It's going to be a long decade.

[PretzelWarrior]

I can feel the Huns have spotted the weaknesses around the edge of our bivuoac and are sharpening their sabres for the close hand to hand that is about to envelope this nation.

No, I don't mean physical combat. I mean the fight for the very soul of this nation. We are going to see some increasingly recalcitrant Republican laypeople and increasingly vociferous Republican mouthpieces calling us traitors if we don't shut our mouths and take the @ssf*ck they're about to deliver.

They are in this for keeps. I can tell you Bush doesn't want to settle for less than THREE Supreme Court appointments and is hoping for four.

They will set up the game for another round to triangulate on the issues...move actual policy and reality to favor another GOP gain in Senate. Then it's 60 vote time for Repubs and look out.

[deutsey]

1. I fear it's going to be a long few decades

in terms of working to undo all that Bush has already done and is about to do.

[PretzelWarrior]

2. yeah...I actually agree with you it'll be longer...but thought

fearing 10 years of hell would be enough of a bummer. Do we have any recourse? I mean, do we? We as grassroots level participants would have to pull out all the stops to turn the Senate in our favor and the liklihood of doing so is slim. The likelihood of doing so with more than a razor thin margin is very unlikely.

So....for the next 4 years...I really don't see any hope of intervention from us Democrats in the "Divine Plan of Bush".

[deutsey]

5. I think we need to draw lessons and inspiration from

the Civil Rights movement and the early Labor movement, in particular.

Both sort of emerged after the Civil War as grassroots movements to demand and agitate for a better world for Blacks and workers in the Gilded Age and early part of the 20th century. It took decades for them to significantly have an impact on American government and society (especially the Civil Rights movement), but they ultimately did.

Despite violent repression right here in the good ol' US of A and being shut out of the electoral process, they persisted and eventually (and sometimes reluctantly) the Democrats took up their causes.

The point being, I think we need to stop looking to the electoral process in this country as the only way to create meaningful change in this society.

[PretzelWarrior]

6. well, you may be right. but i am very bitter right now about lost

opportunity.

This nation was not morally adrift before Bush. This nation was not in need of confidence or hope. We had those in the final years of Clinton despite the ridiculous sideshow of Clenis.

We were denied the ability to continue down that path of progress by cheating and brute politics by GOP in 2000.

This was to be the redemption. We were going to say convincingly to ourselves, the world, and our political opponents here in the U.S. that USA citizens REPUDIATED what Bush stands for. Preemptive war. Fear as a prime mover. Money over all other considerations. Empty consumerism. Crushing price gouging and little redress for grievances due to little or now industry regulations.

Well, the world and we ourselves now see the GOP just got stronger. They mowed us over (by whatever means you want to ascribe..values, cheating, terror fear)

So...I sit here still crestfallen. Still disbelieving that my countrymen have put the band of approval on such low expectations and such criminal and unamerican policies.

[brettdale]

3. Its going to be a long life

Its going to be along life, every election from now on will be like this, it just wont be fair.

[PretzelWarrior]

4. so what are our options? I oscillate between despair and deep pain

and then confident and angry determination. What is the first and best step?

[seaj11]

7. You know, I was thinking

we should just be gracious and quietly form a massive force that will take back the country in 2008 (or sooner, if Idiot is impeached and resigns/is fired). Now, hearing some of the gloating and "plans for a better America" coming out of these Repugs' mouths, I say GIVE 'EM HELL. We write letters, circulate petitions, do demonstrations to GET THOSE VOTES COUNTED. If those efforts should fail, we WORK FOR GAY MARRIAGE AND ABORTION RIGHTS. We WORK FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. We PROTEST THE WAR. We SEND COUNTLESS MESSAGES OF ANY KIND TO THE ADMINISTRATION LETTING OUR VOICES BE KNOWN.

GIVE THOSE BASTARDS HELL!