Thursday, February 5, 2004

MOTIVATING SOULS FROM NEW CASTLE: You know I've tried to keep this place largely apolitical, and for the most part, I've done that. But now, please pardon this interruption.

I spent a good portion of the past week in Delaware volunteering with the John Kerry campaign, calling people on the phone, doing visibility, helping with Senator Kerry's event in New Castle, getting out the vote, basically, whatever it took to win The First State (home of tax-free shopping) and keep the other candidates from amassing delegates. Let me note a few things about what happened:
1. I cannot say enough good things about the campaign staff. Weary but energized from their work in Iowa and New Hampshire, where they spent months going through the campaign's bust and subsequent boom, they took two weeks and turned an empty office in an industrial park into a statewide rout. Most of them were college-aged or just past, but they were savvy, dedicated professionals who were absolutely committed to the task at hand.

The goal, as I understood it, was to get 10,000 votes. They won 16,729, and now they're all elsewhere in America, continuing the fight.

2. Man, voters are pissed. I spoke to hundreds of people over the past week, young and old (mostly old), and the desire to end the Bush presidency is vocal and strong.

I know that's what's driving a lot of Kerry's support. I spoke with one voter who liked Edwards' message better but was leaning towards Kerry because he had a better change of withstanding Bush's attacks and winning. I agree -- I love the "Two Americas" message, and I would rally to an Edwards presidency, but post-9/11 is not the time for a candidate whose elected experience is limited to one term in the Senate.

We need someone with a stronger national security profile, someone who will be seen by the electorate as being as serious and as tough in winning the war against terrorism as the President. Kerry does that -- not only because of his Vietnam experience, but because of what he has done in the Senate and the gravity with which he carries himself. Serious times call for serious men.

3. Let's not forget this: the elderly are our base. They are the most loyal Democrats, and the most likely to get out and vote. Forgetting this is what gave the Dean people such hope, believing that success on the Internet meant success in the polls. It doesn't.

4. My favorite campaign anecdote: some of the volunteers were in a low-income neighborhood of Wilmington on primary day trying to drum up the vote. They saw a bunch of guys sitting around in a circle in front of a house. They were hosting a cockfight.

5. To the Dean people: I know you're disappointed right now. I remember how I felt in 1992, when I was supporting Tom Harkin during the primaries -- I wanted the strong progressive as my nominee, not the slick Southern moderate with the pretty smile. Indeed, I was as disgusted with Clinton's taking time off from New Hampshire to preside over the execution of Rickey Ray Rector (a man so brain-damaged at the time of his execution that he asked that his final meal dessert of pecan pie be saved "for later") as many Dean supporters are about Kerry's vote authorizing the war against Iraq, and at the time felt nauseous about having to support him come November.

But support him I did, with gusto -- volunteering at the Convention, registering voters on campus and campaigning in New Hampshire -- and I know the eight years we had under him were better than those we would have had under Republican leadership. No question. Yes, there were times that Clinton disappointed me (Lewinsky, DOMA, welfare reform, etc.), but, end of the day, more good came from his Presidency than would have otherwise. Any of the major nominees, however flawed, will do our nation better than four more years of Bush.

6. I'll give you three more reasons to support the Democratic nominee, whoever he is, over Nader or staying home: Rehnquist, O'Connor, and Stevens. All three (and maybe others) could step down from the Supreme Court during the next four years. Their replacements will decide the future of abortion rights, affirmative action, gay rights and countless other issues for decades to come. We can't chance having President Bush name their successors, just for the sake of feeling better about the purity of our vote.

I give Gov. Dean and his supporters a ton of credit for what they've brought to this process, and especially for teaching younger voters that even their money equals speech, and that the most significant way to make one's presence felt early on was through their wallets, that there was nothing shameful (and indeed much to be praised) about spending money to be involved with the political process, that every dollar counts as it accumulates a mountain of grassroots support.

I hope they'll support whoever our nominee is this fall, and I will too, because too much is at stake. There is much more that unites us than divides us.

Rant over. If you enjoy this season as much as I do, you damn well better be bookmarking Daily Kos, which is absolutely essential reading.

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