Where do we go from here?

I and many other liberals, Democrats, and gay people are having to lick our wounds and think about the message of this election. We did everything we could to change the outcome and got thumped. Ok, now that the Election Day beating is over, what next? Where do we go from here? Some of the party leadership is calling for retreat. I think they are wrong.

This election was not about who is more moral. Both sides have lied and mislead the public. Both sides have failed to fix the health care mess, given in to big business on important issues, and only paid lip service to electoral reform. This was about who connected best to the hearts of America. If Democratic ideals are to survive the Republican attacks then we must put those ideals into everyday practice.

Where we go from here is back to the values we grew up with. It is about the values of justice for everyone, equal rights, and progressive action. We must make it clear that being pro-choice is a pro-life stand. Republicans are not more pro-life or anti-abortion. They have control of all three branches of government and have not done anything about doing away with the right to choose. What they are is pro-hot-button-issues. They know we are right to say that returning to the days of back-street abortion clinics will not stop abortion. The pro-life stand is for helping our children make informed choices about sex. It is paying a living wage so a single parent can afford to raise a child alone. Pro-life is respecting women who give birth under all circumstances. It is helping to insure that children do not grow up in poverty. It understands that there are fates worse than death for a child and knowing we have the power to change that. I am pro-life and I believe the only just way to end abortion is to give women real choices for a future so they do not feel it is necessary to deny life to another child.