The State of the Union is tonight. I expect organized, thoughtful, and clear responses on matters of policy, regardless of how infuriated you are about Alito. I expect you not to dwell on your fears for the Court, your disappointment in various leaders, your fury at the Gang of 14, your smugness at knowing they would let you down from the get-go. No, I expect opp-research. You best be in top form. I want talking points. I want an echo chamber. I want you to argue passionately, persuasively for a Democratic majority. And if you whine, I will be disappointed in you.
You see, this is not a pep talk. This is a call to fucking action.
I gave my pep talk on
Friday, and one of the responses I received on the thread was wonderment at my ability to have shiny happy rhetoric in the face of what admittedly was a hard punch to the gut.
And, to be unabashedly honest, part of the reason I can maintain both sight of what is important and optimism in the face of defeat is due to my faith, because I simply cannot believe that God wants me to give up. Because I hear "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil" and it fucking means something to me, and in the face of adversity and hard knocks steels my resolve. I believe that God makes no promises that bad things won't happen, no promises that good will triumph in the short-term, and will not stop lesser men from overpowering those who wish to do good in this world and protect the meek and vulnerable. But that this is no excuse not to try. In fact, it is your obligation to try, and the harder it becomes, and the more you fail, the more you are obligated to try if you truly believe that you are doing good for your fellow man and spreading God's will. And I say this not because I think any of you will give a damn, or even be so kind as to not mock the fact that I believe in a Flying Spaghetti Monster or whatever you want to call it, but because if you're not going to believe in God, believe in something. Believe that there is no such thing as permanent failure in politics. You know why? Because we need you right now. We just lost a pretty big battle, and as a result, we need you to fight harder, with more gusto than you knew you had prior to this very moment.
Do you want to stop Roe v. Wade? Well, it's not over yet. The war has just been declared, and now the fight goes to every state, every office, and every statehouse. Federally, a democratic Congress will not pass legislation threatening the integrity of Roe v. Wade. Not even your Caseys or Nelsons. So take back the House. Take back the Senate. Do you think there will be time to restrict abortion rights while investigating all the President's misdeeds, investigations sure to happen if we regain power? In fact, a federal law protecting a woman's right to choose would override all this mess. Let's pass this law. Maybe it'll get vetoed the first twenty times Bush has to vote on it, but let's make it our goal.
Then, let's go to the real fighting ground...the statehouses. We are in a great position to recover some of the Governor's mansions about our land. Make sure we do, and make sure we pick up some state legislatures as well. Don't let them have veto proof majorities in red states facing alarmingly steep uphill battles. Organize locally. The worst that can happen is you'll help build a deep bench for future federal offices and get precincts off the ground. The battle landscape is going to change in a second when a ruling passes, don't let it reach that point. Look for special elections in your state for your local legislature. They happen more often than you would think and are relatively easy to influence the outcome of, yes, even in Kansas. In fact, today, there is a special election in Loudon County, Virginia, where you have the chance to reject Mick Staton, Jr., the infamous son in law of Dick Black (spawner of the bill denying women birth control at college campus health centers) and elect Mark Herring. Have you voted? Have you volunteered? Because if the answer is no, then you have neither done all you can do nor tried in the face of setbacks and discouragement. In fact, if anybody wants a ride from Arlington to Loudon to vote tonight, I will give you a ride, and then we can watch the State of the Union after the polls close.
We are in the belly of a whale. And we can discuss how we got there all we want, but that is a luxury I would forgo in order to find a way out of this god-damned whale. Success is never a guarantee, no matter how much passion and urgency you put into it. But I come out swinging, anyway, if only because complacency is not in my moral code. My leaders have disappointed me and will disappoint me in the future, but I support them anyway, because I have the luxury of not being a leader and do not believe in questioning the integrity of anyone who disagrees with me, regardless of how vehemently I disagree. I leave that tactic for Republicans and lesser men. I do not despair because I believe despair is a waste of my fucking time, and because it would drive me mad to do so. If I saw in this world only the defects and imperfections I could and would never be happy with it. Instead, I see the silver linings, the pretty sunset from the sulfur in the sky, the irony that the hotdog stand in the middle of the Pentagon was named "Ground Zero," and then, I get to work. Because I do not believe in surrender, even if it's gotten tougher. Because I believe in myself and my morals, and my obligation, to God, to the World, to my party, to myself, says that I stay, I fight, and I go down swinging. And if today I'm knocked out, tomorrow I will hobble back to the fight. And if my neighbor falls down, I help him back up. If my leaders fail me, I help them make me proud.
I do not give up on them, and I do not give up on me.
Today is the Budget Reconciliation Bill. I don't have time to worry about Alito, because were I to do so, the poor might suffer. But instead, I say that we stand a chance to reverse votes on this as the House re-votes. Simmons has already changed his mind according to Hotlineblog. Tonight is the State of the Union. And Tim Kaine will be there to talk of our faith and our values. Good on him. It's what he should be talking about. We are here to be compassionate. To care for others. To speak for those with no voice. One vote does not change this.
Pick up your toys. Go home. But I'll still be here, and so will others, and you better thank whomever you believe in that somebody continues the fight after you got tired of playing.