defriendings

[fpb]

I have defriended asakiyume and sartorias over their repulsive reaction to the defeat of their party on Proposition 8 in California. Their reaction was to blame it all on the supposed interference of a particular religious group. The truth, in fact, is that all major religious groups in the state campaigned aggressively for the proposition, and that voters against it included a large majority of black voters. However, to blame Catholics is unfashionable, to blame Jews un-PC, and to blame Muslims unhealthy. So these ladies, in common it seems with a lot of their kind of persons, managed to find the perfect novel religious scapegoats: the Mormons. Now I have no sympathy for Mormonism as a religion, but I can tell scapegoating when it offends my nostrils, and I was utterly revolted to find people whom I really believed decent human beings indulge in this kind of talk. Any other person on my f-list subscribing to Mormon conspiracy theories, please defriend yourselves and save yourselves some grief.

Comments

[ani-bester.livejournal.com]

*head desk*

Funny thing no one realizes is this:
If Obama won the popular vote on California and Prop 8 was passed by popular vote, it means GASP some people who voted for Obama ALSO voted for Prop 8

It drives me crazy how everyone wants to blame the prop 8 passing only on Republicans and Conservatives when CLEARLY people from their own party voted for it, or it would not have passed -_-

[fpb.livejournal.com]

The vote seems to have been decided by black and Latino support. Of course these are the same blocs that coloured California and most of the rest of the map blue, and without which Obama would not have won (bear in mind that the difference in the popular vote was barely 3%, and that several key states went by a handful of votes). These are groups that are notoriously opposed to social liberalism, but that are absolutely indispensable to the Democratic Party. Scapegoats are therefore badly needed. The Mormons are ideal because the next best scapegoat, the Catholics, would call in the Latino vote. The Mormons, on the other hand, are, a) out of state, b) mostly white and WASP, c) already disliked, and d) suspected of being Republican. Lovely job, ay?

[goreism.livejournal.com]

bear in mind that the difference in the popular vote was barely 3%

More like twice that.

[m-francis.livejournal.com]

Yes and no. Remember, that for all practical purposes, if one percentage goes down the other goes up by a like amount.

Thus, if 3% of Obama voters had voted for McCain instead, the percentages would have been 50%-49%. (Judging by the local paper, some people voted for Obama because they thought he would close the borders to illegal immigrants; so it is not an unlikely thought experiment.)

OTOH, if 3% of Obama voters had simply stayed home, the vote totals would have changed only to 52%-47%

Still, it is worth noting that 46% did vote for the Other and 1% voted (in effect) for Neither One. Only in places like New England, California, Philadelphia County, et al. was the vote dramatically lopsided.

The wonderful thing about the electoral college is that while it usually gives a clear victory to one candidate, it cautions against regarding the victory as a "mandate."