Post election musing

It was a Friday afternoon in fall 2002. Another mid-term election was approaching. George Bush and his team had outmaneuvered the Democrats into voting on a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq and Saddam Hussein, claiming that the Iraqi dictator was bamboozling the world by hiding his weapons of mass destruction program. Many Democrats, especially those who were running for re-election, voted in favor of the resolution, but many opposed it.

One of those who did was Paul Wellstone, Senator from Minnesota. Defying conventional wisdom, Wellstone was actually gaining ground and opening up a significant lead against his opponent in the time after the vote.

I left work in mid-afternoon on the 25th of October, 2002. It wasn't the best of times, to coin a phrase, but it was still possible to have hope that the absolute moral bankruptcy of the Bush Administration would be seen by the electorate.

By the time i got home 20 minutes later, that possibility had vanished in a small plane crash in Minnesota.

It's been buried for 4 long years.

Until this morning, when it's possible, once again, to have a belief in the American people.

Now it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

On a local note, i just want to point out that the race in NC-08 is about as tight as it could be. State Board of Elections figures show Larry Kissell trailing Republican incumbent (and CAFTA flip-flopper) Robin Hayes by 346 votes, out of 121,000 cast. Blue NC has a statement from Larry:

"My phone has been ringing off the hook this morning. Concerned Americans are calling in and offering their prayers and support while the final votes are tallied. The one thing that is crystal clear is that the best election lawyers in America are on their way to join our local legal team to assist the fight in making sure that all the votes are counted. I'm also humbled by the financial support that we are getting in order to fully fund my campaign while we wait for the votes to be counted.

Simply put, I am encouraged this morning. We are only 346 votes down at the moment and there are still votes to be counted.

What the results tell me is that the people have spoken and they have demanded change.

The proof is in the numbers. I beat Hayes in counties that he has traditionally won in the past. I ran strong in Hayes' home county of Cabarrus exceeding recent Democratic margins there as well as in Union and Stanly Counties.

That's why I feel confident that once the votes are counted, that we will have taken our country back from the Washington politicians and special interests."

I'm not in Larry's district, so i couldn't vote for him. But damn, it'll be sweet if he manages to pull out a victory when all of the votes are counted.