Just last week I was talking to a friend from the benighted state of Florida. . Let’s call him Frank. Frank is 74 and disabled and has to take an oxygen tank everywhere with him. He is rightly very worried about the future of his state which has apparently gone red in a big way. And here I am going to define who the enemy is. The enemy is not necessarily the original republicans…however, it is the MAGA/QANON believers who worship at the altar of their orange god. So, from now on, that is how I will define that group. The MAGA/QANON has taken over Florida and apparently, some more voters of the same ilk are moving there since even his formerly purple, if not a blue district, has gone red.
We had a bit of discussion about the fact that he might just have to move since the entire political structure is against his interests. I agreed and we discussed where that might be, and New Mexico came up as a valid and safely blue state. I had suggested California, but as he pointed out, that state can be expensive. In addition, after the fact I researched and realized that out of 52 districts, I would have to pick where I moved very carefully because 13 or 14 are red. No point in moving from a blue district in a red state to a blue state and ending up living in a red district after all so right now I will stay where I am.
Which means that personally, I have cause to celebrate. I am still represented in the House by a Democrat, thank God!!!! The Senate seats are both held by republicans and although I obviously voted for the Democrat, I knew that was not going to be a success, but otherwise, I am perfectly happy with my situation. I love to live in a blue place where everybody, for the most part, is welcome and appreciated. In New Orleans, that is true for LGBTQ, Hispanics, Muslims, and every other minority. Is there prejudice? Yes, but it is pretty tame compared to places elsewhere in the nation. In addition, there is more tendency here in New Orleans to respect one’s elders, which is nice since I am one of those elders. Would I prefer a blue? Yes, but as long as my immediate local representation is Democratic, I have proven that so far I can survive.
So as you see, I have plenty of positive things to say about the election as it applies to myself and my living situation, but there are many more reasons to celebrate, or at least, take heart in on the national level.
First of all, the Democrats kept the Senate, at least for all practical purposes. As of right now, before the run-off in Georgia, we are in the same position we were in the last term. We are no worse than 50–50. With Kamala Harris still being eligible to be the title breaker, that means the Democrats are effectively in control of the Senate. I am hoping and even praying that the run-off in Georgia will go the right way. Why anybody would want a fake policeman in the case of Hershel Walker who runs on an anti-abortion ticket, but has paid for at least one abortion that we know of and tried to force either the same or a different woman to have another abortion, is beyond me. Especially, where there is plenty of testimony that he is also a deadbeat dad and abusive to his spouse. His election would be the height of stupidity as well as hypocritical, on his part if not on the voter’s part as well.
So, we have a good situation in the Senate. However, there are other situations around the nation, where a good outcome came for our side:
Pennsylvania
Here, the conspiracy web is all atwitter because they don’t understand why Fetterman beat out Oz. I have a quick simple answer to that. Fetterman has lived in Pennsylvania most of his life and has been Lt governor. Oz has not even fully committed to the United States. He is still holding on to dual citizenship with Turkey being the other country. That, plus the fact that he actually lived, up until at least 2020, not in Pennsylvania but in New Jersey tells me exactly why Fetterman won. Apparently, most of the people of Pennsylvania want a Pennsylvanian to represent them, not a “foreigner” who is likely still not living in the state. That plus the fact that Pennsylvanians might just be turned off by his “snake oil salesmanship” ala trump, and I don’t understand why anybody would be surprised.
Oh, and Josh Shapiro won because the other guy was part of the “stop the steal” Big Lie. (from now on that will be simply the BIG LIE) and has been before the Jan 6th committee. He was likely involved in the attempt to overthrow the rightly elected government on Jan 6th, 2021, as least to the extent of denying that Biden had won even after the evidence should have been clear to anybody.
NEVADA:
The Senate Seat stayed with Catherine Cortez Masto although the republican won the Governor’s seat. This was the seat that assured us the ability to have 50 votes and Harris as a tie-breaker. Joe Lombardo is the republican that was elected governor, but at least has seemed to put a bit of space between himself and the believers in the BIG LIE.
ARIZONA
In the Senate, Mark Kelly won another term. Not much more can be said about that, so I will sigh a sigh of relief and move on to the governor election which wonderfully and possibly surprisingly turned out well. Well, I wasn’t really surprised although I was relieved. I had hoped that the people of Arizona had learned their lesson with all the believers in the BIG LIE that had been such a thorn in the flesh for the entire state in recent years. Remember, they had about three recounts because the MAGA/QANON party would not accept the results. In the final one, a specially hired “expert company” called the Cyber Ninjas put them through the expense of yet another recount and found more votes for Biden over trump than had been counted before they came on board.
Perhaps, in an attempt to avoid that kind of craziness, they voted for Katie Hobbs. Kari Lake was a smug, arrogant female version of the last person in the White House before Biden. When interviewed she refused to even discuss what would happen if she lost.
Finally, the Secretary of State position went to the Democratic candidate. Thank God, again!!! Oh, and by the way, I actually do sometimes pray and I pray for us to be saved from the MAGA/QANON cult. The Republican candidate, Mark Finchum, was not only a believer in the BIG LIE but was also a member of that domestic terrorist group known as the Oath Keepers. That’s all we need, rampant domestic terrorists running the elections in one of our states.
So, all of us Democrats who believe in freedom and human rights for ALL have much to be thankful for. Now that doesn’t mean malcontents like Kari Lake and other MAGA/QANON party members won’t demand recounts and add like babies, following the leadership of the former person in the White House, but I hold firm in my belief that we will win this round just like we did the last one. Oh, and the DOJ is still going after those that tried to overthrow the government the first time they tried that and extending that to the instigators as well as the foot soldiers who got caught up in the BIG LIE because of extreme right-wing rhetoric and propaganda.
We still have the House to be concerned about, and certainly, already, we have another 211 people elected to the House who are probably MAGA/QANON Cultists. For example, we still have the two worst House members of all time, MTG and Boebert to contend with, but time heals all and eventually, they will lose an election, hopefully.
Now, finally, there is women’s health and freedom to consider. Despite the fact that there is a lot of “stop all abortion” crap going on, five or six states have taken measures to assure women have a choice when it comes to reproductive health. California, Vermont, and Michigan placed an update on their election and it passed. The update is an amendment to the State Constitution and will allow women the right of choice regarding abortion and other reproductive rights. In addition, we know that the fairly conservative state of Kansas has passed a referendum to NOT add an anti-abortion platform, and now that has been followed by none other than the very conservative state of Kentucky. Oh, and in very very conservative Montana, a bill got turned down by the voters that would impose certain requirements on abortion. I hope to see more referendums being brought in other states to restore this freedom that the current Supreme Court yanked away from women.
Good news all around for those of us who believe strongly in the freedom of choice about personal matters and the fact that it belongs to ALL of us, including women. And even though it looks like we have lost the House, there is still a slim chance it might get turned around, so don’t lose all hope yet even there.
http://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/us/abortion-rights-ballot-proposals.html
