Our Moment Of Truth

The hopes of the world were dashed on Nov. 2, 2004.

An indescribably beautiful, vibrant and diverse people's movement had formed inside the United States, aiming to free the planet from the madness of George W. Bush. Ordinary people of every class and color had come together: donating, volunteering, phone banking, poll monitoring, dancing, praying, stabbing voodoo dolls and anything else – all to oust that villainous cowboy-in-chief.

On Tuesday morning, TV news showed urban voters, youth and students flooding the polling stations. By Tuesday afternoon, exit polls were predicting a Bush defeat in Florida and Ohio. Even the most jaded, cynical leftists were starting to get a little excited. A delicious upset victory seemed to be in the works.

Then came Wednesday morning – and the awful truth: a majority of U.S. voters had cast their ballots for George Bush after all.

Across the country, people of conscience were stunned: "Can you believe it?" ... "I'm just numb. I think I'm still in shock, or something." ... "I would leave the damned country. But where can I go that Bush wouldn't bomb?" ... "I'm so sad that I can't even cry about it."

Will Our Movement Survive?

And now we're wondering: what next? What will happen to all this energy, creativity, and momentum?

The good news is, it's entirely up to us. We can let Bush's victory shatter all our new coalitions and efforts. Or we can use the pain to deepen our commitment to transforming America.

Let's stick with it. Because, without anyone consciously trying to do it, we have already created something quite without precedent in our nation's history.

It was not the Kerry campaign or the Democratic Party that almost unseated Bush. It was a wildly decentralized people's movement. No one designed it. But somehow we have hatched what looks like a genuine, cross-class, multi-racial, "pro-democracy" movement – standing up to an increasingly authoritarian regime. And we did it all in about 18 months. We should be damned proud.

And now, like the pro-democracy movements that we admire in South Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and elsewhere, our fledgling movement must struggle. It will be years and decades before our dreams are realized. But if we choose to fight on, ultimately, we will prevail.

Fortunately, the initial steps to preserve and strengthen our movement are straightforward.

First, we must comprehend the true magnitude of this defeat – and grieve. Second, we must acknowledge the breadth of our accomplishments – and celebrate. And lastly, we must identify promising areas of collaboration – and act.

Understanding the Implications

In trying to comprehend the Right's triumph, one is tempted to minimize it. But "denial" is a poor basis for good strategy. We must come to terms with the dire implications of the GOP's sweeping victory. And weep.

Bush won an outright majority of the popular vote, the first president to do so since his father in 1988. And because of population growth and massive voter turnout, he racked up more votes than any U.S. president, including Reagan. He got three million more votes than Kerry. This is the same Bush who was insufferably arrogant as a Supreme Court appointed president. Watch him strut now.

And the damage was not limited to the presidential election. The GOP enjoyed gains in the Senate and House.

Meanwhile, "freedom to marry" advocates got hammered, with measures banning gay marriage passing even in Oregon. Arizona passed a truly disgusting anti-immigrant measure, despite Republican Sen. John McCain and the Chamber of Commerce begging voters to reject it.

And don't think the red states are the only places contaminated. Californians passed a measure to allow police to collect DNA samples from arrestees, even those who haven't been convicted or charged. Californians also voted down a mild modification to our ultra-draconian Three Strikes & You're Out law. (Former liberal Jerry Brown joined hands with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to kill the much-needed reform.)