So went a line towards the end of "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein.
To those both within the Democratic Party and outside of it who are asking me to give more time, more money, more energy to The Cause: Don't you understand that 2006 and 2008 completely tapped me out? Not just me, but thousands or millions of others are in the same boat.
I worked my ass off, canvassed, stuffed envelopes, debated righty friends, pleaded with undecideds, and generally spent as much energy and time as possible helping ensure that we'd take back everything--and it worked.
In 2004, you said you needed money, so we gave you our apples to sell in the city.
In 2006, you said you needed a home, so we gave you our branches to build a house with.
In 2008, you said you needed a boat, so we let you chop down our trunk.
A year ago, after the election, I wrote a diary in which I tallied up the total amount that I had donated to various candidates, organizations and causes during the 2-year cycle, and was shocked to discover that it was about twice as much as I had intended: over $5,000 dollars. Holy crap. I was so swept up in the moment, and the "fierce urgency of now" stuff, that I threw caution (and my bookkeeping) to the wind.
In return for my money--money that I couldn't really afford then and sure as hell can't afford to donate this year or next--what did I get?
So, how'd I do? Looks like kind of a mixed bag; the ones which stung the most in terms of sheer dollar investments were, of course, Darcy Burner (ouch!), Gary Trauner, and Dennis Shulman.
Overall, I had:
22 losses, 6 of which I don't really count in terms of final results since they were primaries eventually won by deserving Dems: Bill Richardson, John Edwards, Chris Dodd, plus Mark Pera as well as Ezra Drissman and Mark Richardson). Call it 16 losses.
12 wins, including some Big Ones for me personally: Obama, Peters, Schauer, Prop 2 and Hathaway.
...plus 4 "to be determined". [ed: this eventually resulted in 2 wins & 2 losses]
I should also note that while this is a buttload of money, think about what I get in return:
For a $5,000 investment, I (hope) to receive:
--a restored Constitution of the United States of America
--a restoration of habeas corpus
--the stoppage of torture
--a decent healthcare plan for everyone
--an end to the war in Iraq
--restoration of our national pride
--clean energy sources
--a guarantee that the Supreme Court won't fall into the clutches of the ultra-right for at least a few more years
--a whole mess of other stuff
--quite possibly, a $1,000/year tax cut (which would pay for the investment in 5 years by itself, if you think about it)
So, here it is a year later, and where do things stand?
"Restored constitution/habeas corpus/stoppage of torture": Mixed bag; call these 50/50.
"A decent healthcare plan for everyone": Um...no comment.
"End to the war in Iraq": Well, it's winding down I guess, but is being cancelled out by the winding up of the war in Afghanistan...whack-a-mole, anyone?
"Restoration of our national pride": Well, our worldwide image is much improved, but given the rise of the Tea Party movement, I'm not sure if I'm back to being "proud" yet...
"Clean energy sources": This does seem to be one of the brighter spots--R&D is ramping up all over the place in wind/solar/etc; LEED certification (or at least attempts to make stuff more energy efficient) is all the rage, etc etc.
"No far-right Supreme Court for a few more years": OK, check this one off; as far as I can tell, Sonia Sotomayor is a solid pick so far.
"$1K tax cut": Actually, I haven't a clue whether we qualify for this or not, since our family finances have changed so dramatically over the past year (not just due to the economy, but due to a voluntary career change on my wife's part).
"A whole mess of other stuff": Again, a mixed bag.
My point here is simply that many of those of us who kicked ass and took names shot our wad the past two cycles, so to speak, and simply CAN'T do it again--at least not with nearly the same vigor--even if Obama, Reid et al were keeping true to our expectations. Between being drained of money, time and energy by the last 2 cycles, made far worse by the disappointing actions of the Dems in recent weeks, how the hell do they expect us to keep playing the ATM and free labor?
I can't imagine that I'll ever vote for a Republican, but do these guys honestly think I'm going to pony up another $5K--or even another $1K--for them again, much less spend time away from my work and family to knock doors--in 2010 or 2012, especially given the lack of return on my investment to date?
I'm sorry, guys--at this point, I'm just an old stump now; I have nothing left to give you.