We went to a Superbowl party yesterday at a friends house. It was a large crowd, I maybe knew 25% of the people there. Beer was flowing, bets were flying and the mood was high. After folks settled into the game a large number of us turned to the inevitable discussion: who are you voting for on Tuesday?
It was a liberal crowd so there wasn't a question of party but it was exciting to see how folks were evaluating their choices. I am still in the undecided camp since my man dropped out last week so I was eager to hear others thoughts. One of the things I noticed right away was how people were aligning themselves. Some white chicks for Obama, some men of color were voting for Hillary. The conversation was energetic, hopeful. Hearing phrases like she's got healthcare nailed but her immigration position seems harsher than his, or he's really motivating the young vote but it's hard to compare war positions when only one of them was in the senate at the time all made me realize that it's the issues that matter, if nothing else this horrendous administration has woken everyone up and we are paying attention. This is really happening, after seven long horrifying years, this is really happening.
During the Kerry/Bush election we hosted a couple of grassroots fundraisers. We called them Regime Change Parties and raised money for Kerry. The campaign was less about him and more about Anyone But Bush. This year is markedly different. There are people speaking our language. There are people who actually have a shot at leading this country in the right direction. We even have more than one to choose from. And it's exciting. It's exciting because we are all so desperate for something to be different, for our voice to matter, for this war to end, for things to change. And I'll gladly pay more in taxes if that means that can happen.
Many of us are in Super Tuesday states. Tomorrow we'll be heading to the polls and whether we agree or disagree we are all in this together. No matter your position let's send those current bastards a message. We are revolting. We are standing up. You are not our president any longer.
Let's get it on.