changed history…

Posted on Wednesday 5 November 2008

by: Chris Bowers

…the fundamental reason why Democrats are now in power is because Republicans made people’s lives worse (and lying to people about it while it was happening didn’t help, either). If we do the same, then the same electoral fate will befall us. If we do not make people’s lives better, there will be no realignment, just a brief, historic blip. It is only when we improve the lives of most Americans that our gains will be solidified, and our realignment will take hold.

We must pivot toward governing immediately, no matter what happens in the few outstanding elections. It is no longer about electing more Democrats–at long last, we have more than enough. Now, it is about making the Democrats we have better and more effective, so that they will make the lives of most Americans better…

And yes, this is the progressive movement’s mandate. A mandate to end the war. A mandate for universal health care. A mandate to solve the financial crisis even if it means nationalization and harsh measures against Wall Street. A mandate to repair the environment. A mandate to restore the middle class. A mandate for a truly free and open media. This is our mandate. The country is with us…

This is just the beginning, but a progressive governing majority is starting to appear on the horizon. Reaching it is a task worthy of our greatest efforts…
Of course Chris is right. I hear that Obama is hitting the ground running, presaging that his transition operation will be as smooth as his campaign. As much as I hate that Bush and Cheney still have 75 days to mess with things that shouldn’t be messed with, I’m almost glad there’s a break. I need it. We all do. We’ve been so focused on winning this election – nailbiting when we apparently didn’t need to. This has all been a lot to take in and process. I don’t think we have to worry about losing our momentum. As the book title from the sixties said, "Don’t push the river. It runs by itself…" This election really did change history…

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