America, Brittany, K-Fed Up
It goes deeper than you think
Wednesday morning, interspersed with election analysis was "Brittany K-Fed Up." I think that about sums it up. While Republican spokespeople are both putting on a humble face and minimizing the message, you shouldn't pay too much attention.
Oops we did it again. It took a while. And sure, Montana and Virginia were won on razor-thin margins. And sure, there will probably be a recount in Virginia, but no one really expects it to turn the election. But there's even more than meets the media.
States and districts that have been solidly Republican by large margins have seen a drastic reduction in the Republican margin. In the House races, Nebraska district 2 went to Republicans by 25% in 2004. It went Republican by 10% this year. And that's not an anomaly. That's the norm.
Montana as a whole had a 32% margin in 2004. This year, 20%. Texas district 10 went from 65% to 15%. Kentucky district 5, 100% to 48%.Georgia district 1, 100% to 36%. Kansas district 1, 81% to 59%. Nevada district 2, 40% to 5%. And on and on and on.
Of course there are places like Alabama district 6 that went from 98% Republican to 100% Republican. Or Texas district 11, 55% to 100%. But the vast majority show a huge shift in the margin away from Republicans. In every state of the union.
America is fed up. This is the start of a sea change. But Democrats and other liberals can’t afford to be arrogant or it could start to head back the other direction. This is an opportunity to take the country in the right direction by positive leadership, showing the country and the world what a real liberal agenda is, and how it can work.
Bush says that he wants to work in a bipartisan way, that he hopes the Democrats will, too. I just wish ANY of the White House reporters would ask why anyone should believe him. But regardless, we as Democrats need to work with the Republicans to show how it's done. We're going to be in power in the legislature, but it's not time to just turn the tables and be a bunch of arrogant donkeys about it.
The danger is to assume the country is behind us no matter what, that we're the only alternative, just like Democrats have presumed the black vote and Republicans have presumed the Evangelical vote. Fact is, we got the job, but we need to show the country we can do it better than the guy they just fired. With real leadership, real respect, real planning, and real humility.
Yes, America has dumped its own K-Fed, or R-Fed, perhaps, but there's always a chance she'll wind up with another loser later. So we need to be the party of her dreams, and show her what true love and respect (for democracy) looks like so she'll never go back.
It could be the start of a new America that addresses the real needs of a 21st century world, with all its opportunities and dangers, if we play it right.
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J Klein is the creator of DemocracyMeansYou and occasionally writes and pens cartoons for the site. He lives in an undisclosed location in North Carolina with Dick Cheney.
DemocracyMeansYou was started as both an artistic response to the ubiquitous flag stickers after 9/11 (the THINK sticker was the impetus for the whole shebang), and a forum for liberal and progressive opinion, humor (always important), and inspiring / urging / demanding participation in the democratic process.
He has written for various publications and websites over the years, has worked as a licensed Psychiatric Technician with both the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled; worked as a mechanic for several years; worked for local government promoting ridesharing and alternative transportation in California; quantifying school accountability for California schools; and marketing writing and web design.
