The Mullahs Get Their Comeuppance?

Analysis of what happened to several Religious Right ballot initiatives have begun to appear in print, and we have further cause for celebration.

The South Dakota complete abortion ban ... defeated 56-44 percent.

Initiatives in Oregon and California that would have required parents to be notified before a girl under 18 could get an abortion ... both defeated.

Stem-cell research ... endorsed in Missouri ... at the same time a leading opponent of both stem-cell research and of abortion, Sen. Jim Talent, was being defeated by Claire McCaskill.

Same-sex marriage ban in Arizona ... rejected.

May this the opening death-knell of moralistic over-reaching by national and state Republican operatives who seemed to think that the election of George W. Bush signaled the arrival or their particular brand of heaven on earth. Maybe, but we doubt it.