Only time will tell us how utterly important the federal elections were this time around. Usually there needs to be some passage of time from an event along with a retrospective analysis to inform our national consciousness about its significance. The same can be said for this past election.
The course that the GOP would have taken this country in more perks and privileges for the white elite, second-class status for the multi-racial working poor and middle class, economic and environmental disasters along with a host of near-apocalyptic circumstances that would’ve taken generations to turn around.
Mitt Romney and the GOP are still reeling from last week’s big loss. A Romney aide said the campaign was “shellshocked” about the presidential election results. This statement underscores the insular and narrow bubble these folks live in.
President Obama was re-elected by 93 percent of African-American voters, 71 percent of Latino voters, 73 percent of Asian-American voters, 55 percent of women voters, 60 percent of youth voters and 90 percent of LGBT voters.
Mitt Romney’s big numbers? His voters were 88 percent white.
The 113th Congress will see some historic firsts—record number of women, gays and veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as well as the first Buddhist and Hindu to serve. These are indicators of a more racially diverse group who will have non-traditional views on religion, sexual orientation and war.
On the local scene, the criticisms of Democrats intensified. Democratic honchos Governor Nixon, Attorney General Chris Koster and Congresspeople hardly said a peep about support for President Obama. The local and state Democratic machines gave conflicting or little information on the ballot measures.
Prop E blocked the creation of insurance exchanges, a key provision of Obamacare. Although the law will eventually be neutralized when the federal law kicks in, there’s no reason why Democratic leaders could not have used Prop E as a rallying point for the Affordable Health Care Act.
Proponents of Prop A may not be using the term “shellshocked” to describe the election results on their fake local control of the police department but they were certainly caught off-guard. In spite of the millions put up by billionaire Rex Sinquefield, Prop A only received 56 percent of the local vote. This was due to the spectacular efforts of Citizens Against Prop A who most media refused to acknowledge as organized opposition to the ballot measure. More on this important issue will be forthcoming.
The ballot to reduce the Board of Alderman passed but with no real information as to the “what” and the “how.” A significant change in the way citizens are represented deserves a process where community discussions could take place. There are outstanding questions about how the board would be reduced and who gets to decide. But there’s also the need to respond to the rationale that deduction in this legislature body automatically leads to more cooperation and harmony.
Democracy is not always fair or representational. That means that citizens must stay engaged until we are able to get the goods and services for the majority of people. It’s about ensuring that government is for and by the people, not the few—whoever they are and whatever they look like. The People have their work cut out for them in the days ahead.
