Besides the reelection of President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden, Election 2012 resulted in other good news for Democrats.
•Democrats gained two seats in the US Senate. In states where the incumbent stepped down, Democrats retained the seats. Democrats gained seven seats in the US House of Representatives.
•Women now hold 20 seats in the Senate, a record, and a record number of seats in the US House.
•In Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin was elected the first openly gay or lesbian member of the US Senate.
•The States of Maryland, Maine, and Washington voted yes to gay marriage which brings the total to 9 states and the District of Columbia that allow gay marriage.
•Minnesota voted down a constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as the union between a man and a woman, which may make allow for the possibility of civil unions.
•Massachusetts voted to legalize the use of medical marijuana.
•The States of Washington and Colorado voted to legalize recreational use of marijuana. Federal law still prohibits recreational use of marijuana, so we'll wait and see how the laws will apply in practice.
And Iowa voted to retain a Supreme Court justice who supported marriage equality. In the previous election, three pro-equality judges were defeated. The right-wing is losing its ability to intimidate judges.
ReplyDeleteCalifornia backed Prop 30. The answer doesn't have to be cut, cut and cut again any more.
ReplyDeleteMurdoch and James, I knew when I was writing the post that not all the good news would be on my list. Thank you for your additions.
ReplyDeleteBut, alas:
ReplyDeleteDemocratic candidates for the House of Representatives actually received ***MORE VOTES, NATIONALLY*** than did Republican candidates. But thanks to the gerrymandering the GOP did in all the States they captured in 2010 (using the 2010 census), they still kept the House in their control. >:-/