On Tuesday, Barack Obama won reelection and will remain the 44th President of the United States. His victory is good for the country: as a result, 45 million more Americans will obtain health insurance because Obamacare will not be repealed. The Affordable Care Act will make Americans healthier, more financially secure, and extend life expectancy. It will also end America's ignominious stand as the only developed country not to provide basic insurance to all of its citizens. The Dodd-Frank financial reform act will remain law, and Mitt Romney will not have the opportunity to cut programs for the poor. Unlike in Obama's first term, there will probably be no signature legislation over the next four years because of the do-nothing House. Obama now has leverage on the fiscal cliff issue, and it is likely top marginal tax rates will rise on the rich. With the economy still weak, it is not the ideal time to raise tax rates. But the politics of the situation demand Obama allow the rates to go up: he simply will not have another opportunity to improve the country's long term fiscal outlook due to Republican obstructionism. The payroll tax cut enacted by Obama should be extended, however. If they rise at the end of the year, the country may well fall back into recession. At the very least, growth will be stunted by falling consumer spending.
I did vote in this election, but the absentee ballot process is a pain. I voted in my home state of Maryland during the 2008 Democratic primary (bucking the trend of young people I voted for Hillary). I voted in North Carolina in the general election because it was a swing state, and in 2010 I was studying abroad in Spain. I sent in an absentee ballot, as I did this year. You have to have your ballot mailed to you; a backwards policy for a digitized world. At the very least, it could be faxed. In Honduras, which has a pretty nonexistent postal system (people don't have addresses), this is especially difficult. But I am proud to say I voted for Barack Obama and affirmed my support for marriage equality.
Though the economy is probably the most important to me, here in Honduras the central issue is immigration. Everyone here knows someone in the United States, and most people have family in the states. Though many Hondurans were unaware of American political happenings, those who were informed about the election were primarily concerned with immigration. They all understood that Obama was the candidate more friendly to Hispanics, and largely supported him for this reason. Though few had strong opinions on economic issues, most people here are socially conservative by American standards. Gay marriage is anathema here, and abortion is illegal and generally considered immoral.
Indeed, there has been a lot of talk in the conservative media about the need to attract more Hispanic voters. A number of prominent conservatives have already suggested that the party soften it up its stance on immigration to woo more Hispanic voters. Ronald Reagan famously said, "Hispanics are Republicans, they just don't know it yet." This isn't necessarily true- Hispanics tend to support big government- but it is absolutely the case that a softer stance on immigration could yield more Hispanic votes. In Texas, where Republicans politicians take a softer stance on immigration, Mitt Romney did better. George Bush, who was to the left of his party on immigration, won more than 40% of the Hispanic vote in 2004; Mitt Romney only garnered 27%. This pretty clearly suggests if Republicans toned down the nativist language and softened their harsh policies, that they could curry more favor with Hispanic voters.
The United States would be a better place if Republicans jumped on board comprehensive immigration reform. Workers already in the country should have a pathway to citizenship, and America must do a better job encouraging highly skilled entrepreneurial types who are choosing other destinations likes Canada and Chile because their immigration laws are more friendly.
But for the moment, Hispanic voters made the right choice. Barack Obama has his flaws, but he is the right man with the right policies for the job.
