Thursday, November 04, 2004

What to Do

As I briefly talked about on the Majority Report tonight, obviously people really want to know what they can do. Most people aren't ready to quit, and they want to keep fighting.

But, the truth is there isn't all that much that can be done between now and inauguration day. Of course, the Republican Beast will not sleep during that time, but there's a limit to what can be done in the meantime. Besides, it's the holiday season. Rest a bit. Buy your kids some presents. Relax.

However, 2005 could be an amazing year if we don't sleep through it. We need to continue to support and build the new institutions on the Left. We need to identify candidates for key races as early as possible and build up their war chests. We need to consider how to spend a few hours every now and then - volunteering, writing letters to the editor, gonzo activism, raising money, etc.

The good news is that I think that some key people are starting to recognize the importance of the internet and grass roots more generally. Sadly, after the Dean implosion I think all of what most people learned is that the internet could be a cash cow, and failed to see it as a tool for real world organization, activism, and influence. Hopefully that's going to start to change.