It's time to celebrate, and then get to work
It was a fascinating night to follow the returns. After being glued to the television and the computer for the first few hours, I headed out and stopped by the Kohl/Moore party and then to newly elected State Sen. Jim Sullivan's victory party at Miller Park. Sullivan defeated reactionary Republican Tom Reynolds in Wisconsin's 5th State Senate district in a victory against extremism in our state legislature. Sullivan's win also contributed to the Democrats taking the State Senate in Wisconsin.
Nationally, the Democrats have reclaimed the House of Representatives bringing back a check on the balance of power in Washington. In Wisconsin, Steve Kagen defeated John Gard to contribute to that victory. Gov. Jim Doyle has retained the governorship with an impressive margin (a year ago, I predicted a Doyle victory by 5%). The balance of power in the Senate appears to be going down to the wire in Virginia with the Allen-Webb race. In Wisconsin, the Attorney General's race may not be decided tonight either between Falk and Van Hollen. Even with those races to be decided, we've already seen a huge shift in power in the state and the country.
It certainly is disappointing that the marriage amendment passed for those of us who fought against it. Given that younger voters tend to view gay marriage as less of problem than the general populace, I like to think the country is moving in the right direction. If this amendment were on the ballot a few years down the road, perhaps the result may have been different.
On balance, it's a time to rejoice given the results we have seen tonight. Once the celebrating ends, and the newly elected are inaugurated, the hard work will need to be done to address the important domestic and international issues the current leadership has failed to. The country is hungry for leadership based on the results today.
Telling stat of the day: Not one Democratic incumbent in Congress lost tonight, a mirror image of what Republicans experienced in 1994.
3 Comments:
I just don't understand why people can't get their hands around the idea that the 14th Amendment prohibits the gov't from granting the institutions of society to some people while withholding them from others based on, among other things, gender. That's exactly what "same-sex" marriage is, a gender issue.
You really don't have to like it. It's actually none of your damn business.
And as for popular referenda, I'd like to see a blind poll asking white Wisconsin voters, let's say, if they'd mind if their daughter dated a black man. Just because people have a knee-jerk reaction to an anonymous poll doesn't mean it's justifiable social policy.
Same goes for the death penalty. Making you feel tough isn't the role of the Criminal-Justice system. Nor is it to vindicate. If you wanna talk about over-crowded jails, let's talk about the enormous number of drug-related convicts we have in this state when our own Surgeon-General says drug abuse is a disease.
Only I could be the an unhappy liberal after yesterday.
I'm thrilled that Kagen turned back John Gard.
Yes, I am also disappointed in the gay marriage ban ammendment vote, and in the death penalty advisory referendum.
But despite these setbacks, I'm happy to have lost a Republican congressman (WI-08) and to have watched him lose his bid for the governor's seat.
And I'm especially happy that nationwide in this election it seems that the people's wishes were actually carried out.
Take heart Ben. What Wisconsin didn't do Tuesday, Arizona showed us and the country the way.
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