Before the 2018 election, I thought the institution of American democracy would change when white ppl put more passion into loving their kids than the hating black and brown people; and then voting with that drive. The main question isn't if, but how to get this portion of the electorate to care? Progressives have made inroads into getting tribal and fearful sector of the US population to look at the big picture. Due to that work, there has been progress: Dems flipped over 300 state and national legislative seats last night, appear to have a 30 seat gain in the House which they now control, won 7 governorships, and triggered a wave of 100 women elected to Congress. But despite the good news, this wasn't a Blue Wave.
Under the current system, a true revolution is impossible. It's frustrating, but a real political wave doesn't happen in one election cycle or with a few charismatic figures. A national party is like an intricate web which means you can't just pay attention to the big webs (President, Senator, Governor). The power depends on the thousands of little interlocking positions (state rep, councilmen, commissioner, sheriff). Sadly, the Dem party has been in decline for a generation in the South, rural America, and the Midwest.
In the last 3 election cycles (before 2018), the Dems lost over 900 seats in state and city governments. They don't excite or speak to their base, but spend their time fundraising, speaking in bland phrases, and managing the decline, managing the widening inequality, managing the injustice. Since Occupy Wall Street and #blacklivesmatter, the Dem party has taken a detached view of what excites the base. Yes, Pelosi and Schumer decline to speak out against gov abuse at home or abroad, but Obama was also silent. Obama saw the rise of Occupy Wall Street and sat on the sidelines. The poisoning of Flint, Michigan happened under the last administration, which gave everyone a pass. Eric Holder was AG and chose not to prosecute anyone on Wall Street. #Blacklivesmatter was barely tolerated among Dem candidates. The hottest Dem party ideas and movements were squashed and the youngest thinkers were excluded, and the party has been dying as a result. On Tuesday, the Dem party won back hundreds of seats around the country. That's a start but they have lost 3 times as much in the past decade. It's going to take more than one spurt of rage in an election cycle to rebuild a party. We can't keep depending upon Clinton/Obama cult of personality figures. It takes infrastructure and I hope that it will be rebuilt with the activists.
Under the current system, a true revolution is impossible. It's frustrating, but a real political wave doesn't happen in one election cycle or with a few charismatic figures. A national party is like an intricate web which means you can't just pay attention to the big webs (President, Senator, Governor). The power depends on the thousands of little interlocking positions (state rep, councilmen, commissioner, sheriff). Sadly, the Dem party has been in decline for a generation in the South, rural America, and the Midwest.
In the last 3 election cycles (before 2018), the Dems lost over 900 seats in state and city governments. They don't excite or speak to their base, but spend their time fundraising, speaking in bland phrases, and managing the decline, managing the widening inequality, managing the injustice. Since Occupy Wall Street and #blacklivesmatter, the Dem party has taken a detached view of what excites the base. Yes, Pelosi and Schumer decline to speak out against gov abuse at home or abroad, but Obama was also silent. Obama saw the rise of Occupy Wall Street and sat on the sidelines. The poisoning of Flint, Michigan happened under the last administration, which gave everyone a pass. Eric Holder was AG and chose not to prosecute anyone on Wall Street. #Blacklivesmatter was barely tolerated among Dem candidates. The hottest Dem party ideas and movements were squashed and the youngest thinkers were excluded, and the party has been dying as a result. On Tuesday, the Dem party won back hundreds of seats around the country. That's a start but they have lost 3 times as much in the past decade. It's going to take more than one spurt of rage in an election cycle to rebuild a party. We can't keep depending upon Clinton/Obama cult of personality figures. It takes infrastructure and I hope that it will be rebuilt with the activists.
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