Imagine it's November 2nd, 2004.
The Bush administration has yo-yo'd in popularity all year, but it looks like they had their political timing right. Somehow, on that day, the country felt more "secure" with Bush. Kerry had been slandered beyond recognition. It is, indeed, a very close election, and Bush takes it. It may or may not be clear that there was foul play again on election day, but no matter. As we nervously watch the news that evening, it becomes clear: we have 4 more years of these guys.
Now this is something I'm not expecting today, but in April of 2000, I don't think many of us expected that within a year our country would have taken the political dive that it did. No-holds-barred politics has a way of surviving.
Now let's take this further. In the following 4 years, our country changes beyond recognition. What we think is infuriating today - will be nothing compared to what we see. The neocons would dig in their heels, having seen how close they came to collapse in 2004; they may even believe that loss of power may mean serious legal problems for them. They stop at nothing. Websites like Kos are shut down. Powerful progressive voices mysteriously disappear, or are quieted by threats against their families. To prevent an exodus, Americans need special permits to leave the country. Our economy is restructured into a true wartime economy, with social services shredded and the working class paying for a massive military force.
Who knows, obviously I don't know what will happen. My point is, things could get much worse, and probably would.
Read on...
Let's all resolve the following:
- We will truly rally around Kerry, because our country depends on it. By this, I mean, we will stop squabbling about whether he was the right choice. We won't waste more time ruminating about how maybe our favorite candidate would have done things better. I've certainly been guilty of this intermittently. And I know how irritating this is for some people, this incessant "Democrats must unite!" message. But I fear that we may lose steam if people start becoming more complacent, either because we no longer look powerless or because we're worn out by the message. We must fight for Kerry like we would have for Dean, or whoever was our favorite candidate, because the stakes are so great, and he truly would save us from this nightmare.
- We must catch our second wind, and start fighting again today. Some of us (like me) have slowed down a little, given less, felt less urgency than we did a year ago. This is a MISTAKE. The Bush administration has been thrown off balance now. We may never have this opportunity again. I don't want this to be remembered as the lost opportunity, the last time people had a chance to stop Bush, but failed.
So think again: what could you do today to help stop these guys? Whether it's joining the local Dems Meetup, or planning to volunteer in a neighboring swing state the week before the election, or visiting the johnkerry.com website to make another contribution... maybe it's time to make that commitment.