So Many Reasons to Celebrate!

Election Day gave Democrats around the country many reasons to celebrate. Let's list them, just to savor the moment a little longer.

1. The crushing defeat of Republican John Kasich's bill to strip the rights of public employee unions in Ohio.

2. The sound thrashing by voters of Mississippi's proposal to declare a fertilized egg to be a "person," not only outlawing all abortions but potentially preventing the use of many forms of birth control as well as invitro-fertilization.

3. The recall of Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce, the author of the state's anti-immigrant law that allows police to demand papers from anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally.

4. The rejection by Maine voters of a Republican-passed bill to do-away with same-day voter registration, a tradition in the state for 38 years.

5. And in Michigan, the recall of Republican Rep. Paul Scott. The Genesee County lawmaker and chair of the House Education Committee was a staunch supporter of Republican Rick Snyder's anti-public school, anti-teacher, anti-middle class agenda.

Democrats didn't win everything on Tuesday, but they won a lot. Snyder, who campaigned for Scott, lost big. Is the recall enough to force him to reconsider the radical Republican policies lawmakers are pushing? I doubt it. But the wins may be enough to energize Democratic voters, who learned again the lesson of 2008. When Democrats vote, Democrats win. When they don't, we get stuff like the Ohio union-stripping bill, taxes on pensions, and attacks on the middle class. Let's remember that in 2012.