The beauty of this site is that you can admit your mistakes. I made a big one. I wrote a "GBCW" diary before kos published a poll yesterday about the New York Senate race. No one was happier than me to see the results of that poll. So I freely admit that I was wrong about that, and I apologize, abjectly, to kos. This should be a lesson to newbies - don't jump the gun! Otherwise, you will end up, like me, admitting your mistakes on the "tubes", all red-faced and feeling really silly.
That being said, let me try to explain my actions. Follow me below the fold (and bundle up, for God's sake - where I am, it is two degrees, with a windchill below zero!)
You have no idea how lucky I am. As many of you know, I am an attorney. I am also a recovering alcoholic and addict, and I am bipolar. I have never made a secret of any of that on this site. I also have a loving and supportive family; a family that has gone through a lot of heartache with me. I am also in my fifties; in short, I am an old lady,in the sense that I am well past my expected shelf life.
And from those who read my GBCW diary, I have lived through a lot. Our experiences color our thinking. So I have been, and remain, an ardent supporter of Caroline Kennedy. In her, I see someone who became a Kennedy by mere accident of birth. Had God asked me my preference before he dropped me on this earth, I might not have picked my family as my initial starting point (and I would have been wrong about that). So, if Caroline Kennedy is an American "princess", it was not of her choosing. The American public perceives her as such. I see a lawyer who has written excellent books to educate the public about constitutional rights. I commend her books to this community. I see a woman who has managed to raise a family in the constant glare of the public spotlight - a woman who lost her father, then her uncle, at a very young age. I see a woman who lost her only brother, and whose mother is now gone. I see a woman who came out publicly for our President-elect (and who convinced her famous uncle to do so) early on - who threw the dice she had on the basis of faith and hope. I see a woman who takes the subway, who has stated unequivocally that the LGBT community has an absolute and constitutional right to marry. I see a woman who has supported the New York City schools. I see a woman who is, without a doubt, the type of Democrat this community should be proud to support - a progressive Democrat with the ear our of President-elect, one who wants now wants to be part of the "change" we are about to experience.
I see a President-elect with a plate full of problems - the successor to the worst President this country has ever seen. But hope is dawning. I never thought I would see, in my lifetime, an African-American President. I am taking Inauguration Day off, to sit before my television so I can watch him put his hand on that Bible before millions who desperately hope he can repair the enormous damage that has been done. The expectations must weigh on him. Yet, he exudes a confidence and calm that is nothing short of remarkable. What God gives you, He expects you to use- and Barack Obama is going to use it (btw, I am not especially religious - the running joke in my family is that in order to bury me in the Catholic Church, they are going to have to convince the parish priest, probably with a big bribe). I hear "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country". We are all going to have to put our shoulders to the wheel. I love this site for that very reason. We argue, we don't always agree, we question every choice. But, when all is said and done, we put our shoulders to that wheel. It's going to be a big wheel, folks. This country is in desperate economic times. He's inherited two wars. Our reputation in the global community is in shreds. Our constitutional rights are in tatters. I think of FDR, and realize he had four terms of office to deal with some of these issues. I see a Republican party damaged, but not gone - still able to obstruct, just as the Republican party tried to obstruct FDR (and sometimes, succeeded).
So forgive me if I want a candidate I can sell to Upstate New York, one who can help our Governor (who came to be so quite by accident) win election in 2010. My state's budget shortfall has been estimated to be $16 billion dollars, and it grows every day. I lived through George Pataki (don't even ask me how my state ended up with a Republican governor for multiple terms). After the murder of Bobby Kennedy, who ultimately took his seat? James Buckley, the brother of William Buckley, a dark horse who managed to emerge from a divided state.
Politics is complicated, especially in my state. I grew up in a political family. My Dad ran for office six times, finally succeeding when LBJ swept Democrats into office in 1964 (you have no idea how grateful my Dad was. You also have no idea how grateful I was - try eating rubber chicken for most of your childhood). My father was pretty amazing - he supported my entry into law school in 1978 when one of his best friends told him all that would happen is I would find a husband. My father said if that happened, it would be worth every penny he would spend (sorry, Dad - never got that husband). He taught me many things about politics. Two years in politics is infinity, since politics changes everyday. Never take it personally (yeah, right). Always fight. And, as my sig line notes, never rent rooms to Republicans.
So I fight, in the traditions and rules of my ancestors and departed parents (though why they had to pick my City is beyond me). And in Caroline Kennedy, I see someone who wants to fight. Am I partisan? You bet I am. Why do you think I am here?
If you have hung on for this long, thank you. I'm back, hopefully as a rising phoenix. Bring it on, Republicans - we're ready. We question, we argue, most of us are Democrats. I have always thought of the Democrats as a huge, mildly dysfunctional family. We fight in public, and we are capable of eating our own. But I would never be anything else. I stand in the traditions of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Barack Obama is ready. Caroline Kennedy is ready. We are ready. We won. Elections have consequences. I watched an untreated alcoholic, who was never too bright, make a national address last nightr. You, sir, are old news. Off to Dallas with you. And take Darth Vader with you. With any luck, I will see you in handcuffs one day.
Onto hope. Onto a new dawn. Life is good.
And, btw, I'm back.