Anti-war activists in Sydney, Australia, today welcomed the news that US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld has resigned.

“Rumsfeld’s resignation follows a resounding defeat of the Republican Party at the US mid-term elections and is an admission of defeat by the architects of the occupation in Iraq’’, said Anna Samson spokesperson for Stop the War Coalition Sydney today.

“Yesterday millions of US citizens joined with millions around the globe in making a strong statement against the war. They joined millions of people, both inside and outside Iraq, who have been campaigning for over
three years for an end to the occupation and for real self-determination and democracy for the Iraqi people.

“Yesterday, US citizens demonstrated that they agreed with those military families among others who say that US troops do not belong in Iraq.

“In Australia, Prime Minister John Howard has worked to inextricably link Australia’s foreign policy with that of the US.

“In doing so, Howard has ignored the views of military advisers, terrorism experts, scholars, the overwhelming majority of Australians, and the Iraqi people themselves. He refuses to admit that the occupation of Iraq is the single greatest source of the ongoing violence and instability in that country.

“Howard has unashamedly followed Rumsfeld’s policy on Iraq. He should also therefore take his lead from Rumsfeld, and resign also.”

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AP calls it for Webb. Allen will concede soon. There will be no recount.

Moderates, liberals, progressives, and radicals; those who worked within the system and those who organized in the streets - we all played a part in this historic upset, whether we voted or didn’t - countless people organized in their own way for years and now the seemingly impossible has happened - the neocon / Religious Right political machine lies broken.

This was a tectonic realignment, the repercussions of which will echo for years. The Left is in the ascendant now.

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Rumsfeld is resigning

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It looks like Democratic Senate race margins will hold in Virginia and Montana, which means the Dems will take the Senate too.

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In a triple setback for conservatives, South Dakotans rejected a law that would have banned virtually all abortions, Arizona became the first state to defeat an amendment to ban gay marriage and Missouri approved a measure backing stem cell research.

In the usually rock-ribbed conservative New Hampshire

Here in the state of New Hampshire, the Democrats are poised to take control of the State House … for the first time since 1911! They will take control of the state senate, the executive council, and will hold the corner office, with Gov. John Lynch winning by a landslide.

Bernie Sanders of Vermont has become the first socialist to be elected to the Senate, a tepid socialist to be sure, but still socialist. .

The first Muslim has been elected to Congress, and he’s strongly antiwar too.

Bill Paparian and Byron De Lear ran strong Green Party campaigns for the House in Los Angeles, energizing support and making the wars an issue. They both polled higher than did the state Green Party candidates.

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Kevin McKeown was decisively re-elected to the Santa Monica City Council, fighting back a slime attack by wealthy developers in doing so. Not only did he win, he came in first out of a field of ten (voters could vote for three.)

Congratulations, my friend! Santa Monica will now continue to have a strong advocate for sane growth and sustainable development.

Kevin McKeown website. Final voting results

Update: From the Santa Monica Mirror today

As of this writing, the campaign against McKeown has cost in the $1 million range, while the councilmember has raised approximately $12,000.

A campaign that backfired badly.

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The Revolution Starts Now

I was walkin’ down the street
In the town where I was born
I was movin’ to a beat
That I’d never felt before
So I opened up my eyes
And I took a look around
I saw it written ‘cross the sky
The revolution starts now
Yeah, the revolution starts now

– Steve Earle

The Democrats swept into power with an antiwar mandate from the people. They must be forced to deliver. Among other things, that’s what the revolution will be about.

It’s about freedom too (also by Steve Earle)

F the CC

Piss and moan about the immigrants
But don’t say nothin’ about the president
A democracy don’t work that way
I can say anything I wanna say

So fuck the FCC
Fuck the FBI
Fuck the CIA
Livin’ in the motherfuckin’ USA

If the Democrats fail to accept this changed landscape, and develop a political discourse to accomplish the dismantling much of this country’s global military presence, the same anti-establishment sentiment that wiped out the Republican majority in the House (and, perhaps, the Senate) will soon destroy them, more rapidly than they could ever imagine.

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