SchirriStreet

4 November 2008

Vote usa 2008

Posted by schirristreet under: Uncategorized .

The End of the Beginning

we california progressives have come quite a long way in this decade. whereas america had its catastrophic political moment eight years ago, ours came on october 7, 2003. a disorganized and demoralized democratic party, out of partake of with its base, saw its governor recalled and replaced by an austrian actor.

Just as American progressives used the defeats of 2000 and 2004 to learn how to organize and place ourselves on the brink of an historic presidential victory, California progressives used the 2003 defeat to start doing the hard and necessary work of rebuilding a party and a movement. We saw some early rewards in 2005 when we beat Arnold’s special election. And we saw some setbacks in 2006 when top-down party establishment led us into another gubernatorial defeat.

At the same time California progressives helped send Jerry McNerney to Congress and put Debra Bowen in the Secretary of State’s office and helped Marcy Winograd nearly knock off Jane Harman. Immigrant rights activists took to the streets and created a new civil rights movement for a new generation. Those campaigns helped sow the seeds of the remarkable grassroots energy we have witnessed here in 2008. Up and down the state progressive activists have organized to help Democrats have a fighting chance at a 2/3 majority, helped put candidates like Charlie Brown and Debbie Cook on the brink of defeating two of Southern California’s far-right freakshows.

And the outpouring of activism for the No on Prop 8 campaign is something to behold. That race is still WAY too close for comfort - if you have not yet volunteered for the campaign, be sure to do so as part of your Stay for Change action. Vote early and then get to work - we have an election to win.

As the history of California progressives in the 2000s shows, sometimes you’ve gotta hit rock bottom before you can make it back to the top. We’re not there yet, and no matter how the results turn out today, we still have a long way to go. With Arnold Schwarzenegger still governor, with millions of Californians facing unemployment and foreclosure and the loss of health benefits, with the state budget in deficit and Republicans insist on using it to ram through Grover Norquist’s radical agenda - we still have plenty of work left to do no matter what happens today.

Early poll results

But today’s election is the end of the beginning. California progressives are no longer the party doormat, no longer a disorganized group. We are not just here to stay, but we are here to lead and we are here to resuscitate this state. The right-wing remains strong - so strong they may well pass Prop 8 - but no longer will they have the state to themselves. Today, the battle has been joined.

Let’s go make history.

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