Democracy is a process, not a prize

[UL_Approved]

After today, millions of people are asking questions. What did we do wrong? Was voter fraud to blame? Do all people have their votes count? Will this be the end of the Democratic party? All of these are questions that I have seen posted repeatedly on DU today. The problem that I have with this, however, is that we seem to have lost the point of the American political system.

Whether to leave the Democratic party for something else is a short-sighted, emotionally-distressed charge. We lost the Presidency to George W. Bush, again. We lost many races in the Senate, including Tom Daschle. We lost Representatives, passed gay marriage bans, and many other state offices. Our spirits sunk and our shoulders fell as John F. Kerry delivered his concession speech. Democracy seems lost to many, especially after the hard work and dedication to this race. For those who watch the United States over its many years, this is not the death rattle of our country.

I happen to be from the state of Montana, and our state has mixed voting trends, especially in the 2004 general election. We elected Bush by a sound margin, but we elected Brian Schweitzer, a Democratic governor. Linda McCulloch, our State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and a Democrat, remains in office. John Morrison, our State Auditor, and Democrat, has now won the election. Both James Nelson and Brian Morris have won positions as state Supreme Court justices, both of whom are the Liberal end of the ballot. Ballot issues such as increasing tobacco taxes to stop underage smoking and an initiative to allow medical marijuana passed, and both by a large margin.

Montana may be lumped together with many of the southern Bible-Belt states, but it does not show correlation to that voting block. This state makes many decisions based on who will represent their demographic, but still supports bi-partisan representation. Yes, we voted for Bush, but Kerry was not the closest representation for our population. Maybe it was the wrong time. Maybe Kerry was too liberal for this country to accept now. Maybe a moderate is needed in 2008. We won't know until we get there. What we do know is that major political change is in the air. The upsets seen in the congress tell us this. People want better leaders, but are forced to choose between two or three viable contenders in most circumstances, none of which may be a close representation of any given voter in their region.

The battle for democracy cannot stop because we are down, nor can we bitterly blame our candidate for losing and dwell on it to the point of apathy and inaction. Our biggest task now should be to look toward 2006, when Senate and House positions open up. Two years can be a long time, and people don't trust much now. Anything could happen in the future, and I look forward to it. Ultimately, we can only go up from here, and if we adopt that attitude, we will truly be able to give it our all in the coming years. We cannot forget that democracy is a continuous process, not a prize or a contest. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, and we are not bankrupt yet.

[MsAnthropy]

1. Excellent post, thanks