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I gain more respect and admiration for Kerry and his team every day and I already feel like I'm at 100% capacity.
I started thinking today about not only all the work Kerry and Edwards have on their plate once they take office in January, but all the work WE the people have to do.
Now I know some of us are dead-tired. I've done more politically in the last year than I have in my entire life. Became a deputy voter registrar, registered voters, helped to re-energize my local Dem group, helped a school board member win re-election against a crazy fundie, am working on a state race for a Dem, have attended marches, rallies, I have written more LTTEs and emails than I care to count, made phone calls, taped up flyers, gone to countless meetups, whew. And I'm sure that's just a partial list. So yeah some of us are VERY tired right about now.
But Dean convinced me I have more power than just my vote. And fellow Democrats and this place made me see it in action. I can never go back to the days when I believed my only voice was my vote.
So. All that being said, I started making a mental list of what we the people need to start working on the moment Kerry is in office. Feel free to add to this list or comment on anything in it. Oh and in order for this list to reach its maximum motivational potential, please have The Black Eyed Peas "Let's Get it Started" on your computer speakers. Thank you.
We need to:
1. Continue the fight for GLBT rights.
2. Continue to try and wake up our sleeping fellow Americans. The non-voters, the uninvolved and unaffiliated. That's one of the hardest things we do, but it pays off the most.
3. Continue to be media watchdogs and engage in the kind of wonderful, effective participatory journalism I have seen demonstrated here so well. I have been blown away by it. Never ever doubt the power of the spoken and written word.
4. KEEP in CONTACT with your elected representatives. Hold their feet to the fire. If you have Republican senators or reps, work to get them OUT of office and get GOOD, fire-breathing Dems IN. Educate your friends and family as to who their representatives are. Spread their email addresses and office numbers far and wide. Those men and women need to remember who they work for (some have forgotten, it seems) and need to be held accountable and know their constituents are watching and listening.
5. Work locally. Does anyone remember Dean Corps? Local groups that supported Dean and went out into the community on Saturday mornings or whatever, wearing Dean shirts and cleaning up a section of the local river, etc. I always thought that idea rocked. I wish we could find a way to do this on a larger scale. But hold it locally, if that makes sense.
6. Support, advocate, learn about and fight for progressive/liberal ideals. They are noble and they are right. They serve ALL of us. Of that I am convinced (after many years of soul-searching). They deserve to be promoted and lived out every way we can. If you are a liberal in a conservative area, work to find your voice and use it however you are most comfortable. Conservatives have no problem doing this, we shouldn't either.
7. We need to push the health care issue HARD. It is a crying shame that we don't have universal health coverage. Let's make sure it GETS DONE this time. No excuses, no wringing of hands. This also makes getting Dems in Congress very important!!!!
I can't think of anything else, though I am sure there is more. Add what you feel we should be working on together. Not even the email I got from my mother in law encouraging me to "pray for bush, because he is a Godly man" can get me down now.
We're going to do this. Let's get it started.
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