A year ago today, on Christmas’ Eve, I sat in on one of the most depressing conference calls I have ever been invited to attend. There were tears, dismay, and a general disbelief still in the air. It had been more than a month past the election day, and some resolve was starting to creep into the conversation, but on every call I was a part of, and they were frequent last December, there was an undeniable sorrow and a thought that this would be far more difficult than anything activists had imagined. A White House with a unified government below it in opposition. State Houses across the country with supermajority Republican hold, and governors in opposition.
"We need a Christmas Miracle," was the way an activist I trust put it. I hung up the phone and celebrated the holiday with my family. What I didn't know, what none of us knew, was that there was a Christmas Miracle on hand. We didn't know it until a year later, but, activists around the country - and members of this community - you were the miracle we were waiting on.
Throughout this year, there have been a lot of moments of dread; stories about the direction of our country and what actions the president takes to change who we are as a people. But, every day, here and elsewhere, there are activists who make their voices heard, who show goodness in dark times, and who have helped power the campaigns that are the resistance.
Because it’s Christmas Eve, a year since that phone call, I want to take a minute to tell you about what that looks like.
The Daily Kos Activism team sent out an email recently, telling you exactly what the Daily Kos community has done through the year, and it’s impressive.
- 90,843,894 unique readers visited DailyKos.com
- 328,466,612 sessions were clocked—that's more than 328 million times people came to read our stories
- 678,683,666 pageviews were generated
- 10,190 news stories were produced by our editorial team
- 43,908 blog posts were written by Daily Kos community members
- 3,534,054 comments were made to stories
- 1,528,255 people took action with us
- 37,398,378 petition signatures and letters to Congress were sent
- Hundreds of thousands of calls to Congress were generated
- Tens of thousands of RSVPs to protests, rallies, and townhalls
While Trump’s White House was ongoing, this community at every turn helped power the campaigns that would stand in his way. Early in the year, I sat in a forum in Texas and received a briefing by DCCC about their handling of special election races, and how there wouldn’t be a lot of fight in these overwhelming Republican districts. I asked: what is the number? What number do we need to raise to get people interested?
And Daily Kos responded. Before the race in Georgia turned big; before there were options in Kansas and Montana, before the national party or others decided to put up a fight — you, the Daily Kos Community — you put up a fight. You came through financially, you came through with diaries and writing, on the ground reporting, and you came through by showing up at the polls.
That was you. When few others believed, you believed.
Our Community is more than politics and numbers, it is about heart.
For years, our community has shown its heart in matters that were not just electoral. The quilting community and their outreach to Kossacks in need, diaries for those who needed our help, mourning for the passing of community members.
If you want to fight for something, you have to know what it is you are fighting to save. Part of what makes our community great goes beyond the promotion of candidates, causes, and values, it is about making personal connections with one another, to build a family that stands together when we need it.
How many diaries and stories have moved you? Friends you’ve made online who’s causes have become your causes, in part because you care about them and you paid attention because they asked you to pay attention?
Where would we be without the tireless attention Denise Oliver Velez pays to Puerto Rico, an American tragedy without enough attention? Where would we be without Charles Gaba (Brainwrap), and is work on the ACA?
And, where would we be without YOU, a person who reads what we write? Maybe you comment. Maybe you’ll never comment. Maybe you write a diary now and again. Maybe you share a story on Facebook here and there. No matter how you participate, you’re also part of the family. You helped make this year possible.
Yearly rundown calls.
Last year, at this time, all of my calls were filled with doubt, concern, dismay. Over the last few weeks, especially since the Jones election, they have been filled with hope. Make no doubt about it, Democratic efforts had major losses this year — an impact on the US Supreme Court, a bad tax bill, and government policies that are opposed to decency.
There is, however, a reason for hope. It isn’t because of a plan that an office-based consultant came up with. It isn’t because of a great TV campaign. It isn’t because of a messianic candidate. The reason to have hope this holiday season going into 2018 is because of efforts by communities like this one to make America good again.
Greatness, Republicans tell us, is built on oppressing others and rising to the top. Alexander was Great through conquest, after all.
Communities like ours, though, remind me every day that America should strive to be good first; to be a nation that values justice and believes in the hope of many.
Have a safe and Happy Holidays All, and let’s continue to work as hard as we can to build the country we deserve.
Onward,