AP / Stephen Morton

They stood in lines, sometimes for hours, to cast their ballot for a man whose leadership vision is to do more of the same. With a vengeance. Unabated by the shaky economy, these voters are younger, more ethnic and less religious than ever before, and according to exit polls, carry a grudge for the very rich.

Stunned at Mitt Romney’s butt whuppin,' conservatives are trying to figure out the meaning of it all; meanwhile Democrats are both giddy and cocky in their celebratory fervor. It is over, they say: 2012 marks the death of the Republican Party. For the 57 million Americans who voted for self-reliance over self-indulgence, the quick disposal of their values is a punch to the gut; in the course of a day traditionalists have been deemed culturally irrelevant.  read more »