60 Senate Seats Baby!!
Oh yeah!!In your face!!Oot Oot!! *Victory Dance*
Almost immediately after posting this news story on my Facebook wall, I started thinking. What does this whole 60 seats in the Senate business mean? (Besides the obvious and what they have told you on TV). And by TV do I mean that, pesky, important information source, the liberal mainstream media? You betcha! So while I honker down and attempt to digest the meaning of a 60th seat (I'll admit, I haven't blogged about something political in a while)...bear with me.
So, we've still got folks joking about Franken's SNL days (May I remind you that the Terminator is the Governor of California). But we've got more votes and a filibuster proof senate. But the sense for "political power" stays the same. People are still listening to fear-mongers. Republicans still calling Obama a socialist, terrorist. Poor people are still unjustifiably, concerned about socialism. Young Republicans are electing leaders who are comfortable with the use of racial slurs. Read the Article. Sarah Palin on the cover of TIME.....AGAIN! Yikes! Read the Story.
On the flip side, we've got Sotomayor in the hot seat: Read Article (hopefully moving toward a confirmation *fingers crossed*) and a new Surgeon general who credentials celebrate the values of the common man.:-) Read ArticleSo, beyond long withheld senate victories and a Surgeon general appointment, what do demcrats do to turn the "warm bodies in the seats theory and in the cabinet" into something real? (The simple strength in numbers argument doesn't quite hold up when you need true activism. It's more like strength in effectiveness). Democrats must do what we have always done. Find ways to distinguish ourselves from people who spout their political beliefs from a high horse. Yes, therein lies the all important art of....DOING SOMETHING. Knocking on doors, calling voters in Nebraska (one of the battlefields in healthcare reform). Organizing local events. These things are STILL important. It is, as so often quoted, how we sustain a movement. I think of all of my friends who have continued to organize for change even past the election. Daily they strive to convince voters all over the country that the cause of ensuring that folks like their uninsured friend Jonae has access to healthcare. I am as grateful to them as I am to Al Franken for taking that 60th seat. I'm not saying that we shouldn't celebrate our political gains. I too did a little dance around the room when I heard the news on Franken. I'm saying that WE are the real heroes in this thing. An election, an appointment is merely an outward expression of what is stirring inside the melting pot of our society. What we see now is the day for which many people have prayed and struggled. A day when highly qualified latinos and blacks are no longer overlooked for such high honors. 60 seats or not, change is coming.
Summary. What are we still up against, in the aftermath of our 60 seat celebration? I suppose, the same, countless, NOW WHAT questions that we had after Obama won the general election. We must realize that changing the world is not something that happens, but continues to happen when people are willing to shoulder the responsibility. We've eaten numerous slices of the change pie (If you are a republican, you are still digesting that last piece), but it has, and continues to have new ingredients. It is my sincere hope that we still have a hearty appetite.
Oh yeah!!In your face!!Oot Oot!!
Almost immediately after posting this news story on my Facebook wall, I started thinking. What does this whole 60 seats in the Senate business mean?
So, we've still got folks joking about Franken's SNL days (May I remind you that the Terminator is the Governor of California). But we've got more votes and a filibuster proof senate. But the sense for "political power" stays the same. People are still listening to fear-mongers.
On the flip side, we've got Sotomayor in the hot seat: Read Article (hopefully moving toward a confirmation *fingers crossed*) and a new Surgeon general who credentials celebrate the values of the common man.:-) Read Article
Summary. What are we still up against, in the aftermath of our 60 seat celebration? I suppose, the same, countless, NOW WHAT questions that we had after Obama won the general election. We must realize that changing the world is not something that happens, but continues to happen when people are willing to shoulder the responsibility. We've eaten numerous slices of the change pie (If you are a republican, you are still digesting that last piece), but it has, and continues to have new ingredients. It is my sincere hope that we still have a hearty appetite.
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