Note to Dems: It's over. Bush won. This is not Ukraine. Get over it.
Yes, my friends, we do need electoral reform, but no there apparently was not widespread systematic fraud. It would seem that the real story of this election is not one of a dark Rovian conspiracy, but rather the dark Rovian GOTV ground game.
That said, it certainly seems to me that in the richest, most (blah, blah, blah..) one would hope that we could standardize, plan and run a less chaotic and ultimately disenfranchising election. The vote spoilage rate is much too high and tends to disproportionally impact poor and minority precincts. Optical scans and touchscreens need to be independently and thoroughly secured, tested then tested again. And yes we need a paper trail! Perhaps most outrageous of all the election foul ups though is that people would have to wait 3, 5, 7 or more hours to exercise their right to vote. This is absolutely disgraceful and unacceptable folks and in of itself may well have cost Kerry the election. Only those on a mission from God would cheerfully stand in line under pouring rain for 4 hours in order to vote "the chosen one" back into office.
I know, state jurisdictions and cost and.. but I'm convinced we need to pursue the called for federal investigation and with those results enact better federal law WITH TEETH to enforce across the board standards of fairness and efficiency. If states don't, won't or can't meet them, then their elections should not be sanctioned. Period. As for the cost, if we can with a straight face flush $200,000,000,000 (,000,000,0..) down the toilet "fighting terrorism" in the debacle formerly known as Iraq, we can afford to run clean, fair and user friendly elections. Again period.
Ok so much for the last election, ringmaster, what's all this about conceding the next? My rather rhetorical point regarding the next election is that in my view there's far too much unwarranted pessimism, cynicism even defeatism (3 isms in a row; not bad) out there in the press and the sphere about Dems' near term chances in the rural red-zone. I say BUNK.
Despite all the holding forth on the inability of the national Party to connect with regular folks in the heartland, Democrats can regain relevance and yes even win there once again. But we can't do this if the reins of policy and financial power remain in the hands of wonks, consultants and politicos skulking behind the beltway. The afore mentioned have been phoning it in for far too long now. It's now time to join with insurgents like DGA chair Bill Richardson and DNC chair hopeful Donnie Fowler in calling for a handover of decision making and funds to regional and local party leaders and activists. Can you say de-vo-lu-tion? Sure you can. Yes, join them in calling for that d word and join them in making a red zone stand. We must concede no ground to the "evil-doers"!
Democrats need not and indeed should not concede any race for any office anywhere in this country without a fight. If we do, then WE DO NOT DESERVE TO GOVERN. This conviction I also share with Mr Fowler. Now right here's where the beltway wonko's pull out there data sheets and polling analyses and began holding forth on why the national party can't squander any of those precious millions funding a bunch of "yea-hoos" that can't win in red meat America anyway. Baloney. This Party will not be relevant again in heartland America until it's willing to fund and delegate leadership to the party leaders and organizers that live their lives there. Yes the Democrats need to craft a clear concise and unifying message. But we then have to EMPOWER local party activists to convey that message on the ground, face to face with their friends and neighbors. And to do this in their own words, not those of some over-paid consultant.
Finally, I think it important to laud Fowler's contention that BOTH the emerging internetworking and the traditional precinct level organizing be supported. One can suppose that Dean's implosion might have been due at least in part to too much reliance on tech savvy adherents and not enough on the kind of corner barbershop politics so familiar to many of the folks who cast their votes elsewhere. On this matter I wonder if tools like those featured in the CivicSpace Project or Advokit might not be just the ticket. These user friendly but powerful web based organizing packages distributed to party activists at the district, even the precinct level could well compliment efforts and potentially even boost results for those embattled Dems in the rural and exurban hinterlands.
Joe's barbershop and internet cafe? hmm..