obviously u aren't...why dont u try it :)

Nice try Dems.

What are you going to say in 2008 if a Republican loses Colorado but still gets "47%" of their electoral votes which gives him the election?

I just want the votes to more accurately reflect who will win the presidency. In this case, Bush won the popular vote. :(

Also, I agree with Love_Spell in the fact that Dems need to pull away from Bill. As much as I liked bill clinton, his day (as president) is over. A major overhaul of the democratic party is needed.

my question is this: how do you win an election that's heavily faith/morals/church based yet you live in a country that's supposed to have a separation of church and state?

LoveSpell--what attracted you to the Republican party? Please do not take this as me baiting you. I would really like to know because I've never had a conversation with a Black person who is also a member of the Republican party.

I am an Independent so I do not vote straight Democrat nor do I vote straight Republican. I vote based on the issues that will best benefit me and my community.

Senator Edwards wife diagnosed with breast cancer
 

My prayers to the Edwards family on what has to be an extremely rough week for them.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm..._edwards_cancer

I'm an independent thinker, but a registered Democrat. I'm in favor of big gov't, social programs, blah blah blah.

I know a couple of Black Republicans. Frankly, I don't get it. I think they are misguided. But, that's me. I have dedicated my life to public service, therefore, I'm coming from a different place. I just shake my head, and we start talking about shopping.

I'm not a Republican...that is what my little fans on GC have decided to call me...if I would label myself as anything it would be conservative..

But thanks for asking me instead of ASSuming like lots of GCers :)

In this, the aftermath of the election of 2004, I am dissapointed. I am not sad, because I have God's joy in my heart and know that throughout all His will will prevail.

I have tried to make myself focus on the positive things that Dubya might provide for the country (and for me). In an effort to stay positive because life here, even under Dubya's reign, is much better than life many places I am tried to catalogue a list.

1. Great time to start a small business.
2. If you're a physician, Dubya and his homies will likely soon cap medical malpractice awards (although I would hope you'll still strive to do malpractice-free work).
3. The people on this board (college educated professionals or soon to bes) will likely get a nice tax break
4. We have a real standard of comparing public schools. With all of the problems of No Child Left Behid, at the very least we can know when a school is "failing" and not rely on rumor, gossip and guess.
5. The tax code will be simpler and you won't have to pay someone to do your taxes.

I am most definitely not a republican and even less conservative. However, I am a Christian so in some respects I share conservative ideologies, but I tend to focus much more on generosity and Christ-likeness than Republicans do. I say all this about my party affiliation just to say, please don't take this post as supporting Republicans. I am just trying desperately to find the light in the darkness.

I am reminded of the last lines of Desiderata :

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.


Please, sisters keep this in your hearts as you go about. With all America's problems she is still probably the best place for you to live. And even if she's not the best, she is still one of the best countries to live in (and you are personally likely far better off)- our poverty line is well above the wealth line in many countries.

So, to all my fellow disheartened Dems out there- I know that right now you likely feel scared, anxious for your rights, deceived and in dismay regarding how the poorest of the poor voted for someone who'll likely serve you and I more than he'll serve them. If you feel the way I do, please turn that into positive energy.

Let us work with what positive things there are and continue to make our land better. We are African American, but if you're like me you know FAR more about America than Africa and America is your home. So lets make her more OURS.

Let's USE dubya they way he used T.D. Let's stop working for the Republicans in their businesses and USE Dubya by taking advantage of his small business initiatives.

Let's make some lemonade.

I know it is very dark. Right now, I wish I could sleep for the next four years- it is so dark. But let us not curse the darkness- let us light candles.

Remember in 1968 the Republican party was said to be all but dead-- do they seem dead to you?

Exquisite, this was a really nice post. I feel exactly the way you do.

Exquisite5, I agree with your sentiments as well. Very nicely stated. :)

Thanks guys, I was really upset and could not sleep on Tuesday night. As a law student, I kept cursing myself for not going to Ohio with my colleagues for election protection.

But then I told myself what's done is done and accepted that I did the best that I could through donations to the DNC and trying to help get out the vote- I just couldn't go to Ohio due to Howard's attendance policy and how many absences I have due to the interviewing season earlier this fall.

So, I asked, where do we go now? The sentiments reflected in my post are the result.

Everyone keep your head up- it will be a LONG four years, but think how much time that is to start changing the Democratic party and the world.

I think a lot of us who either voted for Kerry or align ourselves with the Democratic party felt similar to how you felt Tuesday, Wednesday, and possibly still feel that way today.

It is time for the Democratic party to make some changes.

I can say that I am still proud at how many folks turned out to vote this year. WE need to maintain them as voters and increase those numbers in 2008. There will be even more age eligible voters then and we need to begin attracting them to vote as well as being politically aware and involved.

I read this thread with hope. The key, whatever your political ideology, is to STAY involved. As the "heat" of the presidential battle dissipates, the day-to-day of governance and policy will soon begin. Despite how "boring" this may appear to some, this is exactly where people need to stay vigilant; if not on the national level, stay informed on how policy initiatives, if enacted, will affect your state/local area.

If you're alligned with a particular political party/ideology, consider a) giving your service, or b) encouraging those you could support to get involved. Run for the zoning board, school board, city council, etc... Most national politicans come from state legislatures; most state legislature members come from local government service in some form: council, school board, etc... Or pick an interest/cause and work on its behalf. As it rises in importance, believe me, the politicians will take notice.

I'm encouraged by the interest/involvement that's taken place these last 3 months. But to ultimately get the government we want, we need to stay in the fight.

(Of course there are a grip of things we need to do economically, but that's a whole 'nuther thread.)

Stay up, yall. We're going to make it. :cool:

From Michael Moore
 

11/5/04

Dear Friends,

Ok, it sucks. Really sucks. But before you go and cash it all in, let's, in
the words of Monty Python, 'always look on the bright side of life!' There
IS some good news from Tuesday's election.

Here are 17 reasons not to slit your wrists:

1. It is against the law for George W. Bush to run for president again.

2. Bush's victory was the NARROWEST win for a sitting president since
Woodrow Wilson in 1916.

3. The only age group in which the majority voted for Kerry was young adults
(Kerry: 54%, Bush: 44%), proving once again that your parents are always
wrong and you should never listen to them.

4. In spite of Bush's win, the majority of Americans still think the
country is headed in the wrong direction (56%), think the war wasn't worth fighting (51%), and don't approve of the job George W. Bush is doing (52%). (Note to foreigners: Don't try to figure this one out. It's an American thing, like Pop Tarts.)

5. The Republicans will not have a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the
Senate. If the Democrats do their job, Bush won't be able to pack the
Supreme Court with right-wing ideologues. Did I say "if the Democrats do
their job?" Um, maybe better to scratch this one.

6. Michigan voted for Kerry! So did the entire Northeast, the birthplace of
our democracy. So did 6 of the 8 Great Lakes States. And the whole West
Coast! Plus Hawaii. Ok, that's a start. We've got most of the fresh water,
all of Broadway, and Mt. St. Helens. We can dehydrate them or bury them in
lava. And no more show tunes!

7. Once again we are reminded that the buckeye is a nut, and not just any
old nut -- a poisonous nut. A great nation was felled by a poisonous nut.
May Ohio State pay dearly this Saturday when it faces Michigan.

8. 88% of Bush's support came from white voters. In 50 years, America will
no longer have a white majority. Hey, 50 years isn't such a long time! If
you're ten years old and reading this, your golden years will be truly
golden and you will be well cared for in your old age.

9. Gays, thanks to the ballot measures passed on Tuesday, cannot get married
in 11 new states. Thank God. Just think of all those wedding gifts we won't
have to buy now.

10. Five more African Americans were elected as members of Congress,
including the return of Cynthia McKinney of Georgia. It's always good to
have more blacks in there fighting for us and doing the job our candidates
can't.

11. The CEO of Coors was defeated for Senate in Colorado. Drink up!

12. Admit it: We like the Bush twins and we don't want them to go away.

13. At the state legislative level, Democrats picked up a net of at least 3
chambers in Tuesday's elections. Of the 98 partisan-controlled state
legislative chambers (house/assembly and senate), Democrats went into the
2004 elections in control of 44 chambers, Republicans controlled 53
chambers, and 1 chamber was tied. After Tuesday, Democrats now control 47
chambers, Republicans control 49 chambers, 1 chamber is tied and 1 chamber
(Montana House) is still undecided.

14. Bush is now a lame duck president. He will have no greater moment than
the one he's having this week. It's all downhill for him from here on out --
and, more significantly, he's just not going to want to do all the hard work
that will be expected of him. It'll be like everyone's last month in 12th
grade -- you've already made it, so it's party time! Perhaps he'll treat the
next four years like a permanent Friday, spending even more time at the
ranch or in Kennebunkport. And why shouldn't he? He's already proved his
point, avenged his father and kicked our ass.

15. Should Bush decide to show up to work and take this country down a very
dark road, it is also just as likely that either of the following two
scenarios will happen: a) Now that he doesn't ever need to pander to the
Christian conservatives again to get elected, someone may whisper in his ear
that he should spend these last four years building "a legacy" so that
history will render a kinder verdict on him and thus he will not push for
too aggressive a right-wing agenda; or b) He will become so cocky and
arrogant -- and thus, reckless -- that he will commit a blunder of such
major proportions that even his own party will have to remove him from
office.

16. There are nearly 300 million Americans -- 200 million of them of voting
age. We only lost by three and a half million! That's not a landslide -- it
means we're almost there. Imagine losing by 20 million. If you had 58 yards
to go before you reached the goal line and then you barreled down 55 of
those yards, would you stop on the three yard line, pick up the ball and go
home crying -- especially when you get to start the next down on the three
yard line? Of course not! Buck up! Have hope! More sports analogies are
coming!!!

17. Finally and most importantly, over 55 million Americans voted for the
candidate dubbed "The #1 Liberal in the Senate." That's more than the total
number of voters who voted for either Reagan, Bush I, Clinton or Gore.
Again, more people voted for Kerry than Reagan. If the media are looking for
a trend it should be this -- that so many Americans were, for the first time
since Kennedy, willing to vote for an out-and-out liberal. The country has
always been filled with evangelicals -- that is not news. What IS news is
that so many people have shifted toward a Massachusetts liberal. In fact,
that's BIG news. Which means, don't expect the mainstream media, the ones
who brought you the Iraq War, to ever report the real truth about November
2, 2004. In fact, it's better that they don't. We'll need the element of
surprise in 2008.

Feeling better? I hope so. As my friend Mort wrote me yesterday, "My
Romanian grandfather used to say to me, 'Remember, Morton, this is such a
wonderful country -- it doesn't even need a president!'"

But it needs us. Rest up, I'll write you again tomorrow.

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.michaelmoore.com

My Soror Exquisite5
 

Had a great post. See, we're a very resilient bunch. I don't believe that we can unify on every little issue -- there are far too many different kinds of us to make that work -- but we can start dealing with the reality and as she put it, make lemonade.

To me, too many people got killed and maimed for us in the 1960s to not try and strive for the best we can do.