The Thrill of Victory~

Oh baby! I'm in love!

In love with the good ol American democratic system. I'm in love with the ability to express my voice. I'm in love with checks and balances. I'm in love with the Constitution. I'm in love with politics and the passion, the challenges, the dedication of making it work.

I'm in love--with a donkey. Or rather, the entire democratic party and every person in it. Oh I can hear it now...Kool and the Gang "Celebration"... U2 "It's a Beautiful Day." It is a beautiful day and surely one to celebrate. Have I mentioned how much I love Montana? Virginia? Well I do. And not just the final two...I love all 51 seats. I love each senator and representative. (Well, I'm all for sharing the love, but that may be taking it a bit far...)

The Dems, we've got it. The thrill of victory!! The Senate and the House, no really, we couldn't. Oh, wait--yeah, we'll take 'em both. We've been given two years and we can make it better.

I mean, I'm no stranger to the agony of defeat. 2004? Yeah, lets recap: Barbieri--lost. Dolan--lost. Kerry--oh, yeah, major unsettling, defeat. I knocked on doors, I walked in parades, I handed out pamphlets with a mega-watt smile. I answered phones and waved signs. I sported the bumper stickers and even got a Young Dems on Whitworth campus.

And what did it get me--yeah, I remember that pit in my stomach, the agony of defeat.

So it is with tremedous joy that I celebrate this election, these victories. Because I remember, oh do I remember what it's like. And now is my time to rejoice. Those poor republicans with their sex scandals and all the drama; if I were Rumsfeld I would get the hell out too! Now we have the chance to bring about change actually benefiting real, everyday Americans.

Sure, I'm giddy...I catch myself smiling, I've noticed a little spring in my step that hasn't been there for some time. And I can't help but laugh at the excuses I'm hearing from some solid GOPers: "The Dems are just about money....they are so narrow minded." Puh--leez! This from someone who is a republican because of one issue: abortion. And let's remember that both parties love money...the difference is where the money goes and who benefits.

I believe in the value of the American people. (Not to confuse my values as the only values.) I am a Christian. I am an American. I am a democrat.

And I'll be dancing all the way to 2008!