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You think it's all over? Don't complain – organize!

So the election's done, and it appears Kerry lost by a hair (though results from Ohio could change the result).

If you don't favor the Republican approach, if you think the Bush presidency is a disaster, you didn't quite make your case to a majority of Americans. All the progressives or non-Republicans, including yours truly, had an opportunity to make the case for a different perspective on governance. We didn't do it effectively enough, and I think it's because we didn't have a compelling alternative argument. So if we don't like the way things are going, we have to think about that.

I mean really think, in an organized way, via "think tanks" and community discussions that will refine our message and bring clarity to our arguments.

And if Kerry's challenge has failed, and state-level challenges have not resulted in balanced representation, that's a call to action: let's do the practical work of building activist networks and doing activist work to influence legislation. Once representatives are elected they serve, not just the interest of their party, but the clearly-expressed interests of their constituents from all parties. Our best hope for balance is to turn up the volume, to call for it whenever and wherever we can, to make our voices heard. At EFF-Austin we used to say "Don't complain, organize!" (It was actually "Don't flame, organize" – posting half-asleeep and fuddled by the night's events, I misremembered.)

I personally think political parties are part of the problem, not a source of solutions, but if you're a Democrat you might want to work to make that party a viable organization with a compelling platform, because it doesn't quite seem to be working as is.

jon posted this at 7:58 AM
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