Not a Good Night for Republicans

With Kevin Hill's run-off win for the Wake County School Board last night, the brief but highly inflammatory regime of the Republican re-segregationists is over.

Voters in Ohio slammed shut the door on Republican anti-unionism. Republican Governor John Kasich's butt happened to be in the door at the time. Haven't checked elsewhere in the Buckeye State, but in Cincinnatti voters ousted four incumbent Republicans from Cincinnati City Council, choosing instead seven Democrats, a majority of African-Americans, and the first openly gay candidate.

Defying all expectations, Mississippi turned out last night to be resoundingly godless on the issue of abortion, rejecting the notorious "personhood" amendment to the state's constitution. (A pro-amendment preacher was heard to say, "Satan wins!") The anti-abortion crowd is undeterred, however, vowing that they will introduce new legislation that will establish that an egg is a chicken, an acorn is an oak, and a silk worm is a komono. (And incidentally, Mississippi, I apologize for all the assumptions I was making about you yesterday. A woman at last night's celebration for victorious Boone Town Council candidates Andy Ball, Lynne Mason, and Allen Scherlen, said to me -- long before Mississippi's results were known -- that the women in Mississippi weren't as stupid as their husbands thought they were.)

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx whomped his Republican opponent badly, and Democrats swept the four city council at-large seats. Just saw a tweet from Marcus Brandon that Democrats "cleaned house" in Greensboro, though Ed Cone takes a decidedly more measured tone about the outcome.

Over in Kentucky, where we have a lot of friends, Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear handily defeated his Republican opponent, while Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway cruised to re-election over an anti-health reform opponent. Democrats also won state-wide races for treasurer, secretary of state, and state auditor.

Attempted voter suppression in Maine didn't fare well. Maine Republicans had eliminated the state’s longstanding practice of same-day voter registration on election day, but the voters said "whoa!" and defeated the law at the polls.

Just a sampling of yesterday's action, grabbed on the fly. Haven't yet found a sour apple in this particular barrel.

Icing on the cake: We have another Republican presidential bitch-slapping in store for tonight!

Analysis of What Went Wrong with Conservatism

Conservatives have been "cocooning," that's what. Encasing themselves in their own aromas of righteousness and letting nary a stray thought intrude into their crystalline palace.

Well, we got a glimpse of what was gestating inside that cocoon, and it wasn't a thousand years of Republican rule, charted by Karl Rove. Instead, out stepped something supposedly blessed by Saint Ronnie but looking a lot like Wilfred Brimley and sounding suspiciously like Jerry Falwell come again. Despite what happens in November, there's likely a revolution coming among conservatives, despite what the remnants of the Republican Party decide to do.

That's some of the insight offered by this profile piece and by Ed Cone's interview with Jon Henke, one of the founding bloggers of "The Next Right."

Common to both pieces is the largely unrecognized arrival on the cusp of power of the new libertarians, the younger "conservatives" who have no particular use for the old face of conservativism, the anti-abortion and anti-gay crusaders (nor do they have all that much tolerance for marijuana laws) and who particularly abhor the expansionist militarism of the neo-con wing of Republicanism.

More power to 'em.

Now if they can just figure out where to bury all the victims of laissez-faire economics, without drawing undue attention, they'll be on their way!