We're living in a purple country...

From Boing Boing.

Whenever we find ourselves getting too hateful of everyone in the red states, remember the very slim margins that Republicans won those states. We have a passionate, informed citizenry all across this country.

Certainly there was no mandate to bully the press...

Take a look at the new arrogance of our President at today's press conference:

PRESIDENT BUSH: Now that I've got the will of the people at my back, I'm going to start enforcing the one-question rule. That was three questions.

Oh, the will of the people! That must have been what that bulge was in the first debate! He goes on:

PRESIDENT BUSH: Again, he violated the one-question rule right off the bat. Obviously you didn't listen to the will of the people.

1% more than 50% is not an expression of "the will of the people," but a bare, thin majority. There is no mandate. There is no "will of the people" because half of those people wouldn't trust to be left alone with their purse (or man-bag), let alone their will. All you have is a bunch of people praying for you. But those prayers aren't going to get you out of Iraq or this fiscal crisis or this crappy economy. You have the support of the part of the country you were able to lie toenough to convince them. And this hubris can only last so long before the fall.

And don't think we aren't watching.

Serving the reality-based community for the next four years...

Someone commented below that the country "has already gone to hell, and it is not worth a single breath of ours to try and fix it." And it's not just people reading this blog. Lefties everywhere seem to be bashing America and each other, as well as Ohio and "middle Americans." I understand that this sentiment stems from rage and disappointment and sadness. I am right there with you on certain levels.

People are talking about abandoning the Democrats along with the country. That's not productive. We have to keep sight of the reason why we put so much of ourselves into this election. Bad leaders were doing terrible things to our country and pretending it was best for us. Power-hungry bigots and corporate shills were bankrupting our future for short-term profits and telling us we should be too scared of the boogey man to care. They governed on fear and campaigned on fear and told us things were getting better, as long as we cower under our desks. And it worked on just a few too many people this time.

But this is just one battle in the fight. We need to learn from our failures and build on them. These people out-maneuvered us this time. But it's only the end if we let it be the end.

I got a very inspirational email from Howard Dean today. He talked about the small victories we won't be hearing about.

Montana, one of the reddest states, has a new Democratic governor.

First-time candidates for state legislatures from Hawaii to Connecticut beat incumbent Republicans.

And a record number of us voted to change course -- more Americans voted against George Bush than any sitting president in history.

Dean also went on to quote Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

Too many things matter to me about this place to just give up because I'm feeling down.

Deep breaths...

What a difference a day makes.

Let's stay patient and see what happens in Ohio. But regardless of the presidential race, it looks like Democrats lost seats in the Senate and the House.

Here's the plan: Wait for the final results. If all goes as it seems headed, continue to mope the rest of the day. Okay, maybe tomorrow as well. But then back to work. There is still a great big country out there to fight for and we can't sit back and let it go to hell just because people in those red states don't know what is good for them.

Merry Election Day...

It's finally here. What we've all been waiting for hopeful anxiety for months (or if you are crazy like me the last 3 years). Election Day has finally arrived and I couldn't be happier.

Everyone I know, all very rational, realistic people, have been telling me they are nervous and worried about the election. Most people seem to think there is a good chance of Bush narrowly pulling out the victor or getting the whole thing tied up again in courts for another month. These are all very well-placed concerns.

Maybe I'm crazy though because I can't seem to come down from this awesome high. The country gets to vote today, and regardless of the result, millions of people will stand up and be heard. And it looks like it will be record numbers of citizens speaking their minds today.

I got up bright and early. I actually woke up at 5AM and could not get back to sleep for a while because of the excitement. It felt like Christmas morning. Stephen and I got ready together to go to the polls. I put on a fancy dress shirt and my blazer. My boyfriend thinks I'm a geek, but I wanted to dress up for democracy.

We left the house and went to get a cup of coffee before heading to the voting booth located exactly 45 second from our doorstep. I know it's corny, but I think voting with your boyfriend is one of the most romantic things you can do together. The little old ladies working the polls were in great spirits. We waited on a line for about 40 minutes, partially due to the cute ladies constantly repositioning their table layout and moving the lines around. There were people here from all walks of life, all races, all age groups. I know it is not half of what people will be going through in PA or OH or FL today, but standing in line, even for a brief wait, gave me a sense of importance I was afraid I might miss out on. It was the most legitimate wait I have ever endured and I smiled the whole time.

On my way into work, I purchased victory donuts for everyone who voted (or at least promised to vote). Since I work with only 7 other well-educated, politically savvy people in a non-profit organization, I did not have to exclude anyone from the donut eating bonanza.

For lunch I had a burger with American cheese and Heinz ketchup. Can't get much more American than that. It tasted of democracy. Yum.

I'm looking forward to staying up all night screaming at Tim Russett and that obnoxious white board of his he loves to trout out as if he alone understands the electoral college and only through his unreadable sketchy scrawl will we understand the outcome he has uniquely divined for the nation. I can't wait to glare at Bill Schneider when he talks about how cell phones don't affect polls because he's still living in 1965. I will rejoice when Bush is forced to give his concession speech and try to put a good face on this long national nightmare.

It ends tonight. And perhaps my hope of a final outcome tonight is naive. But I just can't sit still. It's all on the line and I've never been more pumped. Civics is my religion. And it's Election Day is my Christmas.

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE!

My prediction...

As you may know, I've been following the polls for the last 6 months pretty obsessively. It was given me a lot of terrible stomach pains and gray hairs. It's also given my false hope from time to time. But in the final 2 weeks, the polls have all suggested Kerry has more than a good chance to take this election. Given that Bush's support in national polls is stuck at 48% (a very bad sign for an incumbant who needs to be at or above 50% to win) and that the number of undecideds in such a close, heated race historically break in favor of the challenger and that Kerry is showing a 5% lead in the key battleground states, I am cautiously optimistic.

All that said i want to go on record with my prediction just for fun. Kerry is going to win the election in the electoral college 298 to 240 (give or take a few).

I'm all giddy. I can't wait for tomorrow.

Get out and vote.

The Bride of Boogedy goes too far...

Lynne Cheney has got to be one of the biggest hypocrites in Washington right now. This is the woman who feigned outrage when Kerry mentioned her daughter, Mary, was an out and proud lesbian and put her sexuality in a positive and accepting light. For this she called Kerry "a bad man" on the basis that her family should be off-limits. Mary Cheney, an out lesbian who has made money primarily because she's an out lesbian and who is a paid employee of the Bush campaign, isoff limits to political discussion, according to Lynne. I have serious problems with that, obviously.

However, Lynne Cheney feels it is in good taste to use her 7 year old granddaughter as a walking negative political ad to attack Kerry.

At a campaign rally Sunday, Elizabeth, 7, wore a scary Halloween costume as the Grim Reaper. To howls of laughter, Lynne Cheney introduced Elizabeth as "John Kerry's health plan," highlighting one of the many contentious issues of the campaign.

Kerry wants to expand the insurance system for federal employees to private citizens through tax credits and subsidies, an approach the Bush campaign condemns as government health care.

So this poor little girl not only has to come to terms with the fact that her grandfather is the Boogedy Man, but when she asked to be Princess Jasmine or Eliza Doolittle (ok, maybe that was just me) for Halloween, she was told "no, you'll fall in line like everyone else in this party, little lady; now get in the scary Grim Reaper get-up."

Maybe she was dressing as the Cold Ever-Present Hand of Death Stealthily Stalking her Grandfather.

I doubt it, though. This was a deliberate act of nasty politiking using an innocent seven year old.

These people have no shame.