Like many of you, I am thrilled Obama won. But I know my work is cut out for me. For one, Obama still needs to know that habeus corpus is written in the constitution, and cannot be subverted. He must know that Simpson Bowles and other compromises with our Social Security is not what America wants. The Patriot Act and nefarious provisions of the NDAA have to go.
However, this is not about Obama, but about us. Many of you are more active than I, so forgive me for stating the obvious, but now is the time we need to get active. I think targeting congress is essential, as we need to break their lockstep, and enable congresspeople to make the right decisions.
Specifically, we need to meet with our congresspeople – we need to get to know them. More to the point, we need to form groups that they will listen to, and, should one be stuck with Paul Ryan or Michelle Bachman – make sure they know that two years is not so long a time, and their careers rest in our hands.
My own goals are the following:
1. To start meeting with other activists and citizens to finds points of consensus. One point all folks around me agree on is the need to protect Medicare and Social Security. It doesn’t matter if these folks are Republican or Democrat – they believe in this. So we can work together on this issue to let my Republican congressman know that he cannot side with Boehler on this issue and expect to be reelected. He cannot side with Ryan and expect to be reelected. That lobbying has to start now. And it does mean working with those who have different views than we do on the local level to form coalitions that can break the Republican majority in the House. This is vital. We must do this. My own thought is to form a group to defend Medicare and Social Security and get to work. There are lots of other issues I care about, too, but these are a start. (I live in a very small town, so starting a little group may be a good option here. Folks in cities have other options.) Now is the time to start meeting with our congressmen and forming a relationship.
2. Through these groups to start educating folks about the intricacies of policy. What exactly are they proposing in Washington? And then start the call-ins, as many and as massive as possible.
In short, I need to start working my ground game.
I would like to hear from others about what they intend to do to move us forward.
If we want an end to the Bush tax mess, how do we help get to that end?
It occurs to me again that I am writing to people who are active, people who care, and people who have worked their backsides off to make this happen today. THANK YOU so much for all you have done!!! I write in query and with thoughtfulness, for I want to pick up the baton and run with it.
What was so exciting yesterday was the fact that democracy (to the extent one has it in a nation that lists corporations as citizens) won yesterday. Despite all the chicanery. Despite all the money. Democracy won.
So I write to suggest that those of us who can, take the baton and run.
So I write to ask those wiser than I what they suggest doing.
Again, thanks so much to all of you!
