At long last, the election of 2012 is behind us. Contrary to all the hype about having to wait days for the results, the outcome was certain early in the evening. Now the pundits and politicians on both sides of the aisle will explain what it all means–or at least, what they want us to think it means.

The big take away message for me is that saying something over and over again doesn’t make it true. The GOP, Fox News, and “entertainers” on the far right have proclaimed for weeks now that the polls were biased and just plain wrong. Romney was going to win. They were sure of it, despite a preponderance of evidence suggesting otherwise.

Given GOP abhorrence of science and education, this should come as no surprise.  On issue after issue, the GOP position falls somewhere between fantasy and delusion. Abstinence-only programs work–never mind the overwhelming evidence that they don’t. Climate change isn’t real. Evolution is a myth. It’s just pitiful to me that our elected leaders waste time and money supporting untenable positions to pander to the ignorati who elected them. Pitiful.

And of course, keeping the voting public ignorant is important. Just ask Paul Broun, my U.S. Representative and a medical doctor who pisses all over his diplomas every time he opens his mouth. Shameful. Or take a look at funding for public schools and higher education. Ignorance is bliss–and we’re heading toward an abundance of both.

It doesn’t help that a lot of us see the GOP as downright hateful. Gays, lesbians, minorities, immigrants, poor people, anyone  other than Christians, and a lot of women fall in this camp. Yes, I’m aware there are gay and lesbian Republicans and would suggest they get counseling to deal with their deeply ingrained homophobia. Seriously.

Unfortunately–tragically even, this election was NOT about the very real differences between conservatives and liberals about the role and size of government. Again, I blame the GOP. It’s hard to be for a party that’s mostly against everything–especially when those beliefs are based on something other than reality.  Job one appears to be opposing Democratic positions. And after yesterday, I’d just ask, how’s that working for you?

Our elected officials focus on how they can differentiate themselves from the opposition. We should demand that they instead work on identifying areas of agreement. There are lots of them, and if we can talk about the things we agree about, solving problems becomes a lot easier.

But no, that’s not going to happen. Our representatives and senators will continue to act like a bunch of unsupervised children. They’ll spend all their time throwing rocks at each other and building up walls instead of tackling the issues.

I’m glad President Obama gets four more years. My hope is that the GOP will abandon their culture of ignorance, obfuscation, and obstruction; embrace undisputed facts and evidence; and work with the Democrats for compromises that keep us moving forward.

The constant fighting is getting old. It doesn’t move us forward or solve any problems. That’s the message I’m sending to the White House and Congress from…

My Glass House