The New York Times declares Narrow Victory Includes Near Sweep of Swing States. Narrow victory my foot. There were a number of progressive victories not called out by the MSM. Here is a recap of what really happened and why it is another progressive mandate, just slightly smaller the in 2008.

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Electoral Map: NY Times by NY Times

 

The New York Times declares Narrow Victory Includes Near Sweep of Swing States .

 

Narrow victory my foot.   Why hasn't Florida been called for Obama yet?   100% of the vote is in.   Any provisional and absentee ballots will likely favor Obama even more, turning a half percent win into a 1% win, and turning a 303 electoral delegate victory into a 332 delegate mandate (the 2008 mandate was 365 delegates).   And what about the extra Democratic Senate victory in North Dakota of Heidi Heitkamp, turning a +3 (incl. 2 independents) victory into a +4 victory in the critical Senate?

The NYT, like most of the MSM, wants to make a contest where there wasn't one.

I'll see your Ralph Nader, and raise you a Gary Johnson

For 12 years now, progressives have had to live with "what could have been" from Ralph Nader's 1.635% showing in Florida having "tipped the balance" towards Bush, even though later analysis showed Nader might have taken as many votes from Bush as from Gore, and that when a final count was done, it showed Gore actually won the state.   Well, never mind, because now the Republicans have their "Nader" moment, with the .5% showing of Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.   More than Nader, Johnson's showing comes directly from one party, in this case, the Republicans.   .5% is currently the margin of victory of Obama over Romney in Florida.   Sweet justice indeed.

From the record disenfranchisement of blacks in Florida -- 23% - due to felony charges at some point in their lives, to Rick Scott's shortening of early voting, it's clearly a war on likely Democratic voters.   Despite this, people waited for hours in long lines to vote, creating what looks to be a narrow victory for Obama there.

On top of that, a number of Tea Party favorites got tossed out, and several progressive measures - legalizing Marijuana, Gay Marriage, etc. - passed in several states:

Altering the course of U.S social policy, Maine and Maryland became the first states to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote, while Washington state and Colorado set up a showdown with federal authorities by legalizing recreational use of marijuana.

We also will now have a record number of women (at least 19, 20 when Heidi Heitkamp gets the official nod) in the Senate, including the indomitable consumer advocate, Elizabeth Warren - by an 8% lead, no less, with 2% of the count left to go. ** UPDATE ** 11 of the 12 House seats still uncalled are being led by democrats too.  If they all go to the Dems, it will mean a strong minority of 202 to 233 Republicans in the House, a substantial incursion during a year when most Democrats and Republicans expected little change in the 242 member majority.

See also political analyst Robert Cavnar's excellent analysis here, especially the parts about how low voter turnout (41%) in 2010 was not really reflective of the electorate.  Last night was a much higher turnout and, when the mainstream media starts admitting reality (or even if it doesn't) indicates a much more progressive country than their breathless too-close-to-call ratings baiting would indicate.   Even Obama was moved to awkwardly insert into his acceptance speech, a call to "do something about that" referring to the voter discouragement tactics of the Republican anti-voter Right.   As Cavnar points out, the Tea Party movement is a fringe element that has taken over the Republican Party, marginalizing it and guaranteeing a long-term losing strategy.   If the Republicans run on the reactionary Right in 2016, they will lose even more badly.   By then, the minority shift -- which went overwhelmingly to the Democrats, plus the equally overwhelming women's vote, will ensure the anti-woman, anti-minority party a permanent minority status of its own.   Serves them Right.

Authors Website: http://newthinking.blogspot.com/

Authors Bio:

Scott Baker is a Managing Editor & The Economics Editor at Opednews, and a former blogger for Huffington Post, Daily Kos, and Global Economic Intersection.

His anthology of updated Opednews articles "America is Not Broke" was published by Tayen Lane Publishing (March, 2015) and may be found here:

http://www.americaisnotbroke.net/

Scott is a former and current President of Common Ground-NY (http://commongroundnyc.org/), a Geoist/Georgist activist group. He has written dozens of articles for Common Ground's national publication, GroundSwell, and has advocated for the Georgist Land Value Tax to public and political audiences.

A complete list of his publications can be found here:

Click Here

He is also New York State Coordinator,Senior Advisor, Director and AI Chair for the Public Banking Institute

Click Here, which seeks to promote Public Banking. The PBI is chaired by another OEN blogger, Ellen Brown.
Scott has appeared on TV/Radio and in in-person Presentations to explain the principles of Georgism, Greenbacking, and State Banking. These may also be found on his personal blog: http://newthinking.blogspot.com/

Scott has a dozen progressive petitions on Change.org which may be found here:

http://chn.ge/10nUAmJ

Scott was an I.T. Manager for a major New York university for over two decades where he earned a Certificate for Frontline Leadership.

He had a video game published in Compute! Magazine: Click Here

Scott is a graduate and adjunct faculty of the Henry George School of Social Science in New York City.

Scott is a modern-day Renaissance Man with interests in economics, science and all future-forward topics.

He has been called an "adept syncretist" by Kirkus Discoveries for his novel, NeitherWorld - a two-volume opus blending Native American myth, archaeological detail, government conspiracy, with a sci-fi flair http://amzn.to/10nUoDV

Scott grew up in New York City and Pennsylvania. He graduated with honors and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University and was a member of the Psychology honor society PSI CHI.

Today he is an avid bicyclist and ride co-leader in a prominent bike advocacy organization.

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