When your best isn't enough.

[Teaser]

I posted a comment in another thread, and I thought maybe it deserves a thread of its own.

I'm still a fighter. I've fought harder these past months than I ever have. I gave a small fortune to the Democrats. And I'm not giving up. I'm going to start fighting at 7:00 am tomorrow again, contacting my Democratic Ward Leader and asking how I can get into the local power structure.

But today I mourn. I mourn because I gave this election my all. I neglected my marriage and my infant son in order to build a better world for my wife and my child. I mobilized my entire precinct to vote and managed a record-breaking turnout, almost entirely for Kerry.

And it wasn't enough. We won Pennsylvania, my state, but in the end it didn't matter.

The sense of impotence that this generates cannot be described. When your best isn't good enough, what do you tell yourself?

What do you tell yourself when your candidate folds like a deck of cards?

I don't know the answers here. This isn't a day for answers. That's tomorrow. Today is a day for grief...grief about what our country has become. Today is a day for anger...anger at one party who hates and fears the idea of a real, unsurpressed vote and anger at another party who says it will fight for you and then doesn't.

Tomorrow, I start solving these problems. Tomorrow I'm on my way to becoming the Ward Leader for my precinct.

But today I'm just going to eat the pain and be the man my father taught me to be.

[Teaser]

1. man, I thought more people would like this...

guess not.

[flobee1kenobi]

2. I know..........

I fought so hard this past month alone.....
my head hurts, I have a cold, and no energy left

time to lick wounds, rest, regroup, get a plan of action together for the next round.

[debatepro]

3. reading list

I just bought The campaign manager running and winning local elections...

[Gregorian]

4. It was good enough.

But we're up against a gang of thieves.
I believe Kerry won.
But I know that too many people in America don't have a clue. They've bought the bullshit. The abortion "issue". Stem cell. Saddam. All bullshit. They have bullshit for brains. I'm sorry to put it that way. It seems so uncivil of me. But I too, worked hard to elevate myself. Not just college, but the truth.
Here's the problem as I see it. We are trying to build a house. They are trying to tear it down. One flick of a match, and it's all over. We are fighting an uphill battle. How much more difficult does it get. An uneducated half of a nation that can't be bothered to do anything but trust the magician on the nightly news.
Don't feel badly. We gained a ton of ground. And awareness. But their evil and ignorance is powerful.
I'm sorry to say that I don't have the courage to fight against them. It's too massive. But as I write this, I am feeling and sensing that together, we do have a chance. There is hope, if we work together. Hey, I think we can start again in the morning, and make some progress. Let's look at the bright side. There is a bright side.

Thanks. You got me thinking correctly again.

[Teaser]

8. They shouldn't have been able to steal it.

We knew they would try and suppress the vote in Ohio. But y'know what? We did everything we could to stop it.

No stone was left unturned, legally.

We didn't fail America. America failed us. It failed us by being so easily manipulated. By being cowards.

No matter. We will fight for America still...even if it doesn't totally deserve it.

[Bake]

5. I'm there, Teaser.

I believe we gave it our all, left nothing "out there." And whether we just got out-hustled, out-voted, or it got stolen, our best wasn't good enough. It should never have been close enough to steal, if in fact it was stolen.

So like you, I too will eat the pain and be a man. Keep on keeping on, although it's hard as hell to do that today.

Bake

[HarrietBrown]

6. I like it. I go home from Copley Square at 4:30 AM

My husband was in bed, and woke up to thank me for my dedication to the cause, thanked me for all the work I did writing letters, going to protests and rallies, keeping up with news, and inisisting that we send as much money as we reasonably could to Kerry and various liberal causes. He vowed that from now on, he's going to work harder to make us a a better team, working for the America that we believe in. I am depressed as hell, and don't know what to think about concession yet. But Al Franken is making me feel better and ready for the fight ahead. We can't give up. We have to keep the momentum that's built, remind the govt that half of us will NOT be marginalized, and keep their feet to the fire. There is too much at stake and we are too good to retreat. It's hard to be hopeful today, but I feel I have to try. I love our country too much to give up.

[in_cog_ni_to]

7. Lawsuits, investigations, lawsuits, investigations, lawsuits

investigations. THAT is what we need. None of the work you do will matter until the cabal is brought down. You're wasting your time.

[Kerry in 04]

9. We fought and WON the elction for Kerry.

Then he gives up less than 12 hours after the last poll closed? I am extremely dissapointed in him.