What does it all mean!? Though yesterday's
elections have already been taken apart piece by piece by well-dressed and
self-important men and women on television, if you are reading this, you must
want my opinion as well, so allow me to provide!
There weren't many elections yesterday, but the
ones that took place were - I think and hope - indicative of the direction in
which the nation is moving. With a few exceptions - including the defeat of
Republican Joe Lhota in NYC's mayoral race! - I am pleased with the outcomes.
My analyses below.
The Wins
1) A Democrat is elected governor of Virginia. This
is good mostly because the Republican Ken Cuccinelli, is, for lack of a better
term, a clown. He ran with full tea party support, and just about anyone with
whom I am familiar who is supported by the tea party is long on patriotic buzzwords
and short on intellect. I don't know as much as Cuccinelli as I do about, say
Ted Cruz (public enemy #1), but I know his social views were appropriately
abhorrent to receive tea party support, and that's really enough for me. His
opponent, and now governor-elect of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, has previously
been plagued by political scandals, but we all know that many scandals are
half-baked, and my research didn't indicate anything in McAuliffe's past that
would make him unelectable (clearly the voters in Virginia agreed). I find two
things encouraging about McAuliffe's victory: it was a loss for the tea party
which is almost by definition a win for America, and he won by making the case
that Cuccinelli's backwards social views would be bad for Virginia's economy by
discouraging investment in the state. He's right about that, and I'm glad the
Virginia voters heeded his call.
2) Chris Christie is reelected governor of New
Jersey. Surprised? Yes, I'm happy Christie won. I didn't know much about his
Democratic opponent, and while I'm sure I would have agreed with her more often
than I do with Christie, the Republican party is desperately in need of some
sane moderates, and Christie is one of the few I can identify. The New York
Times last night declared that his victory vaults him to the front of the
Republican field for 2016, and I find that news to be simply extraordinary.
Christie's style may not win him a general election - I'm not sure I want him
to win a general election - but he's about as good a standard-bearer as exists
among Republicans right now, and if his win last night and his likely 2016 run
for president help move the Republican party back into the realm of sanity and
away from the tea party then he's damn-near an American hero. Congrats, Chris.
3) Dean Young loses in Alabama. Don't know Dean
Young? Neither did I until recently. Neither did I know the man who defeated
him, Brynes, until about a few weeks ago when the news of their duel in the
Republican primary in a special election became national. Brynes will now go on
to defeat whoever it is the Democrats have found to run against him, but his
victory over Young is important. Brynes was the "establishment"
(read: moderate; sane; normal) candidate. Dean was the tea party-backed prophet
of the apocalypse - no really - forecasting the end of our "Western
Christian Empire," and railing against homosexuality. That Brynes managed
to beat Dean in a state as red as Alabama is encouraging. Perhaps even the
staunchest Republicans are awakening to the lunacy of the tea party. I don't
know much about Brynes, but all I need to know is that he was the anti-tea
party candidate. I hope that small local primary is a sign of things to come on
the national stage.
4) It happened a few weeks back, but Corey Booker
is now a Senator. This can be summed up in one word: Awesome.
The Losses
1) Bill De
Blasio elected mayor of New York City. I don't hate De Blasio. In fact, I'm
onboard with a lot of his progressive ideas, but I don't really think he has a
blueprint for achieving many of them, and his ideas for reforming education are
regressive rather than progressive. If you really want to be progressive and
attack inequality as De Blasio does - and I genuinely believe that - you have
to start with education, and De Blasio's Republican opponent, Joe Lhota, had
way better ideas for how to reform and fix New York City's schools. I'm
optimistic that De Blasio won't be able to inflict serious damage on the
charter school movement in New York, but his stance on education does little to
help public education. If he can indeed increase taxes on the wealthy to fund
universal prekindergarten I'll be happy, and I do think his heart is in the
right place, but he has a lot to prove to me, and right now, I'm wishing Lhota
had pulled off the upset.
2) Colorado voters reject tax increase that would
have funded public education. Poor public education, and poor children. They
can't vote so they don't have a voice, but they are the future of our country,
and educating them is the only way we can remain a successful country.
Education is the very bedrock of America, but it gets swept under the rug.
Colorado has pioneered some really encouraging school reforms, but yesterday
voters negated some of the good that would have been done in a referendum on tax
increases that would have funded many of the initiatives. Higher taxes aren't
really politically appealing, and the opposition made the case that they would
be bad for the economy. This may be true, but what will be worse for Colorado's
economy is all of the uneducated children being pumped out of failing schools.
Good investments are usually long-term, but Colorado's voters went to the polls
with their wallets, not their state's future on the forefront of their mind.
It's hard to blame them I suppose, but I'm still disappointed. Education is the
ultimate investment, and it is always discouraging to see our country take
steps backward when it comes to education reform because it's a political issue
without constituents.
The Verdict
Overall, I find myself pleased with yesterday's
outcomes. Surprising as it may seem I am encouraged by the victory of one
Republican, and discouraged by another's loss, but I remain optimistic that De
Blasio will be able to do limited damage, and may actually realize that his ideas
about public education are regressive and come around on the issue. What I'm
most disappointed about is the outcome in Colorado, but the same politicians
who passed this bill are still in office, and I believe they will try to craft
a new and better bill that can win public support for reforming schools.
Perhaps most importantly, yesterday was a severe
reprimand for the tea party, a group that one can only hope is losing its
appeal as it becomes even more obvious (it was obvious almost from the beginning)
that they are devoid of positive ideas for improving America, and that their
social views are more aligned with the ayatollahs in Iran than with 21st
century America.
Yesterday gives me some hope for America's near future. Let's hope we
can keep up the momentum.
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