign changed alot during the year. At the end of the election he was using some of hers that he thought were not state issues. I am curious as to what he will do for our district in the next two years while he will be campaigning, once again, for another office.
It is extremely funny that his campaign used the word "grassroots". A person like Ms. Altman ran a "grassroots" campaign, not Mr. Smith.
Do not count her out!
Anonymous, YES, a 63 percent win IS INDEED a landslide victory. Money spent per vote does not equal victory. When I ran for office, I spent less per vote than some others, and one candidate far less than me. That does not mean that EITHER of us won the election, since other people are seated in office. To equate the two is absurd.
I agree that Fred Smith had absolutely the opposite of a grass roots campaign. I am not a Smith apologist, but he still won by a landslide. The numbers speak for themselves.
For no name recognition, yes, Ms. Altman did well. She still lost by a huge margin. If she runs again, that is all well and fine. I will most likely never voter for her based upon the fact that she is a Democrat and is too liberal for my preference.
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