Last 3 days, DFA and progressives are booming.

http://www.blogforamerica.com/archives/005486.html

SNIP..."No Surrender
In yesterday's New York Times, op-ed columnist Paul Krugman broached the radicalization of the current administration and what it means to Democratic and progressive strategy in the next four years:

Yes, Democrats need to make it clear that they support personal virtue, that they value fidelity, responsibility, honesty and faith. This shouldn't be a hard case to make: Democrats are as likely as Republicans to be faithful spouses and good parents, and Republicans are as likely as Democrats to be adulterers, gamblers or drug abusers. Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the country; blue states, on average, have lower rates of out-of-wedlock births than red states...."

SNIP..."This election has affected millions of people in a profound way, but instead of succumbing to disappointment they have turned this defeat into a challenge. The progressive community has galvanized in the last three days.

Democracy for America staff and volunteers have been surprised and delighted at the surge in new supporters and emphatic offers to help. Our inboxes are overflowing and our phone lines ring from early morning until late at night. We have seen a wave of new "faces" on the blog and host of long-lost supporters return home. If this is the kind of "get back to work" spirit we can expect from the progressive community, the Republicans are in for a tough few years."
Posted by Tara Liloia at 01:12 AM

This just warms my heart to see this. New and returning. Very proud. A community to take our country back, not totally defined yet, but not bad for such a new group. Proud of DFA.

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_14913.shtml

SNIP..."There is more to politics than elections. Thousands of young people have discovered, as generations have before them, their efforts matter. Their actions matter because by getting in the game instead of straying on the sidelines, they are empowered, whether or not their candidate wins.

Historically, whether through the campaign of Gene McCarthy in 1968 or John McCain in 2000, the enthusiasm and hard work waned after the election.

This time we cannot let that happen. Democracy is the most highly evolved system of government ever created by human beings. And like everything else we create, it will wither and die unless we nurture it.

When I was governor of Vermont, I used to go to schools and colleges and tell the students how important it was to vote. I don't think that any more. On an A - F scale, merely voting gets a "D". It is the bare minimum required to keep our democracy alive. To grow and thrive, ordinary Americans need to run for office. Democracy for America, the political action committee which is an offshoot of my campaign for president, sponsored nearly a thousand candidates, many of whom had never run for office before. A few ran for Congress, but most ran for school board, county commissioner, road commissioner or state legislature. And they ran everywhere, in both traditionally conservative and liberal states. Some have already won, some didn't. Many of those who did not win will try again....."

I'll donate shortly.

I was going to pop you a note today, so I'll just say hi here. I need a link to buy your book, please. I thought I had saved it, but I can't find it. I searched on "Food Chain." Thought that was right.

The trip was great. Found out the disastrous election results somewhere above 35,000 feet over the Atlantic on the way home.

Book is here:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0971726558/qid%3D1099760492/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/002-3958232-0680842


Keep plugging DFA!

I am going to have to go and read it again to get the full import of it. Sounds like quite a commentary on our society. I just glanced at it,but saved it to my mailbox to read. I am SO impressed! Wormwood was the name.

:thumbsup:

and so many groups seem to be suggesting R&R.

Krugman taking time off is really disappointing though he says it was planned.

Atrios suggesting people should relax over the holidays and regroup.

Nothing concrete from True Majority or Move On - I got emails but nothing.

That's great that DFA is going, they understand that people are angry and that this energy needs to be harnessed right away.

to do something positive. They need to do that.

I posted this elsewhere so please forgive the repetition. A good friend of ours came over yesterday. One of the things she specializes in - is grief counseling. She says we are in a mourning period, as though we just had a death in the family. She says people just need some time to grieve. For me, anyway, that perspective was helpful. I know that I, at least, DO need some time to grieve. I come here, I talk to my friends, I email other friends, and we're all still pretty much in shock. Especially as the days go by and the reality sets in, and the fundies start sharpening their knives and forks, and things start to look REALLY horrifying in places like Fallujah. God only knows what will transpire from THAT, but then again, this week has found me seriously questioning my faith and whether there even IS a God. So those of us who need a little more time - so be it. It's NOT relaxation by any means. I do NOT feel relaxed. My "rest-time" is ANYTHING but restful. I am inclined to jump in behind Howard Dean, of course. He was my hero, early-on. But I need time. And I'm tapped out, financially, so at the moment I'm not in position to contribute anything much. That'll change, of course, but for now, I NEED this downtime. And I know I'm not alone.

It is like a temporary dead zone where it is impossible to do either. I keep hoping it will change.

Call me when the rose colored glasses come off.

Unless the DFA can win elections in Red & Purple areas, it's just a faction of a faction. Great for pity parties and inclusion. I've been very, very, very dissapointed in the DFA response to what happened on Tuesday.

He has not commented on the voting if that is what you mean. However, you have to remember that he is about the only Democrat who really pushed the paper ballot recount. He really did, you know.

I feel it is not his place to comment on that right now, just keep plugging away. Let's see, DFA was born in March this year under the hostile eyes of the Demcratic Party....which does not approve of him or us.

I think it has done pretty well myself. It is not Howard Dean's job to comment on the voting right now....that is the job of the party itself. Have you noticed our welcome there is not exactly warm?

But that is ok. For us now it is DFA or independent. Not sure how it will remain...or what Dean will do. On the conference call he did not sound that sure himself.

Sorry you are disappointed, but it will take money to make a difference.

This was McAuliffe's team...he set up the games on how the candidate was selected, pushed for Kerry to not opt out of campaign financing and has now been at the helm of two disasterous elections where HE became just as much of a target for the GOOPies as any candidate.

I was at least expecting him to come out and give a "buck up" message...but nada...until I get an Email that asks for money for the 2006 Congressional campaigns...I got that yesterday and you better believe it pissed me off big time.

When your team takes the loss the Democrats took on Tuesday and he doesn't stand up to the realities of what happened and resign or that there's no movement in the DNC to push for that resignation is off my radar screen right now. Think George Steinbrenner would take as many losing season as we've had in the past decade?

I was very independent during the primary season and studied all candidates closely and while I was glad to see the DFA form and how it could be a positive agent for change in the Democratic party, I also see (your post shows it) the hostility that the "Deaniacs" have towards others and how fairweather and quick to blame they are. This was a TEAM loss and it's time to see how we lost and truly put things in a clearer, more realistic perspective.

I'm getting more and more depressed as I see this is of such little import to people on this message board.

No, it was not a team loss. Dean was out in February. I do not think he should be blamed.

In fact, I don't "blame" any one person.

I have not said a single word against Kerry, nor would I. I blame the "machine" of the party that holds back real thought and feelings. I never blamed Kerry. Never. I doubt any Democrat could have won.....

I think you should do what you feel right about. I won't criticize you if you don't include me in your blame. We are all hurting now, we worked hard and it is painful.

I'm not out to find blame, I'm trying to work on solutions here.

Honestly, I had a great Election Day. Except for Kerry, all the candidates I worked for and supported won. But that victory is hollow when I see what's going on around me. It's frustrating to see what's happening here since I see it's so regressive at the moment.

I'll let history decide how the Kerry campaign went, and now move on to the future. I'm almost 50 and have been through Democratic losses in '68, '72, '80, '84, '88, '94, '00 & '04...and I'm tired of losing and seeing the Democratic party shrink and get more marginalized with each loss.

We need to look at what the GOOP has done that has made them so dominant. See how they created their own alternative media that overwhelmed the mainstream media. Understand how they took what were once Democratic issues (morality) and use it against us like a sledgehammer...despite their incredible hypocricies.

The other night someone posted an email from a friend who voted for * which was alarming and revealing. She ate virtually every GOOP talking point, but articulated why she did. Look at things from her perspective and you could see why she voted as she did and how their conveluted logic made sense to her.

When I commented on that, I got major flamed. So be it.

I worked a lot of phones in the last campaign. I always made it a point to listen when I knew I had a hostile caller on the other end...let them shoot their wad and see if it was worth going further. A lot of what this lady wrote is what I was hearing and what the election results showed. I didn't need Zobgy to show me this...and again, I was working in a very BLUE state, I could only imagine what someone working phones in Kansas or Alabama was hearing.

Trust me, I have many ideas, but right now I'm just trying to slap a couple faces and hope someone wakes up. I've tried in the past to start constructive dialogues on media and other issues, but they fall off the page with a thud. I'm in very wait & see mode.

Cheers!

One reason we support Dean so much is that he has been saying these things about how the GOP did it...he said it last year. If you have time, check out some of the speeches at this archive.
I read your post, and I could think of all the times he addressed this. I think he was right when he credited Ralph Reed for literally taking over the GOP with his Christian Coalition.
Not pushing anything on you, but read a few speeches here.
http://www.crocuta.net/Dean/General_Dean_Stuff.htm

He admits he is follow the lead of Ralph Reed in starting at the grassroots and building from the ground up.

At least for now...I see it's gonna be a while before the dust settles...then of course those of us who spoke up and got chased away will be the ones to blame. So be it. Shooting the messenger always seems so satisfying.

Dr. Dean has many good ideas, but that's only one piece of a bigger picture that has to be "visioned" and then communicated...but dare mention that this requires different thinking and be dismissed.

My bets are some here may wake up on January 20, 2005 and finally realize what's happened here. Guess maybe that's when I'll check back in...

I saw this after 2000, then after 2002 and now 2004...."We are going to fight...lets band together, progressive are going to win the day speech."....only to be followed by even more Democrats getting sent home, more far-right Conservatives being placed into our government...

Our problem as a party has always been that we only think as far as one election. We lose (or win) and that's pretty much it until the next one. DFA is long-term thinking, building from the ground up thinking.

I know DFA will work, but it is not a quick process. It will take time and work and money. Donations have kept pretty steady for such a new group.

We are building a base, and it will not be overnight.

And we carried Travis County for Kerry in a landslide (Gore lost in 2000). And it was volunteers organized by Democracy for Texas and Austin4Kerry that did a lot of the work. DFT is an ongoing group and we are discussing just how to transform A4K into a group that will be a force for the 2006 elections.