Voting

[veronica_rich]

Glad as I am to see Obama stay in, I feel like there were even more important votes this cycle.

Look at the states where majority population voted to approve marriage equality. It was unthinkable just a few years ago. (Does that put us at 8 or 9 states now where it's legal?) My friend D, who's about 80, has been preaching at me for years that society has never accepted gay marriage, and won't; I've been betting that in the long term, she's wrong. She's not often politically wrong. (And I will never stop being amused OR amazed that it was an old white man - Biden - who basically forced Obama to take a pro-stance on gay rights by doing it himself first.)

Look at the women who were elected. In New Hampshire, there's a female governor and all-female Congressional delegation. Look at the lesbian elected in Wisconsin (yes, for now, it does matter that she's gay; hopefully someday it won't). We're getting closer to a truer representation of the population at large, in charge of things - but still nowhere near that level.

Look at the two states that told rape apologists to get the fuck OUT. It's one thing to say "I think you should have to give that unwanted fetus a chance even if it's rape, but I know it's awful for you," but it's quite another to say either "suck it, God put it there, take it" or to blame the woman for allowing her body to get pregnant because SHE WASN'T REALLY, ACTUALLY RAPED BADLY ENOUGH. OR AT ALL MAYBE.

Yeah, there's the weed vote too, but frankly, I'm not excited about that. I don't like that cigarettes are legal, so there you go. /shrug

Anyway - my point is, last night was a far cry from eight years ago.

Comments

[pickledginger.livejournal.com]

It's all important.

I am glad marijuana seems to be on its way to legalization. It's a valuable drug, medicinally and recreationally -- safer, in many cases, than the now-legal alternatives.

I do think, however, that it's important to enforce laws against public intoxication and driving while impaired. And I would like to see public smoking of any substance banned ... or limited to a small, hermetically sealed box with a one-way door.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I can certainly go along with that last one. To those who wonder why smoking should be banned from indoor establishments, I would point out my right to breathable air trumps your right to smoke - always has, always will. You want to smoke outdoors and not blow it at me, that's fine.

[fantasysci5.livejournal.com]

I voted, and I'm glad Obama won. And legal gay marriage, I'm so proud! And I was upset with those rape comments, so glad they were outsed. :)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

You and me both!

[pickledginger.livejournal.com]

Yes! A bouquet of.good news / omens.

[finding-neo.livejournal.com]

Huge sigh of relief here. Unfortunately I doubt anything is going to change any time soon because the House & Senate are still canceling each other out. I am glad that certain people didn't get re-elected, but none of that was in my state.

I was very very disheartened in my state/county to see how many unopposed Republican candidates there were on the ballot. 5, yes 5. Granted I live in the most Republican county in the state (you couldn't turn a corner without seeing a Romney or other Rep yard sign), but even our local representative ran unopposed. A state senate Democratic candidate won 10 out of his 11 counties, of course ours was the county which opposed him.

So since I don't understand election law in detail, I voted for Republicans in those cases because I was afraid if I didn't mark something my ballot would be thrown out. But I had to grit my teeth to do it.

This was probably my next proudest vote cast: http://www.whig.com/story/20023000/newcomer-geschwandner-wins-race-for-adams-county-circuit-clerk She beat a former Rep. state senator with big bucks. I would have voted for the Democratic lady anyway, but all she did was send letters out to voters. I read it and thought she was the better candidate because of her local experience.

My proudest vote was for President Obama. I didn't have the same "moment" I had the first time around, but for someone like me who grew up in a bigoted household voting for a black man as President was very awesome, both times. And I can be proud to be an American for another 4 years.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Once in a while you get to vote for candidates you think can do a decent job AND are setting good precedents for other people in their demographic, and making it a little easier for others to get ahead down the road - for me it's particularly women. There are women I've not voted for because I didn't think they were the best person, but when I do and I can, that makes it so much better.

[roguedemon.livejournal.com]

I'm proud to live in Washington today. And I think marijuana legalization is very important. There are two key reasons that I can think of. The war on drugs doesn't work, it is turning every relevant country into a cesspool. As we saw decades ago, prohibition does not work -- drinking actually increased during prohibition. How many people do we really need to send to our overflowing prisons? Once you turn someone into a felon for possession they are screwed for life, and they cannot vote. Which leads me to the second reason. Enforcement of pot laws is racist. In Washington, fewer blacks than whites smoke pot, but they are arrested at three times the rate of whites. I can't remember if that is a local or national stat, and I'm too exhausted to go back to check right now, but I suspect it holds up reasonably well. Apparently cops have been known to go into predominately minority neighborhoods and just start doing random shakedowns in order to nail people. And of course we also know that the same approach holds with other drugs. As a former substance abuse counselor I am in favor of legalization of most drugs. Putting the money into regulation, education and treatment is the way to go IMO, and in European countries that have been going that direction they have seen hopeful signs. This is just stuff I have picked up from the approximately 1 trillion articles I have read during this long election and my study and experience in the field. However, I stand by my ideas here. I have to admit that as a chronic pain patient I will definitely be trying some brownies for the first time. It would be really good if I could grow my own stuff without worrying about being raided, which has happened to some patients that were growing some plants for their own personal use. Medical marijuana is real -- I have friends who use it. As a whole, pot is less addictive and less damaging than alcohol and tobacco. One drug I would not legalize would be meth, but that's a whole other discussion. Stuff like coke, heroin and E, yes. Obviously the details would require a lot of study.: ) But overall we need to shift our focus to education and treatment. But with prisons as profitable as they are, that may never happen.

Er, anyway. I have really enjoyed your articles during election season. You rant with eloquence and style. I guess I just happened to have some thoughts left over.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I know there's quite a deal of unfair criminalization that goes with marijuana - I know it's not as bad as other drugs and, compared to cigarettes, may even be less harmful. And there are the medicinal advantages. I'd be happy for nobody to smoke anything ever again that could kill them, is all I meant (as unrealistic as that is). Oh well ...

I'm sure we'll both have plenty more thoughts in the next four years, even with the promise of good stuff. There's always going to be obstacles!

[a-silver-rose.livejournal.com]

And a third state for kicking out the asshat who thinks that abortions to save the lives of women are not medically necessary.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

ALL the white males (and one woman) who made stupid remarks about medicine and rape in relation to abortion were ousted - except Ryan from the House, but he lost VP, so ...

[bonnie-halfelvn.livejournal.com]

I really did not expect to see all four marriage votes go our way. What a change from just a few months ago in North Carolina! The Tony Perkins' of this world are apoplectic, and that makes me very happy.

Although I have never smoked a joint in my life, I think legalization is in order. It has been proven to have medicinal benefits, so it is very much like alcohol. Both are a double-edged sword - medically beneficial in small quantities, but potentially dangerous and addictive. Still, those who benefit from them should be able to access them without worrying about getting arrested.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I just hope this cycle isn't a fluke and people start backpedaling in the next round of referendums and regressing. That would be unfortunate and disheartening ...