I salute all those out there who spent the past few weeks knocking their knuckles raw, those who put their patriotism where their shoe leather meets the streets. I salute all those fine folks who literally walk the walk, who spent their weekends meeting their neighbors and engaging them in the process all up close and personal. I salute those who have overcome their shyness or reticence to talk to strangers. I salute those who travelled to new neighborhoods to walk, new towns, upstate, downstate or a new state entirely.

I salute you.

I salute those who cold called strangers to take their country back. I salute those who badgered their friends to join them in cramped offices to spread the word over the phone. I salute the pajamahadeen who called strangers across the country for candidates in other states. I salute "free nights and weekends"! I salute all those lovely people who with no time to spare who still found the time to reach out personally to folks who were sometimes on the other side of the continent.

I salute you.

I salute all those weary eyed staffers and volunteers who have decided to put your money where your goddamn mouth is, who decided to go "all in", who chose to make damn sure that when their children and grandchildren ask them years from now what they did back in '06 to take their country back that they had one hell of a story to tell. I salute those who have spent the past few weeks and months existing on cold pizza and stale coffee, who have grabbed those precious 15 minute power naps in the corner with one eye on that district map taped to the wall.  I salute all those who won't sleep tonight as they are tweaking the final stages of their 96 hour plan, as they sift the lists of "ones" and "twos" who most need to be contacted tomorrow.I salute those disheveled hordes who have literally spent the night at the district office, the HQ, the union hall.

I salute you.

I salute all those who have taken those bleary eyed volunteers from far away into their homes, who have given them a bed, a meal and a shower. I salute all those amazing folks who have dropped by their candidate's office with a plate of cookies or a bag of fruit or a box of sandwiches. I salute those who have called the office just to ask "What do you need?  What can i do right now" or "Are you guys hungry?"

I salute you.

I salute those who have given all those $25 contributions to the campaigns, often to campaigns in other districts or other states. I salute those who gave and gave and gave again. I salute those who found this struggle so damned important that they decided to sacrifice a dinner out or new pair of shoes or whatever to send that money to some candidate next door or on the other coast.

I salute you.

Finally, I want to salute all those who were told by the "wise" men/women that your desire to run was "doomed", that dems can't win here, that this district, this county, this state will never elect you. I salute all those who were told that they'd never be able to raise enough money or get enough support to be a "serious" contender, that they'd be a "vanity" candidate. I salute all those who listened politely as the Powers That Be told them that they'd be tilting at windmills and then decided, against all that "wise" counsel, to roll those sleeves up and throw all caution to the wind and, well,  run anyway, whether it was a run for the US Senate or for their local school board. I salute all those who listened to all the naysayers and found the situation in our nation to be too dire to sit this one out, who threw all caution to the wind and decided to brave the inevitable assault of the slime machine. I salute those who couldn't stomach being a spectator to the continued violence wrought on our Constitution, the perpetuation of this continuing clusterfuck in Iraq, the shoveling of more and more to the few while asking more and more of the many, the looting of the Treasury from war profiteers and the cronies an determined that someone had to do something. I salute those who chose to take it upon themselves and against all the "friendly advice" offered by the knowitalls to put it all on the line and challenge that GOoPer incumbent on the town council, or Mr. Good-Hair-Been-There-Forever CongressCritter. I salute your courage and your patriotism and your sense duty.

My hat is off to everyone, top to bottom, who is engaged in this fight to reclaim for the American people what is rightly theirs, namely their own government.

I want to second what Al Rodgers said yesterday:

It's a privilege to serve with all of you.

Hear hear.

I salute each and every last one of ya.

Now, let's go out there and seal the freakin' deal, kids. It's time to take the country back.

You in?