GETTING OVER THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY PRIMARY HANGOVER...

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Whew!
After valiant, hard-fought – and often acrimonious –  primary and runoff contests, the final slate of candidates for both parties has been decided by the voters.

The people spoke.

It's a decision that, whether our candidate won or lost, we have  to live with. Not only that, but  given the high stakes – especially us as Democrats – whether it's here, in Austin, or in Washington D.C., we have to gird our loins and embrace the winners to make them victorious in November against their Republican opponents. 

Congratulations to the winners, and our respect and admiration to those whose candidates lost. It's a noble endeavor to try to gain the support of your fellow citizens and party and the privilege to represent their interest in whatever level of government you were involved.

Now we should stop seeing each other as rivals and realize that the bigger enemy still confronts us in November. Some wounds take a little longer to heal than others and in the next six months there will be time to mend our fences and unite behind our party's candidates. The vigor with which candidates and their supporters sought to represent the rest of us shows that the desire required to maintain our democratic process is alive and well.

Let's remember that the honor is in the endeavor, and that win or lose, it is a fight worth fighting.

Lincoln – as usual – said it best: "With malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation's wounds...to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

Again, congratulations to the winners and our respect to those who didn't win. We're still your brothers and sisters in the pursuit of democracy and in the struggle to preserve it robust and alive in our nation.