Strange Times
The first thing I heard when I woke up this morning was "Kerry will be making his concession speech at one this afternoon." I wasn't expecting great news, and we didn't get it. I felt pretty stunned, and didn't even have Internet access until a few minutes ago. Thank you all, though, for the kind words and for showing that we're still united.
Columnist Joe Conason had some of the most comforting words today. He mentioned the Goldwater defeat to Johnson, which was, as we all know, a crushing defeat. However, the Republican party didn't give up that day. Instead, they went on to build the infrastructure of the party that has controlled several or all branches of government for nearly twenty-five years. The bad news is that the current incarnation of Goldwater's party is more reactionary than it was under his stewardship.
Kerry was the better man, and he didn't lose in a landslide. And that is in spite of the fact that this is the ugliest campaign that many of us can remember. Even up against the merciless tactics of Karl Rove, an utter lack of responsibility on the part of the media, and an endless torrent of lies and smear tactics, we almost had the White House back.
On the other hand, a Kerry administration would undoubtedly have met with ferocious resistance from Congress, especially in light of last night's GOP gains. In fact, a Kerry administration would have been hamstrung, and probably portrayed as weak and ineffectual in the media. I should add that we did extremely well in states such as Oklahoma and Kentucky, where it normally wouldn't even be a contest. We didn't win, but we put up a surprisingly good fight.
As I mentioned earlier, people on the ground were seeing an American left more united than ever before. Nader was a non-issue, and tens of thousands of volunteers got involved to restore the Democrats to power. Our goal now should be to stay involved, stay informed, and continue to do what we can to restore responsibility to the media, accountability to the government, and solidarity among Democrats.
The fight will continue here. With the election over, I'll be posting less frequently. But when I come across news that I feel is important, it will be here. And I'll try to do my part to continue the activism that came tantalizingly close to achieving success.
There have definitely been some small victories, and the continued presence of the Internet community, Air America radio, and a united base should set us on the course to greater victories in the future.
Columnist Joe Conason had some of the most comforting words today. He mentioned the Goldwater defeat to Johnson, which was, as we all know, a crushing defeat. However, the Republican party didn't give up that day. Instead, they went on to build the infrastructure of the party that has controlled several or all branches of government for nearly twenty-five years. The bad news is that the current incarnation of Goldwater's party is more reactionary than it was under his stewardship.
Kerry was the better man, and he didn't lose in a landslide. And that is in spite of the fact that this is the ugliest campaign that many of us can remember. Even up against the merciless tactics of Karl Rove, an utter lack of responsibility on the part of the media, and an endless torrent of lies and smear tactics, we almost had the White House back.
On the other hand, a Kerry administration would undoubtedly have met with ferocious resistance from Congress, especially in light of last night's GOP gains. In fact, a Kerry administration would have been hamstrung, and probably portrayed as weak and ineffectual in the media. I should add that we did extremely well in states such as Oklahoma and Kentucky, where it normally wouldn't even be a contest. We didn't win, but we put up a surprisingly good fight.
As I mentioned earlier, people on the ground were seeing an American left more united than ever before. Nader was a non-issue, and tens of thousands of volunteers got involved to restore the Democrats to power. Our goal now should be to stay involved, stay informed, and continue to do what we can to restore responsibility to the media, accountability to the government, and solidarity among Democrats.
The fight will continue here. With the election over, I'll be posting less frequently. But when I come across news that I feel is important, it will be here. And I'll try to do my part to continue the activism that came tantalizingly close to achieving success.
There have definitely been some small victories, and the continued presence of the Internet community, Air America radio, and a united base should set us on the course to greater victories in the future.
posted by Matt Sandwich | 4:42 PM
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