Ah, but for the first time in eight years, they lost.* This is what I wanted most from this election: that the religious right would fail to show up, or that they would show up and get soundly beaten. Their power as a voting block is splintering. Congressional neocons are going to have to sink or swim, and everyday fundie-leaning Americans are gonna have to stop thinking of themselves as a majority.

*except for Prop 8. I think the reasoning that it passed because African American voters who tend toward social conservatism turned out in huge numbers is sound (note: I'm not trying to blame any group for the outcome; another important factor was an insufficient campaign against Prop 8, or at least that's my impression). Gay rights advocates are going to have to pick up a lot of ground reaching out to minority groups, and that's been thrown into sharp relief by this election.