Inspiration

Written by: Franco Caliz-Aguilar on Nov 18, 2007 10:59 AM EST

I'm not the sort to write blogs, but I can't help thinking of our movement's progress today. We've made it so far, we can make Senators change votes, we're considered powerful by the media, and the Right's radio medium finally found an adversary worthy of a fight. In 4 short years we've come from a political wilderness to where we are now. And our movement continues to gain traction, we get more "mainstream" and the the rabid Right begins to sound and be exposed for what it is: a desperate, shrill noise machine that can't match up to us on the real issues.

At the age of 14 I found a passion - politics. The first candidate I ever volunteered with was John Kerry, 3 days prior to the general election. I was an Edwards' supporter in the primary. I can honestly say that the only thing I truly thought about Howard Dean was that he was an utter nut, as were his supporters. The media told me so, I saw his scream and frankly, he was so far out on the left that his campaign didn't seem to be able to react to anything. It was as though Dean and his Deaniacs were in a world all their own, where they couldn't really see the playing field.

Then on a humid, hot Miami day Kerry lost. That moron had won again.

I was introduced to Democracy For America-Miami Dade. I found that this group was amazing, they did incredible work and I wanted to be a part of it. At the time DailyKos was

begining to gain fame and I began to check it non-stop, growing in my political junkie ways.

4 years on, and that Dean person seems now like such an amazing and inspirational role model. He began this people powered movement, the one that I became involved with through DFAM, he saw and laid out what the Democratic Party had to become in order to win. His Dean For America had become Democracy For America, a group that still leads the way on issues such as health care and on identifying great candidates who share our vision. DFA led the charge to make him DNC chair.

The results are in, and they speak for themselves: his 50 state strategy (He did go to New Hampshire,to South Carolina and Oklahoma and Arizona and North Dakota and New Mexico...) has paid off amazing dividends. But it is the movement that he left behind that really is impressive.

Bloggers are now credentialed at events and are a force in Democratic Party. More people have a say in politics than ever before. Campaigns compete to achieve what he was able to, raising millions through hundreds of small contributions. The Democrats took back Congress, and the DINO's fear now, weary that the base is no longer just something to appease, but something that can make you or break you. Ask Joe Lieberman. More local DFA groups meet on a monthly basis, more members have taken over party structures, events like YearlyKos are a must for any serious candidate.

And the movement that I saw in 2004 and called crazy? I'm one of those crazies..only we're now the ones dictating the agenda in the field, we've become the accepted norm for Democratic candidates. Universal Health Care, Anti-war and demanding a fiscal budget, what lunacy!

As I interned at DFA this past summer and now look at what local and state groups accomplish, at what university groups such as Brandeis DFA who were praised by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick in the aftermath of his victory, I become amazed.

This movement is on it's way to be a lasting one. This movement HAS transformed the Democratic Party, it has changed the top to bottom structure in many areas. And as the 2008 elections come we see our views quickly becoming more and more mainstream. Air America, local Progressive stations like AM 940 WINZ would not have been possible 4 years ago. And now their growing in stature.

As Governor Dean said in 2004,

We are what we believe. And the American people know it.

And I believe that over the next two... four... ten years...

Election by election...

State by state...

Precinct by precinct...

Door by door...

Vote by vote...


We're going to lift our Party up...

And we're going to take this country back for the people who built it.

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