Well, thank fuck for that
So, yeah, Obama got re-elected and it was nowhere near as close as I feared. In fact, I felt strangely calm very early on. As soon as it became apparent that everything was so close and Romney wasn't going to walk some of the swing states, I became quietly confident that I wasn't going to go to bed crying into my pillow.
But it was a great night, even without the awesomeness of Obama because, yeah, it was a great night for women.
Not only did Akin and Mourdock lose BIG TIME, but a lot of women were elected (although I can only be happy and amused that Linda McMahon lost her bid to become a Senator, despite having spent $42 million to make it so).
In the Senate there are now 20 women - which is the most in history
- Elizabeth Warren beat Scott Brown
- Tammy Baldwin is the first openly gay Senator
- Mazie Hirono is the first Asian-American woman elected to be Senator
In the House, there are now 77 Representatives
- Tulsi Gabbard and Tammy Duckworth both have military combat experience
- Tulsi Gabbard is also the first Hindu woman in Congress
And that's just some of the awesomeness of Women in Congress
This election really felt like a lot of people were suitably scared about what the Republicans were going to do to curtail a woman's right to control what happens to her body. People also seemed scared by how many minorities and not so minorities could become like second class citizens under Romney.
But as happy and relieved I am by this result and so many others around the US (Maine, Maryland and Washington State all voted for same sex marriage and Minnesota voted against banning same sex marriage), I do wonder what this means for the Republican Party.
Because, as much as I hate what the Republican party stands for at the moment, what's going to happen to US politics if the party implodes, as it so easily could now.
Because Republicans are currently split in two:-
- the extreme right-wing nutjobs who hate everyone who isn't like them
- the moderates who worry about government spending but who don't want to relegate so many people to second class citizens.
What happens to that second group?
Because the Republican party that is seen by the majority of people is the one that has candidates that believe so many crazyass things about rape and who think they know best about women's bodies, who don't understand that maths works a certain way and there are certain things you can't do with a budget, who put partisan politics above working with the Democrats to pass legislation.
That's not the Republican party of old and it's not the way the Republican Party can continue.
If the Republican Party wants to be taken seriously again, then they need to stop choosing the crazies that don't appeal to sane people.
Lessons the gop needs to learn
Why the Conservative Media Got It So Wrong
Thank You, Republican Misogynists, for Handing Democrats Crucial Victories Last Night
Eighty-Eight Percent of Romney Voters Were White
But everyone needs to watch Karl Rove completely lose it on Fox News. It's freaking hilarious
The Five Stages of Fox News grief
Click to viewBut it was a great night, even without the awesomeness of Obama because, yeah, it was a great night for women.
Not only did Akin and Mourdock lose BIG TIME, but a lot of women were elected (although I can only be happy and amused that Linda McMahon lost her bid to become a Senator, despite having spent $42 million to make it so).
In the Senate there are now 20 women - which is the most in history
- Elizabeth Warren beat Scott Brown
- Tammy Baldwin is the first openly gay Senator
- Mazie Hirono is the first Asian-American woman elected to be Senator
In the House, there are now 77 Representatives
- Tulsi Gabbard and Tammy Duckworth both have military combat experience
- Tulsi Gabbard is also the first Hindu woman in Congress
And that's just some of the awesomeness of Women in Congress
This election really felt like a lot of people were suitably scared about what the Republicans were going to do to curtail a woman's right to control what happens to her body. People also seemed scared by how many minorities and not so minorities could become like second class citizens under Romney.
But as happy and relieved I am by this result and so many others around the US (Maine, Maryland and Washington State all voted for same sex marriage and Minnesota voted against banning same sex marriage), I do wonder what this means for the Republican Party.
Because, as much as I hate what the Republican party stands for at the moment, what's going to happen to US politics if the party implodes, as it so easily could now.
Because Republicans are currently split in two:-
- the extreme right-wing nutjobs who hate everyone who isn't like them
- the moderates who worry about government spending but who don't want to relegate so many people to second class citizens.
What happens to that second group?
Because the Republican party that is seen by the majority of people is the one that has candidates that believe so many crazyass things about rape and who think they know best about women's bodies, who don't understand that maths works a certain way and there are certain things you can't do with a budget, who put partisan politics above working with the Democrats to pass legislation.
That's not the Republican party of old and it's not the way the Republican Party can continue.
If the Republican Party wants to be taken seriously again, then they need to stop choosing the crazies that don't appeal to sane people.
Lessons the gop needs to learn
Why the Conservative Media Got It So Wrong
Thank You, Republican Misogynists, for Handing Democrats Crucial Victories Last Night
Eighty-Eight Percent of Romney Voters Were White
But everyone needs to watch Karl Rove completely lose it on Fox News. It's freaking hilarious
The Five Stages of Fox News grief