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If you aren't in the mood for a rant, skip this thread. I have a few things to get off my chest which I realize will irritate many here, but they need to be said (I'll keep it civil).
First, the DEMOCRATIC PARTY lost this election. It wasn't voter suppression, electronic voting, hidden polling places, a lack of youth outreach, Nader, or any of the other excuses I've seen waved around on the various liberal boards across the Internet. The reality is much, much simpler, and now that the election is over, it can be spoken aloud. We lost because we ran the wrong candidate.
Whether or not we like it or agree with it, there is a popular perception in America, fed by newspaper articles, radio talk show hosts, and street corner political discussion, that the Democratic and Republican parties are simply two faces to the same political machine. Sure, you and I know the truth, we can recite the differences between the parties as easily as we can recite the ABC's, but we are the minority. We have spent four years on these boards and across the country railing against Bush and his policies. We have spent four years plotting his downfall. We have spent four years waiting for the day that he would be thrown out.
And we blew it. We blew it because we forgot the simple reality that most Americans only get political in the weeks and months leading up to the election. To them, the things that we hold dear and think about daily are merely distant abstractions to be analyzed once every four years. To them, "Democrats" and "Republicans" are simply two halves to the same government machine, and that nothing really changes when the White House switches hands because they both have the same agenda. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. That song has been sung for decades, and we still haven't learned the tune.
We needed someone to break that mold. America is a scared nation. Our citizens are scared of another 9/11, they're scared that Beslan could happen here, they're scared that bombs could go off in their malls and grocery stores, and they're scared that their entire way of life is coming to an end. To them, George Bush is a known quantity, and John Kerry, while appearing legitimate, offered little to improve or reassure them.
We needed a candidate who would attack Bush on the Iraq war. One who would REALLY lay into him over the dead, and to take him to task and keep on message about the real reasons we're there...OIL. Instead we got vague references to it being the "wrong war" coupled with promises to send MORE troops to "do the job right".
We needed a candidate who could connect with the working men and women in this country. Someone who could show America that he was one of them, and that he could honestly understand their plight and show them the way up the social and economic ladder. Instead we got another Boston blue-blood who exuded demure aristocracy beside his billionaire heiress wife.
We needed a candidate who would show America how Bush's trade policies are destroying the American middle class and eliminating any chance that America's poor could move up. He needed to show everyone in this nation how NAFTA and international free trade was destroying America's technology sector, it's manufacturing base, and its unions. Instead we got vague talk about "fixing the economy" and a pointed statement that "Free trade isn't going away".
We needed a candidate with FIRE in his speech. Someone who could light up a room, spread hope, and get the attention of America and the world. Instead, we got another Al Gore. Wooden, monotonous, bland, and boring.
Above all, we needed a candidate who was different, and in John Kerry we got more of the same. Only the old rules don't work any more, and the John Kerry's of the world are no longer "electable".
We had candidates who fit that mold...several, in fact. We had candidates who would have attacked Bush on every subject from gay rights to the war to the economy and the intelligence failures that led to 9/11. So why didn't THEY get the nod? "Electability". Surely you all remember the meme "Yeah, they're all great candidates, but what's important is 'electability'". Where's that electability now? Somewhere along the line someone in the DNC decided that "electability=bland", and started the mantra that John Kerry was the only electable candidate. Across the Internet, around the nation, and on this very board, those of us who wanted a REAL candidate were attacked relentlessly by those of you who anointed John Kerry the "chosen one" who bore the holy mantle of electability. You called us unrealistic, but we said, over, and over, and over again, that John Kerry didn't have the fire, the determination, the politics, or the spirit to win this election, and we were blasted at every turn for it.
You all know who you are, and I hope you know this as well: YOU bear the responsibility for this loss. You're mindless determination to suppress all dissent in the hopes that we could elect "Anyone But Bush" instead led to the nomination of a man who, while technically qualified, had no name recognition, no fiery political convictions, and no natural base. You forced the nomination of a man who opposed many of the things liberals want, and who supported many of the things we want eradicated. And then you buried anyone who tried to offer him any real competition.
Believe it or not, I am not writing this screed to attack any of you, but instead out of the hope that you can learn from your mistakes. Contrary to what many of the dejected and morose on this board have to say, we will survive the next four years, and we will run against Bush's chosen successor in 2008. But first we must look at the mistakes of this election, and we must hold our party leaders accountable. Terry McAuliffe must go. Bill Clinton needs to get off the stage, and the old party aristocracy needs to step aside. If the Democratic Party is ever going to control this nation again, it needs to look at this election and take its lessons to heart.
Our party needs to redefine itself as the party of the working man and woman. Above everything else, we need to start pushing social issues and demonstrate to the American people that we are here to push THEIR interests, not the interests of the boardrooms and stockholders. We need to demonstrate that we want a STRONGER and SAFER America, but that strength and safety don't mean despotic new laws and nuclear weapons. Across the board, we need to push the progressive causes, from the environment, to the economy, to gay rights and abortion, that drove so many people to our party in the first place. And we need LEADERS to do it. Not simply talking robots who pay lip service the party line at conventions and in flat campaign speeches, but raging firebrands who can excite America and motivate our people to aspire to something better. We need a candidate who can ignite America's passions, and spark our imaginations.
Please remember that in 2007. We don't need any more John Kerry's, no more Al Gores, and please, put your Jimmy Carters away. Whether or not you liked him, we need a Dean, a Kucinich, or any one of the other genuine liberal voices that are spread throughout our party. Better yet, give us a woman, a southern Black, or a Southwestern Hispanic. We need to show America that we are different because, from where I stand, they just aren't getting the message. Beyond that, we need a CAUSE. When was the last time our party stood united behind something simply because it was the right thing to do? Where is the civil rights movement, or the womens lib for the 21st century? We need to show America that we WILL change their lives, and for the better. We need to get the message out that we're not here to be moderates, but that we're here to change America for the better! Our party has lost that message somehow, and unless we find it again I fear that we will continue to lose our grip on this nation. We must stand up against irrelevance, even if it means upsetting the Old Guard within our own party.
I love my nation, I love my party, and I hold tremendous respect for everyone who worked in any way to unseat Bush, but sometimes the kindest thing you can do for those you love is to speak the truth...no matter how painful it may be.
With love, Xith
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