From This Democrat, Thank You

As a Democrat who left one career behind in 2001 and made politics my new one after Bush was elected, who vowed to fight every wrong-headed policy foisted on America by the Bush administration, I feel a profound debt of gratitude to Sen. Obama and his family, his campaign, his tireless and devoted staff, and his volunteers and supporters across the country. As well to Hillary Clinton - who was true to those who respect and love her, proving the detractors wrong and crisscrossing the country on behalf of the Obama-Biden ticket - and to her supporters, volunteers and staffers who joined hands with their primary opponents and worked around the clock to arrive at this amazing day.

Ensconced in Hillary's war room from January 2007 to June 2008, I quickly realized what an impressive organization Barack Obama had assembled. Several of his staff and advisers were colleagues of mine at the Kerry campaign, Bill Burton, Susan Rice, and others, and I knew what a talented group it was. Also, as an early practitioner/proponent of online politics, I knew from the campaign's outset that Sen. Obama had put together a creative and innovative Internet department and as Hillary's Internet Director I had my work cut out for me.

What I didn't yet know was how centered, thoughtful and disciplined Sen. Obama would prove to be in the fierce storm of a presidential election, competing with two formidable opponents. As others have noted, it augurs well for his presidency (should tonight's results turn out as anticipated). Most importantly, I couldn't possibly know the stamina and dedication of his strategists, staff, volunteers, donors and supporters, who are poised to finally slay the dragons that defeated Gore and Kerry.

Last week I said I hoped the netroots would get their due for keeping the flame of hope alive when Bush was at record high ratings and Democrats were in the wilderness. I wrote:

One thing that shouldn't be overlooked is the tortured path to that day and the ragtag group of activists who, from the fear of knowing that America had taken a terrible turn at the dawn of a millennium, embraced a new medium and labored tirelessly, thanklessly, defending the Constitution and the rule of law. Day after day, they congregated on websites, blogs, message boards and any other online forum they could find to write, debate, argue and resist a radical administration and a lockstep Republican Party. Mocked and feared, dismissed as 'angry' and treated with disdain, they fought their opponents, fought their own party, fought the media, fought one another, all to a single end, the defense of inviolable American ideals against a brazen onslaught from a shameful and shameless administration.

When we look back at the eight years beginning with a grim night in 2000 when George W. Bush was declared the victor over Al Gore, we should give credit to those who held tough when Bush was at the height of his swagger; we should honor the 'ten percenters' who took pride in opposing Bush when his approval rating was near 90%, the media fawning over him, the likes of Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Ashcroft, Yoo, Addington, Wolfowitz, Rove and Gonzales holding sway over the nation, with Coulter, Hannity, Savage and Limbaugh spewing hate and liberals labeled traitors. We should acknowledge that the netroots kept hope alive when our system of checks and balances was in mortal danger, kept hope alive when civil liberties were fast becoming disposable niceties.

Reading Fred Barnes today - someone I wouldn't normally quote - I have a feeling that the influence of online progressives will be felt in the coming years:

There's an old saying that politics in America is played between the 40 yard lines. What this means, for those unfamiliar with football, is that we're a centrist country, never straying very far to the left or the right in elections or national policies. This has been true for decades. It probably won't be after today's election. For the first time since the 1960s, liberal Democrats are dominant. They are all but certain to have a lopsided majority in the House, and either a filibuster-proof Senate or something close to it. If Barack Obama wins the presidency today, they'll have an ideological ally in the White House. A sharp lurch to the left and enactment of a liberal agenda, or major parts of it, are all but inevitable.

What Barnes considers a dire warning I welcome as a long-awaited blessing. After all, the whole point of the progressive agenda is to make this a better world for all people, to make progress on the path to liberty, justice and equality.

Paul Waldman, someone who, unlike Fred Barnes, I'm happy to quote, makes a great point about voting:

[F]or a day, we can remove the heavy cloak of cynicism that covers us for the rest of the year. For a day, we can revel in our own participation, and feel ourselves not subjects but citizens, the very embodiment of the democratic promise. For a day, we can indulge our fondest hopes, we can expect that new leadership will transform our nation, we can ask "Why not?" to what we want our country to be and believe that the question will be answered. There will be plenty of time later for doubt and disgruntlement.

If you have children, take them to the polls with you. Remind them that for most of human history, people had no say in who would lead them, that violence and fear determined who controlled the institutions of power. Tell them that even in our own country, founded on the most noble of democratic principles, people have had to labor and protest and fight and even die to secure this right for themselves and for others. Tell them that there are many things you can do to exercise your citizenship, but this is one thing you must do. Tell them that election day is when you act not for yourself but for your community and your country. Tell them that although campaigns can be small and mean, election day is when our nation can also be bound by hope.

So today, as I vote for President Obama, with history at my fingertips, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who worked so damn hard to elect him and Democrats across the nation.

Comments

[Morocco]

Your thread made me very emotional and it did put tears in my eyes. Liberals, myself included, have suffered for too long even in our own party. Today is a day that will be engraved in history with incised letters of hope and a yes we can. Today, I am a proud progressive; we have been advocating change and reform for years and it is finally here. I can"t stop my tears of happiness from flowing and I can"t hide my excitement of a better tomorrow. So, thank you to all Democrats who worked diligently to elect President Obama.

[joshua4]

McCain's Mom Says McCain is Bush's Biggest Supporter
Roberta McCain: "He [McCain] worked like a dog to get Bush reelected. He's backed Bush in everything except.. Rumsfeld. Have heard of other Senators and Congressman that have backed Bush over 8 years? Give me a name."
http://digg.com/politics/McCain_s_Mom_Says_McCain_is_Bush_s_Biggest_Supporter

[Fenianheart]

Yes! Thank you to everyone, from Obama to every last volunteer, to this blog! Thank you all for working tirelessly, and for remaining dignified! Let's keep this momentum rolling, let's change the world!
Peace and love to you all!!!

[dadumdee]

PETER, THANK YOU. YOUR WORK AT SALON.COM WAS VITAL IN ELEVATING THE BLOGGOSPHERE TO ITS FIRST AMENDMENT BASED RIGHTFUL PLACE IN OUR DEMOCRACY. YOU PROMOTED VOICES ON THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT, AND RESERVED YOUR COMMENTS FOR FACTUAL, EMPIRICALLY BACKED, COMMENTARY. PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK, GOOD SIR!!!

p.s. i never write in all caps, but i'm an extremely grateful to you and others, and i'm very emotional today. by emotional i mean nervous. hopefully joy comes in the morning.

[Peter Daou - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks for saying that!

And thanks to everyone in this thread for your comments.

[JBryan]

Fred Barnes is right that for the most part we are a centrist country. What he fails to acknowledge is the fact that 28 years ago we took a sharp lurch to the right. And the forces that steered us in that direction have done everything they could (including stealing elections) to keep us locked on that disastrous path. Not even the centrist Governing of Bill Clinton had much impact on our course. The last eight years (including six years of unfettered Republican control) has finally shown the nation where the Right Wing philosophy truly leads.

Of course to myopic right wing idealogues like Fred Barnes, any movement from the ditch the Republicans have driven us into would seem like liberalism, but in reality it is a correction long overdue. One that is necessary to bring us back to our center as a Nation.

[kylennblack]

Great article. I also want to thank Obama, Biden, their staff, crew, families, and their tireless volunteers and supporters who have made this not only a historic election but a hell of a lot of fun.

Cheers to all!

[roshni]

Thanks to all my fellow members of the O family. Today is a historic day and we made it happen. Thanks to the Obama and Biden families for your hard work, discipline and inspiration in the face of numerous low blows from the powers that be.
Let's take our country back.

[hook75]

I too want to thank Obama, Biden, their families and the campaign staff, the staff that is like a well oiled machine that can't be stopped! They rock! and I thank all of them from the bottom of my heart!

[txrotorhead]

I would suggest that we have been playing on the 30 yard line and Obama only seems liberal because of the radical swing to the right.

[kmsbt]

Very good point, trh, that shouldn't get lost in the shouting or the crying. The Keynesian economics that gave our country its unprecedented prosperity of 1945-1970 has been vilified as "socialism" for the last thirty years. The idea of national health care, condemned as "radical totalitarianism" since the early Clinton Administration was actually sponsored first by Harry Truman in 1946! And it's not just political: even Obama supporter Jimmy Buffett claims he couldn't even record most of his seventies favorites today. 30-yard line indeed. About damn time we ran the ball to at least the real mid-field!

[RobertHenryEller]

and let us not forget, and let us teach well our children and grandchildren, what we have come so close to losing, perhaps forever, over the last eight years.

[srdon]

my sense is fred barnes is correct---politics in the US is played between the 40 yd lines and i believe Obama is more of a centerist liberal vs a "true" (whatever that is) liberal. i believe a lot of his support is coming from people who feel as a country we have to pull back from the extreme rights' views that are held by Bush and his cohorts.

i believe Obama's administration is going to face some of the biggest financial decisions this country has ever encountered as he deals with the problems left behind by Bush and too many years of unregulated business. we face serious issues re: paying the bailout debt, funding 2 wars, dealing with health care and social security. his leadership abilities and ability to articulate the hard choices that will be required by all will be severely tested in the years to come.

[Biffmeister]

"So today, as I vote for President Obama, with history at my fingertips, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who worked so damn hard to elect him and Democrats across the nation."

Hear, hear.

[MPeter]

Thanks Peter. This is awesome. It is an awesome assessment. Great article. History is at hand.