The silver lining.... (my take)

[Ravy]

I was fervently hoping for a Kerry victory, but honestly, I am not sure that a whole lot would have changed. The Republicans still control both houses of congress, and the Supreme Court.

To affect the change we need in this country after four devistating years of a Bush administration, and 10 years of Republican controlled legislatures, it appears we will have to slide even more before many Americans open their eyes to the fact that they are being brainwashed by corporate media and the government.

The Democrats (us) are not ready for a sweeping victory. What we need to do is to be in position to do what the Republicans did with their 10 point plan for (against) America. We need to come out with a strong platform that the average American will buy, and then be prepared to sell that plan to the American public.

We do not have the infrastructure of the Republicans. We don't have a 24 hour cable news channel spewing our propaganda non-stop to those that will listen. We have the infancy of a talk radio network, but it really hasn't yet gaind enough momentum to drive the national debate. We don't have anything on the order of the Sinclair group working for us.

If John Kerry had been sworn in today, we would have probably had four years of frustration as many of the good ideas from the campaign would have been killed in Congress, and the Republicans would have continued to promote divisiveness daring Kerry to veto countless bills that sound good to the mass of unthinkers.

PERHAPS, and just perhaps, our cause will ultimately be better served building our resistance, our voice, to be ready for when a greater mass of Americans see for themselves the demise of democracy, our rights, and our way of life.

To be sure, today is a dark cloud for America. If every dark cloud has a silver lining, then perhaps this is it. We must remain skeptical of what we hear and read in the corporate media. We must remain critical of the forces that work against our democracy, freedom, and world standing. And, we must stay supportive of the issues and organizations that can eventually help us take back our America- help them grow.

We need to pay more attention to state and local politics. We just saw how a well-placed Secretary of State or two can swing these things (in two straight elections). Democrats made gains in several key state elections very recently, and this can translate into better days at the national level if the trend continues.

There will be another day.

[Zookeeper]

1. Well said. I would add.....

that we're seeing the peak of the "conservative revolution." They're going downhill from here. (She says gleefully!)

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Germany rebuilt itself after WWII; we can still hold hope of

becoming a progressive nation one day.

------------------------------------
Would Jesus love a liberal? You bet!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/

[pstans]

5. Germany rebuilt after WWII

So will the US have to rebuild after WWIII? The World vs Bu$h?

[grumpy old fart]

3. I'm afraid that no amount of outrageous conduct by the Rethugs...

will cause them to lose power, as long as the loyal 51% continue to sip the Kool Aid. It's hard to imagine a worse 4 years by a modern president, and yet a simple trick like "Code Orange" is enough to keep the sheep in line. No matter how badly the Chimp continues to run our Country into the ground, here and abroad, Rethugs will continue to frighten the 51% into accepting Big Brother....Ignorance is Strength..War is Peace....was this not the last 4 years in a nutshell?

[NewJeffCT]

4. to be honest

I don't think Bush has 51% - the problem was that Rove & the media so successfully demonized Kerry with the Swift Boat liars, flip-flopper charges, etc - and Kerry was so slow to respond that those charges sunk in - that many went for Bush because they thought he was the lesser of two evils. I've heard that from many folks, "Well, I don't like Bush that much, but it was the lesser of two evils" or "The devil you do know instead of the one you don't..."

[tanyev]

6. It struck me during the discussion

of the Condi hearings that now Kerry has a much bigger platform for anything he wishes to say. A Senator who very nearly won a presidential election (yeah, I know, but to the rest of America) gets more attention than the Sr. Senator from Massachusetts. It's a small consolation, but I'm hoping Kerry fully realizes this and takes advantage of it.