on: the right amount of activism

[chhotii]

You might think I feel terrible, putting all that time and effort and money into a campaign that lost. But I don't regret any of it. It puts me into a totally different headspace than after 2000. I know that it's not my fault, it's not the liberal grassroots' fault, it's Kerry's fault. I did everything I could have reasonably done; he screwed up by not reframing the terrorism/security/Iraq issue.

The key word here is reasonably. Sure, I could have done more. I could have avoided getting pregnant, not bought a house, moved to a swing state, quit the nice comfy job to do full-time activism, given my entire fortune to 527s and campaign funds, and bought some new clothes and gotten a haircut so I looked more mainstream when I went out canvassing. And Kerry would have still lost. Then I would be really pissed.

I do wish that I had moved to Florida and gotten involved in politics in 2000, when I was in a job I hated and I was too young to have panic attacks about my biological clock. *sigh*

But, having no regrets about this year's level of activism, I'm bouncing back. Slept last night; actually eating today; even went to work (although not yet productive).

Comments

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

i'm not even sure i blame kerry, given the exit polls' stated reasons for the vote. it appears that people who voted for bush did so b/c he was seen as "honest", not b/c of the war or anything else. (exit polls seemed to indicate that ppl did not think the war was going well.) and short of kerry running a total smear campaign, he can't be held responsible for that.

personally i blame misleading media, for not showing bush as the liar he is. why isn't PRESIDENT LIED! a huge headline across the teevee all the time?? how can 72% of people possibly believe we *found* wmd's in iraq??

without the correct clue, there can be no reasonable vote.

[quietann.livejournal.com]

I'm still numb. My brother sent out this rather amazing email that was a spew of cuss words. Not his normal style at all! My dad and some of his cronies at the retirement home are forming a letter-writing group to write to politicians and such. He says, "It's not we are dead, just old!"

I'm still numb, but today is better than yesterday was.

And you have done way beyond what could reasonably be expected.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

Agreed that the media shares a huge portion of the blame. I don't know where the hell the "liberal media" stereotype comes from; they just so aren't.

This doesn't change my fundemental point, that people with a heck of a lot more media access than any one of us little grassroots peons have are to blame.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

hey, that's really cool, what your dad is doing!

Aw, shucks. I didn't get that much done. You flatter me.

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Thank you for everything you did this year, for giving of your money, time, and energy.