Jim Doyle will be Governor of Wisconsin for another four years, and Tammy Baldwin will continue to send delightful earmarks back to Wisconsin's 2nd Congressional District and get nothing done in Washington. Wisconsin has voted overwhelmingly Democratic tonight. It also passed the gay marriage ban very easily, which can only mean -- as my friend Brian Dammeir has mentioned -- that a great number of Christian evangelicals decided to vote for the party of abortion rights and stem cell research and vote to ban same sex marriage. This is a monstrously important development.
I'm disappointed as hell that the gay marriage ban passed. It's an unfortunate thing whenever democracy works against individual rights. But note that the margin of passage in Wisconsin -- as of now, 58% to 42% -- is significantly smaller than in other states. These beasts have passed with 80% majorities in Southern states. We're getting there. How does the line from "To Kill a Mockingbird" go, when Miss Maudie observes that the jury took one hour to unjustly convict Tom Robinson of rape: "We're making a step. It's just a baby-step -- but its a step." Amen to that.
In more optimistic news, the demoralized, morally castrated Republican Party will need to suffer through at least two years of Nancy Pelosi -- who cannot help but resemble a bitchy china doll -- as Speaker of the House. I hope they mend their ways and stake again their claim to true American values. But these next two years will be fun. There's something more than cynicism here, too; perhaps the Democrats will pick up on the values Republicans are shirking.
And I'm going to be up all night to see who takes control of the senate. Jim Talent, George Allen, and Conrad Burns all need to lose their Senate races for Democrats to take control. There is a strong possibility of this happening. We're hanging on by a thread. I don't like to use the word "we're" when speaking about Democratic politics -- I've been free from partisanship for about a year -- but it feels right at this moment. The alternative to weak Democratic rule is insane, destructive Republican rule. Does anybody remain unconvinced that there is something approaching a night-or-day scenario here?
Perhaps the best news of the night is that Rick Santorum will probably never again serve in the United States Senate. Mr. Santorum comes close to being the only public official in America today who can be justifiably called an absurd, confused man.
May we wake up tomorrow to ineffective but reasonable Congressional leadership!
ERS
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