i know its real fun to talk shit about texas and to laugh it up about how stupid texans are but can we PLEASE acknowledge that this election made texas purple, and that there have been HUGE efforts to bring out people of color and poor people who have previously been disenfranchised, and that even though beto didnt win this is STILL A REALLY IMPORTANT STEP. especially the latino voting population grew enormously this election cycle. fuck the 71% of white men and 59% of white women who voted for cruz, and i dont wanna come off like im making some kind of “not all texans” argument, but the people of color here r fighting tooth and nail and it sucks that ppl r just unilaterally saying “texans stupid nyeh”
i mean u can say senior citizens shouldnt vote but in 2016 my mildly democrat nonna just shook her head and said “another mussolini” and that was the end of that which is a stronger stance than u got from most white millennial democrats who’d disenfranchise her
Okay tonight has been a mixed bag for a lot of people but I’m genuinely in shock at what has happened in Utah:
– Mitt Romney only won for Senate by about 60%. That doesn’t sound exciting if you’re from a blue state, but given that most people here have sort of unofficially labeled him a prophet destined to lead our country toward Mormon values, that is mind-blowing.
– Even crazier, Mia Love may lose, it’s still too close to call. She’s been absolutely awful to just about every minority in this state, is deeply in the pocket of the NRA, and has mimicked Trump’s positions 96% of the time. The idea that she might be out of here is insane, especially considering she’s both the incumbent and also the face of the Republican party in Utah. And if she does in fact win, the fact that she even had to sweat over this is almost enough by itself.
– The biggest news of all: Medical Marijuana seems to have passed. Medical Marijuana. In Utah. In Utah: Medical Marijuana. Which is great news for patients and those suffering from chronic illness, but what’s most exciting is that the Mormon church didn’t even use their normal backdoor approach for getting what they want, they literally sent an email out to all their members telling them to vote against it. And STILL they lost. The last time they used that blatant a tactic was their infamous influence in banning gay marriage in California back in 2008. The Mormon church wanted something out of Utah, and they didn’t get it. That idea always gives non-mormons here a bit of hope.
I know none of this sounds like humongous game-changing wins but all of it is so much more than I expected out of tonight on a state level, and it really reaffirms my opinion that voting absolutely and without question matters.
The big story tonight, honestly I think, are the ballot initiatives. Here’s a partial list (note, I’m ignoring some really shitty ones, and the ones I know nothing about whatsoever, but…)
Colorado ended slavery in prisons
Florida added a constitutional amendment enfranchising felons
Maryland got same-day voter registration
Massachussetts got gender identity protection
Michigan got straight-ticket voting, automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration, and no-excuse absentee ballots as well as independent redistricting!
Missouri is getting $12 minimum wage by 2023 (currently it’s $7.85)
Nebraska expanded Medicaid
Oregon refused to ban public money for abortion
Then there’s taking the House, coming to a near miss in Texas Senate (get Beto more funding and have him take another shot in 2020, he’d do more good challenging for Senate again than running for President and losing the primary early), some state houses and senates, some governorships (even if not as many as we’d like)…
Over all, though it doesn’t FEEL like it because the big name races didn’t go great and the Senate got worse, this WAS a good night.
Caveat: these are all preliminary, but that’s what the numbers seem to show right now
I want to add one in my state: Washington votes to require all Law Enforcement to be trained in first aid, mental illnesses, and de-escalation techniques. They will also be required to administer first aid when needed and prove they attempted to de-escalate a situation. This absolutely will save lives.
That’s great! It didn’t have any results when I posted, but I am also here in Washington and was watching it.
Stupid of me to think i should get on Tumblr to kill time avoiding election results. Anyways im logging back off til tomorrow morning when the die has officially been cast and I must deal with what i actually have to deal with
the whole “i used to be a teen who hated authority only to grow up to become the authority that hates teens” is a bad bad thing that practically every other generation has fallen into and we all need to make an extremely conscious effort not to repeat the fucking pattern
Studies have shown that the shift starts to happen around age 30. If you’re close to that, make a conscious effort to be open to and accepting of younger people. I’m 31 and paying close attention to how I react to young people and new trends and shit and trying to keep myself from developing those thought patterns.
bongdanceking 