Positive Spin on Democratic Defeat

I know many of you are upset about the recent elections and the idea of a Republican Senate, but I thought I would share a positive perspective on things. For one, Democrats always do poorly during off year elections, and this loss comes as no surprise. Regardless of what you think of Bill Clinton's presidency, both houses were under Republican control almost his entire tenure. This said, when Democratic candidates win presidential elections that usually spells big wins for Democrats, and when one party has too many seats there is usually a big correction during a presidential election. So with a Hillary run, there is a chance that a dramatic restructuring of both houses will occur in 2016, especially if Warren is on the ticket, my secret wish, to energize the youth vote and especially if the Republicans don't have a credible candidate to run against her, which at the moment seems to be the case. 

But I think the ballot measures were very promising and I was glad to see some very conservative measures voted down in referenda and liberal measures passed. Personhood amendments, that would pretty much outlaw abortion, failed in even deep red states, and marijuana legalization passed in more liberal states, but minimum wage increases were extremely popular in both blue San Francisco and red Arkansas. Gerrymandering has probably benefited Republican candidates in this election, even though the electorate tends to be older, whiter and more conservative, but the electorate showed itself to be center-left when asked to vote on drugs, abortion and minimum wage increases directly where there Gerrymandering effect is negated. So that is a strategy that progressives should keep in mind for future elections. 

Another high point, judging from the lack of referenda on the topic; the gay marriage debate seems to be over, with pro-equality Republican candidates being reelected and more coming out for gay rights. Republican candidates, appealing to their base, in gerrymandered districts, seem to be more conservative than the electorate that votes for them. That is a positive development and is something to keep in mind as we go into 2016.