Don't let up

Progressives have an incredibly opportunity as of 2009 for the 2010 electoral cycle. We have the chance to truly become the leading reformers in our county. We can insert term limits for commissioners, work on national issues as well as local ones. And we can put pressure on local congressional representatives to begin REPRESENTING their districts.

We must uphold the accountability of the next Congress. The Republicans are in utter disarray and may well have been crushed in a congressional manner. If (and yes they are big ifs) Begich, and Franken win their Senate bids and Senator Shameless, I’m sorry Chambliss go down we are looking at an unobstructed path towards achieving progressive goals at the national level.

People however must continue to work and work HARD for new legislation to become a reality and not just a possibility. We must look at the historical context before us and use this election as the Republicans used the 1980 election and pass legislation so that we may continue to hold power. We need also, to kick out some blue dog dems and put in their place some real progressive leaders. How long can we tolerate Republican-lite folks like Joe Lieberman and Billl Nelson.

Until December 2^nd we have to work hard to produce a transfer of power in the Senate seat in Georgia. We need to pressure our Democratic Senators into kicking out joe Lieberman from the Committee Chairmanship where he’s let the city of New Orleans drown and run no oversight hearings on the Department of Homeland Security.

Here in Miami, this next year we must try to get the Clerk (Democrat Harvey Rubin) to accept petition signatures so that we can term limit the Commissioners position. Let’s face it, while there are both good and and bad commissioners there is a certain level of backroom dealings in the commission which are stunning. I’ll name one, Javier Soto, as being intellectually dishonest with his constituency.

We desperately in this county need to build a bench of leaders so they begin to prepare themselves to run for office. Our current best wave, Anette Taddeo, Joe Garcia and Raul Martinez was knocked out. Now think, who is there to replace them. Who do you want in 2010? Scratching your head yet? Yeah there’s very few options and even less credible ones emerge from this pattern. This is why, even with the victory of a great candidate, soon to be great President we need to examine where it is that we went wrong locally. And we need to hold our own accountable. If we don’t we are as bad as the republicans that have destroyed so many of the basic threads and foundations that make our country so powerful.

As Ted Kennedy said:

The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on.

We must keep living to what that greate statesman has always pushed for and we must make it a reality. Victory does not mean you stop working, it merely proves you have worked and been successful at it. But if we want to see our country accomplish what we all know is right, we cannot afford to sit on our laurels at home and do nothing. We must continue to fight.