The Sandspur

Issue date: 11/5/04 Section: Opinions

I'm not sure what I should say. Tuesday's results were shocking to me. To be perfectly honest, it wasn't even that close. The good guys got creamed. President Bush won reelection with a 3.5 million margin in the popular vote. I feel like a fool. I was certain Senator Kerry was going to win. In my secret moments I thought it might even be a landslide in Kerry's favor. I was plotting ways to make fun of Republicans and everything. Turns out I'm the idiot.

So where do we go from here? President Bush will clearly feel he has won a mandate and he will continue to push his far-right agenda with the help of a willing Congress. Expect anti-abortion Supreme Court justices and the stripping of environmental restrictions. Forget about stem-cell research, look out for a Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage. Tax cuts galore, a reduction in civil liberties. The conservative agenda will rule for at least the next two years, until the midterm elections when hopefully the Democrats will have regrouped. One small positive to come out of this election is that President Bush and the Republicans now have no one to blame but themselves for any mistakes they make. They are in control and they carry that responsibility, whether they are prepared to acknowledge error or not.

As a Democrat I'm not sure where we go as a party. Obviously we need to step back and reassess ourselves and our methods. Tuesday was a bloodbath for us, losing not only the presidency but also losing ground in the Senate and the House. We need to reevaluate our strategies, come up with some solutions and policies that the American people will endorse. We must make sure that people understand why Democratic values and policies are right for them, this may appear to be a tough sell at the moment but it must be done. Clearly people did not get the message we were hoping they would hear.

That President Bush will see this election as a clear mandate for him is what worries me the most. Those people who think the President will change or reach out to Democrats in any meaningful way are fools. He will continue the course he has set both domestically and abroad. I fear that we will pay the price for this election for generations to come but hope is not lost. Democrats have been down before and we have come back. My hope is that this election will create and inspire a new breed of Democrats, ones with spines who will stand up and fight for what they believe, promoting a liberal agenda for the country. So I say to my fellow Democrats, have heart. While this election is a major setback, it is not one that will not be overcome. We must focus on the future to win back the hearts and minds of the American people.

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