While most of the post-election ink will be spilled discussing how Obama will act in his second term, or whether the Republican party can be saved, these questions are relatively inconsequential compared to where the real action was on Tuesday: state ballot questions. The national presidential race represented the false choice between Wall St. Approved Warmonger #1 vs. Wall St. Approved Warmonger #2. The state ballot questions, most created by people-powered initiative petitions, represent the ongoing movement of the national mood, that is, the will of the people. Where the people lead, the politicians may eventually follow.
There were a variety of questions, but I'm going to focus on two big categories: marijuana and same-sex marriage. These issues are indicative of what's on our minds, and happen to be issues I care about a lot.
Three more states legalized same-sex marriage, bringing to nine the number of states that support full-on marriage for gays. Other states have various civil union laws or some sort of protection or recognition of marriages from other states, and of course many states explicitly ban gay marriage. Minnestoans defeated a constitutional ban on gay marriage on Election Day. The success of these new measures reflects a growing national acceptance of gay rights, including marriage rights. It's clear where history will come down on this one. We're basically just waiting for some old people to die before we can accept that everyone's equal and move onto real issues.
There were two medical marijuana initiatives; the one in Massachusetts passed, and the one in Arkansas failed. This makes 19 states that have some sort of medical marijuana law. Yet the federal government still categorizes pot on Schedule 1, the list of the most harmful drugs, with no known medical uses. How will this conflict be resolved? I don't think the states are going to reverse course, so what's the holdup at the federal level?
Even more remarkable, two states (Colorado and Washington) fully legalized marijuana, allowing recreational use by adults. A similar measure in Oregon was defeated. I think this is the most consequential result of the whole election, because it sets up a direct conflict between state and federal law. How this plays out, in both the streets and the courts, will be interesting to watch. The Feds have busted medical marijuana dispensaries that were in compliance with state law (despite an Obama promise to not do so), but the Feds lack the resources to police all of the recreational users in Colorado and Washington. What will they do? Just let it happen? Will state officials or residents of those states challenge federal law? Will the Feds see the light of progress and legalize (and tax!) pot? Just kidding on that last question. I don't see the current crop of Feds ever doing anything so sensible.
I think the lack of personal freedoms are at the heart the decline of this country. Prohibition still doesn't work. If we can learn this lesson about alcohol, why not pot? If only governments (and people who care about government spending) would mind their own business, we could have a country and an economy instead of a prison-industrial complex. Imagine if we taxed pot instead of policing it and sending all the profits to the violent Mexican cartels. And freedom to marry? It's just seriously none of your business what my spouse's characteristics are, including his or her gender.
Below are the full results, with percentages, obtained from Politico's handy election map, which has all sorts of other good info:
Arkansas - medical marijuana - defeated 51% to 49%
Massachusetts - medical marijuana - passed 63% to 37%
Colorado - legalize marijuana - passed 55% to 45%
Oregon - legalize marijuana - defeated 54% to 46%
Washington - legalize marijuana - defeated 55% to 45%
Washington - legalize same sex marriage - passed 52% to 48%
Maine - legalize same sex marriage - passed 54% to 47%
Maryland - legalize same sex marriage - passed 52% to 48%
Minnesota - ban same sex marriage - defeated 51% to 48%
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