Is it safe to be happy now?

I was listening to the commentators yesterday jinxing the Democrats by predicting a big victory for them. How would that feel, I wondered, if they did win? Ecstatic jubilation, I decided. Jubilation. Now, what would that feel like? Lots of happy jumping around and shouting woooo, I guess. Giddiness, laughter, joyous cursing. But no, I thought. That's not an experience Democrats get to have. That's only for Republicans in this dark America we inhabit.

Of course, in a two party system the odds are going to eventually break for one party or the other, eventually. Not like where I come from where you reliably have at least 3 major parties, plus a collection of others. For a while, one of the major parties split itself into 2, so then it got really complicated.

In my early youth, my first blush of politicization, I was on the side of the winners as I was a rabid Trudeaumanic. That's going back a bit, when Canada was all groovy with national parties, like our Centennial Year "100 years of Con-fed-er-ation, everybody sing together!" and Expo '67, and a prime minister who was a international media star with a bold rebellious streak, dazzling intellect , long hair, and fast cars.

Then, the bloom off the rose, I settled into a life-long pattern of voting for the New Democratic Party or the NDP. To explain the NDP: if people in San Francisco could vote in Canada, they would vote NDP. The NDP occasionally win provincially, but don't hold power for long, and federally they are pretty dismal. Years of voting for these perennial losers left me bleak and hardened about elections.

I'm not used to my side winning. I feel...numb.

Surely in a day or two the gloating will set in. We have the House. A woman is Speaker. Bush and Rove are humbled. Ahhh, I feel it creeping in already. It feels...good.

Comments

[Jo]

Oh it is to GLOAT! HAAA!

[badgermama]

Hell yeah. I'm still waiting to wake up. Then I remind myself that actually the Democrats kind of suck and are still too conservative about 90% of the time. Still, it's SO much better than what we had.