Election 2012: Victories Beyond the White House

What a night! I am so incredibly happy to have volunteered for President Obama for the last few months; honored to have been a part of this historical election.

These are the historic results of the night (as they're being reported now):

• The U.S. re-elected the first African-American president.
• Three more states passed marriage equality acts (Maine, Maryland, Washington).
• At least 19 women will serve in the U.S. Senate, a record number (20, if ND elects Heidi Heitkamp).
• The first openly lesbian U.S. senator was elected: Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin.
• The first openly bisexual U.S. representative is projected to be elected: Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona.
• Two states legalized recreational use of marijuana (Colorado, Washington).
• This is the first time since 1801-1825 that we have had three two-term presidents in a row.

For the record, I am incredibly thrilled about the marriage equality laws that got passed last night, but I think it's pathetic that we are voting on other people's rights in the 21st century. The fact that the first openly lesbian senator was just elected, but the state that she represents (WI) banned same-sex marriage in 2006, is wrong. Marriage was defined as "one man and one woman" in Arizona in 2008, which means if Sinema is elected to the House, she will also represent a state that wouldn't support her if she fell in love with a woman and wanted to get married.

As for President Obama, I think it is great that as the first African-American to get elected president he got re-elected. I feel like race wasn't really allowed to be talked about in this election, and maybe I' not "allowed" to talk about it now, but I think it's important. I think that it proves to ourselves and the world that we do care about the content of someone's character more than the color of someone's skin. I don't know if it would have been said outright or not if Obama had lost, but I really feel like the far right would have ended up subtly hinting that we need to go back to the "traditional America." They (FOX News) did mention "traditional America" yesterday, when they realized that there are more people of minority races than white people in the U.S. now.

Nineteen or twenty women in the Senate is a record? That's only a fifth of the members! I think it's great that more women are getting elected to Congress, but we need to push that number up. Women make up more than half of this country's population; we need adequate representation in Washington.

I don't have an opinion on recreational marijuana use. It is my view that it should be allowed for medical purposes, but beyond that I don't see a reason for it. Just because I don't see a need for it, however, doesn't mean that I really care one way or another if other people use it.

Overall, this was an incredible campaign (while I am aware that there were problems on both sides, I'm spending today being happy about the win; there's time for criticism later). I was in tears last night when our president was re-elected. I was so overwhelmed. This is the most emotionally invested I have ever been in a political campaign, and it paid off! All the hours spent calling people, talking to people, getting up early, and going to bed late paid off. Listening to President Obama's victory speech last night made me feel delighted, honored, and proud to be an American.

I leave you with my favorite quote from last night's victory speech and a photo:
"I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting."

I got interviewed on my way out of the polls.
Great way to end the campaign!

"Be the change you wish to be in the world." --Gandhi

Election Day!

Happy Election Day!

I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the campaign today. Here are the last two months of the campaign as seen by my iPhone.

My sister and I were so excited to see President Obama in September!

President Obama!

I got to see Natalie Portman speak at a Women's Summit.

Emily and I also got to see Michelle Obama speak!

I got the front row to see Alfre Woodard, Valerie Jarrett, and Sarah Jessica Parker speak at our campaign office.

I made patriotic cupcakes.

And patriotic cookies!

Had an awesome debate party.

POTUS/FLOTUS table!

My editor wondered if we had "Pets for Obama" signs; so I made some! Jett is so excited for the election!

Election Day pancakes!

Make sure you vote, but only after you've had a good breakfast!

Obama pancakes!

Forward!

Please vote today! 

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

"No Party Lines"

I know that many of you reading this have already made up your minds about who you're going to vote for in the presidential election. I was, however, thinking about the candidates' plans and this is what I've come up with: they both want the same things, they just want to take different routes to get there.

"5 Point Plans" and "6 Point Plans" have become a core part of this election. Here's what both candidates' plans look like:

Mitt Romney
1. Energy: Achieve energy independence by using the resources we have on this continent.
2. Trade: Have "trade that works for America" by making sure that other countries don't cheat when they trade.
3. Education: Better schools (public schools, colleges, and skills training).
4. Economics: Cut the deficit.
5. Small Business: "Champion small business" by lowering taxes on small businesses and the middle class, as well as getting rid of "Obamacare" and "replacing it with "real healthcare reform."

Barack Obama
1. Jobs: Create jobs in America by changing trade barriers.
2. Taxes: Change the code to cut the deficit.
3. Nation-Building: Rebuild at home and stop the wars.
4. Energy: Invest in American energy.
5. Education: Have more college graduates.
6. Healthcare: More access and lower costs.

So, if we take these plans and combine them, here's what it looks like (Red = Romney, Blue = Obama, Purple = Both):
Energy: Invest in the resources we have on our continent.
Education: Better schools, especially higher education institutions.
Economics: Cut the deficit.
Nation-Building: Lower taxes to champion small business so we can rebuild here at home.
Trade: Have trade that works for America by changing the trade barriers.
Healthcare: There is no overlap on this. Not sure why, since "Obamacare" is essentially "Romneycare," but in these plans, there is no common ground except for the fact that both candidates think they have the best answer for our healthcare problem.

By looking at this, it seems like both candidates want the same things. Back when the United States was founded, the president was the candidate who got the most votes and the vice president was the candidate who got the second most votes. I know that this isn't going to happen now because we have running mates, but it sure shows a willingness to cross party lines once the election is over to get things done.

In the last couple of days, both candidates have been flying the "there-are-no-party-lines" flag. If there are really no party lines, then come together. Stop airing the attack ads. Appear together at a function to help the victims of Sandy.

I'm not saying that these candidates are equal in how they're going to run the country. I'm saying that they need to acknowledge the validity of the other candidate's platform, though. They are literally saying they want the same thing on 5 out of 6 of the points on their "Plans."

I am very aware that there are a bunch of social issues that are not on these plans on which they disagree by immense amounts, but they're not talking about those. Sure, every now and again Obama mentions the repeal of DADT and getting to "marry who you love," but that's not what he's running on. This is a very economic-minded election and their plans both reflect that.

I think if Sandy has taught us anything, it's that we never know what's going to happen tomorrow. Cross party lines. If you have friends or family who are die-hard supporters of the "other" candidate, have dinner with them and talk about good things. We're not all that different from each other.

Take this weekend to get out there and make that last push for your candidate; but make the push for your candidate, not against the other candidate.

Stay safe, stay strong.

"Be the change you wish to be in the world." --Gandhi

Face-to-Face campaigning is the most effective. Here is my "Face-to-" campaign photo.
Share your "Face" campaign photo to complete the cycle.

Michelle Obama in Cincinnati!

My sister and me in line.

Yesterday was an absolutely amazing experience! Getting to see Michelle Obama speak in person was phenomenal. She is more stunning in person than on TV; something I didn't know was possible!

The crowd waiting to go in.

The crowd was huge: 6,800 people! It was great because there were people from all different backgrounds and there were a lot of different views on issues even within the people who were there for this unifying event. It was really interesting, because even though we were all there for the same thing, everyone still wanted to be in their own groups: "African-Americans for Obama," "Women for Obama," "LGBT for Obama," "Latinos for Obama," "People of Faith for Obama," etc. It was almost like high school clicks all over again, except this time people were advertising what groups they were in.

Here are some photos of the event before Michelle took the stage:

We were so close!

Early voting started in OH yesterday!

Sherrod Brown, US Senator

Emily with her sign that the guy next to her ended up taking.
We had interactions with so many charming people...

One of our future leaders sitting with Dad.

The next generation of voters on Dad's shoulders!

This video isn't great, but this woman who is introducing Michelle Obama talked about her family's struggle with healthcare. Her son, standing next to her, was born with a liver problem and had a liver transplant at age 2. They had already reached his "lifetime cap" with their health insurance because of the transplant. When Obama passed the Affordable Care Act, they got to have affordable health insurance again! It was so great to hear their story and I love that she got to introduce the FLOTUS!

Michelle talked about so much! I wish I could have gotten it all. :) She told us why she loves Barack (Happy 20 Year Anniversary Today!!!), the reasons that it is so incredibly important to vote, and why Barack needs to be re-elected! Here is a clip about the great things he's done and why you need to re-elect this president. Listen carefully; the audio is terrible, but the message is great!

I loved watching her speak! She was so into it. :) Amazing experience.

This is the end of her speech. What a fantastic time we had! She is an inspiration and a great woman.

We were so close to getting to shake her hand!
This photo is with no zoom!

All in all, it was a great day! As you saw in yesterday's post, there were definitely some issues, but Michelle was absolutely perfect. :)

Here are some links both about her visit yesterday and about the campaign:
WCPO.com's Story About Her Visit
Huff Post's Story on FLOTUS's Visit and Why Ohio is So Important
Hamilton County, OH Voting Information
BarackObama.com

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

FLOTUS ADA Experience

I am currently at the FLOTUS event in Cincinnati waiting for Michelle Obama to speak. I am registered on the ADA list because this is a 3 hour long event and since I have fibromyalgia I can't stand for that length of time on concrete. We just stood in line for about an hour and a half and I'm already completely exhausted. While we were in line I was asked by about 6 volunteers if I was in the right place and when I said "yes" they gave me looks like they didn't believe me. When I offered to show them my doctor note they said they didn't need to see it, but they still looked very unsure. When I came in there were volunteers who asked about it and then were completely accommodating when I told them why I was on the ADA list. But there were a lot of the companions of the other people on the ADA list who were telling me, "Well I have fibro but I'm standing up" and "Well my aunt has a cane so you need to let her have your chair." Um...no, not a chance. We all have problems and that's why we're ALL on this list. I happen to have been waiting longer, so that's why I have a good seat. If there was literally no other chair and an old woman with a cane needed my chair, of course I would give it to her. But there were a lot more chairs behind me.

The fact that people are in a pissing contest about disabilities makes me so upset! And that companion who claimed she has fibro ended up taking a person's chair while they were in the bathroom and now has a better seat than I do. I'm glad she does have a chair now because she would have hurt a whole lot if she would have had to stand the whole time, but just because I look healthy and I'm young does NOT mean that you get to tell me what's best for me. That would be like me saying to someone with MS or cancer or something that you can't "see" just by looking at them, "But you look fine, why can't you stand for the whole time?" That would be highly offensive of me to say, and it infuriates me that fibromyalgia is so misunderstood by so many people that they are willing to discount any pain I'm in because I look great so I must feel totally fine.

Please be kind to each other today. There is always something that you can't "see" about someone you're interacting with, so be gentle with each other.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

I am so close to the stage! :)

DNC Speeches and Wolf Hunting

What a night at the DNC last night! I was so thrilled to be watching the speeches! I'm not going to go really in depth on anything said, but I am going to post links to four speeches I thought were fantastic! I could write ten posts on these speeches--they were exactly what this 2012 campaign needed. As a friend put it this morning, "Michelle may have just won the election for [Barack]." :) I hope so!

Illinois House Candidate Tammy Duckworth's Speech -- Tammy is an Iraq veteran who lost both legs after the helicopter she was piloting was hit by enemy rockets. Great message, good delivery.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's Speech -- Governor Patrick is the kind of speaker who will bring Republicans to the left, in my opinion. He has the same kind of tone as every speaker at the RNC last week had: this is our policy and we're not changing it. I don't totally agree with that way of conveying a message, but it seems to be very popular among Republican voters.
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro's Speech -- Keynote speaker Mayor Castro. What to say about him...Castro 2016! That might be premature; he doesn't have any Congressional experience yet...Castro 2020! I adored his speech. He is so charismatic; he reminded me of a young Obama at the 2004 DNC giving the keynote address. Hmm...foreshadowing?
First Lady and Mom-in-Chief Michelle Obama's Speech -- She absolutely nailed it! I want her for another four years! She can connect so well to the audience, and by this morning, Obama was back in favor among women voters! I could go on and on about Michelle; she is truly the largest asset to the Obama campaign.

In other news, this story came up today. It is about how wolves are being taken off the endangered species list in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming and, come October, they will be allowed to be shot on sight outside Yellowstone National Park. I am furious about this! I spent a few days every spring in Yellowstone with my family while I was growing up in Montana. Some of my best memories include these absolutely majestic animals. In fact, this summer when I was in Yellowstone and got engaged on the Lamar River, it was a wolf that we saw first after we got back in the car and were leaving the Lamar Valley.

It has taken us so long to get to this point of having a good number of wolves again! Before 1978, when grey wolves were put on the endangered species list, they were hunted nearly to extinction! I understand that cattle need to be protected and I also am aware that many wolves in one area will completely decimate a food chain, and then they themselves will die. However, according to the NPS site, the wolf population outside of Yellowstone has decreased 60% in only five years. There is less food for them outside the park (due to declining elk populations), which is why wolves kill livestock. While there was a bit of a decline inside the park, the wolves there have bison as an additional food source. In Wyoming there are 270 outside Yellowstone and about 100 inside; if every wolf was relocated so that they were inside the park, that would not work. The bison and elk populations in the park would crash.

Here's what I think should happen: if a wolf kills something you own (cow, child, dog, sheep, etc), you should be able to shoot it. I do not think it's okay to shoot a wolf on sight, though. Just because you see a wolf pack running across the valley does not mean the wolves are going to kill anything. If, for some reason, a wolf pack decides to den near your house or ranch but hasn't killed anything, you should have the option of asking for them to be humanely relocated. In my opinion, this is going to become a trophy race and the wolf population is going to plummet, yet again, and they will have to be placed back on the endangered species list. Seems to me like taking them off and then putting them back on is a waste of taxpayers' money. For everyone back in Montana reading this, please say something to your state senators and representatives! I, myself, will be writing to Gov. Schweitzer.

Montana State Legislators with Contact Info
Gov. Schweitzer Contact Info

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi