Long Beach, CA, PST:
8:00 am. Scott, Steph, Jeremy: Voting, woohoo! (Except, well, we can’t fuck this up again, can we? Yes, we can… Yes, we can…)
8:02 am. Scott: Got a little choked up while inking in my NO on 8 (couldn’t find the box for HELL NO!, so had to settle for (just) NO). I wonder if the human stomach can calcify from anxiety. How many hours till we hear anything?
12:35 pm. Steph: What, STILL no states showing anything but gray on the election maps? People, let’s start counting already! Sheesh!
12:36 to 4:31 pm. Jeremy: Fidgeting nervously, tempering expectations, checking various political blogs obsessively (btw, did any of you see this super-creepy image of Obama as a white guy and McCain as a black guy?), talking Steph down off of ledge after ledge…
4:32 pm. Steph: OK, here we go… Two states reporting, VT and KY. Shoutin’ out to my old love, Howard Dean, for delivering the first blue state. No surprises there, I guess, but it doesn’t feel good to see McCain in the lead, even if it’s only due to the Colonel. It’s still early.
5:00 pm. Steph: Are you kidding? New Hampshire went blue? This bodes well. Thanks, libertarians and Robert Frost descendents!
5:01 pm. Scott: Holy fuck! PA is blue, and announced so early! This looks like we’re in for a good night. Thanks, Trixie and Farrell.
6:30 pm. Steph: Oh no, Virginia is leaning red . . . c’mon, birthplace, alma mater, do me right, don’t let me down!
6:39, Jeremy: Ohio! Ohio! Ohio! I love you, Ohio! WOOOOOOOHOOOOOO OHIOOOOOO! (Wait, Fox News was the first to call Ohio? Uhhh… thanks Fox?)
6:47 pm. Scott:Hooray for Wisconsin! Great job, Pandora.
7:33 pm. Jeremy: What the F is up with that Will.I.Am hologram on CNN? I mean, seriously.
7:46 pm. Scott: The CA polls close in 14 minutes. I hope we can deliver our fair state to Obama.
8:01 pm. Scott, Steph, Jeremy: Wait, this just in… VT, NH, MA, CT, RI, NJ, DE, DC, ME, MD, NY, PA, VA, OH, MN, WI, IL, IA, IL, FL, CO, NM, NV, WA, OR, CA, HI: YIPPPPEEEEE!!! (Who needs California, anyway?)
8:03 pm. Champagne cork: Pop!
9:14 pm. Steph: VIRGINIA COMES THROUGH! Mister Jefferson would be proud! (He liked blacks, right?)
11:40 pm. Steph and Scott: Should we talk about Michelle’s dress? No, kinda sexist.
11:41 pm. Scott: It looks like proposition 8 is going to pass, but Jeremy pointed out that 70% of voters under 30 said no to prop. 8 (and yes to gay marriage), while 60% of those over 60 voted for discrimination and prejudice and hate. Scott takes heart in the fact that bigots tend to have worse diets, and are therefore more likely to suffer heart (as if) attacks and strokes.
11:43 pm. Jeremy: Andrew Sullivan responded to the Yes on 8 folks by saying, “Our marriages are real; all that is at issue is whether a majority will recognize them in law. The next generation already does.”
11:59 pm. Scott, Steph, Jeremy: So, is this interminable election really over? And did our guy really win? Really? Is anyone else skeptical, wondering if they’re gonna pull a dozen or so projections and turn it all over to the Supreme Court again? Did we really just witness history? Please tell us this all really happened…
12 am ish - in a hotel room in Cleveland Ohio - I take credit for my bringing my way-liberal influence this key state (and really Rachel gets the Wisconsin kudos, although the Midwest can blur into a waving field of gold at times).
1:00 am ish - I listen to McCain - excellent speech/ creepy crowd - and then Obama - I cry and feel like a proud mama-bear/ patriot/ follower to the ends of the earth/ gee whiz kid. I call everyone I know who are already in bed and long to be at a party.
1:30 am ish - I search the web for prop 8 info and start getting anxious again.
2:00 am ish - I finally go to bed, keyed up and feeling part of something communal and profound in spite of my beehive room of isolation - the wonder of it - we are indiviudals, but we can shout in very loud and collective voices - I reluctantly admit that in spite of this sentiment, if you disagree with me, you are a mob, if you agree you are a chorus.
6:30 am ish - I can hear the music.
6:31 am ish - The music falters in CA, Mobs. I am not sure what to feel, hope but sadness too. And anger at how they will see God’s hand instead of the depth of their coffers. There is a lot of work to do.
I’m one of only two (out of, oh, fifty?) in my Army building here who admitted openly, at least, to voting for the man of truth, justice and the American way. . . . But as others stream in this morning, there’s nevertheless a palpable sense of excitement and relief. In this morning’s Tom Friedman column, he talks about the “Buffet effect” prevailing over the “Bradley effect,” in which the guy at the bar tells the other guy he’s gonna vote for McCain, but secretly punches for Obama. So I’m wondering, how many of my redneck buddies secretly voted the right way? (Okay, probably not too many . . . Utah went about 65-35 to the dark red side, but still, the excitement here is real.)
Sadness about the California mob, and the Utah Mormon bastards who did their pathetic parts to help Prop 8 pass. From me in Utah, so sorry.
Perhaps if Mitt were the nominee, they wouldn’t have had all that money to pour into California…
Thank you dear Mormons for perpetuating the kind of bigotry that has affected you and yours for so many generations. You are truly an inspiration — it is, after all, the American way to make lemonade out of lemons.
Remember life is always sweet when there are others to view as lesser than you. Great job!
I am thrilled with all the PEACEFUL jubilation in the streets. Not just in our cities, but around the world! So much to be happy for. Obama mentioned gays in his acceptance speech. We have the most kick-ass First Lady EVER. All those formerly red states turning blue.
Wish I could be with all you guys to celebrate. Doesn’t it feel we woke up to a different world? The challenges will come rushing at us soon enough. Today I just want to bask in the joy and relief.
And Prop 8? WTF?! Let’s hope that soon the Supreme Court will knock that shit DOWN.
when those creepy holograms kept popping up (and how proud was wolf of his new toy?) all i could think of was “help me, obi-wan kenobi, you’re our only hope.”
and i now support todd palin’s alaska secessionist party, those folks are just crazy up there.
Hey guys, we got ourselves a new President! Yay!
The Prop 8 thing is kinda bumming me out amidst the generally good news. Way to go, Mormons.
OTOH, the New York state Senate is now in Democratic hands, which means, among other things, that there’s a good chance of legislatively mandated same-sex marriage becoming a reality here in the next session.
I’m still the same way: I’m still wary that he really did win. But I gave my long howl of victory last night, and I’m gulping up everything on Obama via the Internet.
It’s interesting to look at how my family voted. We have six voters so far: My parents voted for McCain, but me and little brother #1 voted for Obama. Little brother #2 voted for McCain, and my partner didn’t vote because he didn’t like either of them. And yes, I’ve already scowled and shook my fist at him for it.
Re: Prop 8: Is there still some tiny chance that it’ll go down? The campaign isn’t conceding yet….
5:15 a.m.: Wakeup call for No on 8 volunteers.
6:15: Arrival at West Hollywood park for assignment to a polling place.
6:45: Arrival at polling place, conversation with official poll worker to establish 100-foot mark, beyond which we can hand out flyers and talk with voters.
7-8 a.m.: Urging voters to vote No on 8. Uneventful, except for one guy who flips me the bird from his car. Most people, however, are supportive.
—
8:10 a.m.: Man at door to polling area begins screaming at me to move back, we’re too close to the polling area, we’re breaking the law, etc. I hurry over to him and say “We cleared this with the official poll worker.” He says, “I’m in charge here! Move back! You must be 100 feet from voters!” This is not true.
8:12 a.m.: I bring a copy of official state letter saying we can be 100 feet from entrance to polling place. We begin discussing where that line is.
8:13 a.m.: Second man, wearing suit — a voter waiting in line — walks up to me and sticks his finger in my face. “You need to stop right now. You’re hurting our cause. I’m a No on 8 voter, and you’re not helping us! If you don’t stop I’m going to call the police and have you arrested.”
8:14 a.m.: Stunned at being threatened by someone on our own side, I walk back and ask fellow volunteers to move across the street. Volunteers rebel, insist I should go back and argue more.
8:15 a.m.: Volunteers call their friend who’s “in charge of No on 8″ to try and overrule me (I’m the “team captain” at this polling place).
8:20 a.m.: After several calls, it is decided we will stay further away, to not make trouble, and my volunteers will be reassigned to another polling place.
8:30-10:30 - I campaign alone.
—
11:00: J-man joins me! We campaign until 2 p.m.
2-4 p.m.: break time. RB and I meet at home (she’s been at another polling place all morning), eat a quick takeout lunch and nap for an hour.
4-6 p.m.: RB and I go together to my polling place. We wave signs and talk to people, but there’s almost no foot traffic. When it gets dark, and no one can see our signs anyway, we leave to join friends to watch results.
6:30-8: We eat dinner, drink champagne, and watch Obama’s tally of electoral votes grow!
8:10?: Obama is declared victor! We go out on the front porch and scream! Euphoria!
8:30: I find the first results for Prop 8 online, on my blackberry. We’re down by 10. Mood of gathering immediately dampens.
8:30-10:30: Simultaneously excited and upset by results.
10:30-10-:45: Get in argument with friend who’s an embittered Hillary voter, who says she “held her nose” to vote for Obama and that all us supporters better “hold his feet to the fire.”
10:46: Stomp out, irritated that the night’s euphoria has dissipated.
11:15: Home. Exhausted. Wrung out. Hoping for a miracle on Prop 8. Sleep.
Never have my words tasted so sweetly succulent as I eat them today:
I think we’re really, really screwed. . . . Say goodbye to Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, my friends. Say goodbye to Iowa. Nighty night, Missouri, Minnesota, and Michigan.
With the sole exception of Missouri I was wrong, wrong, wrong, and I love it!
My only regret is that it took the near collapse of our economy between McCain’s pick of Palin and the election to wake up what’s left of the working classes (esp. whites) and get them to vote more closely along the lines of their own interests. I sincerely believe that if the Wall Street downturn had held off another few months the election would have been incredibly close, if not even a McCain win.
Prop 8 is a huge, huge bummer, however, and it really hurts that in the process of voting in record numbers to help put Obama over the top, California’s African-Americans voted at around 69% in favor, perhaps tipping to “Yes” the scales already heavily weighted by the Mormon church. The “we” in “Yes We Can” apparently doesn’t include the gays for many people. Just crazy and sad.
It’s hard to argue that had the economy not blowed up, Obama would still have won, at least with relative ease. Still, the choice of Palin was so patently cynical and inept, Obama may have had a chance. The bounce McCain got after the Republican convention had to fall–it always does–and I think in the end, Palin cost McCain more votes than she garnered, economic woes or no. But the economic wreck, I think, allowed Obama to more easily stay on message and not have to turn particularly negative, more easily ignore all the slime Republicans were throwing at him. As it was, he was able to sit back and seemingly say, like Bill Clinton, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Still, I for one am just fine with having to endure my retirement’s taking a hit for the sake of an Obama victory. YEEHAW!
I’ve never had my membership in the church of my youth officially canked, but asI told my girlfriend last night, Prop 8 probably just pushed me enough to give an official fuck you to the Mormon beast.
she “held her nose” to vote for Obama and that all us supporters better “hold his feet to the fire.”
glad to see that even during what should be a victorious night for what should be a progressive voter, she’s hauling out racist references even while he’s speaking about unity.
Re 12: RB says: “you nailed it. Way to call a spade a spade.”
I just learned that your tolerant friend was actually only quoting Ralph Nader in his famous “Uncle Tom” speech, right up there with “I Have a Dream.” These Fugitive Slave Act reminders are really inspiring–perhaps overturning the ban on that can be California’s next constitutional amendment.