Election 2012

The 2012 election came to a conclusion last night and people have called it a Status Quo election.  With the Republicans keeping control of the house and Democrats keeping control of the Senate.  I can also say that the 2012 election is my first that I have been a part of as a registered voter.  It was a lot of fun 4 years ago when I was watching Barack Obama become President of the United States and it was more exhilarating watching the election results from last night.  My political views are very moderate, which is likely why you'd probably see me watching CNN more often than the other cable networks (plus they got the anchors with the coolest names.  Can you do any better than Wolf Blitzer?)  Last night was an amazing night for me watching as a voter of this great state and country.

Of course, for Vermont, nothing changed.  Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch are heading back to Washington, DC and Peter Shumlin will be the Governor of our state for two more years.  The best news to happen to Vermont last night was the fact that for at least an hour, we were able to have the only projection for President Obama.  Sanders is an independent and, for his sake, will not be alone in that party come the debut of the 113th senate as Angus King of Maine will join him.

Likely joining forces with the Democrats, this will give the party a 55-45 edge in the Senate, 2 better than they had after 2010.  As for Welch, he will be in the minority at the House of Representative after the Republicans got to the 218 seats needed to get majority rule.  The election became more than just what happened in the Presidential race but also the balance of power in congress.

But there was also what happened in some ballot initiatives around the country.  For me, I felt a sigh of relief when it was determined that in 2 of the 3 states that had it on their ballots, they approved the fact that it is okay to have same-sex marriages in their state (Congratulations Maine and Maryland).  My belief on this is very important because I dislike people who believe that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.  If you are love someone, you should have the right to get married no matter whether you are with a person of the opposite sex or the same sex.

What I was a little concerned of was the idea of legalizing recreational use of marijuana in the states of Washington and Colorado.  Federally, marijuana is illegal.  Now, in the city of Burlington here in VT, they also voted for the legalization of marijuana, but it doesn't matter unless they make it legal in all states or the people in DC decide to put this measure up for debate in congress.  That is unlikely to happen, but we now know how some places believe about it.

In the end, though, this was an election that had its ups and downs (and by downs, I mean those ads that were playing every minute on every network).  Last night, we saw what the votes of America did:  It gave us a congress still divided.  It gave us more states that believe it is okay to have same-sex couples marry.  And it gave us another 4 years for a man who deserves it.  If you enjoy the way the election went, get ready for a major roller coaster ride in Washington DC.  If you don't, start getting those bumper stickers saying "January 20, 2017" (If the Mayans don't get to... : p.  Who believes that).  Otherwise, respect the men and women who are in office and let them know what you want to see change between now and 2016.