COLOR ME SHOCKED, AWED

Forget yesterday’s election, I had just recently gotten over the shock that the Republican Party would nominate this lout. And now I’m awed that I live in an era that would witness the reelection of such a person.

I saw my first bad omen when I went to vote yesterday morning, at T.T. Minor School on Capitol Hill. The voting booths were set up in the library, or “media center” as they call it now, and as I walked in I noticed a lone book placed prominently on the checkout desk: Don’t You Know There’s A War On? I put the book behind the desk and out of sight, but apparently it was too late.

The war was and is the issue. Anti-gay initiatives and other "morality" items surely contributed to conservative turnout in a few important states, most notably in Ohio, but it’s clear that Kerry, as solid a candidate as I think he was, just didn’t elucidate a position on Iraq or terrorism that resonated with enough swing voters. That’s not to say he didn’t have the right positions, just that they weren't ones that could be described simply or dumbly enough to compete with “You’ll be eaten by wolves!”

For my bit of Wednesday morning quarterbacking, I think Kerry overplayed his hand on Vietnam. I suspect that for every person for whom Kerry’s combat service strengthened his national security cred, there was someone for whom the Vietnam talk served only to remind them of the cultural divisions of the Sixties, and that no matter how honorably Kerry served, when he came back to the States he had big hair, testified against the war, and probably smoked the weed. By making his Vietnam service a central component of his campaign, Kerry also created an opening for the despicable and effective Swift Boat ads, which I realize is akin to suggesting the rape victim tempted fate by dressing sexy, but dammit Kerry did dress sexy.

So Bush wins reelection and Democrats win themselves another two to four years in the wilderness.

Now the self-recrimination: Did I do enough? Fuck, did I do anything besides talk to people with views similar to my own, and write on this blog which is read mostly, if not exclusively, by people with views similar to my own? Okay, I participated in a party caucus and voted, which is unfortunately more than I can say for most Americans in my age group, but other than that not much. And I'm feeling pretty shitty about it. So rather than retreat into the comparatively safe world of vampire fiction, as was my immediate plan last night, I've got to find a more meaningful way to engage.

The absolutely wrong move would be for liberals to use this election as an excuse to become even more insular, to alienate ourselves further from an electorate which many of us cannot fathom. Since Blue State secession is not a realistic option (though it is nevertheless an intriguing one...) we have to buck up (after drinking heavily of course. I've been looking for an excuse to go on a mezcal binge. Now I have it.) and prepare to confront the issue of national security and the war on terror head on. My goal: nothing less than a Democratic majority in the House and Senate in 2006, with impeachment following soon after. Damn, that mezcal is working already...

Two things I'm sure of: Our positions are the right ones. And our opponents don't fight fair. Now gimme that bottle.