And in this election, the GOP nomination process made the Smart People(tm) so angry and frustrated that they stayed away in droves ((c) Yogi Berra).This is a point we should not forget, there's a lot of Dumb People(tm) out
there, and this election the propaganda made the Dumb People(tm) vote
Dem.
A goodly number of perfectly smart people were determined to play the game, no matter how rigged it was. My wife and I, and our 18 year old daughter, all trudged faithfully to the polling place and cast votes of conscience. We, and the other 1.25 million "third party" voters, could not begin to offset the 4+ million vote deficit that was a direct result of the massive *YAWN* from the conservative quarter once McCain was anointed as the nominee.
One of the problems is that "conservative" has been redefined. A traditional conservative *should* be a classical liberal, but too often these days the Faux Nooze "conservative" is just another big-government shill with a different agenda.
"Socially conservative" does not equal "politically conservative"; the people of my parents' generation were as socially conservative as it's possible to be, yet they had "Democrat" stamped on their birth certificates and thought FDR, JFK, and LBJ should be saints.
A neoliberal says gay marriage should be legal and recognized in all 50 states; a neoconservative says it should be banned in a constitutional amendment.
-- A conservative says marriage is a personal and/or religious matter, and is none of the gummint's dadgum bidness.
A neoliberal says taxes should be increased on those with wealth, to help those without; a neoconservative says taxes should be decreased on business to spur development and the economy.
-- A conservative says that if we cut spending to what the Constitution actually authorizes the feral gummint to do, we could pay most of it through voluntary fees and quit quibbling about tax rates (and why would we want an "income tax", anyway?!?)
A neoliberal says we should deploy our military throughout the globe as peacekeepers and for humanitarian missions; a neoconservative says we should deploy our military throughout the globe to destroy people who don't like us.
-- A conservative says our military should be small and restricted to our borders and waters.
A neoliberal says we must allow medical marijuana with a prescription from a licensed physician; a neoconservative says marijuana is the demon weed that will lead our daughters into heroin-addicted white slavery.
-- A conservative says that caffeine and alcohol are also drugs, and points out that before 1914's Harrison Act, there was no such thing as a federal "drug" law. Our Founding Fathers were "drug" producers; during WWII, it was patriotic to grow hemp, but now it's Strictly Forbidden.
A neoliberal says guns must be restricted to protect the children, locked away when not used for hunting grouse with the Boys from the Club, and never used for self defense; a neoconservative proclaims the 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms, so long as someone hasn't violated any of many thousands of potential felonies or certain misdemeanors, passes background checks, pays fees, and secures the state's permission to own and/or carry a gun (preferably something seen at a Ducks Unlimited banquet auction).
-- A conservative asks, "What part of 'SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED' is less than crystal clear to you, Sherlock?"
I could go on, but I think I've made my point.