I want to make a simple point.
If you want to build a functioning progressive majority that votes in legislators who pass progressive laws, you organize.
If you want to build a political party with the backbone to stand up for our values in a time of Trump, you do the same thing.
You organize.
Organizing means talking to people (which means listening), identifying local leaders and comprehensively building your political party and movement at a local level.
Everywhere.
It’s that simple.
No one likes to do it, because it’s hard and costs time and involves making a comprehensive investment in the most valuable commodity a political party has.
People.
At the local level.
The fact that this is hard, does not make my point less true, or effective.
The is no substitute for building and organizing.
There is no substitute for talking to people and engaging them at the local level.
None.
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We are at a difficult point as Democrats.
Why?
Because we have to understand and analyze multiple things that are all true.
1. The Clinton campaign fundamentally failed to understand this political moment and core Democratic constituencies, and tried to go over the top of the electorate with a campaign that ignored the ground game in crucial states and focused too much on raising money from the wealthiest.
2. The Obama Administration, after eight years in office, did not effectively build the Democratic party or defend its interests, leaving us out of office, out of power and with weakened parties across states and across core demographic lines.
3. The Democratic Party did not build the kind of local strength needed to resist the Trump campaign’s appeal to xenophobia, bigotry and irrationality. Trump’s appeals were nothing new; our weakness as a Party, our failure to organize locally, was and has been for some time.
4. The progressive left indulged aggressive posturing and posing as if Clinton’s win was a lock and we had the luxury of a visible, contentious, public rift in our party. We acted as if, instead of facing being completely out of power in 2017 (which we effectively are), this year was going to be a legislative argument between the Clinton-wing and the Sanders-wing of the party. It is not.
5. Here in the progressive netroots, we spent more time watching polls and indulging in infighting than organizing or getting out the vote. That’s on us, and it’s shameful.
We should never forget this.
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All of the above are true.
We all share in the blame.
I am not sure that we all get that.
We all share in the blame.
But that does not change the next step.
The next step is simple.
We need to organize, at the local level.
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When someone asks:
So how should we respond to these people who voted for death and the death of their neighbors?
I would like to reiterate my simple point.
The answer is not demonizing.
The answer is organizing.
And, yes, even in the face of authoritarian leaders and governments, the answer is the same.
How can we get the most people, to take the simplest, most visible step, to publicly stand up for our values?
And how, then, do we build from there?
We are looking to build majorities and pass laws.
We are looking to build a vibrant, inclusive, effective Democratic Party that can defend our rights and protect our planet.
To do that, we need to organize.
We all can do our part.
It starts today.