Something has been on my mind since Wednesday, and I can't hold it in any longer. In the rush of all the credit-grabbing and the scramble to attach another layer of power base to various factions and whatnot, something very important has gotten lost in the shuffle.
The Democratic victories last Tuesday were a result of a whole lot of work by a whole lot of people. And the credit goes to all of them, working together, collectively lining up their layers of work to get the results that we now see.
There is no one entity or person who deserves all the credit — no matter how they may claim otherwise.
So thank you. To all of you. To the staff of the DCCC that ran field operations for various candidates that had neither the money nor the know-how to do it on their own. To the staff at the DSCC who helped do candidate recruiting in various states early on in the process. To the fantastic folks at MoveOn.org whose phone banks made such a huge difference for GOTV efforts. To the various union and labor groups who tirelessly worked the phones. To the national, state, and local party apparatus and affiliated progressive groups who knocked on doors and talked with neighbors about the importance of their votes. To those of you who donated to candidates, win or lose, through Blue America or a DNC bond or through party groups…whatever. To Howard Dean, whose 50 state strategy and state party infrastructure rebuilding made a difference. To so many more groups and individuals and actions that I cannot even begin to list in their entirety.
And especially to all of you, for all that you did and continue to do. Just…thanks. This victory could not have happened without your substantial, dedicated and tireless help, and we are very grateful for it. All of it. You helped tremendously, and you should be very proud. Bravo!
(And a special note to the politicians and their staffs who may read this: some public thanks from you guys to all the voters and the grassroots volunteers who worked their asses off getting you elected would be a very decent gesture, indeed. I'm just saying.)
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Thank you America!
Thank you, everyone. But there is still work to do. What about Ciro Rodriguez, who faces Henry Bonilla (R-TX) in a runoff in Texas’s 23rd District? And Karen Carter, a DLC candidate running against corrupt Bill Jefferson, also needs help. Let us help Ciro get elected. And let us hope Carter will win in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes.
Grover Norquist is getting skewered on C-SPAN WJ re-run. Loving it…
Does a Snoopy dance count as a Victory lap?
Ta to you, Christy!
Still counting votes in NM 1. Lotsa volunteers still working.
Bravae, Christy and Jane !
To the mistresses of the ‘lake, and to their boon companions, us!
**clink**
Scumps!
Thanks Christy, great post, as per usual.
WRT Ciro, we (Jane and Christy) jumped on that bandwagon when he lost the special election in February or March (IIRC). I’m sure we’ll jump back on for this one too.
Thank you Firedoglake. You convinced this one lazy voter to donate to deserving candidates and get off his butt and phone bank for local Dems.
BTW, I think maybe there’s an extra word in the sentence “To Howard Dean, whose 50 state strategy and state party infrastructure rebuilding
ismade a difference.”Tony Snow on C-SPAN 1
John Casper @ 8
Thank you for responding, John Casper. The numbers look really good for Ciro. Here is a diary that outlines the results of the open primary on 7 Nov.
Amen. Everyone deserves credit…. except Carville. hehe.
I would also personally thank George W. Bush for his inability to simply keep his mouth shut in the final weeks of the election. His bounding about the South replete with rhetoric straight out of 2003-2004 probably infuriated the last of the fence sitters to cross party lines. Thank you George W. Bush, we honor your ignorance.
John Hall being interviewed on MSNBC at the moment. Yay, John!
Cindy Sheehan weighs in on Impeachment:
http://benfrank.net/blog/2006/…..omcongress
It’s the right, and moral, thing to do. Let’s “thank” Bush et al for all they have done to us.
Christy Hardin Smith @
13
He was on The Colbert Report after he won and sang ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ with Colbert. I actually teared up.
Yep, all the hard work surely met something but it was the American voter who restored my hope this country is really on its way around.
Thank you, Christy, Jane, and all the fine folks, guest bloggers and commenters, who contribute to FDL.
Indeed, America won.
A few stories I haven’t gotten to tell from Election Day:
- An immigrant who was voting in his first election, and stopped to ask if there was anything he needed to know about how it worked, or if the people inside would explain. Both Democratic and Republican volunteers rushed to assure him that they would (there was a multilingual instructional video running in the waiting area, and good people working the polls) and we congratulated him when he returned. (Makes me sniffly just remembering it.)
- All the people who stopped to thank us for what we were doing.
- The smiles we got when we thanked people for coming out and voting (I don’t remember specifically doing that in past years.)
- My mobility-impaired volunteer, who was supposed to work on Election Day, but wasn’t even sure she was going to get out to vote because it was raining, and she didn’t think she could navigate the wet pavement. Ms. Redshift told her that they would bring a voting machine out to the car, and gave her a ride over. She was practically in tears from happiness, and will never miss a vote again.
- People just kept coming and coming — we didn’t have a huge rush after the morning, but we never had a real lull either, even with the rain. We had 52.5% turnout in my precinct, which is phenomenal for an off year.
I’m glad we won, but these are the things that make me say “This is democracy. This is what it’s all about.”
Now we have to let the traditional media know we cannot be “played.” The attempt to portray Democrats in a cat fight between Dean’s 50 State strategy and the DCCC is a story the media is writing to gin up the news and make Dems appear unorganized and engaged in in-fighting. I urge all FDL commentors to fight the perception the media is attempting to force down our throats! Wage a war and correct the main stream media.Let’s make this story line die!
There was a big article in the San Antonio Express-News yesterday about the odds against Ciro, and how the prevailing wisdom is he would have to change the way he campaigns to have a chance to beat Bonilla. There was mention of the hired guns from the DCCC to “guide” his campaign.
What Ciro needs is money, bodies to work, and people who understand the district, which will be tough since it’s so big. I hope if the pros come in they don’t try to run things the way they do elsewhere because I suspect it won’t work very well. Texans are funny about “outsiders” telling them what to do or what to think.
(This is my district, incidentally. And, before anyone asks, yes, I plan to volunteer. I really, really want Bonilla gone.)
“And so it’s an interesting period here in Washington, Mr. Prime Minister. You might realize the opposition party won, won the Senate and the House. And what’s interesting is, is that they’re beginning to understand that with victory comes responsibilities. And I’m looking forward to working with the Democrats to achieve common objectives.”
Chimpy 11-13-06
TR @ 19
Gilliland promised Rodriguez his volunteers and staff. And what about Bolanos and DeLeon? Bolanos’s base is in El Paso county, and DeLeon seems to have a base in Dimmit county. Are they on board with Ciro? And did not Gilliland do well in Brewster and Reeves counties? Can they all not merge their bases and ignite their respective local networks on behalf of Ciro? What have you heard?
OT – Tony Snow saying bipartisanship works in both directions and he (snowjob) thinks that Dems should look @ Bolton’s record then confirm him.
Anyone know about http://www.TheRealNews.com ? Just got an email from them and looks like they are looking for writers. I’m guessing moderate writers. Still… Christy??
TR @ 19
Here’s the article, I think…
http://www.mysanantonio.com/ne…..56300.html
“On our side of the aisle, we generally have a higher turnout — and that’s historic in any part of the country,” Bonilla said. “People who are more conservative-minded tend to be more responsible voters.”
This is reason enough to oust him. And I think we can. Bonilla is one of the most supercilious Republicans in Congress, and I still resent him for the way he treated my Governor during a Congressional hearing. Get him.
Decent gestures would indeed be nice to see. I’ve about had it with the Chuck and Rahm show. This election and the coast to coast victories are about so much more than Schumer and Emanuel.
But your little parenthetical remark reminds me of the election night episode from the last season of the West Wing (IIRC), where Josh has to be prodded to thank the volunteers, and couldn’t even do that without yelling at them. Kind of prophetic . . .
So it’s up to us to say thanks. Hats off to folks like egregious, Ed*ard Teller, the Nutmeggers, looseheadprop and her legal eagles of the NY DLC (not the other DLC), and all the rest of you who banged on doors, rang the phones, and spread the word.
Go back and read a couple of the BlueAmerica threads, and see how they sound today.
Wow.
Thank you, Christy, thank you. There were so many people here in the grassroots who worked out of passion for the cause, in the worst of conditions, simply to GOTV. They deserve so much, but they are willing to settle for a simple, decent democracy.
OT — a little lagniappe, from over at TPM; couldn’t help but think of that classic Monk graphic when I read this. You’ll know the graphic of which I speak immediately:
Heh. Bust a gut laughing when I read that. Who knew Viguerie read FDL and Monk?
Peterr,
Why thank us for something that was so energizing, important and FUN?!! Met so many dedicated people.
Learned a lot too…
Cozumel @
24
Heh-you beat me to it. I was off looking for that article.
I think Bonilla is worried about Rodriguez, worried enough that he’s agreed to a debate.
Gilliland has offered his SA NW side office Rodrigues, which he will need. Gilliland could be quite a help to Ciro, given his skill as a fundraiser. Ciro is pretty much broke compared to Bonilla.
As for the other candidates, I haven’t heard if they’re going to throw their weight behind Rodriguez yet. I hope they do.
The trick to winning will be managing to appeal to the wide spectrum of voters across the district without seeming to be beholden to special interests. The district is spread out over cities, ranchland, small towns, and a wide range of political leanings and opinions, and what will work in one area might not work in another.
Ciro has a lot of work ahead of him.
And a standing-O thank you to Scott Galindez:
Howard Dean’s 50-State Strategy Pays Off
Behind every state that Galindez cites, there were netroots and grassroots folks from DFA, the local Dem Party, other organizations who grokked Dean’s plan. Just get out more voters, no matter where you are.
You see, it may have Dean’s name on it, but Dean reminded us we have the power to take back our country, and he found a way to encourage us through a clear, convincingly plan based solely in facts and numbers. A reality-biased plan. 5 votes here, 10 votes there, and we could take back our city, county, state, country. Dirt simple stuff.
I think that’s in part what is chapping Emmanuel’s and Schumer’s chops. It wasn’t complex, it wasn’t top-down hierarchical, it wasn’t the product of years of consulting teams and legions of presentations. It only required a nominal up-front investment and sustained attention to the folks who really do make every single election happen, win or lose. Presto, a majority.
Radnofsky did well in some of those west Texas counties. This should help Rodriguez, as this reveals that their are highly partisan voters in the region. But Bexar county accounts for 64.80% of the voters in this district. I think this will become a San Antonio street fight. Any thoughts?
I mean it, you guys. I’ve never been more proud to work among such a great group of people as I was with you all this election cycle. You guys kick ass! :)
I’d like to personally thank Senator Ted Stevens for removing his truck from the tubes so the likes of FDL, Blue America and many others could do what needed to be done to help save the country from the shrub of doom.
Gore/Dean ‘08!
Ed*ard Teller @ 28
Why should someone thank you? Simple, really.
Part of it is about those to whom thanks are offered. It’s about you and what you (and those like you) did. You showed up, you offered your skills in support of your beliefs, and your efforts paid off for folks not only where you live but around the country.
The bigger part of it, though, is about the ones offering the thanks. Those who say “thank you” aren’t just doing it to be polite. It’s a recognition that none of us are in this alone. It’s a statement that says efforts like this are the product of a whole bunch of folks, and not a single political genius. Saying thanks to you is a way of acknowledging the limits of my own individual efforts, and putting them in context.
Of course, acknowledging someone’s own limits is not something one often hears within the borders of the District of Columbia . . .
Thank You KO !!!
http://www.haloscan.com/commen…..61#1398246
My inbox is full of Thank You emails….
Also we need to thank the DFA, PDA and Drinking Liberally groups who worked to register voters, GOTV and canvas for local candidates all across America.
Still counting votes in AZ-05, JD Hayworth has NOT conceded as yet and there are over 100,000 mail in votes which has not been counted in this race. Congressman-elect Harry Mitchell is up 5,500 votes and is in DC for new congressman orientation. In the final counting, the difference between Mitchell and Hayworth has varried by 100 votes (up then down) with Mitchell lead staying around 5,500. When will Hayworth join the reality based world?
THANKS COACH !!!
The Great Howard Dean Birthday Card Project:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/11/223911/01
or use those ideas here:
We’ve got Howard’s back.
http://www.actblue.com/page/dnc
Can someone please explain the situation in Bonilla’s district to me? I thought Ciro lost a primary earlier this year. Did Gilliland beat him? If so, why is Ciro, and not running in a runoff election? And who is Radnofsky? I am confused.
[Incoherent.] If so, why is Ciro, and not Gilliland, now running in a runoff election?
Ugh. I just had an encounter with a huge wood spider in my mailbox. I know spiders are lovely creatures who perform great service to my flower gardens and all…but they creep me out. *shudder* And Rita Cosby is wearing orange today…blergh. It gets worse.
Louisiana Girl @
31
There’s a good chance it will. If that happens, the outcome could be anyone’s guess. The inner and south sides of the city have traditionally leaned Democratic but the growing NW and north sides lean Republican.
Plus, this will be a special election scheduled in December and I doubt the turnout will be remotely close to what it was in the recent election.
IMO, Ciro needs to hit the ground running. He doesn’t have time to waste and he has to get his name out there ASAP because he’s operating from a catch-up status, unlike Bonilla.
(I have to get to work and probably will not be back online at least until tomorrow.)
neurophius @ 39
Radnofsky ran for US Senate in Texas as a Democrat. Although she lost, she did well in reliably Democratic counties.
Rodriguez ran against Bonilla in an open primary with 5 other Democrats and one Independent on 7 Nov. Because Texas 23 was ruled unconstitutional, it was redrawn to include 100,000 Latino voters. The new boundaries include southern Bexar County, or Rodriguez’s base. Hence why Rodriguez is in this race. Bonilla is the Republican incumbent, and he failed to garner 50% in the open primary. Since Rodriguez was second, he and Bonilla face off in a December runoff. I explain more in this diary.
neurophius @ 39
The Court tossed out the new district lines so they went back to the old one. Ciro was in both the new one and the old one, I think.
What’s a runoff? I thought you just had and election!
And why is it taking so long to get final official vote counts in some areas?
neurophius @ 39
Saw this before I left, so I can answer.
Ciro ran against Henry Cuellar earlier this year and lost that race.
The Supreme Court decided Bonilla’s district was unfair to minority voters and sent it back to be re-jigged(I’m paraphrasing horribly, I know) and that made Ciro eligible to run for Bonilla’s seat.
Ciro came in second to Bonilla, Gilliland came in a distant third. Because Bonilla didn’t receive a majority of the votes, there will be a runoff election between him and the second highest vote getter-Ciro-in December.
You think you’re having a hard time keeping track, try living here.LOL
Fern @ 45
A runoff occurs in certain elections when a majority is required in order to win. If multiple candidates run, a majority is impossible. TX-23 has a runoff, as an open primary was held for the newly drawn district, a district that was ruled unconstitutional this summer after it was found that its boundaries violated the Voting Rights Act. Similar to Louisiana, TX-23 held an open primary on 7 NOV, and if no candidate earns a majority, then the top two contenders, regardless of party affiliation, face off in a runoff.
Let’s also not forget to thank all those independents and cross-over voters who helped our candidates win.
Wordsmith @ 15
Ya I just went over to his site and listened. It gave me the full body chills. Something good is happening, at long last.
OfT White House Open To Talks With Iran And Syria Regarding Iraq
November 13, 2006 8:05 a.m. EST
Nidhi Sharma – All Headline News Staff Writer
[…]
I think Condi just lost her job as Secretary of State.
As always, Froomkin is great today.
christy, it’s wonderful to be able to say thank you to all the various forces operating together which took back congress. But there’s more. I’m also thankfFUL… thankful that so many did so much, thankful that the stars aligned, thankful that the evil resident couldn’t keep his mouth shut in the last weeks, thankful that lieberlied into a visegrip, and thankful that open source democracy is validating the dreams of the internets pioneers and visionaries.
i’m thankful that Dems Abroad was so active this year, using the net.
But someone in some thread downstairs posted about how NPR co-opted local community radio. I believe we all know that’s what’s planned for the internets.
so i’m also thankful that no one knows it’s time to kick back, that we know the achievement of last week was only the first step.
How did this community come to be called firedoglake? (pardon the newbie)
katymine @ 37
J.D. is such a baby. He never saw this coming! Makes it that much better. He is shellshocked. I love it!
Alpha 10 — Jane named the blog after the things that she likes, sitting by the fire with her dogs at the lake (or watching the Lakers, depending on your favorite story version). *g*
I think perhaps Hayworth is hoping for a miracle. But it is good to count all of the votes, regardless — even if I think he’s an ass, counting all the votes is something that ought to be done. Do I think he’ll get his miracle? Um…no.
John @ 50
“I think Condi just lost her job as Secretary of State.”
About damn time!
Thanks for the explanation, Louisiana Girl.
John Casper @ 50–
well, that dovetails nicely with this:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…../us_israel
In that close NM race,
Wilson 104,863
Madrid 103,376
Still counting. For a view of what it’s like to count in that area, see this:
http://www.democracyfornewmexico.com/
And Cozumel, and TR. Did I miss anybody?
angie @ 58
You mean like we tried to do with Korea? Tell me, Mr. Bush, how’s that been working out for you?
egregious @ 49
I remember how impressed we were (I was) when he answered questions here on one of the sessions with Howie. Smart, articulate, well-informed, and progressive. He’ll be a great addition to Congress. But the MSM doesn’t know this. Couple days ago, on CNN??, the usual suspects were talking about all the good Republicans that were swept away, including some guy who was “beaten by a rock singer.” That’s all they knew, all they conveyed. So it’s good that he’s getting some attention from MSNBC.
bravo to us
from the day lamont earhed the democratic nomination it became crystal clear we made a differance.
I hope lamont realizes the vital role he played in the democratic route over the neo cons turning america into a fascist state
anyway, I thank every one of you at the lake, not only the proprietors and authors, but the posters
nicely done
Allow me to also offer my thanks “the stupid party.”
A GOP Unchanged
By Robert D. Novak
Monday, November 13, 2006; Page A21
“The depleted House Republican caucus, a minority in the next Congress, convenes in the Capitol at 8 a.m. Friday on the brink of committing an act of supreme irrationality. The House members blame their leadership for their tasting the bitter dregs of defeat. Yet the consensus so far is that, in secret ballot, they will reelect some or all of those leaders.
In private conversation, Republican members of Congress blame Majority Leader John Boehner and Majority Whip Roy Blunt in no small part for their midterm election debacle. Yet either Boehner, Blunt or both are expected to be returned to their leadership posts Friday. For good reason, the GOP often is called “the stupid party.”
twolf1 @
22
Tony Snow should look at Bolton’s record and have a nice cup of STFU.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 32
Christy — one of my favorite old-time songs is “Question” (Moody Blues) in which the haunting line for me has always been “I’m looking for someone to change my life.” I was listening to this the other day and suddenly realized, “it happened,” thanks to you and Jane and the rabid lambshers of the left. And I never saw it coming.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 51
Via Froomkin, from Time magazine’s Allen:
“Based on his models, he forecast a loss of 12 to 14 seats in the House — enough to hang on to the majority. Rove placed so much faith in his figures that, after the elections, he planned to convene a panel of Republican political scientists — to study just how wrong the polls were.”
“They’re all out of step but Johnny!” [or, in this case, KKKarl]
I am all for counting all the votes since my own mail in ballot could be part of that 100,000 votes. And since I told All our Dem candidates NOT to concede until all the votes are counted, it just is funny to hear Hayworth whine and bovate proving his local nickname of Foghorn Leghorn.
Condi should move on to her true calling : a hostess at the International House of Pancakes.
Meanwhile Those sore losers are REALLY getting out of hand!
scarecrow @ 62
Funny, you never heard that same bitching when Gopher from the love boat was elected as a Republican congressman. At least Mr. Hall had some good work in entertainment on his resume.
angie @ 58
A clear sign of the charade going on. The Iraq Study Groups may ask the Administration to initiate direct contacts with Iran and Syria as a means for resolving the Iraq mess; the WH announces it will consider all options that don’t require them to remove head from sand; and T.Snow says in today’s gaggle that the Syrians and Iranians already know what we wanat from them, so why talk. Then to prove how open they are to other views, they ask the world to put Iran in isolation. Well, that should certainly encourage the Iranians to be cooperative wrt to Iraq!
I’ll keep saying it: no meaningful progress is possible until the Bush/Cheney regime is removed from office. But I doubt that will be one of Baker’s options.
i have this strange image of jane and the dogs and the charcoal burner with jack nicholson as the fourth quarter heats up… the lake must be LA after this coming january’s storms.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 54
Never, ever have I seen such a systemically failed foreign policy in my country.
Never.
They know nothing and learned nothing from 9/11 or from history.
This includes many in the Congress, too.
;(
Could Mike Allen of Time Magazine get any further up Rove’s ass? I swear, he does nothing bu uncritically repeat Rovian talking points. Blergh.
nope, Christy @ 74.
New thread.
There’s another thing on Mr Hall’s resume. During the Orleans peak years, he was politically active. After a show, we spent nearly a half hour discussing how music could power a people movement against nuclear power.
Together with Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt (and i probably forgot others) he formed MUSE, which raised millions for anti-nuke pro-solar actions. Including the famous Madsquareguard concert.
(Now i remember, it was Ty Braswell who took the helm of that, with a producer activist who i’ve unfortunately forgotten.)
JohnSwifty @ 70
twolf1 @ 22
Rethugs want to establish the meme that they wanted bipartisanism but the Dems refused. That’s why their first “overture” is a non-starter like Bolton.
it was a victory heard ’round the world, or at least as far as germany. my german, australian, canadian and chinese friends were quite happy to get the news. i wish i coulda been there, but i did melt the plastic. i’d like to think it helped claire mccaskill and jim webb. some of my other folks didn’t make the cut, but they made their points, especially ned.
thanks to every last one of you that got in the trenches and carried the battle to the sorry sob’s that stole our country. let’s keep it up and maybe someday, maybe someday we can believe we really have it back, for sure.
Hey, there’s someone else from Germany, uhhh, Deutschland. Could you comment on what your circle thinks of the war crimes suit?
fahrender @
78
I have an icelandic guy living with me for 2 weeks, and he was pretty happy with the news; hell they’re about to lose our military protection but hes still happy with the news
I made sure to reassure him how little of a step it is, but at least it’s the right step;)
William (Cold Cash) Jefferson of Louisiana has a runoff election with a Democratic opponent on December 9. Support his opponent!
Dr. Victoria Wulsin (D) of Ohio Dist 1 for the House of Representatives came out on election night 2,323 votes behind Mean Jean Schmidt (R), but several thousand “provisional” ballots, those challenged for some reason by polling officials, have yet to be counted. Also, there are issues of voting malfeasance in Mean Jean’s home Clermont Count and in Warren County. We can’t let Dr. Wulsin be a victim of Rovian dirty-tricks.
To me, this was a Democratic kind of victory. There wasn’t unanimity of purpose or method, but our efforts together managed to be enough. Maybe those diverse efforts even complemented each others’, to some extent. That most major political parties are coalitions of interests goes without saying, I think, but maybe we forget that sometimes. This was one of those times when our coalition knew it had to hang together.
Karen at 81 — last I heard from voting folks on the ground there, was that the DNC and the OH dem party had folks working on the voting issues in the OH-2. And that those votes were going to be reviewed and counted, but that it was going to take time to go through the records, which is why they were saying a full accounting would take a couple of weeks. Have you heard differently?
Time. Time was so scarce for me, and still is. I was happy to give dollars wherever they were needed, but I know they would have been worthless without people on the ground doing the work.
My hat is off to you all. Thank you.
karen allen @ 81
Karen, so good to hear. Hugs to you, Dr. Vic and all the folks hanging in. Every last damned vote! And shine a bright light on the voting funny business, too.
I counted up all the hours I spent walking precincts (mostly), phoning and working as a precinct leader on Election Day. It was the equivalent of two 40-hour work weeks. Yeah, close to 80 hours since August. What I received was way more than I could ever have imagined. It was a wonderful experience and made me feel like I was really and truly making a difference. The McNerney campaign staff treated us with respect and appreciation and made us feel valued from the beginning all the way through to the end.
The campaign immediately set up get-togethers with food and celebration (with our Congressman-elect in attendance) at every major city in the district after the win. We also received a recorded call from Congressman-elect McNerney and several e-mails of thanks from the campaign staff.
It was an amazing experience and I really didn’t need any thanks. But it was nice, anyway.
Alpha 10 at 76:
I remember taping the live broadcast from Battery Park in ‘79. (I’ll bet I still have those old cassettes somewhere, too.) The only thing I remember from that afternoon by the FM receiver was Graham Nash saying to the crowd “Each one of you, individually, has the power to change the world.”
Boy, was he right.
BTW, a CD of the MSG concerts was released in ‘97:
CD Universe
Let’s not forget to thank Karl Rove and the whole GOP for forgetting the first lesson any novice Risk player learns. If you have all your armies on the “battleground” areas, and spread your forces thin over a large area (e.g. via redistricting), you are vulnerable to a big blow that sets you on the ropes.
But let’s also pat ourselves on the back for refusing to let the Democrats forget the same thing. Don’t worry, the DC consultants are already back advocating that strategy – don’t waste any strength on your base, put all your income into battleground areas, etc.
I really think DC consultants have such a strong motive (self-interest) to go for the “put all your chips on the battleground state, spend it all on big ad buys” strategy to go away any time soon, no matter how often it loses.
The simple fact is that a consultant wants to do things that a consultant can do. And consultants can’t build big ground operations, consultants can’t build real organizations. They can do good, targeted media.
But candidates of any party who mistake the talents borne by consultants as a substitute for boots on the ground – well, let’s say that any grassroots or netroots oriented person would want to defeat that strategy, no matter which side it comes from, as early and often as possible.
thank you, christy!
i’ve already said thanks to the firedoglakers in an earlier post a few days ago, expressing my condolences on lamont, but offering my gratitude to everyone here for their hard work in the victories we gained last tuesday.
i’ve been randomly going around to lefty sites in blogtopia (yes! i coined that phrase!) and offering my thanks to everyone for their work.
and if i could, i’d go around to every lefty house in america and thank them for their work, too.
we did it. and we did it because we rolled up our sleeves, knuckled down and used some old fashioned elbow grease to get it done. and that’s how democracy works.
but, as i said on all the other sites, we can’t let up, because democracy is participation sport, and riding on laurels is how the dems got into the sad state of affairs in the last three decades of last century.
good work, everyone!
.
.
I was a very small part of the MoveOn.org phone operation. But I can say with some certainty that I racked up 5 votes for the Democratic congressional candidate.
It feels real good to think I was part of what happened on election day.