Addendum To: Post-Election Confession

My goodness, it's been more than a month and I promised you more election feelings. ...

First of all, check out the Tumblr account White People Mourning Romney.  There aren't too many gross/funny faces, which are what most of the posts are about.  What I like better are the posts of people on facebook overreacting to Mitt Romney losing.  See a lot of bitterness over Obama getting re-elected.  I think I saw one status update or tweet say something to the effect of, "I seriously am reconsidering having kids."  Poor things.  Poor, delusional things.

Yep, Nate Silver called it.  Fifty states for fifty.  I like to think that left-leaning people like me understand the concept of science.  And if Silver predicted that Romney or a Republican would win the White House, I would like to think that we would accept his findings, deal with the impending reality, and do something about it.  That's much better than most Republicans I'm hearing, who seem to be flabbergasted about how Romney lost and taking cheap shots and spouting conspiracy theories as to how and why Obama got another four years.

Oh, in case you couldn't tell, I'm happy Barack Obama won.

Moreover, I am so happy that Minnesota rejected both hateful amendments on the ballot, one to ban same-sex marriage and one to require photo identification in order to vote.  As a guy who, out of reflex, shows my driver's license to the election judge every time I go vote, I in particular was worried that this one might pass.  We have traditionally been a liberal state, but looks can be deceiving.  We have trended rightward for some time.  Also, we can be staunchly conservative in many ways, and "ensuring the right to vote" and tamping down voter fraud utterly and completely, to me, is a Minnesota trait.

But I had seen the polls leading up to Election Day, and while the gap was narrowing, both amendments appeared to be on its way to passage.  Also, the gay marriage ban was perfect in getting put into constitutions in other states -- what is it, 26 or so-0?  So I was scared that Minnesota would pass both because it would send a message to other states, and to me: We are becoming more similar to red states every day, and we are proud to be changing in that de-evolutionizing direction.  I was scared that my image of Minnesota, that the people here balance being smart with being nice, was in the past, and that we would kowtow to the forces of hate and bigotry into codifying degrading laws into our state constitution.

But we didn't.  By God, we said no, to both.  I really don't know how, but Minnesota stared into the abyss of divisiveness and decided to turn away.  We did not give into our fears and prejudicies, and instead we took and breath and listened.  This is the Minnesota I know and love and returned to 14 years ago.  And I have never been prouder to be from this state than I am now.