After six billion dollars were spent, four general election debates took place, hundreds of positive and negative TV ads aired, 176 measures were put on the ballots in 38 states, and a million and one political Facebook statuses were posted, America has voted to keep President Barack Obama in office for the next four years. Not only has the first African American president been reelected to serve another four years, but the entire American political scene also seems to be changing.
This year’s election also marks a monumental presence of women in Congress. TWENTY women were elected to the United States Senate. Twenty women! ONE in FIVE! Before the 2012 election, women held seventeen seats in the Senate and although three seems like a small addition, it is a huge win for the ladies. All six female Democratic Senators who were up for reelection won their races. Two female, Republican Senators are retiring this year as well, leaving only four female, Republican Senators left. New Hampshire also has the first all-female delegation, with all female representatives and a female governor. The addition of women to the Senate has been a significant factor in this year’s elections but an even bigger liberal win came with Tammy Baldwin’s defeat of former Governor Tommy Thompson in Wisconsin, in which she became the first out LGBT Senator- man or woman. You go girl!
Maryland also joined Maine in the fight for equal rights for the LGBT community by passing Question 6, which would approve same-sex marriage by a popular vote. Hundreds of pictures were shown throughout the web in which the people of Maryland stated their reasons for voting for Question 6. Reasons ranged from “love has no limits and everybody deserves to be happy” to “who will fight for my rights if I won’t fight for theirs?” and my two personal favorites, “because I love my two mommies” and “because we are here and we are queer!” The passage of Question 6 is extremely important to those activists and advocacy groups who have been fighting for marriage equality for decades. Maryland joins Maine to become the seventh and eighth states to allow same-sex couples to marry. Although these were major accomplishments for same sex marriage rights, we need to continue the fight for marriage equality until it passes in every single state. Every love deserves to be recognized.
Another major win for the liberals was the passage of Initiative 502 in Washington State and Amendment 64 in Colorado to legalize marijuana for recreational usage. Colorado’s Amendment 64 will allow adults over 21 to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, though using the drug publicly would be banned. Washington’s measure establishes a system of state-licensed marijuana growers, processors and stores, where adults can buy up to one ounce. It also establishes a standard blood test limit for driving under the influence. Although Colorado and Washington State have legalized the plant, marijuana consumption is still against federal law and I’m sure the Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration will have something to say about the passage of these referendums. Despite the fact that “smokin dope,” as my mother says, is illegal, experts are estimating that cannabis taxes would bring in hundreds of millions of dollars a year. It certainly seems as though more states will probably get on board with the legalization of marijuana. Let’s face it- if alcohol can be legal to consume after a person’s twenty-first birthday, marijuana should also be- because stoners are too hungry and high to get in the car and endanger others.
Another aspect of this election that I found to be extremely fascinating was how each and every one of my friends became an expert political analyst and constitutional scholar. It’s funny when people have no political opinions whatsoever for 363 days out of the year, every four years, but they feel the need to THRUST their opinions in your face via your newsfeed when election season comes around. Yes, I used the word thrust because that accurately describes the forcefulness that was used in the two days leading up to the election by Facebookers and Twitterers alike. It seems as though a vast majority of individuals in the world woke up on November 5th and 6th with the mind frame of “today I am going to tell the world my political opinions via my newsfeed and tweets. My opinions are riveting and stimulating and I need the world to hear them in order to sway the way they plan on voting!” For future reference, no one finds your political opinions riveting or stimulating unless they are your government professor and maybe your mom….
Regardless of what was said on Facebook and Twitter, the results are in. Americans voted to keep Barack Obama in the White House and there are multiple states taking progressive steps forward to create a better, more equal society. It warms my heart to know that we are in the process (slowly but surely) of accepting marriage equality for all and allowing stoners to do what it is they wish to do. And we will be better off as a society because of it.
Keep it up America.