Oh, What a Night….

Just when you thought the country was in a state of permanent regression, there comes a night like this. All over the country tonight, ordinary people fought back at the ballot box against the outrageous overreach of the right.  From Mississippi to Ohio to Maine, ordinary people said no: no to Ohio’s attempt to end collective bargaining for public-sector workers; no to Mississippi’s proposed amendment conferring personhood onto a fertilized egg; no to Maine’s ban against same-day voter registration.  And it could get better.  The vote is not yet in on Arizona’s effort to recall the state’s attorney general Russell Pearce (Mr. Papers Please), but it doesn’t look good for him, either.

Just because people are struggling and scared doesn’t mean they’re also stupid.  They know and understand what is human and real, what the best of America entails: fairness, freedom, access, privacy.  Politicians and corporate interests may be confused, but the people are not.