As far as I can tell these elections were relatively positive for gay and progressive issues, in that things seem to be "progressing" in our direction.

The controversial House seat election in New York being the most important.

An anti-gay candidate lost because of a split in the right wing over issues like gay rights.

The governor's races were at worse a wash. Christie in New Jersey is not likely to repeal laws affecting gays and Virginia was not likely to change any regardless of who was elected.

I did notice that the right-wing Republican who won chose not to emphasize his anti-gay views or invite prominent anti-gay right-wingers like Sarah Palin to campaign for him.

I suppose he wanted as much of the ex-suburban metro DC vote as possible.

Unfortunately, Sportinlife, there were steps more backwards for gay rights than anything else.

One was the repeal of same-sex marriage in Maine.

Though Christie will not repeal civil unions in New Jersey, he has vowed to veto any bill that recognizes same-sex marriage.

Virginia is getting too right-wing! I can be described as conservative on a host of issues regarding the economy and foreign policy. A conservative issue used to be a firm commitment to the protection of individual rights. Sadly, that does not appear to be the case any more!

Bob McDonnell is not the legacy of Abe Lincoln.

A step backwards in Maine, and a step forward in Washington State. Yes, its not gay marriage, but, its a step closer.

Maine has two republican senators neither of whom is supporting health care reform.

It is not surprising that they would lag behind the rest of New England on gay marriage.

Governors can be overruled if there is a legislature that is willing to take the political risk to do it.

I don't think Christie, or the governor, is the problem in New Jersey. It is that public support is not yet strong enough throughout the state. NJ is more complex politically than most states. Like my home state of Maryland, the southern or agrarian portions can be quite conservative.

NJ politics are a maze of corruption and backdoor deals. Political reform would benefits all progressives.