November 04, 2004
Going Back From Ohio
I'm back in my hometown of New York after what feels like a month in Ohio. In reality it was 6 long hard days as a foot soldier in the Get Out the Vote effort. Bottom line is that the Republicans just plain outplayed the Dems in this popularity contest. Close game, but not quite close in the right way.
What's fucked up is that the Dems actually won on the issues game. But they failed miserably on the popularity game. No one likes Kerry on any personal level. Out in Ohio nearly all the Bush supporters I met were actually better aligned with Kerry on the facts and issues. But it was clear that many just felt better personally about Bush, even if they couldn't explain it. Empathy is the word and Kerry had none. Zero. He's a stone cold motherfucker and he never quite could sell that right. The left needs to wake up the fact that the president is first and foremost a figurehead. He (or just maybe she) needs to be likable and he needs to inspire passion. Its way better to be loved by half country and hated by the other (ala both Clinton and Bush) then to be modestly regarded by all.
And me personally? I'm a bit shell shocked. I feel a bit like a Vietnam vet coming home to a world that doesn't quite understand what its like out there in the battlefield. Luckily no one died on this battle field, so I'll be alright in a minute I presume. Let me amend though, no one has died yet, god only knows what happens when Bushco gets their hands on the Supreme Court.
Arlen Specter at least gives me some hope. If there is going to be light in the next four years of US politics I'm looking for it in internal conflicts within the Republican party. If the religious/social conservatives wind up at odds with the old school fiscal conservatives we might be able to squeeze through this era ok. And yeah the rumors of Ashcroft stepping down give me more hope indeed. It's probably just the denial stage of grief, but I somehow have a strange feeling Bush '04 won't be quite as bad as Bush '00. Lets see how quickly that feeling lasts..
Posted by Abe at November 4, 2004 04:36 PM
Comments
Hey, thank you for your work, Abe. I really appreciate all the hard work so many people put in, including several friends of mine who were in NH and in Florida. Unfortunately, the grassroots effort wasn't what the party really needed - it needed a more effective strategy (including the right candidate with the right messages) from the top. Rest up, recover, and re-energize. There are a lot of people revved up to fight the extremists.
Posted by: leslee | November 4, 2004 06:08 PM
Hang in there. Canada wears black. tV
Posted by: tobias c. van Veen | November 4, 2004 07:09 PM
even if the Diebold did as they promised and "delivered" Ohio for Bush (http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1013-01.htm) it still means their are roughly 45% of the voting populace that thought bush did a good job (and that gay people are Baaad. very Baaad.)
they only hope we few have is to believe there is some hope underneith reality. some hope down the line. like that through some accessibly medium we can speak to the future like Leary or the Beats spoke to me. Or Fitzgerald and Jazz spoke to them.
I think Nader had the best quote: "when you push for progress reforms as we do, you lose and lose and lose, until you win." maybe generations from now, perhaps after the humans die off all together. As i see it, all we can do is carry forward the flame.
much love,
mason
ps. havent seen you since sxsw. hope you are well.
Posted by: Mason Dixon | November 4, 2004 07:12 PM
Good work. Welcome back. Manhattan gave Bush the finger. He drew just 16.6% of the vote.
Posted by: Kathryn Cramer | November 4, 2004 07:45 PM
_I somehow have a strange feeling Bush '04 won't be quite as bad as Bush '00._
Mark my words, it will become necessary to destroy America in order to save it.
Posted by: Adam | November 4, 2004 08:29 PM
You're right, it's likability. In fact, I think voters chose the phrase "moral values" (pushed on them by the exit pollsters) because it connotes a strongly held belief that you don't have to explain or defend. Which is what likability is, after all.
Peace, Jarrett (http://urbanist.trackpad.com)
Posted by: Jarrett | November 6, 2004 12:28 PM
"I feel a bit like a Vietnam vet coming home to a world that doesn't quite understand what its like out there in the battlefield. Luckily no one died on this battle field,"
And you don't have John Kerry slandering you in front of a Congressional comittee, either.
Posted by: ralph phelan | November 8, 2004 10:14 PM
-ralph you Republicans (I assume you are one) really are fucked deeply in the head, no? There is nothing I'd like more then a congressional investigation into the flaws of our "democratic" process, and no that's not about slander that's about the truth. Its quite possible for a Vietnam vet to fully understand how fucked the war was, and huge numbers of them where. Its the ones that refused to accept that their government was sending them to an unjust and unjustified war that truly did the slandering to our nation.
Posted by: Abe | November 9, 2004 01:28 AM
"Its the ones that refused to accept that their government was sending them to an unjust and unjustified war that truly did the slandering to our nation."
You could throw in "unwinnable" and I'd still agree.
It's when you start making false accusations of widespread war crimes that, however noble your cause, the vileness of your methods overshadow it.
Posted by: ralph phelan | November 9, 2004 10:33 AM
very informed and interesting comments! greetings.
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