2006 was a roller coaster ride for me personally and one casualty of everything that was going on was my ability to participate in the DKos community. I went from commenting to lurking to complete absence and today is the first time in about two weeks that I even had internet access.
Now, I know I'm just a small cog in the wheel that is DKos, but I did want to mention a few things.
First, and most important, I want to thank everyone who participates in this site for all the hard work that culminated in last November's magnificent Democratic victory. I did what I could but I know my efforts pale in comparison to what people here did. As an Ohioan, November 7 was especially great because we got all the statewide offices in addition to adding to the new Democratic majority in Congress.
Second, all the forces that pulled me away allowed me a fresh perspective on how people think. I've spent more time around people who simply don't spend as much of every day thinking, reading and/or writing about politics as do people here and on other political blogs. These people think about politics more than we give them credit for and some of the things they're thinking about might be surprising. One example is smoking bans, which lots of people associate with "liberal elitism." Another is a lack of faith in Democrats. Yes, Ohioans voted them in in huge numbers, but I've seen more rejection of the shepards of republicanism than of republicanism itself. The job of the Democrats now, from what I've heard, is to move from being the "someone else" into the party that stands for what these people care about.
Third, of all the bloggers here, I've really missed reading diaries by nyceve and orangeclouds115. Not that others are bad, mind you, but these two ladies have something special going on.
Finallym(although I could say more), because I've taken up more than my share of space, I want to note that I'm posting this late, late Saturday night on purpose. I wanted to say what I've said, but I also didn't think all this was worth clogging up the primetime space. So for those of you who are up and have read this, thanks!