It started with JK in 2004

[ladym55]

I just got a phone call from my son in Madison, WI. He is volunteering right now with UW College Democrats at the Kohl Center for the Barack Obama event. Four years ago, my son became politically active in support of JK. He couldn't even vote yet, but he put up signs, worked to convince his high school friends who could vote to vote for JK, and on the yucky rain-drenched Election Day he slogged all over door to door to get out the vote.

I just had to share that with all of you. Whenever I hear people trash JK, I keep thinking that we are still experiencing the ripples of energy he started 4 years ago.

[fedupinBushcountry]

1. Agree 100%

:thumbsup:

[Noisy Democrat]

2. Absolutely

A friend asked me the other night how long I'd been politically active. I said, "Since 2004 -- the Kerry campaign." He was surprised. He'd been active for many years. I had never thought of phonebanking, or canvassing, or doing anything at all other than showing up and voting, until the Kerry campaign.

[hibiscus]

3. Me too

I started with the JK campaign in 2004 :)

[MBS]

4. I agree 1000%

I'd always followed this stuff pretty closely, and had donated $ before, but 2004 was the first year I really went all out: boots on the ground canvassing, phone-banking, letters to the editor, getting sucked into this blog stuff :). Also donated more $$ than I could really afford.

And the "youth movement" started then, too. Remember that graph in the NYT showing party registration by generation? The "millenials" have the highest Dem registration of any group, even higher than Boomers and New Deal generation. .I also know kids in their 20's who wept when Kerry lost.

BTW, my son was at the Madison rally, too!!!!

[ladym55]

8. Awesome!!!

So they were among 20,000 friends!!!

My son said it was incredible.

[ginnyinWI]

5. Yes we can, because Yes, he did!

His work was not wasted because it began to rebuild the party.
Then Dean took over the DNC and that continued it.
Then we had successful mid-term elections that showed results of that hard work.

Everything gets built on good things that came before. Obama will be the beneficiary because he's a worthy candidate, too--that's important--but as we well know, an excellent candidate also needs party organization and resources--can't do it all alone.

[MBS]

6. this is lovely, thanks. n/t

[StoryTeller]

7. I was a "JK youth" four years ago

Barely--at age 29-30. But still...Kerry is the one that woke me up and got me politically active. We are totally building today on what he did four years ago.

I think sometimes there are more ways of winning than what we see at the time.