can hold onto, these days.

The most nearly Leftist candidate in the primaries was Kucinich, the next most Edwards. Neither of them survived.

Apparently some of the ideas that used to be "die-hard lefty" have now moved to the "centrist" ideal -- that is to say, more people favor clean air, clean water, and making extractive industries like mining clean up their messes than ever before. That's just not being reflected in government policy.

I think more of us are for safe workplaces. More of us want to see immigration reform. More of us are for a universal health care system (not the same thing as universal insurance by a long chalk) than were in 1992 or 1996, but that's a bug in the current system: fear of not being able to afford needed care, or having the cost of emergency care drive bankruptcy.

I'm pretty sure it's still leftist, though, to want to see the Constitution and the Bill of Rights applied to everybody, regardless of little ticky things like religion, race, gender, immigration status, or income.
Especially that last one. Income. Not what people hope to make someday, or what the TV makes people think their lifestyle equals. Real income -- take-home, after-taxes, have-a-rainy-day-fund income.

It's fear that drives the Right, and the need to make other people as scared as they are that fuels the worst of their noxious, toxic spewage.

Not that we don't have our own fearmongers on the Left, but in general a couple of things happen when progress occurs:
1. The sky doesn't fall
2. The next generation takes for granted that things should always be this way.

Which honks off their elders, sometimes.

I hope to live to see grandkids of mine and my neighbors' taking gay marriage and universal health care as much for granted as I, a divorced woman who has since remarried, take my right to vote, own property in my name, and control of my wages -- as well as my right to decide if/when to bear children, in consultation with my doctor -- not at the mercy of a judge, the church, or the state.

For my mother's generation, those things were radical leftist notions indeed.

1 John 4:18

But, of course, my preditions don't always work out. However, I think Obama is definitely going to win; size of victory is the only iffy thing.

Now, when can we hold his feet to the fire?

Start emailing for UHC on 11/5?? FISA redo? Dump that stupid immunity for telcos (which does extend to Bushies, right?)?

Obama, not so much. Agreed on the energized part, Sarah has certainly perked things up and I like her for that. I don't think I can vote her but I certainly love her energy and committment. Too bad she's so crazy right.

I love this job!

It's my opinion that it would only help him in the popular vote count. I think people don't pay enough attention to the Electoral College map, a map in which it is nearly impossible for McCain to recover. It also happens to be the only number and map that actually matters in elections, and I say that with a bit of disgust because I've been railing against the College since 2000, and it matters not to me the politics of it.

-- http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-turnout1nov02,0,2192902.story