I'm going to assume you heard the big news and some of the other big news. Here are some things you might not have heard yet:
Still waiting on Florida to get its vote-counting act together.
Sen. Dean Heller wins in Nevada.Two Senate races (Montana, North Dakota) remain too close to call.
Minnesota defeats its constitutional amendment against gay marriage.
Michele Bachmann hangs on to her House seat.
Reindeer rancher Kerry Bentivolio wins in Michigan.
Did Puerto Rico vote for statehood?
Wichita, Kansas votes against fluoridated water.
ACLU to Obama: now get to work.
XKCD with the big takeaway from the election.
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I have an apology to make to my fellow posters, Elections Can Not be bought!
Thank You fellow Americans, for proving me wrong!
Now we still have work to do, NO MORE LOBBYISTS BUYING OUR REPRESENTATIVES!!!
You are a gentleman and a scholar.
I just realized, this morning, that my apprehension and desperation about the superPAC money and other hidden funding came from this thought in the back of my mind: It is like a foreign power was trying to take over the country.
I couldn't really understand my reaction to the influence of all that money. I thought it was simply unfair and un-American, but in my heart I saw it as an invasion by a hostile power; one that we barely turned away.
Just like in any Saturday morning cartoon, the bad guys will come right back.
Thank you Daniel, you are to kind. :>)
And you are correct, we must not become complacent!
Wouldn't it be wonderful, though, if we didn't have to use such an obscene amount of money on elections when there are so many urgent needs?
Well, some elections can be bought apparently. Monsanto and friends paid for a defeat of Prop 37 in CA when an overwhelming majority (I mean like 87%) of people think GMO's should be labeled.
I hope our dear republican televangelists and those "prophets" that said God told them Romney will win-I hope repent.
I guess the Democrats prayed harder. ?;^)
Mayland voted for Same Sex Marriage and the Dream Act. Proud to be a Marylander! The American people showed you cannot buy an election and bigotry will always loose.
In Michigan, proposal 1 failed...meaning that efforts to stop the Emergency Financial Manager law were successful!!
That's fantastic! One of the worst laws passed in recent years.
Now its time for some HARD work:
ACA is safe, but now we have to get universal coverage - we need to kick the insurance companies OUT of our healthcare!
There needs to be a constitutional amendment saying corporations ARE NOT people, or if they are people, that they can only donate as much as an individual person can.
The Republican Party moderates HAVE GOT to get control of their Party. We need a two party system, but it doesn't work if one party is crazy!
A WHOLE lot of other things need to be done, but these three are incredibly important!!
I agree entirely,. Now that the ACA is intact, we need to get approval for the states to get waivers from the exchanges if they have a better proposal. WA and a number of other states have Single-payer plans all worked out that can be brought out as more affordable, efficient plans than the exchanges. This state-by-state approach is the way to universal health coverage in our country.
We live in Shanghai, had some hard times getting ballots, finally got them and fed ex'd them in to assure our vote with Fairfax, VA, we are so glad we paid the $80 to get our votes in for northern VA.
Thank You!!!!
Thank you for your determination to get your vote in!
Yes, thank you from Missouri. We don't stand a chance of winning for President Obama, so we've been cheering on those of you who can vote in Virginia and other swing states. Obama is right. We all do better when we stick together. Gosh, even geese and cattle know this !!
Rachel's smile couldn't have been bigger or brighter!
Nothing surprising in Alabama. We are way to predictable.
Believe me Al, you are not alone,,, :>)
Congratulations to the President, and also to the MSNBC team for always providing the best coverage of the political process.
Here's something that vexes me greatly about this election: John McCain was a better candidate than Mitt Romney by a far stretch, so how did Romney beat him by a healthy number of electoral votes?
This election was FAR too close for my comfort. This country is deeply and dangerously divided. I think there are a lot of people who should take a sincere look into the mirror, and double-check their stance on equality, and separation of church and state, two of the most powerful tenets of the country they claim to love.
Too many voters are 1x issue stance voters, and with Obama being the only candidate to honestly identify his position - probably explains why there was so many more votes against the encumbant.
I know many who were against Obama purely due to a specific issue and voted against him no matter what !!! sad as that action is.
Thank God it's over. Got a little concerned about Republican tricks, but alas Romney was gracious and if he would have been like that all along he may have done better.
The man is a stone-cold sociopath, capable of wearing any face to suit the brief moment. Nobody ever suspected the serial killers, billion-dollar con-men, and date-rapers either. "He seemed like such a nice guy... great neighbor... generous donor... family man... church-goer..."
Until he was caught diluting cancer drugs for profit, or caught in a billion dollar ponzi scheme, or discovered as the serial killer...
Don't buy the "gracious" act, it's just the mask that suited Romney at that moment, probably to bolster the next Repub poster-boy... Ryan, who they will no doubt foist on us in 2016. :(
and the best thing about the election ...is we don't have to listen to him or Stepford Anne complain about "you people" . Take your 1/4 of a billion dollars and go someplace quiet , don't darken our door again .
On the up side he has enough money so that he won't be taking a spot as a Faux Nooze analyst .
Wouldn't rule out a reality teevee show.... he likes the spotlight too much ...I can see it now.....My 5 sons
A great victory for our precious bodily fluids in Wichita!
Oh yeah! It must be great to be a dentist there.
A little unhappy about Bachmann keeping her seat, but she is always good for an eye-rolling chuckle.
I love watching Rachel and her team of commentators on MSNBC. Your news show is the show of choice in my household. Last night I listened as Rachel ran through a report of the different propositions that were either passing or failing around the country and I was surprised that there was no mention of Proposition 37 concerning the requirement of listing GMOs on food packaging labels in California. I know Monsanto and a host of food manufacturers, growers and distributors want this killed.
Rachel did an amazing job last night!! It was a bit of a struggle to get it online in the UK, but it worked out in the end. Thank you!!!
Rachel.. yes.. in Puerto Rico we choose Statehood on the referendum. But this is really funny.
We choose to change our relation with the USA. We choose Statehood by a big margin.
But we elected a legislature who is going to be run by the Popular party, which advocates for either maintain the Status quo, or a more free associated state.
And the governor, who didn't support the referendum. who didn't support to change the relations between PR and the USA.
The only member of the party that advocates for statehood, was the elected to office, was the resident commissioner in Washington dc. who is our beggar.
Our Republican governor, Luis Fortuño, lost reelection thanks to his republican legislation and actions, that limited the basic rights of our constitution, and fired a lot of public servants. besides many other things.
the case of puerto rico, its really interesting.
thanks
Hector
I am so glad that Puerto Rico may finally join The US as a state! My mother was from Cagaus and I have family all over the island. Puerto Rico has always been an iinteresting case don't you agree? ;-)
Viva Puertoooo Rrrricoooo!
I can't believe our little $3 donations beat out the Koch brothers' millions.
I'm curious about Prop 37 in California?
Prop 37 is just about defeated. And Californians again dodge and defer the need for conversation about food quality.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/election/results/race?race=398103301190&edate=2012-11-06
It is a GREAT day for women. NH, has an ALL female delegation. Mass elected is first female Senator.(way over due) The pro rape folks where tossed for their prehistoric thinking. There where even lots more female victories all over the country.
Yeah, I hear Michelle Bachmann won another term.
While reading through propositions that were either voted in or not around the country, I was surprised that Proposition 37 that requires that GMOs be listed in the packaging of foods in California was not mentioned. I know that Monsanto and a host of food producers and distributors want this proposition killed. What is the status on this and why was it not discussed?
Prop 37 was a no brainer.... Did California prove it has no brains?
A Prop 37 defeat isn't complete proof that Californians have no brains.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/election/results/race?race=398103301190&edate=2012-11-06
They are, after all, just about to pass funding to help develop brains.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/election/results/race?race=398103294022&edate=2012-11-06
People have been genetically modifying foods for eons. It's called domestication. BTW I am no fan of Monsanto and grow heirloom vegetables and fruits.
So that we establish that we're starting from common ground, I want to clarify that when you're referring to genetically modifying foods, domestication, and heirloom plants, you're referring to more natural means (mostly pollination) of growing vegetables and fruits to achieve certain characteristics. If I'm mistaken, please let me know.
The language used in the Prop 37 proposal attempts to define genetically engineered foods produced through the means of:
in vitro nucleic acid techniques, including recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques and the direct injection of nucleic acid into cells or organelles
or, the fusion of cells, including protoplast fusion, or hybridization of techniques, where the donor cells do not fall within the same taxonomic family, in a way that does not occur by natural multiplication or natural recombination.
If you had to look up those terms in Google or Wikipedia, then it's time to have a conversation about informing people of about food quality, and Prop 37 would've been a start.
Also, Monsanto is evil. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1286537/
The 2016 campaign season is now underway. Let's make sure Citizens United is overturned, so it doesn't have quite the budget this one did.
2014 is underway; it's the House that now counts. We need to gain seats and that will smarten up the GOP that is left.
This just goes to show that you have to be honest with the American people. You have to show them your tax returns, you have to tell them what you are going to cut, you have to tell them how you really feel about social issues. Flip-flopping will fool only some of the people some of the time. And dirty tricks and voter suppression cannot conquer the American will to vote and participate in their government.
DFL is in control of both houses in The State of Minnesota and we have a Democratic governor. Governor Mark Dayton!! http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/177543791.html
In Iowa, after the landmark gay marriage decision, a group called Iowans For Freedom, targeted the Iowa Supreme Court Justices that ruled unanimously that it was against the Iowa Constitution to deny some the right to marry. In 2010, that group was successful in getting three Iowa justices removed from the bench. They tried to have the final judge, Justice David Wiggins, removed from the bench last night, but they failed. Iowans voted for equal rights by voting to keep Justice Wiggins on the bench.
With the elections over, we citizens have work to do to let our representatives in both houses of Congress know we expect them to be both leaders and followers. Lead where appropriate and follow our President when needed. Our President cannot effect the changes we need without us accepting that we have differences and identifying where we agree and work from there. Compromise is not a dirty word, bigotry is. Respect our President! Leaders of both parties need to lead as honorable men and women, holding your members accountable for untoward behavior. Set the tone for our nation. Dispel that spirit of hate that has been set loose upon our nation so that we can be that more perfect union. Whether your candidate won or lost the race, the winner represents all their respective constituents. Let us move forward, together!
Check out the disappointing results in the Michigan Congressional race for district 11. Dr. Taj should not have lost - but did anyone research his opponent or just vote for a more familiar sounding name?
That is so true Joanne, that is why lobbyists have the power they do.