I'm currently twenty-one years old and about to enter my senior year of college, and most of my political life has been disappointment.
I think my first political memory is the presidential election of 2000. I was fifteen years and old and it was the first time I ever really paid attention to politics. I disliked Bush from the start, and I remember an incredible sinking feeling after that election that spun me into an awful zone of cynicism and anger at our political system. Was that how democracy worked? Someone could steal the election through a lawsuit despite having fewer votes? Somehow it didn't quite fit in with all of those high school civics lessons.
Then came September 11th, which is the defining political moment of my political life, and everything changed. I was in 11th grade physics class when I first heard the news, and I can recall the outrage and shock. But in the months that followed I came to see how extreme President Bush and his inner group really were. I saw September 11th used as an excuse for hatred and an unjust war. I saw a Republican Party that hijacked many of my friends and family into their twisted and warped vision of what I thought my country should be. My biggest memories from my senior year of high school are the build up to the Iraq War and my shock and disbelief that people were buying the administration's line and that we were actually going to invade.
The disappointments only continued. I saw the Democratic establishment take out Howard Dean, probably the first candidate I ever felt truly inspired by. I saw my country again vote for President Bush, despite what I saw as a clear cut decision. I could not understand it.
I saw no opportunities for young progressives like me when compared to the opportunites for conservatives. Internship in D.C.? I don't think so, unless you're going to pay your own way. Think-tanks and NGOs to give you a decent paying job when you graduate? Not in this life. Luckily, I started working for a small Democratic pollster. He constantly tells me stories about "the good old days" when he was young and first out of college. He worked on a Congressional campaign after Watergate and fondly talks about how they time tiems were full of such hope and promise. I, however, have had no such victory stories, only disappointment and a feeling that we will never be able to build a progressive movement.
Tonight, however, I feel like all of that has changed.
The pollster I work with had the opportunity to do a small project for the Lamont campaign, and I gladly helped. I've been so excited by this race, especially since I personally contributed, that I've been nervous all day. Lamont's victory is not only a message to rubber stamp DINOs like Lieberman and the party establishment; it's a message to me and my generation. We can win. We can take back this country. It's not an impossible task! This is something I don't think I have ever truly believed since I became interested in politics. So many young progressives are alienated by the lack of opportunities and the lack of accomplishments that they become cynical and disheartened.
I want to personally thank everybody that worked on the Lamont campaign. I want to thank all of the bloggers for keeping hope alive in me when all I've felt is disappointment. I want to thank every fellow progressive out there who has continued to fight the good fight despite the setbacks. Right now, I feel so much more hopeful than I have felt in my entire political life. Now I have seen what we can do together. Thank you.