A Ballot Box Ballad…

The Midnight Post of Progressive Paul

In 1860, as our Nation neared another Great Crisis in its history, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a stirring poem immortalizing the exploits of the Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere during our country’s first Hour of Great Crisis. Now, as a Lesser but Sill Great Crisis looms, allow me, with all apologies, to paraphrase that great American poet with the following ballot box ballad.

Listen, fellow voters, and hear the call

Of the midnight post of Progressive Paul

On the eighth of October, Two Thousand Ten;

Hardly a man must be reminded again

That Election Day looms twenty-six days in all.

In Delaware, Illinois, and up in Wisconsin,

Our foemen are gathered from out of the loony bin.

In Kentucky, Alaska and Harry’s Nevada,

The Tea Party GOP with ideas nada,

Are nonetheless poised for a hostile invasion

To turn backward the Progress of our Hopeful nation.

And Carly and Meg from their coffers untold,

Spend fortunes to see if my State can be sold.

In headlines, on TV, it’s easy to laugh

At the witch-dabbling jokes writ by Letterman’s staff

But the serious Consequence of all this madness,

Could add up this November to electoral sadness

And those who are safe and asleep in their bed

When a new morning breaks on that Day of Decision,

Must rise up and march to the polls with firm tread,

And join in the ranks of their Liberal kinsmen.

You know what can happen. In the books you have read,

How our previous enemies fired and fled,

How our Patriot heroes gave them ball for ball,

From behind each fence and farmyard wall.

Yet this time the Redcoats are deep in disguise,

With faux populist flags waving, stars in their eyes,

With pockets full-laden with Corporate gold,

Their secretly funded Ads, they fire and load.

So through this dark night writes Progressive Paul;

And so through the night goes his cry of “Awake”!

To every American city and state,

A cry of defiance – a rallying call,

A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,

And a blog post that shall echo forevermore!

(Or at least for the next 26 days…)

For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,

Through all our history, to the last,

In the days of darkness and peril and fog,

Lefties and Democrats rise to the call

Of the tapping computer keys of his blog,

And the midnight post of Progressive Paul.