And the Winner is...

Yes, it happened.  President Barack Hussein Obama was reelected as the 44^th President of the United States of America.  The President won reelection in a race that turned out not to be anywhere near as close as described.  There is a very good reason for that.  Most of the media and politicians tried to convince certain people that they were disenchanted with this President.  The media tried to create a narrative that certain folks who had voted for this President in 2008 and carried him to a landslide victory were so disappointed with him as President that they would never come out to the polls in those levels to reelect him.  Nothing he promised happened fast enough for this fleeting group (despite the fact that he made good on about 75% of his campaign promises).  They were pushed to the polls in 2008 simply to be part of the history of voting for the first Black President.  And to ensure that this certain group didn’t find a way back to the polls, states set up systemic obstacles to suppress the vote of anyone who belonged to this group.  When that was overturned, they counted on this group to be uninformed, intimidated and plain old lazy.  Mitt Romney and the entire Republican Party counted on this group staying home so that he could win the presidency.  They did not and he did not.  While the President won his job back, he wasn’t the only winner last night nor was he the most significant winner.  The most significant winners last night were the people of color, mainly African Americans and Latinos, Women and working class White men who surprised the hell out of the naysayers and demonstrated once again that the party who hears their voice, respects their lives, honors their wishes, speaks to their concerns, welcomes them into the conversation and acknowledges their existence and power will be the party that wins. 

The real winners last night are the additional ONE MILLION voters who showed up in PHILADELPHIA for the President in a state where the republican legislation put into LAW ways to suppress their vote.  This win was replicated around the country where the President maintained the high voter turn out of Black people who were faced with enormous opposition and suppression tactics.   The real winners last night were the WOMEN across the country that sent a message not only to Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan but also to Todd Akin and Richard Murdock that our bodies are not to be discussed in such a disgusting way and that we DEMAND the right to make decisions about our bodies, even ones everyone may not agree with.  The real winners last night were LATINOS who gave this President 75% of their votes, sending the message that demonizing the Hispanic community will not be accepted.  Neither will ignoring them and their issues (which go far beyond immigration by the way).  With that sweeping vote, they showed the country that it is NOT wise to ignore the fasting growing demographic, especially if you want to have a chance in hell to win.  And finally, the real winners last night were the working class WHITE MEN of Ohio.  These working class men are an example for the country. Throughout the country, President Obama struggled to gain support from working class non-college educated white men.  There are many theories as to why that is which I will save for another day.  But what the win in Ohio, specifically the win among working class White men demonstrated is that these men like those mentioned earlier voted for the person who had their interests in mind.  Absent of any other feelings other men of the same group in other states were having about this President, in Ohio he had their back with the Auto Bailout.  It was tangible, it was real and it is the reason the President carried Ohio.  These working class white men demonstrated that they too can be convinced to vote their interest, a phenomenon that hasn’t been demonstrated as they traditionally overwhelmingly vote Republican, a party that hasn’t always had their interests at heart in decades. 

Whenever there is a winner, there must also be a loser.  That is just the nature of battle.  Obviously Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan lost the election.  But there was also a bigger loser, actually the biggest loser of all.  That was the Republican Party.  With confidence unmatched, this party moved forward with an agenda and platform that alienated half the country.  But not simply with ideas, but with attacks, dismissals, scare tactics and voter suppression.  Had the party acknowledged on even a small level that Blacks, Latinos and Women matter, they may have had a chance last night.  Had the party abandoned the idea that hate for the first Black President would be a big enough wave to ride into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (an idea that demonstrates a low opinion of their constituency) maybe they wouldn’t have gotten smacked last night.  If the republican party had put forth competing ideas to address the needs of these groups and gave up the idea that getting the votes of white men and suburban (mostly white) housewives was going to get them to the Presidency, maybe they would have been competitive last night.  Instead they lost, the President got ANOTHER mandate and four more years to execute it.  The silver lining is that the republicans also get four years to reevaluate and do some soul searching. 

I kept thinking throughout this process that republicans were underestimating these groups, specifically African Americans.  I kept wondering why they kept saying this President wouldn’t do well among this portion of the base.  I kept thinking they are taking us for granted, they think we are lazy, stupid, etc.  But then I saw the voter suppression laws and it all clicked to me.  Its not that they were underestimating us, they were afraid of us.  The message about disenchantment with the first Black president was a mind trick.  If they really believed we weren’t gonna show up to the polls, the voter suppression wouldn’t have been necessary.  They counted on us staying home, believing the hype, falling back on the old mindset put in place during slavery and perpetuated to this day that in THIS country we don’t count.  What they didn’t count on was the lesson we learned from 2008 along with all the other groups who carried this president to reelection.  All groups (with the exception of the Ohio men) who at one point were BARRED by the constitution from voting.  The election in 2008 taught us that our voices DO matter and we CAN change the power of this country.  The election of 2012 demonstrated that we WILL use that power to get and keep people in power who will look after our interests.  The republican party has Barack Obama to thank for more than just a four year moment to reflect, they have to thank him for awakening a spirit in people of color in this country that will DEMAND representation and respect for our leaders.  A demand that will make them better leaders who can come to the table with their ideas and begin the conversation that NEEDS two sides, in order to get about the business of running this country.  So for the future generations, I express my deepest gratitude to you Mr. President.  Your win is one you share with the all of us and we share our win with Malia, Sasha and the rest of the future.  For your journey alone has just paved the way for the sun to shine so brightly upon the future in ways we can only imagine yet look forward to with the anticipation and excitement that filled the air last night!  Thank you Mr. President for showing us that we, Americans, all of us, really and truly are the winners!