Happy Together - FINALLY! - Democratic Underground

NanceGreggs

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Tue Nov-04-08 12:44 AM
Original message

Happy Together - FINALLY!

Well, here we all are, folks. It’s Election Eve and – although there were times it didn’t seem possible – we’ve actually survived the trials and tribulations of the past year.

Looking back, there were times it seemed downright impossible that we would ever come to this point - together.

Hey, gang, remember when ...

Primary season kicked off, and the battle lines started to be drawn:

“If you’re not behind Kucinich, you obviously JUST DON’T GET IT!”
“It’s gonna be Edwards, man – so don’t waste my time with the also-rans!”
“Okay, so like what part of Biden is the ONE & ONLY CHOICE do you not understand, A-hole!?!”

As the primary debates moved forward, overly-enthusiastic supporters took over the board to extol the virtues of their chosen one. Sig-line photographs got bigger and bolder, to the point where many DUers had so little space left in their posting box, they were restricted to two-word responses – and the two words were usually ”F*CK YOU!”

DU Trivia Fact: During the height of the Primary Wars, a totally-despondent EarlG attempted to sell the entire DemocraticUnderground enterprise on eBay. There wasn’t a single bid on the website – although the private DU jet did garner some interest.

Once the field narrowed to Obama and Clinton, tensions that were already running high exploded, and everyone was out for blood. Lengthy, thoughtful, fact-based threads all but disappeared, as more succinct replies became the norm:

“Obamaniac!”
“Hillbot!!”
“Racist!!!”
“Sexist!!!”
“Who is???”
“YOU are!!!!”
“Am NOT!!!!!!”
“AM TOO!!!!!!!!!!!”
“FU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“BITE ME!!!!!!!!!!!”

Ah, yes, who among us will ever forget those heady, poetic Hallmark moments when we were ready to throttle each other at the drop of a word.

DU Trivia Fact: Within three weeks of Super Tuesday, the number of DUers on individual IGNORE lists actually exceeded the number of registered members. In addition, many DUers mistakenly believed they had been tombstoned when their posts failed to appear – a result of having put themselves on IGNORE when even they stopped agreeing with themselves.

Eventually Barack Obama emerged as our nominee, and while DUers closed ranks and got behind the candidate, a new type of combat was engaged between members as the Concern Wars began:

”That’s it, game over! This Reverend Wright thing is gonna sink ‘im!”
“Well, we can just KISS this election goodbye after that bitter thingy!”
“RED tie with a CHARCOAL GRAY suit? Why didn’t he just hand McCain the election on a silver platter and be done with it?”
“Oh, noes! The Obama campaign is down to $360,000,000,000,000 – we’re TOAST, people!”

DU Trivia Fact: During a particularly vitriolic two-week period, Mods were quitting and being replaced on an hourly basis – some former Mods never having been seen nor heard from since.

But having survived the battles, the bloodshed, and the vitriol, we managed to come together as a highly dysfunctional but loving family. And here we all are, ready to take back our country with a sense of giddy anticipation, and overwhelming pride in ourselves and each other for having stuck together through the rough patches that once seemed so threatening, and now seem so – well, laughable.

WE DID IT. And tomorrow, we close the deal – and we’ll share that victory in the best way we know how: Together.

This was my first presidential election as a DUer – and it’s been one of the most exciting, frustrating, rewarding, infuriating, scintillating, exasperating, and totally INCREDIBLE experiences of my life.

Thanks to all of you who made it so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkVM-jGNn04