CARPER DIEM!--AWESOME EFFORT

If we believe in the democratic process, then we have to believe that every opportunity to let the people speak is a good thing. Well, tonight, a boatload of people spoke (we'll do the numbers here later) after a hard fought election. Issues came to light and the citizens of our county had the chance to decide how they felt about them.

Folks in our party were energized. We competed with one another but we were energized nonetheless. Some people stepped into new roles and learned new things about the political process. Even some "old dogs" might have learned some things about what works in a high interest primary. It's safe to say that some of my old assumptions have been challenged about how a local primary is to be run in the information age.

None of this happens if Eric Carper doesn't take his shot, as he is constitutionally entitled to do. None of this happens if he doesn't galvanize tens of dedicated supporters into an impressive "ground game" campaign and an obvious monster election day effort.

So we all sharpened our political swords. We all got a little better at what we do. We might even have learned some new tricks. Our energy and our skills package have been expanded, all because Eric Carper offered himself for public office!

Eric, Georgia Volm may have gotten a few more votes than you did tonight but there were no losers. The Democrat Party has more tools in its toolbox tonight because of you. Somebody had to be disappointed and the other had to be the nominee. This time you're the disappointed one. You don't leave this exercise any the worse for wear. You presented your energy, your beliefs and your obvious family values. You brought a large group of people together and you made about 1800 new friends. Another day, it might be different. Until then, know you made a contribution and be proud of your effort. You stretched us all out and made us better. God Bless you and your family for supporting our party and its principles.

Enjoy a rest and we'll see you while we support our now stronger party, stronger thanks in large part to you.

Upbeat footnote: Very, very classy message on Eric's revised webpage. Nicely done. I'll leave the link up for the rest of this week.