I think it’s time for a pep talk.
I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear right now. I just think you ought to know. Obama is going to lose.
We are going to have the most conservative Supreme Court we have ever had. We are going to lose the right to an abortion. We are going to find ourselves in more wars, maybe even with Russia. As a result lots of people are going to bleed to death in back alleys or makeshift outlaw abortion clinics. Even more are going to die on battlefields in Europe and Asia… Possibly even New York and L.A.
John McCain is going to be the 44th President of the United States.
I’m not just making this up. And I’m not talking about the manufactured spin from the mainstream media that this is a “close race”. I’m talking about McCain beating Obama in November. The most recent polls agree. We are going to lose the popular vote. We are going to lose the electoral college. That’s reality. Deal with it.
Ok, now take a deep breath. How do you feel?
Hopefully you feel furious. Hopefully you feel like shit. Hopefully you’re thinking to yourself “This is awful! We can’t let this happen!” Good. Because thinking we are part of the best organized, best funded, most awe inspiring campaign in American history isn’t doing us any good.
Now for the good news. The good news is we aren’t losing by much. Oh, we’re losing alright. And if we keep doing what we’re doing and expect to be victorious we will be very sadly disappointed. Thankfully the election is still months away. We can regain the lead if we stay focussed and stop patting ourselves on the back all the time.
Some may point to the fact that all along the media has painted this as far closer than it actually is. Some could argue, convincingly, that the numbers still show Obama winning. They may be right. That doesn’t do us any good now. In fact, it’s poison.
As Obama supporters we need to regain that underdog spirit that helped us win the primaries. We need to wake up to the very real possibility that all this “Casey at the Bat” stupidity could cost us everything we’ve worked for. We are in the fight of our lives right now. It’s time we started acting like it.
About The Author - Stirling McLaughlin is an Art Director, Designer and Illustrator in New York City. Stirling enjoys vegan baking, expensive sportswear and mustard and relish sandwiches. Stirling lives in Manhattan with his wife and daughter. - Visit Stirling's site.
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Dude. Democrats. You just gave us the chance to go back to what we’re best at. Feeling sorry for ourselves. That sound is the sound of 70 million people throwing in the towel, with a feeling of hidden relief.
Stop this panicking … it’s summer … this happens every four years, and everyone starts saying … “I think [insert evil Republican candidate here] is going to win.” What we’re seeing is a narrowing of polls, for sure, but to panic about how we’re going to lose is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
We need to work hard … for sure … but let’s not try to legitimize a “surge” for McCain that just isn’t there. Last I checked, we’re still ahead … and we’re seriously kicking butt in the ground game. Better have this fear now rather than later, but I don’t feel like this type of blog posting helps things much.
Seriously, though. Here’s the thing.
There are those of us who fight hardest when we’re down and we’re being told we’re doomed. In other words, some of us are activists. And then there are those of us who want to join something that seems likely, that has a sweep of popularity, that has the encouraging reinforcement of picking the winner. You know, bandwagon-jumpers. In other words, some of us are normal.
I don’t think this post is necessarily unhelpful, though, because I assume the audience of Pinko is generally on the activist side of the menu. But I *do* believe, on the other hand, that we need to keep presenting a positive outlook and a sense of joy and likely victory to those “normal” people around us.
Paul, I have to agree with you on many of your points, but I think there is a big difference between self defeating panic and a reminder that we have a very big fight on our hands.
Do I think we can win in November? Yes. I think that if we bring our A game we can kick the snot out of McCain. That’s no question. But I think that anything less and we’ll end up the same way we did in 2000 and 2004.
Back for your point about panic being a self fulfilling prophecy. I totally agree. Now is definitely not the time to panic. Now is the time to roll our sleeves up. Also, I think it’s a good thing to remind people of what is at stake here.
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