Desperate for a Date W/Poll

cross posted at Musings

I recently returned to volunteering for a local organization after a hiatus of several months. While I was gone many volunteers had left for a variety of reasons.

The upshot of that was that my part of the organization was recruiting new volunteers to fill the vacant slots. The person addressing the new volunteers was really stressed out as the organization is largely operated by volunteer efforts. Because I had been gone for awhile, I was able to observe as an "outsider". It is one thing to invite people to volunteer for and support your organization and quite another to give off a stress vibe that will put off potential volunteers. It is kind of like that old thing about never being able to find a date when you desperately are looking, but when you relax and go about enjoying your life, everyone wants to be around you.

I think that something similar has happened within the Democratic party. We have allowed the Republicans to undermine our self esteem to such a degree that it is only when they fail miserably we again begin to take ownership of what a fine, caring, intelligent, responsible, and competent group of people we are both as individuals and collectively. This even though we have done nothing that could be compared by any reasonable person to the evils they have perpetuated.  We are beginning to get the stink of desperation from the Republicans.  It is not because of Rovian tactics on the part of Democrats but an awakening on the part of the American people that they have been lied to.  Lied to about WMDs, lied to about Katrina, lied to about morality, and most importantly for us, lied to about Democrats.

I guess the thrust of this diary is that we must not only continue to take the high ground, we must reclaim the pride in our party that it rightly deserves. We want to show that we are the party that everyone should want to be part of. We have the big tent, we have the good plan, and we have the balls to enact meaningful change for those who ally with us.