And the elections real winner is …

Obama returns to a headachy nearly identical congress.  Though i am certainly relieved at his re-election, i cant say i am really happy.  i was immediately reminded that there is still plenty of places where the Obama policy must change.

Yet there are definitely important winners in this most recent elections, specifically: Marijuana rights, Women and marriage rights.

Both Washington State and Colorado have voted to legalize recreational marijuana sales.   This puts these states of a collision course with Obama’s current drug policy.  But there is an easy out for Obama, he can simply embrace the new science.  Permit it to be rescheduled and then tax it on a federal level like the $1.20 per pack tax on cigarettes.

casual, recreational use

This could be a major break in the Mexican drug war, where 1/3 of the drug cartels profit is from marijuana.  One in 6 prisoners in the US are in for crimes involving marijuana, nearly 900,000 convictions a year.

“women have a way of shutting that whole thing down” – Akin

There are now 19 women in the US Senate, the highest number there has ever been.  The Rape Republicans i blogged about recently proved a likely unforgettable lessons for to the GOP. “Even in highly conservative constituencies, if you are stupid on rape, your career is over.”  Fortunately, the demographic shift in this country away from whites and away from the elderly increases the chances that the ideologically failed Republican party will be shrinking  further still.

As Angie points out in the comments – all 4 states with same sex marriage referendums won: Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington state.  [To be technically correct, Minnesota did not approve gay marriage, they defeated a constitutional amendment which would have prohibited it.]  There are now 9 US states which permit same sex marriage and on Nov 20 the US supreme court may chose to hear cases about gay marriages which have been denied their rights.

election map results on progressive issues referendums