a beautiful day
A crystal clear autumn sun rose over Northern California today. What a beautiful day!
Take it to heart, savor it.
We defeated Congressman Richard Pombo. So many of you played a part in that. It is our shared victory.
Nationally, we Democrats have taken the House. We have won the United States Senate. We have taken the majority of Governorships. We have won victories in so many State Houses.
Savor that. Don't let anyone tell you or spin you otherwise. The national election of November 2006 was a repudiation of Republican governance. George and Laura Bush could not rescue candidates. They lost in district after disctict, and state after state. Their Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, has resigned in utter and shameful disgrace.
That says something.
I have a message to all those who worked so hard on GOTV and covering all these campaigns: thank you. This victory is for you and by you. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Whether it's the folks who propelled Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes to victory in New Hampshire or the Democrats who stood firm to defeat Ann Northup in Kentucky...or the legions of activists who came out to defeat Richard Pombo in Northern California or unseat George Allen in Virginia...or any of the myriad races around the nation:
We have done something lasting and good.
What we have accomplished is not simply an electoral victory, though the magnitude and signficance of that victory cannot be understated...what we've accomplished is a change in ourselves: we have won this victory together. We have learned how, in race after race, in precinct after precinct, win or lose...how to stand firm and fight side by side, we learned the nuts and bolts of GOTV, we have learned the extra hustle that spells victory on election day.
We fought to win, and we won.
The sun shines bright on Northern California today. It is a beautiful day.
Take this election to heart. It is the beginning of something. There so much here to be savored...and to learn from going forward.
Take it to heart, savor it.
We defeated Congressman Richard Pombo. So many of you played a part in that. It is our shared victory.
Nationally, we Democrats have taken the House. We have won the United States Senate. We have taken the majority of Governorships. We have won victories in so many State Houses.
Savor that. Don't let anyone tell you or spin you otherwise. The national election of November 2006 was a repudiation of Republican governance. George and Laura Bush could not rescue candidates. They lost in district after disctict, and state after state. Their Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, has resigned in utter and shameful disgrace.
That says something.
I have a message to all those who worked so hard on GOTV and covering all these campaigns: thank you. This victory is for you and by you. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Whether it's the folks who propelled Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes to victory in New Hampshire or the Democrats who stood firm to defeat Ann Northup in Kentucky...or the legions of activists who came out to defeat Richard Pombo in Northern California or unseat George Allen in Virginia...or any of the myriad races around the nation:
We have done something lasting and good.
What we have accomplished is not simply an electoral victory, though the magnitude and signficance of that victory cannot be understated...what we've accomplished is a change in ourselves: we have won this victory together. We have learned how, in race after race, in precinct after precinct, win or lose...how to stand firm and fight side by side, we learned the nuts and bolts of GOTV, we have learned the extra hustle that spells victory on election day.
We fought to win, and we won.
The sun shines bright on Northern California today. It is a beautiful day.
Take this election to heart. It is the beginning of something. There so much here to be savored...and to learn from going forward.
Comments
Actually doing the work of elections, the talking with our fellow citizens, restores faith in our country's potential. Analysis is necessary; exposing atrocities is essential; but talking with people is a gift we get during election season.
Enjoy.
I'm a long time fan on DailyKos - I've always found your writing to be particularly inspirational. You have a talent for connecting the political to the personal. Thanks for your contribution.
Your diary on your experience at Martha's house in Tracy compelled me to go beyond phone banking for McNerney and actually do some precinct walking. I'm glad our efforts bore fruit in CA-11 and I enjoyed having my own Martha experience.
One aspect of this election that I think is particularly significant that I haven't really seen addressed anywhere is that not only has the potency of the netroots been demonstrated but it has been proven that our government really is still responsive to the people. For those of us whose only relevant political memories start with Monica Lewinsky, and consist of one devastating electoral defeat after another (usually under suspicious circumstances), it was becoming terrifyingly obvious that the country had gone totally off the tracks. The government seemed to be careening out of control, choosing not to represent the people so much as rule them, and refusing to accept accountability in any form. This election proved that we haven't followed that road too far to turn back. A concerted effort by an organized group of citizens working for what they know is right can still overcome the forces of greed and fear.
There is no room for apathy anymore. The triumph of the netroots goes beyond validating our political clout. Our triumph is in showing that the American electoral system's corruption is not fatal. Activism really is rewarded with results. The influence of the special interest is NOT absolute. Voting works. Perhaps to others these statements were already believed. For me, they were proven yesterday for the first time.
My newfound trust in our democracy has completed my transformation from disaffected observer to avowed participant. Government works and I'll be there to help it because I've got a personal stake now. I am sure others now feel the same.
Thanks again for all your writing leading up to this election. I'm looking forward to what you've got to say about 2008.
This is RepublicanTaliban from DailyKos. I just finished working as a field organizer in Billings for the Tester campaign. Rarely have I felt this exhausted, and rarely has my smile been this big.
Tears of joy, and champagne straight from the bottle.
Here's to you, KO. Here's to every one of you out there reading this who put your body on the line and busted your ass to make this glorious day happen.
If you will excuse me I have some more drinking to do, and then we are going to get right back to work and keep our feet on the necks of these murdering, cowardly republican bastards, lest they think about gettng up.