Wow, what an election! I have been a registered voter since 1992 and have never seen anything like it. The polls were all over the place.

Much will be written in the aftermath of this historic election. One such article, "Values voters prevail again" by Christopher Cladwell, brings to light the emergence of a new values voter: unmarried women between the ages of 18 and 30.

According to Caldwell this voting bloc is highly educated, or will be; they are sexually active, or plan to be; and they supported President Obama overwhelmingly. The No. 1 issue with them is reproductive rights -- meaning unlimited access to birth control and abortion. Unlimited access means they expect taxpayers to pay for it.

Although I am proudly pro-life, I can accept the fact that Roe v. Wade is the law of the land, but why do I have to pay for it? Why have I had to pay for my own birth control pills and now pay for someone else's? Whatever happened to personal responsibility? This is an entitlement nation run amok.

The promise of entitlements certainly carried the day in this election; however, the bill always comes due. Tocqueville said it best: "A democracy cannot exist permanently. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury (taxpayers). From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits, resulting in collapse over loose fiscal policy."

Mallory Hayes

Belleville