Glimmers of Hope From The 2016 Election
Many of you awoke this morning in a surreal haze. Donald Trump pulled off the single greatest heist of his entire career and landed himself in the nation's highest executive office, despite losing the popular vote much like a certain Republican buffoon (that apparently left his ballot blank for the presidential title) did 16 years before him.
The end is nigh, you say. And we're not necessarily disputing that. But in the face of such a stark and unthinkable outcome, with a fully-formed fascist serving as the nation's political figurehead and ambassador to a world that's already not-so-fond of us, it seems incumbent of us to celebrate some of the more redeemable outcomes to offer a glimmer of hope in this imminent dooms day scenario, to pry open the cracks in Trump's bleak and staunchly white dystopia.
Yes, the world is darker and slightly more hopeless than it seemed yesterday morning, but it's not entirely lost just yet. There were some significant, albeit less-spoken, gains made in the electorate. Some states even legalized recreational coping methods, which were long overdue, but will hardly sedate us enough to forget that hate won last night in what some are calling "white supremacy's last gasp," no matter how potent the ism. And yes, there's work to be done, but that's too obvious at this point, too easy to derive from such an unsettling forecast. Here we list some of those quiet victories to stand behind as we plot our next move.
Wherever that takes us, let's keep hope in the saddle. Shall we?
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NYC elects Adriano Espaillat as first Dominican-American in Congress
Espaillat won by an overwhelming majority in his ever-blue NYC district, succeeding incumbent Dem Charles Rangel with 89% of the vote.
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Minnesota elects Ilhan Omar as the nation's first Somali-American legislator
Omar, a member of the country's largest Somali immigrant population, dethroned Phyllis Kahn, who has served in the state's House for over 40 years.
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Nevada elects Catherine Cortez Masto as first Latina in US Senate
A seasoned politician of Mexican ancestry, Cortez Masto defeated Rep. Joe Heck for the vacancy left in Harry Reid's retirement.
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Washington elects Pramila Jayapal as first Indian-American woman in US Senate
India-born, this Bernie-endorsed 51-year-old scored big with 57% of votes in Washington state, leaving fellow Democrat Brady Walkinshaw behind.
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Three states legalize recreation marijuana
California, Massachusetts and Nevada have all fully legalized marijuana for recreational purposes, with Maine likely to join them by the day's end. Other states like Florida, North Dakota and Arkansas have approved medical marijuana measures, likely to go into effect at the top of 2017.
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