Why is my family shocked I like Obama?

[Human Snorenado]

me and my Alaskan family of liberals (we are very, very rare) are voting Obama.  But I personally only know very few people who ain't voting for Palin/McCain.

We were a red state before, we will remain a red state.  And the Palin nomination got all the conservatives here (pretty much everybody) EXTRA excited about the election.  And yes, I've heard the muslim thing all before.

Do you think that Palin's candidacy can save Ted Stevens and Don Young?  Or will Begich and Berkowitz pull out their races?  It would be great to get rid of Senator Tubes.

[Brehvolution]

If you made those Crushed, you are more awesome.

[Mandark]

Y'all make me glad that my extended family is made up of progressive Catholics and Jews.

It does kind of starve me for "here's what the regular folks think" anecdotes, though.

[Fragamemnon]

Do you think that Palin's candidacy can save Ted Stevens and Don Young?  Or will Begich and Berkowitz pull out their races?  It would be great to get rid of Senator Tubes.

Young's toast no matter what.
Stevens will be closer but Stevens can't escape gravity's pull between the trial (regardless of the outcome) and the current economic situation that is rapidly mutating into a plague that targets Republican incumbents.

my family is a long line of Southern Democrats, they voted for Carter ,  Reagan and then Clinton, then Gore and Kerry after Rove went all hyperpartisan in 2004. I don't share their beliefs exactly though and pop a woody when I hear words like "socialized", "nationalized", and "regulation".

[Mandark]

If the residents of any state could avoid feeling the pinch of our current collapse, I'd figure it would be Alaskans.  After all, their economy rests on the twin pillars of oil extraction and largess from the federal government.

[Fragamemnon]

If the residents of any state could avoid feeling the pinch of our current collapse, I'd figure it would be Alaskans.  After all, their economy rests on the twin pillars of oil extraction and largess from the federal government.

We all have retirement to pay for, and we all use stocks to help pay for it, at least in part.

[Mandark]

Ooooooooh yeah.  Those 401(k) statements aren't going to look pretty.

[Fragamemnon]

Ooooooooh yeah.  Those 401(k) statements aren't going to look pretty.

They are REALLY bad. It's part of the reason why McCain's support in PA and FL have completely collapsed-people, even if they don't know how much they have lost in their 401(k)s and IRAs, know that they have lost a ton.  If they knew just how much (likely 30% or more for most workers under 50, even with decent asset allocations), we'd see demands for public executions of financial services CEOs, which I would completely be willing to participate in if they needed someone to wear the righteous black hoodie of mob anger.

I got lucky and freaked into mostly cash months ago, and only have had a overall retirement haircut of around 7%.

[TVC15]

Ooooooooh yeah.  Those 401(k) statements aren't going to look pretty.

They are REALLY bad. It's part of the reason why McCain's support in PA and FL have completely collapsed-people, even if they don't know how much they have lost in their 401(k)s and IRAs, know that they have lost a ton.  If they knew just how much (likely 30% or more for most workers under 50, even with decent asset allocations).

I got lucky and freaked into mostly cash months ago, and only have had a overall retirement haircut of around 7%.

My mom, in PA, was going to retire next February.  She had been planning on it for over 3 years.  Let's just say she's uh, not retiring now and she's not sure if she can ever retire, due to the 401k hit she took.

Luckily, I absolutely hate her, so I've ignored all of her stupid woman hints of indirectly asking for help without actually asking for it.  Even if she directly asked, I'd let the bitch rot.

[brawndolicious]

in a stunningly rare display of political consistency, my dad, who was turned off of kerry by the swift boat efforts, was ALSO turned even further off of mccain by that rolling stone article about mccain's military service.

Is that Rolling Stone article legit, or just part of some run n' gun smear campaign?

Well, the worst parts were him crashing planes, giving up military intelligence, and causing a blackout over spain so there's no way they could have made up those things without being sued for libel or something.  The parts about McCain's attitude/temper were based on interviews with his friends or with reporters so I'm betting that the whole article was completely accurate.  It was obviously written only to attack McCain but there is no way that you can claim that much without solid evidence.

[tiesto]

Ooooooooh yeah.  Those 401(k) statements aren't going to look pretty.

They are REALLY bad. It's part of the reason why McCain's support in PA and FL have completely collapsed-people, even if they don't know how much they have lost in their 401(k)s and IRAs, know that they have lost a ton.  If they knew just how much (likely 30% or more for most workers under 50, even with decent asset allocations), we'd see demands for public executions of financial services CEOs, which I would completely be willing to participate in if they needed someone to wear the righteous black hoodie of mob anger.

I got lucky and freaked into mostly cash months ago, and only have had a overall retirement haircut of around 7%.

Just went and looked at my 401k... went from $41k in there at the start of 2008 to $32k

Luckily, I have 30+ years before I even think about retiring.

[huckleberry]

That article on McCain is pretty rock solid in facts.  I have read a few articles that talk about his famous temper tantrum throwing before and after he made it to Congress.  Alexander Cockburn on Counterpunch has written some scathing criticism of McCain talking about these very things.


My family, unfortunately, is made up of hillbillies and fundies - so they will be voting for McCain.  They all have known my mind for years now and don't even try to bring up politics for fear of being brow beaten by their own ignorance.  My brother in Detroit is married to a working class white girl who, from what I can tell, is afraid of all things black and will definitely not vote for Obama.  My youngest brother will vote Obama - unfourtunately he is one of those who listens to Coast to Coast and believes in Nostradamus.  

My wifes family includes all those kinds of idiot you saw on the YouTube videos at the Palin rally in Ohio.  They are typically southern Ohioan - xenophobic to the core.  Just the name "Obama" is enough to send them into a fury.  The only sane one is my father in law who has shed his suit of ignorance and will actually vote for Democrats.  He is the one who called me on election day 4 years ago to let me know about the scam they were pulling letting people still vote for Nader even though he had been taken off the ballot.

It really does no good for me to even vote in the Presidential election this year - McCain is going to win my state in a huge way.  Of course getting rid of McConnell would be great - except the guy who is trying to replace him (Lundsford) is an incompetent hack.  It would be wonderful to help creat a power vacuum in the Senate by getting rid of McConnell.  The senatorial election is very close here - mostly due to the state Democratic party putting their support behind Lundsford - who is widely seen as someone who just wants to get elected to an office, any office.

[MrAngryFace]

blech, snl giving palin the hate and fear monger air time on the 25th

[Human Snorenado]

Y'all make me glad that my extended family is made up of progressive Catholics and Jews.

It does kind of starve me for "here's what the regular folks think" anecdotes, though.

My dad is a Libertarian.   :'(

My mom is a crazy old hippie that was totally in the can for Hillary, but never HATED Obama.  She's actually volunteering at the Obama office in Asheville and apparently met him when he was there last week.  My sister is in the can for Obama, too.

Most encouraging is my uncle on my mom's side.  He's an old school, Rockefeller Republican.  He was actually the County Commissioner of a small town county in western Michigan about 15 years ago and he's someone who I genuinely respect.  He spends most of his time in Ireland these days but told me in an email last week that "for the first time in my life, I am voting a straight Democratic ticket and I will do it with no compunctions whatsoever."

[AdmiralViscen]

Why do people expect Palin to run in 2012? I feel like she'll just recede back into Alaska and stay where she's loved.

[Eric P]

my parents are PUMAs.

kind of depressing

[Fragamemnon]

Why do people expect Palin to run in 2012? I feel like she'll just recede back into Alaska and stay where she'll be jailed for abuse of power.

One can hope, right?

[chronovore]

blech, snl giving palin the hate and fear monger air time on the 25th

I'll blow back in her face.

Speaking of which, any chance she'll also do an appearance on MILF Hunter?

[Crushed]

If you made those Crushed, you are more awesome.

Not me. I don't have the 3D skills.

It comes from this freaking awesome SA thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2969549

[cool breeze]

That's awesome.

[Oblivion]

in a stunningly rare display of political consistency, my dad, who was turned off of kerry by the swift boat efforts, was ALSO turned even further off of mccain by that rolling stone article about mccain's military service. ultimately, though, he thinks mccain is a "wall street socialist" and that obama is merely "toothless," so he grudingly admits he'll vote obama. this is actually pleasantly surprising, since my dad drops the n-bomb in conversation at LEAST every fifteen minutes.

Your dad sounds fuckin awesome, dude. And I'm not kidding either.

[Van Cruncheon]

my dad is a dude's dude, for sure; he takes being "hardcore" to new levels, like when he fell off a roof onto his back, cracked three vertebrae, and then climbed back up onto the roof to finish the tiling job 4 hours later despite being in terrible agony. or when he busted his nose body-surfing, swam back to shore, and rebroke it himself using two pieces of wood so it would set (he was a field medic in vietnam). the stories he tells from his 'nam days are

shame his intellectual rigor isn't exactly up to the same level. the racism gets old when you know he's being serious, or worse: when he tries to defend it.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

If the residents of any state could avoid feeling the pinch of our current collapse, I'd figure it would be Alaskans.  After all, their economy rests on the twin pillars of oil extraction and largess from the federal government.

Yeah, we're actually sorta okay.  The skyrocketing cost of oil has offset the more endemic economical worries that the rest of the nation is feeling.

What we really depend on is resource stuff (oil, mining and fish are the biggies) and tourism, federal money is so lovely, but its not the engine behind our economy.  Its more like the new, properly inflated tires on the car.  It helps a whole heckava lot, but other factors are more important.

[laesperanzapaz]

it's funny because my family doesn't cause they think he's a liberal slave to the pockets of Israel... 

<= arabic/muslim

poor obama aint getting love from no one.

seriously i never talked to any radical that thought he's good, they hate his guts *funny yet sad*

wait

so your family is muslim

and they think obama is in the pocket of israel

...

[recursivelyenumerable]

nobody even vaguely left-wing here in Portland likes Obama.  myself included, the way the Democrats didn't even try to advance an alternative to the bailout bullshit was so shameful.

[brawndolicious]

it's funny because my family doesn't cause they think he's a liberal slave to the pockets of Israel... 
<= arabic/muslim
poor obama aint getting love from no one.
seriously i never talked to any radical that thought he's good, they hate his guts *funny yet sad*

wait
so your family is muslim
and they think obama is in the pocket of israel
...

he did express some anti-Iran sentiments when talking to a jewish audience once I believe.  I'm sure he'll say whatever he needs to say for votes though.

[Phoenix Dark]

What do you expect him to say when Israel is involved? Everyone has to dance to their tune 

[Mupepe]

my grandpa almost always calls him "osama"

and my dad hates him

Hispanics tend to hate him

Daddy Yankee endorsed McCain and called him a fighter for hispanic community.  What a dolt.

[Mandark]

my grandpa almost always calls him "osama"

and my dad hates him

Hispanics tend to hate him

Daddy Yankee endorsed McCain and called him a fighter for hispanic community.  What a dolt.

I saw that.  I think he just likes McCain's position on drilling for more gaso-liiiiiiiina.

[Phoenix Dark]

Obama is crushing McCain with hispanics