10 Reasons This Election Was Good News for Progressives

(Revised from a previous version.)

1. The Beast Unmasked.

The true nature of our political system has been laid bare for anyone slightly to the left of Mussolini to see clearly. The electoral system, as it stands, is not adequate to address the real problems in our country. The main reason for this, is that the corporate interests which run our country have no real desire to address these issues. Therefore, no candidate who has real change in mind can make it to the top. Consider, as a very small example, how the stock market began to plummet when early exit polls indicated a Kerry victory was likely. Not, of course, that Kerry was a real challenge to the system in the first place (unless you count the condiment lobby.)

2. Kerry Would Have Been Creamed.

I didn't like Kerry, but if you did, consider what you were asking of the man: to be President with a Republican House and Senate and a rabid right wing who would have started impeachment proceedings immediately. (Who knows for what. Surely interns don’t have sex with HIM?) The Iraq mess has no possible happy ending, and all unhappy endings would have been attributed to Kerry. Seriously, you wouldn't wish this on your worst enemy. Well, actually, I think it did just get passed to our worst enemy.

3. Speaking of Impeachment...

Although I doubt the Dems have the strength, courage and conviction it will take, there was a budding movement to impeach Bush that simply ran out of time. Well, they have time NOW! In many ways, a clear impeachment is far better than a closely divided election. Although, to restate, I think anyone who makes it all the way to Presidential candidate is so compromised as to be merely a symbolic leader, the level of corruption in this administration is staggering. Give them chutzpah points, anyway. This corruption is merely the extremes of what has been at the core of our rotten system for decades. But Jesus,at least be discreet about it! Should anyone have the gonads, high crimes and misdemeanors (not to mention war crimes) are easily proveable. ( And I apologize for the "gonads" reference. Been watching too much Fox.) Can you get an impeachment in this Republican dominated Congress? Well, it’s easier than winning the 2004 election will be…since, you know, that’s already over and time travel isn’t really…. Ahem…moving on.


4. Avoided Martial Law and Fake Terrorist Attacks.

Come on, you didn't think Bush would ACTUALLY give up power just because of election results, did you?


5. Hillary Saves the Day.

I have no use for the Clintons. They are the leaders of the corporate side of the Democratic party. However, if you like Hillary, you're happy as a clam. There is evidence, in my opinion, that Kerry was put forward by the Clinton clan specifically to LOSE. If he won, after all, Hillary couldn't run in '08. And, whatever you may think about them...they can play politics as well as any Republicans out there. Hillary vs. Arnold…now THAT’S entertainment.

6. They Can’t Blame Nader This Time.

I think the most appropriate symbol for this election was Medea Benjamin’s being led in handcuffs from the Democratic convention for unfurling an anti-war sign, AFTER she had done all in her power to get Nader to drop out. Naturally, she kept on working for Kerry. Could we PLEASE confine our masochist tendencies to the bedroom?

7. Opposition Movements Re-energized.

After progressives mope and moan a bit, especially since no one can blame Nader for this, they will get back to work with the sense of urgency our perilous times demand. This urgency, no matter what these anyone-but-Bushers claimed, would have diminished greatly in a sigh of relief that would have lasted at least a year. "Yes, we must pressure Kerry to withdraw from Iraq, but give him TIME." Shut up.

8. Third Party Possibilities.

I don't mean the Greens. Their idea of a third party is… well, I don’t know what the hell it is. It is not, however, meant as opposition to the two parties we currently enjoy. I don’t need the Greens to tell me to vote Democrat, because (and this is a tricky technical concept from political science so you might need to read this slowly) THAT’S WHAT THE DEMOCRATS ARE FOR!

9. Reform of Electronic Voting Systems.

Well, it won't be the Democrats, or they would already have been challenging paperless, unauditable voting. (Come ON, spellcheck! “Unauditable” isn’t a word either?) Believe me, had the roles been reversed, the Republicans would already have court cases in every county that does not have machines that leave a paper trail. However, assuming that there was hanky panky in Florida and Ohio, among other states, and assuming that the people behind that hanky panky are the same ones prosecuting the Iraq war, they will have made detectable mistakes. Blackboxvoting.org has already requested audit tapes and other materials to see what they can see. There are rumors by people who can add that the exit polls matched up pretty well with the vote tallies, except where electronic voting machines with no printed records were used. In addition, the disenfranchisement of non-white voters continued apace. (See anything written by Greg Palast in the last four years for details.) However, because the Democrats didn’t seize on this issue it will probably be too late.

10. International Cooperation.

Much of the civilized world was just sort of biding its time, assuming that Bush was some sort of anomaly. Now that they know differently, they can stop pretending that the U.S. is a global partner in anything and build international coalitions to stop (or at least attempt to stop) the monster we have become. Think of it as a global intervention: "Now, America, we care about you, but we really can't let you drive in this condition."

Well, that’s all for now, boys and girls. It’s time to build a real opposition movement in this country. Don’t let’s wimp out this time, huh?

Ty Brown owns and operates www.dreamsend.blogspot.com where the original version of this article appeared. Certain portions were edited for wider publication, such as the invitation for David Cobb to kiss his ass. We apologize for any confusion this may cause.