So here's what I think we should do. Raise a fair amount of money and use it to buy a whole bunch of stimulants (anything from caffeine to cocaine). Put them all in a big box and send them to Ted Kennedy. Have him just spend the next four years filibustering in the Senate, straight.
Seriously though, we need our senators to find their backbones these next four years. While my plan of coking up Kennedy is entertaining (to me, at least), something more pragmatic would be ideal. And, well, I've got just that! The short of it: write your senator if they're a Democrat, and if not then write whoever your favorite Democratic senator is. More below the fold...
I've already written my senator (Ron Wyden, D-OR). This is the letter I sent him (cross-posted at my blog):
This election cycle has been a nightmare both for Democrats and for actual democracy. But rather than brood over the past, we as Democrats must fight for the future. We cannot allow the next four years to be like the past four. We must find our backbone, and we must resist the Republican agenda.
I call on you to truly serve your constituents, this country, and the world. While the Republicans hold both chambers of Congress, there are still enough Democrats to block the radical Republican agenda, particularly in the Senate. And while the Republicans made gains in "red states", Democrats are as solid as ever in "blue states" - this unfortunate partisanship has the incidental benefit of allowing Democratic senators to truly behave progressively, if they can only find the courage to do so.
These next four years cannot be permitted to be a regression of America's accomplishments. If the administration has their way, the courts will be stocked with judges that will set us back 40 or 50 years. Bigotry against homosexuals will be codified in our constitution, abortion rights will be overturned, civil liberties will continually be eroded, our foreign policy will continue to be asinine and boorish, and we will generally step backwards as a society.
Please, do not allow this to happen. Stand strong, and don't "play politics" like so many Democrats did with the Iraq war and other issues. Don't try to be "Republican light", don't kowtow to the flag-wrapping and jingoism and pseudo-nationalism of the Republican party. Resist! Filibuster! Oregon will love you for it, humanity will thank you for it, and history will remember you for it.
Thank you for your time,
Aaron Gallant
Why is this important? Because while we should be working over the next four years to build up a grassroots machine capable of defeating the Republicans, we need the Democrats left in office to truly resist so the Republicans can't do irreversible damage. I highly encourage you to send letters to Democratic Congress critters (preferably your own if you have them, as politicians tend to listen more to their specific constituents) and tell them to resist!