That Election Thingy

A week after the fact and I finally get around to commenting on the election results.  Not that there's any shortage of opinion and commentary.  I am particularly enjoying the Republican circular firing squad that has followed their electoral debacle.  I am relieved that we dodged a return of the Republican wrecking crew.

As elections go it was one of the better ones for me.  I'm happy that Obama won.  Head-to-head with Romney, Obama was (and is) the better choice.  And despite my disappointment at too many of his economic and national security policies, I believe he's done a credible job as president and earned a second term.  Still, I ended up voting for Jill Stein, a vote which had absolutely no impact on the result; Obama carried Washington's 12 electoral votes by almost 400,000 votes.  I thought my vote to help the Green Party vote will help create an alternative two-party monopoly.  And if it doesn't, nothing was lost.

It took until Friday to learn that Washington elected a Democratic governor .  The other statewide offices went handily to Democrats  except Secretary of State (that race wasn't decided until Saturday).  It seems odd that a state that has not elected a Republican governor since 1980 has also voted to keep Republicans in charge of the election machinery since 1965.  We also voted to retain the same sex marriage law enacted by the Legislature and approved an initiative to (kind of, sort of) legalize marijuana.  The initiative is pretty flawed but it's a step in the right direction and a strong statement to the federal govenment that the war on drugs (America's longest war) is a failure.

I also took great satisfaction in seeing my former home state, Virginia, vote Democrat for president and and US Senator.  Seeing Tim Kaine defeat George Allen, one of the more odious Republicans of our time, was also very satisfying.  Prior to his 2006 defeat by Jim Webb, Allen was considered a prospect for president.  I think that this year's defeat may close that door permanently.

My other former home state, Arizona, went Republican but Kirsten Sinema won the District 9 seat in Congress in a tight race.

About my only real disappointment was that the Thurston Public Power initiative went down 2-1.  The initiative would have authorized the county public utility district to provide electric service to portions of the county.  Our local investor-owned utility was purchased by a foreign (Canadian/Australian) holding company in a leveraged buy-out that added substantial debt for customers to pay along with electric service.  The initiative was a grassroots effort that was outgunned by a well-financed fear campaign.

 I can live with the results.  I always live with the results.  This year the living is easier.