Lukewarm

I should be ecstatic. The Democrats took the House of Representatives. And not just barely. More seats than predicted. They have a comfortable cushion.

And the Senate too. That was a truly pleasant surprise. That was not on the list of predictions. Yet there we sit, 49 seats for each of the major parties and 2 independents who have pledged their support to the Democrats.

We control both houses. That has not been the case since Bill Clinton's first term.*

And yet, I'm not nearly as happy as I'd predicted.

It's the states. As happened in the previous election, the one that precipitated our move to Canada, several states passed bans on gay marriage. On the plus side, Arizona rejected such a ban--the first state to do so. We had our fingers crossed on Colorado; there were ballot issues both for domestic partnership and for a ban. Didn't go our way. We watched Virginia with an air of resignation. The ban they passed there is the most comprehensive one to date--a ban on recognizing anything that approximates marriage. It will most likely go to the courts, possibly be overturned, since it's written in such a way that it could be interpreted to nullify wills and powers-of-attorney, for any non-married couples. It passed with a smaller margin than expected, so small favors.

I had been waiting for this election, looking for it to serve as some sort of barometer. I don't know exactly what I expected--a vast sea-change in which the states and federal government suddenly reversed course and welcomed my family with open arms. OK, not realistic, and I'm not sure why I invested so much in this one election.

I'll be looking at a permanent resident application any day now.

*If I'm remembering correctly. I saw the figure in an article that it's been 12 years. 12 years--has it really been that long!