Electoral Disappointments

While we're waiting to see whether Norm Coleman and Ted Stevens or their opponents/replacements will be the old white men of choice in the Senate as of the swearing in of the 111th Congress in 2009, here are a couple sobering tidbits from the last week:

Darcy Burner- One of the reasons I was so excited to move to the West Coast a couple months ago was the liberal atmosphere, and I have found that in abundance. Peace Action West has helped me keep up on a lot of the progressive campaigns out here that I haven't had time to be personally involved in. One of my favorites was that of Darcy Burner, a strongly anti-war, "practical progressive" (OK, that appellation churns my stomach a little bit) candidate. She was running against a former sheriff in Washington's 8th congressional district and lost narrowly. Like a good Red Sox fan, I let myself get excited by the joyous potential (another strong ally in the congressional battle to end the occupation of Iraq, a cause even more morally righteous than keeping the Yankees from an AL East crown [speaking of which see Dave Zirin's piece on the new Yankee Stadium in the latest issue of The Progressive on newsstands or at your school/local library]) only to witness a jarring late-season collapse and loss of lead.

The Passage of CA's Gay Marriage Ban- on the political "scale of losing", this one ranked somewhere between Bush's re-election and the Corrupt Bargain in terms of pain for its supporters. Seeing my gay friends morosely ponder life in Massachusetts as the results came in took a lot of the edge off of Obama's victory speech. Those of us living in the Bay Area can luckily still attend the on-going "No on 8" rallies and protests, gatherings which now, more so even than usual, can mark collective spiritual togetherness and uplift as one of their primary positives. In the week before the election, our house received material from the "Yes on 8" campaign prominently featuring Obama and Biden, and their quotes about opposing gay marriage. Obama's 200-point electoral victory would not have been jeopardized by speaking out firmly against constitutional bans on gay marriage. This is one area where greater courage and leadership from him during the campaign could have made a concrete difference in national politics beyond his own race. His appointment of Rahm Emmanuel as chief of staff makes me wary that more such cautious decisions will become the norm from the President-elect. However, that he is considering John Podesta, CEO of the Center for American Progress for a Cabinet position as well is a hopeful sign. While not the most liberal voice at CAP, Podesta would nevertheless represent an important counter-balance to Emmanuel's dogmatic centrism.

In other news, check out the new issue of Tikkun, available at tikkun.org!