In 500 days the midterm elections will be over - races that will decide the leadership of the House, the balance of power in the Senate and with that, the checks, if any, on the unbridled abuse of power of the president for his last two years in office, not to mention the dozens of races for governor and hundreds of legislative seats.
That may seem like a lot of time but as we are hockey fans here in New England, let me put it to you this way, the first period of this game is over, it’s in the books, we only have two periods left to get our act together, make our case, organize and win in November of next year. That is not a ton of time and this is the plain truth.
Last week tens of thousands gathered across the country to say that we haven’t been a land of Kings for 250 years. It was an incredible display of determination and resistance. I celebrate that work and the energy it brought to people. It is important to make sure your voice is heard, but it must be followed up with action through organizing to win elections, because without that, protests risk becoming the Left’s version of “thoughts and prayers”.
We can spend all of our time worried about the Trump administration or even the internal machinations of the Democratic National Committee, but what the American people need us to worry about is simple, them.
They need to know what we will do for them, not just how terrible the other side is.
What does it mean to be a Democrat or to support a Democrat? It used to be said that if you asked 1,000 Democrats what it means to be a Democrat and you get 10,000 answers and the diversity of our party is our strength no doubt. But no matter how big the tent is, you need strong tent poles or it will all collapse.
I am a Democrat because my parents, both proud union members, taught my brother, sister and I from an early age about all that the party had done for organized labor and how much labor had done for us - to provide job security, wages to pay our mortgage and help with school, public education, safe streets and an opportunity to succeed. That is the party to which I have dedicated the majority of my life. That is the party the American people need us to be right now. We aren’t perfect, but we got your back.
But I understand that we can’t win elections telling people how to feel. People are frustrated, angry at times and hungry for results and not judgment.
When we tell folks if they elect Democrats it will be different, there has to be a plan.
We are a nation that, at its founding, had massive divisions. We were thirteen colonies with one common enemy and little else, but soon we found the import of uniting and its natural accompanying strength and security.
A lot has been said about the “cross roads” we are at as a party. How do we get our party “back on track”? We listen to the American people, give them a vision of how we will lead and a reason to feel secure in their choice to join us in this fight.
When we do that, we will win elections.
If we spend the next 500 days just shouting at the rain, playing into the other side’s playbook, we will fail and we will deserve to. How we use this time is more important than how the other side does, as hard as that is to believe. There are elected leaders empowered to push back and they should, and do, but those of us citizen activists have a critical role to play too and play it we must…and have.
In the last 228 days, Democrats have out performed in every election, flipping many seats red-to-blue. We can do so much more if we stay focused. My folks used to say that if you have an opportunity to make a difference, you have an obligation to try. Each of us has the opportunity, all of us need to try.
So if you believe in Democratic Party values, join us, don’t agonize, organize and let’s get to work. If you’re skeptical after November and the chaos of these past few months, I get it, we will earn your trust back. We are all in this together.
