PLEASE NOTE - This is not an open thread and is intended for diaries and discussion of downticket races.
For all the introductory stuff and links to previous diaries in the series, please look below the fold...
This Rescue Diary covers the period from 12:00 Noon-12:00 Midnight EST, Thursday, 11/6
Today's Menu Includes :
33 Diaries Overall
- 15 On House races
- With 10 covering individual Districts in 8 states
- 8 On Senate races
- Representing 5 different states
- 9 On Various election races and ballot issues
- Encompassing Governor, Secretary of State, Local, and more
- 1 General election-related diaries
Our Last Roundup of the Season - Tonight’s edition marks our final Roundup of the 2008 election season. While this is abbreviated compilation, we are continuing our tradition from 2006 of finishing with "comments from the crew," as the ERDR gang takes center stage.
We thank you all for your readership and support throughout this election season and look forward to seeing you again in 2010.
- sidinny
Follow us for more, come on in............
This is an attempt to compile a fairly comprehensive listing of election-related diaries that have recently been posted. Most of them are House or Senate races but there are also some local ones, as well as the occasional 'general info' diary.
For all the introductory stuff and previous diaries in the 2006 series, please see:
Election Race Roundup (11/11 - Final 2006 Edition)
And for this year's previous diaries:
Election Race Diary Roundup (9/17 - 48 Days to Change) (with links to 10 previous diaries from 9/7 to 9/16)
Election Race Diary Roundup (9/27 - 38 Days to Change) (with links to 10 previous diaries from 9/17 to 9/26)
Election Race Diary Roundup (10/7 – FOUR WEEKS TO GO!) (with links to 10 previous diaries from 9/27 to 10/6)
Election Race Diary Roundup (10/17 - 18 Days to Change) (with links to 10 previous diaries from 10/7 to 10/16)
Election Race Diary Roundup (10/27 - 8 Days to Change) (with links to 10 previous diaries from 10/17 to 10/26)
Election Race Diary Roundup (10/28 – ONE WEEK TO GO!)
Election Race Diary Roundup (10/29 – 6 Days to Change)
Election Race Diary Roundup (10/30 – 5 Days to Change)
Election Race Diary Roundup (10/31 – 4 Days to Change)
Election Race Diary Roundup (11/1 – 3 Days to Change)
Election Race Diary Roundup (11/2 – 2 Days to Change)
Election Race Diary Roundup (11/3 – 1 Day to Change)
Election Race Diary Roundup (11/4 – Change is in the Air)
Election Race Diary Roundup (11/5 – The Change Begins – Day 1)
Election Race Diary Roundup (11/6 – The Change Begins – Day 2)
Incredible thanks to all volunteers: Land of Enchantment, ukben, welso, drchelo, randallt, Joy Busey, TruthOfAngels, eeff, Alma, Sylv, Nightprowlkitty, Spedwybabs Turbonerd, cdale777, and Relevant Rhino.
(12:00 Noon-12:00 Midnight, EST, Thursday, 11/6) (33 diaries)
(Alphabetical, starting from G)
House (15)
(IL-18) GOP's Face of the Future on MSNBC at 4:30PM EST by dogwhistle – Diarist warns us about Repub Aaron Schock, the victor in this race, somebody we’ll have to keep an eye on.
(MD-01) MD-01: Absentees look good for Kratovil (D) (Updated 2X) by duck – Diarist gives us a hopeful update on the race between Dem challenger Frank Kratovil and Repub Andrew P. Harris.
(MD-01) Md-01 Update: Kratovil Gains Votes in Absentee County by wmtriallawyer - Gives us an update on the slow counting of the ballots in this race, with the most current info as of Wed. afternoon being that Kratovil is now up by about 1500 votes.
(MN-06) I Know It Stings, But Can We Please Talk About Bachmann’s Victory? by Girlzero - Diarist asks the same question I’m sure many of us are asking- how does one vote for Obama AND Bachmann? Join the vigorous discussion of this and try to help everyone understand how Bachmann managed to win.
(MN-06) Doing The Math-- Why Michelle Bachmann Won by dukelawguy - Looks at how Michelle Bachmann won this race by looking at the numbers in the district.
(NY-20) NY-20: Freshman Dem wins a blood-red district in landslide by devtob - Diarist writes about how Freshman Kirsten Gillibrand won re-election in the red district of NY-20.
(OH-15) Dem House pickup looking good in OH-15 by jmknapp - Lets us know that with provisional ballots still to be counted, Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy is only trailing by 146 votes and shares information about a suit filed by the GOP in Ohio regarding the counting of provisional ballots.
(VA-05) VA-05: My first grade friend is going to Congress - Tom Perriello. Buh-bye Virgil Goode. by mrmatthew – An enthusiastic friend reports that Dem Tom Perriello is now over 50% in his race against "incumbent xenophobe Virgil Goode."
(VA-05) Perriello increases his lead in VA-05. Looking good for another Dem pick-up by ecostar – More information on the status of the count in the race between Dem Tom Perriello and incumbent Repub Virgil Goode.
(CA-02) Thinking about next steps for Jeff Morris and CA-02 (w/photos) by cranberrylib - Diarist writes about how far Jeff Morris moved this district to the Blue side & has some pictures to share.
(CA-04) Charlie Brown (CA-04) needs $$ to protect the vote count! by Hopeful Skeptic – Repub Tom McClintock has the financial ability to hire as many lawyers as he needs to challenge the votes of thousands of people who faithfully cast their ballots. Donation link to Dem Charlie Brown’s Election Protection Fund included.
(CA-44) CA-44: IT AIN’T OVER, BABY (ACTION!) by Tethys – Action diary to ensure the counting of all ballots in the race between Dem challenger Bill Hedrick and incumbent Repub Ken Calvert.
(CA-44) CA-44: Do you want another Congressional Seat? by CanYouBeAngryAndStillDream – Action diary for those in the district pertaining to the Repub Calvert vs. Dem Hendrick.
(CA-44) CA-44, Are you going to let Republicans steal this one? by Ellinorianne - Diarist writes about how close the finish is in CA-44 and how provisional ballots were used.
(FL-08) FL-08 Mr. Grayson Goes to Washington with Subpoena Power by annie em – Information regarding Florida Civil Rights Association’s "Humanitarian of the Year" Alan Grayson the newly elected representative for Florida’s 8th District. Video included.
Senate (8)
(GA-Sen) Do it for Max Cleland by MaxMarginal - Diarist reminds us of how horrible Saxby treated then Senator Cleland six years ago and asks us to double down our support for candidate Jim Martin the runoff.
(MN-Sen) Al Franken: all the votes need to be counted by RaulVB - A short diary about the upcoming recount reminds us that the lead for Norm Coleman remains incredibly small and Al Franken has complete confidence that in the end all of the votes will be counted correctly.
(MN-Sen) MN: Bad Ballot tabulators may have helped Coleman (R) by fractal – Questions arise about the accuracy of ESS voting machines in Minnesota, the same type which caused problems in Michigan.
(NH-Sen) Thank you for your support by Jeanne Shaheen - Newly elected Senator Jeanne Shaheen thanks everyone for their support.
(OR-Sen) We win in Oregon! Smith concedes by la motocycliste - Defeated two-term Republican Gordon Smith called Senator-elect Jeff Merkley to concede. Another one for the good guys.
(AK-Sen) Mudflats: Voter suppression in Alaska? UPDATE: Nate Silver on fivethirtyeight chimes in by ThoughtRonin – What’s going on in Alaska?
(AK-Sen) Stolen election in Alaska? 5 reasons why that accusation is premature. by Celtic Diva – There are still lots of ballots to be counted in Alaska.
(AK-Sen) Mark Begich still has a shot against Sen. Stevens in Alaska - your help needed! by Wordie - Shares with us an email sent from the Begich Senate Campaign asking for our help to make sure the votes get counted properly in Alaska.
Various Races (2)
(NH-State Sen) NH state senate: 1st female majority senate ever by savova - Short diary bragging, rightfully so, that after Tuesday’s election that New Hampshire State Senate is made up of a female majority.
(WA-State Com of PL) Peter Goldmark WINS in Washington! by jordans11 - Diarist writes about Peter Goldmark's win for Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands.
Ballot Initiatives (7)
(CA-Prop 8) "but we will soldier on." On Prop 8 by theantidesi101 – Hope for the future.
(CA-Prop 8) Prop 8 Call to action: Ask IRS to revoke Mormon's 501(c)3 by Clarknt67 – An action diary, petition link included.
(CA-Prop 8) The Push For Social Liberalism: Ballot Proposals for 2010, 2012 and Off Year Elections by Alec82 – Suggested activism on many progressive issues.
(CA-Prop 8) So Prop 8 passed--Here's how we overturn it. by correon – From the diarist, includes suggestions on how to win over some hearts and minds.
(CA-Prop 8) Prop 8 Postmortem, Part 1: Dissecting History by tiggrrl - Very detailed analysis of past legal decisions that will have a bearing on future legal action regarding Prop 8.
(CA Prop 8) Prop 8: A Historical Perspective by WDC Dem - Compares how Prop 8 passed with how Prop 14 passed in the 60s and offers hope and the reminder that we shouldn’t stop fighting, this is only the beginning.
(CT Question 1) not all bad news for gays Tuesday by Missys Brother – A ray of sunshine for gay rights.
General (1)
Lots of missing votes by CB8421 – Self-professed number cruncher analyzes the data of the past two elections in search of "missing" votes.
For the past eight weeks a dedicated group of people worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make this compilation possible. Now, they get to take the stage to share their thoughts.
It is with great pride that we bring you, "comments from the crew"...
Alma -
As I complete this second tour of duty and love, on the Election Race Diary Roundup, I have mixed feelings. We won some, lost some, and some we aren't quite sure of yet. In many ways our task is just beginning. It’s up to us to let our congress people know what we want, and expect from them. We can't just rest on our laurels or change won't happen.
The people that work on this diary are very special to me. Lots of our crew from last time came back, and we added some fantastic new miners. I've never seen such an easy going, committed, caring, ready to help crew. Send out a call for help and you'll have five volunteers in minutes. Our scheduler, miners, compilers, and big boss are the best.
Another group that I consider to be the best are the diarists that wrote the diaries included in this series. People that care about getting the word out on good and bad candidates. People that have thrown their hearts open, and giving with everything they've got. People trying to bring equality to all people. People that realize change starts from the bottom up.
I love you all, and hope you'll all still be here working for more change in 2010. I know I will.
suejazz -
As in 2006, this has been a wonderful experience. I'm not really a diary miner though I did cover someone's shift on Election Day. I'm the scheduler and folks seem to think it's a hard job to cover every shift 24/7. But it's actually not with this group. Everyone is eager to rescue diaries and when someone can't work a shift there has always been at least one person who steps up and offers to fill in. Our group has become close over time. We care about each other and when people have medical issues, work issues or personal issues, we give each other tremendous support. It is very moving the way a group of people who have mostly never met, rally round to help if the need arises. I'll miss the daily contact with everyone but I know that when Fearless Leader issues the call in 2010 we'll all be back with a vengeance.
Sylv -
I’ve been at Daily Kos for a long time. I’m user #1392, I mostly just lurk. In 2006 when sidinny started the election diary rescue I really wanted to be involved but I was dealing with some major health problems and I just couldn’t do it.
It’s hard to express how I felt when sidinny contacted me as he was starting up the diary for this election season. I was touched and overjoyed and I really can’t describe it any better than that or I’ll get all sloppy.
I have totally enjoyed working on this project. I am in awe of the talent and dedication represented in the Daily Kos community. Learning about so many candidates as I read the diaries, I felt like a kid in a candy shop. Election night was one of the best nights in my life. We didn’t win every contest but we sure put up one hell of a fight.
I’d like to thank the Election Diary Roundup crew, the Kossacks that volunteered for downticket races, the diarists that wrote about downticket races, and those that commented, oftentimes sticking to the downticket races. I can’t wait for the next round.
Nightprowlkitty -
This is the second time I’ve worked on Election Diary Rescue (first time was 2006), and although there were great differences between the two elections, the experience itself was gratifyingly the same. This is the best team of people I’ve ever worked with, online or in meatspace. There was no excess of discussion, we just did the work and got it out. I worked as a diary miner this year and had the distinct pleasure of sending my work every day to ukben, a great blogger who, when a computer glitch kept my work from getting to him one evening, made sure that I was ok and did the job for me. No guilt, just caring.
The whole team is like that, good people who adapt to changing circumstances with grace and style. I’d work again with any of them in a flash.
When we first started putting up the diaries there weren’t many on downticket races – it seemed that they just scrolled by with little comment because of the Presidential coverage. It was a good feeling to see their number grow as time went on, folks who were already busy working for various campaigns taking the time to share their experiences by writing about them. It gave me a panoramic view of races all around the country and I can’t thank these diarists enough for their generosity.
I’m not as optimistic as I was in 2006 in some ways, as I’ve seen that just "electing Democrats" isn’t going to solve all our problems. But I am more determined and more informed now, and much of that is because of my experiences on this project.
spedwybabs -
This whole election season has been so overwhelming I'm almost (keyword: almost) speechless at this point.
First I want to say thank you to sidinny, Susan, Ben and everyone else in this Election Race Diary Rescue Family...for welcoming me in with open arms and sharing in the magic of Election 08.
And I want to say thank you everyone who spent their precious time sharing their thoughts with the world in their diaries...without you we wouldn't even be here!
Being on this rescue team made me do more than just scan the diary titles when I had time and gave me the chance to learn about candidates I'd never have even thought about otherwise, issues I knew little about and most importantly it reminded me that there ARE bastions of Blue out there (I live in Lancaster County which is about as red as you can get) and that regardless of where we live, we are one country...red, blue, purple, green, orange etc.
I look forward to next year as a friend of mine is running for re-election as mayor of her borough and as we here in PA prepare for huge Senate and Governor races. Best of luck to everyone and keep in touch! See you on the web! AND hopefully at NN Pittsburgh!
welso -
This is it? It’s over? What am I going to do with my mornings now? No more getting up, making coffee, feeding the pootie and sifting through all of the diaries posted between midnight and six. No more conjuring up new ways to describe the dimly-lit lightbulb crusader for the day’s blurb on Bill Prendergast’s "Michele Bachmann update from Minnesota." Sigh.
ERDR has been a great project to work on. When I saw Land Of Enchantment’s Bring back "Election Diary Roundup"!!!!!! two months ago, I remembered what a great resource the series was to a new lurker like me in 2006 and jumped to volunteer. It’s been a very rewarding experience, made immeasurably better by the crew, our very own little neighborhood in the larger dKos community. When the remnants of Ike blew through and knocked the power out, and me offline, for three days, amazing teammates picked up my slack. They stepped in again when I took off to do voter protection at the polls on Tuesday. They even cleaned up my lame pirate speak on TLAP Day. Thank you! I will miss my daily e-mail exchanges with Alma, randallt and Joy. But our job is done here for this year.
Yes..We.Did. See you in 2010.
Joy Busey -
Wow, what a wonder it's been to be working with you all again! We worked so hard in '06, when there were way more downticket races people were concerned about, and after awhile it got to be a significant commitment. Like canvassing or phone-banking. But not
entirely...
This year most of us were phone-banking and canvassing too! Yet ERDR was our a priori commitment, and we all took it seriously. God, we started this journey so very, very long ago! I'm old enough to be Markos' mother, for goodness' sake! What a long, strange trip it's been.
I so thank all my colleagues, and hope we'll all be working together again in 2010. It never really stops, you know. Maybe that's the best thing we Progressives could ever take away from these never-ending struggles! Learning what it takes - commitment that goes well beyond primary and election season - to win in this arena...
The Greatest Show On Earth. We ran away with the circus decades ago, are very glad we ended up with the lot of you!!!
drchelo -
Oh, my - has the election come and gone already? I'm not ready to give this up yet.
I was so pleased to see the Election Diary Rescue project started up again this year. I participated in the 2006 project and got hooked - on Daily Kos and on politics. The project also introduced me to a wonderful group of people, the same ones who started ERDR all over again.
Although the interest in the downticket races was understandably less important than the Presidential race, these races were important in solidifying Democratic gains made in 2006, and the candidates as good or better. It was a treat to get the opportunity to learn about them through the diaries.
Even though I am ecstatic at Obama's win and the increasing blue-ing of America, I am sorry to see the time for these diaries end. I will miss the work, and I will miss the people. What a terrific bunch of people to work with! ERDR crew - You are the best! 2010 is not too far away.
See you all again then?
eeff -
To be included in this project for the second time is an honor to which is rewarded by finding more great writers in Kosland.
I'm a basic lurker with a drive by comment persona. It's been a pleasure to search through some 150 diaries a night looking for those that belong in this project’s evening diary. During the searches I learned of more good Democrats in this election. Thanks to all the writers & crew of this project.
randallt -
For two elections now, I have had the honor of working with fine friends for a fine cause, helping give new life to words. As we close another chapter of mining for these gems, I want to thank Kos, SusanG, Sid, the compilers and the miners for their dedication to this project. And most of all, I want to thank the diarists. Through your caring and energy, you have given a candidate somewhere, something special. You have given words of awareness and hope and you have called citizens to action. Through the power of words we breathe the fresh air of freedom as we climb out of the mines and into the light.
See you in 2010!
ukben -
I was a miner in 2006 and got 'promoted' to compiler/editor this year. In many ways, it's diary mining that's the best part of this whole thing. However, we need compilers, and so I did my duty. On the upside, compiling means you get to email with your miners and Steve (sidinny) every day. We check up on each other, share news, and look out for one another. That's the best part of compiling, having such wonderful miners. One day, there was a snag, and a block of time didn't get sent in. Rather than being angry with the miner, we were worried, and frantically emailed and checked around to make sure our miner was ok (15-20 emails flying through the tubes). And that's the real point here, we're a community within the broader community. A set of friends who happen to rescue all the election race diaries.
For those of you that have never volunteered to mine (in this or any other rescue process), I'd encourage you to try reading every diary in a block of time for a week. I know that sounds like a lot of effort (and possibly even a waste of time) but there are plenty of hidden gems in dKos. It is a community, and so many people are just trying to be heard in some way shape or form.
One of the crazy things about ERDR is that you get wrapped up in races that you never even thought possible. Markos does a good job of highlighting a lot of those local heroes, but I can't help but think that, in some small way, the community gets to decide whom we follow; what stories we pick up; and whether we can effect political change.
Congress isn't glamorous or popular or exciting. As much hard work as it was getting Obama elected, these local races are what allow us to build a true governing majority. It was an uphill climb in '06 and '08, but I want the supermajority. I want to see Dems in both Senate seats in PA. I want to see a filibuster-proof majority. I want to see 300 Democrats in Congress (I know that's impossible, but a boy can dream can't he).
Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank all of the miners, schedules, compilers, and our captain, Steve. We have a beautiful community, here. Supportive, caring, kind, generous, and willing defend each other unflinchingly. This whole process brought us much closer together, as so often is the case with respect these projects on dKos. Thank you all, my dear, dear, friends, as it's you who have made this all worthwhile.
Land of Enchantment -
I pushed myself a little to do this, being in a very busy campaign state (New Mexico) and all. To some degree, my mining shifts came out of what might otherwise have been sleep time. I spent Tuesday night out celebrating (of course!), and Wednesday evening took a hot bath in preparation for a good night's sleep. And fell asleep in the tub! Now, I must squeeze some time out to write this, knowing that I really must get the bills paid this morning, too.
I wasn't part of this effort back in the 2006 midterms. Well, I was in that I was a regular reader, and greatly appreciated it, but I only reaped the fruits without participating in the work. With the 800-pound gorilla of the Presidential race in the room, the need for its return was painfully apparent. And so when it first started back up, I stepped up for the first shift on the first day. It was very efficient all-in-all, so I don't have a lot to say about the group. Just that it functioned well, with a minimum of drama. (A bit like the Obama campaign in that regard...) I just did my shifts and got them in on schedule. I'm grateful for the result from a great, no-fuss team effort. Well done, all!
Personally, the most interesting thing was engaging in a different way of reading Daily Kos. Usually, I use my subscriber list, regular Diary Rescue, jotter's daily High Impact Diaries, and the FP. For this, I had an assigned 4-hour shift, which I mined by clicking "Recent Diaries" down the home page's right hand column. Then clicking "Next Page" however many times it took me to get to my time slot, then working back. Looking at every diary gives you a feel for pulse of the site. Of course, I didn't open them all ( e.g. "Latest Gallup Shows Obama up by 42 in Illinois!"). That day it came out that the girl with backwards "B" on her face was a hoax, I didn't open the diaries posted on the subject at the rate of 2 or 3 per hour. Didn't need to. There's plenty to skip over. But so much good stuff in there, too.
And there were important races to track. And others were people working hard for local races, little noticed Congressional races not on the radar. There's that one still on the radar now, CA-44. It got mentioned in a few diaries, like this one from June with 13 recs and 10 comments. It's gratifying to be part of the effort to get a little more attention to these. Busy/Cheney has made our government have too much emphasis on the Executive Branch. I'm hoping we'll come back more into balance under Obama, with the Legislative Branch ("first" in the minds of the Founding Fathers) coming back into its own more. So paying attention to who's filling those seats is a good idea.
We made some good progress folks. A special shout out for everyone who worked on downticket races in various ways. It almost seems too soon to stop, but at least we got Merkley and Hagan on board in the Senate before we put it to bed. And Go Franken!, too. We didn't win 'em all: "Mean Jean" Schmidt and Michelle Bachmann still have their seats, and that's a disappointment. Plus ya gotta wonder about an Alaska electorate that would vote a convicted felon for Senate. And so on. Especially close to my own heart - welcome to my state's brand-spanking new delegation - all freshmen!:
- Senator Tom Udall, who voted against the Iraq War and the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act in the House, and is replacing "Pajamas Pete" Domenici who really needed to retire for so many reasons.
- Rep. Martin Heinrich in NM-01 is replacing Heather Wilson, who killed her own political future with her role in the US Attorney scandal (amongst other things). Martin's cute as a button, but don't let that fool you: He's a really good progressive, and a great step forward in the Congress. And because NM values incumbency, he's likely to be around for some time.
- Rep. Harry Teague in NM-02, who beat out wingnut Ed Tinsley to replace Stevan Pearce. Not my idea of the ideal candidate, but still much better than either of those other two men. Plus, he completes "border bingo". Now every inch of US territory along the Mexican border is represented by a Democrat in Congress.
- Ben Ray Luján in NM-03, my new representative. Not a contested seat, so it didn't get much notice. But he's only 37, and we'll be hearing from him for many years to come. I'm looking forward to the little bits of Spanish he uses all the time on C-SPAN, whether with the Hispanic Caucus or the 30-somethings. Wait and see - y'all are gonna like him, too. Perhaps in time, when Bingaman retires, we'll finally see a Latino in the Senate?
Now, it's time to start getting back to our own lives a little. Catch up on all the various things we've put on hold. Daily Kos is a remarkable community, and it's great to be a part of it. Well done, everyone!
My turn, I guess...
The vibe was very different in 2008 than it was in ’06.
Obviously, one need not look any further than the top of the ticket to understand why. With no presidential race two years ago, the focus could be placed on other races. At least, in theory.
It’s almost hard to remember a time when Daily Kos was so consumed with the Lamont-Lieberman race that nothing else seemed to matter. So, with Markos’ encouragement (and front-page real estate), and the help of about two dozen incredible people, an effort that started pretty modestly turned into something that a lot of us feel was pretty important.
This time around, while we had yeoman work in brownsox’ daily House and Senate roundups and periodic emphasis on the Orange to Blue list, the laser-like focus was almost all-president, all the time. Not that this was a bad thing, of course, but some of us were concerned that we were losing an important chance to get out the word on other candidates and build on the majorities that so many had worked so hard to create.
It took some gentle prodding to get this going again, but once the call was put out, an amazing group of people jumped right back into the deep end and put together our first diary of the season less than 36 hours later, an incredible feat. It was immediately noticeable how many fewer downticket diaries were being written this time around. Though it was a struggle at times – particularly in the comments - we tried to hold fast to our oasis, our one little corner of the community devoted strictly to diaries written by Kossacks about these races and issues.
Of course, as Obama reestablished his lead in the polls, more and more attention was turned to the rest of the ticket and as they always have in the past, so many members of this community rose to the occasion.
As was the case two years ago, there were exhilarating victories: Obama, of course. Kissell (rocks!). Hagan. Dumping Sali. Blue Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana.
There were painful defeats: Bachmann retains. Trauner. Shulman. The Florida trio. And the particularly odious Prop 8.
And still others fight on: Franken. Darcy. Brown. Begich. And a runoff for Martin.
It has been said often in these parts, but it’s not just about more Democrats. It’s about better ones. We can’t become complacent because we think we’ve attained victory. Above all, we must continue to hold our leaders as accountable for their actions as we’ve held theirs. That’s the essence of the difference between us and the rabid Right.
There’s still a lot of work to do, but we’ve taken another step. Let the change begin.
To the ERDR crew: Thank you so much for all you do, for doing all the hard work and facilitating things so that my job is little more than putting the bow on top. And for being people I’m proud to call friends. I’ve run out of adjectives to describe just how amazing you are.
To Markos Moulitsas: Thanks again for finding our effort worthwhile enough to allow us to rub elbows with the best of the blogosphere.
To the diarists and commenters: Your contributions have been immense. Your support and understanding of what we’ve tried to accomplish in this series have been very much appreciated. It is the community that makes this place what it is.
To our fine candidates : Winners all, regardless of vote count. Thank you for your public service. Don’t forget us, and we won’t forget you.
To President-Elect Obama: Please don’t be blinded from reality by noble intent. Remember the eight years during which the other party told half of the country that we didn’t matter. Provide that "seat at the table," but make them earn it by proving that they want to work with you.
It is your time. It is our time.
Thank you, Mister President.
Time to shut out the lights again. See y’all in ’10.
- Steve (sidinny)