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President Obama is reelected with a mandate and Women
make history in many ways!
By mickielynn on 2012-11-11 20:41:08
[caption id="attachment_3899" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="President Obama loves and respects women and
girls, most re-tweeted photo ever!"]
, no ¥ [/caption] The idea that the
Presidential race was going to be a very close one has planted a false impression in the minds of many US voters. It turns
out that (even with some popular votes remaining to be counted in the electoral dysfunctional state of Florida, President
Barack Obama gained 332 electoral votes to Mitt Romney’s 206 votes and the count for the popular vote was Obama 51%
and Romney 48%. As John Nichols, political writer for The Nation Magazine said after the election:
“Those victories—more than three million popular vote, 332 electoral votes—are bigger than what John
Kennedy came in with, bigger than what Richard Nixon came in with, bigger than what Jimmy Carter came in
with, and bigger than what George Bush had in 2000 or what George Bush had in 2004. And [ll remind folks
that after that 2004 election, George Bush stood before the American people and said he put his platform out
there, the people had embraced it, and he had political capital to spend. I think it’s very, very vital that President
Obama understand that he has not scraped his way to victory here. He has got a win, and he ought to take that
populist language, that progressive language of the close of his campaign, and make it much more central to his
politics.”
It’s clear that in his first term our 44" President has been a centrist rather than the progressive that many of his supporters
would have liked to see. That means that the portions of the electorate that combined to provide his victory this month will
need to really push him to provide the changes that our democracy needs to thrive and remain a part of the global economy
and community. But more about that in a future article. What I wanted to write about in this article was one such group that
voted in large numbers for President Obama [55% of all women voters— and nearly 67% of single women.] The distaff
demographic also made historic gains in national and state elections. This is particularly satisfying in the face of what many
women perceived as a renewed attack on women’s health and reproductive rights by the Republican Party. Six specific
incumbents and candidates who were defeated after particularly egregious remarks were Rep. Todd Akin MO, Senatorial
candidate. Richard Mourdock, IN, State Rep. Roger Rivard, WI, Rep. Joe Walsh, IL, and House candidates Tom Smith, PA,
and John Koster, WA. Representative Paul Ryan, WI won reelection to the House but lost the VP bid. New Yorker writer
Margaret Talbot summed things up succinctly: “If there was a war on women this year, it looks like the women are
winning.” You can read more details in an almost comprehensive article on Time.com but I’1l summarize some of the most
pertinent details in the rest of this article. Let’s begin with the US Senate. All of the incumbent women Senators who ran for
re-election in 2012 kept their seats. Although Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Kay Bailey Hutchison, of Texas, retired from
the Senate a bumper crop of new women were elected bringing the number of women in the Senate up to 20, a new record
{although 1/5 representation of more than a majority of US voters is still not very good.] [caption id="attachment_3903"
align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Mazie Hirono of Hawaii: the second woman of color and the only Asian
American woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate. Photo by Rebecca Breyer, AP"]
u [/caption] Some of the other
firsts included the election of the first Asian American Senator and the first woman Senator from Hawaii, who is also a
Buddhist, Mazie Hirono, Tammy Baldwin, the first Wisconsin female Senator and also the first openly gay US
Senator, Heidi Heitkamp, the first woman Senator from North Dakota, Deb Fischer the first full term woman Senator from
Nebraska, and Elizabeth Warren, the first Massachusetts woman Senator. [caption id="attachment_3904"
align="aligncenter" width="600" caption=" US Senator Tammy Baldwin, photo by Andy Manis, AP"]
=
/caption] Then there is the
House of Representatives where the Republicans continue to hold a majority with 233 votes to 194 for the Democrats.
[caption id="attachment_3907" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="Barbara Lee one of the most progressive women
RENEGADE FOR
PEACE & JUSTICE
CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA LEE
SPEAKS FOR ME
BARBARA LEE
Representatives is re-elected to the House"] /caption] There has been a notable
change in the composition of US Representatives. Several Blue Dog Democrats, all men, did not run this year and several
Tea Party Republicans lost their seats. Several very progressive peace and justice candidates were elected to the House as
well. The new Congress will have the largest number of incoming female House members since 1992 including a record
number of 28 women of color with more Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is
a military veteran and the first Hindu American to serve in Congress. She will join Representative Tammy Duckworth her
sister veteran and the first Asian American Representative of Illinois. [caption id="attachment_3908" align="alignright"
width="240" caption="Illinois Representative, Tammy Duckworth, first Asian American Representative from Illinois, photo
=
from Wiki commons"] [/caption] Finally the very independent and often innovative
State of New Hampshire has elected an all woman delegation to Congress and a woman Governor as well. New Hampshire
is currently the only state to have a woman Governor. The Granite State also made history in 1999 when it became the first
US State to have a woman governor, senate president and house speaker all in the same year. This year Governor Maggie
Hassen will be joined by U.S. Senators, Jeanne Shaheen (D.) and Kelly Ayotte (R.), and Representatives Carol Shea-Porter
and Ann McLane Kuster. [caption id="attachment_3912" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="New Hampshire
Women make history with Governor and Congressional Delegation in 2012 election"]
[/caption] Hopefully with this addition of many
women to the US Congress the attempts of the previous Congress to roll back women’s health care choices, equality of pay
and employment opportunities, and reproductive rights will be stopped and the new healthcare laws will be able to roll out
smoothly to provide more coverage to all people in the US. With two women veterans in the House it's likely that care for
returning veterans will be increased and improved as well. The women united will never be defeated! [caption
id="attachment_3916" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Representative Tulsi Gabbard, veteran, Hindu, image by
Lynne Sladky, AP"] @i[/caption]
