Well… it’s looking like Bush may have won. The race was very close in several states, but more Bush folks made it to the polls than Kerry folks. In Florida the margin is a few hundred thousand votes this year… close, but not nearly as close as it was in 2000. The turnout was incredible with some precincts reporting 80% or higher turnouts.
I was on the ground fighting for votes. I was physically at the poll from 6:30 am to 7:00 pm. I was personally responsible for getting people that would have otherwise not voted to the polls. Right off the top of my head, I can think of three. Kisha Hernandez lives in a hotel room. She’s a young, hispanic woman that doesn’t have a car. I called her late yesterday and was able to get her to the poll on time to vote. G.B. Cheathum is a biker. He hardly ever votes, but I was persistent. After talking to him a few times, I was happy to see him when I arrived to the polls at 6:30. He was the 15th person in line. Karina Gil was an undecided voter when I first talked to her. I called her again just before election day… and again on Tuesday. She made it to the polls after work and voted.
I made a plea to friends a few weeks ago asking for one hour of their time. One hour. That was all I asked for. I received a few e-mails from friends. Two live in California, one lives in Georgia and another lives near DC. Not one single friend that currently lives in the state of Florida came forward to volunteer a single, solitary hour of their time. That’s right… let me repeat that. Not one of these folks came forward to volunteer a single hour of their time.
The same can’t be said of Liz’s friends. Terri, Vivian, Katy and Margaret all stepped up to the plate. These people found time despite working 40+ hours per week. Despite living full lives outside of this election… they found time for at least one hour. Some… a whole lot more. Heck… I attended two Halloween parties, and I still found time to volunteer on Halloween weekend.
The fact of the matter is that even though we volunteered time and sweat… someone else out there volunteered more time and sweat than we did to get their candidate elected. Without regret I can say that I did my part for this election. Where the fuck were you? ;p
–sam
p.s. Come 2006 when we fight to take back seats in the House and Senate I expect someone out there to help. 😉
Sam, I’m proud of you. And let’s face it–if everyone was willing to get out and do what you did, Kerry wouldn’t have won last night. Because when America gets ready to get off its collective fat butt, we won’t be voting for a guy with his thumb on the poll-se of the American electorate. We’ll be voting for candidates with principles that far outstretch anything on the ballot this year.
Until then, the people at large will continue to get the government they deserve. And the only ones who will really be the losers are the few like you.
Thanks! One thing is sure… if I hear any of my slacker friends pipe up with negative thoughts about Bush, I’ll be able to look them in the eye and say, “It’s your fault, not mine.” After which I’ll challenge them to a duel. I’ll do a little dance and some anonymous person sitting three seats over at the bar will exclaim, “You got (what you de-) served!”
;p
–sam
Hit the phones with Move On for 2 hours yesterday calling people. Took me awhile, but I did something, heh.
That’s awesome! 🙂
–sam
Yeah, I feel bad that I didn’t do more…I certainly don’t have as much of a right to be upset as you do. But we survived four years of this administration…I guess we can hunker down and survive 4 more. And in 2008, when the people realize how bad we’ve been getting fucked, they’ll go knee jerk and elect a liberal whom will reverse as much of the bad stuff Bush did as he can. At least, that’s what I’m hoping.
That scenario is unlikely. The more likely scenario is that both sides will field similarly disinteresting candidates amid more partisan bickering and an electorate that is easily swayed by flashy images and sound bites.
…but it’s good to have dreams and hopes…
–sam
Goddamnit…
As I noted to another friend…
We didn’t lose because we were wrong. We lost because we were disorganized and lazy. Sure I worked hard in the last few weeks, but my few weeks of hard work is nothing compared to weekly church meetings where religious beliefs get intertwined with political rhetoric.
What was I doing every Sunday? Playing Exalted or D&D. What were they doing every Sunday? Working on anti-gay and anti-abortion ballot initiatives so that their people would have “important” issues to vote about.
Yes… they were organized… and they were putting in the legwork. The REAL legwork of getting their people motivated to vote. Us… we were at our computers, logging into MoveOn.org and watching Michael Moore films.
On their side… they have people that give up part of every week to attend church. Can you imagine yourself giving up a few hours every weekend to hang out in a room with people and listen to a speech about something you’ll never understand? Now… add a little more to that. Giveup every Wednesday night, too? Oh wait… give up a few Tuesday nights to go knock door to door and talk to complete strangers about God?
While MoveOn did a lot to try and organize a resistance movement, it was too little, too late. You can’t fight an intractable foe with e-mails and part-time volunteers. It requires people that are willing to disrupt their lives for something more. Unfortunately, we don’t have many people like that… me included.
Disappointment ensues
Sam, I just want to tell you how proud I am of you and our team. I am really scared right now for our country, and for the people of our country. I know that Bush will go after Roe v. Wade in this term, and with the powerful backing he has, he will probably succeed in overturning it. I know that Bush will go after the gay marriage ban so that we have even more homophobia and less access to accurate and unbiased information regarding sexuality. I feel like we are in an abusive relationship and Bush is the perpetrator of abuse. We know that he’s hurting us, but we want to still love him and believe him and internalize his abusive actions and words. Will we have to hit rock bottom before we realize what is going on here?
Some man called my cell phone today to tell me how great it was that “you people” (Kerry supporters) lost today. He went on and on, and when I hung up on him he called back several times to harass me. This is a person who has learned that it is ok for him to abuse his power and harass others. Some man yesterday told my two friends at the polls, “In the words of your esteemed leader (read Theresa Heinz Kerry), Shove it!” because they said, “Good morning” to him. These sound like lessons learned from our “commander/chief.” I’m not saying that this doesn’t happen on both sides, but these experiences have left me reeling and wondering about our future.
I know I will regain my hope, and in fact, I have my fundraiser planned for Friday night to get right back into working to take our country back. Just like Sam said, this is a full-time job, and it takes more than an hour of time to do. What is sad, is that most people won’t even give up one hour, let alone four or five per week. I am feeling really disappointed right now.
Re: Disappointment ensues
Don’t forget… You have two years to prepare for 2006. Don’t get mad, get even. 😉
–sam