After President Obama won re-election, Ted Nugent tweeted that his supporters were “pimps, whores & welfare brats & their soulless supporters.” He went on to ask “what subhuman varmint believes others must pay for their obesity booze cellphones birthcontrol abortions & lives.” Bill O’Reilly called them the people who “want stuff,” while Ann Coulter referred to them as the “takers” of our society. Peter Morrison, the Republican Party Treasurer in Hardin County, Texas, achieved national headlines with his Facebook rant that supporters of President Obama were “maggots” and “baby-murdering, tax raising socialists.” Across the conservative blogosphere and via social media outlets, the President’s supporters have been accused of everything from stupidity to solely voting along ethnic lines.

So who are these people really? Are President Obama’s supporters made up of welfare recipients, people lacking a religious affiliation and those without a formal education- essentially the great unwashed masses? The answer is a resounding no.

Let’s look at welfare recipients first. There is a common belief among conservatives that President Obama owes his second term to entitlement programs and those who benefit from them. This is not true. People living in poverty ($15,000 a year or less) don’t make up any greater portion of the electorate than those with an income of over $200,000 a year. Both groups equate to about 6% of voters. Although there are certainly more poor people than those making over $200,000 a year, the groups vote at very different rates. It’s simply a misconception that poor people vote. Most do not. Although the poor tend to vote Democrat when they do vote, so do people making over $200,000 per year. President Obama also received 73% of the Asian American vote, and this group earns more per capita than anyone else. As to those receiving Medicare and Social Security (over 65), 56% voted for Mitt Romney.

There is also a belief among conservatives that those without a religious affiliation (i.e. the soulless baby-murderers) are to thank for President Obama’s victory. This is also not true. African Americans voted for President Obama at the rate of 93%, and Latinos at the rate of 71%. Both groups report a higher church attendance than any others. Catholics voted at a rate of 50% to 48% for President Obama, while Jewish people went with President Obama to the tune of 69%. Those voters who did not list a religious affiliation voted overwhelming for President Obama (70%) but make up less than 20% of the electorate.

The final myth is that President Obama’s supporters lack an education. The exact opposite is actually true. A majority of those with a post graduate degree voted for President Obama. Republicans and Democrats are fairly even with those having only a high school education trending Republican. As voters gain formal education they tend to vote Democrat. This is a phenomenon that has been occurring since the 1980s when those with a college degree used to vote overwhelmingly for Republicans.

Other groups who supported President Obama are young people and women. Voters from 18 to 29 voted 60% for him and voters from 30-39 voted 55% for him. Women, who make up 53% of the electorate, went with President Obama 55% of the time. Single women, who account for 23% of all voters, supported him overwhelmingly at 67%. The only groups won by Mitt Romney were white voters, who make up 72% of the electorate, but continue to shrink in numbers, and Protestants.

So, to answer the question succinctly as to who are the supporters of President Obama- it’s everybody else. And there is no relief in sight for the primarily white Republican Party. 50,000 Latinos will turn 18 every month for the next 2 decades, while women, young people and African Americans continue to turn out in record numbers.

With President Obama being so vulnerable this time, it begs the question of whether he actually won or if the policies of the Republican Party were rejected. Exit polls revealed that voters found Democrat policies more favorable to the middle class, Latinos, women and youth, and also that President Obama cared more about people like themselves. Most voters also blamed Republican policies for the current economic condition.

While Republican soul-search this week, they should look at not just the lack of inclusiveness of the party itself, but also of its policies. The United States isn’t just changing, it’s changed. Good Republican ideas have been squelched by concepts like “self-deportation” and “legitimate rape.” Responsible fiscal conservatism is just what this country needs, but the social agenda baggage needs to be checked at the door. It’s time to say good-bye to the Tea Party and hello to demographics and math.

Sources Include:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/ted-nugent-on-obama-election-twitter-rant-economic-spiritual-suicide_n_2094490.html
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/bill-oreilly-white-establishment-is-now-the-minority-people-support-obama-because-they-want-things/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/demoralized-ann-coulter-laura-ingraham-over-hope_n_2089678.html
http://www.salon.com/2012/11/09/texas_gop_official_maggots_re_elected_obama/singleton/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/09/17/rush-limbaugh-says-welfare-recipients-turn-out-to-vote-in-force-they-really-dont/
http://www.asian-nation.org/model-minority.shtml
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-election-20121111,0,2275455.story
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2012-exit-poll
http://www.gallup.com/poll/125999/mississippians-go-church-most-vermonters-least.aspx
http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/75.5.pdf
http://www.governing.com/blogs/politics/gov-political-demographic-trends-brighter-for-democrats.html

Do elections have consequences? If you have been paying attention to the financial markets, you might think so. Wall Street has had two horrible days since President Obama won a second term.

However, stock prices are not the only thing taking a hit. It appears that the job market is also suffering. In the last 48 hours, the following major corporations have announced layoffs in America (links take you to news stories about the layoffs – with details from the companies):

• Energizer –

The St. Louis-based company said Thursday that it expects to shed about 1,500 employees. When finished, the restructuring should lead to $200 million in pretax yearly savings, Energizer said. It aims to have most of its restructuring steps finished by the end of September 2014.

• Exide Technologies –

Exide Technologies announced Thursday that it will be idling its lead-recycling operations in Laureldale and laying off 150 workers, effective no later than March 31.

• Westinghouse –

Westinghouse Anniston, the contractor responsible for shutting down Anniston’s chemical weapons incinerator, has reduced its workforce by another 50 employees.

• Research in Motion Limited –

Research in Motion Ltd., the maker of BlackBerry smartphones, laid off about 200 people at its U.S. headquarters in Irving on Wednesday, according to a source close to the company who did not want to be named.

• Lightyear Network Solutions –

More than one dozen employees at a Pikeville company lost their jobs this week. Officials with Lightyear Network Solutions said they are consolidating offices in Louisville and Pikeville to save money.

• Providence Journal –

The Providence Journal Co. laid off 23 full-time workers Wednesday as part of a cost-cutting effort, including 16 members of the Providence Newspaper Guild and 7 non-union employees.

• Hawker Beechcraft –

The company says 240 employees will lose their jobs with the closing of Hawker Beechcraft Services facilities in Little Rock, Ark.; Mesa, Ariz.; and San Antonio, Texas.

• Boeing (30% of their management staff) –

Boeing Co. said Wednesday it plans to employ 30% fewer executives at its Boeing Defense, Space & Security unit by the end of 2012 compared to 2010 levels.

• CVPH Medical Center –

CVPH Medical Center has handed pink slips to 17 employees. The layoffs — nine in management and eight hourly staffers — are part of an effort to “help bolster the hospital’s financial position in 2013 and beyond,” a press release said.

• US Cellular –

The move will result in 980 job cuts at U.S. Cellular, with 640 in the Chicago area, according to a spokeswoman. The cuts are slightly under 12 percent of the approximately 8,400 total employees U.S. Cellular had at the end of the third quarter.

• Momentive Performance Materials –

About 150 workers at Sistersville’s Momentive Performance Materials plant will be temporarily laid off later this month, officials said this week.

• Rocketdyne –

About 100 employees at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, most of whom work in the San Fernando Valley, were laid off Wednesday in response to dwindling government spending on space exploration, the company said. The layoffs were effective immediately, and 75 percent of them came at the facilities on Canoga and De Soto avenues, which employ about 1,100 people. The company has six sites across the Valley.

• Brake Parts –

The leader of an automotive parts plant in Lincoln County has told state officials that there are plans to lay off 75 workers starting in late December…The layoffs are expected to start Dec. 28 and continue in the first quarter of 2013

• Vestas Wind Systems –
Vestas Wind Systems A/S (VWS) is seeking to sell a stake of as much as 20 percent and said it’s reducing headcount by 3,000 to raise the staff cuts by the biggest wind turbine maker to almost a third over two years.

• Husqvarna –

Husqvarna AB (HUSQB), the world’s biggest maker of powered garden tools, plans to cut about 600 jobs in a move that will save 220 million kronor ($33 million) a year by 2014.

• Center for Hospice New York –

The Center for Hospice and Palliative Care plans to temporarily lay off as many as 40 employees next year as it embarks on a major renovation of the inpatient unit at its Cheektowaga campus.

• Bristol-Meyers –

Bristol-Myers Squibb is following up its lackluster third-quarter results with almost 480 layoffs. As Pharmalot reports, the company notified the New Jersey government that it would scale back in Plainsboro, which means the cuts will hit its sales operations.

• OCE North America –

Trumbull printer- and scanning-equipment provider Oce North America, Inc. will lay off 135 workers in three Connecticut communities, including East Hartford, according to its notice with the state Labor Department.

• Darden Restaurants –

The company, which was among those who had received an Obamacare waiver in the past, is looking to limit workers to 28 hours per week. A full time employee that is required to have health insurance (lest the employer pay a fine) works 30 hours per week, as defined by the Obamacare law.

• West Ridge Mine –

In its statement, UtahAmerican Energy blames the Obama administration for instituting policies that will close down “204 American coal-fired power plants by 2014″ and for drastically reducing the market for coal.

• United Blood Services Gulf –

United Blood Services Gulf South region, the non-profit blood service provider for much of south Louisiana and Mississippi, will lay off approximately 10 percent of its workforce. It was a hard decision to make according to Susan Begnaud, Regional Center Director for the Gulf South region.
A layoff is tough enough for employees to deal with, imagine hearing the crushing news that your office is shutting down just before Thanksgiving and Christmas… Here are some of the business closings that were announced in just the past two days:

Caterpillar Inc. will close its plant in Owatonna Minn.
Mount Pleasant’s Albrecht Sentry Foods
The Target store at Manassas Mall Va.
Millennium Academy in Wake Forest NC
Target Closing Kissimmee FL Location
The Andover Gift Shop in Andover MA
Grand Union Family Markets Closing Storrs Location CT
Movie Scene Milford Location NH
Update: TE Connectivity Closing Greensboro Plant – 620 Layoffs Expected
Gomer’s Fried Chicken in South Kansas City
Kmart in Homer Glen
Fresh Market on Pine Street in Burlington
AGC Glass North America to permanently close its Blue Ridge Plant in Kingsport Tenn.
The Target store at Platte and Academy in Colorado Springs
The Roses store on Reynold Road in Winston-Salem NC
Bost Harley-Davidson at 46th Avenue North and Delaware Ave. in West Nashville TN
Townsend Booksellers in Oakland
The Kmart store in Parkway Plaza off University Drive in Durham NC – 79 Jobs Lost

To see even more companies that announced layoffs since the election, visit the Daily Job Cuts page.

Source: The Blaze

In the wake of President Obama’s reelection, one CEO is taking actions after his criticisms of Obamacare.

Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter said he plans on passing the costs of health care reform to his business onto his employees. According to the Naples News, Schnatter said he is considering reducing workers’ hours, as a result of President Obama’s reelection. Schnatter made headlines over the summer when he told shareholders that the cost of a Papa John’s pizza will increase by between 11 and 14 cents due to Obamacare.

“I got in a bunch of trouble for this,” he said, referring to the comments he made in August, according to Naples News. “That’s what you do, is you pass on costs. Unfortunately, I don’t think people know what they’re going to pay for this.”

Schnatter went on to say he’s neither in support of, nor against the Affordable Care Act, even admitting that “the good news is 100 percent of the population is going to have health insurance.” But he’s not the only one in the chain restaurant industry to admit that workers hours may be reduced, since Obamacare mandates that only employees that work more than 30 hours per week are covered under their employers health insurance plan. For example, Darden restaurants, the parent company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster, has already experimented with reducing workers hours in anticipation of the legislation.

Others have responded to the added costs of Obamacare more harshly, including Applebee’s which has said it won’t hire new workers because of the law. Just this week, a Georgia business owner also claimed he cut employees due to Obamacare and in fact had specifically laid off those who he thought had voted for President Obama.