2004-11-05 - 11:15 a.m.

Well, now that the initial shock and nausea at Tuesday's election results has worn off, I've settled more into a sort of anger. I am very angry that Bush was re-elected, especially when you consider that every charge he leveled against Kerry could have been applied to him (Bush) tenfold. And I have the same sort of disbelief I felt in the election four years ago, the sort of "emperor's new clothes" feeling. Am I the only one who realizes what a sad excuse for a leader this man is? There are intelligent Republicans out there; they can't seriously think Bush is the best man for the job.

I am also disgusted at the so-called "moral values" voters. With all the problems in this country - the faltering economy, the increase in terrorist actions (and a destabilized Iraq contributing to this), the problems with education and the decline in funding for libraries and the arts, the crisis in health care, the growing gap between the rich and the poor, etc., the most pressing issues these people could come up with are abortions and The Gays. Abortion is an extremely morally charged topic, but homosexuality? Listen, Middle America, gay marriage is a non-issue. For consenting adults, marriage is an emotional and spiritual union, but under the law, it is nothing but a business arrangement. To say that a rational human being is NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER INTO A BUSINESS ARRANGEMENT because of what he or she does with a consenting adult partner behind closed doors (an act which DOES NOT AFFECT ANYONE ELSE IN THE SLIGHTEST), is ridiculous. There is ABSOLUTELY NO RATIONAL ARGUMENT that homosexuality affects greater society in any fashion.

The idea that half the country doesn't realize what a frighteningly terrible leader Bush has been and feels that those dastardly homosexuals are an actual threat to their well-being is terrifying. Those 50,000,000 votes seem to be based on fear and hatred and not on an intellectual survey of the issues at hand.

So yes, it's depressing. It's depressing that we've worked so hard to get out the vote, to educate people on the importance of civic duty and the dangers the Bush administration poses to the continued freedom of the country, and that we turned out in record numbers but were *still* outnumbered. And it seems like a reason to give up.

On the contrary, it just makes me angrier. And even more willing to fight for what is right. I am not going to give an inch to these small-minded hateful people who want to destroy everything this fine country was supposed to stand for.

That said, here are a few things the Democrats need to do four years from now to help ensure that this won't happen again:

1. Nominate someone with charisma, damnit. I agreed with many of Kerry's campaign issues and was still somewhat put off by him. And Gore was even worse - he's a brilliant and hilarious man who somehow came off as Walt Disney Presents The Animatronic Vice President.

2. Strong, clearly stated, well-explained and unique issues. These past two presidential elections, it was difficult to figure out what the Dems stood for. There's so much divisiveness within the party and so much oozing over to the moderate side that I'm not even registered as a Democrat. The two "Massachusetts Liberals" who represent me both supported the No Child Left Behind act, which is the worst attempt at educational reform in a hundred years. Let's find something we can all rally around and shout it loud.

3. Reach out across the aisles. The economic policies of the Democrats would benefit the average working man much better than those of the Republicans, but the working man doesn't know that. Dems need an idea of the *reality* of the working class. They need to speak with more people who get up at four in the morning to go to work and suffer debilitating injury and still don't have enough to pay the bills. Right now, they just come off as those annoying communists at any given liberal arts college whose parents pay for everything and who wouldn't know labor if it bit them on the ass.

4. Aggressive defense. Do not stoop to the level of shrill, whiny Fox News commentators. But every time one of these idiots comes out with a hateful lie, hit 'em with the truth - louder and more fully than they can ever match.

5. Stop being so righteous. I mean, geez, I agree with what the on-the-street activists are saying 100%, and even I want to punch them. So many of them have such a superior, condescending attitute, and so many seem put-out (again, in a condescending fashion) when maybe you don't have time to stop and talk to them or an extra $10 to help their cause.

6. Be carefree and win! The Democrats need to *really want to win*. And they need to want this because they love this country and want everyone to be happy. No one should run for the sake of running. People should run because they want to change things for the better. And would it hurt to smile?

There. That's all I have to say for now. Stay tuned for traditional French-Canadian recipes and probably something about cartoons or riding the subway or something.