When I think about this election in the years to come I will remember last night for the remarkable event that no one knew was going to happen. Not that we didn't know Joe and Barack were going to exceed expectations, not that we didn't know the night would be full of exceptional clips from all the wonderful Dems on the schedule in Charlotte - no, the night for me will be remembered for the unexpected and jubilant crowd of 115 who showed up and cheered uproariously when Joe Biden and then President Obama hit the high notes, touched the tough issues, and set off the fireworks in the room.
We have been ignored, forgotten and completely written off here in Mobile, Alabama and yet, if you could have seen that room last night, all of us smiling and clapping and yelling at the big screen TV with rabbit ears on top, as we didn't have the funds or permission to actually get cable in the empty building we use for our Obama for America headquarters. We had a covered dish, southern style, and enough good food and drinks to go around. We even had two local candidates that braved the party naysayers and showed up in the face of overwhelming odds to get out and buck the trend toward total Republican domination in this part of the state.
We had 115 people. That's an amazing result for a group that doesn't even exist in the Alabama democratic party per se. That's an amazing result for a handful of volunteers who work tirelessly every day and have for three years to keep the dream alive in this area. And when I joined a month or so ago, I wasn't sure we'd have twenty people show up.
But that room was full. That room was tearful. Jubilant. Celebratory. Excited. Signing up for phone banks, buying yard signs, bumper stickers and the rest. It was great to see. I'll never forget it. And I hope it's the beginning of the end of one party rule in this state.
I have been writing about what Rove and company has done to this state since 2005. I've been encouraged by the recognition that the rest of the state has gotten for the attempts at change, and Left in Alabama has done a great job of corralling bloggers and information for the rest of the state. But Mobile still doesn't have a progressive presence and there are plenty of progressives around here wondering where the other progressives hang out.
We come in all sizes, shapes and colors. We were just the tip of the iceberg in this area, I'm sure of that. And hopefully we'll be able to rally around Obama/Biden and come out of the woodwork for good this time. Because in this area, the second most important thing besides re-electing the president is bringing about drastically needed change in Mobile and Baldwin County.