REPLIES TO THE CURRENT QUESTION

Our question last week was:

What will Obama supporters do if he loses?

Here are your answers.  The name of a writer is included only if he or she actually placed a name at the end of the message.  Otherwise, we assume the writer wished anonymity and "name withheld" is inserted.

Talk to liberals about Obama losing and the first and most vociferous response is that America is racist.  It does no good pointing out that had Colin Powell run in 2000 he would have been a shoo-in for the presidency or that all those Hillary voters cannot possibly be racist.  And forget about pointing out that based upon experience and policy preferences McCain/Palin might just be the far more attractive ticket to the general population than Obama/Biden .  To liberals, anyone who votes Republican is either a racist or a victim (isn't everyone a victim to the Left) of false conciousness.  It is amazing how much Marxism has been absorbed by the American Left.

As for the threats of black rioting that have surfaced, I find the insinuation that black people cannot control their emotions particuarly repugnant.  Surely, they will be disappointed.  I'll be disappointed if McCain loses but no one talks about white people rioting if Obama wins.  No, the reaction of the Democrats to an Obama loss will be the typical reaction:  they will blame the candidate for being inept and the electorate for being dummies.  The only happy Democrat will be Hillary Clinton who will start her campaing for the presidency of 2012 on November 5, 2008.

The weirdest, and happily, most pleasing aspect of this question is there now is a distinct possibly that Obama will lose!

Alan Weick

Did you mean “if” he loses or “when” he loses?
 
Obama has appealed to a minority fringe in American politics.  Although he skillfully maneuvered through the early caucuses he clearly lost to Hillary in the important head-to-head primaries in key states.  Although he may have had the media in his pocket, their overt support of Obama was so patently obvious (and odious) that many Americans were turned off.  When my wife fretted that Obama may actually become president of this country, I reminded her, “Americans aren’t that stupid.” This will be borne out in November when McCain wins by a landslide (barring any unforeseen negative developments, as you are so correct in pointing out.)
 
So what will happen when he loses?  On cue, his supporters will claim massive voter fraud.  They will claim all of the Diebold machines were rigged, that democracy as we know it is dead.  News stories will abound about key districts in Ohio and Michigan running out of ballots, long lines at voting booths, voter intimidation and, unbelievably, media bias.  It’s all a vast, right wing conspiracy, you know. But beyond their whining and moaning, beyond their conspiracy theories and Robert Kennedy, Jr’s inevitably exhaustive cover story for Rolling Stone detailing how the evil Republicans stole yet another election, they will do nothing.  Despite all of their shouts and screams, they are a spent political force with little support among the general public save a few thousand angry posters at Daily Kos.  They are done.  They will have run the most liberal, anti-American candidate in the history of presidential politics and they will have lost.
 
Perhaps this will signal a return of sanity to the once proud Democratic Party.  Perhaps now we can get on with the nation’s business in a thoughtful, adult manner.  A pipe dream?  Perhaps.  But I believe American institutions are strong and that the two party system is vital to this country’s interests.  I want a strong opposition party. But it has to be a sane one which, unfortunately, the Democratic Party has decidedly not been this past decade.
 
By the way, on a side note, I think McCain should remind the people that this is not just a struggle between himself and Obama.  It is a struggle against socialism.  One can easily point around the world to the dangers and the failures of socialism and how it has no place in American life.  That is the “change” Obama seeks to bring and the radical extremists behind him, from George Soros on down, need to be exposed.  It may play to politics of fear but that is precisely what is at stake.
 
 
Adrian J. Murray

This is a difficult question since I don't know any "Obama Supporters" per se.  I know many Democrats who are supporting Senator Obama because he is "their" nominee and that is what one does; just as I support Senator McCain because he is the Republican nominee and I prefer his policies and ideas to those of Senator Obama.  For the group of Democrats that I know, they will go on with their lives and might complain more than they would if "their guy" got elected.  Other than that, not much will change.  Similarly, I will do the same if Senator Obama is elected.  Once the voting is done, the winner is my President for the next four years.  

I sense an implication in the question that somehow, "Obama supporters" are different in some way.  This difference is linked to the "Rock Star" status of Senator Obama and his appeal to certain people that goes beyond his political message.  He has risen meteorically in the political heavens over the last year.  This rise has been aided by the codependency of much of the main stream media.  Those who have been swept up in the hype may be  more invested emotionally in  his campaign than is prudent given the vicissitudes of the political process.  The danger in being a meteoric phenomenon is the almost inevitable flame-out as the meteor passes through the atmosphere.  In Senator Obama's case, were this to eventuate (Howard Cosell's favorite word), his decline and fall would, of necessity, be dissected endlessly by the same folks who pumped him up.  This inundation under negatives would cause the "Obama Supporters" to run as fast as possible from their support of a flamed-out meteor, just as they ran from Senator Kerry four years ago.  They would rationalize his loss in many ways.  In the end they would blame him for dashing their hopes and expectations.  I would like to thing that they would then join the rest of us and support "our" President.

Unfortunately, here in the Northwest, we have a small cadre of kindred spirits who each Saturday picket at an intersection with signs that say, "NO Iraq War" and "Bush Lied", etc.  Many years ago, in another life, I regularly visited the GLCM base at Greenham Common in the UK.  Outside the base was the famous "Woman's Encampment" of anti-war protesters.  When the Soviet Union collapsed, they kept right on protesting.  In both cases, these are the people who fit the "Obama Supporters" image of the question.  So, maybe they would spend the next four years miserably complaining, picketing and whining about the "McCain Administration" while waiting for the next "Messiah" to show up out there on the left wing fringe.  The rest of us will get on with our lives.

Don Newell

Well, one would surely hope that they would accept the loss  
graciously, regroup and plan for a new campaign in four years. This  
is what a Republican (one young enough to be up to the task) would do.

We are being warned, however, from some in the media, to watch out  
for racial strife, due to the fact that "everyone" knows that if  
Obama loses it will be due solely to racism.  Right.

And if McCain loses, it's due to ageism, whitehairphobia, anti-
feminism, Moose Lovers Association, or even reverse racism.

Saints preserve us!

Susan Langley

 

First Keith Olberman will move to France. It is good he makes 4 million a year as he will use it all to live there. Next, the entire Obama juvenile delinquent campaign cadre will accuse us Spics, Whiteys, Slant-eyes, Jim Crows, Zionists and Injuns of being racist for not electing their white/black guy. (I personally don't care for the white half of Obama's personality.)

Next, the liberal media will finally go broke and re-emerge as real news organizations.  This will be driven by the new bosses at the New York Times and AP. Summa cum Laude graduates of University of Idaho and Hilsdale.

I have several friends that want Obama to win. It is a sad thing to experience a dimwit who has been told he is a genius.
--
Michael Smith
Seattle

His followers will (any of the following):
1. Stew
2. Take Celexa
3. Convert to Islam
4. Cry
5. Break windows.
6. Say that they have a higher IQ than Republicans
7. Blame George W. Bush
8. Hate George W. Bush
9. Blame Jews
10. Gain weight

(name withheld)

That's easy:
 
a) they will become embittered
b) their bitterness will spill over into their work
c) they'll get canned
d) their desperation  will cause them to cling to that old time religion,  viz: The New York TIMES
e) they will search the classified ads  in the TIMES for guns to buy
f) they will vote for Hillary in 2012, as they should have this time.
 
Sincerely yours,
Gregory Koster

Riots!!  There will be riots in all the major population centers. Cries of voter fraud, lawsuits filed immediately to overturn vote counts in key battleground states. {Florida, Ohio, Michigan} to name a few. MSNBC,NBC,CBS,ABC,CNN will be calling for congressional investigations into how the chosen one was cheated of his election. The House and Senate will be delighted to hold such hearings, throwing the government into total gridlock and chaos. The present President will be forced to call out the National Guard to help restore order. Not a pretty picture. The Chicago Political Machine does not like to lose.

(name withheld)

They will keep the Obama/Biden bumper stickers on their vehicles for four years, all the while whining about how the election was stolen by a couple of rubes!

R. Philips
Corrales, New Mexico

In 2004, Charles Krauthammer thought that if Kerry lost the election, his supporters would need more than understanding, they would need therapy.  I think that this was proven to be true.

With the stakes even higher for them this time, I believe that they may well need institutionalization if Obama goes down in defeat.
 
Scotty Uhrich

Obama's supporters will try to de-legitimize the McCain presidency, especially if his winning margin is small. The purpose is to deny the McCain administration a mandate. 

Of course they will cry "racism" and "the Bradley effect." They will also try to make a case for "voter fraud" in states where the margin of victory was slim.

Another tool they may use is "media bias," and they may have a case. Although Obama was the intended beneficiary of media bias, he will bear the brunt of voter reaction against that media bias. Like the man seeking pity as an orphan in the trial for murdering his parents, this tool has chutzpah.

There's another more sinister response by Obama supporters should he lose. There will be calls for a race war. If and when that occurs, Obama will forever be judged by his response to those calls.

What must McCain supporters do if Obama loses? Concentrate on restoring confidence in our vote collection and counting procedures.

Frank Drouillard
Novato, CA

I think it depends on just how badly Obama loses.

There are two obvious results to an Obama loss no matter the margin:

First, we can expect some to cry that America isn't ready to support a black man for president. I think that's piffle - we just aren't sure about an inexperience, liberal black man- but if the margin is thin, it will be hard to argue that his race didn't play a factor. The real question is whether the media will run embrace this meme, or simply let it simmer among The Faithful. I'll be curious to see if this will spur the black community into further engagement in the Democratic party, or leave them dejected and less involved.

Second, we know that Hillary's supporters (if she has any gray matter, not Hillary herself) will utter an 18 million strong "We told you so."

I imagine if Obama loses badly, worse than the "missed by one state" losses of Gore and Kerry, his supporters will be cowed into submission to Lady Pantsuit. The utter failure of The One to get within striking distance will leave them depressed and questioning (and as I think of what their answers will be I alternately shudder and laugh), and they will most likely go along with the path of least resistance. The media will no doubt be trumpeting the women's vote as the deciding factor, and all the Dem's efforts will be geared to win back their support (which, in their minds, means lots and lots of abortion).

In this case expect to see Hillary take a leading role in the Senate. Perhaps she will usurping Harry Reid as majority leader, but she may just take McCain's role as the elder statesman working outside the party's chain of command. She will work to make sure some legislation is accomplished with the McCain administration, letting her run in 2012 as a moderate and effective leader. Ironically, the grudging respect she's won from some conservatives this year (based mostly on the fact that she's not Obama) may well help her refine her image as a moderate.

If the election is close, I can see The Faithful lashing out in all directions. So many little things that could have tipped the election will lead to numerous "if only's". Their distaste for Palin will degenerate into hatred currently reserved for Dick Cheney. They will resist the Hillary Tide, likely blaming her for Obama's loss. They will do all they can to ensure that The One is atop the ticket again in 2012. My inner desire for drama conjures images of a civil war between Democrats, essentially blacks vs women. I doubt it'll be quite that dramatic, but, essentially, that's what it will be.

At the same time, expect the Dems in the House and Senate to obstruct McCain at every turn. McCain will learn, as Bush did, that you cannot reach out to those that hate you. And while I do expect Hillary to still play the moderate role, in this scenario she will be hamstrung by her party's strife.

-Michael T. Dunleavy

I'd like to see them all go to a giant Koolaid drinkathon.
BUT, no such luck.
They'll weasel along - on their campuses and in their newsrooms and government and union offices.
Trying to figure out HOW the American voters could be SO stupid.
In 4 years, they'll nominate another PC Euro wannabe.
 
Regards.
Tim Vincent
THE conservative in Vermont.