Its been a fun ride. As a person who's voted Democratic in the last 8 elections, it feels damn good to be going into November 4th as the front runner for a change. But, I need to remind you: its not over till its over.
Expect these last three days to be as ugly as anything you've seen in the entire election. Expect the lapdogs in the media to spin wilder than a broken Tilt-a-Whirl at a seedy local carnival. Expect a lot of ugly, smothered in distortion with a side order of stupid between now and the end of election night. Most of all, remember that all the excitement, the organizing, the donating, the phone banking, the article pasting, the poll number bragging and impressive rally numbers don't mean squat if you don't get off your ass and cast your vote. Let's not screw this up by staying home thinking its already in the bag, or the early vote totals have clinched it, or John McCain and Sarah Palin are such hopeless fuckups that there's no way they could ever pull this off, or our vote doesn't matter.
Every vote counts. That's why the GOP is trying so hard to steal them.
Oh yeah, they're doing their best. They've attacked the newly registered voters, using lies about ACORN as their excuse to file lawsuits in state after state. They've mailed absentee ballots to voters in battleground states with the wrong return address on them. They've sent out bogus mailers that claim you can vote on November 5th. They hired the same, crooked vote fraud experts to serve as "campaign advisers" to John McCain. Bush has ordered the Department of Justice to "look into" claims over voter rights fraud in Ohio. They've thrown away registrations of people who signed up as Democrats. Wisconsin Republicans are hiring law enforcement officials as "poll watchers" to intimidate voters at the polls on election day. They'll challenge, bully, delay, lie, threaten with physical harm or imprisonment if they can, but we are too many to reckon with.
Millions of organizers.
Millions of donors.
Millions canvassing from state to state, city to city, neighborhood by neighborhood and house to house.
We've built a coalition of whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Africans, Arabs, Christians, Catholics, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, atheists, agnostics, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, conservatives, moderates, liberals, progressives, Green Partiers, Paultardians, Clintonites, Obamacans, students, professors, blue collar workers, white collar workers, poor people, middle class, millionaires, union workers, feminists, straight people, gay people, young, old, pro life, pro choice, business owners, employees - you name it, you've seen it at each and every Obama rally. Hundreds of thousands of us from all walks of life, from every corner of the land. Red state. Blue state. Battleground state. It makes no difference.
We're like Savoir Faire: we're everywhere.
Or, if you prefer, Bebe's Kids: "We don't die - we multiply."
So, having built this multinational force of determined, enthusiastic and tenacious agents for change, let's practice the Powell Doctrine at the polls on election day. Let's overwhelm them with superior numbers, armed with the irresistible force of millions of Americans who believe in fighting to make their country better.
Now, forgive me for bringing it up and pissing off those who are afraid to speak of it, but I'm more than a little stoked, y'all. I'm a 48 year old black man who, like everyone else growing up as the descendant of slaves, never imagined a day like this in his lifetime. I was never told by anyone - not my parents, my friends, my teachers, my college counselors, the media or anyone else - that one day you could grow up and be president. Its something black children aren't encouraged to think about. Now, here I am, the father of a twelve year old girl looking at the limitless possibility of her future. Whether you want to address the subject or not, electing the first black president in American history REALLY IS a big deal - not just to black Americans, but to ALL Americans. No one in the world - regardless of race, nationality or political ideology - has ever considered the possibility of any black man, even a biracial one with an African father, leading the most powerful and most visible nation in the world. I can't help getting a little misty eyed about it; but, after taking my lumps in 5 out of 7 elections because I stayed loyal to Democratic candidates like Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis over the past 30 years I think I've earned enough "loyalty points" to be proud to vote for a black Democrat for president. How often in life do you get the opportunity to not just read about or to witness a historical event, but to actually go out and MAKE history yourself? I'm proud of this man. I'm proud of the campaign he's run. I'm proud of the way he's changed politics in America without letting politics change him. I'm proud of his ability to stay cool under the most unbelievable pressure anyone has ever seen. I'm proud of his ability to stay civil no matter how condescending, negative and vicious his opponents have been. I'm proud of knowing he has set a standard that all future presidential campaigns will be measured by. And yes, I'm proud of my country embracing a black candidate for president after treating black people like an unwanted stepchild for hundreds of years.
Think about it. In the last month, everything wrong with America is being blamed on those damned black people. The mortgage crisis. Bank failures. The Wall Street collapse. Election fraud. Even as I type this, progressives are trying to blame the 6% black population of California for their struggles against Proposition 8, as if that other 94% of the supposedly liberal state don't bear some responsibility in whether the bill succeeds or fails. Shit, I'm still waiting for us to be blamed for Global Warming and I'm shocked we didn't find out that a large, powerful black man is responsible for breaking into the Ewing Ranch and shooting J.R. The black man is the poster child for everything wrong in America. And yet, a black man can run for president and people actually support him. Remarkable. What's even more remarkable is the way Americans didn't leave him twisting in the wind when the usual crap started - instead you closed ranks around him and busted your asses to defend him against all manner of crazy when the naysayers started carpet bombing him with the "but, he's a black guy" innuendo and "dog whistles". It has been nothing short of impressive observing Obama's campaign and seeing so many take ownership of it. I still watch those videos of his Iowa supporters as they went all out for Barack in the lead up to the caucus.
There's a lot of symbolism here that no one wants to touch for fear of casting Barack Obama as the "black" candidate and yet its impossible to ignore the color of his skin or deny the fact that the tactics employed against him by his opponent would be unthinkable had he been an intelligent, Harvard educated, shrewd, imaginative white guy with remarkable political savvy and a breathtaking gift of oratory. Time and again, Barack's supporters are dismissed as people only capable of voting for a candidate based on his race, as if we are a bunch of color conscious automatons who could never choose Obama based on his political ideas. News flash: if people only voted for black presidential candidates based on skin color then we'd be calling Alan Keyes "Mr. President." We deserve a little credit. Barack's got game, and theirs sucks. End of story. If I may paraphrase a comedic bit by the late George Carlin, Barack Obama is winning because he is hands down the baddest mofo in the race - he just "happens to be" black. Now, if electing a black president is a problem for you because you worry about what your friends might say, then tell all your friends you're voting for his white half. Besides: what's wrong with being proud of voting for the first black president anyway? And if people still got a problem with that, I have two words: fuck 'em.
But I digress.
And, I've already voted.
Excuse me while I paraphrase Laurence Fishburne's big rallying speech as Morpheus in "Matrix: Reloaded"....
This is what we've been fighting for. Do you want to know why I know we're gonna win this thing? It's because after a long, hard two year slog of primaries, caucuses, kitchen sink fusillades, media nontroversies, email smears, lying attack ads, hateful robocalls, predictable culture wars, identity politics, Swift Boat barrages, AP kneecapping, FOX News ambushes, surrogate skirmishes, creatively edited youtube videos, cherry picked poll numbers, character assassinations and hand-to-hand combat in blog after blog - after taking everything the McCain trolls, GOP sock puppets, bigoted lunatics, corporate media, right wing smear merchants, tinfoil hatted hatemongers and dark agents of racial division have thrown at us:
WE.
ARE.
STILL.
HERE.
It sounds cliche. Its positively Obamaesque, but this really is our time. Its America's time to reclaim its government. It just so happens we're being led by a skinny black kid with a funny name and big ears.
The Republicans spend all their time trying to make this election about he, the candidate, but this election has always been about We, the people. The people who want to form a more perfect union. The ones who've made the goal reuniting the Divided States of America. We who choose hope over fear. We who reject hate and embrace harmony. We who choose to stand together after being ripped apart year after year. We who are determined to build a better future for our children.
You've worked hard. You fought tirelessly. You sacrificed your time, your money, even nights of sleep to dedicate yourselves to a battle no one gave you the slightest chance of winning. You've been laughed at, mocked, ridiculed, ostracized, called cultists, cursed at, had doors slammed in your faces, been hung up on. You've argued with friends and family. You've stood firm against even your own mom and dad. You've seen it all. You've endured it all. And yet, you're still standing. You kept fighting. You kept working. You never backed down. You never quit.
After two long years the goal is finally in sight.
Its right there staring us in the face.
Go get it.
Vote.
If you've already voted, help get the word out about what others in your area need to do to cast their vote.
Help people find their polling places.
Drive a friend to the polls.
Call people to remind them to do something.
Be prepared to be challenged at the polls. Bring plenty of ID. Bring a video camera or cell phone to record any shenanigans you might encounter. Make sure that whatever happens can't be buried by the traditional media or spun into absurdity by the pundits.
Just remember: they aren't going to give it to us, we have to TAKE IT.
Our children's future is at stake. Our seniors are depending on us.
The whole world is watching. And cheering you on.
Don't let anything or anyone discourage you. We can do this. And, if you run into people who say "no, you can't" you already know what to say.
YWC
Peace, Chillens.
MJ