CONFESSION: I DIDN'T VOTE!!! (REALLY! My Election Day Experience)

Beetwasher

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Wed Nov-08-06 10:59 PM
Original message

CONFESSION: I DIDN'T VOTE!!! (REALLY! My Election Day Experience)

Edited on Wed Nov-08-06 11:22 PM by Beetwasher

Ok, before you get all righteous on my ass, I have a good excuse. I was in the hospital all day w/ my wife who is 23 wks pregnant w/ twins and was having severe back pain. SHE'S FINE, it's thankfully just some muscle spasms (though that's bad and painful enough!), but they did a bunch of test just to make sure everything was cool and I didn't get home until later, after the polls closed (I was originally planning on going after work).

Anyway, as you can imagine I had a unique experience on election day and was tense on top of tense, what, with me already being tense about the election and then having my pregnant wife in distress, well, I think you get the picture.

So there I was with my wife all day getting these tests and occasionally I would come across a tv in the hospital that was tuned to the election; either in a waiting room at one of the depts we had to visit for various tests, or in the waiting room I had to pass on the way to the rest room. I passed a tv I believe about four times during the day and caught snippets and quick pictures of what was going on w/ the election thus far, and of course I couldn't help but glance up as I was momentarily in their presence.

During these times it only escalated my tension considering what I saw:

The first time I got a snippet of CNN, Blitzer, interviewing some pundits w/ a caption across the bottom of the screem that read: "Democratic Loss?" This was probably in the early-mid afternoon and I thought to myself " Holy shit, they're stealing it already?"

The second time I saw the tv was a bit later than that and it was a story about floods in Washington that were interefering w/ people getting to the polls. "Oh no, more trouble".

Then of course I have to pass by a tv just as they happen to be discussing "technical glitches" and "computer problems" in VA. *groan* <stomach falls to the floor>

I think it was at that time that I decided to avoid the tv's.

Well, you can imagine my state of tension by the end of the day. Thankfully, much of it was eased w/ the good news that my wife and the babies were perfectly fine and the pain she was experiencing was nothing to be too concerned about, however, I was not looking forward to logging on to DU and turning on the tv after I got home, my imagination was running wild w/ visions of "glitches" and stunning Repub upsets etc. etc etc.

You can imagine my glee when I got home and actually logged onto DU and turned on the tv!

It took a few minutes to sink in, because when I first logged on I was looking for threads about the "glitches" and the "THEY'RE STEALING IT AGAIN!!!!!". Then I started seeing the individual race threads and checked the updates.

That was when it happened. The unraveling of the gnarled-knotted-fist of tension and anger in my gut that had been there for just about 6 years. Man if that wasn't one of the greatest feelings ever.

Others have written about all the stuff that comes with this win, all the meaning, the implications and they're all right and true and there's so much more, man oh man there's so much more.

And make no mistake, this is not JUST a win, it's a mandate. A REAL mandate. Not some piddling, bullshit, contrived from a questionable victory-w/-.5%- of-the-vote "man-date". But a stunning repudiation; a clear, convincing, pure, undeniable mandate (that for some reason no one is acknowledging as such). And let no one tell you otherwise. This win was STUNNING considering the fraud, the disenfranchisement and The GERRYMANDERING (imagine if things were districted merely FAIRLY!!!). And we STILL kicked their asses and made history taking the both houses, the governorships, the state legislatures and not single incumbent Dem going down!!! Practically a miracle, seriously, and I'm an atheist.

But I'll tell you, I'm coming to realize something. Much of my feelings of elation and reinvigoration and, I guess, healing, comes not necessarily from the victory itself, though that's pretty special. But I think the biggest chunk of restoration, if you will, comes from the reestablishment of hope. For the first time in a long time I feel that my hope has not been in vain.

This win did a lot for us, but I think the biggest part of this victory was the victory of the spirit. The reinvigoration of hope. The new understanding that there ARE good people in this world and that we CAN make a difference and we DID make a difference and now we really DO have a chance to change the world for the better. We DO have power.

The election WASN'T stolen (thought they may have tried, which makes our win even MORE remarkable). We won. We can do it again.

Our hope, our spirit, our dreams are reinvigorated with this victory, and that may be it's sweetest gift of all.