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PROGRESSIVES FIND THEIR VOICE
The voice of protest, of warning, of appeal is never more needed than when the clamor of fife and drum, echoed by the press and too often by the pulpit, is bidding all men fall in and keep step and obey in silence the tyrannous word of command. Then, more than ever, it is the duty of the good citizen not to be silent: Charles Eliot Norton
Progressives found their voice yesterday and Republicans beware . From Virginia to California a progressive revolution is beginning to burn and by the mid term elections in 2006 ~ it will be a full fledged forest fire.
In California ~ it was a referendum on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger who was soundly defeated on every measure he backed .
But throughout the rest of the country ~ it was a referendum on Bush's political agenda which was soundly defeated in several races ~ particularly Virginia.
Here's an excellent rundown by the Center for American Progress.
Allen L Roland
Nationwide Victory for Progressives
Yesterday was election day for many Americans, and progressives won big. There were victories for civil rights in Maine, for employee rights and privacy rights in California, for science and education in Dover, Pennsylvania, and for progressive candidates around the country. A full run-down:
VICTORY IN CALIFORNIA: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) suffered an "across-the-board defeat last night at the ballot box," as California voters "rejected every measure he offered to change the political, fiscal and educational policy of the most-populous U.S. state." According to the L.A. Times, Schwarzenegger cast the debate in "stark terms": "He was a bold force for progress; the teachers, firefighters and nurses arrayed against him were selfish 'special interests.'" Not surprisingly, voters sided with teachers, firefighters, and nurses. Among the initiatives knocked down: one sought to limit the use of trade-union dues for political purposes; another would have capped state spending and eliminated the state's minimum funding guarantee for education; a third strongly backed by the pharmaceutical industry was also defeated. California voters also rejected a parental notification initiative that would have harmed teens seeking abortions.
VICTORY IN MAINE: For the first time, Maine voters approved a set of civil rights protections for gays and lesbians, voting down a conservative-backed measure that would have overturned a ban on "discrimination in housing, employment and education based on sexual orientation." Conservatives had succeeded in overturning similar laws in both 1998 and 2000.
VICTORY IN DOVER: Though the Kansas Board of Education voted yesterday to back "intelligent design," there was a silver lining. In Dover, Pennsylvania, eight out of eight incumbent school board members lost their bids for re-election to members of the pro-science Dover CARES campaign, who argued that the inclusion of "intelligent design" materials in science classes should be based on scientific, not political or ideological, merits.
FRUSTRATION WITH BUSH AGENDA EVIDENCED IN SEVERAL RACES: The New York Times opines that at least one fact seems "obvious" after last night's elections: "George Bush's political capital turned into a deficit." The AP's Ron Fournier agreed, referring to Bush as a "political toxin," noting that the president "put his wispy political prestige on the line" when the Virginia candidate "he embraced in a last-minute campaign stop was soundly defeated." In one contest in particular -- the mayoral race in Minnesota's capital city, St. Paul -- the issue of President Bush's leadership trumped all others. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports, "St. Paul voters punished Mayor Randy Kelly on Tuesday for standing with President Bush a year ago, denying the Democrat a second term in Minnesota's capital city. Former City Council member Chris Coleman, also a Democrat, routed Kelly by a more than 2-to-1 margin in unofficial returns with most precincts reporting."
SOME DARK SPOTS: In Texas, voters approved a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, "making their state the 19th to take that step." Said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign: "The fight for fairness isn't over, and we won't give up." In Ohio, meanwhile, voters rejected a set of measures meant to reform the state's scandal-plagued political system. "An ambitious effort by opponents and widespread confusion over the complex issues combined to defeat the entire package," the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
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