No matter who the leader of the party was, he was going to lose a lot of votes just for being Republican like Bush.
However, the choice of Sarah Palin had to be one of the worst political decisions ever.
The Republicans Party actually listened to their Cretard base who were whining and threatening not to vote. So they picked an anti-choice, anti-science Cretard in Palin to appease their knuckle dragging, reality denying base.
Big problem was that John McCain is a 72 year old cancer survivor who looks his age. Actuaries went to work and figured that there is a 7-12% chance that McCain doesn't make it to 76, which of course means that a an idiot Rapturist would become the most powerful person in the world.
The result is that the Republican Party alienated most secular undecided voters. It most likely turned secular Republicans into Obama voters as well. Also, many women especially were turned off with her anti-choice rhetoric. We'll know more when some polls start coming out regarding the factors of why people voted for Obama (there are probably a few out now, but I haven't had seen any that were significant as yet).
It is hard to put a number on it, but atheists and agnostics most likely make up around 30-45 million voters in the USA today, and the numbers and percentages are increasing each and every day thanks the logical arguments that exist against religion and its history and the sound point that if you really really think about it, no actual evidence for any God exists.
Separation of church and state might not be spelled out in the Constitution, but rational human beings realize that for freedom of religion and beliefs to take place, freedom from religion must be practiced by the government.
Sarah Palin, besides be a borderline idiot, can only be seen as someone who not only would blur the line between church and state, she would try to erase it if she had enough power to do so.
The Religious Right with their anti-evolution, anti-choice, anti-equal rights for gays, etc. are an embarrassment to America. They should not be taken seriously at all by any politician. If they decide not to vote, it would be the best thing for America.
I'm hoping the Republican Party will not take heed from Conservative Right Wing nut jobs like Ann Coulter (who "thinks" that it was the choice of McCain that brought down the Republicans and not Palin), because that would lead to the death of the two party system in the most powerful nation on the planet (There would only be one feasible party to vote for regardless of just about anything that happens in the meantime). They must now forget the Religious Right and go after the purple voters. The atheists, agnostics, secularists. Those are the votes that count. Stick to fiscal policies and protecting the country. Let the party with the best policies win. Religion should not matter one iota in an election. Gay marriages and abortion should not even be on the federal agenda...they shouldn't be issues at all. Women have a right to choose and gays have a right to get married. The USA isn't a Muslim nation is it?
Canada does it right Federally. Our Prime Minister, who I voted for, is a Conservative Christian. He does not blur the line between church and state. He knows it is political suicide, as John Tory recently found out in Ontario. And Canada now has a population that included 23% atheists. Unfortunately most are in the closet, but that is changing quickly as well.
Funny that our conservative party is far to the left of Obama, and Obama is called a Marxist by many Republican idiots. It cracks me up. Anyone living in Canada understands this.
Another thing that bothered me is the idea of Obama being a socialist. Reality Check: Anytime tax money is being redistributed, it is a form of socialism. Tax dollars going to pay for schools or armies is a form of socialism. OK, Obama's policies were a little more socialistic than McCain's, but nowhere near as socialistic as Canada's Right Wing. This was just desperation from the Republicans, and intelligent people saw right through it.
Regarding gay marriage, Friendly Atheist has some real good questions for anyone opposed to gays having the exact same rights as us heterosexuals.
I'm disturbed that Obama might have caused Proposition 8 to win in California. I've read a theory that Hispanics and blacks who normally wouldn't have voted, came out to do so for Obama. But Hispanics and blacks seem to be OK with equality as long as it doesn't mean gays are equal. Not to mention that these two groups are highly religious.
A good read that came out before the election regarding Palin and religious intolerance: Sally Quinn: Obama, McCain, and Religious (In)Tolerance
Yes, religion matters in an election because belief matters. What does McCain really believe about "agents of intolerance" such as Robertson. Does Sarah Palin really believe -- as she seems to have said -- that God wants her to build an oil pipeline? Or that the Iraq war is a mission from God? She believes in Creationism and the End Times. These are not trivial matters. We are talking about religious beliefs that could have a huge impact on major domestic and foreign policy issues.
Ignorance leads to fear and intolerance and bigotry and in some cases violence -- as we have seen in this campaign. We can choose leaders who are exclusive, who reject the views of others and want to impose their beliefs on all of us, or we can choose those who are inclusive, who feel that their beliefs are right but who tolerate and appreciate the beliefs and non-beliefs of others.
I vote for tolerance and pluralism.
I HOPE THIS ELECTION MARGINALIZED THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT FOR GOOD AND THE GOOD OF HUMANITY
