I fully don't expect this diary to get much attention or response, given the contentious times we are experiencing in our nation's political life. It's so difficult to take a break from the fight, whilst trying to slay the rampant GOP beast.
But please, hear me out.
I came here for the first time in August, 2004. A friend told me about the site, and in the middle of fighting for the White House, I immediately had some hope and felt less lonely, knowing that all of you were fighting for (or should I say against) the same thing.
This place itself began in 2002 as an opposition website. It was brave, prudent and necessary at the time. It started with the voice of one man saying "enough!!" And Kos talked for a long while before people started to listen.
Then we grew.
All during a time when our country was reeling from the attacks of 9/11, and then being cravenly divided by the cynical, dishonest and incompetent reaction to them, by a president I wouldn't trust to wash my car properly.
Though we'd had small and encouraging wins since the beginning, we didn't win big until we got both chambers of Congress back in November, 2006. At that point we were then able to slow down the train wreck that was the Republican leadership in Washington. So many corrupt Republicans dropped by the wayside, were tried and convicted and sent to prison. Others, by their own weight and hypocrisy hung themselves from the high tree of irony. We helped greatly in that effort.
Our opposition was, and is, against a corrupt and craven governing structure, which gains power from the votes of misinformed people, and then fervently and cynically works against those peoples' interests. It's not only Republicans that have received our ire. Our own Congress and President (rightly) haven't escaped our wrath............
The GOP lost in 2012. And they lost more than they'll ever admit to. They not only lost seats in Congress and the chance to reclaim the White House. They lost their minds.
That is what we've witnessed these last few weeks. Desperate, hysterical men and women, pissing in the wind of our changing times.
While they must be stopped (and we must do all that we can in order to make that happen), we cannot win our right back to full leadership by opposition alone.
We need to encourage our Democratic leaders to regain the pride they once had in being the party of the common man. To speak less of what the lunatics in the GOP are against, and more about what WE are FOR.
But if they can't or won't do it, we must do it for them.
A site......not even a site as great as this one........cannot live and win by opposition alone. We have many great and inspiring writers here. I say we take a short break from the fight, recharge our ideological batteries, and give each other some reasons to be fighting FOR something.
I call on all Kossacks to submit at least one diary in the next few weeks, speaking about what the Democratic Party has meant, and means, to them. Speak of your very first introduction to progressive politics. Speak of a personal hero in the party. Speak about some family member, friend or coworker who has seen the light, and who no longer wishes to use government for the purposes of shredding our national fabric, but who wants to pitch in and sew it back together.
The crazies have had the soapbox for far too long.
Our leaders are too busy trying to hold this darn thing together. They're the firemen and women who are beating back the flames of insanity, coming from the hot air of the Right. It's time that we show them we have their backs. Not only with time, energy and money, but with something else............
We use to talk a lot about hope. Have you noticed that the GOP never talks about hope. Their only hope now is to keep attempting to dash ours.
Don't you let them do it. Not on THIS site.