I support John Edwards... no, that's putting it too mildly. If there was anything that I could personally do that would guarantee that he would become the next President of the United States, I'd do it in a heartbeat. People say he's too angry, too confrontational and I say these are angry, confrontational times. I'm pissed off too. I've been pissed off for years, so, yeah, I want a candidate who's pissed off about the same things. That's John Edwards.
But enough of that; this isn't another candidate love-fest post. The fact is that today I realized that I and other serious progressives, whomever we're voting for, need to take a moment, take stock, and remember what is most important about this whole devilishly messy political process.
When our new president is sworn in his or her name isn't going to matter nearly as much as whether or not we have someone who represents our principles and our needs and wants for the next four years. Obviously all the campaigning that's going on now is to allow us to determine who, exactly, does represent us best, but, with some notable exceptions, most candidates stick to general platforms during elections. They'll reform this or reform that, but they rarely say how. They're either for or against tax cuts or tax increases; they're passionately opposed or solidly for or equivocating about abortion/gay marriage/gun rights/election reform/campaign finance/the War/prayer in schools... you get the picture. The fact is that we can try and pick the one who seems to agree with us, but that's not always enough.
Remember this: right now, they're trying really hard to get us to pick them. After election day, they're not so worried. Take a look at Dems in congress. They gained a majority in 2006 because we, the people, were sick and tired of the other guys who were in office. You'd think they'd get that we picked them over the other guys because we wanted change (I am going to be so sick of that word by '09), but did we get change? Enh...not really. Why? Because the minute they get into office, they begin behaving the way they seem to think the "average" American wants them to. Where the disconnect comes from, I have no idea.
Point being this: the change starts with us, as it did in 2006, and it is up to us to keep pushing. No matter who gets the Democratic nomination, we need to make sure he or she knows what we expect from them. We need to be consistent and we need to be persistent. We need to be sure that whomever wins, they know our mind.
That's why I joined DailyKos. Of all the political blogging communities I've sampled, this is the one that seems most geared towards citizen action. Ultimately, I think that 2009 is going to hold great things (call it my audacious hope), because we have put Washington on notice.
They know now: Republican, Democrat, Presidental or Congressional candidate -- anyone who wants to or ends up representing this country -- they will be hearing from us. We will call and we will write letters and we will be heard. We voters and citizens and our opinions matter the whole year round, not just during an election cycle.
The flip side of this, and sometimes the hard part to remember is that we must know our own minds before we can tell them. So, whomever you're voting for, remember to think hard about why you're voting for them. Then take another step back and understand the issues that get you involved, know your position on them. And yes, this means more than saying you're voting for "hope" or "a fighter" or "experience."
One way or another there will be a new president in 2009. It might not be the one you wanted, but that certainly doesn't mean you get to abdicate for the next four years. We must know where we stand, it's when we fail to stand that they have such ease shifting us off to the fringe.
I know this is all preaching to the choir, and a very general post at that, but it's my first diary entry, and I'm very excited to be here.