#winning

WIN: President Barack Obama was reelected.

WIN: Relatedly, terrible plutocrat Mitt Romney lost.

WIN: Voters in Maryland, Maine, and Washington (projected) break a 32-state losing streak and legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote.

WIN: Voters in Minnesota vote down a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would have defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

WIN: The 113th Congress will have a record number of female senators: 20. Sixteen of them are Democrats; four are Republicans.

WIN: Elizabeth Warren (MA) is one of them. Elizabeth Warren won.

WIN: Mazie Hirono (HI) is also one of them. She is the first Asian American female senator!

WIN: Tammy Baldwin (WI) is also one of them, defeating popular Republican Tommy Thompson in the Wisconsin Senate race, making her both Wisconsin's first female senator and the first openly gay member of the US Senate. Said Baldwin: "I am well aware that I will have the honour to be Wisconsin's first woman US senator, and I am well aware that I will be the first openly gay member of the United States Senate, but I didn't run to make history. I ran to make a difference. But in choosing me to tackle those problems the people of Wisconsin have made history."

WIN: Claire McCaskill (MO) is also one of them, defeating the loathsome anti-choice rape apologist Todd Akin.

WIN: In Indiana, Democrat Joe Donnelly beat the loathsome anti-choice rape apologist Richard Mourdock in their race for the US Senate.

WIN: In Washington, Democrat Suzan DelBene beat the loathsome anti-choice rape apologist John Koster in their race for seat in the state congress.

WIN: In Illinois, Tammy Duckworth beat the loathsome anti-choice rape apologist Joe Walsh in their race for the US House of Representatives. Duckworth, who lost both legs serving in Iraq, is the first female war veteran with disabilities elected to the US Congress.

WIN: US voters chose women of color, women with disabilities, women who are gay, pro-choice women, and rejected men who minimize rape.

WIN: New Hampshire became the first state in the nation to have an all-female Congressional delegation: Two female senators and two female representatives. Their newly elected governor is also a woman.

WIN: Colorado and Washington voters legalized marijuana for recreational use. Massachusetts voters legalized marijuana for medical use.

WIN: A majority of US voters support legal abortion, and voted accordingly.

WIN: A majority of US voters rejected bigotry and reelected our African American President.

WIN: US voters rejected voter suppression efforts and often withstood long lines and shady disincentives to vote. vote. vote.

That is not a comprehensive list. And there were also some disappointments. Some state initiatives passed that are shitty. Indiana's new governor is Mike Pence, and we certainly aren't the only state who elected a gross conservative to a statehouse or Congress in a hard-won race.

But it was a big night. A big night for progress. A broad mandate.

I hope the President hears the roar of his progressive base. I hope he knows what a difference it made when he spoke out in favor of marriage equality. I hope he governs like a person who won because of people who expect more.

I hope we all muster the strength and sustain the will to urge him ever forward.