The incomparable Molly Ivins, down-home liberal activist extraordinaire, gives the Left some tough love on the subject of how to get over the 2004 election. For those who remember Regan’s run for office, the title itself is pretty amusing.
(Props: Jottings from a Cluttered Mind)
What’s all this talk of the blue states seceding to Canada? It was cute the first time I saw it, tiresome the second time, and by the third time I was really starting to get pissed off. Who are these sunshine liberals, these weekend patriots, who’ll run off to Canada to avoid the hard work of making their country a better place? Then I saw the comment “Barbara” left to this post at BOPnews, proposing that she boycott all “red” counties during her cross-country road trip, and I’d had enough.
What, exactly, is the point of boycotting “Red” America? Do you want to make them even more economically isolated and xenophobic? Give them proof that all us liberals are a bunch of elitist twits, condemning them for being exclusionary while simultaneously looking down our noses at anyone not just like us? Deepen the divide even farther?
As a liberal writing this from the buckle of the Bible Belt, I can tell you right now that there is nothing to be gained from this kind of action. If you really want to create some change, drive your car — complete with Kerry/Edwards sticker — right through the heart of Red-State America on your road trip. Buy groceries in the few small-town, non-corporate family groceries and farmer’s markets you can still find. Eat the deadly-greasy and delicious special at some mom ‘n pop diner, followed up by the cherry pie, and say your please and thank-you-ma’ams. Don’t make a secret of your politics, but don’t shove it in anyone’s face either. Be civil, and don’t condescend.
Show these people that we aren’t the aliens their corrupt politicians have made us out to be. Remind them, by example, that we’re all Americans and all in the same boat. Be a missionary from Blue America — not on a crusade to convert, but to inform and familiarize. Do this, and I expect you’ll learn a lot about yourself, about the red states, and about America in the process. What America, and the Left, needs right now is outreach and understanding rather than talk of secession and civil war.
I mean, come on — what the fuck is wrong with you people? As liberals and progressives, our war is with the leaders of this administration and not with the people they’ve fooled into voting for them. We shouldn’t run crying to our northern neighbor. We should run smiling into the very heart of Red America, and learn how stupid and baseless all this fear and loathing really is.
Update: Les Jenkins is thinking along similar lines in this very well-reasoned post.
As previously reported both here and on Stupid Evil Bastard, a man named Tom Coburn was running for a senate seat in Oklahoma on a platform that included death penalties for doctors performing abortions and putting an end to “rampant lesbianism” in the state’s southeastern schools. Well, the idiot won. What’s really funny, however, is the distribution of the votes for and against him:
Way to show sisterly solidarity! 
Update: This blog is currently the #4 hit on Google for oklahoma lesbians. 
Since I’m still somewhat dumbstruck, I’ll give you a roundup of some of the best stuff I’ve read from others about the Bush re-election.
Over at Stupid Evil Bastard, Les has some of the most practical consolation for Democrats and other progressives. As noted at the bottom of that article, ***Dave has some great advice on where we go from here and how to approach our continuing opposition to Bush — and make convincing arguments — without seeming like poor loosers. He explains some of the likely reasons that Bush won and Kerry lost — informative reading for anyone who has trouble understanding the other side’s perspective. Finally, there’s this informative popular vote map on Boing Boing, which does a much better job of showing how the country feels than the artificial Red vs. Blue distinctions imposed by the electoral college system.
To all that, I would only add an observation from The Young Turks radio program. During the rebroadcast I heard over the weekend (we don’t get it live in my area), one of the hosts noted that in 1965 most Americans probably supported the war in Viet Nam and the administration. By 1972, however, it was a whole diferent story.
Update: An excellent supplement to the popular vote map from Boing Boing that I mentioned is this one from USA Today, which breaks down the red/blue victories by county. Two things are immediately obvious from looking at this map and it’s year-2000 companion:
Update update: Some observant bloggers have pointed out why the USA Today county map is as deceptive as the state-based red/blue maps are. Here’s a cross between Boing Boing’s “purple” state map and USA Today’s county-based map. This should present a much more realistic picture of the vote spread across the country. For more insight into the proliferation of maps in the aftermath of the election, check out Mark Monmonier’s How to Lie with Maps.
In lieu of actually blogging this election (which I said I wouldn’t do), here’s a nifty self-updating list of the biggest headlines in the bloggosphere:
To find out how to get this feed on your own site, click the “What’s Making Blognews?” headline see the updated info below. This will stay up until at least tomorrow morning.
Update: The WMBN headlines have been taken down from this post now that election results are all in. For more info about WMBN and how you can syndicate their headlines on your own weblog, visit thier home page.
