On November 9th Everything Changes

A clock runs on a cycle.  From 12 Midnight to 12 Noon, then to 12 Midnight again.  It never stops, no matter how much we would wish to be able to turn back the clock to change something, or stop it on a certain moment to savor the feelings we had.

Politics runs on a similar cycle.  From Election Day to Filing Day to Election Day again.  Every year, every two years, every four years, every six years.  Whatever the time period, the cycle never stops, no matter how we would wish to be able to change a vote, change a result, or hold on to a victory.

The 2016 cycle started at various times, depending on your perspective.  One could say that it started on January 20th, 2001, when President Bill Clinton was replaced as President of the United States.  We knew when Hillary launched her bid to become the US Senator from the Empire State earlier in 2000 that she was going for the Oval Office in a few cycles.  We just knew it.

Or you could say that it started on August 26th, 2008 when Hillary suspended the counting of the votes at the Democratic National Convention and moved the DNCC to declare Barack Obama the Nominee of the Democratic Party by acclimation.  We knew she was repairing bridges and continuing to find allies to try again.  We just knew it.

For many of us, it began in earnest on April 28th, 2015, when US Senator (I-VT) Bernie Sanders announced his intention to run for the Democratic Nomination.  At 1% in the polls and extremely low name recognition, we knew we had our work cut out for us.  And we did not know what people’s reaction was going to be to his speeches.  We just didn’t know.

But cycles have a way of building on each other.  Camelot gave way to the Great Society, which gave way to the Southern Strategy, the Dawning of a New Day in America and the Shining City on a Hill.  The Third Way Coalition gave way to Principles and Values, which gave way to Hope and Change.  Each step was building a new narrative into the American Story.  So the question is, what is our story, and how do we want it written?

It’s time for a new story to be written, and it’s up to us to write it.  Senator Bernie Sanders gave us a mission.  We thought he was going to win the Nomination, win the White House and change the world.  But the whole time, he has been telling us that this is not his job alone.  It’s not up to him to save the country, it’s up to us.  It’s not up to him to change the Democratic Party and repair was has been broken since the FDR coalition broke apart.  It’s up to us.

#DemEnter was a meme established at the 2016 National Convention.  It’s a call to arms for everyone who wants to see true progressive values supported at all levels, from local municipalities up to Congress and the White House.  It’s a rallying cry for people who want to know what the next steps are, how they can get more involved, and most importantly how they can be effective on their path.  On our path.

On November 8th, we cast our vote.  On November 9th, we show our strength.  If you support the work that Bernie Sanders and the National Delegates put into the platform of the Democratic Party, if you support the work that we know we have to do to fix what has been broken, to stop the Black Snake from strangling our water systems, to stopping the tip top 1% from accumulating all of our wealth and using our national economic power for personal gain, please heed the call.  We need your help.  We need you to show our strength as a people, as one voice.

We are entering the fray, more of us than ever before.  We are staying engaged in our political landscape, and we will reshape that landscape to fit the real needs of our children in order to protect this world that we are borrowing from them.

On November 9th, change your social media profile picture to #DemEnter.  You can find the profile picture for your state/territory/ (Hi Democrats Abroad, what do we call you?!) here:

http://seattlewebcrafters.com/politics/putabirdonit/

We are putting a Goldfinch on the back of the Donkey.  We are giving the Democratic Party wings.  We are going to build the strongest political party this country has ever known.

Join us.

Thanks to Jason Eno-HI for doing so much work to build our social media infrastructure on Facebook and beyond. Thanks to Katie Tillman-TN for this website, Democratic Pulse, and for helping Jason manage 57+ groups. And thanks to Kim Saylor-IN for the idea and encouragement to get these profile images completed and ready to go in time for the launch.