D.L. Hughley – Actor and stand-up comedian Posted: 11/12/2012 6:16 pm
On November 6th 2012 America reelected Barack Hussein Obama as president of the United States.
This election, in my opinion, is historic in a myriad of ways. President Obama is now the second Democrat, following Bill Clinton, to win reelection since Franklin D. Roosevelt. He is also the first black president to win reelection ever. While these accomplishments are important in their own respect, what has struck me the most in the days following the election is the make-up of those who reelected President Obama.
The election commentary over this past week has been wonderful to watch. One, because I’m not afraid to admit that I love seeing Karl Rove, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and the Republican party in general distraught, and two, because I have finally caught the “hope” bug. The Republican Party has a problem that it hasn’t yet been brave enough to admit: This country has in fact changed.
Exit polls show that 71 percent of the Latino vote, 93 percent of the Black vote, and 55 percent of the woman vote went to Barack Obama. Essentially President Obama was reelected by “minorities” (read: everyone but the richest, most powerful white men). America is increasingly becoming a country of “others.” Entire populations of people are thriving in a country that for so long has been control by so few. While Republicans are horrified by this realization, the rest of America is joyous.
To the rest of us, the end of a certain group being in complete control of the government, and by default the United States, is progress. If the reelection of President Obama by a large populace of the American electorate is the death of America, then I’m glad to see it go. There can be no rebirth without death. I’m glad the America that worked for some Americans while leaving others out in the cold is dead.
Republicans are having a hard time believing that Barack Obama was elected by “the people,” and the problem they are having is that “the people” is no longer a phrase synonymous with white America. The coalition that reelected President Obama is inclusive of all Americans.
There are are also those who are saying that Romney would have won but Hurricane Sandy ruined his chances. So I guess God was an undecided voter until a week before the election. Hell, even God is a part of this new coalition of Obama supporters.
The inscription on the Statue of Liberty, which greeted those immigrated to the United States from across the world, reads: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” President Obama’s reelection is America finally living up to what we’ve been saying about ourselves since this country’s founding. I am proud that Washington, Maryland and Maine approved measures that support the right for all Americans regardless of their sexual orientation to marry whomever they want. I am definitely glad that Colorado and Washington now have legal weed! I’m proud that Tammy Baldwin, who I had the pleasure of hearing speak at my oldest daughters’ graduation from Smith College, is the first openly gay woman to win a Senate seat. It was Chik-fil-A v. Glee and Glee won!
It’s about time we became the America we always talk about, an inclusive country with a representative government that serves “the people” and is a reflection of them. I was glad to cast my vote for President Obama because I believe we as a nation are on our way to the more perfect union we should strive to be every day. After Tuesday night’s election, I have hope that we are in fact, on the right path.
Follow D.L. Hughley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/realdlhughley