SO I was thinking this morning.......

[MsTryska]

I'm pretty confident that President kerry will be sworn in coem January.


However.....we had soem great years under Clinton, and after a near decade it seems we got complacent. How do we stop something as insane as dubya in office from happening again?

How do we keep the momentum going, during the good years, and not be complacent and taken by surprise in the future?

What is it we need to do? Is it a matter of each of us indivudally staying as active as possible, and never forgetting? Do we keep telling our kids and our kids kids about that time we let that dubya in office, and the mess he made of it and to never let the rest of America make your vote for you?

any ideas?

[Longhorn]

1. We need to stay organized and active, for one thing!

We need to stay focused and in "campaign mode." This doesn't mean we have to approve of everything that the Kerry administration does but we need to find a way to work together. In the past, we were our own worst enemies -- fighting and dividing so that the party was in shambles. The Democratic Party is not perfect and never will be but it is certainly more representative of the views of most of us than the Republicans and we need to remember that the next time we start shooting at one another!

[knowbody0]

2. #1 will be to forgive the ignorant

and return to the amerikan way of tolerance and free speech. lay down our arms of anger and cherish the melting pot of all cultures.
#2 hold accountable those in the old administration for the lies and deception for the world to see,including abu ghraib
#3 create think tanks for resolution on terror, examining its seeds with a global perspective, admitting to our transgressions
#4 create a task force to bring us back to the constitution and bill of rights
#5 free the press
#6 let freedom scream
#7 make the environment a priority

this is too much fun--most of all dream again of the "greater good" leading us forward

[Cyrano]

3. Yes. We must build the same kind of echo chamber the Rethugs have built

over the past 30 years.

"Think tanks," (Heritage Foundation, The American Enterprise Institute, The Hudson Institute, to name just a few) are nothing more than right wing breeding grounds for lunatic right people to (a) Keep making money while they're out of government, and, (b) breeding grounds for they're vermin to show up on TV food-fight shows and produce op-ed articles for publication in major newspapers.

They also own talk radio, which is only now being opposed by Air America.

The bottom line is, they're a lot more savvy than we are at grinding out non-stop propaganda. And most people buy it. After all, as H. L. Mencken said, "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people."

We have a lot of work to do, assuming this asshole doesn't get re-selected, and ends the concept of free elections forever.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

12. Recruit and train, recruit and train, recruit and train

that's what they do to ensure a fresh new crop of constant repukes and that is what I am going to start doing here in my corner of the world to ensure we have more Dems than repukes and that they just keep coming and coming and coming, like a big blue tidal wave of Democrats washing over the nasty, hateful repukes and their policies of hurfulness and division.

[knowbody0]

4. #1 will be to forgive the ignorant

and return to the amerikan way of tolerance and free speech. lay down our arms of anger and cherish the melting pot of all cultures.
#2 hold accountable those in the old administration for the lies and deception for the world to see,including abu ghraib
#3 create think tanks for resolution on terror, examining its seeds with a global perspective, admitting to our transgressions
#4 create a task force to bring us back to the constitution and bill of rights
#5 free the press
#6 let freedom scream
#7 make the environment a priority

this is too much fun--most of all dream again of the "greater good" leading us forward

[Vincardog]

5. This is not the end it is only the beginning We have to take back control

of The Whole Government Federal state and Local.
We have to wrest control of the Media from corrupt corporate interest. We need to fact the Truth about International Finance we are Bankrupt. We need to rebuild the American Dream and Build the Infrastructure necessary to make America once again the Factory that creates the world we want to live in.

[grace0418]

6. Well, sadly,

I think we have a loooooooooong road ahead. Kerry will have to help America dig itself out of a HUGE hole, I think the deepest hole we've ever been in. Sure the Depression sucked on an economic level and certainly most Americans are better off than people were then (most, but not all). But I don't know if America has ever been up the creek in so many ways, and the cumulative effect is terrifying. The world at large hates us at worst and distrusts us at best which means increased terror and less assistance, long wars and spiralling costs. We're bleeding jobs. Our schools suck. We have an insane deficit. Our environment is on the brink of disaster, which means we'll be dealing with larger, costlier and more frequent extreme weather conditions in the near future i.e. hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires, etc. Our healthcare system and insurance industry is in shambles. It's really, really bad.

I think we can turn it around, but by no means do I think we're going to see the kind of times that we saw with Clinton. That's why we have to keep fighting even harder, because the GOP is going to blame everything on Kerry no matter what. Unless he works absolute miracles, people are going to magically forget that BushCo brought on the terrible situation we're in and will continue to be in for a long time.

[Orlandodem]

7. Make voting easier and build think tanks.

Either make it a national holiday or allow for internet voting or have everyone do it by mail. The sad fact is that our side doesn't vote in as great of numbers. The other side is always motivated but they know if voting were higher then they would be wiped off the political map. Put it another way - in 2000 about half of all eligible voted. Less than half of those voted for Shrub.

Another is to develop think tanks. Con think tanks have been around for 40 years. They've been successful at getting their ideas out. We need to do the same.

[newyawker99]

8. Hi Orlandodem!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

13. In Australia voting is mandatory

and I agree on the think tanks.

Let's get Soros on that. A MAJOR progressive think tank in EVERY one of the fifty states. Yep, that'll do it.

[BillZBubb]

9. Build the party infrastructure and get a permanent response squad

We need the think tank infrastructure to sharpen, project, and fight for Democratic ideas. We need party building infrastructure to register and keep new Democrats as well as develop a stable of future candidate prospects. This should be ongoing, not just during election season.

There should NEVER be a single election in this country where a well financed Democrat isn't running.

We also need a permanent, funded and staffed Democratic response squad that immediately goes for the throat of Repugs who try to slime Democratic office holders or candidates. No more Whitewater crap, no more Swiftscum Liars. This group should have some excellent print and TV media spokespeople. Perhaps they could use assets like DU to do instant research.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

10. I'm in this for the next fifty years or so

I don't know about the rest of you, LOL!

I vowed to join the Democrats on election night 2000, when I watched Florida turn different colors.

I kept that promise and have become involved from national elections all the way down to school board elections.

I vow to keep fundies out of positions of power.

I vow to bring more progressive policies to fruition.

I vow to work hard for the Democratic party come hell or high water, and ensure we have the BEST candidates and winwinwin.

I want to cripple my state's repuke party. Semi-permanently.

This isn't just about this election. I'm raring to go for 2006 RIGHT AFTER THIS baby.

[Sparkly]

11. Go after the media

Break up the conglomerates, make them accountable, boycott sponsors of liars, etc...

[BUSHOUT]

14. Belongs in the "Campaign 2008" area.....

[MsTryska]

15. So the one common thing

that almost everyone has said, is we need to develop Think Tanks.

can we define think tank, (as far as it's role, what it actually does, and it's modus operandi for acheiving that mission) and then talk about how we create these think tanks?


i think the fact that we as a whole are so internet savvy can help us in the longrun.