I'll try to keep it short: Where I am right now...... [View All]

Almost 24 hours later and part of me is still in disbelief. The rest is numb and saddened and angry.

Here is my plan, for better or for worse. Everything in my gut is telling me this is what I need to do:

1. I am taking a complete and total news break. I stopped reading newspapers about a week ago, they were driving me crazy, and I rarely ever watched TV news on any channel, the yapping heads are just too much. But for this, I mean NONE, not even accidentally. My husband does watch it sometimes but I have asked him to keep it from me if at all possible. He agreed to. I also asked him not to tell me about anything going on. I honestly don't want to know. I will obviously still get tidbits here and there on DU, but that's ok. But nothing else.

2. I seriously don't want to see *'s face or hear his voice or hear his name spoken out loud at all. I feel like one of those Jewish (or is it Italian?) old ladies: "He is dead to me."

3. I need to regroup. I worked my ass off for about 18 months on politics. Everything took a backseat to it. I spent the last three weeks on sabbatical from work canvassing almost 200 houses in my precinct and phone banking. Then yesterday I poll greeted and handed out push cards for 12 hours straight. I am seriously burned out and would have been regardless of the outcome. I am going to withdraw for a while. I'll still be here at DU, but politics are not going to interest me in the least until after the New Year.

4. After the new year, I will get busy on one of my biggest issues, which is LGBT rights. I am going to get more active with the Human Rights Campaign, ACLU, PFLAG, Stonewall Democrats, etc. Whatever I have to do. The referendums in those states have cut me deeply and I am not even gay. But what hurts some of us, hurts all of us.

5. I am still, and will always be, a Democrat. This wasn't about just this election. I am heartened by the fact that more counties went blue in TX than in 2000, including the big urban counties, I am heartened by the three Democratic judges we picked up in my county and by the fact that the new Dallas County sheriff is a Democratic openly gay Hispanic woman!!!!! WOW! (Boy is the good old boy network going to try to tear her up five ways to Sunday.....) Chet Edwards (D) won and I am very happy about that. Central TX is not usually a place you see Dems winning. So there IS good news among the bad. The electoral college map of the US looks sucky, but I can't wait to see the county by county map. That should be much more interesting.

6. As heartless as it may sound, I have no use for "friends" who vote for people and policies that hurt my family and this nation. Period. There will be no dramatic confrontation, I will just fade out. If they ask what happened, I will be honest. But I cannot reconcile pretending to be friends with someone whose beliefs hurt all of us.

That's all. Thanks to everyone for being here. I could have used this place in 2000, I don't know what I would have done without you guys. And I seriously think I got more involved this time partially because of the influence of many people here.