Entries Tagged 'DNC' ↓

After a week of democratic fervor, froth and frenzy; a week of endless pundit chatter, extraordinary speeches and historic nominations; and a week of way WAY too many cogs in my head spinning, churning and smoking away, I am left slightly short of breath. And as excited and energized as I feel after the DNC - honestly - I am left stressed out. For real. I am sitting here muttering and wringing my hands like a crazy woman.

What’s my problem?

Oh, Lordy. Well, I have just so much invested in this election. I have never wanted a candidate elected more in my entire life. There is so very much at stake and it’s freaking me out to care this much. And I know I am not the only one.

So what is my list of worries? Read along and see if yours are anything like mine. Here we go.

I am worried about the future of our supreme court justices.

I am worried about the future of this war and the lives of our military serving.

I am worried about my rights to choose.

I am worried about assuring equal rights for everyone.

I am worried discrimination of any kind has been acceptable for far too long.

I am worried about equal pay for equal work.

I am worried about our addiction to excess and stuff.

I am worried about how much less my house is worth.

I am worried about my outrageously expensive grocery bill.

I am worried about chocolate and tequila production prices going up yet again. (Didn’t you hear? Hershey’s chocolate costs were going up 11%! Damn this economy!)

I am worried that the average American family can’t afford to have one parent home with their children any longer.

I am worried Hillary supporters are going to dig in further and refuse to vote.

I am worried voters will choose their candidate based on race or gender ALONE.

I am worried Americans don’t look at themselves carefully enough.

I am worried we think more about ourselves and our own needs, than the needs of our society as a whole.

I am worried we are lazy and we won’t change old habits, focus on our environment, and break our addiction to oil.

I am worried Bush has permanently damaged our country.

I am worried this country has been dumbed down and can’t think outside the box.

I am worried we succumb too easily to fear mongering.

I am worried we have been at war for over 5 years and we are no safer from terrorism.

I am worried that Republicans and Democrats alike underestimate and make unfair assumptions about one another.

I am worried we really aren’t ready for change.

I am worried that no news is unbiased news and so I never know what  the real news is.

I am worried my sons might be drafted into war someday.

I am worried the rest of the world hates our country more than it did before September 11th.

I am worried about my horrid health care plan: if one of us were to become seriously ill, we would be in extraordinary debt.

I am worried about affording college in 15 years.

I am worried about trying to get some paid work within the next year.

I am worried about tax cuts and how they have already affected our local school system, public universities, our local infrastructure, my local library and other public systems set up to assist us.

I am worried that the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer.

I am worried about hate.

But I can’t forget Obama’s speech last night. I do believe their is some hope ahead *if* he is elected. And I’ve said this before, I know that even if he IS elected, he has one hell of a mess to untangle. But, there is hope. I will leave you with this last potion of his speech. (Please read his entire speech here.) I hope you find some hope in it as well.

America, we cannot turn back.  Not with so much work to be done.  Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for.  Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save.  Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend.  America, we cannot turn back.  We cannot walk alone.  At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future.  Let us keep that promise – that American promise – and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.

Have a wonderful weekend, I am going to do my damnedest not too think so flipping hard and maybe even have a good stiff drink. (Probably not tequila, though… damn…)

(Oh and please note. Comments that might disagree with my politics or points of view are absolutely welcome. It’s cool. I love open, respectful discussion. It makes the world go round. However, if your comment is rude, it’s getting deleted. Enough said.)

All of the books I am reading are shelved. For now. Favorite TV shows - yup, even Project Runway - will be caught up with later. Craft projects, scrap booking, digital picture editing – um, another time. Shoot, even the dishes are being done on an “as needed” basis. (Did someone just yell out “Whats new?”, I heard that…) The kids ARE being cared for, but phrases such as “in a minute honey” and “why don’t you go play with your brother” are being muttered a little more often than usual.

What could possibly have my attention to this degree?

The Democratic National Convention. Of course. I can’t seem to get enough of it. Truly. In fact, excuse this fumbling post, lots of thoughts and lots of distraction. The DNC, of course, is on while I write this. (Oh look, Wyclef Jean is on MSNBC, cool.) Seriously, though. This election is so damn important. This country needs Obama as president so very badly. And the DNC has brought together every democratic bigwig superstar you could imagine. If there was a time when this campaign was going to rock out bigger and badder than ever before, it would be now. It should be now.

Because I am wringing my hands here a bit. There is all kinds of chatter about democratic divisiveness, Clinton followers not able to jump onto the Obama train, and the race between McCain and Obama being a lot closer than it should be. I need to see this fixed and am hoping it could happen at this convention.

And then the speeches. Ted Kennedy last night – wow. He. Blew. Me. Away. Brain tumor, shmain tumor, he was on task, he said what he had to say loud and clear. Kennedy is a man speaking about his issues with passion and determination; it is also apparent he is a man living on borrowed time. It seemed nothing would have kept him from speaking last night at the DNC. Nothing.

And then Michelle. This is what I said in a comment over at BlogHer:

I have been frustrated by how careful the campaign has been with Michelle and the “unpatriotic” rep she seemed to have earned – however unfairly. I just haven’t had a good opportunity to really hear Michelle. Up until now. Watching and listening to her last night was amazing. I finally, FINALLY felt like I got to hear from the real Michelle. Sure her speech was carefully written but – wow – either she’s one hell of an actor or she meant every single word she said. I am thinking the latter. She is so REAL, and so genuine. She has a great deal to contribute and stands up for the sort of committed values I believe in. When she said what she and Obama stood for, I just about stood up and yelled at the TV “ME TOO!!!!” And such an amazing mother too. To allow her daughters to have the mic and just go for it, I loved that. It was very “take us or leave us, this is who we are.” What a wonderful family all around.

One of my favorite quotes from last night was:

And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you’re going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them, and even if you don’t agree with them.

Thats when I almost jumped up and yelled “ME TOO!!!!” And then here:

That’s why he’s running – to end the war in Iraq responsibly, to build an economy that lifts every family, to make health care available for every American, and to make sure every child in this nation gets a world class education all the way from preschool to college. That’s what Barack Obama will do as President of the United States of America.

He’ll achieve these goals the same way he always has – by bringing us together and reminding us how much we share and how alike we really are. You see, Barack doesn’t care where you’re from, or what your background is, or what party – if any – you belong to. That’s not how he sees the world. He knows that thread that connects us – our belief in America’s promise, our commitment to our children’s future – is strong enough to hold us together as one nation even when we disagree.

(Her entire speech can be found here.)

Goose bumps I tell you. And to think that we could have a president with these values, well, I am holding on to my heart and keeping my eyes glued to the TV.

But I am just here. Just a mom, just doing my thing, affecting very little during this extraordinary time in our country. I am wringing my hands and muttering, but continuing to do the stuff of moms: carting my son home from school, grocery shopping, cooking dinner, cleaning mis-aimed little boy pee off the toilet seat (and floor, and tub), searching the house for the toy hammer (seriously, if anyone has seen that hammer, please please please tell me where it is. I hear the chant “whehw hammew, hammew, hammew, hammew” endlessly. ENDLESSLY I tell you).

So how can I play any sort of active role in the DNC? Or even feel like my voice is standing for anything at all? While I continue to do just this regular ol’ stuff, the stuff of moms?

Well, God bless cable news and the internet. And twitter. And the MOMocrats. This is how I have tried to take a more active part in this DNC:

• I watch the news, C-Span, CNN, MSNBC. Not Fox, really, but maybe I should?
• (Permission to state the obvious but) I am online and reading: News sites, blogs, newspapers.
• I am specifically reading the DNC blog.
• I write. Blog. Email. Twitter.
• I talk to the TV. I like to pretend that Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow and I are deep in conversation together. They think I’m brilliant, they do. I invited them over for martinis after the DNC but they haven’t responded quite yet.
• I follow MOMocrats at their website and on twitter. Their team of amazing democratic blogging moms are at the DNC interviewing, watching, blogging and twittering (#dnc08, #momocrats) live. They even got stuck in the middle of a protest last night. I can’t stop reading; they have made this DNC real to me. They have made me feel like there are women just like methere to say what I want to say. Thank you MOMocrats.
• Tonight, I am going to watch Hillary’s speech while I follow PunditMom (another MOMocrat) and other bloggers “live-blog” over at BlogHer.
• Over at Viva La Feminista, I found this amazing website: This Is What Women Want. Say your piece.

And if you are a reader but not a democrat, I hope that when the RNC begins next week, you will follow along and try to connect with your party in an active way also. Get informed and find a venue for your ideas, everyone needs to be heard. Every voice, every person, EVERY VOTE COUNTS.

Peace out, DNC on, Obama 08.