Nov. 12, 2004
www.guilfordian.com
America votes; Republicans gain decisive majority
Kali Griggs
Staff Writer
Electoral victory has given
President George W.
Bush four more years to fight
the War on Terror, and pursue a
conservative, tax-cutting agen
da. He may also have the
opportunity to appoint one or
more new justices to the
Supreme Court, and will preside
over Republican majorities in
the House and Senate.
Bush failed to earn the popu
lar vote in the contested 2000
presidential election. With 99
percent of precincts reporting
nationwide by nightfall this Nov.
2, however, the president had
earned 58.7 million votes, or 51
percent of the popular vote.
Sen. John Kerry (D - Mass.)
won 55.1 million votes, 48 per
cent of the popular vote.
Well into the early morning
hours of Nov. 3, the swing state
of Ohio had hung in the bal
ance, leaving the election too
close to call. Eventually, news
casters called the Buckeye
State for Bush. According to the
Web site of the Ohio Secretary
of State, Bush won 51.01 per
cent of the votes in Ohio, while
48.52 percent went for Kerry.
CBS News and The
Associated Press reported Nov.
5 that Bush had added another
feather to the Republicans' cap
by winning lowa, another swing
state. lowa county officials had
continued to tabulate absentee
and provisional ballots days
after the election. Their totals
eventually showed Bush leading
Kerry 745,980 votes to 732,764.
The state officially turned red
when the number of votes left to
be counted became too small to
change the outcome of the elec
tion.
lowa's seven electoral votes
would not have affected Bush,
anyway. Seizing victory in Ohio
had given him the 270 electoral
votes he needed to win. Bush
finished with 286 electoral votes;
Kerry, with 252.
Kerry bows out, Bush revs up
Kerry did not deliver his con
cession speech until he believed
victory in Ohio, which would
have swung the election to him,
was a statistical improbability.
Kerry and his running mate,
WORLD & NATION
Sen. John Edwards (D - N.C.),
spoke to supporters Nov. 3 at
Fanueil Hall in Boston.
"In an American election,
there are no losers," Kerry said.
"Because whether or not our
candidates are successful, the
next morning, we all wake up as
Americans. And that - that is the
greatest privilege and the most
remarkable good fortune that
can come to us on earth."
At a White House press con
ference Nov. 4, Bush discussed
his priorities for the next four
years.
He said he wanted to move
swiftly toward an "ownership
society," and pledged to simplify
the tax code and pursue major
structural changes in Social
Security that would
allow younger U.S.
workers to invest part
of their Social Security
benefits in the stock
market. Bush repeated
his intent to enact leg
islation that would
reduce medical mal
practice awards.
Bush said he does
not anticipate the need
for any tax increases,
despite looming budg-
et deficits. The presi
dent did urge lawmakers to
exercise discipline on spending
bills, and to enact an intelligence
reform bill when they return later
this month.
Bush portrayed himself as
resolute in his beliefs, and said
he will work with Democrats if
they are receptive to his ideas,
and leave them behind if they
are not.
"I'll reach out to everyone who
shares our goals," he said,
though he vowed to try to win
over those who had voted for
Kerry just 24 hours prior.
The president refused to say
how much the war in Iraq would
eventually cost, or whether he
planned to increase or cut the
number of troops deployed to
Iraq. "I have yet to hear from our
commanders on the ground that
they need more troops," he
said.
A spokesman from the White
House said that Bush is expect
ed to ask for up to $75 billion for
Iraq, Afghanistan, and other
operations in the War on Terror
early next year.
"Values voters"
According to The New York
Times, exit polls from around
the country showed that voters
frequently used words like
"faith," "integrity," "trust," and
"family" to describe their rea
sons for voting for Bush. Jamie
Radney, a senior CCE student
at the college, echoed those atti
tudes.
"I may have a different per
spective because I am a moth
er," Radney, who is expecting
her second child in late
December, said. "I felt that he
represented more of my val
ues."
Radney admitted that she
remains suspicious of Bush's
motives for going to war in Iraq,
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WWW.USOFFICEPRISTINA.RPO.AT
President George Bush
and feels more concerned that
he has turned his back on
troops who were deployed to
Afghanistan.
"I worry about not knowing the
full truth," she said.
Radney's cousin is currently
serving in the U.S. Marine
Corps as a helicopter mechanic,
and must rotate to the front lines
of the war every other month.
"Her husband is also in the
Marines, and they have a young
child," Radney said. "I'm scared
that (when the war is over) they
will not be together as a family."
An exit poll conducted by The
New York Times showed that
22 percent of voters cited "moral
values" as the issue that mat
tered most to them. The econo
my came in a close second with
20 percent. Terrorism placed
third with 19 percent, Iraq trailed
at 15 percent, and health care
followed at eight percent. Five
percent of voters said taxes
were the issue most important
to them, while another four per
cent cited education as their top
priority.
The New York Times reported
that voters in all 11 states with
same-sex marriage initiatives on
the ballot approved amend
ments to their state constitutions
that will define marriage as a
union between a man and a
woman.
Voters in Montana approved
an initiative to legalize medical
marijuana, and California voters
authorized $3 billion for stem
cell research.
In Florida, voters approved a
constitutional amendment
requiring parental notification
before minors can receive abor
tion services, and agreed to
raise the minimum wage to
$6.15 an hour and impose limits
on damage awards or attorney's
fees in medical malpractice
cases.
Blue donkeys
Democrats were bewildered
by losses in the Senate, particu
larly the defeat of Senate
Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D
- S.D.), an 18-year veteran. The
defeat of Daschle, whose politi
cal career has spanned 26
years is a historic one - not
since 1952, when Emest
McFarland (D - Ariz.) lost to
Republican Barry Goldwater
has a Senate leader lost his bid
for reelection. Republican
Senator-elect John Thune is
poised to take Daschle's place.
According to the Greensboro
News & Record , the Republican
sweep is set to reshape the
Senate, as more moderate
Democrats will be replaced with
ardent GO.P conservatives.
Democrats had vacated seats in
North Carolina, Florida, Georgia,
Louisiana, and South Carolina.
Official vote tallies show the
Congress, currently with 48
Democrats, 51 Republicans,
and one Independent, heading
for a sea change, as 44
Democrats, 55 Republicans,
and one Independent are set to
return in 2005. The House,
which had 205 Democrats, 227
Republicans, and three "others"
that do not identify with either
major party, will now be com
prised of 200 Democrats, 231
Republicans, one Independent,
and three "others."
When asked if the Democratic
Party can recoup in time for the
2008 elections, Ken Gilmore, a
Page 5
Greensboro. N.C.
professor of political science at
the college, said, "My guess (is
that) the liberal wing of the
Democratic Party will become
even more radical after this loss,
which will aiienate even more
Americans. Worse, there will be
even less room in the
Democratic Party for moderate
politicians, which wili push even
more talent into the Republican
Party."
The bottom line, according to
Gilmore, is that "the country is
moving to the nght."
Tar heeis vote on the issues
Kerry supporters turned
Guilford County blue, as did 17
other North Carolina counties,
but Bush secured the state with
56 percent to 44 percent for
Kerry. In the race for Edwards's
vacated Senate seat, Richard
Burr (N.C. - 05) won, with 52
percent of the vote, compared to
47 percent for his opponent,
Democrat Erskine Bowles.
In the early afternoon of Nov.
2, Charlotte-based News 14
Carolina reported that North
Carolina voter turnout appeared
to be the best since 1992.
However, voter turnout failed to
meet those high expectations.
Late Nov. 3, the state Board of
Elections reported that
3,416,784 people had voted in
North Carolina - only 61.9 per
cent of the 5,519,992 people
registered to vote.
Gary Bartlett, the executive
director of the State Board of
Elections, told News 14 Carolina
that turnout should reach 63
percent once provisional ballots
are calculated. The additions
could bring the number of votes
cast to just under 3.5 million.
Elephants won the majority of
votes at North Carolina polls,
but voters once again elected
Democrat Mike Easley as gov
ernor. The Greensboro News &
Record reported that Easley will
seek more funding for educa
tion, expand incentives for busi
nesses to attract economic
development, and lead the fight
for a statewide lottery.
Republican Howard Coble
('SB) will return to D.C. to repre
sent District 6 beside Democrat
Mel Watt (N.C. -12) and
Republican Virginia Foxx (N.C. -
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