Some thoughts on the election
Wed, Nov. 7th, 2012 07:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scarlettinaMade a last-minute decision to have people over last night to watch the election returns. It ended up being a small group, but was enough of a distraction to keep me from being too anxious about the results. I was happy to have good company, of course.
I'm pleased that President Obama has been reelected. (If you want to know why, see my last post. If you know me at all, this shouldn't come as a surprise.) I'm hoping that the final vote count will confirm that Democrat Jay Inslee is Washington's new governor; at this writing, the Seattle Times is reporting that Rob McKenna, his Republican opponent, hasn't yet conceded--and I understand that. With Washington's postmarked-by deadline for voting, we won't have all the votes counted for a few days. I've already groused about voting deadlines (again, see my last post), so I'm not going to say more about that. I'm gratified that Washington state took a progressive route by reaffirming the right to gay marriage and by legalizing marijuana in small amounts. I'm not so pleased about the charter schools thing (passed by less than 50,000 votes at this writing)--that's my tax dollars there not being spent responsibly--but the will of the people must be done.
I'm irritated as hell that Initiative 1185, requiring that "legislative actions raising taxes must be approved by two-thirds legislative majorities or receive voter approval, and that new or increased fees require majority legislative approval." Thanks for nothing, Tim Eyman. For those of you who aren't familiar with this name, Eyman has continuously pushed some of the most egregious, financially conservative initiatives to vote in this state over the last ten years or so, getting things passed that have tied the state's finances up in knots. Citizens vote in favor of these things, not understanding that the services and facilities they lose are the direct result of this kind of legislation. It makes me crazy that the electorate makes such short-sighted choices. But, again, the will of the people must be done (and clearly I'm in the minority on this one)--even if it's ill-informed and ultimately self-defeating will.
Speaking of which, America still has a Democratic Senate and a Republican House. I can try to be optimistic and hope for a better performance from these two bodies than we've had the last two years, but it's a hard-fought optimism. This country has business that must be attended to--the economy, infrastructure, the environment--and I fear that we're going to have more stonewalling of all these issues given how things have turned out. While I don't want to believe that such is the will of the people, the vote bears it out. I'll keep doing what I do: writing letters and expressing my opinion. I don't know if it will make a difference, but a girl can hope.
While all this was going on, did anyone notice that Puerto Rico voted for statehood? Assuming the conservative portion of Congress approves, we could see a 51st state in our lifetimes! That's an exciting prospect. The debate about the issue should be interesting. I'm hoping it won't be disheartening but will, instead, confirm the values that we, as country, claim to espouse: equality, justice, and liberty. Here's hoping.
Lastly, I want to make a quick note about some of the language I'm seeing with regard to governance. I've seen any number of columnists talk about how under this one's "rule," X, Y, and Z will happen. In these United States, my friends, we don't have "rulers." Our leaders govern. That was the whole point of the American experiment in the first place: to oust rule and replace it with governance. These words have specific meanings. Use them thoughtfully please. Our founding fathers certainly did.
I'm pleased that President Obama has been reelected. (If you want to know why, see my last post. If you know me at all, this shouldn't come as a surprise.) I'm hoping that the final vote count will confirm that Democrat Jay Inslee is Washington's new governor; at this writing, the Seattle Times is reporting that Rob McKenna, his Republican opponent, hasn't yet conceded--and I understand that. With Washington's postmarked-by deadline for voting, we won't have all the votes counted for a few days. I've already groused about voting deadlines (again, see my last post), so I'm not going to say more about that. I'm gratified that Washington state took a progressive route by reaffirming the right to gay marriage and by legalizing marijuana in small amounts. I'm not so pleased about the charter schools thing (passed by less than 50,000 votes at this writing)--that's my tax dollars there not being spent responsibly--but the will of the people must be done.
I'm irritated as hell that Initiative 1185, requiring that "legislative actions raising taxes must be approved by two-thirds legislative majorities or receive voter approval, and that new or increased fees require majority legislative approval." Thanks for nothing, Tim Eyman. For those of you who aren't familiar with this name, Eyman has continuously pushed some of the most egregious, financially conservative initiatives to vote in this state over the last ten years or so, getting things passed that have tied the state's finances up in knots. Citizens vote in favor of these things, not understanding that the services and facilities they lose are the direct result of this kind of legislation. It makes me crazy that the electorate makes such short-sighted choices. But, again, the will of the people must be done (and clearly I'm in the minority on this one)--even if it's ill-informed and ultimately self-defeating will.
Speaking of which, America still has a Democratic Senate and a Republican House. I can try to be optimistic and hope for a better performance from these two bodies than we've had the last two years, but it's a hard-fought optimism. This country has business that must be attended to--the economy, infrastructure, the environment--and I fear that we're going to have more stonewalling of all these issues given how things have turned out. While I don't want to believe that such is the will of the people, the vote bears it out. I'll keep doing what I do: writing letters and expressing my opinion. I don't know if it will make a difference, but a girl can hope.
While all this was going on, did anyone notice that Puerto Rico voted for statehood? Assuming the conservative portion of Congress approves, we could see a 51st state in our lifetimes! That's an exciting prospect. The debate about the issue should be interesting. I'm hoping it won't be disheartening but will, instead, confirm the values that we, as country, claim to espouse: equality, justice, and liberty. Here's hoping.
Lastly, I want to make a quick note about some of the language I'm seeing with regard to governance. I've seen any number of columnists talk about how under this one's "rule," X, Y, and Z will happen. In these United States, my friends, we don't have "rulers." Our leaders govern. That was the whole point of the American experiment in the first place: to oust rule and replace it with governance. These words have specific meanings. Use them thoughtfully please. Our founding fathers certainly did.
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no subject
Date: Wed, Nov. 7th, 2012 05:29 pm (UTC)I'm with you on all of the above, especially your comments on Tim Eyman. It infuriates me that he's makes a good living out of undermining my state. But as you said, "will of the people," etc, etc.
no subject
Date: Wed, Nov. 7th, 2012 06:18 pm (UTC)Eyman's previous 2/3 majority initiatives have been declared unconstitutional, so we can only hope that this one will be as well.
no subject
Date: Wed, Nov. 7th, 2012 07:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Thu, Nov. 8th, 2012 12:45 am (UTC)Plus, I wore my voting sticker to the movie theater and got free popcorn. Bonus!
no subject
Date: Thu, Nov. 8th, 2012 07:24 pm (UTC)