Quick Election Night Thoughts
Nov. 6th, 2018 11:51 pmI made this icon for the last Democratic wave election, in 2006. I am very pleased to have the occasion to use it again.
There are absolutely some disappointments tonight, but right now at this moment the good things loom larger in my mind. After a brief scare early in the evening, it became clear that the Democrats were rolling on to take the House, and I don't want to minimize how huge that is. Speaker Pelosi (love her or hate her, she is phenomenal in her leadership role), Democratic committee chairs with subpoena power (I am so excited to see what Maxine Waters and Adam Schiff decide to do first), the ability to block Trump's agenda at every step. Finally, finally there is a governing body to act as a check on this administration, and we need to keep holding them accountable to make sure they do. (First up: FIX THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT. PLEASE.)
Another bright spot: as of this posting, 115 women were elected to the House, Senate, and governorships, including 42 women of color (including the first Democratic Latina governor). The LA Times provides the tracker where I got this information.
Finally, I want to mention that Florida passed Amendment 4, which restores voting rights to most former felons. So even though there were some big disappointments in Florida tonight, they've just laid some huge groundwork for the future.
The fight is not over, and the work is just beginning. But I feel like I can breathe a little bit again.
There are absolutely some disappointments tonight, but right now at this moment the good things loom larger in my mind. After a brief scare early in the evening, it became clear that the Democrats were rolling on to take the House, and I don't want to minimize how huge that is. Speaker Pelosi (love her or hate her, she is phenomenal in her leadership role), Democratic committee chairs with subpoena power (I am so excited to see what Maxine Waters and Adam Schiff decide to do first), the ability to block Trump's agenda at every step. Finally, finally there is a governing body to act as a check on this administration, and we need to keep holding them accountable to make sure they do. (First up: FIX THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT. PLEASE.)
Another bright spot: as of this posting, 115 women were elected to the House, Senate, and governorships, including 42 women of color (including the first Democratic Latina governor). The LA Times provides the tracker where I got this information.
Finally, I want to mention that Florida passed Amendment 4, which restores voting rights to most former felons. So even though there were some big disappointments in Florida tonight, they've just laid some huge groundwork for the future.
The fight is not over, and the work is just beginning. But I feel like I can breathe a little bit again.
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