We're not in Kansas anymore

[marutidas]

Here we are 3 days in the after glow of the eletions and the American political world is a Very different place.

Democrats now control both the House and the Senate.

Nacy Palosi, first woman to be appointed to the speaker of the House.

Donald Rumsfelf is no longer Secretary of Defence.

The rhetoric has stopped and bipartisanship is the new message coming from both sides of the isle.

But on the other hand 7 of 8 marriage admandments made into law.
Many of the newly elected democrats are conservitive.
And it is only a matter of time before a Democrat scandle is uncoverd.

What do you think might happen in the new congress?

[Lydia]

There will probably be a bill passed to raise the (federal) minimum wage.

[kara speltz]

Here we are 3 days in the after glow of the eletions and the American political world is a Very different place.

Democrats now control both the House and the Senate.

What do you think might happen in the new congress?

One thing I'm hopeful about is that perhaps we can at long last, close down the School of the Americas (which has a new name I can never remember). If you don't know about the training school run at Ft. Benning, Ga. that has trained the killers of the Jesuits, the nuns who were raped and also Bp. Oscar Romero, I suggest you find out about it. It is a School of Assassins. With 8 supporters of the school now out of congress, perhaps we can shut it down at long last. It is a crime that we have sustained this for so many years.

Kara

[BenL]

With a razor-thin majority in the Senate, I fear that gridlock will be the order of the day in Washington. Congress may pass progressive legislation, but Bush will undoubtedly veto it, and there won't be enough votes to override. The biggest issues are Iraq and taxes. Environmental policy will also be scrutinized. But the power of the executive branch, which carries out the laws, is very great.

What I would like to see is the disestablishment of fundamentalist Christianity, which had become nearly a state religion under Bush and the conservative right. I would also like to see passage of non-discrimination laws in employment and housing that include everyone under the GLBTIQ umbrella, without leaving trans folks out in the rain. I don't know if the Democrats can carry off all of these things in the next two years.

While it seemed like a Democratic sweep on Tuesday, in my opinion the nation is still polarized. Some color the sides red and blue. I've heard the divide cast as urban vs. rural, but I think that's too simplistic. When we cast society in terms of we and them, the result is hatred.

Even though this seems pessimistic, I'm actually a lot more optimistic today than I was before the election. Here in MA we have our first African-American governor, who also supports gay marriage. I feel we won big in the Bay State.

BenL