Analyze this...

Schwarzenegger/Angelides: In retrospect, maybe running Warren Beatty against Ah-nuld might have been a good idea. Ugh. Angelides could have won if only he went for the throat more. It's not necessarily in his nature to do so. So we're stuck with Ah-nuld. But only for 4 more years. And he's going to have to deal with a legislature that is still overwhelmingly blue.

The most important race in California has been won: Debra Bowen is our Secretary of State. Maybe the State House race didn't end up with a Revenge of the Nerds, but the most knowledgeable person on issues of Election Protection has won. We will likely get a Free/Open Source-based system with a robust paper trail, and Diebold and Sequoia and ES&S will finally be shown the door.


Bond issues good, taxes bad: This was a rousing endorsement of the "Borrow and Binge" school of economics. Taxes are the "third rail" of California politics, and that has been confirmed by the results of the propositions. The bond issues all passed, the cig tax and the Alternative Energy tax failed.


California is still a pro-Choice state: The "squeal rule" went down to defeat yet again. The idea of a father preventing the abortion of the child he fathered by incest is still too yucky even for the most conservative among us. Actually the abortion ban in South Dakota also went down to defeat, so maybe the tide is beginning to turn on this issue.

Democratic ownage of the House: Finally checks and balances have been restored to the National government. No more rubber stamps for Dubya and Darth Cheney. The Senate is still in play, and will only have a razor thin majority if Tester and Webb win. Without Tester and Webb winning, everything is split 49/49 with Joementum maybe swinging with the Republicans and Darth Cheney as the tie-breaking vote.

Final analysis: An unfinished revolution. Hopefully two years from now Dean's 50-state approach will finish the job with a Dem in the White House and Dems with both the House and the Senate.