Sunday, November 2, 2008

Run Through the Tape

We’re on the brink of an historic election, and most of you have been an integral part of making it happen. Just think of the history-making components of this election:

- Bobbie Kennedy prophesied in 1968 that we might see a black man as president in 40 years. Who really thought that could happen?

- A woman is on the ticket of the Republican Party. Not much of a candidate, but a woman nonetheless.

- A woman came within a whisper of being at the very top of the Democratic ticket.

- George Bush, after 8 years of neo-conservative recklessness, brought the country to economic ruin, destroyed the image of America abroad, tried to turn the country into a virtual dictatorship, trying to rule the United States instead of leading it, created the greatest divide between the super-rich and all others in the nation’s history, sold out our natural resources to the highest bidders or those to whom he owed the biggest political debts, and left almost 20% of homeowners with a mortgage higher than the value of the home itself. After all this, this very morning I read that the Bush administration is pushing to rush through a glut (over 90) of additional deregulation mandates and legislation that will take years to undo. And still, over 20% of Americans believe he’s doing a good job. The historical part of this is that Americans are again proving that, even if it takes them a while, they’ve seen through the screaming and railing of the neo-conservative hysteria, and are ready to take back the reins of government from a very dangerous political threat.

- The U.S. stands on the verge of becoming a three-party system; Democrats, True Republicans, and the Neo-conservatives.

- Bill Smith went down in flames, a remarkable achievement for Camdenn County, GA.

- Georgia is actually still very much in play for the presidency.

- Saxby Chambliss stands on the verge of defeat.

As little as one year ago, how many of these things would have been thinkable? If even one of them were so it would have been historic. Yet, here we are, one weekend away from the election, and all of these things have come to be, and there’s even more, too numerous to mention here.

But so what? Well, the job is still not finished. The black man still has to actually be elected, Georgia hasn’t yet actually turned blue, and Saxby Chambliss and Jack Kingston stand ready to obstruct anything Barack Obama proposes to rebuild the country. Many votes have been cast, but none have been counted yet. We can’t exhale for five more days, and then hopefully, we can sigh a breath of relief and get to work making it all happen with a Democratic administration and legislative branch to support it. There are still thousands of votes here in Camden County that have not yet been cast. There even some minds that have yet to change. And we only have five short day with which to work. These are probably the five most important days of the campaign, and then we can relax. So let’s not let down our guard; let’s, as they say in running track, run through the tape. Otherwise, we could get caught in the last two yards of the race.

We will be calling and walking right into Tuesday, and we need every body we can get on the phone or on the streets between now and then. If you still haven’t worked in the campaign, this is your chance to make that right. If you have, you’re especially important since you have the experience, and can help those who haven’t. But the bottom line is, we need you to step up NOW! This is the final stretch, your last chance to get our country back on track, and you can then say you helped make it happen!

One last thing - something I try to avoid bringing into the mix; go to church on Sunday and pray for your country.

Dave Southern
Chairman, Democrats of Camden County

No comments: