DR Dean suggests a meetup to discus future and celebrate our few wins!

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.

Today is not an ending.

Regardless of the outcome yesterday, we have begun to revive our democracy. While we did not get the result we wanted in the presidential race, we laid the groundwork for a new generation of Democratic leaders.

Democracy for America trained thousands of organizers and brought new leadership into the political process. And down the ballot, in state after state, we elected Dean Dozen candidates who will be the rising stars of the Democratic Party in years ahead.

Tens of millions of us are disappointed today because we put so much of ourselves into this election. We donated money, we talked to friends, we knocked on doors. We invested ourselves in the political process.

That process does not end today. These are not short-term investments. We will only create lasting change if that sense of obligation and responsibility becomes a permanent part of our lives.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

We will not be silent.

Thank you for everything you did for our cause in this election. But we are not stopping here.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

P.S. -- Join others in your community tonight at the Democracy for America Meetup to celebrate your hard work and discuss the next steps for your local group: http://dfa.meetup.com

to Gayle Slossberg.

As a matter of fact, Democrats made gains in both Houses.
23-13 Advanatage in the Senate
98-53 in the House

:-)

He has the skills and the guts to lead the charge.

If they don't make him DNC chair I may give up on the Democratic Party.

But I'm not up to it the day after catastrophe.

We need him to be the voice of the DNC

I don't fight this fight for me - I'm straight, 42, without kids, doing OK financially - no reason to think BushCo's repressive women's issues, gay issues, even disasterous foreign policy, massive debt, etc, will unduly affect me. That's to say, I'll pay the same price as all of us but not the amount others will pay. However, I have two nephews I adore and an abiding love for my country as it really can be and sometimes is.

For this reason I'll keep celebrating the victories as they come, mourning the true losses, being furious at the fraud when we are scammed and looking for the bright spots and opportunities.

As sad as I am here in Cincinnati, after all we did to get people to the polls whose votes will never count, I have one good thing to report. Cincinnati repealed their citywide anti-gay measure. OH and KY both passed their abhorent state amendments but this is one place that made a very small stride forward, against tremendous odds.

Peace be with you all.

Dean may be the guy to lead us there.