Been blowing hard here all day. Always means a change is coming.
I live in a tiny town in central Virginia, barely over 500 souls. We have one polling place, and we know all the poll workers on a first name basis. They know my kids. We go to church together. Most of the grown ups have served on the town council at one time or another, me included.
This area has been reliably conservative for a long, long time. Folks tend to vote conservative regardless party. So much so that, despite going Republican in every presidential election for the last 40 years, we elected a Democratic governor, a fiscal conservative, to clean up the mess left by the last "tax break for the wealthy" Republicans who made a huge mess of things. And he has extremely high approval ratings. (Expect to see more of Governor Mark Warner in coming years on the national level.)
We also live in the shadow, literally, of Thomas Jefferson, who looks down kindly on his democracy from Monticello on the hills above Charlottesville, and the University of Virginia, which he founded.
I don't harbor any false illusions, but there are definitely signs that are encouraging. Voter turnout in the region is expected to exceed 80%, which is astounding. In one rural county at the foot of the Blue Ridge, over 1000 new voters were registered in the last six weeks - more than they ususally get all year. Many were people who have never voted before. Ever.
I've been tracking polls and news reports all day. I've had this song in my head and I finally realized what it is, and it made me laugh. It's a song Bush could be singing right now:
Cecilia, you're breaking my heart
You're shaking my confidence daily
Woh Cecilia, I'm down on my knees
I'm begging you please to come home
Come on home
I got up to wash my face
When I come back to bed
Someone's taken my place ...
My wife and kids (who were excited to go into the poll with me to see how it works) and I are heading into town shortly to watch the results come in at a Democratic Rally. It feels like there will be some celebrating to do.