OK, so Beto lost, Gillum lost, Abrams lost (probably), the Republicans solidified their hold on the Senate even though the Democrats cast several million more votes overall for their candidates, and the Democrats flipped the House by far too narrow a margin, considering. Trump’s repudiation was far more mild than the one delivered to Obama in 2010, during his first term. All true. But as everybody who knows me will tell you, I always accentuate the positive, so here are some things to be happy about:
- Four states passed redistricting reforms, that is, reforms to undo the Project Red Map gerrymandering – Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, and Utah. In those states independent third parties, not the politicians in power, will now re-draw the electoral map.
- In Florida, a proposition to abolish the prohibition against ex-felons voting was overwhelmingly approved. This deeply racist and cynical policy had previously disenfranchised fully 1.6 million potential voters, the vast majority of them in the demographic categories that tend to vote Democrat. It’s estimated that 40% of all African-American voters in the State fell under this grotesque prohibition – from here on out, Florida might not be so Red.
- Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania now have Democratic governors, who can put a stop to the relentless gerrymandering in those states.
- Though, unbelievably, miscreants Steve King and Duncan Hunter kept their seats, a number of Republican scoundrels were given the boot, including Dana Rohrabacher (the strangely pro-Russian clod nicknamed “Putin’s Congressman”), Scott Walker, former governor of Wisconsin (whose specialty was gutting the rights of workers, especially if they belonged to unions) and horrid she-devil Kim Davis of Kentucky, who as Rowan County Clerk became famous for refusing to issue marriage licences to gay couples after the Supreme Court made gay marriage lawful. Remember her? She’s done:
- The horrible Kris Kobach, notorious for his naked voter suppression efforts, as the Secretary of State in Kansas, lost his bid to graduate to the Governer’s mansion.
- This 29-year-old will be taking her seat as the youngest woman to ever be elected to Congress:
- White women seem to be turning on Trump, by small increments, but signs are hopeful. Please, God.
- Women in general were decisive in flipping the House. They broke my heart in 2016, but the females of the United States may finally be mobilizing to rescue the Republic.
- There will also be 111 women in the next Congress, an all time high. Things always, inevitably get better, in America and all over the world, when women gain power.
- The superbly cerebral Adam Schiff will be taking over from stumbling, bumbling Trump stooge Devin Nunes as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, and he has a lot of unanswered questions about Trump and the Russians. A lot.
- There’s always Mueller (if he doesn’t get fired). Think how fun it will be to see dirty trickster A-hole Roger Stone indicted! Maybe even Don Jr.!!
- Americans are waking up. For the first time in a midterm, over 100 million votes were cast, still less than half the electorate, but a good sign – higher turnout is always bad for Republicans.
- Not just Florida, but Georgia and even Texas seem on the cusp of becoming “Purple” swing states, not deep Red impenetrable bastions.
- They sure as shit won’t be repealing Obamacare now, or Medicaid and Social Security, and no more tax cuts for the 0.001%.
- Given the solidly pro-Democrat popular vote, it seems that this round of Russian attempts to sway the electorate fell flat.
- Beto didn’t lose by all that much (I know, look, I’m trying here).
There! Not so bad, see? You feel better, right?
Yeah, me neither.
the needlefish 