Rahm and the Big Boy Blahhhggss can bleat all they want, pounding their chests (and looking for checks to cash), but these are the people who made this past Tuesday possible:
Those who considered themselves to live in “Pombo Country” included a woman who traveled all the way from the Artic Wilderness with caribou hairs and soil from the tundra in her pockets, said Mary McAllister, who helped coordinate volunteers for McNerney. Other precinct walkers included a woman on crutches and two older men who worked as a team, she said, the one who could barely hear leading around the one who could barely see so he could talk to voters.
Me, I’m just a loudmouthed cheerleader and polemicist (you people read my rants … does anybody think having me knock on nice blinkered American’s doors woud be a good idea?) … I make no claim to having anything to do with what happened Tuesday, unlike kos and his merry band of would-be Schrums. If any bloggers did have an impact, it was local bloggers (like Milwaukee’s own Folkbum, for example) who helped drive local messages and do oppo research for true insurgent candidates. It certainly wasn’t the breathless blogheelers looking to do Reid’s, Emmanuel’s, Schumer’s or Clinton’s dirty work.
Nope, the real heroes were folks like argghh:
Spent all day today working out in Tracy at the Mcnerney campaign to unseat Richard Pombo (with my cousin Katie and friend Eric!) and I must say this was one of the more wonderful days of my life. It’s hard to describe the feeling of tromping around all day in the beautiful weather, surrounded by SUVs, quiet neighborhoods, streets that are all named either Sycamore Way or Weeping Willow Lane, huge lines at the polling station, the ragtag band of rebels gathering at the home of Martha Gamez, perhaps my greatest hero of all time–a woman in her sixties who hasn’t slept more than 2 hours a night for a week organizing this vast army of eager but entirely clueless Bay Areans into an eager, happy bunch of door-knockers and still managing to give out hugs and laughs and wow Americans sure can be decent wonderful people sometimes. Today was the day the last smoldering coals of cynicism died in my Election-2000-encrusted-heart. As the sun went down on the vast flat aquamarine skies of the valley, and we stood at the poll watching a huge line of happy, talkative voters wait patiently for their turn and a little posse of sleazy-looking Republicans started snooping around and looking ominous and I thought “No, today, you are not going to do anything. Because we are here. For the first time, I am not watching you fuck this up on the news afterwards anymore. I am here, and so are thousands upon thousands like me. There’s Jeb who sat (mostly stood) all day at the poll, that’s 12 hours if you’re counting, watching for problems. There’s Lee who I became best friends with for a day as we got lost in the spiraling suburbs over and over, there’s Carolyn who’s been traveling across the country with her husband in their RV and they decided to stop here in Tracy for a month and get this election won. And more…”
Blogs are corner bars. Blogs are virtual picket fences to hash out issues with your neighbors. They aren’t going to save the world. They are places to learn, places to bitch, places to connect … but that’s all. Citizens who educate themselves, talk to each other, contribute what they can or even just turn out to vote are the real change agents. I love this medium, but the over-inflation of blogs as something more than what they are is serving only to ruin them and lower their real power and effectiveness. Blogs are important only because they get people back into the habit of being engaged. No more, but that is certainly important enough.
Today’s tunes after you click “more”.
- “What I Deserve” – Kelly Willis
- “Reason to Believe” – Rod Stewart
- “The Bookhouse Boys” – Angelo Badalamenti
- “Change (in the House of Flies)” – Deftones
- “I Lost It” – Lucinda Williams
- “You Don’t Have a Heart” – Shelby Lynne
- “What God Wants, Part II” – Roger Waters
- “Tough on Me, Tough on You” – Lonnie Mack
- “Mack the Knife” – Nick Cave
- “Can’t Let Go” – Lucinda Williams
…does anybody think having me knock on nice blinkered American’s doors woud be a good idea?
Well, if you show up here, we’ll have you in for a drink.
While blogs probably had limited direct impact, they do serve to get people interested in things that will.
This time around, I actually became involved in our local congressional race. (NY-19) Our longstanding Republican incumbent was defeated by a newcomer that got no support from the party. I’d like to think that my phonebanking and donation as well as my 2 lawnsigns and bumperstickers had some small effect in this race. Maybe, maybe not. But the blogs helped to get me more interested to the extent that I got involved in something other than whining. BTW, your rants were a part of that process.
thanks … I just think that some of the bigger blogs need to take a step back. The whole thing is a process contributed to by many. I’m reading a lot of hubris this past couple of days.
we’ll invite you in for a beer or two. (We always have at least Old Style on hand, lol!) I’m sure we could all have a good ole rant and debate and hopefully all emerge as compatriots.
You’re right to point out that the real hard work was done on the ground by incredibly devoted people who put aside their daily lives to work for a much needed victory. I’m humbled to think that I was little more than another blog reader, fighting keyboardist, but thanks to the blogs, I was at least a much better informed partisan. And I put that to use every occasion I got by citing all the numerous reasons it was imperative to vote Dem (no matter how hard you had to hold your noses) this election. I expect that more than one person who attended our annual Halloween bash went home wondering why I was so exceptionally fired up about the election and relentless in my exhortations to vote this time around. Not to mention the incessant ranting I spewed upon some of my more receptive co-workers this year …
Unfortunately I was unable to get out more and canvass this time around (my physicial limitations have been weighing on me this year), but I do vow to surpass all that in 2008 and get as involved as I can, even if all that means is phone banking. Hell, I somehow found that energy in 2004 for Kucinich (and even Kerry later on), so I can find that strength again somewhere in my being.
You can count on me beating the streets (and heads) for Feingold in 2008, should Russ decide to run. If I have to prowl the street with a cane, I will do whatever I can to work for his nomination and election.
Sorry, Nutsack, no support from me. None. Even though I voted for you twice to avoid the greater of two evils. Drop out before the caucuses and you suffer a huge, humiliating defeat in your own territory. You might be a nice guy (being generous there), but no one from the DLC is getting a whit of support from me. So read the tea leaves and go become a lobbyist or whatever milquetoastish thing you think might keep you busy.
no DLC for me, either. I think the next two years are going to be fairly nasty on their part. They need to be beaten back, or this country will keep sliding dangerously right.
As for Russ, have you seen Run Russ Run – Draft Russ Feingold for President?
Have to disagree with you here. Kos(who I am not a big fan of) did a great piece yesterday talking about no one group pulled off this election. It was all the groups AND the people that blog(not the owners of the blogs).
Gosh MM. There are people here, over at Kos, MLW and all over that worked for campaigns, GOTV, etc. There are alot of folks that do more than just sit at their computers complaining and whining all day.They work their asses off for free because they want to be the change they want to see in the world. Give credit where credit is due.
What amazes me still is that only 40% of registered voters even bothered to vote this midterm. THAT is really disgusting!
ans some can put aside their angry feelings, put on their adult smiles and knock on doors or make phone calls or drive people to the polls for one day for the good of the whole. Thank the Goddesses there are people out there willing to do it. I would even bet you that are large portion of them are bloggers.