A time to heal

[Cuban_Liberal]

After yesterday's election results, there remains no reasonable doubt that Sen. Kerry wil be our standard bearer for the GE. It is clearly the will of the voters that it should be so, and I will not presume to know better than do they, because I am both human and fallible. Let me speak, therefore, to both the past and the future.

To all who have supported a defeated candidate, mourn decently and respectfully, and refrain from lashing out at those who do not now and never have truly born you ill will; bear your grief with the same good grace and dignity as has the candidate you chose to support, and be worthy of him or her. We have fought honorably and well, and there is no shame in withdrawing from the field of battle in good order, so that we may live to fight our fight another day.

Of Sen. Kerry's supporters I would ask that you be magnanimous in victory, and to bear in mind that those who supported another candidate are not now your enemies, nor were they ever. Reach out to those who supported others this primary season and help them to bind their wounds, and to heal. Accept your victory with joy, yes, but bear it with humility and good grace. Seek rapproachment with those from whom you were recently estranged, and build strong bridges upon your shared beliefs, and upon your common cause. 'A soft word turneth away wrath', the Bible tells us, and there is much wisdom in that short verse.

As Abraham Lincoln said in his Second Inaugural Address, it is time to bind up our wounds, and to '...care for him who shall have born the battle....'; we still face a strong, wealthy, wily and vicious enemy, and we shall need every soldier we can muster in order to defeat him, and defeat him utterly we must. It is our right and our responsibility as patriots to return the right of self-government to the citizens of our Republic, and we can let nothing --- nothing--- deter us from that most solemn obligation.

Thank you.

:hi::grouphug:

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I think Kerry gave a great speech last night

I do hope if he is chosen at the convention (and it seems likely, but I am not closing the door til the process is done) that he can keep the fire burning.

I also hope that his speech will turn out to be more than a sales pitch. I hope he can make those things happen.

[BeyondGeography]

2. Right on, CL

All those who want to defeat Bush, into the group hug. Now!

[DancingBear]

3. Beautifully put, C_L

We are as one until the peoples house changes hands.

[DNA]

4. well

All of this talk about candidates really blinds us to the bigger issue, which is the party platform. It's not so much about candidates as it is about issues and the future direction of the party. I don't think anyone is obligated to withdraw on that. That said, I do think there's a hell of a lot of ill will and bullying going around and it simply has to stop.

[MaineDem]

5. It's a tough time right now

Having your candidate lose is a heartwrenching experience. One works very hard for a cause and a candidate and when he/she drops out it can be like your dreams and your future are going down the drain.

I've been there.

All the candidates in this primary season worked hard and their supporters worked hard. They are to be congratulated for taking these steps. Each campaign offers the Democrats and the US as a whole good points to use in our fight against Bush. Each campaign has good, smart people wiliing to fight like hell for regime change in Washington.

Time to grieve is important. Hang in there, CL. This year's election is way too important for people to throw a vote away. I have faith that the Democrats will band together like nothing we've seen in a long time. This will be a victorious election for Democrats and the people of the United States.

And we owe a debt of gratitude to the candidacies and supporters of Graham, Gephardt, Moseley-Braun, Lieberman, Dean, Clark, Edwards, Sharpton, Kucinich (who am I missing?)for a great enthusiasm and hard work.

[Cuban_Liberal]

6. I know it's a hard time.

My s/o has had to go through this twice now, but he'll be OK, given a little time. Your point about how we ALL won is well-taken.

:hi:

[Padraig18]

7. What a wonderful post!

Let us soberly look forward to the task that remains before us, and if we must look back at what might have been, let us do so in celebration of the joy of a glorious battle, rather than in the temporary sadness of defeat.

:hug:

[Cuban_Liberal]

32. Keep your chin up, Paddy!

Dr. Dean's time will come. I believe that with all my heart.

:hug:

[Padraig18]

37. So do I, Tony.

Our time will come. :hug:

[Padraig18]

8. Kick

:dem:

[KansDem]

9. My email to Sen. Kerry this morning...

As a (former) Howard Dean supporter, I want to congratulate you on your win yesterday.

Now get that SOB out of the White House.

Great post Cuban_Liberal. Its time to rally around the Democratic flag; for the good of the Party, the nation, and the world.
:dem:

[chocolateeater]

10. Thank you, this is a great post.

:toast: :headbang: :yourock:

[Cuban_Liberal]

29. YW!

:hi:

[library_max]

11. Magnificent Post!

:yourock:

[Cuban_Liberal]

30. Thanks!

:hi:

[MoonAndSun]

12. This post is one of the many reasons you are one of my favorite

posters here at DU, Cuban_Liberal. You are thoughtful and gracious and many of us here appreciate that.

This post is a vast improvement on this particular post that I read this a.m. which I thought was very sad indeed:

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x425670>




Thanks again, :hi:

[Cuban_Liberal]

31. Thanks!

I can be fiercely partisan, but that's a propblem for the Republicans now. :evilgrin:

[Logansquare]

13. CL, if you get tired of law enforcement, consider running for office

We could use some more guys like you in the Illinois state legislature. You're smart, compassionate, a liberal (but tough on crime), gay, Hispanic, and probably good-looking!

[Cuban_Liberal]

27. Thank you! I may do that, some day.

Gotta get Paddy through college, and then I go to law school *crosses fingers*. After that, who knows? I can't say the thought's never crossed my mind. :)

[OhioStateProgressive]

14. Im sorry, the establishment won't tell me what to do(nt)

[Padraig18]

15. We would never dream of doing so.

Perhaps you can gain some solace from reading International Socialist Review, or some other Marxist publication you seem so fond of...

[OhioStateProgressive]

16. hmmm

I don't read either.

I read poetry and look at paintings.

thanks for the concern

[Padraig18]

17. I would have sworn that...

... you re-posted at least one article from that publication here last fall. If I'm mistaken, I apologize...

[OhioStateProgressive]

18. i haven't

I did post a link in reference to lyndon larouches anti semitism...but that was just a link i googled for under "lyndon larouche, anti-semitism", not a publication I read

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cuban_Liberal]

28. YW!

I've always said that, no matter what, I'm a yellow-dog Democrat. Furthermore, on his worst day, Sen. Kerry is many orders of magnitude better-qualified to serve as POTUS than Shrub ever will be on his best day!

:dem:

[spooky3]

20. Great thoughts, eloquently expressed. Thanks!

[Cuban_Liberal]

21. Thank you all.

We've all suffered much, much worse than the petty insults slung back and forth on an anonymous message board, and we cannot constinue in that sort of self-indulgent behavior any longer. We have an al;most Herculean task ahead of us, and that is to utterly destroy the quasi-fascists who currently have a death grip on the reigns of power in our nation's capitol.

We can have NO greater mission than restoring to ourselves and our fellow citiznes our shared, sovereign right to be a self-governing people, and to return our nation to the community of nations.

:)

[diamondsoul]

26. CL, you wrote a beautiful post.

I can't and won't agree to it just yet because I think it has sort of succumbed to the media's spin on things.

Even so, I guess I have to come to grips with the fact that I support Kucinich all the way to Boston, and then I'm ABB. IF Kerry is the nominee, he has my support, my privately expressed criticism, advice and sometimes maybe even wrath. He has my financial support, my vote and my utter determination to ensure Bush's loss in November.

I'm not prepared to give that today as he does not have the 2,161 delegates needed to clinch the nomination. When/if he does, I'll be right there with you. In the meanwhile it seems a bit much like defeatist self-fulfillment to me to rally now.

[Padraig18]

42. That's cool, diamondsoul.

:hug:

[Cuban_Liberal]

46. Not a problem, diamondsoul.

I'll never criticize someone for believing in their candidate and doing what their conscience dictates. :)

[northernsoul]

22. I was an Edwards guy 24 hours ago, today I'm batting for Team Kerry

Friends, it's now decided and it's time to close ranks and prepare for battle. I, for one, will be honored to serve whatever small role I may in helping John Kerry become our next elected president and beginning the liberation of the United States.

[Cuban_Liberal]

23. I'll be right at your side.

Just because it wasn't 'our turn at bat' doesn't mean we'll be rooting for the other team, does it?

:hi:

[Lindsey]

24. ABB'S all the way (I happend to like Kerry even though I originally

supported another candidate). I will look at Kerry's strengths, I will give any financial support I can to him, I will actively campaign for him, I will register as many democrats as I possibly can...and..I will do so with such gutso and excitement, people will think I've adored him my entire life!

[northernsoul]

25. oh, I'll be doing more than just 'rooting'

;)

GOPandertals are gonna be sorry they ever set foot in the great state of Minnesota aka Wellstone Country!

:kick:

[Padraig18]

36. I'm on board!

As my coach used to say, "We'll get 'em next times, guys!". :)

[Cuban_Liberal]

33. Kick

[littlejoe]

34. Kick!

[littlejoe]

35. All I EVER wanted was for us to be united to fight the great evil

which has taken over our society. Of course I am speaking of GWB.

I know that I have stepped on some people's toes in the past. Many of you have stepped on mine, but hey, I've always been able to take care of myself.

The task at hand is formiddable, and will require a unity of purpose, the likes of which I haven't seen since the '60's.

I will do my best to not answer flamebait, and will also do my best to not propagate same.

Peace to all of you.

Now let's get to work!

[ManneredChild]

38. How long does a spinal knife wound take to heal?

Howard Dean would like to know...

[Padraig18]

39. You're not the only Dean supporter here.

No need to be so snarky about a lovely post...

[Padraig18]

40. You disrupted poorly.

CYA... :evilgrin:

[Padraig18]

41. Kick, because he's cooking my favorite supper for me.

:)

[Cuban_Liberal]

43. Thanks again, all!

:grouphug:

[seaglass]

44. Nice words, I wish I could trust you. We'll see. n/t

[Cuban_Liberal]

45. What makes you think you can't?

:wtf:

[Octafish]

47. Very well said, Cuban_Liberal!

To beat the BFEE, we've got to "STICK" together:

THE BUNDLE OF STICKS

An old man on the point of death summoned his sons around him to give them some parting advice.

From his deathbed, he ordered his servants to bring in a bundle of sticks, and said to his eldest son: "Break it."

The son strained and strained, but with all his efforts was unable to break the bundle. The other sons also tried, but none of them was successful.

"Untie the bundle," said the father, "and each of you take a stick."

When they had done so, he called out to them: "Now, break."

Each stick was easily broken.

"You see my meaning," said their father.

Union gives strength.

[mvd]

48. Great post

I'm a Kucinich fan more than anything, but my Kerry avatar is part of my call for unity. :hi: