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Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States. So who voted for him, why and what can they expect? One of the largest reasons for people voting for Obama was those who know no better than what they hear from the media. The strong dislike of President Bush is a huge factor. Amazingly with all the facts about who is responsible for the economic meltdown there are still a lot of people blaming it on Bush. In fact there are so many things blamed on Bush that I know his record will not be cleared for many years. Not until the historians who are not influenced by today’s media and propaganda start to record what happened. The facts will never change, which will work in his favor. Bush’s approval rating is an influenced opinion on Americans. Not until we look back in a non partisan effort to see what happened will we have an accurate assessment. In the end the facts will prevail but unfortunately that does not help us today.

So here is a quick break down of the vote and why each group voted for Obama. Some of the info here is based off the actual reports and some is based on just my conversations with people.

Update: Great video added at end of post.

Blacks

I will start with the obvious one so that those who read this and wish to call me racist can get it over with. The fact here is that 98% of blacks voted for Obama. You would think there would be nothing left to write but I have more. It is true that Democrats always get the majority of the black vote but in this case it was a pretty significant amount. Why? Same policies. He is offering nothing different than the other liberals before him. In fact if anything he is far more liberal than those before him and should have easily kept conservative blacks voting for McCain. But as we saw blacks who have a record that is completely against Obama’s policies, still voted for him. Such as but certainly not limited to Colin Powell.

Democrats have done nothing for blacks. They give them “hope”, a “hope” that something will help them but it never happens. Most blacks and most Americans for that matter are lacking some very important information. Republicans have always been the party for blacks. That all changed with propaganda from the Democrats of course. But here are the facts. Slavery was ended under a Republican President against Democrat protest. Abraham Lincoln was a Republican who went against the Democrats. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican. The KKK was founded by Democrats. The list goes on and on but I don’t have time to cover it all.  A great resource is the National Black Republican Association which has a great article about it here. They have all the info.

So although it is a historic moment for the U.S. and I hope one that ends the racial divide (Which I doubt), nothing will change in the black communities. The party that offers them the greatest chance for success is one that they put off year after year. Freedom and opportunity are how you succeed in this world. Handouts will only keep you where you are and secure your vote. Just look at every successful black person in this country they did it with hard work and without the handouts. Including Barack Obama.

Christians

I would like to get this one out of the way because it is a bit of a deceptive number. Reports show that 45% of Christians voted for Obama. The first way to look at this is that if you just claim you are a Christian you are included in that number. There is no separation in that between those who claim to be and those who are actually living the Christian life. Or as they are sometimes classified as “Born Again”. I know plenty of people who call themselves “Christians” but would fail the conviction test. That meaning that if it were illegal to be a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you? I can promise you that a very slim number of those who are “day to day” Christians voted for Obama.

There are always Christians who will vote on 2 main issues. That is of course abortion and gay marriage. I as a “born again” Christian agree with them on these issues. But far more when it comes to politics. In fact when speaking on politics, abortion and gay rights are not that often in the discussion. There is far more difference in conservatism vs liberalism than those 2 issues. Although they are important to me there is much more at stake in the country. Those 2 issues cost Democrats the vote the majority of the time. That 45% number does not really describe this segment of the vote. Also keep in mind that most blacks consider themselves Christians and this would affect that number as well.

Youth / Young Adults

Although the statistics show that the number of youth voting was not significantly higher. There is no doubt that the youth and young adults were far more involved in the vote this year. This may not have had a direct impact in votes but certainly fanned the flames of Obama popularity and most likely had an indirect effect. I have even heard from a couple Christian youth who were rooting for Obama. So what causes this. The basic answer is gullibleness and not enough knowledge on politics or American history. This of course fades with age for most and would be less true of some of the early twenties voters. But you can trust me when I say that the school systems do not help the situation. I remember when I hit 18 and they were registering us at my High School. The lady filling out the form said “Democrat or Republican?” I said “I have no idea, I think I am a Republican.” This question for me and most of my friends at the time was like asking our religion. Whatever our parents are that must be what we are. There was not a clear teaching of the history and policies in politics. In fact the most pressing memory of politics in my schooling, was a teacher telling the class that a Republican candidate was tied to the KKK. I can assure you nothing has changed in our schools since then.

The bottom line is that the younger black man who is against the “evil” President Bush was the popular vote. He was the one with the brilliant iphone app. The Obama campaign did a great job of energizing the youth. They used the resources to reach them. Again as the numbers show this probably did not have a direct influence on the vote and apathy once again dominated the youth. I have no doubt that it did have an indirect influence on spreading the word on places like MySpace and Facebook as well as other social media. Funny thing was that whenever I would ask why they are supporting Obama there was not much to the answer. Usually the standard “change” answer or “McCain is too old”. Not much substance in the answer and when they tried to talk the “talking points” they rarely had the facts to do so. There is hope however I too was very similar and was able to one day decide to wise up and start thinking for myself.

Anti-War

Many voters were simply voting against the war. Unfortunately many Americans have no understanding of what freedom costs. They choose to ignore the fact that when we we’re not on the offensive we were a sitting target under the Clinton Administration. We were attacked again and again while not responding. Yet some how they believe that if we just continue to be a doormat they will leave us alone. They do not understand the hatred for freedom these enemies have.

Of course those outside the U.S. when they say they hope we elect Obama is because they are against the war. Of course they cannot vote but may have again had an indirect effect on voters. I did hear quite a few times that the world’s opinion was a big factor. You’ve seen the news coverage of what other countries think and I have spoken to friends outside the country. The dominating reason for the dislike of Bush is the war. They couldn’t care less if it was the right thing to do. They have no regard for Saddam’s treatment of his people or his $25,000 checks to suicide bombers families or his constant disregard for U.N. mandates. They generally just don’t like war. They are not concerned with what Obama’s policies will do to this country as long as he is against the war. Although they may want to rethink that as it seems lately that as America goes so the world goes. Just look at the economy’s effect on the global market.

America is known as the “Leader of the Free World”! We are at the top and somehow we want to make decisions based on what other countries think? Maybe the New York Giants after winning the Superbowl should have let the rest of the NFL pick a new coach for them! Quick someone tell the Phillies there is time to switch there coach, it’s time for change!

Democrats

Of course then there are the party lines. The conservatives, although the media tried to tell you they all bolted for Obama, came out 56 million strong. Also you must take into consideration that many conservatives did not want to vote for McCain but against Obama. He is not the most conservative candidate we could have had. Romney or Huckabee would have been the best representation of conservative policies. Once again this would not drive people to Obama but keep that divide. To think that because McCain is more center than Conservatives want him to be would send them to way over to the left for Obama is ridiculous. I know, I know “but the media said….” I don’t care how many people they convince to say they are Republicans voting for Obama they were really more like independents who may have voted once for a Republican.

So the Democrats think they got what they wanted but most likely have no idea what they got. Socialism has hijacked the party and most Democrats do not realize what they just voted for. They were just so ready to get the White House back that they missed what was really being sold to them. I have seen the Democrats run a campaign that has hints of socialism and communism before. The Clinton’s certainly have plenty of that. But this is the first time we have seen such an open campaign of socialism. Obama was able to openly sugar coat his socialist policies, so that he could keep them in the open and have his supporters act like they don’t see them. This could also be a turning point for Democrats. Either they will drive write off the cliff into socialism and have no concern about it. Or if things go as bad as I see them going this could send Democrats back to the center.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line here is that many do not know what they just voted for. Yes the black community got a black president and a historical event for America. No, they won’t be better off in the end. They will continue to be paid to stay where they are. The restrictions that have kept them there will stay there, as Democrats want them to. This will secure their future votes. Of course there will be the exceptions who will continue to thrive and reject the system that Democrats have put in place for them.

The youth will look back one day and question what they were thinking (as I once did). As more grounded adults most will regret that the decisions they made helped put them in the place they will be in 4 years from now. Some will of course stray further left probably depending on what colleges they attend.

The anti-war crowd will not get what they think they are getting. The troops will stay in Iraq. Obama will not be able to pull them out in 16 months. In fact there is a good reason to believe they will be there when he is up for re-election. I think he is smart enough to see the disaster it would be to pull them out. He would certainly have that over his head the rest of his life if what is now an amazing story for Iraq, ends up a disaster due to his decision. But at least we may go back to being attacked every now and then and not responding. That should certainly make them happy.

There are a lot more groups that could be covered but I believe that these were the areas that swung the vote. It is also the area that concerns me the most because I know that many of them were clueless to what they were voting for. This is not a socialist country, this is a “center-right” country. We are predominantly conservative. It was the right place and time for Obama to sneak in and he had a ton of money to spread the word. The media helped to paint the horrific picture of Bush and McCain and painted the field of dreams for Obama. At some point although I doubt it, I hope they are held accountable for their bias.

Hey maybe I’m wrong on Obama, judging by his words and his record I do not believe so. I hope I am, I hope he becomes the greatest President in history. It is not about me being right but what is right for this great country. I hope that America stands up to the media and demands truth not spin and bias. There job is to report the truth and not promote false documents about Republicans. Not to make sure that Obama is a success as Chris Mathews recently said. There job is to report to you the truth no matter who it favors. This is not what the media does today and it is time for Americans, Democrat or Republican to demand that they do!

As A Conservative What Do You Do Now That Obama is President?