Democrats found their backbone in this election.

[Justice]

Drawing on words of Deval Patrick at the DNC convention.

I am so proud of Democrats, standing up for what they believe in and what they know is right --

I am proud that we used social media and the Internet to find and publicize the video and the statements to refute the claims of Romney and others - to not rely on the media to do that.

I am proud of Obama and his campaign staff for hitting back on false claims and allegations of the RNC.

Republicans undervalued just how much the Bush years cost them. They want to turn the page -- but Democrats shouldn't and won't let them. They will continue to hold Republicans accountable for the damage they inflicted on this country.

I am proud of us.

[ywcachieve]

1. We fought a good fight. We did not let the Repubs get away with any of their lies.

Unlike Gore and Kerry in 2000 and 2004.

Gore did not fight for his rightful place in history as the 43rd president of these United States, when he knew the election was being stolen from him. He gave up without a fight.
The Congressional Black Caucus went to battle for him. NObody else fought for Gore, BUT the Congressional Black Caucus. I will always respect the CBC for their strong stand against that election theft.
I lost respect for all the other Dem politicians, because they did not stand.

When Kerry was being swiftboated, he did not fight back. He did not defend himself.

Had Gore and Kerry fought back, we would not have had the devastatingly destructive years of the Bush Adm.

[VirginiaTarheel]

2. Awesome Point. You are correct.

[bamacrat]

3. We had to. We have played the wimpy intellectuals for too long.

Now we are the strong intellectuals. People in this country don't want someone to be smart, just stand up for what you believe. It's easy when you are both smarter and have the better ideas.

[RoccoR5955]

6. Speak for yourself.

I have always been an intellectual, but I have not been a wimpy intellectual. I always hammer the other side with the facts, as opposed to their mythology, and I call it just that.

I am glad to see that the folks who just believe that they cannot fight something out, have realized that if one does not fight for his or her beliefs, that others will walk all over him or her. It's about time.

I am aware of the folks who do not want to start an argument, because people will think it as negative. The people who take it as negative, are the ones who don't have a clue as to what is being argued. If they heard both sides, they would see that there are two folks with strong feelings and opposing views. They may just be getting a little emotional, no big deal. Though one should temper the argument, not letting things get out of control, one must always fight to get anything in this world.

[bamacrat]

8. I was talking more about those running for office.

Dem supporters have been strong and vocal for a while, our national candidates haven't...until O.

[RoccoR5955]

10. I know that my congressman was one of those speaking out

Congressman Hinchey from NY always spoke out. He got votes from both sides here in the Hudson Valley, because he stood for WE THE PEOPLE. Not to mention, he got a lot done for our area.
He was one of the only folks to vote against the Iraq war, and a whole lot of other things, but alas, he's retiring at the end of his term, and with redistricting here in NY, it's going to be a tough road to get a Dem in that seat again. We can do it, it's just gonna be a lot harder.

Kucinich, and others also fought hard, but were not being heard by the MSM. I guess that's because Fox was on the rise, and they wanted to appear more in line with the outlet that is in the lead. Now that Fox's lead is slipping, I can see that there are some media outlets who are not as far right, and are starting to take a little more of a center approach. I hope that this keeps up, and eventually they sway waaaaaaaayyyyy to the left, as this is where we need to be in this country.

[Faith9326]

4. Agreed

For a while, the Democrats let the right wingers completely trash the republicans(2010/2011). I'm glad in 2012, they/we finally said "enough is enough".

[barnabas63]

5. Yes, Democrats have learned how to fight back!

My thoughts go back to the Occupy movement where there was so much expression of people's disgust with the status quo. I think maybe that was the beginning....

[RoccoR5955]

7. I hope the hell it is.

I sure hope that Occupy started people thinking. That would be a major accomplishment.

[barnabas63]

9. I wasn't hanging out on DU during the Occupy movement...

I guess there are mixed feelings about the tactics taken, but I for one felt great relief at finally seeing people out in the streets at least protesting and making some noise. I followed a lot of the live streams and watched the marches and meetings. It's something I'll never forget.

[NHDEMFORLIFE]

11. The lasting lesson of this campaign

Finally, we have learned how to call out Republicans. In 2004, John Kerry (who would have been a fine president) thought that the Swift Boaters were so out of line that the natural process would expose them without his help. A tragic miscalculation, based on faith that the media would do its job.
Well, the media still isn't doing its job. It took President Obama to pull the curtain back on Willard and the Republican henchmen.

[-LOKI -BAD FOR YA]

12. another moral is after kerry and gore the democrats are not naive any more n\t

[craigmatic]

13. It's amazing what we can do when we have leadership and a cause.

[Ztolkins]

14. I'd argue they did this in '08 as well

People seem to think that Obama's campaign was all hope and idealism, but it wasn't. They hit McCain hard and made him look weak/feeble.

I think the bottom line is that one should not mess with Chicago.

[gravity]

15. Obama can be a cold calculating politician

Winning is more than just having a backbone.

You have to know your opponents weaknesses and attack at the right opportunity or else it can backfire. The Obama campaign is the master at this which allows him to launch devastating attacks while keeping a positive campaign image.