Guess what? It's fun to be a Democrat again.

[goodhue]

Ed Garvey right on the money as always in this piece . . .

http://www.fightingbob.com/article.cfm?articleID=167

With an abundance of good candidates running for president, the nation's future is brighter and it feels good to be Democrat.

Fun again
By Ed Garvey

I had almost forgotten that politics is fun.

We have, by necessity, been so serious and down since Scalia & Co. imposed George W. on us that Democrats forgot how to laugh. At least two years were spent pointing fingers after the Gore election. Was it Nader's fault? Was it Lieberman? Should Clinton have done more?

But now we live with the Patriot Act, efforts to gut the Environmental Protection Agency, the invasion of Iraq, a trillion-dollar deficit built over two years and the loss of nearly 3 million manufacturing jobs since Sir George ascended to the crown. Now we know just how bad it could be.

This past weekend I had fun attending forums to debate the choice for president - on the Democratic ticket. There was no finger-pointing, but there was plenty of laughter.

The first forum was held in Price County in the town of Park Falls. Asked to represent Dennis Kucinich, I looked forward to the discussion among good progressives. Stan Gruszynski, former legislator and candidate for Congress, was Howard Dean's representative, and Lou Fortis, former legislator and publisher of the Shepherd Express, came to speak for Wesley Clark.

read more
http://www.fightingbob.com/article.cfm?articleID=167

[goodhue]

1. Are we having fun yet?

I know I am. Come on people, let's hear it for fun!
And why do positive posts always sink like rocks?

[Lisa0825]

2. what a coincidence!!!

At the moment you were kicking this, I was emailing my local Dean friends with this message and a picture attached:

"Here's a pic of me and my cabin mates in Iowa.... can ya tell we had fun????????" (i'd post it, but don't have a place to upload to that allows hotlinks right now)

The picture was of 15 Deaniacs having a wild party in our cabin in Boone, Iowa. People were literally hanging from the rafters, crammed up on my top bunk, and raising their drinks to toast the cameraman.

I have had an INCREDIBLE time on this campaign, and I never ever thought politics could be fun!!!

[goodhue]

3. more Ed Garvey . . .

What I loved about Park Falls was the straw poll showing almost equal support for Kucinich, Dean and Clark, with Edwards and Gephardt getting a few votes. There were plenty of moving comments from the audience that Bush must be defeated and there was genuine pride that the Democrats have fielded such a talented group of would-be nominees.

Similar sentiments were expressed in Portage Sunday and also among Dane County Democrats recently. "Bush must be defeated if we are to save our democracy." "Get our troops out of Iraq, balance the budget, provide national health care, protect our jobs." The issues dominate this primary season and that is indeed refreshing.

And there is something else. Respect for other opinions. This is not a knock-down, drag-out fight among the rank and file Democrats who will decide on Feb. 17 who best represents our progressive traditions in Wisconsin. The consultants might want you to believe that Dean is bad, Kucinich is out of the mainstream, Clark is a closet Republican, Edwards is not deep enough, but the rank and file Democrats are not buying into the negatives. They have been introduced to the candidates and they like them and won't have trouble supporting any one of them.