Ten years ago was a bleak time to be a Democrat. Our most gifted leader had taken a bow and rode off into the sunset. His heir apparent had taken the decision to distance himself from him and was robbed in a close election. The Supreme Court had illegitimately decided that election. Then, terrorists struck and the illegitimate President, facing no opposition with a spine, led us into a series of follies that those living at the time will spend the rest of their lives fixing.
The Dems were in disarray. The 2002 election strategy was something like: give up on stopping the Iraq war and get to domestic issues. Which of course were not the #1 issue to be decided then. Arguably, this decision cost us the 2004 presidential election because so many of those that would stand up to take on Bush in 2004 had given their vote to him on his biggest folly, Iraq.
After years of weak kneed compromising, kowtowing to a media that was supposedly on their side, liberals finally started to fight back. We saw that the right had an institutional advantage. It was working the refs in the media, as so well documented in Eric Altermann's What Liberal Media. They were stacking the courts with the Federalist Society. They were bombarding the airwaves with propaganda and their own house cable channel.
But there was one place where liberals were way ahead of them: the Internet. Make no mistake, Daily Kos, among a handful of other places, was where liberals started to grow back their spine, taking their cues from those who fought for their values because they know real peoples' lives are at stake; it's not about scoring points with sacred media cows or pinheaded thinktank gurus, or the Washington DC cocktail party circuit.
And with it came a fighting spirit not just on the Internet, but on the airwaves. Air America was launched, and even if it failed as a company, there are progressive radio talkers all over the country now. At law schools, the American Constitution Society (born as The Madison Society—I founded my law school's chapter) countered the nihilistic pseudo-historical originalism of the Federalist Society. In the news, sites like MediaMatters were launched to counter the right wing bullshit machine and the talking heads that were on the news 24/7 to spin things in favor of Republicans.
It was a long hard slog.
10 years ago, the leaders of the party still preferred to unilaterally disarm and play by Marquess of Queensberry rules while the other side was hitting below the belt.
But the first signs of a fighting spirit—not for the sake of aggression or violence, but because we knew how much was at stake—came about with the Dean campaign. Then in 2006, lead by party chairman Dean, the Dems took back control of the House and Senate. Then in 2008, the White House.
The old chestnut of Will Rogers not being part of any organized party because he was a Democrat is a relic of the past. Tonight and earlier this week, the Democrats showed that they could fight and win. This wasn't your father's Democratic party, losing according to their own rules like Walter Mondale or Michael Dukakis; this was your grandfather's Democratic party, getting it together and grabbing them by the nose, and kicking 'em in the ass, like Harry Truman, FDR, and LBJ.
And that is why Barack Obama is going to be reelected in two months. It is why progress is going to continue to be made in health care, education, world peace, economic fairness, and civil rights and equality. These things really matter. They are worth fighting for.
And our leaders are fighting for them because they were shown that curling up your tail and running away doesn't win elections. And without winning elections, you can't do much good.
Be proud that you're part of that reinvigoration of the liberal fighting spirit by being part of Daily Kos. Now get out there and bring this puppy home!