Obligatory Election Post

[muchabstracted]

Point the First
radio blares: "Schwartenagger's win is a mandate for the bipartisanship he has been practicing..."

*blinks* Has he been? Has he been doing something right, and my reflexive scorn for him has been unfair and prejudiced against Hollywood action stars?

Point the Second
Okay, what is up with all the ballot questions going negative? I'll grant you, I don't care whether or not supermarkets are allowed to sell liquor. But why on earth do you vote "No" for creating a union for home-based child care?

In the interests of full disclosure: I was vaguely worried that such a union would make home based day care more expensive. However, I also realized that "home-based day care union as massive inconvenience" was less likely than "home-based day care unions as a useful force in the world".

The decision not to allow minor parties to nominate major party candidates is marginally more understandable. It encourages special interest groups, which can be a mixed bag, I suppose; but mainly, I think this one failed because the idea was too complicated.

Point the Third
Massachusetts Gubernatorial Race: Yay!!!!
House Race: Yay!
Montana Senate Race: Yay!
Virginia Senate Race: Ha. I'm not holding my breath. I know my state.

No offense intended to the Republicans on my flist. I feel no particular certainty that the Democrats will do all I hope; but it is difficult to avoid expressing excitement at the first major victory since Clinton's Presidency.

Point the Fourth
Every single time a state has elected a black governor, I was living in the state and paying attention to the election. Clearly, I have Civil Rights Mojo.

I'm not actually 100% clear on what "mojo" means.

Comments

[jennaria.livejournal.com]

On the union: word on the street is that it had nothing to do with the child-care providers wanting to unionize, and everything to do with Ted Kennedy owing a favor to a particular national union that had tried to move in on the state, and failed. Leastways, that's what I heard.

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

Interesting. That ballot question was created so a national union could muscle in and get more union dues? Suddenly I'm more sanguine about this.

[magnetic-pole.livejournal.com]

I feel no particular certainty that the Democrats will do all [[read: much of anything]] I hope; but it is difficult to avoid expressing excitement at the first major victory since Clinton's Presidency.

*nods* I feel the same way. And it looks like they're calling Virginia for the Democrats. (Fine, I see you feel about gays and lesbians, Virginia, but for god's sake don't elect a Republican!) Maggie

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

I'm shocked that Allen lost. From what I recall, he was very popular. Then again, I don't actually know anything about either of their policies, and I didn't follow the race. And I hear that Warner is doing a good job, so maybe that helps the Democrat party in VA.

I'm deeply unhappy but not shocked that the anti-marriage ballot question passed. I vaguely recall that other similar legislation has floated around Virginia in the past.

[magnetic-pole.livejournal.com]

I think Allen's fumbled these past few weeks. His campaign's just collapsed recently.

I'm happy but actually a little surprised about Patrick. I lived in Cambridge for several years, and I always suspected that Mass residents secretly liked splitting their vote between a Republican at the state level and Kerry and Kennedy in Congress. (Mass Democrats being an odd mixture of very liberal and relatively conservative.)

About the anti-gay-marriage ballot question, you're right, it was floating around recently. This was taking the earlier ballot decision and making it a constitutional amendment. *sigh* Sometimes DC, where I live, seems a world away from VA.

M.

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

Huh.

I always suspected that Mass residents secretly liked splitting their vote between a Republican at the state level and Kerry and Kennedy in Congress.

*grins* Oh, probably. I suspect that it will happen again, but between Romney, Healey, and Patrick, it was an exceptional circumstance. Healey didn't do well at all. It wasn't a surprise when Patrick won. But yeah, when it started to become clear that he was going to win, I was surprised. (And I started looking around for Republicans and Green Party members to vote for, for the sake of some sort of balance. No Republicans, alas, that I felt okay voting for.)

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

Since last year's fiasco, Schwarzenegger has been grovelling before Democratic state government, with the result that quite a lot of useful laws have been passed over the year. That said, I don't trust Schwarzenegger's apparent about-face, and I am not pleased that he won so easily.

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

Aha. That would explain it. Well, hopefully it continues...

[obopolsk.livejournal.com]

Can you travel around with your Civil Rights Mojo in the next election? Thx! :)

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

I'll be a resident in forty states!

[http://users.livejournal.com/urban_faerie_/]

I think I'm more pissed about day care workers not being allowed to unionize than I am about not being able to buy my booze at Shaws. I can see why people voted no on the first one, maybe they were afraid that the drunk driving rate would go up or something. But allowing childcare workors to unionize? Who the hell is that hurting? It just shows the lack of respect people have for those who work in human services. I don't know about you, but to me a union indicates that most of your workers are happy, skilled and well paid. I wouldn't want some underpaid, disgruntled person with questionable credenitals taking care of my kid, but that's just me.

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that one really makes me wonder. (Though I'd take my kid to a center based day care, thus avoiding the entire question of home based care.) My hesitation about possible cost increases came from the fact that a lot of people I work with are very poor. I wondered if child care would be even less possible for them if the home based day cares unionized. *cheers on Head Start* I never claimed it was a sensible fear.

For what it's worth, a union doesn't always indicate happy. I'm told that the nurse's union might have successfully gotten their people big salaries, but they bargained away quality of life in return.

[countessofgroan.livejournal.com]

I'm so happy that Webb won! But, it's a bittersweet victory knowing that I live in a gay-hater state. Trite but true.

Only six months left. Hopefully fewer, but we'll see.

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

Wait, what's trite about feeling upset that you live in a gay hater state?

[countessofgroan.livejournal.com]

Trite cause I'm calling the whole state gay hater. It's only really 58% gay hater.

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

*belated response*

Heh.