It's no secret that Congress is too white, too male, too Christian, and too straight.
The U.S. is a big country, a diverse country, a country which wouldn't be hurt by having representives in government who more accurately reflect all of us.
This election cycle, some cool firsts give me a bit of hope that we're inching -- inching -- toward that.
First woman to serve as speaker of the house: Nancy Pelosi
First Muslim elected to U.S. Congress: Keith Ellison
First Democratic Socialist elected to U.S. Senate: Bernie Sanders
First Jewish governor of New York: Eliot Spitzer (* see correction below)
First African-American governor of Massachusetts: Deval Patrick
And, according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, 67 openly gay candidates were elected to state and local offices (more than ever before), including several gay firsts:
--Patricia Todd, who will represent District 54 in the Alabama State House. Todd is the first openly gay person ever elected to any office in the state.
--Kathy Webb, who will represent District 37 in the Arkansas State House. Webb is the first openly gay person ever elected to any office in the state.
--Henry Fernandez,who won a seat on the Lawrence Township School Board, making him the first openly gay person ever elected to any office in Indiana.
--Al McAffrey, who will represent District 88 in the Oklahoma State House. McAffrey is the first openly gay person ever elected to the Oklahoma state legislature.
--Jolie Justus, who will represent District 10 in the Missouri State Senate. Justus is the first openly gay state senator in Missouri history.
--Ed Murray, who will represent District 43 in the Washington State Senate. Murray, a former state representative, is the first openly gay state senator in Washington history.
--Matt McCoy, who becomes the first openly gay candidate ever elected to the Iowa legislature. McCoy, a sitting state senator, came out during his last term.
--Judge Virginia Linder will join Rives Kistler on the Oregon Supreme Court, making it the first state ever to have two openly gay Supreme Court justices, according to preliminary results.
* Correction: Eliot Spitzer is the second Jewish governor elected in the state of New York. 74 years ago, Herbert Lehman was elected governor. He served four terms, 1933-1942.
9 comments:
gayesteditorever, I'm feeling it too. In 1965 at the tender age of 14, I came to TN as a northerner and a black teen who was thrust immediately into the school desegregation going on here. I took a lot of abuse then, but I held on. I marched for civil rights and in college we marched and protested so more to stop the war in Vietnam.
Looking back now, even with yesterdays' rejection of having a black senator from TN, (from the fear he might have interracial sex), and even with the addition of a discriminatory no same-sex marriage state constitutional amendment, I am pleased with the outcome on a national level. It IS starting to look more like all of us.
~DeSwiss - SBNN
B Sanders has been in congress for years...not much to celebrate there.
Great stats; I needed this. The Corker win in Tennessee got me down; looks like race-baiting can still work in some parts. It was nice to see these numbers.
It's the 110th Congress, BTW, not the 105th.
Please correct the headline.
Otherwise, Democracy kicked fascist ass!
Bernie Sanders is, I suspect, the first self-described Socialist in the Senate, but as a previous comment noted he's been in the House of Representatives for ages. And he wasn't the first Socialist in the House--that distinction went to Victor Berger of Wisconsin in 1910.
SO NANCY HAS 5 SONS? ARE THEY IN IRAQ? OR ARE HER GRANDSONS IN IRAQ? IF SHES SOOO PATRIOTIC?
To qqqqban: Murdering your children has been passé since Medea.
None of Nancy's kids are in Iraq...she is a Liberal and not a complete idiot :)
None of Nancy's kids are in Iraq...she is a Liberal and not a complete idiot :)
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