Good point, lox...

The old sayin' "Think globally, act locally" comes to mind here... This is where real change occurs... It'a a matter of framing local issues in a responsible and visionary manner so that other folks will see for themselves what puttting that new crosswalk in downtown does for pedesrian safety, or supporting this or that bond referendum that will enhance one's community...

Lotta people vote against bonf referendumd because they have been conditioned to think of them as simply tax hikes... When people know that certain earmarked taxes go for this or that they are more inclined to think community first, me second... It's all about progressives gettin' ahead of the local issues... What has occured with suburban voters is just that... The Repubs used to count on suburbia for alot of votes... Then suburbia found itself under attack by developers and corpoartion interested in only making money and leaving suburbia with a whole lot more folks and strained services... That's when then progressives and Dems started winning Boards of Supervisors all accross the country with smart-growth thinking... Yeah, some Repubs fooled the voters one time with "Smart Growth" slogans but then proceeeded to allow business as usual and they were seen for what they were...

The bottom line is that something like health care reform doesn't just happen... It happens because people change their minds about what is best for them, be it a new school, a cross walk or health care reform... The Dems seem to be outpunching the Repubs at all levels of governemnt because the Repubs just won't get it into their heads that business-as-usual isn't what people, in general, want...

B~