DEMOCRACY FULFILLED!

Look at President-Elect Barack Obama and you see what democracy SHOULD look like. He is our next president because he came to us, the citizens of the United States and inspired us. He challenged us to confront the future and change this wonderful country for the better. He didn’t fill us with a puffed-up pride that translates to the big lie that says we’re better than anyone else simply because God gave us the gift of being born in the United States. He told us the truth about ourselves and our country; we are a great nation, but we have the potential to be even greater; we have warts, but we have the capacity to correct and overcome them; we have a divided nation, and we cannot unite until we learn how to love each other as ourselves.

I have been waiting for decades for a great leader to emerge and carry forward the dreams of all the great leaders of the past. HE IS HERE!

I have never been as emotionally spent as I was last night at our headquarters when the headline flashed on the CNN screen, BARACK OBAMA IS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES! The feeling is still hard to describe. But I think part of the feeling was because of the company I was keeping at the time. I looked around the room at all the people I have come to know over the past four years, many of whom I now consider some of my closest friends and confidants. But as emotional as it was for me, I knew full well I could not comprehend how it must have felt for my African-American friends. I only read about the struggles they went through over the years, while they lived it, and in many ways, are still living it. I think last night must have felt like a second emancipation experience to these dear friends. I looked around and I saw many tears, and I cried , too. The funny thing is, I felt like I was being freed as well, and I haven’t been able to quite figure that out yet. Maybe it has to do with being shackled with an administration that I felt couldn’t care less who I was or what I thought. Being ignored is kind of like being oppressed, isn’t it? Whatever the dynamics, I am now free of that bunch who would turn this country into a kind of dictatorship if they could. But they were stopped, at least for now, by the perceptiveness and the wisdom of the American people. The people said “ We see through your lies and deception, and we’re bringing this to a stop right now!”

But if there’s one thing we should have learned about the right wing of the Republican Party over the past 30 or 40 years, it is that they are persistent; they will regroup and they will reorganize, and they will return with new ways to try to undermine and alter our government. Today, I noticed FoxNews was on in the clubhouse at Osprey Cove, and the entire time I was there, the only people talking were Sarah Palin and Carl Rove. The day after the most historic election in history, and FoxNews devoted their air time to Palin and Rove. Unbelievable! So count on it – they are not about to change or quit.

And what about Georgia - Georgia, and especially Southeast Georgia, still doesn’t get it, and I’m not sure if the current generation here will ever get it! Like the sand gnats, Jack Kingston is still with us. But at least sand gnats are simply annoying. Jack Kingston is really annoying, but he’s also embarrassing and a hindrance to progress in the district he’s sworn to serve. For at least two more years, he will be one of the biggest impediments to the Obama administration.

So in the midst of our joy, we must come to realize that the election is really just a small first step. We have a monstrous amount of work to do. But the good news is, we’ve shown it can be done! I took today off, because I was just emotionally and physically drained. I would like to take the next week off, too, but there’s simply too much that HAS to happen:

- First, there’s a runoff between Jim Martin and Saxby Chambliss. We must recall all the troops and mobilize them to take advantage of this second chance to rid the Senate of one of George Bush’s biggest hacks.

- We need to take advantage of the momentum the Democratic Party gained over the past year or so. If we don’t capitalize on that right away, the momentum will dissipate and all those new, excited voters will disappear on us.

- We need to reorganize the party and bring in a new batch of leadership, so we are not starting from scratch every election cycle.

- We need to identify and cultivate candidates for every spot at every level.

- We need to elevate the status of the Democratic Party in Camden County, to prove that we are the party for the PEOPLE, not the people in power.

So tomorrow (Thursday) morning, I will be at the headquarters in Kingsland at 9:30am to meet with anyone who cares to show up, to begin planning for the runoff. That’s job one. We can also begin planning how we’re going to tackle the other issues I named above. I know we’re tired. I know we’ve done a great job on the election and we’d like to savor that for awhile, but reality just won’t allow it for now. Come on over and help us sustain the momentum.

Thank you all for all you have done and all you will do.

Dave Southern
Chairman, Democrats of Camden County