What a lovely surprise to find the lock on power the Republicans have enjoyed be tempered by the gains of Democrats. And while I would like to conclude that people are finally pulling their heads out, there are still the 8 ballot measures approved overwhelmingly to BAN same-sex marriage. (That makes 28 states who have passed similar legislation.) It says a lot that so much energy is spent on BANNING something that isn't even permitted. It's like that little known law that bars people from fraternizing with aliens. (the kind from outer space, and no, I'm not kidding.)
Also charming is xenophobic Arizona voters making "English" the official language of the state. That's a whole lot of freedom there.
As usual, lots of bittersweet. On the sweet side, Rick Santorum has lost his seat, maybe I could be convinced to visit Pennsylvania now. Hopefully I'll not have to hear his vile gay bashing rhetoric anymore.
I must say that overall, I'm pleasantly surprised. Maybe the will of the people will be more accurately reflected for the next couple of years.
C'mon down!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to hear Ricky's "explanation" of why he lost. I'm sure he'll point to the disgusting gay political machine.
Is that fraternising with aliens law for real? Omg. :P LOL.
ReplyDeleteI fraternize with aliens all the time. Please don't tell on me.
ReplyDeleteI still can't believe Harper wants to reopen the same sex marriage debate up here.
ReplyDeleteMaybe someday soon we can drag the American people kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. A place where ALL people are equal! If they leave it up to the voters, the homophobic majority will always vote to keep us as second class citizens. They tried to do that to Blacks. We need to elect the right leaders then the rest will follow. This election: Baby steps. Rosie O'donnell for President?
ReplyDeleteWe got rid of our gay basher in Southern Indiana, http://thumbsnap.com/v/2xMdIwdz.jpg
ReplyDeleteJohn Hostettler! YAY!
On a practical note....YAY no more damned commercials!!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, I was happy to see the Dems do so well but then I read the ballot measures and was really disappointed.
ReplyDeleteColorado seems to be getting scarier and scarier too.
It says a lot about the state of things in your old stomping grounds that after writing about those ballot initiatives etc. that you were still "pleasantly surprised" by the results in general!
ReplyDeleteYeah, we'll see what happens. It's usually a "lesser of two evils" when it comes to voting.
ReplyDeleteYAY! Santorum got his ASS handed to him (or is that too close to a gay reference for him?)
ReplyDeleteCome on down to PA, we'd LOVE to have ya. Actually, you could have come sooner, it's not like Ricky actually LIVED here or anything. He owned a house in and spent most of his time in Northern Virginia anyway!
It is a good day in America again anyway!
HUGS...
The will of the people is accurately reflected only when most people vote democrat?
ReplyDeleteHey now, no bashing on Arizonans. We were the one state that rejected the gay marriage ban.
ReplyDeleteWell Timmy, we did throw Hostettler out but Ellsworth, his replacement, is against Gay rights Too! I held my nose and pushed the Democrat button. I think we need a new party that stands for ALL people!
ReplyDeleteWell, ousting Rick Santorum and his ilk is a start.
ReplyDeleteBut the ban on gay marriage is still more than a bit disheartening.
I'm introducing a bill to the Arizona legislature to make the sun the "Official" source of heat and light for the earth. It's sure to pass.
ReplyDeleteI don't know a lot about American Politics, but I do know that they are one step closer to immobilizing that monkey they call a leader, no?
ReplyDeleteDitto about the commercials...they were all hateful and playground-ish. It just makes more room for Christmas and toy commercials...Yahoo. Not.
Gosh craig, it just seems to me that when the majority of voting age people are democrats and the Republicans control all three branches of government that the will of the people is not accurately represented.
ReplyDeleteYour comment was glib and irritated me. Which I suppose was the intent.
I am doing emotional cartwheels over the results. Majority in the House and an almost imminent majority in the Senate, PLUS Rumsfeld steps down. And they can pass as many state referendums on gay marriage as they want. Eventually, just like with Hardwick v. Bowers, the country will turn and it will be moot and gays will have the same rights as everyone else.
ReplyDeleteAnd with our new Dem governor, it's only a matter of time before New York legalizes gay unions.
Torn--
ReplyDeleteSorry. Love your blog & wasn't trying to be glib, but your sentence on the will of people irritated me a bit. Seems to me the will of the people is reflected by how they vote-not what party they belong to. Although most people are registered democrats, as you say, they don't always vote that way (esp. in the South). When most people voted republican in '94 (because they didn't like certain things Clinton was doing), that was the will of the people at that time, right? We may not like it, but..
the speaker of the house is a woman! and a democrat!
ReplyDeletepinch me!!!
In Clinton's second term the Democrats actually gained seats, which is unheard of in the Republican second term Presidential electiions. Lets hope he gets to move back into the White House on January 20th, 2009!
ReplyDeleteWho knew Arizona would turn out to be such a mixture of contradictions?
ReplyDeleteI am trying to enjoy the day and focus on the good (Yea, AZ rejected gay marriage ban) and not think about the evil (Boo, AZ voted for “English-Only.”).
Please know that I assisted in removing Mr. Santorum, the homophobic idiot who is probably repressing his own urges through his insane bashing. Seriously, I think he is a psychopath. You put the whole business of the Same/Sex Marriage amendment well: I've written on my blog about it. I think it is pandering to evangelicals who worry about "moral values" plus the more excited people get over this non-issue, the less energy they will have to note the stupidity of the Iraqi War, not to mention the abuse of the American economy. On the English vote, I have so much to say that I will save it--I taught bilingual ed for years, and I am familiar with the English only crowd. They don't understand when they visit Paris that people speak French, not English. The world is not America. Grrr.
ReplyDeleteSantorum's defeat is sweet, indeed.
ReplyDelete