YEEAAAGGGGHHHH!!!
If there ever was a day to justify the explosive enthusiam that the Dean Scream represents, it was today, 11/08/2006, a day which represented a bright, new direction for America.
I woke up at 06:30 a.m. today to turn on CNN and watch the election results pour in. When I turned on the tv, many of the eastern states had just finished polling and the count in the House was 30 seats for Democrats, 12 seats for the Republicans, and 393 seats undecided.
These past few days was one of nervousness. Here's a little bit of what happened before:
Nov. 7, 2000 - I was in Bangalore then as well and woke up at early in the morning on Nov. 8 to watch CNN. I remember my feelings when with the fate of the presidency at stake, CNN called Florida for George Bush Jr. around 2 p.m. IST, give or take an hour, and declared him the 43rd president of the United States. I was crushed, I had so fervently wanted Gore to win. Then hope sprang anew as Florida went from red to yellow as it was once again placed in the "Too Close to Call" category. Then over the coming weeks, I saw in disbelief as the Supreme Court handed the presidency to George Bush on partisan lines. Despite the fact that there was precedent for the vote count to be continued all the way to January, the 5 Republican appointed judges declared that enough time was spent and George Bush took the presidency with a lead of 537 votes.
Nov. 5, 2002 - I don't quite remember the details of this election, only that it wasn't a happy one. This was one of those rare elections for which I actually was present in the U.S. I remember the Senate being lost and reading in a news article how Bush had whooped and pumped his fists when he saw the results come in. The election results didn't do anything to make those gloomy, cold, dark November days any brighter.
Nov. 2, 2004 - This was one of those races where I tried everything possible to ensure that George Bush left office. Once again, for this election, I was in India on holiday. I had submitted commentary after commentary to my university's student newspaper on why George Bush should not be reelected. Everything seemed to be going great, Kerry routed Bush in the first presidential debate. The polls showed them in a statistical heat. I woke up again early on Nov. 3 to watch election results on CNN. I turned on CNN, saw big leads in the key battleground states of Florida and Ohio, and a few hours later, George Bush was reelected. This time, surprisingly, there was no shock and no feeling of crushing disappointment. I turned off the tv and continued on with my life.
But today, EVERYTHING was different.
At one point, when I was watching CNN, the Democrats had captured seven key "toss-up" races in the House and needed eight more. In a spurt, race after race came on the screen and flashed blue as Democrats took seats from Indiana to New York to Arizona. There was a tidal wave of resentment and anger against the Bush administration that swept the country. A net gain of 28 seats! Today was fantastic.
I was watching the post-election interviews and it's clear that everyone in the Democratic camp was in the same frame of mind as me. We had won! We had actually won. It's been such a long time since we tasted victory, we had forgotten how sweet it was.
Nancy Pelosi will be the first female Speaker of the House. The Senate will likely enter Democratic hands as well, Jim Webb and Jon Tester are both leading by very small margins in Virginia and Montana respectively. If they can survive the recount, the Senate will be 51-49 in Democrats' favor and with our strong House majority, we can *finally* provide the kind of oversight that this administration desperately needs.
For the moment, let's relish this victory. We have provided a New Direction for America. I look forward to the first 100 hours of the New Congress when we enact landmark legislation such as increasing the minimum wage and making healthcare affordable to all Americans, irrespective of income.
On a personal note, this will also be the last election in which I am a mere spectator. I intend to apply for citizenship immediately on my return to the U.S. in July. I look forward to taking part in the Democratic primary for the 2008 presidential elections as well as the presidential elections themselves.
I woke up at 06:30 a.m. today to turn on CNN and watch the election results pour in. When I turned on the tv, many of the eastern states had just finished polling and the count in the House was 30 seats for Democrats, 12 seats for the Republicans, and 393 seats undecided.
These past few days was one of nervousness. Here's a little bit of what happened before:
Nov. 7, 2000 - I was in Bangalore then as well and woke up at early in the morning on Nov. 8 to watch CNN. I remember my feelings when with the fate of the presidency at stake, CNN called Florida for George Bush Jr. around 2 p.m. IST, give or take an hour, and declared him the 43rd president of the United States. I was crushed, I had so fervently wanted Gore to win. Then hope sprang anew as Florida went from red to yellow as it was once again placed in the "Too Close to Call" category. Then over the coming weeks, I saw in disbelief as the Supreme Court handed the presidency to George Bush on partisan lines. Despite the fact that there was precedent for the vote count to be continued all the way to January, the 5 Republican appointed judges declared that enough time was spent and George Bush took the presidency with a lead of 537 votes.
Nov. 5, 2002 - I don't quite remember the details of this election, only that it wasn't a happy one. This was one of those rare elections for which I actually was present in the U.S. I remember the Senate being lost and reading in a news article how Bush had whooped and pumped his fists when he saw the results come in. The election results didn't do anything to make those gloomy, cold, dark November days any brighter.
Nov. 2, 2004 - This was one of those races where I tried everything possible to ensure that George Bush left office. Once again, for this election, I was in India on holiday. I had submitted commentary after commentary to my university's student newspaper on why George Bush should not be reelected. Everything seemed to be going great, Kerry routed Bush in the first presidential debate. The polls showed them in a statistical heat. I woke up again early on Nov. 3 to watch election results on CNN. I turned on CNN, saw big leads in the key battleground states of Florida and Ohio, and a few hours later, George Bush was reelected. This time, surprisingly, there was no shock and no feeling of crushing disappointment. I turned off the tv and continued on with my life.
But today, EVERYTHING was different.
At one point, when I was watching CNN, the Democrats had captured seven key "toss-up" races in the House and needed eight more. In a spurt, race after race came on the screen and flashed blue as Democrats took seats from Indiana to New York to Arizona. There was a tidal wave of resentment and anger against the Bush administration that swept the country. A net gain of 28 seats! Today was fantastic.
I was watching the post-election interviews and it's clear that everyone in the Democratic camp was in the same frame of mind as me. We had won! We had actually won. It's been such a long time since we tasted victory, we had forgotten how sweet it was.
Nancy Pelosi will be the first female Speaker of the House. The Senate will likely enter Democratic hands as well, Jim Webb and Jon Tester are both leading by very small margins in Virginia and Montana respectively. If they can survive the recount, the Senate will be 51-49 in Democrats' favor and with our strong House majority, we can *finally* provide the kind of oversight that this administration desperately needs.
For the moment, let's relish this victory. We have provided a New Direction for America. I look forward to the first 100 hours of the New Congress when we enact landmark legislation such as increasing the minimum wage and making healthcare affordable to all Americans, irrespective of income.
On a personal note, this will also be the last election in which I am a mere spectator. I intend to apply for citizenship immediately on my return to the U.S. in July. I look forward to taking part in the Democratic primary for the 2008 presidential elections as well as the presidential elections themselves.
posted by Vivek at 3:35 AM
2 Comments:
yeah i was pretty excited that day too. till i realized they didnt have any plans either, and many democrats won on a conservative agenda.
however, change is always good, and here's hoping they'll bring it about.
oh, and wasnt it a pity Ford lost? racism still rears its ugly head.
-xinam
On both counts, you've fallen prey to right wing propaganda.
I don't understand why everyone talks about Democrats winning on a "conservative" agenda. That notion is purely Fox News propaganda insisting that even though Republicans lost, conservatives still won. The charge that Democrats don't have any plans is Fox News propaganda as well.
Have you read about the first 100 hours in the new Congress? The Democrats have laid out a clear idea of what they are going to do: inquire into the Iraq mess, raise the minimum wage, and implement the recommendations of the 9/11 commission.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/11/8/124620/837
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/11/8/12431/0402
And yes, Ford's loss is a pity. But a black man did get 47%+ of the vote in Tennessee. I suppose that's progress. And only one of three states in the Republican "firewall" held, and they had to resort to good old fashioned Southern bigotry to secure that.
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