In the 2018 Mid-Terms, the Democrats did not shoot themselves in the foot. They did not suffer from an ill-timed FBI foo-pah. Nor were they side-swiped by a foreign government hack or email dump.
Instead, they succeeded in generating significant voter turnout – a record for recent mid-terms in fact. However so did the Republicans. Enough that, aided by clear geographical and political advantages in the Senate races, Republicans were able to pick up 2 or 3 seats (at least one seat still undecided).
This should be a cold slap in the face for Dems looking toward 2020. We are obviously energized BUT SO ARE THEY. There is no margin for complacency, no wiggle-room for apathy. Democratic voters must literally overwhelm the polls in every local, state and national election. We must clear the hurdles of ‘proper’ voter ID, run the gauntlet of shifting or disappearing polling places, overcome voter registration discrimination, push back against illegal voter roll purging and demands for exact match voter verification. AND VOTE, no matter what obstacles Republicans throw in our way.
IF WE STAY HOME, REPUBLICANS WIN. IF WE VOTE, WE CAN WIN ALMOST ANYWHERE!
As of this writing the Democrats picked up 38 seats in the House, seven governorships and over 200 state legislative seats. But that’s only the big picture. Consider these firsts:
Krysten Sinema – the first openly bi-sexual woman and first woman from Arizona to serve in the U.S. Senate.
Ayanna Presley – the first black woman to represent Massachusetts in the House.
Jared Polis – the first openly gay man to be elected Governor (Colorado).
Jahana Hayes – the first black woman to represent Connecticut in the House.
Deb Haaland – one of two of the first Native American women in the House (New Mexico).
Sharice Davids – the other first Native American woman in the House and also the first openly gay woman to represent Kansas.
Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia – the first Latina women elected to the House from Texas.
Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar – the first Muslim women elected to the House.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – the youngest woman ever elected to the House.
Cindy Axn and Abby Finkenaur – the first women elected to the House from Iowa.
Voting does matter.
Now for the sobering part.
The Republicans gained 2-3 seats in the Senate. And the Democrat overall margin of victory in no way eclipsed the Republican gains in 2010, Obama’s first mid-term. What’s worse is that the Republican Senate in 2019 will be more pro-Trump than it was before.
This means 2020 is shaping up to be an election that will define the next decade or more of American politics and American values.
If Trump wins re-election and especially if Republicans retain control of the Senate, Trumpism will continue to plague and hinder America for another four years. It could mean the Supreme Court could go 6-3 or even 7-2 for Conservatives. Conservative justices will fill our court systems. All of which goes completely opposite the direction of the American electorate – younger, browner, slightly more progressive.
If this is the outcome, the 2020’s need to become the new 1960’s where activism from progressives, students, Americans of color and women spill into the streets and demand justice, equality, fairness and a voice.
Or Democrats, Independents, Progressives can nominate the most dynamic and inspirational candidates, run activist campaigns and drive out a vote that simply overwhelms the Republican candidates – all the way down the ballot. We put a Democrat in the White House, we recapture the Senate and add seats in the House and NEVER FALL INTO COMPLACENCY AGAIN!
To accomplish this the old Democratic guard needs to gracefully bow out of seeking the Presidency or Congressional leadership. We still want your advice, fundraising skills, perspectives on history but it’s time for Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi to yield to the next generation.
To win in 2020 we need YOUTH, WOMEN AND COLOR. The more the Democrat Party looks like America and the Republican Party looks like rural Iowa, the better we’ll do.
Dems, you did well. But the 2020 race has begun (like or not). Trump and the Republicans must be defeated. Stay engaged, stay active, stay vocal. We must do better, there is too much at stake.
La Resistance American 