The GOP Didn't Get Everything

by Lisa Kadonaga - 11/07/02

If only it were all a dream -- that we could wake up and the world would be much closer to the one envisioned by "The West Wing". (Early reports suggest that Aaron Sorkin has already called that election for Bartlet.)

Unfortunately, holding our heads up under the onslaught of right-wing gloating is taking pretty much all of our strength this morning. But before you start perusing Canadian real-estate listings, consider this.

1) It's going to be increasingly difficult for the Bush Administration to blame things on footdragging by Congress, obstruction by the Senate, and waffling by the judiciary. (Not that this will stop them, since they have pretty much decided that Bill Clinton's libido and Paul Wellstone's wake are responsible for all the ills of the world. But the more logical Republicans -- and yes, Virginia, they do exist -- are going to wonder how long they can keep the oranges in the air.)

2) The GOP didn't get everything. This can actually happen. I've seen it -- there was a total one-party sweep in the province of New Brunswick, and last year, the neo-conservatives in British Columbia got 77 of 79 seats. It's not as if the Democrats have lost official party status, getting virtually obliterated like a possum under an onrushing 18-wheeler (or like Brian Mulroney's Conservatives, same difference). We'll have to hope that the opposition will fight like cornered wolverines after this brutal reminder.

3) As the closeness of some of the electoral contests showed, there are quite a number of moderates and leftists out there. And many of them are irate -- enough to offer to drive people to the polls, knock on doors, and make phone calls to total strangers, in order to get out the vote.

It's this last point which I wish to build on. I've seen how local political organizations operate -- basically, they are run by those who show up. Those who are willing to come to meetings, keep the phone lists, co-ordinate events, and follow through with ideas are the ones who set the agenda.

By my admittedly-hasty calculations, if we assume that there are 20 or 30 such individuals in each congressional district, backed up by two or three hundred volunteers (a tiny fraction of the number of sympathizers) who can be called out for specific tasks, that works out to more than a hundred thousand people nationwide. Or approximately the same size as the army that Hannibal led over the Alps, minus the elephants of course. (The other side has the elephants, which by the way are far more expensive to feed and are highly overrated in battles, being mainly for show.)

Anyway, that's a lot of people. Even if George W. Bush put his sleeping mask on (as in the Pelosi film), he could hardly fail to notice the obvious crowds of protestors dogging his steps on the campaign trail this past week -- even in Dallas.

You can do quite a bit with that number of people. Such as taking over a political party, and letting frightened and demoralized moderates and liberals know that they are not alone.

It won't be easy. Some people may have to help out in secret, due to the disapproval expressed by friends, family, and employers. More often than not, your side will be defeated at the polls. You may have to go to protests and marches, and stand in the rain and the cold, looking uncomfortable and disreputable. There is a very real danger of reprisals, ranging from ugly looks at your choice of bumper stickers, to ridicule and accusations of "un-American activities" -- by the government itself, and by self-appointed guardians of public morals. (There is nothing quite so unpleasant as a bully who believes that people approve of him.)

For me, this may mean that I may not be allowed to work in the United States.

Canadian author Rohinton Mistry was subjected to repeated security checks at the border, so the next time I attempt to enter the U.S. I may well face the same thing. After all, my North American-born family has a track record of being designated "enemy aliens", so the authorities probably have my name on file already.

But a while ago, I wrote about sacrifices. And if it means that I can never travel freely on my own continent again, this is a chance I'm willing to take.

I refuse to be frightened or guilt-tripped into supporting a regime that's doing immense harm to America, its neighbours, and the world. I'm not a terrorist -- in fact, I'm just as much a target of anti-U.S. sentiment as Americans are, because Canada is so integrated, economically and culturally, with your country. And if people conjure up the ghosts of fallen cops, soldiers, and firefighters -- I have cops, soldiers, and firefighters too, alive and breathing, whom I worry about and don't want to see sent into harm's way because of foolish, opportunistic decisions.

I remember an inscription from a Dark Ages manuscript -- a dreadful time, of fire and the sword, isolation and fear. "True courage is only possible in the face of defeat." Bush grew up watching 1950s cowboy serials where the white-hatted hero was destined to triumph in the end. It was in the script, you see. And now he holds the reins of the last superpower, with its overwhelming economic and military superiority. Is this courage he feels?

Compare this to MLK and the Freedom Riders -- Johnson signing the papers he knew would lose him the South -- Wellstone voting against the Iraq resolution -- every legislator and public servant who made a stand knowing that it would probably cost the election, or even worse.

For them

Please don't let the light go out.

Lisa Kadonaga is in Victoria, B.C., Canada. She is a contributing writer for Liberal Slant

http://www.liberalslant.com