Memo to sore losermen

You've had more than a week to mourn the election results. Now it's time to emerge from your pathetic fetal position.

By Dan Carol

Nov 11, 2004 | The range of emotions out there in the progressive community since Election Day has been all over the map -- from sad and mad to sullen and resigned. But it's time to move forward.

I'm not going to tell you how to feel, that you shouldn't do whatever you need to do to get back on your feet -- grieving, primal screaming, or perhaps shooting cans in the backyard as a way to get in touch with your red-state cousins. I was kidding on that last suggestion: It won't really help, in my view, for you to be mad at red-state voters who found Bush and his optimistic, confident style preferable to Kerry, who unfortunately stumbled over some easy opportunities to explain himself on the war. It also won't help that some Democrats are getting mad at the mayor of San Francisco or gay rights activists for maybe pushing too fast on an issue that our Puritan-settled nation isn't ready for just yet. And it really won't help if you move to Canada -- because we need you right here. The time to act is now.

As one of the progressive movement's self-appointed referees and evangelists, I offer a new round of organizing principles and to-do's -- for the next 100 days and onward -- to mull over as you unfurl from the fetal crouch position.

Get up ... and get your war on. Enough resting and moaning already! The day that the Democrats and progressives run a perfect campaign, with a great message and great mechanics, with our values and a compelling, hopeful vision of American community truly on the line, and then we lose to cultural class warfare and gay-baiting, that's the day to give up. That didn't happen on Nov. 2. This is a long struggle, and admit it: We're Americans who want instant gratification, even in our politics. This was not a 1984 or 1964 landslide. We put 56 million votes on the board and 252 electoral votes. Remember, the right-wing didn't just stop working when they hit pay dirt in 1994. Change takes time. Think Nelson Mandela.

Muzzle the "mandate." While some among us worry about whether Bush stole the election, or why the red states don't like us, Bush and crew are busy claiming a radical policy mandate despite a mere 51 percent win. So wake up already. These people are Energizer bunnies; they keep going and so should we. For now, we need to be obstructionist on oil drilling and Supreme Court appointments without seeming, well, obstructionist. That simply means defining what we are for: Can we name a conservative judge or two we'd be happy to see nominated who isn't a creationist nut ball? Let's do that. Can we define big ideas on energy independence that aren't a tiny drop in the bucket like drilling in the Arctic? Done that; see the Apollo Alliance.

Stop the hand-wringing about the DNC, the DLC and the Democrats. People, how many times do we have to explain that the old era of political party identification is giving way to a disaggregated thunder dome of cause-based politics, distributed democracy, MoveOn.orgs, house parties and do- it-yourself politics? Peer-to-peer politics -- in churches, workplaces, schools, music clubs -- is replacing the party as the place where new stuff happens. Are you ready to pick up a hammer and help build a new network for change, rather than pick fights over who runs a political party with a declining brand? We've seen that movie -- it's called "Groundhog Day" and it stars Al From and Dick Morris -- and we saw it in 1984 and 1994.

Still wanna take over the Democratic Party? Feel free. The Democratic National Committee chair controls 2.5 million e-mails and it's a pretty good brand to hold sway over once every four years. Plus, you get $10 million for a convention with lots of balloons, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer. While the DNC picks a new chair in January, it's likely to be decided by Bill Clinton, Harold Ickes of America Coming Together, Donna Brazile of Gore 2000, Howard Dean, Henry Cisneros, MoveOn's Wes Boyd and some other folks. So a better bet might be taking over your own state party. Hell, I'll bet they'll be glad you come to their meetings.

Senatorial spine: Emergency infusion required. If you have the time or connections, please get in the faces of our 44 Democratic senators, from the Mary Landrieus to the Ron Wydens, and give them love, encouragement and the gumption to stand tall against the coming Bush juggernaut. Urge them to read that groundbreaking book by Thomas Frank, "What's the Matter With Kansas?" and ask them to think hard about where "moderating" Democratic principles has gotten us. We should listen to that Kansas fella: Now is not the time to lie down on economic populism. Remind them that Republican senators who sell mainstream values (like environmental protection) down the river will feel the pinch in 2006 at the polls -- not them.

Yes, we need a better message. And better mechanics. Yes, we need to win over our base voters -- but also persuadables. Yes, we need to "go big" on our thematics, yet micro-target our audiences. Every campaign I have ever been in struggles over these either/or choices, when the right answer is usually doing the best of both! On message, keep reading, we'll get there, I promise. On mechanics, I actually think we're in pretty good shape. We have the technology, training and talent to effectively manage high-tech and high-touch grassroots politics; we just need to rinse and repeat with what works. That means the third M -- money -- had better be there.

Next Page: Besides Rumsfeld on trial, the accountability I most want in politics applies to our candidates

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