In the end, I agree here -- the last thing we can do is get complacent. The news is bad for the Republicans and Bush on every front and its looks likely to get nothing but worse. The only positive lining I see between now and next November is the likelyhood of Iraq ratifying their Constitution and the beginning of troop withdrawals from the region. John McCain stated last night on the Daily Show that "we should have our forces reduced by 1/3 - a year from now".by kos
Wed Nov 09, 2005 at 12:10:42 AM PST
Intelligent designers on Dover school board were swept out en masse by the city's voters. Eight sane Dems swept out eight crazy fundamentalists.
In Tucson Arizona, Dems took out two Republicans and reverted the city council to Democratic control. In Washington State, a measure closely watched by anti-tax zealots to repeal Washington's fuel tax was narrowly defeated.
In Maine (as noted already), an anti-gay ballot initiative actually failed. That's something you don't see every day. An anti-gay marriage amendment in Texas passed easily (even though it may hilariously invalidate every marriage).
In both New Jersey and Virginia Democrats gained seats in the state legislatures. Bush actually lent some of that "political capital" to Virginia's Kilgore, for all the good (and probable harm) it did. Let's hope more and more Republicans decide to let Bush campaign for them. Heck, the Democratic Party should pay Bush's political travel expenses, since they will clearly help us more than their own guys. California is a disaster of epic proportions for Arnold (The One-Term-inator). How long before rumors about Arnold's retirement crop up? (And no, I haven't heard any. Yet.)
From Dailykos
This special election result has the feel of every teen movie from the 80s where some strutting bully, someone who would be a golden boy if it weren't for his overblown ego and petty cruelty... is handed his ass by a rag-tag group of misfits that he wouldn't deign to spit on.
In this case, the bully was taken out by a group of cops, nurses, teachers, and firefighters - people who eke out a living in service to their communities... and who are living rebukes to the Republican notion that a person's worth can be computed as a direct function of the magnitude of their investment portfolio.
After setting aside the election of Gray Davis in 2002 by a capricious and well financed attack on the principles of democratic process, Arnold probably thought he could once again pee on California and call it rosewater...
We showed that we can mobilize and win. The Alliance for a Better California was a truly unprecedented joint effort of the state's many unions, the Democratic party, and activists in groups like DfA and PDA all working together.
Progressives putting differences aside to work together? Who'd have thunk it?
It worked.
More from Dailykos:
AHNULD: I vill go strate to du peepo uf Col-ee-for-nee-uh.
PEOPLE: Fuck you!
Republicans have very little to cheer about this election. They soundly defeated reform efforts in Ohio and they held on to the NYC mayorship. Retaking NYC would've been the "cherry on top" of this election, but whatever. No one ever wins them all.
But I have to say, while this beats the losing we've experiened the last couple of years, this is still quite unsatisfying. Let's call it the appetizer.
2006 is the real target. We've got the momentum and a Republican Party reeling from its inability to govern. We can't let them regain their balance. We've got to keep them on the defensive, take advantage of every opening they provide to score additional points.
Off-year elections are rarely harbingers of future performance. Dems actually did quite well in 2003, to little effect in 2004. Let's work to make this year an exception to that rule.
Will such good news be enough to feather the wind at the back the anti-war movement? Possibly. But then again, if there are more indictments of senior White House staff (Rove) and Officials (Cheney) in addition to the current indictments of Libby, Frist, DeLay and Abramov - even news that good may not be enough.
Keep the corks in the Champagne - the real party will be in 06, and then again in 08. Or not.
Vyan
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