Will You Go To Sleep When Kerry Wins?

[Zhade]

Assuming the election is held and we prevent b*shco from stealing it, what will happen to the active DUers working so hard on the current goal of ousting the Thief-in-Chief?

Will Dems go dormant the way most of them did once Clinton got into office? Will we see similar results detrimental to our fellow citizens - for example DOMA, NAFTA, and welfare "reform" - by growing complacent with having ousted b*sh?

Or have we as a group, progressives and liberals and moderates, woken up enough to know that no matter which party is in office, we must continue to fight for what's right? Will those who fight for justice under the current administration fight just as hard for justice under a Kerry administration?

Or will all of this have been a short-lived, one-time effort on the part of many?

I'll still be fighting - to get our soldiers home, to make sure those who committed war crimes are prosecuted, to help restore the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, to stop further imperialistic aims of Corporate America. Are you with me?

(Edited to remove word "Back" from subject, since I realized there are many who never were asleep and don't wish to offend.)

[Zhade]

1. Shameless thread-promoting kick

Because GD2K4 is really moving fast today!

[JimmyJazz]

2. Peacefully, for the first time in 4 years. n/t

[Zhade]

5. Nice answer. ;-)

I'm sure I'll be able to catch a nice night's sleep before I start in on Kerry (assuming I have to; I'd love to see him prove my fears about his foreign policy wrong).

[funkybutt]

3. i wonder when we'll know the winner

it could be weeks. This is not cool with me considering that I wanted to party on the night of Nov 2.

[meegbear]

4. I will at least get a quick nap in

[Voltaire]

6. Kerry's election is a beginning not an end

I think we will need to keep kicking for a LONG time until we get this mess cleaned up. Personally, I want the Bushies in JAIL! That might take long.

[Julian English]

7. Congress needs to be liberated from the hostage takers!

[Philostopher]

8. Anybody who thinks it's over,

even if Kerry wins and is actually inaugurated in January, is dreaming.

These slimy, cheating bastards ain't goin' away. They'll be that much more determined to make sure they cause problems. They'll do everything they can to stonewall any good Kerry tries to do. In no sense will it be 'over' if he wins.

It'd be nice not to feel compelled to blow 75% of our combined disposable income into these organizations, though, so the total we give will probably drop some. Most of what we've been doing is donate -- since Mr. Nownow and I are incredibly socially backward, and couldn't sell a buck stove to a freezing Inuit, we figure our best place is on the sidelines with our pockets turned inside out, staying informed and funding other people's efforts to do the right thing. We won't stop doing that even if the election goes our way, as long as we can afford to keep doing it.

No, even if that part is over and goes the way we want, I don't think we can afford to just sit back and imagine all our problems are solved. It would only be the beginning.

[demwing]

9. OTHER - read it!

I'll give the President the benefit of the doubt at first. If he wins in Nov, he'll certainly have earned that much.

But I won't let Kerry slack. I wanted Dean, I settled for Kerry, and though I'm enthusiastic about Kerry now, that enthusisasm will continue only as long as the man continues to fight for those issues I find critical.

thanks :)

[Mabus]

10. Not for days

but when I do it will be the first restful sleep I've had since Dec. 12, 2000.

[faithnotgreed]

11. right on! glad youre here with us fighting the good fight

[Eurobabe]

12. don't kid yourself, we have work to do even if Kerry wins

there are still lots of things I don't like about our gubmint.

[Zhade]

14. Oh, believe me, I'm not the one fooling myself.

After all, Kerry is still in support of wrong-headed policies toward Cuba and Venezuela; his plan on how to handle Iraq is far too optimistic; he supports the insane Plan Columbia; he wants to use tax incentives and punishments for corporations that mostly don't pay taxes anyway...

Yes. We've got a LOT of work, even if Kerry is elected.

[grace0418]

13. I said other because

I will have to spread out my attention more. From November to January I will keep my focus on the WH because I know Bush won't go quietly. But after that I will spread out and go a little more grassroots. I will keep up the pressure on Kerry of course. I know the fight for justice and equality in this country is FAR from over, and we've got to get the soldiers home and clean up the mess in Iraq. I also want to keep an eye on the Repubs who will be doing their best to bring Pres. Kerry down. It will be worse than anything we saw with Clinton.

[4_Legs_Good]

15. I'll sleep well for the first time in 4 years, but I will stay tuned

and stick it to Kerry when he deserves it. I'm a progressive independent, and I feel that I've been getting in bed too much with partisan Democrats, but, hey, that's alliances for you - uniting to defeat the enemy.

I will take a few months off to recoup from being "on" all the time, and then I will get right back up and follow what Kerry does: cheering his good choices and condemning his bad ones.

david

[m_welby]

16. have to work harder !!

..there is no turning back now, we have 2 other branches of government to win back from the nutcases.

[Bongo Prophet]

17. Fighting for justice doesn't equal fighting Kerry

I will fight alongside Kerry and all the Executive Branch team when they do right, and try to persuade them. But also let them know in polite, friendly, yet forceful ways what we should expect. Some seem to think we must immediately hold Kerry Admin's feet to fire- I think the battle is more over media and Bugman Delay and remaining Neo-cons, The-cons and WHEW...I will NOT immediately turn on those who are trying to undo the damage. I will have their BACK.
So, to turn on Kerry as a first strategy is WRONG tactic.
We need to proceed with MATURE log term strategy to make structural changes that will be IMPOSSIBLE to undo.

[geniph]

18. I'll rest for a couple weeks

then start the next round of work for the county and state Democratic campaigns (the party offices that are up for election), and then start working for next year's campaigns.

But I'm looking forward to a couple weeks off from politics.

[qwlauren35]

19. First & Foremost...

If Kerry wins, I am going to take a 2-1/2 month NAP!!!!!!!!!!

I think a lot of us have earned that at the least.

However, come January when he swears in, I'll be checking all of his moves against that 100 day plan. I've got my agenda lined up, and I want to see him back up his words.

* He said start withdrawing in 6 months. I want to see that.
* He said increase development of alternate fuels. I want to see that.
* He said healthcare. I want to see that.
* He said college tax credits for the working/middle class and tax increases for the wealthy. I want to see that.
* And OF COURSE, I want to see 3-4 black cabinet members.
* And I expect any judgeship appointments to be people I can respect.

And finally, I have to vigilantly pray that Kerry doesn't die... 'cuz Edwards has NO experience...

[AntiCoup2K4]

20. I hadn't slept properly for years even before Junior was selected....

...so I doubt that Kerry's election alone will solve that problem. Now as far as the greater metaphorical question being asked here, as far as I'm concerned, John Kerry is a tourniquet on a gaping wound.

Now as anyone who's taken even basic first aid knows, a tourniquet is a life saving measure in the short term, but if additional steps aren't taken very soon, amputation is the likely result. And an amputation of democracy is exactly what we will face as long as our only "choices" are PNAC neocon "Republicans" and corporatist DLC "Democrats".

This patient (The Democratic Party) begins preparation for major surgery on Jaunuary 21, 2005. A heart transplant sounds about right.

[Zhade]

21. "John Kerry is a tourniquet on a gaping wound."

Well-said.