1. The organization and mobilization. We'll have to review the effectiveness of organizations like MoveOn and ACT, which I thought were going to deliver us the election. But the fact that these organizations sprung up and were filled to the brim with hardworking people was awesome. My deepest hope for the Democratic Party's political apparatus is that these organizations remain strong, continuing to attract funding and volunteers in future elections. My deepest fear is that people will regard them as losers and not show up again or fund them again.
2. Unity on the left. My second deepest hope about this election is that people on the Nader-2000 left continue to stick with the Democrats, despite the defeat. I imagine they will, since the GOP is going to be moving right and the gap between the parties will increase.
3. Our guy won the debates. Kerry won each debate, beating Bush by a lot in the first and third. The way he acted during the debates was the best counter to the GOP's 'flipflop' spin. By my count, Kerry threw only two interceptions -- "global test" and "Mary Cheney." It's to the shame of Kerry's (otherwise very capable) Clintonite media team that Bush's Osama gaffe and Kerry's winning streak weren't the story of the day, while the Mary Cheney thing was.
4. Edwards for VP!. Edwards didn't say anything dumb to give the Bush people talking points. In his own speeches, he attacked Bush and Cheney with all the effectiveness one could expect from a VP candidate. He had the best approval/disapproval ratings of any of the 4 national candidates throughout the campaign, and we've got a solid guy on the shelf for 2008.
5. Building an internet donor base. I'm really optimistic about the potential for internet fundraising. I'd never given any money to political campaigns until this year, but the internet made it really easy to see some 527 group's ads, give them money, and participate in what they do. This is going to be very helpful in the 2006 midterm elections, because we'll be able to do a good job funding House and Senate races in other states.
Friday, November 05, 2004
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2 comments:
I agree with all you said, but I'm a little concerned about MoveOn. According to some reports here, there was at least one place where members of this group violated rules and were beliggerent. As someone who has been a poll worker in the past, I think the rules in place in our state are effective and important. Challengers and poll watchers are welcome, but they are not to talk to or interfere with the voters, which some of them did.Here,poll workers are chosen to be half Democrat, half Republican in any precint, and are instructed and trained to help people without violating ethics. If these groups are going to be welcome and effective, they should familiarize themselves with and follow local rules. As a liberal and Democrat, to hear of this was distressing.
Given the little I know about MoveOn and their general efforts to focus solely on turning out Democratic voters, it seems that opportunities for belligerance would be limited. With any group, there's the possibility of some random idiot volunteer causing trouble, though.
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