Then WE WANT YOU to come and join the fight!
We know there are plenty of armchair critics of the Democratic leadership who are ready to throw in the towel if the Republicans dominate another election. But instead of passively criticizing or giving up, consider one last thing before you retire to independent land: the neo-conservative Republican dominance you despise was built from the ground up by everyday people just like you!
Despite the successes of Democrats like Bill Clinton and Mark Warner and the failures of Republicans like George W. Bush and Jim Gilmore, the people keep electing them and their political clones to office. The reason is not due to propaganda, lies, and false promises from Republican leaders, it's due to the propaganda, lies, and false promises being repeated a thousand times over by average Americans in thousands of small towns across America every day since Clinton was elected!
And while America thrived with leaders like Clinton and nose-dived with failures like Bush, Democrats and their supporters seemed to fall asleep during that time, foolishly assuming they had proven their point that they were the superior party. All the while, Republicans in Middle America worked day and night lambasting Democrats and liberals, and turning the country against us ONE VOTER at a time. So when we awoke on November 2nd 2004, confident that by day's end we would narrow the gap in Congress and kick Bush out of office, we instead found out the majority of the voting electorate were against us.
The knee-jerk reaction was to blame John Kerry, or his campaign staff, or the Democrats in Congress. And while some of that blame was justified, much like Michael Brown, we have failed to point the finger at ourselves. It wasn't Fox News selling the Bush agenda to people; it was their friends, neighbors, and associates - the people they trusted - who spread lies about Bill Clinton, John Kerry and other Democratic candidates. Fox News was simply a GOP-supported news station invented to respond to the already existing grassroots conservative movement. And like Fox News, the Republican Party leaders responded to the people who supported them on the ground by cutting taxes, fighting gay marriage, and attacking the Democrats in aggressive ways, because that's what the grassroots movement demanded of them.
For over a decade, grassroots conservatives have been on the ground in record numbers helping Republicans get elected to every office possible. They convinced people in their community that the Democrats and liberals were a vote against their interests. They personalized every conversation, focusing on how each person's vote would affect their tax bill, their gun rights, their marriage rights, and their worldviews. And even though the Republicans didn't represent their economic interests, there weren't enough Democrats on the ground to tell them otherwise.
It's now glaringly obvious that we have waited for too long. The time is now to suck in our guts and follow the example of the Republican machine. From local school boards to the U.S. Congress to the Presidency, we have to wake up and fight for the issues we believe in or we will lose and lose again. If the Democrats in Congress don't take our lead, then we can attend Democratic committee meetings in every town, pressing a progressive message, and delivering it in such large numbers those Democratic leaders will have stand up and take notice. Even if we attract a half the numbers Republicans have mustered, we'll have enough fuel in the tank to win the majority of elections for years to come.
All across America local Democratic committees are agonizing for new members. They are open to new ideas and need our help. Even if you think writing letters, making phone calls, visiting homes, handing out fliers, or writing for a blog is above your talent level - do it anyway! The Republicans are doing it, and doing it more effectively, and in larger numbers. Don't be afraid to speak your mind to local Democratic candidates and elected officials. Don't be afraid to demand a response to attacks from our conservative opponents. And if you don't like the volunteer coordinators or committee officials, then become one yourself.
The Democratic leadership won't respond until we do. It takes mobilization to succeed and a unified vision of progressive principles to return the Democrats to power. Right now the Democratic leadership hears one thousand separate interests and priorities, from health care, gas prices, the right to choose, fiscal responsibility, the environment, and an eventual withdrawal of troops in Iraq, but all of these issues are endangered by the lack of government accountability produced by neo-conservative leaders. Therefore, PRIORITY ONE needs to be the removal of incompetent, corrupt, corporate Republicans on the federal, state, and local levels.
Now the Kaine campaign has little over a month to go, and despite the fact that Tim Kaine is obviously a superior candidate, Jerry Kilgore still has a chance to win because he has more people on the ground. For Tim Kaine to win, people need to get up out of their armchair and support him. You have the opportunity to elect an excellent Democratic candidate and defeat an ultra-conservative so outlandish in his views, that his environmental strategy is voluntary regulations, and his economic strategy is gutting the treasury to pay for pork-barrel transportation projects, while cutting taxes for the wealthiest Virginians!
The battle begins today and continues every day after. You are the leaders of the Democratic Party - now get up and lead us to victory!!!