On October 29 I submitted a comment on a Goldberg column, "We Can Replace Them", in which I wrote, " I am absolutely confident that the Democrats will flip 37 to 40 seats in the House." It wasn't published. While the paid political pundits were too insecure to make predictions based on polling, I understood and predicted the effects of the new Blue grassroots activism. So what's next?
The next battle will be much more difficult and demanding of those who want to be soldiers for Democracy. That battle is to make the US Senate actually representative of the values of most Americans. To achieve this fundamental goal, patriots are going to have to vote with their feet and move to the Red states in droves.
Right now there are five key states in which 50,000 new Democratic voters with a drivers licence and a voter registration card can turn each state solid Blue. Georgia, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire and Wisconsin are kinda purple at the moment, can we find 250,000 Democrats who will pick up and move there from California or New York?
Who would do that? Well, why not you? Maybe you're 26 with a gig in the IT industry that makes geographic location irrelevant. You're 66, living an active retirement, you're going to explore the world for for the next 20 years, where you're based doesn't really matter. You're 46, you just got that big promotion to the London office, why not buy a condo in Pittsburgh?
Or maybe you just cherish democracy and you want to live in a democracy soon.
13
Occasionally, the Republicans run a candidate who is so repulsive not even fellow Republicans can stomach him/her. This was the case here in Arizona, where it looks as though Marthy McSally is poised to become, in the words of our leader, a TOTAL LOSER.
Krysten Sinema is approaching the finish line here in this reddest of red states. Fantastic news!!!
12
Democrat radicals want a country without borders, laws or even genders.
You may have gained a few seats in the House, but you have lost the argument.
For Americans love their nation and don't believe that every "brown or black" person who runs across the border belongs here.
We also nurture families and reject the idea of children "choosing" their sex.
Most Americans also appreciate the white folks who founded the nation and lent it the philosophical undergirdings that continue to make it great.
So I'd say your idea of progressive politics has been dealt a big blow.
And one that will be fatal when Trump is reelected in 2020 and the Senate has a filibuster-proof majority.
6
Can someone please explain to Michelle that progressivism is antithetical to the Constitution, therefore anti-American?
Progressivism, like it’s older brothers communism and socialism, are European imports. These are not American ideologies. So if you admire and believe in these fraudulent and illogical tenets, you are anti-American.
3
Never give up!
4
HELLO INDIVISIBLE 2. IT IS COMING TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
MORE WOMEN, MORE PEOPLE OF COLOR...BRING THEM ON AND OUR COUNTRY WILL CHANGE FOR THE BETTER.
6
Wave or ripple?
Goldberg apparently wrote this column before the midterm election results were in.
The President's party usually loses seats in midterm elections. In his first midterm elections Barack Obama lost 64 House seats. In Bill Clinton's first midterms the loss was 54 seats. Trump won't approach those numbers.
Don't forget about the Senate. Since WWII, in only five elections has the President's party gained seats in EITHER house.
Btw, progressive candidates fared poorly compared to more middle-of-the-road Democrats. Three Democratic Senators who voted against Kavanaugh were dumped -- with more to come? -- while the lone Democrat to support Kavanaugh was re-elected.
Thoughtful Democrats might take this opportunity to rethink the leftward tilt of the party and its crippling obsession with getting its revenge on Trump. You don't have to invite him to your cocktail party or cookout, but so long as he is President, why not try to find some common ground and work with him?
OTOH, if you want to believe that this was a blue wave, then you will be comforted by Goldberg's spin.
5
I know columnists don't typically choose the titles, but surely in this case it should be, "The Empire Strikes Back."
1
What blue wave? Obama lost something like 60 House seats in 2010 and a few Senate seats as well. Clinton likewise lost more seats. Trump gained Senate seats and lost fewer House seats and that was after 40 or so brave & noble Republicans elected to 'retire', ostensibly, believing they could not win because of Trump. It was a blue ripple.
Democrats would be wise to stop cheer-leading a so-so outcome. They would be wise to stop labeling their opposition as a 'resistance' that evokes images of Nazi Germany. Democrats would be wise to not spend the next two years 'investigating' unless they are willing to clean their own outhouses too. Democrats would be wise to try to work with Trump and the GOP on some level to prove they can actually accomplish something.
All of that said though, early indications are that Democrats plan to recreate the inquisition. Be warned. Doing only this will just show the American people the lunacy of the Democrat Party and you will set yourselves up to be blown out in the 2020 elections. Don't say you were not coached.
4
It is such a breath of fresh air to read Michelle Goldberg after treading through the mire of Republican columnists on the Times, like Brooks, Douthat, Stephens, and more. Never understood how NYT became the Tepid Times, which met the crisis of Trumpism without any sense of alarm or even the slightest fluff up of the hairdo.
8
So when the guardrails failed the Republic was saved by its ultimate firewall: we the people. We did not bite on Trump's fascistic, lying, hideous bombast.
The House flipped, yes, and apparently by a large number - more, the people going to Congress are a glorious reflection of America: women, black people, Native Americans, gay people, Muslims, Jews, mothers, warriors, nurses, young people too.
But also, look at the Statehouses. Kansas rejected Mr. Voter Fraud himself, Kobach, a Trump favorite - and elected a Democratic woman. The Blue Wall is rebuilding itself brick by brick.
When all the shouting, screaming, lawsuits and recounts are done we just might have two African American governors in the blood red South.
Think about that. And Arizona.
Republicans, people don't like your ideas. More, though, we hate the fact that you've betrayed us by backing this Russian tool known as Donald Trump.
14
Candidates 34,000 and 12,000 behind demanding a recount and courts going along with it? You call it a blue progressive wave. The resistance. I call it incompetent, amateur and narcissistic.
4
As an aging Leftie who suffered through many trying elections I can only say. Thank you very much ladies; those who ran, those who organized and those who spit their tickers and voted for a Democratic woman candidate.. You saved the day.
9
Nancy Pelosi just this last year, stood in high heels for more than 10 hours on the House floor defending the Dreamers. It was the longest, unrelenting hold on the house chamber that has ever taken place in our country's history. You could bench Steph Curry if you're tired of watching someone making threes, but you'd be very foolish to do it.
4
ACTUALLY IT KIND OF ENDED UP IN THE MIDDLE:
In truth I think the Current Wave, Or Wave that didnt happen pretty much say leveled the playing field and the more so if you look at say traditional US Politics.
Yes the Democrats 'didnt' get a decisive win period!.....
But the Republicans 'flubbed' getting total control of both Houses of Congress which was something they should have been easily able to do sic.
So under law Mr Trump is pretty much limited to say foreign policy which yes comes under 'The Senate' and possibly some limited 'Military Adventures' as election. or NO election He is still C in C of Americas armed forces!.
Practical Politics puts grave limits on - Both Sides - as either both parties co-operate if they wish to achieve anything to impress the Voters for 2020.
If not then we are back to a semi-gridlock situation plus a very angry electorate of frightened and desperate people and no one can tell which way they will vote then.
Impeaching Trump is a hopeless pipe dream that only hides the real issues affecting everyone, And if he was voted out under the law 'Mike Pence' would then become President and the Republicans would still largely have the upperhand in Government and then its an open question?,
Or rather who will be President in 2020.
Instead of name calling we need to concentrate on the issues as that is what will win the day in 2020...
Yes these and other facts as my book 'The Color Green' points out is what is ruining this Nation etc!.
J.B. Bisco
1
This is not your mother’s League of Women Voters.
4
Three cheers for the Resistance. After two years of unrelenting attacks on Trump and anyone associated with him, after a self-defeating and over-the-top persecution of Kavanaugh and after numerous Antifa marches and chanting, the Resistance achieved -- what? Mid-term election results that were definitely "average" for such elections -- nothing compared to the devastation of Obama's 2010 and 2014 midterms. And now the Dems in the House will add impeachments to the artillery of the Resistance. Sorry, guys and gals, but you're shooting blanks. The re-election of Trump in 2020 will be a sad event for you and will be due primarily to your own deplorable tactics.
4
For two years we suffered to hear Trump exult about his "great" 2016 victory. Are we now compelled to hear Goldberg and her Amazonian pals rant religiously about a blue wave that was at most a mousey trickle.
The party that does not have the White House historically loses the house of representatives. The Dems gained about 30 seats in 2018. This is not the least bit atypical. In 2010, The Republicans gained 61 seats in the House. In 1994, The Republicans gained about 50 seats in the House. In 1982, the Dems won close to 50 seats in the House.
Moreover, the Republicans did the unthinkable. Although they were expected to lose Congressional seats because they have the White House, they actually extended their control on the Senate.
I don't like the GOP, but the Democratic Party is becoming a satire of itself and it's a satire that's not the least bit entertaining. It is, in a word, a broken record, forever speaking about the compelling needs of blacks and women and castigating white men as members of a machinating tribe of evil malicious bankers who deserve a bad turn of fate. You are deaf, dumb and blind to the white working class and I am not surprised by their tenacious support of some candidates who often seem unsavory, a tad unhinged and almost nihilistic in their desire to smash the dreary Democratic Party's trinity of Nancy Pelosi, Debby Wasserman Shultz and Donna Brazille
6
Blue wave? Hardly...not even half the size of the Tea Party wave, senate seats lost (and thus appointees to the Court and Cabinet will continue to get automatic approval), a majority of governors and state legislatures still Republican, not the smallest dent in Trump determination to trash this country, near misses left and right from the Democrats inability to develop and present a coherent message other than they are not Trump...that is not good enough. This column is blather. Beto couldn't beat one of the very worst and least liked Senators in the country. Michelle thinks losing close is progress. Nonsense.
6
"a president whose bottomless depravity continues to dumbfound more than half the country."
...and the bulk of the free world.
4
I'm happy to see most of the comments referring to Democrats v. Republicans and Blue v. Red. Michelle, you are trivializing history by using "The Resistance" to describe America, 2018. And you leave us no language to describe what happens if America ever actually experiences the genuine plague that Europe experienced in the Nazi Era. The valiant French and Basque and Jewish citizen-resisters who faced the Nazi war and torture regine fought The Resistance. We are opposing little by comparison.
2
I'm not enamored with the term "Resistance" replacing Bernie's 2015/16 term "Political Revolution" for several reasons, including; that Resistance more commonly implies resistance to an external force, that Resistance is more moderate than Revolution, that Resistance is a more acceptable (but back-sliding) term than Revolution, and that I invested effort across New England imploring Bernie to extend his two-word sound-bite to an 'action sentence' with an 'object', "Political Revolution Against Empire".
While people seem willing to rally "Resistance", IMHO, we will find ourselves oppressed, looted, and tyrannized by Emperor Trump and the disguised global capitalist Empire that he is arrogantly 'fronting for', that the lesser efforts of simply trying to 'Resist' and accept moderate re-balancing between these two Vichy parties will waste time and delay an essential job of 'we the American people' continuing and completing our original American "Revolution Against Empire" [Justin du Rivage]:
"Stitching American and British history back together allows us to set the American Revolution in the context of world history. Although it has sometimes appeared to lack the éclat of either the French or Russian Revolutions, it was clear to observers at the time that the American Revolution was both a radical event and of far more than local importance. Indeed, it was part of a broader story in which the growth of fiscal-military states and empires led to an age of democratic revolution."
2
as in so many other things, FDR was right when he famously said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
now, I am really scared, because the Republicans have spent decades very professionally cultivating a climate of fear in America: fear of "others", fear requiring us to go around armed to the teeth, fear of starving in the midst of plenty, and, most of all, fear of taking any risk or finding any solution.
unless we overcome this paralysis, we are doomed.
1
I would like to see Beto run for President in 2020. He has all the credentials and the charisma to bring the country together. Remember Lincoln lost his Senate bid in 1858.
1
@The Jeffersonian
Where do we again need an amateur to manage something really complicated?
3
I kind of thought Trump's winning the election was the real resistance. He is not Republican or Democrat; he's more of a Pragmocrat (just made that up). And to be truthful, it's been necessary. He owes no allegiance to anyone because nobody helped him get elected (no, not even Russia). He's exposed a lot of corruption in the Federal Government with more expositions to come in 2019.
You may not realize this, but the Dems owned Washington. It was their city. It's only human nature that a one-party rule leads to malfeasance and political corruption, and that's what happened in the FBI's leadership, for example (think Strzok, Page, Comey--these people might be left-leaning, but what they conspired to do and did was wrong). Because of this, I am grateful that Trump has put a spotlight on corruption in Washington.
5
he is rather Plutocrat, who doesn't hold loyalty to anybody but himself, although I don't think it is such a great quality. He, definitely, showed the depth of Washington corruption. being himself a showcase for these corruption. Was it resistance? Maybe, I guess there are different types of the resistance, and resistance to dignity and truth is technically also resistance.
2
The midterm results in the house and senate should not be portrayed as anything but average. This is simply the truth based on historic results. Actually, an average result here for Trump's opposition - after marshalling a historic, monumental effort to undermine him (facilitated by all major news outlets, but one) - should be regarded as a loss and a call to change course. Vilifying Trump and his supporters is a colossal blunder for a party that claims to represent the underserved.
3
How come that vilifying of Trump and his supporters is a blunder, but vilifying of Trump's opposition is winning strategy?
2
Thanks, Michelle, for recognizing the profound sea change that this election represents. The miracle of the Atlanta congressional district was replicated in an affluent section of Dallas and its suburbs where the once unbeatable Pete Sessions was defeated in a gerrymandered district by a black Democrat. Hate-based Republican state legislators were also soundly defeated, and Democrats swept Dallas County. Bottom line, there is hope. For us voters, the outcome shows that Trump-Putin cannot rig the results of a high-turnout election. My family and many of our like-minded neighbors are encouraged and ready to intensify the resistance to the criminal Republican regime in Washington.
2
The Democratic victories happened mostly in spite of, rather than because of, the top-down model of organizing prederred by those who are entrenched in the DNC hierarchy.
2
Let's see Dems immigration reform bill. It must be a kind of open borders to appeal to the left, but that will lose independents. That's why there was none 2009-2010 when the controlled all of the federal government.
1
Trump is not a symptom. He is an active agent metastasized into a more virulent form of a disease. His followers have the symptoms, whom the Resistance should show that Trump is not their cure.
1
The most important action the Democratic House can take is to investigate systematic Republican corruption of the electoral system and to take legal steps to repair their systematic destruction of our democracy.
7
All we Democrats have to do to have a true Blue Wave in 2020 is support American workers, instead of only defending immigrants.
It is that simple.
1
It’s actually simpler: support both, because we need both. Or at least stop trying to play that same old tattered race card.
2
Now the Democrats should start a two-year campaign running as a party, and detailing the Democratic platform as a rebuke and rejection to the anti-democratic principles of the neo-trump, Republican Nationalist Party.
For the next two years, I believe the Democratic National Committee should mount a national political campaign, running as a party on planks that lift US citizens and the US both locally, and globally.
Local elections were won on policies that have common threads: unobstructed access to work with living wages, not wages that ensure poverty. Affordable housing goes hand-in-hand with wages.
Access to affordable healthcare that treats all conditions an illness to treat, not as a condition upon which carriers charge more and profit from.
Our country needs a well educated population to take the reins of leadership, build businesses, invent things, build things, and be a global leader for humanity and for our economy. And a well educated electorate with unobstructed access to the voting booth.
And Main Stream Media need to cover the Democratic campaign just as heartily as they eat all that garbage currently served to them, daily, by one man.
We are tired of hearing endless coverage of one man whose ego is spreading like a vile dark cancer across this nation and around the globe.
3
A lovely exercise in counting unhatched "progressive" chickens.
Many votes that put Democrats in office were cast not for Democrats but against Trump. Those who cast them are still Republicans, and non-"progressive". They may only be waiting for a non-Trump candidate -- say, a Pence -- to vote Republican again.
1
Michele there was no blue wave. The seats the democrats won in the house were significantly less than the big red losses during Obama's two mid terms and even Clinton's.
Don't remember anyone calling those elections a "red wave". (Usual media bias.)
Also, due to the actions of the irrational and hysterical left during the Kavanaugh hearings, the republicans gained Senate seats.
Please step out of your beltway bubble once in a while.
4
An AVERAGE showing would have been +29 house and +2 Senate.
Democrats results was below average. GOP ran 70% of America before midterms. Dems cut that to 69%.
Here is where you stand for the next 2 years:
House majority - Dems
Senate Majority - GOP
Governor majority - GOP
State Legislature majority - GOP
SC Judge Majority - GOP
POTUS - GOP
2
Yeah, except Dems took about 35 seats and counting, this year was unusually bad for the Senate and Sinema’s ahead, and you somehow missed the seven governorships and all the State lege victories, to say nothing of the judgeships and initiatives.
2
In 2020 it's all going to boil down to the Electoral College again, That archaic institution has to go. Dems always win the popular vote but lose in the E.C. Focus focus focus!
1
I'm a moderate imdependent Ohioan who leaned far more left this time around (and likely will til America comes back to its collective senses). I woke up Wednesday to see my state switch from purple to safely red. Maybe the rest of you take solace that Beto gave the Blobfish a scare, but for now, that's all progressive candidates are doing.
Democrats:
Jobs & Wages
Infrastructure
Health Care
Keep repeating those words and lay off the other stuff for awhile.
3
What Blue Wave? For a real "wave" election the party must control BOTH Houses of Congress, and do well down ballot. The Dems have not. True, they have won at least 30 seats, predicted by many shortly before the election. But in true "wave" elections in which the GOP has won, 1994 & 2010, the Reps won 45 & 69 seats, a clear repudiation of Democratic policies at the time. Also, the GOP took back the Senate on both occasions. So, that is what a real "wave" election looks like.
With regard to the other races, Governorships & state legislative offices, the GOP had such a huge lead in both that they were sure to lose some seats, and they have: at least 5 governorships & several hundred legislative seats. But again, no such wave!
Try as you like, Michelle, you can't make a wave election out of a retrenchment election: the electorate was sorting itself out into the Trump era Democratic & Republican parties. So, instead of a wave we see the new sorting out process completed and it is now more apparent than ever that the country is almost exactly evenly divided.
The Dems may continue to eat into the gigantic GOP margin of federal & state officeholders created during the Obama Administration, but the Dems will likely not become the majority party in America anytime soon. Both parties are beholden to the NPA's [No Party Affiliation] who make up nearly a third of the electorate in some states. We need to see what happens in 2020.
2
Stacy Efrat ...I salute you. You work full time, you look after 3 children and you manage to organize volunteers for voter registration. You were one of thousands of women who have rescued this country from the grasp of Republicans who do not have the country’s health,education and humanity at heart. The children and families ,as well as ALL Americans see you as the heroes....we thank you.
2
Trump is now starring in his new reality show: "The Biggest Loser".
The Democratic party flipped the House of representatives by 30 seats and counting, including Newt Gingrich's old set and the district so conservative that it dumped Eric Cantor for Dave Brat not so long ago.
The Democrats flipped seven statehouses. Seven.
Even in the Senate, where the Democrats lost seats, Democratic candidates won 12 million more votes in total than the Republican candidates. And that was in the best year for Republican candidates in the last 100 in terms of the electoral map..
Remember Trump said this was a referendum on him. It was a referendum he lost. Big time.
The election coverage has been very slanted towards the Republicans. The Democrats did great. Trump knows this even if the NYT doesn't and that is why he is lashing out. He's scared. And for good reason.
3
Trump, not progressives, built the blue wave.
Michelle, you are so desperate to win, yet in reality that wasn't a "Blue Wave", I have seen waves before there was a large wave in 2010, the Democrats lost 63 House Seats, You might remember Obama was President.
That was a wave. No matter what you say or do you cannot make this into a wave, this was another Trump victory. He just keeps winning, not whining !
2
Lucy McBath’s win in Georgia’s 6th District was wonderful. And much credit for her victory must go to Stacey Abrams. Please don’t give up your fight, Stacey. We know that the only reason Brian Kemp was declared the “apparent” winner in your gubernatorial race is because of his massive voter suppression strategy. And Andrew Gillum, please don’t give up in Florida which as we all know is ground zero for voter suppression shenanigans in this country. Abrams/Gillum 2020!
4
The House has a problem. If they investigate Donald Trump, or if the Mueller report is damning, then they will have to decide whether to impeach the president.
The case may be so conclusive that even Senate Republicans would agree to oust Trump for Mike Pence.
But Donald would be so much easier to defeat in 2020 than Pence. Donald propels democrats to the polls and as long as he's on the ballot -- virtually or actually -- turnout will be high.
Does the new House ignore facts, or do they sit tight to drive the election against a toxic president?
2
As Ma Joad said in "The Grapes of Wrath"
"We're the People - and we're a comin".
5
“Resistance” — against what?
Just like Bernie’s “Political Revolution” — against what?
What is the one word answer of what the ‘Resistance’ and what the ‘Political Revolution’ is against?
The Democratic Party has no answer to the simple question, ‘Against what’?
No competitive strategy. No strategic narrative. No sale.
3
Pretty amazing Democrat gains! In Michigan we approved Proposal 2 to End Gerrymandering, approved Proposal 3 to make Voting easier!-anyone now can vote by absentee ballot or register and vote on election day, elected Gretchen Whitmore as Governor and 2 women elected for Secretary of State and State Attorney General. Proud of the people of Michigan for waking up and voting for change. Oh and we approved Proposal 1,legalization of recreational marijuana.
3
Women have sent a very loud signal to Trump that he will not be acceptable in American democracy with his nationalism and his sexist agenda to attack the bodies and choices of women.
Women have rejected Trump.
Trumpism which is all about white nationalism is on the decline, and will be defeated in 2020 when America
will choose a new future, where Trump and his henchmen have no place.
Democracy has the power of the vote,
and the power to change the future for the freedom
and liberty for all.
3
So far, the Trump Nationalist Party hasn't been successful in finding a way to stop demographic trends in this country. The smart ones in that party know it is an exercise in futility yet seem prepared to do anything or say anything to get structural advantages in place now to at least stall that inevitability. They change the rules to load the courts and change the geographic boundaries to preserve their numeric advantage on the House.
But, the cracks are already showing. In Kansas, Texas, Iowa, Georgia and even in Alabama last year, the cracks are becoming fissures. Nothing the Trumpists can do will stop younger and better educated voters from knowing about and then rejecting sexual predators, liars, fear-mongers, bigots, swindlers and tax-dodgers.
2
Restore and Rebuild America-2020-Vote for Democrats.
Period.
3
Though disappointed over Florida and Beto and Georgia(horrendous voter supression) , I have hope for the first time in nearly 2 years. Democratic principles won out, policies for the common citizen, while being blocked by the Senate will further show the merits of a democraticly led government. Andsome check on the horror in the WH!
2
Last House vote count I saw was:
51.8 million votes for Democrats
46.2 million votes for Republicans.
Last Senate vote count I saw was:
45 million votes for Democrats
33 million votes for Republicans.
4
I seldom agree with Michelle Goldberg, but this time she's on target. Getting themselves organized and selling a consistent, realistic message is what will get Democrats back into power, not loose talk about amending the constitution to make the rules of the game more favorable to their side; that's just so much exasperated venting.
52
The Republicans have been much better at playing the long game and Indivisible learned that by observing the Tea Party's success. A useful lesson.
1
Spot on! The GOP (and Trump) were quick of the mark to downplay the job well done by local Democrats all across the country. Each and every candidate worked very hard and the the voters responded.
It is just the beginning. It was and is and will be a very long campaign to keep the public engaged and active. Trump days bend time and seem like months and everyone is most likely very weary.
So use our nation's Veterans Day long weekend to remember our men and women who knew the true meaning of bravery and service to country. They fought for America. Today we debate what that means, what defines our country. The men and women who were in World War I and II did not 'debate' or question. They knew what they were going to fight FOR.
So let's begin to heal the wounds that divide US. Don't let the loud noises make us forget.
No rest for the weary. Back to work Democrats. We've a whole hill to climb yet.
2
Dare we imagine that this country truly be a Beacon of Hope to those within and outside it, rather than the Beacon of Hatred it has become under the grotesque misdirection of Emperor Donald?
3
Great article/ Blue wave roared through.
So burned out on this administration. Every day a new embarrassment.
Absentee Trump in France. Declined to go to Ainse Marne cemetery "because of rain."
There was no rain:
Joint chiefs of staff twitter page has photos of General Dunford visiting Aisne Marne cemetery today to honor the fallen of Belleau Wood on the Marine Corps birthday ahead of tomorrow’s WWI 100 centennial.
"We honor the courage and sacrifice of those Americans who came to Europe to fight for peace, stability and order"
@thejointstaff
1
This is a somewhat reassuring perspective. What bothers me, however, is why it should take such intense and highly organized activism and resistance to counter Trump and the GOP. Trump is so obviously awful, nasty, corrupt, and widely disliked (despised by many), and the GOP so complicit in bad actions, it's hard to understant why the blue wave wasn't twice as big as it was.
1
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single
step.
If you want something done give it to a busy woman
Walter Oberer
The press played along with Trump's misogyny
and lies to harpoon Mrs. Clinton. Them days are over
life lesson, you cant vote to take away health care
a zillion times and then pretend you want to protect
pre-existing conditions.
Earth to media. Trump's selection of Whittaker
is a sign of desperation.
word
2
The climb back to the mountain top from the deep valley created by Trump and his administration will take time - with stops and base camps along the way, maybe a few falls and casualties. Eventually though, the pinnacle will be reached and a new day will once again begin in America.
1
Nice. Such a comfort and happiness to have you as op-ed columnist, Ms. Goldberg. Please keep it up.
2
Thrilled to see Karen Handel lode. She is the personification of corrosive effective that Southern Evangelicals with their bigotry and intolerance have had on politics.
1
The bottom line is that the only reason President Trump won the election was because he was running against a candidate that "the resistance" thought was annointed and could not possilby lose.
She was smug, self assured and confidant that the "Deporables" would see her election as inevitable.
2
As a 71 year old white woman my greatest joy in the 2018 elections is that so many women and minorities were elected! Old white men have run this country for too long and what a mess they have made! It’s time for younger and more diverse Americans to take the reins of power and to make this country more progressive where every citizen benefits from being a citizen of the United States of America!
1
The arrival of a new generation of Democrats on the political scene is just what this country needed to save it from Trumpism and his GOP.
Hooray for the progressive new Democrats and good riddance to the corrupted, losing, third way DLC'ers whose gross incompetence nearly ruined the party and, by failing to politically counter the GOP, the country.
Yes! It was a clear victory for liberals, progressives, Dems and sane Americans, and we should celebrate! The right-wingers who deny it are shutting their eyes to reality, and the lefties who deny it have acquired a habit of gloom and doom. The danger in not recognizing and celebrating the victory is that we fail to see that our activist and organizing efforts paid off!! The lesson is that if you work at it, you can win, and we need to keep it up!
1
Progressive organizing/slandering/cheating did pay off for the Democrats.
It will not pay off for the country.
1
If you’re anywhere near my side and you feel that Tuesday wasn’t good enough, you’re right. Plenty of work to do, before we really start to get this country back to something resembling rationality—and then still more work, as democracy will always need work. It’s got people in it.
But if you’re completely discouraged or saying that you are for some reason, well, the actual numbers probably won’t mean much to you. I mean, they’re excellent and getting still better (Sinema’s now up 29, 000 in Arizona!), but you likely won’t look at them, or you’ll be maundering on about Beto even though he pretty much passed a miracle, plus dragging out voters across Texas.
So here’s another index. Notice how Trump’s bellowing, lying and petulance took a big ol’ jump starting Wednesday morning? It’s dangerous to have a President behaving this nuttily, but it sure is fun to watch. I mean, one day a fake video and a stunning pack of lies about the election, the next he can’t go to a Marine cemetary “because it’s raining,” the next he’s making a point of shaking Putin’s hand?
It’s not great, of course, to have our President sitting there like Baby Huey, as Emmanuel Macron throws nationalism in his fat face and speaks up for a decent world.
But again, it’s kinda fun. And it ought to tell us that Tuesday was BAD for Republicans and worse.
2
Yes, the Democrats roared back off of life support. But, now the "empire strikes back" immediately with Darth Vader (aka Matthew Witaker) as the new Acting Attorney General overseeing the Department of Justice, the F.B.I. and, of course, the Russia investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller that's knocking at the emperor's door. And so far, there's no Hans Solo in sight as day after day no one--Democrats, Republicans, pundits, and those vying for 2020--say a thing. The death star is aiming at our republic and its Constitution and darkness and silence falls across the land. After the pipe bomber, after two African-Americans shot while shopping, after 11 Jews slaughtered at Sabbath services, after the blue wave election, where is the Resistance when our very democracy is in peril of falling into the hands of an autocrat? I am bearing witness a the grandson of Holocaust survivors, the son of Jewish immigrants, perhaps the canary in the depths of our democracy, but my cries of Never Again seem unanswered.
Interesting how we have a democratically elected government and if you're a New Yorker you likely have a Democrat (or even better, a Socialist!), representing you at every single level of government from the neighborhood party committee chair, I mean, your local reps, to your union reps, to your city, state and federal representatives. You have one guy in your chain of command who isn't in your party, and now you claim to be part of a resistance.
Let's play a game, if Trump says he's a nationalist, and you hear a dog whistle, what dog whistle do you think normal Americans hear when you call for resistance from your bubble?
You, my dear, and your pathetic "resistance" against your fellow Americans, are the real problem in this country.
2
Okay. Here is what we need to do to oust that incompetent oaf who thinks Americans are dumb enough to re-elect him:
1. Show how smart ALL Americans are by choosing a President who is smart.
2. Women, give up your march to Washington temporarily for the sake of dumping trump.
3. Find a candidate that is honest, civil, caring, trustworthy, reliable, unselfish and intelligent. Then throw every resource into electing him for the sake of DEMOCRACY.
3
So will good triumph over evil?
As soon as the red south realizes that the right wingnuts they elect are going to cut their Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security in order to have more money for weapons, maybe there will be a chance.
Kansas saw what 'fiscal responsibility' really means in the warped minds of the republican party and are not buying it. Wisconsin also.
Work. Work. Work. Vote. Vote. Vote. Then celebrate for a night and repeat. Drive the evil out of our politics.
2
congrats on the Blue Yawn. yawn.
fear mongering
hyperbole
physically intimidating Republicans
intellectual dishonesty
socialist jingo
rejecting democracy, and the last Presidential election
and, despite the groupthink and hyperbole and fear mongering a big blue yawn. congrats?
1
Here’s the story of McBath’s son, last name Davis, who was shot by an angry white man over Davis’ language and music. “Florida Man Is Convicted of Murdering Teenager in Dispute Over Loud Music” https://nyti.ms/1vxQPWK?smid=nytcore-ios-share
Gun control and appealing to voters who want politicians who act like adults is a solid strategy.
I have never volunteered for a political campaign in my life. Until Donald Tump was elected President. I canvassed in a district near my home (Katie Hill flipped it), I texted (mostly for down ballot races, like state AG) I wrote postcards and I phone banked. I absolutely had to do this because stewing day after day in anger was not an option. I am in this for the long haul. There is no going back. I need to continue. Every local group I was involved with, without exception, was organized and powered by women who were aligned with larger groups like Swing Left and Indivisible. Smart, accomplished, focused and determined women who know that, despite the gains won on Tuesday, this fight has just begun. This is truly grassroots and it will only continue and grow stronger. Steady, methodical and determined. This is women’s work.
3
What is sad to me is that we have to spend so much time fighting against things like Gerrymandering, cuts to the EPA, tax cuts for the wealthy and the resulting debt, etc.
When we would like to spend that time fixing real problems like education, healthcare, and poverty.
3
Anybody want to blame the Russians for Dems’ 11/06 success?
2
Were the Russians interfering on our behalf? I missed that one...
And please note we worked on people to people grassroots campaigns precisely to avoid the mess that is social media.
1
That was hardly a blue wave, give me a break.
Dems lost Florida down the line as well as GA......
Blue wave? Really?
1
Please, don't forget that there is also a Senate seat up for grabs in Mississippi. e.g., https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/415223-mississippi-senate-race-heads-to-runoff. I don't know why this is not getting more attention. I plan to call my State's Senators (Illinois) Monday to "push" them here, and by way of them the Democratic Party.
3
Good Lord, can we please note two things?
A. There was no Blue Wave. A trickle, but in comparison to other midterm elections when it came to the House, the Democrats underperformed.
B. I've read a lot concerning Resistance movements in World War II and actually met a couple of these heroes. I know Resistance movements. Progressives and Democrats are the electorate. They're not the Resistance. Calling them so demeans the memories of those who risked all --- including capture, torture and execution from the Gestapo --- in their struggle. It's self-serving nonsense and should stop.
1
I tend to agree about that “Resistance,” jazz, but Democrats landed right where the polling said, took more seats in the House than they had since 1974, took seven governorships and a whole passel of State rep seats, won votes on expanding Medicaid in every state it was on the ballot, win back voting rights for felons in Florida...
1
@badubois
No.
But striking back means winning something for the mass of people!
That means offering to fight for some critical policies people want.
Here is a statement from one of your colleges today in this paper.
"Democrats, who remained remarkably focused during their campaigns, must now figure out how to put forward their own agenda — one Ms. Pelosi says will be focused on lowering drug costs, rebuilding the nation’s roads and bridges, and cleaning up government corruption — "
All way too vague and will not excite most Americans. (we should mention the question --How will you reduce drug costs? ). But what about medical costs in general? Medicare for All? In other words a workable national health system that all wealthy nations except the USA have in place. It is critical and must be done and if any country can afford it and do it properly it is the United States.
Pelosi, Schumer, Hillary Clinton and other Dem leaders never mention these words: "Medicare for All." Why not? We obviously know the answer.
Democrats could take over the government tomorrow if they promised a national health system plan, studied it intensely, educated the public on details, and removed the fear of the word "socialism"from the discussion. This is all tied in with the horrid disparity in wealth in this nation. Until the dems start talking about these critical issues in detail they will never gain any real power. You speak here only of incrementalism - tiny movements forward taking decades. It will not work
1
@Frank: Obama missed the boat when he failed to invite heads of foreign health plans to testify to Congress and the US people about how their systems work.
2
Like the fluctuating stock market, daily politics is largely psychology. How do investors/citizens feel, what is the latest "truism" of the day (which will change drastically tomorrow when another "truism" takes its place)? What catches first page headlines? What nifty catch-phrase manipulates and is then spread by otherwise good journalists looking for a hook?
Ms. Goldberg points out that the respected Cook Political Report had said “Ultimately, Trump’s approval rating probably needs to be at or below 35 percent for the House to flip.” How did such a mistaken report affect the psychology of the day? Luckily, because most people never heard of Cook and never saw the report, it did not do too much harm.
Now there are headlines about the Democrats being split, and "oh wow they are doomed again".
Just as we know that despite the market fluctuations the US economy is growing, so we all know that, whether Beto won this year or not, the Trumpist Republican Party is on its way out. The old hold on power by the likes of big oil, big pharma, big tobacco, deceived rural masses, bigots, is now more clearly seen as a mirage, an image fading from our psychology.
Enough of these half-true reports and "truisms."
Our free press is essential, and it should do better. Enough with flashy headlines that mislead. Enough with articles that are simply stenography for some lobbyist. Back to good investigative and thorough journalism, and follow-up questions at press conferences!
Ms. Goldberg writes of the continuing depravity that comes from Trump's White House. By this I assume she means in violation of social norms, without regard to ethics, and with an utter lack of empathy towards others, the latter, if true, a serious mental defect, which could be physical, perhaps caused from exposure to lead in the streets of New York in early childhood. But it could also be deliberate as the method of a master crook to detract attention from what he (they, in terms of Republicans) is actually doing, which is to steal from all of us. Note the executive orders, what the Republicans actually vote on in Congress especially taxes, and Trump's side deals to benefit his businesses. We will probably find out his inaugural fund and campaign donations he is continually soliciting will fall into the latter category. That the Republicans share in the theft of dollars that would otherwise go into the public domain is why they put up with his depravity. It is cover for them as well, and the agendas of the Thurmond's, Lott's, and Mitch McConnel's--all Dixiecrats doing everything they can to obstruct American Civil Rights law since the days of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. They are secessionists at heart and are continuing to obstruct by appointing anti-civil rights jurists.
In Georgia the real depravity is that voters have gone along with obvious efforts to suppress the vote, i.e. keep Blacks and other minorities from voting. This is the real danger.
1
Two years and it was not even a ripple in the Senate.
1
@2observe2b
Last Senate vote count I saw was:
45 million votes for Democrats
33 million votes for Republicans.
But because there are a lot of small Republican states, Republicans have a yuge advantage in the Senate.
5 Republican states with 1 million people each get a total of 10 senators.
California with 40 million people gets 2 senators.
And the last House vote count I saw was:
51.8 million votes for Democrats
46.2 million votes for Republicans.
1
John Cronyn is up for reelection in 2020. It would be harder for O'Rourke to beat him than Cruz, but I hope he tries again.
After all, Beto has Trump on his side!
1
As our last great POTUS said before his second term, we are the hope and change we've been waiting for.
Grass roots organization does work.
4
Michelle, I am so grateful for your presence in the NYT. You seem to be the only one who sees progressives as the force that animates the good that has come from the Democratic party. This media outlet keeps beating the drum for the establishment elements. Oh, we must be cautious! Oh, we mustn't risk a backlash! Oh, the Republicans will call you nasty names - as if they wouldn't otherwise. Remember Hillary of Lock Her Up fame told us the Republicans would call Bernie a "socialist", as if that were somehow worse than the things they called her. (Maybe for her it is as she is very afraid of the progressives herself.)
Say it aloud: progressives won seats all across this country. They had a message about fairness, health care, education, infrastructure, and kitchen table issues that are of concern to all of us. The establishment wants to focus on Trump; the progressives want to focus on getting the car out of the gutter and back on the road.
Pretty radical, huh? What are the Republicans and "centrists" Democrats for, a pothole on every street?
1
You have never voted for a law and you have never voted for the President or a Judge.
You have only voted for representatives to vote for these for you.
It is our responsibility, privilege, and right to vote directly for the laws under which we live, to directly vote for our President and Vice President who administer the laws, and to vote for the Judges that interpret the laws: to live in an ACTUAL DEMOCRACY. See assocactualdemocracy.com
1
This is one of the most encouraging — actually, it’s more accurate to say one of the least demoralizing — analyses of the midterms I have read. Thank you.
But while the practical implications of the Dems taking the House are immense (as illustrated by Trump’s even-more-offensive-than-usual behaviour the day after the election), I still find it depressing — unfathomably so — that somewhere around 40% of Americans think a completely unhinged, unpredictable lunatic is a reasonable choice for president.
They will tell the rest of us the economy is great, unemployment is the lowest it has been in decades, etc. Trump, naturally, takes the credit. But most economic indicators are merely continuing the trajectory established during the last six or so years of Obama’s presidency.
Trump can perhaps be credited for at least not reversing that trend, but as far as I can tell any actual policy that presumably helped the economy — helped the bottom line of businesses, at least — has a very dark side whose full effects will not be felt until Trump is in the rear view mirror: legalizing environmental rape, pillage and plunder; gutting financial regulations; slashing taxes on corporations and the rich to create a gigantic budget deficit.
Alas, so much for feeling encouraged...
2
The resistance? "La Résistance" may not always have been what it claimed, but it was fighting an enemy and occupier - not a lawfully elected President - and as such, it was a fighting organization - not a undisciplined violent mob.
As for progressive, I would only recognize this one as "progressive" with inverted commas,, because progress was marked by Scientific Knowlegge and it findings in the Laws of Nature - not in the Denial and Rejection of both!
And let us be frank: Natire's sstem of procreation - among species of higher evolution - is SEXUAL and BINARY - not multigendrous. And this means that there are biological differences between Men and Women - even if, in "progressive Sweden, a Biology Professor can be sacked for telling his students about that.
That is just the "progressiveness" I do mpt want to know about, even though the Obama Period - when not engaged in genocide abroad - was, mostly, busy in promoting a "Social Engineering" no real biological or social 'Engineer' would see as any sensible structure but, rather, as a danger to the existence of the species 'Homo Sapiens'...
Um, nobody’s saying that there’re no biological differences between men and women. They’re saying that we aren’t mere slaves to our biology.
And speaking of biology, what the actual science—not the right-wing fantasy, the actual science—says is that the underlying genetics of gender are not only expressed in many ways, they are at times positively transformed; that if you look at animal behavior, there’s a lot of what we’d call homosexuality in it; that the way kids are raised can radically change how they behaveand may very well rewire their biology; that there is, if you look, a very wide range of cultural expressions of sex.
Of course, one DOES have to look, not hide under the bed with the eyes squeezed shut.
It’s certainly good to see right-wingers sticking up for “scientific knowlegge and it findings in the Laws of Nature.”
1
Ohio checking in. We didn't get much, but got two favorable judges on Supreme Court. We'll keep canvassing, educating, calling, talking, walking ... and praying in this long game. Thrilled with the energy and the bridge-building. We're not even close to done!
6
@Just one voice
Just leave “praying” out of the game plan....otherwise, your comment is spot on.
1
"The party is on track to make more gains in the House than it has in any election since Watergate's aftermath." EVERYONE should be able to see the manipulation in this statement. "The party" limits this to only Democrats (since the other party HAS had larger gains than this); "on track" means this statement will only be valid if favorable changes occur; "since Watergate's aftermath" is a small, selected time period that is unlikely to be representative.
The elite (both liberal and conservative) have the luxury to twist the truth, play with the facts and construct bogus narratives. The 'yoke of necessity' may not encourage patience, but it does seem to sharpen the vision. (Educated elite might call it "Occum's machete".)
1
'The Resistance' will have to be careful not to become the left-wing equivalent of the Tea Party.
Power corrupts, same as ever.
2
The Tea Party just says "No!" to everything. Democrats say yes to government funding for benefits to society that are not profitable to private enterprise to provide.
1
There was no blue wave, more like a trickle.
1
@Olivia
Politics is a long term game, the Democrats made real progress in the midterms, and their ongoing strategy is the key to making further advances that will have them back in power and then the job of undoing the damage done by this administration can be implemented. Politics is about perception, and the perception at present is that of a “blue wave”,that could turn into a “blue tsunami” in 2020.
2
There are a few points I'd like to add to Michelle's ringing endorsement to The Resistance:
1) Structurally and tactically, Indivisible is somewhat similar to the Tea Party: Organizing people who are fired up by what they see as a failure of our system and want to change it. The Tea Party did that to Republicans. The Resistance, especially Indivisible, learned the lesson of that.
2) Like it or not, deny it or not, the so-called "Leadership" is decidedly NOT part of The Resistance, had not adopted the language, goals or passion of the movement, instead, seeking to control it, ride it, and rein it in to preserve their own power. Just like to Leaders Pelosi and Schumer, to DNC and DCCC chairs Tom Perez and Ben Lujan, and the BLATHER that they disseminate , as if The Resistance and Indivisible don't even EXIST, as they plan to hang on to power tooth and nail. Remember: This is the first mid-term race won since 2006! Who did it? Not the DNC or DCCC! The Resistance!
3) This is only the beginning, if the "leadership" doesn't kill it, as they killed the 2006/2008 momentum. There's a long fight ahead, and Dems cannot go back to sleepy acceptance that "we control things so I'm going fishing and watching football". It has to keep going, as again, the Tea Party did.
Because we must stop Trumpism.
4) We're crushing in the House, but 46 million voted for Dem Senate candidates but only 33 million voted GOP...The numbers are on our side for 2020--but only if we take them!
2
In the 1950's Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, a Republican (something about Republicans) abetted by chief counsel Roy Cohn (the kind of lawyer Trump favors) nonchalantly destroyed careers and livelihoods of Americans . On conjecture alone and lacking evidence these two cruel individuals made up stories about Communists being as widespread in the USA as frogs were in the Biblical plague in Egypt. It took the resolve of Joseph Welch to silence him: "Have you no sense of decency?' he threw into the face of McCarthy. It took the wind out of McCarthy imaginary, unfounded campaign. We now have a president who is worse than McCarthy. Lacking evidence, he spouts lie after lie attacking those who express different opinions. He makes up imaginary dangers and unfounded racist charges, painting others as "enemy of the people" or "murderers and rapists"--all products of his hatred fusing with his imagination and supported by Fox News and his enablers. Just like McCarthy , only much, much worse---he deflects criticism by screaming at his critics, avoiding any rational response to the criticism. " Have you no sense of decency, Mr. Trump??" This should be repeated again and again.
From Republicans in Congress, forget about it. Is there no Joseph Welch in our midst to face up to the tyrant who has ignored the crimes of those he wants to empower (e.g., Kavanaugh, Whitaker, MBS) and who wants to impose his twisted sense of justice and reality on our institutions?
3
Two years of progressive organizing built the blue wave, and it will only take a few months until it dissolves.
1
Thank you Michelle
I watch you on MSNBC , your a wonderful young lady and fabulous journalist God bless
4
Although I voted straight republican in Florida's recent election, I'd have split my ticket again had the Democrats not nominated such radicals.
For example, Democrat governor candidate Gillum, already caught taking bribes from undercover FBI agents, wanted to raise corporate taxes 40% and put in a state income tax. This along will making Florida a welcome center for illegal aliens.
Keep nominating such out of touch candidates and democrats will go the way of the dinosaurs.
Uh...raising taxes brings in aliens?
Okaaaaay...
I have seen all these articles over the last two years about what Democrats should do, or not do, or say and not say - it goes on and on. Here's my recommendation and it requires something that is not a dominant trait that I see exhibited in the Democratic - Liberal - Progressive population:
You all have to resign yourselves to getting angry about the shape of the United States and staying angry about that condition for the rest of your lives. If 'mad' is a better word, use mad. Get mad and stay mad.
The Democrats had a good week in the November election. Could have been better, but it could have been much worse. But this victory only slowed the downhill momentum that Trump and the Republicans have started. 2020 starts now. There is no time to waste, there is no time to kick back and feel good about this last week. The job is not done - it's never done.
I'm afraid this will be our lives in the US from here on out. Rust never sleeps and neither does fascism, bigotry, and, I'm sure the Kochs will always have a few hundred millions laying around in petty cash to fund their groups.
This is going to get much much worse before this darkness ever gets overcome.
3
So you're saying that Beto is the left's answer to Barry Goldwater? Keep in mind the time it took the right to overcome the moderate, progressive faction in the Republican Party and get Regan into office. I'm not sure we have that sort of time now.
1
Don’t stop being a vital resister and a fine writer and my number one pundit. I continue to rely on you. I’m a seventy year old lifelong progressive who is desperate for insight and guidance. Even in my town of liberals, ie berkeley California, there is battle fatigue and confusion. Without the strong journalists like you we would have little to inform or analyze the debacle of trumpocracy. Thank you.
1
Yes indeed: Domestic strife is getting uglier, hate rules the airwaves, and Menendez retained his seat. What's not to be proud of?
2
Oh this is a horrifying narrative. Democrats lost multiple Senate seats despite winning the popular vote by a considerable margin. We have now considerably narrowed our chances of a Senate majority in 2020, and all but ensured the Republican takeover of the judicial branch.
The lesson we have to learn is that winning a majority of votes isn't enough. It is absolutely imperative that we understand it is better to win 51% of votes in the right places than 60% in the wrong places.
But this narrative of tremendous Democratic success suggests we should keep doing the same things that we're doing. If we do that then we will be the permanent Senate minority.
I feel like I'm at a hockey game where the home team is down by 2 in the third period, and everyone keeps yelling about how great it is that we're outshooting the other team 2 to 1.
2
@Jon: I am fed up with living in the wrong place. It really is a condemnation to perpetual insults.
"The Resistance" is even getting in a few licks here in Utah. Ben McAdams is ahead of Mia Love, and Propositions for legalizing marijuana and expanding Medicaid are also currently passing.
But, for reasons not entirely clear (folks have been pointing to Utah County incompetence as the main culprit), the voting came to a virtual halt ahead of Veterans Day (about 20% of the vote on the McAdams-Love race and the Propositions have yet to be counted).
This may very well be a classic case of stupidity being a more parsimonious and adequate explanation than malice, but I still can't shake the feeling that evil is a foot. Something definitely doesn't smell right out here. The resistance to The Resistance may have gotten off to an eerily fast start on the Wasatch Front.
1
"Resistance"? As if we are occupied by some foreign dictator. Then you want to tell us that you unite the country and that you're open minded and tolerant. This is the type of rhetoric that makes more Trump supporters.
@Mortarman: Trump is close-minded, intolerant, and dictatorial. Are you sure you have the right figurehead?
3
Michelle, it will be too stupid on Trump's part not to notice the power of newly won Dem members of congress who'll take control of the congress next year.
If Trump thought he was invincible then this past midterms should wake him up from his slumber and tell him softly in his ear,"Buddy, your time as president is up. Look for an escape route from the White House and maybe find refuge somewhere your hateful rhetoric might work. Not in the United States where you'll surely be impeached by our newest Dem congress members."
Trump was too cocky to notice earlier that the resistance to his monarchy was coming.
He really thought that he was like the monarchs of England where the Royals lived in their palaces throughout their reigns.
He just wanted more power than Queen Elizabeth.
Now with the win of Lucy McBath in the same Sixth District of Georgia that Dem contender Jon Ossoff lost more than a year before,Trump should fear the power of D.N.C. renaissance or the tools of resistance to his power that the entire left leaning parties have perfected since his unlawful election in 2016.
He should know that except for his couple of millions of hard core supporters, every Americans from all walks of life have a strong opinion that some form of hanky-panky went on while Trump was running for the first election of his life.
It didn't escape no one in America that Russia played a crucial role in Trump's bid for the White House.
Our newest Dem members of congress will find the truth.
1
The 46% of ballots still cast for Republicans in this election demonstrates half the population is still willing to blindly support a blatantly racist and demonstrably unethical demagogue. This is despite Donald Trump’s highly disorganized, frequently juvenile and shockingly narcissistic behavior over the past two years. Friends, neighbors and family members were unwilling to so much as abstain in order to send a clear message to the congressional enablers of the most openly unethical president in modern history. They all need to take a long hard look in the mirror. These co-enablers should clearly understand that the rest of us are not so much upset because we disagree with you politically, it is that we find ourselves totally ashamed of your apparent lack of any moral compass. It is both shocking and embarrassing to find so many whom we once respected and even looked up to, so very willing to repeatedly look the other way. In the face of such open corruption, why a President Pence wouldn’t satisfy you remains a complete mystery. Don’t waste time equivocating about the Clinton’s either. Even if Hillary was guilty of every crackpot conspiracy theory, it wouldn’t hold a candle to Trump’s -in your face- total lack of ethics. Donald J. Trump is staining our nation, as is your continued blind support of him in office.
2
Thank you for the Amy McBath and Erin Zwiener stories. They, and all the other Democratic women whose energy, determination, and commitment to a progressive agenda brought them to victory Tuesday, have revived our hope that our democracy can withstand the onslaught of the liar-in-chief and his sniveling sycophants. I am so grateful.
1
Of course, the Usual Suspects "very serious" prognosticator class is never wrong. Just ask them. And the wave we're seeing is not a blue wave. Ask Obi Wan Kenobi.
In recent elections the Democrats have been saddled with the caravans. Get that issue off the table and anything is possible.
Yes, the Resistance strikes back. But this essay, and almost all essays and articles here in The New York Times, seem to only focus on resisting Tump and at all costs. This one here charts, and in apparent detail, the seats and the races and effort. What is missing, and this, by the way, is telling, what is missing is what these democrats will do should they gain enough power. We know what President Trump has done. The employment across all sectors is at a record high. Black Americans, Latinos all are doing a whole lot better than when the democrats were last in power. Our military is no longer dangerously diminished. Israel is once again our freind, and our embassy is rightly in Jerusalem. An Iranian deal to give them nuclear weapons has been relegated to the dustbin, North Korea has engaged with us, and our country is booming. That is what President Trump has accomplished in just two years. From the repressed accounts of the true democrat goals, it seems socializing the American economy is their number one interest. Let us hope our eyes can see what Cuba has to offer. Or Venezuela. Or the collapsed Soviet Union. Oh, I know, finally, with our current crop of socialists (democrats) it will go differently than history shows us.
2
Ms. Goldberg,
There was no "Blue Wave"
rather there were "Blue Ripples".
If you look at the voting percentages for the
House of Representatives the Democrats received
6.3 % more than the Republicans.
If that is the best the Democrats can do against
a President you despise and that you claim so many
others despise and should be despised by every American,
as you have and do,
then you really are far too optimistic for your own good.
You did not win the Senate.
And the Democrats are so divided on which
candidate to support for President,
you may well destroy your chances like you did in 1968
and Trump will be President until 2024.
So take off the Progressive Coloured Glasses
get real,
and figure out how to get the Average American to
vote for your Progressive Agenda.
1
@John Brown; revanchists are the opposite of progressives.
1
The blue wave has it hit here or anywhere yet but we are ready.
Jon Ossoff would literally choke on his words rather than utter a progressive idea he could support. Ossoff was milquetoast. Ossoff went with polls. Beto went with all issues including progressive touchstone issues. Give us more of the Betos from the Democratic party anywhere in the country. Politicians that stand apart (not in line) are in short supply and welcome anywhere.
3
No rest until the Senate and White House are flipped. Even then keep it going.
2
The Democrats have a good chance at obliterating gerryamndering, at least for the next two cycles. I feel like it's neatly dawn in Trump's Midnight In America
2
@Mixilplix: At least the 2020 census year election is also a presidential contest. Obama utterly failed to mobilize his base in 2010, an off year election, and we have been living under a Republican gerrymander ever since.
2
Not.The "resistance" was petty. A nonsense for nonsense attack on Trump which just made his base dig in. 2 years later we still have a divided country. What really energized the "wave" was O'bama Care. The Dems ran on it and won. "A list" issues are going to win back the country not immigration... not gay wedding cakes, not gender and certainly not insults.
You could see it in Trump's body language in Paris. He's worried. Very. He knows that he and his gang don't dominate the playground anymore, and that's fatal for a bully.
How many Congressional Republicans now smell blood and relish the chance to cut Trump down to size?
2
Best phrase in this article: "bottomless depravity." Describes Trump to a tee! He is also decidedly not a nice guy, even though in his self-delusion he may think he is just wonderful and, of course, very stable and even a genius. No, he is indeed depraved.
2
It isn't enough that we won. We can't sit on our laurels. Now we have to actually do something, and do something even though the other side will be lying and cheating and slinging dirty mud at us. In short, we're going to have to anticipate their every illegal and immoral move, hunker down, work harder than we have ever worked in our lives, get our hands dirty and stay proud and strong.
1
Pray tell then how does someone like Ojeda get slaughtered?
How do you reach some areas?
One style doesn't fit all.
That is why Manchin is still there.
What this election taught me is that if you want to beat Trump in 2020 you have to focus on his character or lack of same. Dems should relentlessly attack, ridicule, and deflate him any way they can: his hair, his lying, his pomposity, his weight, his insecurity, his vanity and so on. Good policy will not be enough. He is like the schoolyard bully, once he gets hit in the nose he loses respect.
1
What about the money? I lived in DC for 41 years and know K Street and lawyers and politicians inside and out and criminals, too. GET THE MONEY OUT OF POLITICS AND HOW STUPID CAN PEOPLE BE THINKING THAT CORPORATIONS ARE PEOPLE? and it's WAY past time for more than just 2 political parties and, of course, get the GUNS out of our society... it's not 1700 anymore and the wild west is not what our nation is. One can buy anything one wants at the local grocery store wrapped in plastic. It's 2018. Hundreds of years have passed since the "FOUNDING FATHERS". They were smart men but the era of beat swords into plowshares is over...
1
@Bill: Nothing gets resolved because it then ceases to be useful for fundraising.
Election Day offers the moment to reaffirm support for fundamental freedoms and integrity in government. The choice will be there in print again in 2020. We know where Trump's base stands. Where do we stand?
An historic Blue Wave that retakes the WH & Congress in 2020 is our civic & moral responsibility. We must awaken voters across the spectrum to vote Blue.
The struggle continues. Never, ever give up. For our health & for our planet...Vote Blue!
When we put Orwell's Big Brother together with The Apprentice, & a delusional, deranged narcissist on an endless loop what do we get? Trumpocracy.
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Long live our magnificent Resistance and never forget the damage that just one con artist can inflict on our country and its democratic institutions. Thank you Michelle.
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I’m not much on this “Resistance,” stuff, because I think it’s self-glorifying, and something of an insult to women such as Sophie Scholl.
But everybody who worked hard on this, getting out and knocking on doors or doing campaign drudge-work (which is how both Hillary Clinton and Stacey Abrams started in their teens), driving somebody to the polls, showing up to vote, ought to darn proud. Heck, even millenials showed in unprecedented numbers.
It’s not just the marquee victories, or losses for that matter. It’s that John Tester struggled to victory; that that...person...Kris Kobach got whupped in a Red state; that three states voted to expand Medicaid; that that pill Rohrabacher is gone, gone, gone. It’s that the GOP lost three senior committee chairs. And then there are the State house victories, and Texas’ electing a whole passel of black women to judgeships.
And as for Florida, wait’ll those 1.2 million felons who just got their vote back show up. Heh.
But I have a stupider index of success: Trump’s shrieking petulance (he blew off a short trip to the Marine cemetary near Belleau Wood yesterday, “because it was raining”), and the frantic duck-and-cover away from reality by right wing commentators.
Boy howdy, are THEY suddenly desperate for weird straws to grasp at. We musta done good.
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I was part of the resistance, joining an action group that a very determined woman started after Trump's election. We knocked on thousands of doors to get out the vote for 3 wonderful women running for the MN House, and it felt great to be doing something positive! And it worked! We flipped the MN House. We are so optimistic going forward, and we will keep on working for a better, progressive state and country. MN returned to our blue heritage on Tuesday. Look to us to be a sanctuary state for progressive values and people. We will enact reasonable gun laws. We will preserve women's right to choose. We will offer health care for all. We will fund our schools and support our teachers. We will continue to welcome imigrants. Watch and see. We are the blue wave!
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That's all well and good but what's next. I'll tell you what and you can say you heard it here first.
As we prepare for the Republican assault on the Democrats in the effort to get Donald Trump reelected and the democrats bow down to the idea of good government this is the question that the NYYimes reporters need to ask Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi.
Your idea for an infrastructure bill is a good one. My question is your recent tax cut deal signed into law has added a reported two trillion dollars to the existing 21 trillion dollar national debt. Mr. McConnell nearly your entire caucus has signed a pledge to somebody named Grover Norquist to never raise taxes again so what is your plan to pay for this bill, sprinkle some magic fairy dust from from the "tax cuts pay for themselves" jar on the bill and say abracadabra and hope that does the trick or are you just going to pile more debt onto the national credit card?
I understand the Democrats believe in good government and the Republican Party likes the credit card but using an infrastructure bill as a cynical ploy to win reelection for the miscreant president and shove the cost down the throats of some future generation so he can have four more years is a bridge too far for me and should be for everyone.You can have tax cuts or you can have infrastructure. Only in Republican world can you get both from the actual party of freebies
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Democrats spent a lot more money on their candidates and apparently it paid off. Democrat billionaires such as Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer gave millions which made a difference. This money went toward ads which appeared frequently on the airwaves. Money talks and in this case it certainly helped. The Republicans need to start canvassing for donations to make an even playing field. They also have wealthy members and hopefully they will open their wallets and support those running in 2020. Even a small donation by ordinary Republicans can make a difference.
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Yes, you poor, poor picked on billionaires. One weeps for Trump, Adelson, Mnuchin, Wall Street, Goldman Sachs....
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Thanks for the words of hope. I am so disappointed by the lack of any clear positive message from the Dems. Their opposition is weakened by their inability to organize on a large scale. Like herding cats. It is so disheartening to me.
Huh? What Blue Wave are you referring to? Surely it's not the minor ripple last week that saw the Dems pick up a slim House majority with the party in the White House losing less House seats than Obama did in 2010 or Clinton did in 1996? The little pitter patter on the shoreline that was only possible because centrist Democrats realized the only way they could win was by NOT drinking the hard core "progressive" kool aid when they ran their campaigns you're seeing in your own mind as some sort of tidal wave? Meanwhile, the Republicans picked up seats in the Senate which is also something that doesn't usually happen for the party in the White House during a mid-term.
No one ever accused Dems of lacking imagination or not having the power of positive thinking, though.
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Aristotle is reputed to have said, “Moderation in all things.” Not now, not now. We must go forward with the attempt to free our democracy from the approaching despotism and chaos of this administration.
New York State may be an instructive example of what single party rule by Democrats might provide. A corrupt legislature overseen by a presidential aspirant routinely supported by the “paper of record,” internecine disputes between party factions, economic neglect for large portions of the state, onerous taxation, indifference to “upstate NY” save where weekend homes need to be built, and a crumbling infrastructure. NYC dwellers may bask in their moral rectitude, but the neglect of large portions of NY by the urban “elite” bodes poorly for the country if this is the “progressive” future envisioned for the rest of us.
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Ms Goldberg has mastered the new math they teach in journalism school, regrettably, it does not equate to the outcome she proposes.
In reality, the world most of us dwell in, very little has changed, as the Democrats will fall back on old habits and little of substance will be accomplished. The Democrats epitomize the fable of the scorpion and the frog, no matter how progressive Democrats believe themselves to be,in the end, it's not in their nature to accomplish much of anything. Trump will issue Presidential orders much as Obama did to achieve his goals. Democrats will go on the attack mode with Trump only to find how empty their threats of retaliation are. 2020 will roll around and the Republican will point to the economy and job creation leaving the Democrats speechless. There will inevitably be a heinous criminal act perpetrated by an illegal alien that the Republicans will point to and pounce on, forcing the Democrats to defend their grandiose position on immigration, and so the world turns.
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We will not rest until we make sure our country is back on track to be a just land and we can say we are proud to be Americans.
I cannot agree more, however, continuing to use the term "resistance" as an organizing slogan will be a yoke around the neck of progressives.
Michelle you are one of the few progressive voices who is calling what happened Tuesday what it was - a clear victory for the DNC. The Democratic Senate candidates beat the Republican Senate candidates 2-1! The fact that 40+ Republican Senators were not up for reelection is the only reason that they did not lose the Senate. Following your advice and maintaining discipline for 2 more years will lead to a Presidential and Senatorial takeover by the DNC!
Yes and no. Democrats did well in purple areas. But they were beaten decisively in several of the Red States. When they did succeed it was by traditional organizing and not by the so-called Resistance which is largely noise. Case not proved.
The term "Blue Wave" is a misnomer. For sure it wasn't pro-Democrat, since Democratic Party approval remains, despite some improvement, in the toilet. Nor was it even fundamentally anti-Trump.
It was about a public which has endured longstanding economic abuse -- still rampant despite rising employment and GDP stats -- at the hands of the super-rich, who control both parties, and who have been sabotaging the middle and lower classes getting anything but a token share of the nation's wealth.
What the public responded to was not Democrat-party progressivism, but Bernie Sanders progressivism -- the difference being that Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, et al., haven't ties to the wealthy, and so were able to offer authentic reforms, ones that offer real hope, the ones the rich block.
THIS is the wave. People voted Democrat not because they want Democrats but because the Berniecrats are there and establishment Dems are playing along. If the Pelosi bunch gets back in, the Democratic party will revert to type, push out true progressivism, and we're back where we started.
I hope Beto will run for Senate again in 2020. They say Coryn may resign, but even if he doesn't, I think he has a real shot of winning in a Presidential election year.
Trump shows he's more of a liability every day. I love that while California firefighters are risking their lives and people are dying, he's busy criticizing the state.
Outside of Trump cultists, his support is quickly eroding.
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Yep. And I figure yesterday’s charming refusal to go to the Marine cemetary at Belleau Wood, “because it’s raining,” oughta put him in solid with the VFW, don’t you?
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This is a great start but it will mean nothing if Trump is reelected. The "resistance" has to be more than simply resisting the onslaught of Trump and his minions. Democrats have to strike an effective balance of legislation and investigation. They cannot ignore one over the other. They would be wise to triangulate the issues: Where Trump and McConnell disagree (infrastructure for one), they should push for aggressive infrastructure legislation and let Trump and McConnell battle it out (a house divided against itself cannot stand). Republican candidates backpedaled on their stance on preexisting conditions. Now's the time for Democrats to call them out and propose firm legislation prohibiting insurance companies from denial of coverage and/or price gouging. Democratic leadership in the House is also constitutionally required to proceed with investigations (of corruption, collusion, obstruction) as necessary to maintain the security of this country. Even if the Mueller report demonstrates evidence of crimes and misdemeanors, impeachment should be on the table only if Democrats get a sense of bipartisan support. Trump would love nothing else than to play the martyr but he would be unable to do so if he can't demonize only Democrats.
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You sound like it's a good thing that progressives have taken over the House. Why?
Progressives say they are for gun control but progressives are the ones who are largely responsible for gun violence in this country. Progressive Democrat managed cities have the highest murder rates. Progressive liberal California has the most mass murder incidents in spite of having the most restrictive gun laws in the country. Progressives hired an incompetent fire chief who made lame excuses and lied when 36 people died in a warehouse fire as a result of negligent, non-existent fire code enforcement, and that wasn't the first fatal fire in a similar illegally occupied warehouse, that the city had inspected. Progressive managed California just had a brush fire where at least 25 people actually burned to death, immediately following another mass murder. These incidents are where the Progressives are in control, where they have the laws they want, under the control of Progressive decision makers and they still blame someone else, wanting more control over things to mismanage.
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NYC has a progressive mayor and rigorous gun control laws, and remains one of the safest large cities in America. And I would point out yhat your state has the highest per capita rate of deaths by gun violence — 10.2 oer 100,000 — of any U.S. state.
You have to say one thing for progressives, though: we don’t throw lists if random junk together, bellow it forth, and smugly sit back and tell ourselves we’ve dealt decency a crushing blow.
Jumble not, lest ye be jumbled.
Hey, wasn’t it sweet of our esteemed President to refuse to visit the graves of our Marines just below Belleau Wood yesterday “because it was raining,” and today, to make a point of shaking the hand of Vlad Putin, a KGB colonel?
This opinion piece credits a so-called blue wave to “affluent, highly educated” voters. What does that mean? Affluent means rich, having a lot of money, much wealth. Being affluent means that one has more opportunities than those who do not possess wealth; opportunities in housing, education, and healthcare, to name a few. Highly educated means to possess great knowledge. How many college degrees does it take to be highly educated? Does it require a professional degree? Why is it that the liberal media assumes that being affluent and highly educated translate into being progressive?
I believe that I qualify as an affluent, highly educated voter. I earn an income that ranks in the top 20% of Americans and I possess 2 advanced college degrees, yet I am an ardent supporter of Donald J. Trump and have been from the moment he announced his candidacy. Most of the people with whom I work and know are like me, affluent and highly educated, and they too are ardent supporters of Trump. My former liberal associates could not understand why I supported Trump, conversely, I could not understand why they supported Clinton. That's we no longer associate. To me Trump makes sense, Clinton and other progressives do not.
So, the term affluent, highly educated is meaningless and is used only to demean, marginalize, and ostracize those who are not. Well, it’s not working, as we are one in our support for Trump. Thank you.
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We Democrats tend to think of winning elections as magic wands - one wave, and all will be well. But in reality, it's more like storming a castle. This is just the first strike of the battering ram. It will take several more for the gate to fall. Then there's the struggle to take the outer courtyard, enter the castle itself, fight for each hall and room and ascend the towers, finally to take the throne itself.
Until then, the enemy will throw everything they have at us. Boiling oil (angry tweets and right wing lies), rocks and rubble (voter suppression), flaming arrows (lawsuits, stolen judgeships), etc. This is the beginning of the fight, not the end, not even the middle. It's a generational struggle and we better hunker down and start treating it like one.
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Many Americans who don't like Trump or the Republicans vote for them anyway because they can't bring themselves to vote for Democrats who favor open borders and amnesty for illegal immigrants as well as the repeal of the 2nd Amendment. I suspect many women vote Democratic because they can't vote for Republicans who want to restrict their right to make decisions about their own bodies. From what I understand, people who don't vote outnumber voters of either party. Winners in American elections tend to be the less distasteful of two bad choices. The success of the Democrats was not the embracing of Progressive values but rather the rejection of the Republicans
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That the Democrats took back the House is cause for great relief, but it was a close-run thing and nothing like the avalanche predicted by the polls. In the Senate, the low-population red states will continue to have disproportionate influence, and it will be very difficult for the Democrats to take the Senate or to defeat Trump in 2020. The Constitution gives Trump the ability to be re-elected with a minority, just as he was elected with one.
At least 40% of American voters are hard shell right wingers who don't believe in evolution, and, more importantly, don't feel like they have to believe anything based on facts and proof. They are almost monolithic in their support for whoever is the most right wing candidate, the one who tells the biggest lies the most often.
The Democrats are fragmented and just as likely to practice identity politics are the Republicans, except that the Democrats have many identities and often they are at one another's throats.
The path to victory in the future is to develop some common beliefs that will motivate people to contribute and vote. Health care may be one, gun control another, and the general loathesomeness of Trump a third. But if Democratic identity politics rules, they will lose. I will never forget the Black politician who said "What's Hillary Clinton ever done for the Blacks?" It was the harbinger of bad things to come.
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@Ken Trump was elected by less than a plurality because of the total lack of enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton and the obliviousness of most of the electorate to the extreme menace of Trumpism. In 2020 the Democrats will have a much more inspiring and younger candidate with less baggage, and far fewer will dismiss the dangers of the Don. And this is assuming that he will even be the candidate, which is far from certain. Donald Trump will be a one term aberration.
Actually if you look at 538 and the Upshot here, the House came in very much as predicted, as did the Senate. I don’t get this sort of willful refusal to read and to understand polling data, especially when it so often comes with excellent explanations of how to read—and not to read—the numbers.
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The Dems could greatly help their cause and the nation by teaching people civic values, the basics of the Constitution, check-and-balances, separation of power, the moral obligation that Courts be non-partisan, that the Repubs are trying to set up a minority-ruled One Party Nation, that citizenship and American democratic values come before your ancestry or religion or race, that elections must be fair and honest, and that they pick a candidate for the Presidency who will appeal to Independents and Moderate Republicans.
The Dems must campaign in every State and every district! Don't underestimate the wiliness and skill of the Repubs!!
Use Trump fatigue against him --- when added up 90% of the people want him to stop Twittering. Well, just let him do it and hope he does. Enough people will vote just to turf him out to turn him off.
DON'T ASSUME ANYTHING!
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I feel like I know all of you fellow commenters, no matter where you live. We are the ones who were told (even by our own local democratic parties) that we would not prevail. We were dismissed and underestimated by those on both sides. We are the quiet people, the ones who make our neighborhoods, schools and places of worship nice places to be, but have rarely been the ones activated to organize a massive movement of political action. We are terrified by Donald Trump and the tearing apart of civil society that he is ushering in. We can fight back, by electing decent, productive, kind and civil leaders. And we intend to continue to fight back, to get rid of the Trump bootlickers, and to find representation. Viva Beto!
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The primal scream of MeToo and the elite revulsion to "Trump the man," activized certain suburban voters and brought Democrats to power in the house. Ms. Goldberg and her ilk in the resistance are entitled to their victory lap. But before warming up for the total progressive takeover in 2020, she might want to pump the breaks.
For the last two years, the Trump circus has dominated the news and all Democrats could do is scream in the dark. For the next two years, there will be cameras trained on Nancy, Maxine and a host of grandstanding house committee chairman. Maxine hates Trump because she is so much like him. Not helpful to the progressive cause. Democrats will also have to contend with a clown car of Democratic presidential nominees -- Warren, Harris and Booker, in particular -- who will advance loony policy proposals that will scare away many of the well-off suburban voters who just brought Democrats their margin of victory. Me too is one thing, but wealth redistribution and single-payer healthcare are pocketbook issues, about which people ultimately vote their economic self-interest.
If Trump can keep the economy growing, get a favorable trade deal or two, make a good deal with RocketBoy, and keep ISIS in check, the suburbs will once again be fair game for Republican house and senate candidates and maybe even for a second term.
I believe Goldberg is the only remaining partisan still calling Tuesday's results a "wave." It was hardly that. Democrats performed as expected, given the history of midterms during a president's first term. Republicans still control the Senate and White House. It was a gentle snowfall, not an avalanche.
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@Ed L. A "wave election" in terms of the House is usually defined as 30+ seats flipping, which has actually happened. Technically I think 2018 is indeed a "wave" election.
I recognize there may be a need to spin out a narrative about the “Resistance” achieving a victory over evil or whatever, but let’s be honest. This was not a wave. By midterm standards, it was a pretty modest shift. Yes, capturing the House is important, but to try to pump this up the way Goldberg does reeks of a desperate need to make a small victory pay off overpromising. Sorry.
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A couple of encouraging numbers I heard about. In 2014, only 19% of millennials voted in the midterms; in favor of the Dems by +11%. This time over 30% voted, in favor of the Dems by +35%. That's extraordinary. Take heart.
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This Blue Wave should have been much larger.
We Democrats still have not won back 25% of the seats we lost nationally from 2010-2014.
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More negative effects of Mr. Trump's divisiveness: "The perils of straight-ticket voting were on full display Tuesday in Harris County [Houston Area] ... a moderate Republican who’s arguably the county’s most respected public official, was ousted ... a caring Republican jurist and former Army officer who pioneered a court that gave countless military veterans a second chance, was defeated by Democrat ... who didn’t even appear to be running a formal campaign ... this year it wasn’t just about convenience. People were fed up. In Harris, a large urban county that leans Democratic, the frustration produced a blue wave locally. Voters said they wanted to voice their outrage about the president’s divisive policies and rhetoric by punishing any incumbent who dared run under the same banner." "Harris County Democrats rode a surge in voter turnout to a decisive victory on Tuesday, unseating several countywide Republican officials ... and sweeping all 59 judicial races." (Houston Chronicle, 7Nov2018)
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You are deluding yourself.
There was no blue wave; just about every pundit, Democratic or Republican, sees it that way.
Yes, the Democrats picked up 30-40 seats, but that pales in comparison to the numbers Republicans picked up in Obama's first midterms, not to mention the number of Senate seats lost by Democrats this year.
And more interesting, many of the House Democratic pickups went to military veterans, hardly fiery progressives.
Many liberal candidates who proposed single payer health care or the abolition of ICE went down in defeat.
If you cannot face reality, you have little chance of winning back the White House in 2020.
Right now, Trump is laughing at this article, with good reason.
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I’m laughing at this article too, because your comment is absurd. I love the idea that the dems should be depressed because so many military veterans (as well as law enforcement and national security experts) now believe The Republicans are unfit for office and have decided to run as Dems.
The truth is that the national swing to the Democrats on Tuesday was larger than the Tea Party swing during Obama’s presidency.
The Republicans are destroying themselves through their own cowardice and complicity with a racist, clueless, egomaniacal fornicator squatting in Abraham Lincoln’s seat. They are losing amongst Hispanics, a majority of women hold them in contempt, and a younger generation is growing up who have a total aversion to them. There may be enough angry white people to populate Trump’s ego-massaging rallies, but they are losing the fight for the country.
Trump’s election, and the damage he is doing, is very sad, but he has awakened a generation of activists who will do what it takes to rescue the nation - and they are not going away.
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@G Fairly certain, Trump doesn't read the NYTimes.
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@James
Rescue the nation and do what with it? Give it back to the globalists and Wall Streeters that fund the Democrats?
Do that and it’s bye bye jobs, bye bye middle class, bye bye nation.
Doesn’t sound like a rescue to me.
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I read ALL the comments below and it is very refreshing for me.I will suggest that the Democrats spent more time on Fox News and also read the comments from the famous "base of Trumpist".There is nothing you can do with those ones and you have to choose your battles wisely.Remember how Trump get a win against the "blue wall" with the help of Cambridge Analytica and his differentmesssages address to each specific group of voters. The way to do politic is changing and the Democrats shall retake the Agenda.Best,one of your friends.
If one wishes to believe that there was a blue wave, that is good. Positive thinking is always the better way. The problem is Democrats have no potential presidential candidate that can beat Trump in 2020 unless someone one new pops up pretty soon.
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Governing is harder than running the government. Remember Obama, won the presidency, the house, the Senate and then lost massively everywhere in 2010 giving republicans control of state houses, gerrymandering and now Trump.
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I'm happy we seem to be working through the shock of so much bad faith misbehavior in recent years - and removing offenders.
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1. There was no "blue wave."
2. Truly progressive Democrats are like a thimbleful of grains of sand on an extensive beach whose contours may temporarily shift with an isolated wave, but that ultimately returns to the same overall configuration.
3. Just as climate-change-driven rising oceans will truly reconfigure said beach, it would require such massive energy to move the Democratic Party away from the vise-grip of its corporate puppet masters.
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Yes it's great that the opposition to Trump and the extreme right succeeded in taking back the house, more women politicians, more dem-governors, etc.
But get real - the Republicans have been, as one comment wrote, relentless, relentlessly working on their goals of taking over government for 30 years. They have made huge 'progress' in weakening regulations of all kinds, gerrymandering, etc. A couple of years of fighting back from the dems against 30 years of careful planning......
This blue wave is a great start, but it is a ripple, not a wave. It is just the tip of the iceberg in the amount of work and resistance that will need to be done in order to first pull government and society back from the brink of fascism, and then to truly win back democracy.
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@anon
I'm a very strong DJT and Ted Cruz supporters and I don't see it that way. I see both parties squandering opportunity after opportunity.
The only reason the GOP was restructured after 2008 was the dems and Obama pushing Obama-care. That caused many middle of the road dems to lose in many elections.
Immigration reform is a joke, The top dogs in both parties want it passed but the voters don't (with good reason). The voters (in both parties) don't want an open border where someone can show up, claim asylum. Build the wall, give the immigration courts the manpower to process asylum requests in weeks and not years. Allow temp visas for seasonal work, end the anchor baby policy and then both parties can argue about numbers of legal immigrants to be allowed.
End chain migration and refugees that have no job skills. We have enough poor people in our country that could use help before importing poor people.
1
When Plan A (a slow establishment give away of our national wealth and sovereignty to global corporations) overreaches and loses elections, the global billionaires make lemons into lemonade with Populism and hate.
White Supremacist Populism is the Plan B financed by the the mega-rich when their fake, "centrist" establishment discredits itself by constantly putting global corporations ahead of the 60% of the country that works for a living. Populism and white supremacy are a bait and switch operation. They offer scapegoats and fake solutions to symptoms of the disease, but while everyone is concentrating on hate and terror by the far right, and "blowing up" international trade agreements then signing them with a new name (but no significant changes to help workers, consumers, or the environment) massive tax cuts for the rich and mass deregulation are pushed through as quietly as possible.
The actual disease, the cause of the symptoms, is that we have replaced markets as studied and described by Adam Smith and the other Classical economists, by Neo-Classical economics and Capitalism.
Neo-Classical economics just announces without evidence that all of the details and caveats described by Classical economics can be thrown away.
Capitalism (not the same as markets, and not in the Constitution) puts machinery and the 1% that own 75% of it above the general welfare and most of the rest of the Constitution.
The establishment and the right are extreme.
The Constitution is left.
1
The conservative Republican Party of the 50’s and 60’s is dead. What is left is some libertarian types and the radicals. The Trumpublican party is not conservative, it is radical. They are not for conserving but are for radically changing our ethos to the Hobbesian notion that life is short, brutal, and difficult. Certainly not a life that most of us aspire to.
Think globally act locally.
Amy Klobuchar for President.
5
Trumpism offers cronyism as a pathway to security.
1
In "Dark Money" by Jane Mayer the forces behind the GOP are primarily the Koch brothers as well as their partners. They have spent millions on elections from state houses in every state to federal elections. All of this to further their agenda, to make money from their industries, fossil fuels. But your article is encouraging. We must be eternally vigilant and protect our democracy from the forces which are determined to destroy our country as we know it.
I am anxious for the Mueller report to appear, hopefully with a conclusion that is an indictment of our current "president".
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@Jordan Davies: Now is the time for Mueller to either lay down his cards or fold.
Thank you, Michelle, for putting the midterms in the proper context. Much appreciated and hopeful.
6
Local candidates and advocates go to church gatherings, high school football games, anywhere that voters are, and talk to people without the filter of Fox News, CNN, or MSNBC. They talk without the label of liberal or conservative, environmentalist or farmer, urban or rural but as neighbor and, often, friend.
Howard Dean fought for a fifty state strategy that focused on competing everywhere, of harnessing the energy of the local. Obama, before he was president, tapped this energy to achieve a fantastic, improbable victory.
In response to both of those efforts, the Democratic Party leadership, folks like Rahm Emanuel, argued that money would just be thrown away in Quixotic campaigns. Each time they sidelined the energetic movements, said leave it to the professionals.
So now, my question is "Will the Democratic Party establishment once more snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?"
5
@rbitset: Chances are the Republicans will fund another Dick Gephardt to take down the next Howard Dean.
If I take anything away from this election it is the defeat of Scott Walker in Wisconsin. Walker and almost all republicans hate public education. If people become educated they might realize that supporting the GOP is supporting an agenda that is overwhelmingly against their own interest.
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@Chris For anyone dealing daily with the products of our K-12 schools, i.e. first-year college students, it is logical and natural to criticize public education. Grotesquely, idiots will libel this as "hating public education. This is blindness combined with lunacy.
4
"Blue wave?" Please! More like a ripple. Anecdotes are great but data tells the tale. Simply compare the results to 2010. The most exciting elections are yet to come, as Pelosi/Hoyer etc try desperately to avoid being pushed off a cliff by the wavelets.
~36 seats gained in the house
~5 seats lost in the senate
That is is not a blue wave
The Dems did actually slightly worse than normal in a midterm.
And the seats they won were mostly in the burbs with super moderate Democrats, not ultra progressives.
@Michael Fesser: The odds were stacked against the Democrats simply because two thirds of the seats at stake were Democratic.
1
Not much of a wave at all. While I am happy with some of the results, I'm still stunned it wasn't more..... How did the Dems not take the senate too?
If Beto runs for president, I'd like him to think of opposites when debating Mr. Hate-Speak. "Unlike my opponent, I prefer to bring the country together and hire qualified Americans to strengthen the United States here and around the world rather than hiring and firing at record speed those who you knew would benefit the few."
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Reading your piece on "The Resistance Strikes Back I found myself agreeing with most of your column and encouraged by the potential of people working to reverse the republican take over of our government at both state and federal levels. I wish that you had not chosen to go down the "Trumpian" path of nasty and rude descriptors of a president you do not agree with... "a president whose bottomless depravity" and the "civic nightmare of Trumpism". These phrases are far too reminiscent of Trump himself and the charged language he uses to dismiss others and ideas he dislikes. All parties have begun to spiral down when describing opponents and positions with whom they disagree. This adds to the incivility that is rampant in this country. I fear that we are beginning to take for granted that people do not need to behave respectfully even when they have very strong feelings against another position or person. I don't think the supporters of Trump were the "deplorables". I fear that we will soon take for granted that mass shootings are the new normal. I think all of us would do well to choose our words carefully and reject the notion that words are only words. Intolerant and disparaging words lead to intolerant and disparaging actions.
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@Bonnie: A gulf of incomprehension lies between those who see life as a zero sum game and those seek outcomes where everyone wins.
Lots of back patting today, but the country is still severely divided. Dems can't count on anti-Trump sentiment for more than 2 more years, so building a wider constituency is necessary for longer success.
2
I think it is a great mistake by the DFL to assume that they must run centrist candidates in red states. What the heck is a centrist but someone more like the people you don't want than the people you do want. I believe this strategy is also a type of voter suppression because many people are just not given a real choice. The press for it's part fears a more socialist government as much as corporations and the 1%. Some of that is loyalty to the corporate ownership of politics and some is selfish desire to expand their own "portfolios". There will be twenty or so GOP senate seats up for grabs next time. Can the DFL find twenty Betos or Abrams'. I hope so. The candidates need to stand on their principles and not apologize. Trying to be what the middle of the road wants just looks weak and sniveling.
4
@Chris: The US is evidently both anti-liberal and anti-social, going by how these words are commonly used.
1
Trump and his Republican Party are in for the fight of their lives in 2020.
I confidently predict they will lose.
6
the worst 25% of the country have been gathered by the republicans, amplified, motivated, and promoted non stop on their media networks
but there are more of us
5
The price of liberty is vigilance! No one gives political power, it must be taken. The wealthy have a great advantage in keeping power, but we can continue the struggle, and who knows, perhaps one day the people will run the country!?!?
1
@tbs: It depends on whether money or knowledge is more essential.
It was absolutely brilliant of Democratic strategists to get Trump elected in 2016 so they could take advantage of the natural pendulum swing the other direction in 2018.
Great job activists; hope you can repeat your success in 2020 so you can pick up seats in 2022.
2
@JBen: Justice will evidently get benched in the meantime.
"In many places Democrats had neglected local organizing, allowing the party to wither at the state and local level." If you don't care about something, or someone, you let it wither. Thinking that this neglect "just happens" is to deny agency. The Democratic Party Establishment's decision at the national level to neglect organizing at the local and state level wasn't an accident, but rather a conscious choice, a policy born of their contempt for the people their neglect would harm and informed by the Democratic Party Establishment's unwavering belief in TINA (There Is No Alternative), leading them to think that the American people HAVE to vote for whatever lame, corporatist candidate they put up, no matter how unrepresentative of our best interests at the local level. Globalism, anyone? Socialism for Wall Street and the party's Donor class, capitalism for the rest of us, anyone? Endless wars, anyone? TTIP, anyone? Well, guess what? The Democratic Party Establishment’s four decade long neglect of the Bottom 90% of America has not been without consequences, and one of those consequences is Trump. You reap what you sow. Our saving grace as a country? TINA is wrong. We have alternatives. Now we just need to act on this knowledge, unless we want more Trumps and worse.
4
@Greg Gerner: The Koch Kabal has consistently funded a career-building pathway for those who choose to advocate for them. Democratic Party funding is sporadic at best.
1
But...but...Jake Tapper said it wasn't a Blue Wave. Then other pundits said it wasn't a Blue Wave. And before them, Trump said, and still insists, it was not a Blue Wave.
Yes, yes, I see the numbers and results, but why should I be swayed by actual data when Trumpublican talking points are available and being repeated?
Hey, just asking...
4
From the Women's March through fight for the A.C.A. to the March for Our Lives it was fairly obvious that the 'Electoral 9/11' known as Trump Administration, like 9/11 could never happen again. It's really very simple math. There are more Democrats than Republicans, all they have to do is vote.
2
This is a great and needed article!
Politics is rarely an immediate gratification business. Years of groundwork builds long term success.
And I agree that the millions spend on the Beto run were not wasted. It probably led to more than a few Democratic Congressional seats in Texas. And it registered millions of new voters who aren't going anywhere.
Onward to 2020!!!!
5
Resistance? Blue wave? Then why did voters leave the Senate in the hands of the GOP? By keeping a Republican Senate, voters made it very clear that they approve of the direction in which the country is headed. Trump continues to have free rein to do as he pleases, protected by his complicit Senate, and a majority of voters are fine with that. It's unlikely the newly Democratic House will have much effect. They will get bogged down with health care legislation or infrastructure, or with the useless exercise of impeachment, while the Senate will continue to protect Trump. At most, the resistance spoke only in a whisper.
18
@Ms. Pea One word: gerrymandering.
16
@Ms. Pea the 35 seats up had many in deep red states so taking the Senate was never a reality. Twenty-twenty is a different matter.
19
@Ms. Pea: After adjustment for where the votes were cast, the majority usually loses in the US.
18
Americans need to grasp that government is a natural product of social evolution that transcends the deaths of individual human beings. It is not an enemy. It is a tool of security. There are many goals and tasks that are not profitable to entrepreneurs because the payouts are too far into the future. Government, on the other hand, can afford to invest in things like public health and education from the beginning of life through the 20 some years it takes a person to become a fully productive adult. The private sector has a short time horizon. The public sector has an open-ended time horizon.
4
A good start. All Democrats, independants and former Republicans who still have a sense of decency, must get out and let the GOP know what we think of their new party. If we want our way of life to survive, as conservatives and liberals alike, we must band together to vote these "individuals" out of office.
5
Eight years of progressive politics under President Obama brought us the election of Donald Trump. The people were not happy with the direction that the country had taken and wanted a change. The country was becoming too liberal and they were dissatisfied with many of the policies that the Democrats had passed. Mid America and the rural areas felt disenfranchised and ignored and wanted new blood. In President Trump they found their voice and hope for a better tomorrow. Many have gotten their wish. Mr. Trump has fulfilled many of his campaign promises. He is not finished. He will continue to make America great.
The Democrats should be very careful and not go back to their former ways of leftist politics or they will find themselves unpopular with the American voters. Yes they won many elections but the Republicans did not do too badly either. They kept predicting they would lose some seats which they did but all hope it not lost. They gained in the senate and they may still win some more seats once all the votes have finally been counted. Two years until the next election may seem a distance away but time goes fast. America is not a liberal country and I predict that the Republicans will gain more seats in the 2020 elections. The liberals won in the more progressive parts of the country but they do not represent the majority of Americans. They are more of the middle of the road and they must not be overlooked. They have a voice too.
1
@WPLMMT Well and reasonably stated. I did not vote for Trump or the other one who, for different reasons, was not palatable to me. Trump is offensive in many ways. He deserves some credit but not all that much. Like a Republican, he took office and neutered many of the regulatory agencies which is dangerous in the long run. The economy is largely the result of an ill advised tax cut. I am convinced that Republican strategy includes leaving large deficits in order to tie the hands of future democrats. I am not entirely against such a strategy though more must be done to create and strengthen a middle class which has been a characteristic of successful countries. Wealth inequality is a problem. Subtle changes to the income tax code could address at least some of this. The loophole that allows hedge funds to treat what is essentially wage income as capital gains is an outrage and as fine an example of government unduly influenced by money as there is. Mortgage deductions should be limited to a reasonable amount as it is a tax shelter unlimited. Having said this, I'd like to see a lot less government employees with pensions and jobs that are not guaranteed but based on performance but that will never happen. I worked once for a state agency and was appalled at the widespread lack of commitment to quality of work, where so many are there to sprint out the door at 5 and get their pensions. Fewer beauracracies would mean less regulation which I also favor.
@WPLMMT
For 40 years the Republic Party has been tilting to the furthest Right Wing Nuttiness of their fringe while the Democrats have been hellbent to follow them to the Right. The majority of Americans want to live in a Center LEFT country. If all Americans voted this would be impossible to ignore.
1
I was surprised by the Democratic victory in the House. Pleasantly surprised. Here in Tucson, we are waiting for the results in the Arizona Senate race and I hope to be pleasantly surprised again.
The "resistance" came through. Did the hard work. Signed on and ran for seats the Democrats had conceded for far too long as the party withered before a better organized but less popular opposition.
Now it is time for the reckoning and the acknowledgment of the incredible work and passion of the women and others who fought so hard to pull off a great win. The Democratic leadership has quite a few chits to repay in the form of committee assignments and financial support of those who pulled the party from the flames.
I'm an Arizona independent and expect to see progress with a capital P in the coming year. I voted straight D for the first time since 1968. Please Dems, do not take my vote for granted and do not assume I will follow suit in 2020. If the party goes back to business as usual, so will I and, I expect, many other members of the "resistance."
6
America yearns, not for resistance, but an idealistic yet stable foundation for Democracy.We need leadership that is both visionary yet pragmatic, that understands the need for a strong economy combined with respect and support (opportunity) for the average worker. This perspective recognizes that a modest tax cut for small to medium size business last year would have been a good idea (Obama proposed it) but that the deficit buster that passed was an insult to the average American. This balanced leadership understands the need for a minimum wage at about $12.50 – not the levels that will stall job growth (like the finatics of the right claim). This balanced leadership recognizes that America must lead the world in science and technology but recognizes that the human resources necessary to do this are woefully under supported in the US. This balanced leadership recognizes that regulation can take on a life of its own and go too far but also understands strong “safety valves” are necessary to avoid a Gulf Oil Spill or Financial meltdown every other year. This leadership acknowledges the complex world we are immersed in and recognizes that we must have both public and private sectors that can cope with its scope and magnitude. Most of all this new vision engages the electorate at all levels and encourages community and national dialog and cooperation.
3
After reading this article I was reminded of the Harvard Business School report I recently heard about from Michael E. Porter, the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor, and co-author Katherine Gehl, which is a fascinating look at our government through the lens of business and how the 2 party system has become a duopoly that the founders feared might happen. The most important take away is the need to move to a ranked based voting system like the state of Maine has already done. It pushes back against the duopoly by eliminating the "spoiler' role of possible 3rd party candidates. Especially in the Primaries where the party extremes get pushed to the fore. This along with non-partisan redistricting is I believe what activists should work towards. As it turns out, as Michelle points out, Tuesday was a pretty good day after all, and this freaked out progressive is starting to see maybe just a little sunlight through the very fine cracks.
9
It doesn't matter whether it is called a blue trickle or a blue wave. What matters is that Democrats have control of the House in Washington and many more seats in state legislatures nationwide. Trump can no longer claim all three branches of government as his.
We worked hard in our corner of SC, but didn't win any seats. However, we raised our visibility exponentially, which will help us in the next election. Sooner or later we will prevail, even in this blood-red state where so many are still fighting the civil war.
12
The resistant may have struck back but it is the Republicans that shot themselves in the foot by trying to repeal Obamacare without a better alternative. Also, Paul Ryan leaving and 25+ other comrades leaving congress for private sector as well as some of the Republicans in blue states being unable to put a reasonable fight, the loss of congress was imminent.
The democrats have a new leash on governing and doing their best for the people. Either that leash can be used for passing reforms and doing their part for improving the lot of voters or the same leash will get used to hang them. The choice is clear make the best of the opportunity to serve or meet the same fate as the Republicans who lost their congressional seat.
1
I think any blue wave is attributable to the awfulness of Republicans rather than any message from the Democrats.
That said, my state largely reelected / elected Republicans at the same time they approved progressive initiatives like expanding Medicaid and medical marijuana.
Hint to Utah: if you want an initiative enacted, it pays to vote for the people that support it. The difference between Mitt Romney and his opponent was their stances on these initiatives. Romney doesn't support either.
6
@Mel These results aside, nothing will keep the Republicans from continuing their “awfulness” and there will be a repeat performance in 2020.
I congratulate the Democrats, but WHAT RESISTANCE?
All I ever heard every day, day in and day out was:
Trump, disgusting Trrump, lies, more lies, trump, trump, scandal, more trump and trump,insults, racism, more racism, and more lies!
If this was "The Resistance" for the Democrats, then they better crawl out of their holes in the ground and start preparing for 2020!
They are much too nice in this "war" and need to fight the Republicans and vile trump on a harder and rougher level!
4
@Bismarck - Thank you and hope you intend to run again. The loss of Senator Heitkamp will be felt since she is a someone who has the courage of her convictions. No doubt the attempts at suppressing the Native American vote were a factor in the outcome.
8
As a metaphor maybe a wave isn’t the best describing the election results as they still unfold.
Perhaps a cresting river is as appropriate— instead of a wave crashing upon the shore, wiping out all in its way, this blue river is like any other river — like raindrops, the many millions of voters merged into trickles, then larger streams & now a great river ready to crest above flood level with more seats added to total each day.
With Florida recounts, and perhaps a Georgia runoff, it might spill over the banks and across the land. There’s hope.
I switched the channel to Casablanca somewhat early into Tuesday evening’s media election fest. I was bummed by James Carvelle’s depressing assessment that there being not much of a wave after all. At least with Casablanca, my soul was soothed with a story where the good guys won in the end. I understand I wasn’t the only one.
6
An interesting piece but it seems to ignore that politics is more like a pendulum than a wave that goes on indefinitely. When it becomes apparent to the majority that one party isn't getting the job done another party leapfrogs it. Also, things are not black and white but rather, shades of gray. People are consistently inconsistent and can often have mixed views not to mention shifting priorities. You might have someone who supports universal health care and social programs but yet who is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment; or, vice versa. Those who are not fans of Mr. Trump cheer that control of the House has changed, but don't take into account that the GOP has a tighter lock on the Senate which means that Trump can make virtually any appointment requiring Senate confirmation he pleases, including to SCOTUS where appointments are for life. It seems that no party has all the answers nor perfect solutions. Rather the pendulum swings back and forth like the eternal ebb and flow of the sea. Political congratulations are therefore not in order.
3
@Mike
Maybe not for you, but many of us are incredibly grateful that the dems took back the house. Wave, pendulum, or river, it doesn't really matter to me at this point in time.
And if you look at the changing demographics, the pendulum may be on the liberal side for a while, despite the Republican attempts to control voting and voting outcomes.
6
@Mike
The problem is not "support" of the 2nd amendment but its free interpretation, including unlimited private access to guns with fire-power unimaginable in the 18th century. There can be little doubt we would be better off without it and simply allow citizens to own and use sporting guns and rifles subject to registration and checks for fitness to use - just like cars and driving licenses.
2
Yeah, I'm optimistic. Democrats did really well, but because a few stars didn't make it, the media is trying to portray it as disappointing.
It's okay, let the Republicans understimate us for 2020.
13
Down here in Texas, the results were just as devastating for the GOP on whole. The media has mainly been focused on Ted Cruz's victory over Beto O'Rourke, but in nearly every other race, the results were decidedly more grim.
First, the GOP lost two of the state's most stalwart U.S. House districts in Houston and Dallas -- including that of House Rules Committee Chair Pete Sessions. Both of these districts had been under uninterrupted GOP control since 1966. In 2016 Sessions was deemed such a shoo-in for victory that no Democrat even bothered running against him. Further, the incumbents lost *despite* Republicans having gerrymandered the state's House districts along partisan lines to an extent bordering on farce.
At the state level, the picture was nearly as grim: nearly every Republican on the statewide ballot won with only 50.5% to 52% of the vote -- including the state's lieutenant general and attorney general, both of whom won by 20+ points four years earlier. And while Republicans retained control of the state legislature, each of the races for it was more competitive than at any point in the previous 25 years -- again, despite being heavily gerrymandered.
Nevertheless, Republicans here are focusing on little more than Ted Cruz's win, and willfully ignoring the carnage elsewhere in the state's elections. I can't even think of a better example of failing to see the forest through the trees.
22
Resistance is a dumb term picked up by the never Trump crowd. These victories were anti-Trump but they weren't part of corporate medias rage against Trump's win over the ill fated poorly organized Hillary Clinton campaign. The Russia stole the election clap trap and the Kavanaugh shriek from the Democrats actually helped the Red State crew pick up two senate seats. That said at least the Democrats now have a platform to slow down the Trump fascist momentum.
2
Most Americans do not understand the profound difference between parliamentary government and the US system of representation. Here in the US, the geographic range of every vote is limited. Under the parliamentary system, every vote has nation implications. Under the parliamentary system, people vote for the political party that most closely represents their interests, and the national vote decides which party are parties will staff a government after an election.
Whether or not one has a vote with national implication makes all the difference in the world of democracy.
6
For effective organizing, look no further than across the Hudson. New Jersey flipped four out of four House races, on the heels of electing one of the nation's most progressive governors (Phil Murphy) last year.
NJ has gone, in a few years, from a Republican governor and a six-six division of House seats to a progressive Democrat and only one Republican in the House. Organizations like Blue Wave in northern Jersey, a grassroots progressive group that works very, very hard every day, are responsible for many of these gains. And the victories came not only from far left types, but by hard working centrists (the divisions between those groups also is vastly overblown, they argue and dispute but eventually work together.)
20
As an Independent I am really interested to see what legislative proposals come out of the House. This is their opportunity to show what they stand for and how they'd pay for it, as opposed to simply what they are against. Trump is not a Republican that is tied to their historical positions on many issues so lots of possibilities. Trump used the R party as a vessel to come to power. He will do deals with them. I hope they seize the opportunity.
3
This feel-good narrative about a ragtag, noble resistance taking on a sinister supreme leader and his authoritarian empire may please many NYT readers. But it's complete fantasy. These "democratic" institutions that are supposedly saving society like Celtic monks in the dark ages ACTUALLY protect the ruling establishment and status quo (which is NOT good for most, i.e. median income, Americans). The liberal elite (in contrast to working class progressives) continuously delude themselves that Trump was supported by the Republican establishment before (or even once) he got in office. This falsehood allows many fantasy narratives. While affluent liberals may not like much of their country's people and places, democracy DID speak in 2016. The many "have-nots" of our society found a voice in Bernie Sanders - and Donald Trump - who were both enemies of their respective parties. If Hillary Clinton managed to get elected THAT would have been an assault to democracy. Since the election, Trump has been vilified by the educated elite and, not surprisingly, garnered the support of the Republican establishment - who represent working class interests even less than the Democrat establishment. But Republicans are learning from Trump and are changing; they are not in denial. The Democrats could regain the support of the working class (and much more easily) if they drop their false narratives, assuming they WANT to share their party with underprivileged white Americans....
8
@carl bumba I cannot say anything that tops this excellent writing; my issue is trade, supported Bernie then Trump.
1
@mptpab
Thanks, I got lucky. Yes, trade... I think local (not global) commerce is the key to many of our problems.
@mptpab - How's that working for you? Take a look at the Business section to see the impact of the tariffs.
2
“The democratic institutions that should have thwarted an authoritarian demagogue like Trump had failed, said Ezra Levin.”
This is the kind of statement that is often heard from resistance types. What does this mean? They make it seem like the people who voted for trump don’t count and had no reason to vote for him. What democratic institution should have stopped trump? (Evidence based responses only please)
8
@Chris
"What democratic institution should have stopped trump? (Evidence based responses only please)"
The electoral college. It was put in place to prevent a demagogue ascending to the presidency. It didn't, so it's an institution that should disappear.
1
The House of Representatives???
How about the cowards in the Republican Congress who enable this clown?
1
If you look at the details, it is clear that Jon Ossoff lost because the horrible weather that day kept voters from turning out to vote for him in Dekalb County.
Macbeth won by 22,000 votes and all of it came from Dekalb County.
3
Grass-roots campaigns featuring qualified (sane) candidates who were organized and unafraid worked coast-to-coast last Tuesday. Women were far more courageous than most of the men, uncowered by NRA threats and loudmouth Trump loyalists, the moral equivalent at times of sports stadium drunks.
20
Many Republicans, in Trump, made a deal with the devil.
They got their tax cut and two Supreme Court seats.
But, they've so alienated about 60 to 65 percent of the electorate who, for the next generation, will vote for anyone other than a Republican.
Not only in their tax cut for the rich did they mortgage away the futures of our children and grandchildren, they mortgaged away the Republican Party.
32
Progressives need to ask themselves, “Why was Archie Bunker such a ‘lovable’ character?”
Therein lies Trump’s charm (to his base).
Trump exudes the fear and dread that his base embodies.
FDR once quipped, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” That’s probably true - from a distance. But when you’re in the grips of panic, you fear losing everything.
It’s that fear that Trump feeds. How do you defeat the politician who gives the people what they want and has an endless reserve of fear to peddle?
Answer: you don’t.
Pundits wondered why Trump wasn’t selling a positive message of economic gains. Trump rightly saw that a 1% drop in the unemployment rate since February 2017 (coupled with a trillion dollar tax cut) wasn’t as exciting as hordes of migrants rushing towards the U.S. border.
And the media, for its part, showed the hordes.
That kind of boundless messaging with the free video images is a recipe for a victory in 2020.
5
Spot on. And what two single-issue issues speak better to fear than guns and religion--the foundation of today's TrumRepublican party.
This would be a great moment for American Democracy if only we did not have to deal with Trump every day. With the Senate and Executive Branch still in the hands of fascists, I know the Resistance will stay strong. I hope the DNC has learned its lesson. The Fear Politics of the Right is much too powerful, and the electorate is much too uneducated, for Democrats to assume that sound policy and human decency will win the day. Democrats need to fight to gain even more power.
10
Ms Goldberg, your use of the phrase "bottomless depravity" is a perfect description of Trump's state.
The fact that a President can tweet that he may withhold federal funds to a state that is presently suffering the ravages of raging fires is something that even a diehard supporter has to question.
Or maybe not. Those supporters who remain also seem to be demonstrating their bottomless depravity these days. What else can you call it?
18
The press was bored with the outcome because they couldn’t generate big money making headlines. They gave it short shrift because it didn’t hit their sensationalistic nerve. Their boredom is dangerous. It keeps people on the edge from joining. As long as Trump continues to demean women, African Americans, Jews, Hispanics, American Indians, our cherished institutions, the constitution, the list goes on.....right minded patriotic people will quietly gather to fight him at the polls. That is the revolution. I’m proud of my fellow Americans who kicked the wind out of Trump and voted for democrats. Keep up the good work. As for the press, please quit focusing only on the big story. The resistance is built race by race, person by person. We can get it done.
13
This is all well and good until the people have had enough on either side and fight back. This could become ugly. No wonder the left would like to get a hold of your guns. Without guns the politicians make the decisions no matter what the people want. Great! Wonderful! The ideal country.
1
@Chris Anderson - Hogwash. Most right wingers wouldn't pick up a fly swatter much less a gun when it comes to taking any real action and even if they were stupid enough to try something a drone strike would take them out.
1
Let's not squander what we have gained. If the Dems don't come up with a really workable health plan, sensible climate change policy and environmental controls, a fix for our lousy education system, a long-range infrastructure repair program and tax rates that meet the needs of good government without enriching the rich while gouging the middle class, Trump will be re-elected in 2020 and will continue to Make America Grate Again.
8
@Christy Hillary had all those, a pragmatic, boring plan towards more progressive policies.
People aren't swayed by plans, sadly.
@Christy
That's a lot to ask in less than two years!
I think it's those blue sunglasses people in the beltway wear. I'm a moderate who voted for Obama the first time and Clinton this time, and I'm looking at the same data and seeing just appallingly-minor increases by Democrats. Why are you celebrating? What a danger that is.
5
@anonymouse
I would not consider 35 to 40 House seats, nor 300+ Statewide/Governorship gains as minor.
I will concede it is a first step in taking back the country, but no one is suggesting that we are going to give up now.
18
@anonymouse I'm a mostly liberal Democrat who has political PTSD from these past two awful years, and I am celebrating. About 8% more of my fellow citizens cast votes for Democrats for the House than Republicans, and, despite all the gerrymandering, that resulted in about the same percentage of House seats going Democrat.
For once, Representative democracy worked, and an ignorant, erratic authoritarian will get some checks and balances that were utterly absent from a sold-out and spineless GOP.
1
Somebody finally got the story right about this election. Michelle, glad that it was you. And, no, we’re not stopping.
12
This "resistance" is a fantasy built on civic ignorance.
The way to reverse an electoral setback in a democracy is to make the case publicly for the government policies desired, and to organize to win back control at future elections. Not to play "resistance" ala Star Wars.
Running against the most corrupt, dishonest and incompetent presidential administration in US history, the Democratic Party's 2018 campaign was largely a flop; the House was retaken by a narrow margin, and control of a few state governments flipped, but many other races were lost, and Republicans gained in many rural states. Voter turnout was way below that of 2016. The Democratic "wave" was a ripple despite out fund-raising the Republicans.
This result is, alas, par for the course for the tokenist Democratic establishment whose last legacy is one of feeling-good "resisting" while losing, fumbling, and typically hardly even trying. If the party control of the White House were reversed, Republicans would have millions of people in the streets by now demanding impeachment of a president whose offenses make those of Clinton in 1999 seem trivial in comparison. Trump is even worse than Nixon, who was forced to resigned under threat of impeachment. It is pointless to expect Republicans to act against Trump, even though he had only a minority of voters supporting him in the 2016 primaries, as long as the Democrats mount only a feeble and token opposition.
8
@Sage Your glass is clearly half empty. Some of us are just glad to have some cool, fresh water.
>
Yes, but DJT still enjoys rising poll #s.
The 2020 election will be a nail biter due to the elector college, and rogue third party candidates.
Look for Gary Johnson to get back in as a stringer funded by the GOP promising free weed this time.
And then there is the mother of all spoilers, Bernie Sanders.
2020 will be very close, and there is no room for mistakes, your dreams, your wants.
The side that makes the fewest idiotic moves will win.
The advantage is always to the incumbent, and many party(s) have won the mid-term only to lose the WH and vice versa for that matter; that is, the mid-term is a bad predictor.
Enjoy for a minute, then drop the optimism.
7
@Prometheus Making predictions of events two years from now is a fool’s errand. The Trump presidency has more twists and turns than The Perils of Pauline.
This op-ed is only an opinion; the opinion of one person. Not everyone shares this opinion. The Left needs to understand that writing about left-wing ideas and perspectives over and over does not make them so and never will. If they ever do prevail, the American electorate will tolerate their nonsense for a short time before returning to common sense.
America's last embrace with left-wing radicalism was from 2009 to 2017, during the administration of Barrack Obama. As a result of the direction he led the nation, Americans especially those living outside of the cities voted for Donald J. Trump to be the president, they could not continue with the hyper-left-wing politics of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Rural Americans, who had been marginalized and disparaged for 8 years, who wished to save what was left of their battered communities, made the Right choice in November 2016.
Now the left-wing wants America to believe that a blue wave, a blue tsunami, will wash away the progress made since 2017. Well, it won't; the election of the radical left will only be a temporary obstacle, but one which will strengthen the resolve of President Trump and his supporters, of which I am one. We stand as one! MAGA! Thank you.
10
@Southern Boy - There has been no progress. Our schools are being dumbed down and neglected, affordable health care is in jeopardy, our air and water is being poisoned, our civil rights are being threatened and our allies are being alienated.
Trump's days are numbered.
2
@Southern Boy The views you hold standing in an island of the reactionary beliefs of your beloved CSA will not resist the rising waters of a new generation who have no use for bigotry and intolerance. Barack Obama in terms of economic and military policies governed from the center right. That you believe that he is a radical left-wing extremist only demonstrates that you have never met one. On the other hand, your ideas are clearly on the other edge ready to fall off a cliff. Thank you.
2
THANK YOU! Thank you, Ms. Goldberg, but especially thanks to all the millions of people across this country fighting for a new America. You are building the nation I want my son to live in.
12
So we end up with Trump, which is like getting gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe. And that gum turns out to be that old Black Jack brand that no one really liked and was discontinued, but is brought back every decade or two to remind us we shouldn't have bought it in the first place.
But back to that gum on your shoe: It's annoying and hard--very hard--to get rid of. Gum will take more than one election cycle to get rid of. Some will scrape and clean until it's gone; some will just keep walking until it wears away; some will get used to the sticking sound of each step. But everyone--at least for a short time--will be
careful where they step.
9
Thank you, progressives, and thank you, smart strong women. But you must realize that, if that is all the Democratic party represents, we will be where Trump and his gang are: stuck in the 40-45% range and perpetually losing power to a minority of the population who has seized it and is clinging to it for dear life (until we seize it back and do the same).
Progressive voters must unite with moderates and develop a positive and inclusive message of both substance and style. We must be for all Americans, not just "the poor," "the middle class," this or that minority. We must positively appeal to the middle-road mainstream as well as those on its shores, embracing all classes, colors and faiths (or lack of same) who just want to live the American dream as Superman described it in the old TV show: "truth, justice and the American way" (but without the jingoism). We want the best America, not just a "better" one. This is the message that can reach the disaffected Trump voters, one backed by action and accomplishments, not just anger. First, succeed politically; we won power - let's govern. This election was a good start, and has given us momentum, but we will lose that momentum and its accompanying good will if we squander it on internal bickering. Democrats have done that before. Let's learn from history (unlike Republicans) and not repeat it.
9
Resistance isn't progress, it's just resistance. And until Dems decide what they can do other than make everything about Trump, their gains in the House will be very temporary and their goal for loftier political gains will not materialize.
10
@M1
People continue to make the mistake that ''resistance'' is only one sided - it is an ALL of the above strategy.
Ms. Pelosi will be (again) the most effective Speakers of the House ever, and will show the country that Democrats can govern, while republicans will only obstruct.
We (Liberals) are for the people, while republicans are for only their pocket books.
Glad to be of help.
9
@M1 Trump is a catalyst; he is not the reason behind the movement. Trump is the embodiment of everything that is wrong with this country: white privilege at it's most inept, with cronyism and corruption that makes government work only for the rich. If you think the anti-Trump message is the only one propelling people to the polls, you are sadly mistaken. Democrats have been running on gun control, on Medicare for All, on boosting the minimum wage, on climate change regulation, and on reducing the cost of higher education. These are all things young people and the working class care about. You'll note that all those battleground rust-belt states that voted for Trump in 2016 went back to their Democratic roots in the mid-terms. Why? Because they voted for Trump out of desperation, only to quickly realize they were sold a bill of goods. Nope, the future is in progressive policy, not turning back the clock 100 years or more.
Not sure the Democrats regaining the house was due to political activism as much as it was just the continuation of the trends becoming more Democratic, largely as a results of dissatisfaction with Republican social policies and the benefits of having most social institutions leaning left.
3
Ms. Goldberg rightly mentions the organized approach to taking back these seats, but forgets the key ingredient: boldly Progressive platforms and policy proposals that run counter to conventional centrist Democrat wisdom. If the lesson learned from this election is to embrace another middle-of-the-road Democrat for the 2020 presidential nominee, then the party will have missed the point entirely. Go left, young candidates! Doing so will get more non-voters to the polls and prevent spoiler votes going to 3rd parties.
7
@Sabrina
Those of us that keep shouting THIS at the top of our lungs are finally being heard.
1
@FunkyIrishman For the love of God, I sure hope so. ;-)
Your incisive analysis should be top on millenials' reading list. Politics is hard work under any conditions, but if Democrats choose to do any less than campaign and build structures for the long haul, the Republicans, through voter suppression and manipulation, will continue to win in sweeps. The millenials I know feel cheated with every loss, not understanding the lessons you write of. I hope they learn and don't turn from the work.
7
"Nevertheless, she persisted" has expanded to "Ever more, we resisted."
Government by the people, for the people, of the people. Not for wealthy white men who care more about party or power or money,
We the People of the United States of America in order to form a more perfect union once resisted tyranny and inherited power and resisted those who took taxpayer money for the wealthy elite and their luxuries like private golf courses, private jets, and private communities.
Republicans and Trump should reread the Declaration of Independence and take a closer look at the First Amendment where you don't get to force an established religion to limit women's rights, stifle free speech and the freedom of the press, and try to prevent the right to assemble peacefully without being called a mob.
We will continue to resist.
14
The woman leaving her newborn for politics is making a mistake because I look back 20 years at our hopefulness for the ERA and we still do not have it. We have sat on the ledge waiting for Roe to topple but it hangs on. The world goes on in politics but infants are growing and need a lot of care and attention because those early times cannot be done over.
1
@Betsy Herring
Last I checked she doesn't have to "leave" her newborn if she choses to follow her political aspirations. We may not have the ERA but the days of believing anyone has to choose between parenthood and a career are gone. Whether you believe it or not, things have changed in the last 20 years.
8
@Betsy Herring - She didn't leave her newborn, she brought her along as she fought for a better life for her.
2
She's leaving a better world for her infant-- and what a fantastic way to do so.
1
"O'Rourke's campaign, like Ossoff's before it, was not a waste."
While Beto fought the good fight, Osoff was a candidate who shouldn't have been; he has the charisma of a salad without dressing and didn't - and probably still doesn't - live in Georgia 6th.
O'Rourke, Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum - while (probably) all losing - brought true liberalism out of its shell, while establishment Let Me Go As Right As I Can To Win candidates like Phil Bredesen and Claire McCaskill were sent home early.
Americans want authenticity and Democrats can now be seen as actually voting for candidates in their party who don't hold back.
In 2020, 2022 and 2024, 8 - to 9-million 16 and 17 year olds will become eligible to vote. As their turnout strengthened last week -especially when it came to voting for Democrats - it will grow by up to as many as 30-million strong over the next six years. That's pretty good news.
14
@Alan Chaprack. And don't forget the other good news: millions of older white Republicans will no longer be voting .......
2
This is all fine, well and good and we progressives should celebrate this massive victory. But I have a lot of misgivings about what the Democrats stand for these days. The tepid "Better Deal" put forth by Schumer and Pelosi last year is now never mentioned. Besides the resistance to Trump, Democrats were searching for some cohesive message and finally found it with healthcare. Please remember the Democrats have failed to say HOW they will propose affordable healthcare except to say that the ACA requires some sort of maintenance. The resistance - i.e. "we are not them and they are lousy" might work for one more election. But when Trump is gone then how will the Democrats coalesce their message? What is their long term strategy? I spent a lot of hours volunteering this election - way more than I ever have - but not really because I thought the Democrats had a great message - no, it was pure desperation on my part.
I volunteered for everybody from county commissioners to state legislators to judges to congressional races and my take away was that Democrats at the grass roots level are fantastic issue driven people but at the national level - i.e. Perez, Schumer and Pelosi - not so much. So my celebration is now muted because I don't trust that triumvirate to provide said vision. That worries me way more than Trump and his minions because we have the opportunity to set this country on the right track and I'm afraid we will let it slip through our fingers.
9
@William Anfin Something Nancy Pelosi said makes me think that, with all the new faces in Congress, many new to politics as well, she feels her experience is warranted at the beginning of the new term. Once people settle in, then they can think about "handing the reins over" to the New Guard.
4
@William Anfin
Don't forget Ben Lujan, head of the DCCC, who, with Steny Hoyer as Nancy's hatchet-man, pushed out primary candidates where they could who didn't fit THEIR standards, rather than the community's. Lujan and the other leaders take credit for driving the train when they are nothing but hobos riding in the boxcars.
They are the energy-killers, the blatherers of a laundry list of irrelevancies when the key issues are Trumpism/racism, health care, wages, massive environmental disasters (Hurricanes & wildfires), and gun violence that's out of control.
And none of them seem to EVER acknowledge that The Resistance is the fuel driving the bus, not their moribund "leadership", a "leadership" that until Tuesday, had only seen 2 House victories from 1994 to 2016, the last 10 years ago, and on Obama's coattails. They didn't win Tuesday, The Resistance did! It's time they give credit where credit is due.
5
Thank you for this article, Ms. Goldberg. It's about time that people recognize the massive army of women volunteers who coalesced together through various organizations to propel a record number of women and first time candidates to victory in local, state and federal elections. Together we contributed untold millions of hours of volunteer labor canvassing, researching, telephone-banking, fund-raising, distributing flyers, stickers, and lawn signs. We were ignored, or often pooh-poohed when mentioned. But it was evident from the very beginning that the massive work of organizing and boots on the ground was appropriated by the women of the United States of America, and we ain't going back to the way it was.
20
“The answer was that they had to do it themselves.”
So it was and so it shall ever be. In politics there are no saviors. Individual politicians cannot effect significant change all by themselves. It will always be the actions of the individual that, collectively, bring the impetus for changes necessary to make our system work.
This is what Trump gets wrong. He thinks it’s about him. He thinks he’s the “only one” who can set the country straight. As frightening as he is, the electoral process has proven him wrong. He may yet wreak havoc on our institutions and world standing, but he will fail to destroy us.
I sincerely hope I’m no whistling past the graveyard.
19
I am grateful for Indivisble, Swing Left, and the other organizations who helped us assemble ourselves and mobilize. We needed their guidance.
But mostly, kudos to my fellow citizens who rolled up their sleeves and hit the pavement for two solid years. From protesting, to registering voters, deciding to run, fundraising, meet and greets, canvassing, phone banking, writing out postcards, etc. hundreds of Americans decided that democracy was a participatory endeavor.
I have met people from all walks of life and made some real friendships in doing this work. No one I have met in my journey has any intention of backing away. While the last two years have been at times enervating, Wednesday felt a bit exhilarating. Like suddenly realizing you probably could run that marathon after all. This is just the foundation, with substantive issues still ahead, but we all start somewhere.
22
Blue wave? Right now the 538 website is projecting a 38 seat pickup for the Democrats. That's only a bit better than the 32 seat historic average for a new President's first mid term election. Compare this 38-set pickup to the Republican 63-seat pickup in 2010.
A win is a win, and it's important that the Democrats got control of the House. But the reality is that 2018 was a disappointment, a blue ripple rather than a blue wave. It's bodes poorly for 2020.
14
Taking back Congress will be a journey and this is a start. Just as voting Trump out of office is a journey. And we must start now.
9
@cynical jack A bit of perspective is due here. The GOP undertook a systematic, expensive nationwide gerrymandering effort using the results of the 2010 census and the fact that many state legislatures were GOP controlled. As a result, comparisons between 2010 and 2018 cannot be directly made—it is like comparing apples to lamb chops. Just look at NC. Democratic candidates for Congress received 50% of votes in 2018 but will take just a quarter of the NC seats thanks to gerrymandering.
13
Perhaps, as W. Churchill said, this is only the "end of the beginning".
And, attributed to Churchill again,"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
5
It's amazing to me how in the world of politics so much analysis and so many words are devoted to what are just glib catch phrases like "blue wave" or "the Resistance" or "Progressives." The results of the mid-term elections are what they are, and no single group can take credit for them. The bottom line is that there is no time for the Resistance, Progressives, other Democrats, moderate conservatives or anyone else who opposes Donald Trump to rest on their laurels or congratulate themselves. The primary goal of preventing Trump from being re-elected remains. If Democrats do not seriously consider how best to achieve that result, the only blue wave in 2020 will be a wave of depression as Trump takes a second term.
12
@Jay Orchard, if you think anybody is resting on their laurels, you haven't been paying attention. Typically just another male dismissing the large army of women who took control and drove the vehicle this time around. We aren't stopping, we aren't forgiving, and we aren't forgetting. Strategies for upcoming battles are already underway. The Republicans went too far. They've awoken the beast. None of them seemed to imagine that it could possibly be female.
13
@Jan N
Women imitating the gender-contest tradition of men will not help women nor will it get Trump out of office. Let's praise the women and men, everyone, who voted and got others to vote. We're all in this together -- don't split us up.
3
@Jay Orchard: Well, don't wait for a savior. Don't think about what the Democrats (and given Trump, by implication the Country) can do for you, but what you can do for the Democrats (and given Trump, by implication the Country)!
Yes, I would like to thank all of my friends at Indivisible 92116! We post-carded, we called, we walked districts - sometimes with the candidate (with Ammar Campa-Najjar, who ran agains indicted candidate Duncan Hunter), we had fundraisers, we met monthly for two years, we met and had pizza and planned, we stayed informed about each proposition and each candidate, and we worked to support democratic candidates in other districts and states than our own. It was a good effort! And it's not over. Our next meeting is this Tuesday! People make the difference...
13
I am thankful for the efforts of Indivisible, MoveOn, SwingLeft, LeanLeft in Vermont, and the DNCC. We need to be razor focused for 2020. I for one will continue to help, and will work hard to get 45 out of WH. I think this piece is right on. Let’s continue to register voters and run decent, honorable, committed Dem candidates. Thank you, Beto O’Rourke.
32
I ran for state House here in North Dakota and lost in the reddest district in the state; 35% of voters preferred a Dem and a first time candidate at that. While our Senator lost to a Republican hack, we did not lose any state Senate seats and picked up 2 House seats. So, good on that side. We did not win any state wide seats but our candidates did well. We are keeping our eyes on the long term goals and will continue to build the party here in ND.
30
@Bismarck Thank you for your race.
As a former born and raised citizen of North Dakota, who grew up with Democratic Parents, it was a state that had a strong hold of Democrats from the top down. I moved just south 25 years ago and saw the demise of Democratic Party power in my new home state of South Dakota as well as my home state diminish in that time frame. I have tried to figure out why over the years. I watched this election cycle, my own older brother, run unopposed as a Republican, in a state House district. He has shifted his values to pro-life, pro-energy development and pro-big business. I would not have voted for him if I could have. The fact that Democrats didn't even try to front a challenge in his district in the western part of the state dismayed me. Here in Arizona, we have seen a resurgent move by the local Democrats and that led us to retaining our House seat and now hopefully, a new Democratic representative in the Senate!
5
@Bismarck Thank you for running!
1
The most encouraging thing to me is not that the Dems took back the House (great but expected), but that these newly elected Dems are not Nancy Pelosi - Steny Hoyer - Chuck Schumer traditional corporate Democrats. No, these are not traditional corporate Democrats. Instead, they "the resistance democrats" are to the establishment democrats what the TEA Party Republicans were in 2010 to the Republican Party establishment.
Here is hoping that this is just the beginning of the take over of the Democratic Party by the Progressive Resistance Democrats, and that the old line Democrats are soon to be thrown onto the ash heap history along with the GOP.
15
The blue wave is not possible for now. This is not a war but a reconstruction. Let's not repeat the 1860's. The hard work of educating and uplifting an entire population requires the foresight of Einstein and the soul of Gandhi. This means leadership in the figure of the Presidency. It means allowing for the big, rich urban center influence to step back and provide the push for the wave and not be the crest of it. We must find a candidate of national heroic proportions ( not a celebrity, per se). One who is "of the people" so he can become "for the people."
14
@Mark
Nonsense.
The Party of Trump is fomenting a Civil War, and the "big, rich, urban" centrists are doing nothing about it.
Right is corporate theocracy. Left is the future.
@Mark That might be Beto O'Rourke from Texas.
@Gr He has the fire. No doubt.
Thank you for expounding on interesting aspects of the midterm elections.
I believe the resistance, or whatever we want to call it, has achieved quite a lot since actually Bernie called for a revolution in American politics.
We need the people of this nation to be educated in basic civic again and again. For that to be effective we have to teach them how to think for themselves, and critically. For that to happen we have to revamp our educational system and that takes a lot of investment in “infrastructure” and teachers who are energized and willing to Teach.
Otherwise, we leave the field to the gazillion churches we all see all over towns and cities, we leave it to Fox TV and social media. And we all pay in the end.
Resistance will win only when the recursion I tried to describe above takes place. We have to get to the root of the problem otherwise we will have to be safisfied with partial victories. Better than nothing but not sufficient for most of us.
19
It's about time.
In the celebrations after Obama's victory in 2008, I was very upset that Howard Dean was replaced as head of DNC.
His 50 state strategy was absolutely essential and the Democratic Party just ignored it. I knew then we were in for trouble. State races count. State leadership counts. The message of democratic government of, by, and for the people has to be made on every local level as well as every state level. Not just at the national level. National elections can only do so much. The states hold a lot of power, especially over voting rights.
We would like to be indivisible but our constitution gave the states a lot of power. Republicans are funded and motivated by the plutocrats who study power at every level. They know well how to divide and conquer.
Democrats need to be aware of all power, all the time.
40
@memosyne
Thank you. Howard Dean had the right idea and the Democrats reverting back to business as usual left us in the wilderness.
It appears to me that concerned people, just regular people, banded together to fight back - without depending on the DNC or DCCC for help - and got this accomplished.
Onward to 2020. Republican rust never sleeps, and neither should we.
8
"Blue wave" metaphor suggested something sudden and decisive. By that standard, the midterm results cannot measure up and are bound to feel disappointing to supporters of Democratic candidates across the blue spectrum. A more accurate and encouraging way to frame these results is that they represent a turning of the tide, which is gathering power as it begins to roll in after too long at ebb. Let's keep it happening as we roll toward 2020. Go Blue.
25
@Jim Bishop. Perhaps a tsunami is a metaphor . The first wave hits, there is a drawback, and then the next wave sweeps in.
Here's hoping for the second blue wave.
I think the Democratic party primarily has a identity problem. While opposition to Trump will work to a point it seems the party is torn between the centrist neoliberal establishment and a somewhat more "progressive" left wing. It was interesting on election night to see the ultimate insider Nancy Pelosi appear as the spokes person for the party. The idea that there is real progress or change happening in the Democratic party is a mirage. As soon as the new house is sworn in the old guard will consolidate power and nothing will be any different.
4
@David Dougherty Well, you might note that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic-Socialist (Bernie Sanders organizer) knocked off Joe Crowley (NY14) who was generally thought to be Nancy Pelosi's imminent replacement. So, because of the amazing Ocasio-Cortez win, we have Ms. Pelosi again. If there are gods in politics, this must be their sense of humor at work.
What blue wave was that? Democrats expected to take US House which they did. Republicans picked up Senate seats giving them more control of judicial appointments which they were not expected to do. Looks like gridlock for the next 2 years which may be the best.
8
@clayton What Blue wave? Do you mean besides the 3 dozen or so House seats, 7 Governorships, 333 state legislative seats and 6 state legislative chambers flipped? Yes, it looks like the Republicans will wind up with between 0 and 2 Senate seats gained in an election in which Democrats were defending 26 of the 35 seats up for election, but overall a pretty resounding win for Team D.
7
Well, "resistance" breeds counter resistance, insult, hyperbole, and extremist posturing does not mend fences and garner new friends. I suppose that is the goal. The Democrat "resistance" movement does not want to reach out and expand the fold. They want to excommunicate the deplorable enemy from the human race.
Actual election results are a bit more encouraging. Far left candidates lost and a few moderates won. Overall the power shift in the House was modest by historical standards. The split is still close. Perhaps there will be some attempt by the parties to work together. If the resistance continues in its current form the House will shift back in 2020 and you can forget about the Presidency.
4
I think the lesson of the midterms is that we need a candidate at the top of the ticket who is authentic and passionate. Stacey, Andrew and Beto all had those qualities and so were able to persuasively present progressive, common sense policies for the common good. That's the future of our party and country.
25
Let those of us who would like the bring the country back to some normalcy instead of daily and hourly chaos led by a madman hope with our hearts, support with our spirit and actions the efforts that built the Blue Wave to also (and pretty quickly) identify and support viable candidates for President. Right now, there are no (in my opinion) viable strong candidates coming out of the progressive movement. Biden and Bernie are too old. Beto is too young, and Elizabeth is a better voice OUTSIDE the presidency than within the confines of the job. Definitely don't want Stormy's attorney (or Oprah, much as I admire her book club).
There are options who are working well but just not nationally recognized. The national press essentially brought Trump to power. Let's see if it can be used to take him down by covering progressive possibilities so that they can be be evaluated by a nation in crises as a sane alternative in 2020.
I might also add that while I love, respect and admire Nancy Pelosi, it is time for her to become a valued mentor who will teach the new generation how to work the magic that she has for so many years rather than lead the charge. We have wonderful new voices in the House...let's hear them!
21
Success breeds success!
It is imperative that voter suppression be completely exposed and punished. Every questionable result in this election must be challenged and where suppression irregularities are discovered, the offending party must be shamed and tarnished. Elections should be inviolate. It is not fair to all those who invested time and money to have their efforts marginalized.
If millions were spent to get a candidate elected then, if necessary, millions must be spent to ensure a fair and honest election outcome!
It is about time that the majority take back the country from the minority. This was a great first step, and as we all know, nothing breeds success, like success.
18
@OldLiberal
Loses of 67,000 votes in Georgia and Abrams claims suppression.
A message to the Dems, your first order of business should be a tax cut for the middle class and do it by raising the corporate tax rate to what it should be. Corporations have not used their trump tax cut to invest in jobs etc. So you pass the tax cut in the House, make the senate strike it down then you have talking points as to how the senate republicans hate the middle class. It’s simple and then you just keep repeating that message over and over.
25
@Steve . The first order of business should be raising taxes to fix our abominable roads, bridges, subways and disastrous public schools, provide disaster relief and reverse the obscene tax cut Trump lavished on his billionaire friends.
2
Just to clarify... those demonstrations on Thursday didn't just spring up. People anticipated months ago that Trump might do something to jeopardize the Mueller investigation. So they organized the events on-line, and people signed up to be on the e-mail lists. On Wednesday, the "let's go" event happened, and the e-mails went out.
It was short notice, so I couldn't travel to one of the big ones. So I went to the one in my town. Several hundred people, and about six dogs.
26
Trump won by accident. Our situation would have been very different if he had acknowledged that fact and made a commitment to govern for all the people.
It remains to be seen if Republicans will take any lessons from this election. Will they realize that appeals to hate and fear may win some elections but have negative effects? Will they give up their commitment to eviscerate the federal government? Will they realize that the problems with rural communities won't be solved by cutting taxes and individual responsibility?
I see some reason to hope that Republicans, who want to be reelected more than anything else, will take a look at what policies seem to be resonating. We are always fighting the last battle and that is true in political battles. Something changed in this election; I'm just not sure yet what that change means.
7
@Betsy S Trump did not win by accident. Rather, he won because he understood and appealed to the irrational fears that many of his supporters held deeply. And once igniting that flame, used his constant jawboning as the great bellows to cause that flame to grow. Trump was to that group as Obama was to his group--anchoring the spectrum of fear and hope--and showing the power of those two paradoxical emotions in motivating people to make a change.
Hillary was too flawed and Bernie too progressive to win for the Democrats.
That Trump won says less about Trump (he's true to his non-virtuous authentic nature) and more about the poor vetting of the Republican party, the state of the Amercian public which includes not only their fears but also their embrace of having those fears ignited.
A fearful nation is a dangerous nation. A hopeful nation is one that can overcome fear, solve problems in a meaningful way and govern ALL of the people.
I should add that the pundits, even with these democratic wins, now voice the narrative that the democrats lack a coherent message--I beg to differ. First, democratic candidates had a message, in fact they had many messages carefully crafted for the local constituencies they serve---but the theme of these messages is the same---economic and political fairness. Second, the Republican message is the golden oldie supply side tax cuts and deregulation mixed in with whatever racists or sexists claim they make against their opponent---a message that midterm voters have grown tired of. If the democrats continue with these local messages and pursue an ambitious legislative agenda---with bipartisan themes--- I predict the voters will reward them in 2020.
31
@ACJ Economic and political fairness is rhetorical. Tax cuts and deregulation is policy.
Democrats are weak/timid/compromised on policy because they are as beholden to rich donors as Republicans. Democrats, or at least establishment Dems, put the interest of the 1% ahead of the 99% every time.
Universal healthcare is a perfect example. Bailing out the banksters while millions of American families were devastated by foreclosures and lasting damage to their credit is another example. Public and private sector unions, trade deals that favored the multi-national corporations over the middle class, minimum wage, immigration, and change to the Second Amendment have all been ideas rhetorically supported but little in the way of policy or legislation has been accomplished.
Blame Republican obstruction if you want. Seems odd that Democrats can't sell the majority of Americans on something that the majority of Americans support. Keep in mind that many of the Republican base are blue collar, middle class and at one time supported Democrats, at least in the Rust Belt.
Poll after poll shows majority support for progressive/liberal programs and policies! Most people simply want a level playing field and equal opportunity to succeed.
4
It's troubling that so many pundits and newspapers initially reported out that there was "no blue wave". Indeed, that was most evident in the mixed headline on the NY Times on Wednesday. We need to recognize that while the mainstream media often pushes back against Trump, they can't seem to let go of the need to create "balance" by casting Democrats as a party of helpless underdogs, when in fact we are the party that most closely represents the majority of Americans.
73
@Henry Crawford
Let the GOP think we're helpless, that way they're so busy patting themselves on the back we can sneak past and win the races.
1
I had never canvassed before, but did so twice this time. Joined an Indivisible group last March and the rest just followed.
I'm now more emboldened to take on local climate change deniers and others whose time is most definitely up.
54
The night the Democrats won the House I breathed a sigh of relief. Millions with pre-existing conditions will at least be protected if nothing else. Also, the idea that Democrats can now block the legislation that the Republicans have been passing unimpeded can also be possibly blocked. Then I watch the inexplicable, and at times mumbled and incoherent, victory speech by Nancy Pelosi and though "uh oh, that doesn't sound very resisty at all". The reason the Democrats did not trounce the field is because they basically stand FOR nothing other than AGAINST Trump. While that may win some seats as evidenced by this recent election, to win more one has to have a vision, a progressive platform of Medicare for all, ending the wars, extending free public education from the high school level to the college level, and a livable wage. Socialist agenda? I last time I checked, Europe, Canada, Japan and basically the rest of the industrialized world are capitalistic economies with many of these elements. Democrats need to set the narrative for their agenda and not let the Republicans refine it. But here's the paradox and the disconnect with the Democratic Party. It pays lip service to progressive ideas but instead, they go for the low hanging fruit of identity politics knowing full well that people with usually choose the lesser of two evils. If Democrats would stand for something and pushed for it they would win. I just don't see Pelosi, or the rest of the ossified leadership doing that.
12
FXQ, don’t despair. It will take a few election cycles to replace the rotted portions of our governments. The most critical element until then will be keeping the new representatives, from whichever party, from being corrupted by the special-interest money and lobbyists who prey on them. I would suggest the newly-elected form non-partisan caucuses among themselves as protection from the wolves in their own parties.
5
@FXQ
Well said. I too was appalled at Nancy Pelosi's speech, she can do better and often has. But one heartening thing about this election was the refusal, by many Democratic candidates, to take money from big donors and they ran their campaigns almost as independents, not seeking or using Democratic politicians. The other heartening thing was to see young candidates take stands for legislation which protects the many, not just the few. And they also brought a breath of fresh air with their authenticity, passion and fearlessness. They actually believed what they said. Once the Republican gerrymandering is undercut, there should be more victories. One note of caution though, although many seats were flipped blue, in large part the margins were very thin. There is a very lot of work still to be done.
8
@FXQ
I agree that Nancy Pelosi is not the most telegenic and articulate pol in the Democratic camp but the absolute fact is that she's a superb inside fighter for Democratic values.
You need to look at her record before you castigate her. The ACA would not exist but for her efforts to round up key votes in the House, for godssakes.
The best Speakers know how to count and they know how to convince their peers. Pelosi does both incredibly well.
They don't go around like Ryan or Boehner, huffing and puffing on camera.
15
What is missing from the wave is participation from Hispanics. It would seem that they would be leaders but are intimidated by Trump.
Support for immigrants is lacking. The so called Christian Right apparently don't read the many passages in the Bible that preach support for strangers and immigrants.
In Catholic Churches today we are encouraged to be like the woman who shared her last flour and oil with an immigrant . Sharing from want is greater than sharing from excess.
22
@tom
Many are frightened voting will draw attention to family members and workers who are not documented Many have felt their local Republican and Democratic Parties have not served them well or denied them positions of influence.
1
@tom, here in Burnet it appears the Latino vote went for GOP candidates. Like their white counterparts, they voted against their economic interest swayed by the GOP candidates’ claims of being God-fearing, outlawing abortions, protecting guns, and, yes, stopping illegal immigrants. While many of them can boast of having roots here spanning several generations, many simply forgot that their parents or grandparents may have arrived here without papers. And most depressing, they ignore that the harsh rhetoric painting the caravan migrants as disease-carrying, criminals and even terrorists is influencing how they, citizens as they are, are seen by a very large portion of the GOP base.
@tom: Many immigrant Hispanics tend to be politically and socially conservative, but the party who espouses these values also demonizes Hispanic immigrants, so that leaves them with no choice they can feel good about.
In the midst of arguments about waves and trickles, I have not seen much reference to the cumulative vote in the Senate elections. No, powerful majority does not translate into senate seats but each voter has only that one small single choice: count them all up and in the 2018 senate races 47.9 million ballots were cast for the Democrats, around 34.2 for Republicans. A pretty good blue soaking if not a tsunami!
21
Vaguely interesting, but totally irrelevant. Dems had a bigger total vote, but ended up with fewer seats than they started with. In case you forgot the way the Constitution works, each state gets two senators. So, heavily Democratic California, with a population of 39,000,000+ gets two. Heavily Republican Wyoming, with a population of 570,000+ gets two. That’s the way the system was designed, and that’s the way it worked. Over the past 3-4 decades, Dems and liberals forgot or ignored this fact, and eventually Repubs controlled the vast majority of state legislatures, which allowed them to heavily influence voting patterns and eventually, results.
3
@Norman Dale
Senate is constitutionally gerrymandered. Those votes need to be in currently low population states.
"After this past week, people in the Resistance are exhausted. But they’re not resting."
And the GOP will not rest either; however, the Resistance will win because we are fighting for what is deepest in American hearts: Democracy and Freedom in our pursuit of happiness.
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@james
Wrong....you are fighting for socialism, open borders, etc. This is not what the US stands for.
Agree that the election results were good.
However they were good because by and large outside extreme liberal districts democrat candidates did not run on identity obsessed, never met a war, Wall Street banker, trade agreement, anoint me president because I am a woman candidate like Hillary.
If you don't want to hand the republicans back the house in 2020 along with Trump and not have the democrats take all three branches here is what you should be campaigning for.
1-Congratulate women for running for office and voting more but that's it. Don't campaign on identity obsessed politics like Hillary did.
Obama didn't and served two terms, Hillary did and was regulated to the dust bowl of history.
2-Stress issues that a majority of America agree upon like universal health care, no corporate welfare, infrastructure, first term abortion, common sense gun control etc. etc.
3-Don't put on the top of your list identity obsessed politics, ie, women should get half of everything because they are women whether they have earned it or even whether they want it. Stress female issues that most America can agree upon like violence in military, possible pregnancy discrimination.
4-Don't vilify other groups like men, moderate republicans, southerns, rural states etc.
5-Call out Trump when he says, does terrible stuff but don't dwell on it, dwell on the issues.
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@Paul#2, I am not sure what makes you think a majority of Americans agree with your points.especiallyabortion and health care.
@Paul: 0-Don't engage in circular executions within your party, Hillary Clinton first of all. While the Republicans were obsessing over who uses which bathroom, who marries who, women's birth control choices, while vilifying progressives, immigrants, "Coastal Elites", "New York values" and promoting White identity, you obviously drank their Kool Aid that the Democrats were doing it. It's not only Trump supporters who need some education in critical thinking!
@Paul . "Stress issues that a majority of America agree upon like universal health care, no corporate welfare, infrastructure, first term abortion, common sense gun control etc. etc."
The Republicans have consistently gotten the MOST mileage from their evil supporters through promising to take away health care, flood the country with guns, start more wars against any country they can think of. They LOVE the corrupt corporate class. Did you hear ONE Republican voter complain when Steve Mnuchin, the central villain in the housing collapse was installed as the Treasury Secretary, along with the worst of the Goldman Sachs and Wall Street hoods?
We have roughly equal numbers of humans and Republicans living in the US. It's a standoff between those with values and those with no values. That's all there is to it.
Democrats won the Majority of the House, and it doesn't matter if the win was marginal. This historical voter turnout was not only an act of 'resistance', but It's also loud wakeup to call to djt, the man who would be king and posse:
This is Our United States of America. We are a Constitutional Government For, By and Of All people. Our nation, this land we call home is not a Monarchical government.
In 1775-1783 we fought and won this war, called The American Revolutionary War. Thousands upon thousands of women, men and, yes children gave their lives fighting against the rule of a Monarchical government and continue to do so.
Our democracy is a "living Constitution," a 200+-year-old experiment. It is not perfect but, collectively we can and will adapt to changing circumstances and imperatives in America life,
There will be another "Blue Wave" in 2020 but, it will be similar to a tsunami.
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@mary You want to believe it is a living document because then it is changeable. It will come to a point where it no longer resemble its original meaning. In fact, it is not even debatable that the founders envisioned a highly limited federal government. By enlarging it endlessly to its present bloated form, liberals have gotten what they could not have through an amendment to the Constitution--a huge federal beauracracy. That was never intended by the founders and we have long broken from the document's original meaning.
1
I am so inspired by all the hard work and grit that went into the blue wave. Democracy works when people engage with it. Well done - I hope to see that spirit in 2020. Good luck America.
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Thank you for reporting on all these reasons for hope. Much needed as Trump, no doubt, is gathering strength, resources and supporters for his push to win the next election. He won't be constrained by the law or concerns about ethics or the restrictions democracy places on elected officials.
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As far as waves, trickles or tsunamis go, remember this:
You can drown in 3" of water. Doesn't have to be a flood.
Standing knee deep in swift water or ocean waves can knock you down if you're not paying attention.
Those trickles add up. Onward!
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Sure, it was that two years of tireless organizing that gave democrats the predicted House flip that historically happens with the mid-terms that follow after the White House has flipped. It was such an awesome tidal wave too wasn't it? What is the margin in the House now? Single digits separate the two parties and who controls the Senate? So great job on that two years of organizing. Wonder what the wave would have looked like if Dianne Fienstein had retired and the Kavanaugh fiasco hadn't happened?
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@GregP, steady and local and actually being decent human beings that don’t hate everyone different does win the race! We are definitely on the road to recovery. Most of us know that progress isn’t linear, but oh man did we get a great start! Keep resisting and persisting! Go blue!
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Hey GregP in the House the number is over 30 house seats that double digits, not single digits
The people of America are in a war with each side having a very different vision for the country. The left seeks to empower all fringe groups, bring the bottom up by bringing the top down, redistributing wealth. One side seeks to preserve the America that strives to do better, to be compensated for it, and to be responsible for one's own financial well being. The other would largely eliminate the incentives that motivate the big minds and lift so many boats; the other seeks simply to make most people even, financially, whether the market says they are even or not. One side believes in merit, the other seeks empowerment through preferences that push merit aside. What was in your wallet?
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@Bryan
I'm just guessing here that you received a fairly good education and are not having to work two or three jobs just to have shelter and be able to eat? I'm guessing you haven't suffered a catastrophic illness that has left you both broken and and broke?
It's true, we Democrats are not so eager to preserve your kind of America: an America where CEO's make four hundred times what their employees do; where people who have no boots are expected to use non-existent straps to pull themselves up with. An America that is guaranteeing our children will be left to suffer an inhospitable planet just so Big Oil can build upon their obscene profits.
Indeed there are two very different parties: One side represents the interests of business and the wealthy; the other, the interests of the environment and humanity.
We would do well to live in an America where the needs of All people are met; where truly ALL boats are lifted, not just the yachts. It can be done without having to share too much; without having to fear someone taking all your stuff, or becoming "marginalized". It just requires decency, fairness, and an actual love and respect for each other. This what Democrats are asking for; is there anything really so wrong with that?
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@Bryan
Merit can't be quantified with money, important as money is in this human life.
Merit is defined by personal effort that contributes to the well-being of other people.
It doesn't take a huge pile of money to live well - we're all amazingly adaptable - but it does takes enough to meet our basic needs. Some people have a few more zeroes in their idea of "basic needs" and those people can do some significant damage running after those zeroes. The definition of genuine social merit can get pretty hazy in that pursuit of monetary compensation. It can get completely lost in the complexity of a large business venture.
If people prey on other people for personal gain, and if they delegate the dirty work to compartmentalized, unwitting subordinates, they will eventually nick an artery.
If ambitious people insist on their privacy and insulate themselves with a bureaucratic mechanism that hurts other people, they still have personal responsibility for their business' actions, and if those actions are rewarding them financially, they own those actions, no matter what the lawyers say.
And if those actions lift one boat and swamp the other boats, we both drown.
8
@Bryan Trckle down has been debunked. Republicans have exchanged meritocracy with cronyism. That’s why they lie and rig elections. They don’t care about merit. They care about themselves at the expense of everyone else.
5
"There was no immediate catharsis on Tuesday, no definitive national rebuke of a president whose bottomless depravity continues to dumbfound more than half the country."
Another insightful piece by Ms. Goldberg. She's right, there was no immediate catharsis. Bret Stephens on Bill Maher's show Friday night said that there should have been a more definitive blue wave since essentially the Dems were running against Caligula. How true.
As a disappointed Democrat, I will take what I can get, and last Tuesday's election fell far short of the mark I had envisioned and hope for when I voted that morning. I guess it was too much to ask for to have the Dems re-take majorities in both the House and the Senate.
But incremental steps will get one to the mountain top. Flipping state legislative seats is a good start to undo the mess the Republican Party has put the country in. We'll get there.
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If progressives had swept the election, it would be fair to give the new left more credit, but progressives' role was more symbolic and most winners were moderates. The outcome of this election was due to a combination of disgust with what the GOP has become and excellent organization and focus by the Democratic Party on all levels.
Kudos, for sure, to individuals like Ocasio-Cortez for wearing out her shoes walking from door-to-door. But credit as well to the excellent fund-raising and organizing work of the Democratic National Committee and it's leader, Tom Perez. I am very optimistic about 2020.
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@Norwester I find it humorous that liberals think their ideas are positives for the country. Calling themselves progressives is an oxymoron.
I seem to recall that one of the Democratic primary candidates in 2016 (not Hillary) stated many times that revolutions come from the bottom up, not the top down. He was derided and widely ignored by the media. Now we are calling this revolution the resistance.
It's not solely the shiny candidate heading the ticket that makes for change, as we witnessed in Obama's case. Many voted for him and then turned their attention to other things, and we eventually lost everything.
Interesting also that issues such as economic inequality, Medicare for all, free state colleges, and other things dubbed "pie in the sky" have now been integrated into the Democratic message.
Revolutions sometimes happen when you're busy making other plans.
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@TM"Interesting also that issues such as economic inequality, Medicare for all, free state colleges, and other things dubbed "pie in the sky" have now been integrated into the Democratic message."
As with most liberal ideas, not a moment is taken to consider the cost of implementing ideas. As the democrats incorporate these ideas into their platform, they alienate more and more inner Americans from their party. The coasts are not representative of mainstream American thinking. Having witnessed only a small blue wave in the midterms, it seems likely that the democrats will once again learn this reality the hard way in the next presidential election.
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Because the republicans consider the cost of their plans? Like trillion dollar deficits to pay for tax cuts? It is a fact that under democratic rule deficits have been much lower than under republican rule.
6
The coasts don’t represent mainstream America? Surely, you have forgotten Minnesota, and now, after the election: Kansas, Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, etc. as well. And would you look at Florida - so close to blue!
Mainstream America is clamoring for an end to this Republican nonsense. You can’t possibly think that we would buy your argument that Republicans are more fiscally responsible than Democrats. Republicans sought to destabilize the most successful health care reform since Medicare. And those “big, beautiful tax cuts” turned out to be mostly for the rich and powerful while plunging the US further into debt. Oh, and the cruelty at the border separating families - have you checked the price tag on that? How about the long line of unethical, greedy, hedonistic Cabinet members who have plundered millions of dollars with their shenanigans? And the wasted tax-payer money spent on golf at Trump’s own properties? How about the silence from the Republican majority? In my life I have never seen such cruelty, greed, corruption, racism, and lies in our government. After the 2016 election, Democrats were worried, and rightly so. But I knew people would rise up in the face of such demagoguery. And my fellow Americans did not disappoint me. I have never been prouder of the people who make up the resistance - average, mainstream Americans who maintain courage and resolve to set us back on course.
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I how is all very good and the Democratic activists deserve a lot of praise. But the Democratic Party now needs to focus on finding an electable candidate for 2020. Not easy to do given the lack of vision beyond a desire to have Trump go away. And that candidate better be able to unite the very diverse strands in the Democratic community and get quite a few centrist votes.
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@Decville Good points. Dems need a candidate that talks to people, like Trump does, instead of preaching to us, like 0bama and both Clintons did.
Ms Goldberg makes the mistake of using the words "progressives" and "Democrats" interchangeably; they are not. There were few if any "progressive" (progressive meaning Medicare-for-all, abolish ICE, impeach Trump and Kavanaugh, identity issues) victories on Tuesday. The Democrats who won focused on health insurance (the exact mechanism can be worked out, but it must be universally applies and cover pretty much everything) and inequality; notice they didn't make "identity" the central issue. (It was rather obvious anyway if the candidate was a minority, a woman, or both)
So Democrats had a good election; progressives didn't, and we need to remember that lesson when choosing our presidential nominee in 2020.
11
I agree with this. Every time it’s pointed out that the person was a woman, or a latino, or black, it devalues the skills and importance of they themselves. Just report that these people have won because of what they bring.
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@Todd
Pointing out the person is Black, Latino, Muslim, or Female seems to me just a way of indicating the prejudice they overcame to be elected in this country. Surely when it becomes more commonplace it won't be referred to?
1
@Danny . Let's be honest here. It isn't just "identity politics." Middle of the road John Kerry was defeated because he had once opposed the Vietnam war.
Gun control and climate change are no-go topics in the national election. We not only have a rightwing extremist government, we have a rightwing extremist citizenry.
On The View ,the day after the election, I heard Ms Meghan McCain - who is supposed to be one of the "civil Republicans"" dismiss the wins -saying it wasn't big as the Tea Party wins in 2010 and that Beto O'Rourke's loss was predictable. Here in Lancaster county, PA we had Ms Jess King who campaigned hard , even though she lost by a small margin to the incumbent (Llyod Smucker), I believe women like her have opened the floodgates to a progressive future.
Despite the gerrymandering and voter suppression, the Democratic wins are very impressive
Thank you for shining light on these impressive wins!
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Thanks Michelle for shining the light on our positives. This is what keeps the resistance growing stronger. The sun is rising slowly but it won’t be stopped.
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Keeping the energy up is tough. I only worked one campaign. She won. I appreciate all the enthusiasm the Resistance and all fo the various organizations bring. Two years is not far away. Rest up, get some money and do it again.
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The DNC, etc. could have used money to flip NY’ 2nd CD, among half a dozen others in the region, if Democrats had recognized, just on which seats were up this time, that they WOULD lose a couple of Senate seats, but could take a supermajority in the House, picking off most of the suburban districts they let go by very narrow margins.
Instead, almost all resources went to the Democratic Senate Change Committee.
A grip on 2/3rds of the house would have better demonstrated which way things are likely to go in 2 years.
5
I am with the sober liberal pessimists on the evaluation of this election. Yes, taking back the House with an influx of women and minorities, and making some inroads in state houses is good. But what does it mean in terms of raw power. The Republican Autocracy Machine holds ownership of the Supreme Court and made inroads in the Senate which, among other things, has power over picking and confirming judges in the federal judicial system. They also hold total power in the horribly corrupt executive branch which is crossing every single red line in it's move to dictatorship - and getting away with it!
A blue trickle maybe, but certainly not a blue wave. And this at a time when all the cards are on the table and the majority of people should know you are voting for or against democracy. It's not enough. Exaggerated optimism is dangerous when the stakes are so high. The Democratic Party, which for many years has enabled the rise of the right due to their own collusion with Wall Street and corporate lobby money, has come late to the game of being the opposition. Yes, they are now the only channel of resistance within the system, but in the meantime millions of people have lost faith in the political system all together and express their despair by not participating in it.
Those who doubt that we can now come back from this 'slow moving right wing coup' may turn out to correct, even though they would probably give their own life not to be.
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@Gwen Vilen
There is much about the Democratic party in the need of repair; it would be foolish to deny it, but the enthusiasm and talent for doing it is here.
While not a tsunami, I don't see all of the seats we took in the House as a trickle; nor do I see the senate race as a cause for despair, given how astoundingly close we came in so many races. After all, when a Beto can nearly take a seat in Texas, all things are possible.
I, and so many I know feel excited and inspired by the outcomes this past Tuesday; our optimism will fuel us to work even harder and give us the chances that pessimism cannot.
Perhaps you see our celebrations as unwarranted or foolhardy, but in a big way, they are part of the Resistance too.
7
@Gwen Vilen
Exaggerated pessimism is also dangerous, and it can by symptomatic of depression. Every win, even if you consider it small, should be celebrated and built upon.
Your last words say it all. You care deeply about our country. Act on that, even while you fear the worst.
1
I posted in the opinions column a few months ago that my conservative small town in a very red County had lots of Elaine Luria (D) signs up, which I considered a good harbinger. Since then Scott Taylor (R) signs started popping up everywhere but our local organizers kept canvassing and worked even harder to turn out the vote and guess what? Elaine Luria won and is representing our district in Congress!
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Democrats should not concede especially if their state relies on insecure voting machines and experienced suspicious snarls and snafus--and the race is especially close. Demand transparent recounts. A small sampling:
- Kentucky: rampant problems
http://www.wdrb.com/story/39407281/kentucky-officials-defend-voting-mach...
- Missouri: Ballot-counting machines fail again...
https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/election/article2212...
- Arizona: Maricopa Co. with 3/4 of state's voters; continuous problems....
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/11/06/arizo...
- Texas
https://www.aclutx.org/en/news/sorry-state-voting-rights-texas
U.S. appeals court lets Texas' revamped voter ID law take effect
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2018/04/27/appeals-court-upholds-texas-voter-law
36
A lot of negative adjectives are used frequently to describe America's far right wing but here is one not heard that much: relentless. Republicans and especially the religious right are utterly relentless in seeking their goals. Some of this energy is because their political efforts are aligned with their financial interests. Tax cuts and elimination of regulations could means more money in their pockets. Plus, and this is very important, there are plenty of billionaires on the right to supply massive funding for endless organizing, propaganda and vote suppression.
There is no reason that America should be dominated by the far right. This election shows that energized and even angry citizens can make a huge difference, but there is much more work to be done. Just as it is a fundamental responsibility of citizenship to vote, it is clear that millions more citizens need to take part in active organizing and in regular contributions to candidates and issue oriented organizations. Give what you can afford and give often.
Our democracy has withered under old rules that allow a candidate supported by a minority of citizens to become president and by repressive governors and legislators who work to discourage voting or manipulate results through gerrymandering. Change is coming.
PS: A shout out, too, for all the new, younger candidates who took a chance and now get an opportunity to serve. New eyes will see old problems differently. Pragmatic solutions over stiff ideology! Yes.
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@Doug Terry
The right is not only funded by the billionaire class, it is owned by it. They do the organizing, the background work, the negative advertising (so the candidate benefits without having to "approve this message"), and the bankrolling. The Republican party is a zombie controlled by those who would weaken democracy to the point of total ineffectiveness.
We am moving from a true blue state to a nearby purplish one. I will be living in the redder section, which is great. Where we are now, my biggest contribution is to donate to Democrats in red states. Soon, we will bring two more Democratic voters who are ready to volunteer to turn that purplish section of our new community blue. Expand the edges of the blue regions and make the red disappear.
11
@nora m Thanks. Voters who believe that govt. is not inherently evil and is required to meet human and social needs can overwhelm the billionaire class if only we care to give of our money and time. We have been taught to sit on the sidelines only brining our shouts of joy when someone we like wins, but we need to do much more. Last week in South Carolina, I met a youngish mother of three children who had never been involved in politics before now. She and her motivated fellow citizens elected a Democrat to Congress in the red, red state of South Carolina. This just two years ago would have seemed impossible.
2
@Doug Terry BRAVO!
1
Rather than debating the color of Tuesday's wave, how about some political pressure on reinstating paper ballots in ALL states, no exceptions, on banning candidates from running their own elections like Kemp did in Georgia (where, if it turns out he won, he will have "won" by a tiny margin), and curtailing laws that allow the purging of voter lists which conveniently are more often than not minority voters.
Because our election system is broken, and until it is fixed it is entirely premature to declare that middle-of-the-road is in fashion again, that progressives were a flash in the pan, that everybody, given the chance, would much rather be a freedom-loving, gun-toting Republican who doesn't need to pay taxes and talks folksy and haltingly like Jeff Sessions, droppin' all the g's.
Members of a party that gerrymanders, cheats, and rigs its way to a fake victory do not get to declare what the state of the union is.
Let's have honest elections from now on forward (haha) and then we'll see the true colors of this great nation. And I guarantee you it's not going to be red, or pink, or even purple, but a beautiful deep blue.
82
This is piece lays out how Democrats began organizing to take back American government immediately after the last election, but it's half a narrative. Only one segment of those who rose up against Trump are championed; others aren't even mentioned. Notably missing are those like Kansas Governor-elect Laura Kelly, Michigan Governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer, and Democrats like Mary Gay Scanlon, Susan Wild, and Chrissy Houlahan, all of Pennsylvania, who flipped Republican-held House seats. These women were all motivated by a revulsion of Trump and his policies, all are vilified by Trump and the GOP, and all won.
Laura Kelly, who defeated Trump's rabid attack dog Kris Kobach, has stated she'll thwart the Kansas anti-gay adoption law and reinstate all protections for LGBTQ state workers rescinded by Republicans. Gretchen Whitmer has begun to strengthen organized labor, was instrumental in Michigan gaining Medicaid expansion, and has attacked Trump for trying to destroy public healthcare programs. Whitmer, a fierce critic of Brett Kavanaugh, has long been a passionate advocate for women's reproductive rights. In 2013, Michigan Republicans proposed legislation attacking those rights and barred women from testifying against it. An outraged Whitmer took to the State Senate floor saying she'd speak for all the women silenced. She then emotionally related how she'd been sexually assaulted in college.
These women deserve the credit they're due. I'm incredibly grateful they ran and won.
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@Robert B Me Too!
I am reading several posts where people are frustrated that Democrats dont get out and vote. We do. Most voters in the country do vote for Democrats - I live in a district with borders that wiggle like a snake in a calculated and successful attempt to water down that vote.
When voters broke through and a progressive judge won a seat, Republicans immediately went to work to create more seats and appoint conservative judges.
When a Democrat won the governorship, the Republican House stripped him of power.
Add to that the cap on the House of Representatives and the outsized influence of states with minute populations, and it is becoming impossible for the majority to overthrow a tyranny by a minority.
Will we ever see a president who won our votes actually ascend to the presidency? I wonder.
50
The resistance is also active overseas, and as the absentee ballots of overseas Americans are counted, we can see that we made a difference. Here in Lyon, after the 2016 elections, we formed a brand new chapter of Democrats Abroad, with local Americans seeming to come out of the woodwork. At our very first meeting, we easily achieved the 25 member requirement needed to form a new chapter, and we've now grown to over 200 members. We organized voter registration drives to ensure that Americans living here were registered to vote in their home states, through phone banking, texting, and social media. In early autumn we provided voter registration during student orientation for American university students studying abroad here. We've organized marches and vigils to demonstrate the resistance locally. Even now, we're making sure that local voters from Florida and Georgia are checking to make sure that their ballots have been counted. We may be tired, but we're not going away. There's still work to be done.
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@John Matthews Thank you, John. These are the efforts that are making the difference!
12
Way to go!
3
As a lifelong Republican of 40 yrs, I stopped supporting Trump/GOP when their 1st action was to take away our money & give it to ultra wealthy via their huge tax cut which we will have to pay by massive $ trillions deficits. Then, Trump/GOP began taking away our healthcare, SocSec, Medicare. Now, Trump/GOP taking away our votes. Like some many longtime Republicans, I’ve taken my votes away from Trump/GOP. Enough!
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@simon simon Thank you Simon!
5
@simon simon - I left the party after G.W.'s first term. I'm ashamed that it took me that long.
9
Please accept this heartfelt thank you to everybody who made these efforts possible. The focus everywhere was on the antidote to our president predicament. The focus was on truth, love and courage.
Osoff's impressive campaign last year paved the way for the very fine candidate McBath in GA 6. O'Rourke, Gillum, Abrams and McGrath were strong candidates who pulled any number of other good candidates to victory not only in their own states but also across the country.
67
I consider myself to be a progressive, but in the many hours I devoted to campaigning I found myself mostly in the company of volunteers who were mainstream Democrats, not the Bernie Sanders crowd. And that's also the kind of Democrat who won most of the races for office.
Michelle Goldberg is a very bright and valuable columnist, but her "produce niche" is pushing progressive, grassroots activism, and too often she distorts the reality of what's actually happening on the ground in favor of what she wants us to be believe is happening.
17
@A mind of my own
I'm fascinated by your argument that Ms. Goldberg is promoting her wishes, but you've offered no details to support that argument. Please say more.
2
If the Resistance consists of trying to vote out some politicians while voting in some others, I’m fine with it. Hardly anybody would regret the defeat of the GOP in the House since their main concern for the last two years had been appointing ant-abortion judges. But I don’t want a hard swing to the left to follow a hard swing to the right. This happened before in Europe with predictably terrible results. After the defeat of Nazism, Eastern Europe was enslaved to socialism for forty years. I don’t want socialism to become an acceptable term in American political discourse. I’d vote against any politician who swings too hard to the left, no matter the alternative. Fortunately, the majority of American voters are will me. Affluent suburbia that delivered this stinging rebuke to Trump’s right-wing agenda will deliver the same rebuke to Bernie lookalikes if they try to run on nationalizing key industries or muzzling free speech. The takeout from this election: Resistance or not, America is safely in the middle.
3
@Mor
Right, why catch up to the rest of the industrialized world where access to health care, clean air and water, good education, safe streets are not limited to the wealthy. And every year that goes by, as our great resources are devoured by those at the top of the food chain, solidifying their hereditary power, we'll continue to allow the quality of life for everyone else to go down the toilet over an outdated and manufactured fear of " socialism."
Sounds like a plan.
38
@Mor I do not want my free speech muzzled, nor do I agree that all social safety net program ideas should be given a blank check. At the same time, a reasonable observer of history will note that over the last 30 years the United States has lurched farther to the right politically. Former President Obama was called a socialist radical. A clear eyed evaluation reveals Mr. Obama to have conducted himself as a middle of the road republican by the standards of 30 years ago and prior (as the historian Jon Meacham has pointed out; the only radical thing about Obama's presidency was that he was black). Case in point is the ACA which was based on the Market model from the right wing Heritage Foundation. Other than an overly permissive stance on refugee policy, the quality of life and freedoms that people have in places like Germany enjoy seem desirable. Enhanced consumer protections (e.g., mandating that financial planners have a fiduciary responsibility to their clients) along with clean water, breathable air, health care quality and access (like most industrialized countries), and sensible gun safety laws, are example of measures that seem reasonable to me and many voters. Yet such measures will be characterized by some as "socialist." I don't know what you mean by "socialist" but we have a long long way to go before we ever get to a true "middle."
33
@Mor -- "After the defeat of Nazism, Eastern Europe was enslaved to socialism for forty years. I don’t want socialism to become an acceptable term in American political discourse."
Well, there's socialism, as practised in a one-party state, such as those in Eastern Europe before the Soviet Union's collapse; and there's socialism, as practised in democracies, such as Germany, Norway, et al. A shame that the word "socialism", like "fruit", permits less than meaningful generalisation: Apple, meet orange; according to Mor in California, there's no difference between you.
3
People are giving Democrats a bit too much credit this year. Why is there no gratitude for the Democrats' friend and ally Donald Trump? We should thank him for his monumental efforts to help Democrats win the House. I'm impressed that such an out-of-shape old man was able to spend so much time on the trail campaigning for the Dems, arguably more effort than a fit young guy like Obama ever put in (I'll grant that the President has a job to do besides campaigning, but the less time Trump spends governing the better off we all are.) And Trump's helping hand to Senate Democrats is criminally underappreciated. Have we already forgotten how he gave them a seat in Alabama last year? This time he flipped a seat in Arizona, nearly flipped a seat in Texas, and tried his best to sabotage Rick Scott's ambitions. Even now he's hard at work making Scott look ridiculous and guaranteeing that he'll go into the Senate wounded and tarnished. There's even a chance Scott will lose and the Republicans will be right back where they were at the start of Trump's presidency. Thanks, Donald!
38
@Neil Amerson
Wow, Neil, I never looked at it that way! Turns out, he really is Awesome. But now that the elections are over, it'd be okay if he stopped "helping" for a while.
Ms. Goldberg's perspective is a breath of fresh air, especially after hearing so many of the usual talking heads portraying Tuesday's outcome so cynically. The Democratic Party may still have its abrasive idealists, but I'm beginning to think that they may have gotten the message of 2016.
Proof-of-concept at the State level, in various states across the country, is likely among one of the better possible outcomes that could have been expected.
And the importance of having a more proportional political representation cannot be understated. It's a bit more difficult to dehumanize people when you are familiar with their humanity on the level of colleagues.
18
I live in GA-6th and participated, in a small way, in the primary round. The energy was palpable even then. The people, primarily women, who engineered the turnout are absolutely tireless. A few key lessons:
1. This district is now a toss-up, whereas before it was Newt's and Price's to lose. Perhaps the Democrats were just sleepwalking through elections before. Not any more. The Republicans will come back in force.
2. Messaging was important. When I canvassed, I steered clear of Trump entirely. I knocked on doors and talked about democracy, about how the House needs to adopt new rules and find ways to work together. People were very attracted to that message.
3. All this is good for democracy. Getting the public educated, engaged, and even excited is important. Whether a Democrat or Republican wins the seat, getting people to think and vote will help in the long run. Let the majority prevail, GA's voter suppression techniques not withstanding. That's another battle worth fighting.
33
Make no mistake I am pleased with the progress that was made in this election. What I don’t understand is that it took Democrat’s 2 years of hard work to reach this level of voter intensity while all it took were a couple of inflammatory speeches from Trump to drive Republican voter turnout. Why is it so hard to get Democrats to vote?
12
@Sipa111. The reason is that it wasn't Democrats that beat the Republicans. Instead it was an incredible wave of first time largely women Progressives that beat back the GOP. We should not give the traditional corporate Democratic Party for wins that we achieved by Progressives. Look at the incumbent Democratic seats that were lost (.e., Senator Claire McCaskill, Missouri). McCaskill is a traditional machine Democrat lifer politician with 35+ years as a professional politician running to be reelected to her umpteenth term, and quite frankly, there was a real enthusiasm gap that hurt her. Compare that to the newly elected fresh faces that have zero experience, and in some cases just became interested in politics.
Democrats came out and voted for the new candidates, and not so much for the old guard. Democratic voters are telling their Party that they want the old guard out.
3
@Sipa111 Because the majority of Dems are moderate and the party has shifted to the left. They won’t come out and vote for Socialists.
1
@Sipa111
The majority if us do - with gerrymandering and deep voter suppression, you would never know it
1
While I feel gratified and hopeful that the Democratic takeover of the House will finally put a check on this disastrous presidency, I'm disheartened by the fact that the Senate remains in Republican control.
Senate control means the Republicans can continue to confirm ultra-conservative judges appointed by Trump, for lifetime positions within federal circuit courts, and the Supreme Court. By stacking the courts with right-wing ideologues, the Republicans can put into effect their "insurance" that future progressive legislation and long-established current laws could be struck down by far-right majority opinions.
The Republicans may have lost in the short term, but they're winning the judicial long game.
13
Michelle, if this is what exhaustion looks like, give me more! I'm already rested and rarin' to go to take that one final big step, sending Trump back to his Golden Tower - sorry, Manhattan - in 2020. Some pundits may try to throw around their knowledge and so-called "expertise" by declaring that there was no Blue Wave, certainly not as big as anticipated or predicted. Oh, but how wrong they are. When so many Democratic women, when Native Americans, the Gay, the Muslim, Hispanics, and African Americans combined win so many elections across this nation, I perceive this as what we Californians call conquering "The Mavericks." We have so many people to thank for their pain-staking, relentless organization skills. But we also have to thank that other half of America - the every day individual who knows the difference between morality and amorality, justice versus injustice, ethics over corruption. The people have spoken quietly and persistently. No rants, no vitriol, no hate-mongering. This is what our democracy is about. And I have so much more hope now.
57
The fact is, Republicans did not gain their control over states and the U.S. Congress overnight, and Democrats will not regain control in just one election cycle. This election is just the start. Republicans are certainly helping the Democrats' efforts by becoming, essentially, the party of trump. This has led to more social crudeness and conflict, irrational fear of non-white people, strained international relations, and the broad acceptance of plain lying. Republicans also stand for helping corporations over people, allowing more pollution, mining and drilling for oil on public lands, dismissing the concerns about climate change, neglecting reform of our health care system, endless harping about abortions, ignoring concerns about campaign finance issues and the integrity of our election systems (except for looking for non-existent 'voter fraud'), endless rounds of unnecessary tax cuts and trimming the 'safety net' because of the resulting budget deficits, and on and on. Democrats must continuously remind voters of these issues, and the fact that Republicans are doing little or nothing to help the average citizen. Where is an increase in the minimum wage? How about infrastructure improvements? The choice between Democrats and Republicans is clear, and people must realize they should stop voting against their own interests.
33
@eandbee — really good summary of why we formed the Resistance. Thank you.
1
This column is a good counterpoint to "Democrats Have Two Paths for 2020: Daring or Defensive. Can They Settle on Either?", by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns (which did not invite readers' comments).
The Martin/Column seems to accept the contention by Sen. Claire McCaskill, that the Dems must nominate a boring candidate who can successfully win over middle-of-the-road voters. The Democratic Party elders had better beware of this misguided premise; how did it work for them in 2016?
To me it's odd to contend that a candidate who can compete for centrist voters must be neither progressive nor charismatic. The last thing the Dems need is a boring, plain vanilla candidate who plays it safe. It matters less whether he/she claims to be moderate or progressive. What matters is boldly and clearly articulating values that can excite voters across the spectrum of Democratic, independent and moderate Republican opinion. This election produced a new crop of stars in the Democratic Party, which bodes well for the future. Beto O'Rourke is just one of them; even in defeat, his campaign inspired wins down-ticket and is the template for how Dems can run in red states.
Whatever else happens, the party's next presidential nominee must be allowed to emerge in an organic manner, without being stage-managed by the DNC.
42
I agree, this is not the time for a boring candidate, Dukakis anyone? We need more Beto and Ocasio s !
1
@mancuroc, Authenticity is what's needed. Trust truth and goodness, ignore the polls.
1
Blue wave ?
As a result of the last progressive push, which got Obama elected, the 2010 midterms saw the Democrats lose 67 House seats.
That's more like what a wave looks like, and it was red.
No doubt whatsoever, that the democrats in the House will immediately engage in childish and spiteful antics a la Maxine Waters daily behavior, to "get" the Republicans, and Trump.
This, instead of statesmanlike behavior.
So, the "wave" will wash - back over the transom - where it came from, in two years as Americans realize that the progressives are just as much of a threat to our liberty now as they were in 2010.
14
@Objectivist... "progressives are just as much of a threat to our liberty now as they were in 2010."....When people say things like this I wish they would explain what they are talking about. Provide some facts; give some examples. Failure to add details makes it easy to dismiss such statements as partisan noise.
57
@Objectivist - Liberty to do what? Breathe dirty air and water, die from a lack of affordable health care?
2
@Objectivist
For two years Trump supporters have been repeating, 'Stop making excuses, Trump won, get over it.' I wonder who is making excuses at this moment.
2
The “ordinary” amongst us did the extraordinary! Thank you so very much America’s noble, unflagging Resistance. This is a democratic wave.
159
This Tuesday was just a big first step. The Democrats need to "run scared" every day for the foreseeable future. Every electoral race, from local school board to the Presidency must be vigorously contested, just like the Republicans did during the Obama era's complacency. It will take 2 years or more to crush the Trump nightmare but it can be done.
160
minimum,
How about Democrats running on passion and constitutional values? Rather then, "running scared"
1
The winning results for Dems in this midterm election are inspiring, hopeful, rewards for hard work well done...but the chance to obliterate Trump himself and trumpism in 2020 will, I dare say, be electrifying. It's not like Trump is ever going to turn into a good human being and, thus, perhaps, reclaim Republican and Republican-light voters in the suburbs who can't stomach him.
32
Unless the Democratic Party has decided to write off the rural and less populated parts of the country, they had better start trying to understand what attracts those voters, what their needs and desires are. Sure, these parts are home to some of the most conservative, xenophobic, misogynistic, and racist voters, but they are still a minority. The majority however are hungry for someone to listen to their concerns and address them.
Yes, they are angry at the Democrats for promising to protect their jobs when NAFTA was made law, and for not lifting a finger to find ways to enable these areas to share in the economy, or address the rising cost of healthcare while healthcare options dwindle. But they also know that the Republicans have done no better, and while they like the anti-abortion, anti-immigration rhetoric from Trump & Friends, they would prefer prosperity, and seeing their small communities become healthy as they once were. And there is no reason they can't be. Moreover, restoring the vitality of these areas would strengthen America, as well as reverse the tribalism that's driving the country apart.
These are things that Democrats can do to reverse the loss of voters to the Republicans, and are in line with the historical principles of the Party. Unless, of course, the New Democratic Party doesn't think it needs these voters.
7
@Kingfish52 We don't need those voters. But we will still do everything we can to help them - with universal healthcare, living wages, increased social security benefits, universal pre-k, free college, affordable housing laws, and high paying jobs to rebuild our infrastructure. We can do all of this by restoring (and INCREASING) taxes on wealthy Swamp Creatures.
49
@Kingfish52...."they had better start trying to understand what attracts those voters"....Isn't it obvious? The caravan is coming. Hoards of illegal immigrants are going to swarm across the border. They're mostly rapists and murders and middle-eastern terrorists. Be afraid, very afraid. If you want to know what attracts those voters just listen to Trump; and frankly people who are attracted by xenophobia and bigotry aren't worth helping.
15
@Kingfish52
Seems to me that the rural American needs quality, affordable healthcare as much as the city dweller. The rural American needs his or her roads and bridges in good repair as much as the city dweller, and he or she may have an even greater interest in a workable immigration policy, given the needs for farm labor.
These are important Democrat priorities that should appeal to rural voters.
8
There was no blue wave. And if the many GOP house members had not chickened out and instead had run again, there is a good chance the Dems would not have won the House. As usual, Ms Goldberg lives in a world that does not exist.
11
@ehillesum The question is why did they choose not to run? Is it just possible being in the Trump party became more than they could bear?
57
@ehillesum....You haven't looked at the races down the ballot.
11
Wishing for the past to be a different past? As my Irish grandmother always said, 'If wishes were fishes, we'd all have some'.
4
If you call November 2018 the resistance strikes back, what do you call, e.g. 2010 and 2014 under Mr. Obama:
In 2010, Democrats lost 6 seats in the Senate and 63 seats in the House, costing them the chamber. In 2014, Democrats lost another 13 seats in the House and 9 seats in the Senate; this time losing them the Senate and completing a Republican takeover of Congress.
I think Ms. Goldberg, that you are somewhat exaggerating.
10
@Joshua Schwartz
Gerrymandering and voter apathy: the first is being taken apart and the latter daily dissipates.
1
@Joshua Schwartz
That was the red wave.
@Joshua Schwartz 2010 & 2014 were examples of White Supremacy "striking back" against a Black man in the White House. The DNC had been asleep at the wheel for years, and their weak attempts to appeal to fearful racists has always backfired. FINALLY the Democrats are reaching out to their OWN forgotten constituencies. That's how we managed to gain so much ground despite GOP gerrymandering and voter suppression.
2
As we continue on this journey of rectifying the “ Great Mistake “
i.e. Trump, we’ll need a new name, especially for the 2020 Campaign. I suggest the Restoration. Restore America to it’s proud past, and prepare for our real Future. Thoughts ???
53
I love it. Resistance at this point in time might make us sound like victims. Time to plan for the long game. Time’s up.
12
@Phyliss Dalmatian,
Thank you for your spunk and your genuine voice. At the moment, it feels at times as if we are living The Fall of America.
Inspired by your suggestion, I might add 'The Rebuilding and Restoration of our Nation'.
11
@Phyliss Dalmatian. Thanks for your voice and your wit. I love the concept of Restoration. I am fired up and ready to go with you because you are right, THESE boots are made for walking and walking, and walking.
3
The person upon whose shoulders much of this was built was Hillary. She outperformed Obama 2012 in AZ, TX, GA and FL.
She made it acceptable for a Republican to vote for a Democrat, especially when that Republican was Trump.
In AZ the congressional delegation flipped to majority Democratic. The AZ 60 seat lower House, controlled by the GOP since LBJ and veto proof 10 years ago is now 32-28 GOP.
There is an excellent chance the Democrat will win the open Senate seat.
Picking up 12 seats in the 150 seat Texas House is, well, something.
In NV, there is now only ONE GOP federal constitutional officer. Remember, this is Emon Bundy land.
It takes time, and good state party infrastructure.Liberals are impatient. When the east coast races (FL, GA) indicated defeat, James Carville, the architect of Clinton's improbable 1992 win, stated on MSNBC "there will be no blue wave."
The grande dame of liberal talk, Rachel Maddow, reluctantly agreed.
Conservative media jumped all over that, claiming there was no blue wave.
Chuck Todd asked a Wed. guest "was the election good or bad for Democrats."
Brett Stephens on Bill MMaher's show last night continued to insist Tuesday was slightly better than a disaster for Dems.
All because liberals head faked themselves early on into believing it wasn't going to happen.
Like a shark, conservatives can smell blood miles away. It is critical liberals create no more self inflicted wounds.
28
@Paul: Well said. Impatience leads to panic, and panic to self-inflicted wounds. If we are not going to play Trumps' losing game, we must have more faith in the ultimate good and justice of our position. Over time that will be stronger than the fear he is mongering.
4
@Paul
There's a clip on that Tube thing titled "Arizona Republicans and Independents Mull Electing Sinema....." that I highly recommend.
It consisted of On the Street interviews, and watching it restored much of my faith in my neighbors. Regular people, but thoughtful and articulate, they voiced concern for real issues, and distress at the state of the presidency.
7
The midterm elections produced individual stories that will be a heartening resource for us as we proceed to 2020. The gaining of a majority in the House of Representatives is an important step, as are the new Democratic governorships.
Overstating the significance of the outcome *a little* can have a salutary effect on morale and on the views of any impressionable non-liberals who may be hanging around the Times Opinion Section. But let's not drink too deeply. The work to be done requires a clear head.
Even the Times's own Nicholas Kristof, who has earned his liberal credentials as much as anyone, writes of the "blue ripple":
"Don’t listen to Democrats who portray these midterms as an important triumph. In 2016 and again this year, liberals listened too much to one another and not enough to the country as a whole; if that happens again in the run-up to 2020, heaven help us all."
If Tuesday's results were the fruit of two years of progressive organizing, we need more and better progressive organizing from here on. More genuine politics and less righteous posturing, too. It would be a fatal mistake to convince ourselves that the midterms vindicated the most strident aspects of the Resistance.
And about that last word: I agree with the reader who asked you to retire it. For each American who finds it inspiring, there must be at least 1.5 who find it pompous or self-limiting. It suggests a fervid leftist minority absorbed in mental WWII cosplay. Let's become the Alternative.
7
@Longestaffe We cannot win unless we center poverty as an axis of oppression. We must stop spreading the insane lie that poverty offers no protection from sexism, racism, or homophobia. OF COURSE IT DOES!!! It may not provide 100% protection, but it absolutely mitigates the worst aspects of oppression. I volunteer with homeless people. Identity politics breaks down into a bad joke when faced with extreme poverty. A white man living under a bridge absolutely IS more oppressed than a black lesbian living an upper middle class lifestyle. Absolutely. We need to get out of our heads and back into our bodies: material reality overrules identity. Always.
1
Courage has marked many of these campaigns where candidates ran in deep red states where everything was against them -- voter suppression efforts, recent partisan history, discrimination, and expectations that they had to meet certain stereotypes.
Jon Ossoff did not just exit the scene. He continued to support others. Stacey Abrams years ago founded the New Georgia Project to register as many voters as possible, often locking horns with Brian Kemp with a variety of lawsuits and accusations about fraud for the registrations.
The voters themselves were heroes, helping in campaigns, waitings for hours to vote or voting early.
For Georgia, it remains to be seen. As a voter who was purged but noticed on the day it happened, after I complained (that day) I was reinstated the next day. 340,000 voters who were purged due to address changes evidently did not move, and there is a lawsuit. 50,000+ who voted absentee were not gong to be counted until a judge intervened and said that the secretary of state had to inform them of their status and give them a chance to correct the situation. But for every invalid voter or absentee voter who did not have an exact match, provisional ballots were not always available, and provisional voters had only 3 days to bring their information in -- a major obstacle for those who work or have child care or other conflicts.
One clear message has surfaced: every vote must be counted.
Every vote.
145
@smb-Thanks for providing this additional context. Provisional ballots are also a worry as there's not proof they'll get counted, unless challenged. Shocking to read about the state of Georgia's voting system and efforts by Kemp, Karen Handel and GOP lawmakers to block voters.
Who Gets to Vote (in Georgia?)
https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/who-gets-to-vote
"How to hack elections on Georgia’s electronic voting machines - Apr 17, 2018
https://politics.myajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/how-hack-elections-georgia-electronic-voting-machines/K4s5F935330BS6fGDm3CVI/
Did computer-aided fraud play a role In Georgia's special election upset?
https://www.mintpressnews.com/laughing-their-ossoff-did-computer-aided-f.l
10
This opinion piece inspires us and gives us hope for better things to come in the country we love. Thank-you Michelle. I tell my granddaughter that no good done is ever wasted. We pray for our country and good people to take a stand against such disregard for the values we hold dear and the freedoms we cherish that our loved ones fought to defend and uphold.
25
The resistance flipped the House, but if Dems hope for the presidency and the Senate in 2020, the tone will have to be different. 'Resistance' is an explicitly partisan branding, and therefore it's not a high-likelihood or socially healthy way to win full control of two branches of government. I'm afraid Dems won't want to hear this, but the nation needs reconciliation. By all means make it a progressive flavored reconciliation, but go easy. I personally would love Harris or Warren at the top of a presidential ticket but they would be too easily caricatured as radicals. Biden might work but the connection with Obama poses a similar outreach liability. Sherrod Brown? Hickenlooper? Trump gives us a great opportunity to win habitual Republican voters by being less scary and self-obsessed than he is, which should be a REALLY low bar. And that could bring a whole new swath of people into persuasion range - not just once, but for the long-term. Let's not lose this chance to rebuild a political center -- that leans left.
14
@Patrick R, Taking a firm stance against Trumpism will not come from any sort of "political centre" because
Not Right
plus
Not Left
equals
Not-nuthin' (or simply Naught).
A *stance* has to be something.
And that 'something' has to be transparent and truthful, clear (but open to criticism) and (the hard part) eminently practical in a complex real-world.
The fear of being offensive for good, well-thought-through reasons will only further stagnate the Dem party.
6
@Harold With respect, I can think of at least two centrist or center-left anti-Trump "stands" to pitch. One would be a "we are one family" message that asks voters to see each other as invested in each others' success -and- vision for the country: we have to make a home in which we -all- can be at home, hence compromise. The other would be a pitch to commit to whatever policy methods, right or left, best promote human flourishing, as indicated by best available evidence. This one might imply a short term de-escalation to the state or coalition of state level, as proving grounds. Both of these may have a certain left-leaning bias baked in. But -either- looking at each other as family rather than enemies, -or- insisting on politics-independent facts, provides a thourough repudiation of Trumpism that at least has a bridge built to the center.
4
There can’t be any reconciliation as long as the trump gang is in the White House. The resistance continues until 2020.
1
I share in the great gratitude for the achievements of Tuesday. And I have faith in the leadership of Reps Pelosi, Schiff, Nadler and many others in their capacity to legislate AND investigate.
2020 is the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment which guaranteed the right of all US women to vote. Since there are a number of women who are qualified to be president. not a token, it's really high time isn't it?
31
@DEBORAH White women got the right to vote in 1920. US women got the right to vote in 1965.
1
The media narrative began by calling the November 6 election a "split decision." But this was a facile insight.
Four days later, a more accurate picture is emerging.
More than 45 million Americans voted for Democratic Senate candidates compared to 33 million for Republican contenders, as of Wednesday -- a victory margin of 12 million votes.
In the House races, the total victory margin for Democrats was over 3 million votes -- and counting.
Trump tried to make this election a referendum of his policies and popularity. It was. And he lost miserably.
244
@Civic Samurai
Interesting--there's that pesky 3 million votes that 45 keeps "losing" by again. I'm grateful there's no Electoral College for determining the winner of House races. Although republican gerrymandering does plenty of damage.
19
@Civic Samurai-Good points. Worth noting: the Republican base is shrinking because there are fewer registered Republicans. The University of Virginia Center for Politics detailed party registration and found that there were nearly 12 million more registered Democrats than Republicans across 31 states and the District of Columbia. So the only way the GOP can continue to enshrine its power is by blocking people from voting, gerrymandering to nullify the majority, committing electronic vote fraud and/or failing to secure insecure machines, lying and threatening and appointing conservatives judges to legalize civil and voting rights theft. For these reasons, we need to demand fair and transparent elections, keep the media spotlight on reps, and vote unprincipled Republicans out of office. http://thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/397695-pollster-gop-base-is-shrinking
28
@Civic Samurai: This system obviously systematically nullifies democracy.
3
I was one of 4,000 volunteers and donors to Dr. Kim Shrier, the Democrat running in the race to win Washington State's 8th congressional district. We knocked on over 400,000 doors. For the past 14 years, a Republican has represented this district but last Tuesday Kim Shrier won by 6 points.
Because of Trump's appalling performance as President and the Republicans' refusal to put a check on his authoritarian actions, I decided it was time to do more than vote, so for the first time in my life, I volunteered for a campaign.
In 2020, myself and the majority of other volunteers will be back to make sure Democrats keep this seat.
531
@Susan Gossman
Susan, we're about as far away from each other as two people can be on this continental U.S., but here's a Big Hug and a Thanks! for the volunteer legwork you did.
It mattered, and it made a difference.
62
@Susan Gossman Thanks for all the grassroots volunteers who did soooo much work to build a Blue Wave.
Election Day offers the moment to reaffirm support for fundamental freedoms and integrity in government. The choice will be there in print again in 2020. We know where Trump's base stands. Where do we stand?
An historic Blue Wave that retakes the WH & Congress in 2020 is our civic & moral responsibility. We must awaken voters across the spectrum to vote Blue.
The struggle continues. Never, ever give up. For our health & for our planet...Vote Blue!
BTW, Democratic candidates for the House overall have won 4.2 million more votes than Republican candidates did according to current estimates.
21
@Susan Gossman
Well done, Susan! An inspiring success story; knocking over a 14 year domination of these anti-American Republicans. Thanks!
17
Michelle, with your words of encouragement and resistance, you inspired us to keep up the good fight in our darkest and most hopeless hours. Thank you for your part.
63
In the service of good, no effort is wasted. Having worked on the Ossoff campaign, and this year in multiple campaigns in north Atlanta, I can only thank the amazing, tireless efforts of those many who made successes come to pass: Janel, Amy, Amanda, Jodi--countless people who worked beyond the call to make progress possible. And as for me, my Stacey Abrams sign will not come down until she concedes or wins. We will NOT go back.
101
"Trump was as much a symptom of American democratic rot as its cause. In many places Democrats had neglected local organizing"
That is key. "Local organizing" is more than providing foot soldiers to obey some distant national directive. It is focus on what local people need and want from their politics.
Listen to them, then do that.
77
@Mark Thomason
The best we Can usually get is “ Listen to them. Tell them you will do that. When you go to Washington vote with your party leadership instead and count on them not noticing.”
@Mark Thomason
That is a message the establishment Democrats must hear. They are the reason we lost about 1,000 seats nationally between 2010 and 2016. They are the ones who abandoned huge sections of the country to the Republicans.
They are saying they know how to run campaigns and how to govern. They are saying this standing on the ash heap of their former "success". I say to them, get out the way and take your mealy-mouthed consultants with you.
This is a misreading of the Tuesday election results, seen through the glasses of bias. Tuesday was much closer to the Roy Moore election in Alabama where an incredibly flawed candidate barely got beaten. You will see next time that a Republican will be elected in Alabama. When the name at the top of the Republican ticket is Nikki Haley and not the venal person in the White House, the country will swing back to its natural right and the Democratic party will again have the blues.
3
@Observer of the Zeitgeist: Nikki Haley supports and works for that venal person in the White House. She has as much chance of being elected President as my rabbi has of being elected Pope.
15
The winners won because people thought they were the best candidate and because dems came out and voted.
3
we will see about that, especially with Reps talk about cut to SS and medicare, and with no idea how to solve the healthcare problem.
1
Great piece, MG.
I agree, the fight needs to be taken to these districts to build for the future. Too often the Ds see a 10 or 15 point disadvantage for the D and throw up there hands and do nothing.
The Rs, on the other hand say, 'Is that all! Let's get to work!'
The Ds need to do that more!
Also, the sad response of the Ds to Tuesdays huge win was just that sad. They don't even know how to claim a victory it appears. I'm surprised they didn't come out and agree with Trump.
Just look at what they did;
Flipped out Kobach and KS
Flipped out Rohrbacher in CA
Flipped out Walker in WI
Just seeing these guys go down is rewarding.
Also recovered a good number of statehouses as well as the US House of Representatives.
One election was never going to do it, and this is, as Churchill once said, 'Not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.'
71
@Chris Morris
PS:
Further, all these gains were garnered in a highly gerrymandered, and voter suppressed environment.
It's remarkable they won the house under these conditions.
47
How can there be a "blue wave" when the U.S. Senate became more Republican? It is that body that confirms nominees of the Supreme Court. How can it be called a blue wave when the number of seats lost by Republicans was about half of what Obama lost in 2010? How can it be a blue wave when Liberal darlings like Beto O'Rouke lost along with Stacy Abrams? It was frankly a mixed result and the President remains President, Kavanaugh is already hearing cases in the Supreme Court.
10
@alan
And it is unfortunate that Trump remains president...at least for the time being; and Kavanaugh is on the SCOTUS. But Trump could be impeached or unseated in 2020, and the SCOTUS could be expanded to 11 members. Many of us would support these changes.
10
@alan brown...."How can there be a "blue wave" when the U.S. Senate became more Republican?"....Look down the ballot in the state races.
3
@W.A. Spitzer Point taken but "wave" implies something larger than what you described and Republicans prevailed in down-ballot races in many states but, yes, Democrats did better in more than previously.
"The world is made by the people who show up for the job."
We're showing up, and we're not going away.
178
@Larry Roth The struggle continues. Never, ever give up. For our health & for our planet...Vote Blue!
With the exception of perhaps Lenin's, which didn't end well, all Grand Collective marches "are a slog, pockmarked with disappointments".
Since 1965 Marcuse's socio-political street-fights in mass-media--and particularly in the cities, e.g., San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Portland--have done well in America and always "At the end, though, there was hope."
Now, how about that Court?
3
@Alice's Restaurant - You need to read more history, start with the women's suffrage movement and the civil rights movement.
As I read this article and commenters here I am struck by the change of attitudes held by my fellow Democrats. Demoralization and frustration after Trump's theft of the 2016 election as been replaced by determination. That a trite phrase such as 'Its always darkest before the dawn' should be accurate and born out by so many new activist is beyond heartening. We have so much to do, but the will to do it is now apparent.
In my area we took all the local county and city seats and have broken the Republican cabal in our state senate that has been attempting to destroy our Democratic governor through a veto proof majority intent on stripping him of every power he held as governor. Doesn't sound glamorous, but this victory reclaims the possibility of open government for our state.
Its only the beginning.
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@just Robert The struggle continues. Never, ever give up. For our health & for our planet...Vote Blue!
1
It's not to early to begin campaigning for 2020. Narrow down the big message to this. 'Put Democrats in charge of congress and the White House and you will get Medicare for all'. The Democrats who ran against it like Joe Donnelly are gone. When the republicans scream socialism ask the voters if they want healthcare or bootstraps.
65
@Mark Not too early to start for 2020? Bernie, Kamala and others began months ago.
@Mark. Well said. Thank you!
In light of these positive election results, we need to come up with a name for this movement other than "The Resistance", that reflects how this movement has evolved and grown.
Resisting was Phase 1, and this was and remains critical. "The Resistance" fit the movement's purpose and focus at that time. And we remain vigilant.
However, we and this movement have grown beyond just resisting...we are building, mobilizing , and bringing about positive change - as seen these election wins, the grass roots infrastructure put into place, and the energized sustained engagement of concerned citizens.
With these results, lets choose a name that reflects the now more expansive quality of this movement - i.e. it is not only resisting the current administration (and it many enablers), this movement is fundamentally empowering democracy.
8
@Voter
Agreed. "ReBuilding America" (?)
I would suggest that Ms. Goldberg (and other Democrats/Liberals) celebrate less, and instead give a more thoughtful analysis to the results of the election and the overall situation in the country. I voted for the Democrats, and I really want Trump gone in 2 years... but I'm not seeing all that many reasons to feel optimistic (let alone, euphoric).
Let's be honest with ourselves, it's not a "Blue Wave" when it happens in the suburbs only. The overall large scale electoral map still looks very very red. The rural-urban divide has only been cemented since 2016. The rural parts of the US are solid Trump country now. Most importantly, that wave in the suburbs was not necessarily "blue". It was anti-Trump. But it would be extremely naive to count all the people who voted for the Dem. candidates there as liberals or members of the "resistance". (Things have VERY seriously changed, when the democrats have to rely on well-to-do suburban residents for their votes, rather than working class folks!) These people are tired of Trump; but they are still very likely to sympathize with many traditionally Republican ideas - about taxes and immigration, among other things. They voted for the Dems. in order to have some check on Trump; but don't expect them to embrace all the Democrats' ideas, especially those coming from the far left. Specifically, if the Dems. keep nominating and electing candidates running on "Abolish ICE", I fully expect many of them to go with Trump in 2020, again.
8
@Leonid Andreev In Georgia, the change happened not only in urban and suburban areas, but in rural places where our dishonest SOS hoped to suppress votes. Even in the face of voter disenfranchisement and rampant gerrymandering, Abrams performed well. We are here, and we are reaching out to EVERYONE.
27
So it was anti- Trump this time when Trump was not on the ballot, but it will be not anti- Trump with Trump actually on ballot? Something doesn't add up.
2
@Leonid Andreev
Here in Florida in both the Senate and Gubanatorial race apparently a great many people voted for the Democrat while also voting to ratify a constitutional amendment requiring a supermajority to raise taxes or fees, a quintessentially right-wing idea. You have a point.
Let's hope Democrats can maintain this level of enthusiasm in 2020 and will outlive Trump's Presidency. It will take a great deal of effort to undo all the damage caused by this corrupt administration. The most difficult task is not to defeat Trump and Trumpism but to crash it to the point when it can never be revived. It is important that a substantial number of his base eventually understand that the Trump tactics are self-defeating, that inclusivenes, honesty and decency are not a sign of weakness but rather what makes a stronger union.
56
Why do we call it the Resistance when we're the majority? We're not a beleaguered, furtive band outnumbered by an overwhelming army. Sixty percent is The Will of the People
The next two years shouldn't be about "resisting" Trump or Republicans. Instead we should work to unite the majority to support decency, truth and democracy. One way or another, the Will of the People will ultimately prevail.
48
@Jane
We are the majority, but we are also the Resistance, as long as the Executive Branch, the Senate, and the Supreme Court are occupied by forces that do not represent the will of the people.
40
@Sam Unfortunately they represent the will of enough of the people so that they were elected.
2
@Sam
The Senate represents the will of the people, just not the will of YOU people, each Senator representing the will of the people of their respective states. The Senator from Iowa represents the will of Iowans and it would be a breach of trust for him to favor instead the will of Californians of Virginians, however more numerous they may be.
The Supreme Court is occupied by Justices, not Representatives. It is their role to apply the law with deliberate indifference to the will of “the people”, a phrase which usually is associated with a destruction of the rule of law.
The executive is also not a representative of the “will of the people”, but an administrator of the laws. Executives claiming that mantel are typically dangerous demagogues who overthrow constitutional orders.
Your definition of Resistance describes a treasonous threat to the constitutional order.
I'm a Democrat from New York City who lived in Canton, Georgia in the 6th congressional district when Republican Tom Price was the representative in Congress. I'm delighted that Lucy McBath, an African-American gun control advocate, has flipped the seat.
I've been living in Columbus, OH for five years and considered the state purple until last Tuesday's election when the Democrats, with the exception of Sherrod Brown and one county, did badly. I'm not sure why. Part of it may be due to gerrymandering but I am also guessing that the Democrats who voted twice for Obama but felt abandoned by the Democratic Party and turned to Trump in desperation haven't changed their minds. The Democratic party still isn't speaking to them.
12
@Barb
"A 2016 study by Reuters found that Ohio's voter file purge policy struck voters from the rolls in Democratic-leaning neighborhoods at roughly twice the rate as in Republican neighborhoods, and those with a high proportion of poor, black residents were hit the hardest."
https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2018/10/federal_judge_deals_another_bl_1.html
Remember, Ohio is run by a criminal Republican political syndicate that has no love for democracy.
https://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/11/09/18492/ohio-gets-d-grade-2015-state-integrity-investigation
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@Socrates
I get what you're saying Socrates. The Secretary of State and the Republicans have worked very hard to stop Democrats and minorities from voting. That's a given. However, it's a mistake to not acknowledge the fact that many Democrats here, for good reason, felt abandoned by their party. And those concerns should be addressed.
7
@Barb Indiana also still strongly went Republican. But Indiana is often one of the last in the pack for change. There is still hope.
8
''...but they also won new seats in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and South Carolina.'' - and there you have it.
What the Democratic party requires (other than obviously becoming more Progressive and representative of the people) is to have a 537 federally elected official strategy. That means running credible and fearless candidates that are unequivocal for 435 house seats, 100 senate seats and for President and Vice President,
Do NOT give up in any race, and do NOT ''tailor'' your message for where you are. THAT is what the true Progressive candidates displayed when winning an island/beachhead in a sea of red.
That is what the people hunger for and what will wake up that 100,000,000 that sit on the sideline in apathy for any given election.
Wake them up and we can achieve whatever we want..
14
@FunkyIrishman "Wake them up and we can achieve whatever we want" said Lenin.
“ A journey Of a thousand miles begins with a single step “. And THESE boots were made for walkin’. Walk on, Sisters.
Seriously.
280
''...but they also won new seats in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and South Carolina.'' - and there you have it.
What the Democratic party requires (other than obviously becoming more Progressive and representative of the people) is to have a 537 federally elected official strategy. That means running credible and fearless candidates that are unequivocal for 435 house seats, 100 senate seats and for President and Vice President,
Do NOT give up in any race, and do NOT ''tailor'' your message for where you are. THAT is what the true Progressive candidates displayed when winning an island/beachhead in a sea of red.
That is what the people hunger for and what will wake up that 100,000,000 that sit on the sideline in apathy for any given election.
Wake them up and we can achieve whatever we want. .
3
@FunkyIrishman
''do NOT ''tailor'' your message for where you are.''
That's right. That's it.
People turn out not so much for message, but for integrity. They want someone who will do the right thing, even if it might occasionally be against their interests.
The age of the mealy-mouthed politician is over.
1
''...but they also won new seats in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and South Carolina.'' - and there you have it.
What the Democratic party requires (other than obviously becoming more Progressive and representative of the people) is to have a 537 federally elected official strategy. That means running credible and fearless candidates that are unequivocal for 435 house seats, 100 senate seats and for President and Vice President,
Do NOT give up in any race, and do NOT ''tailor'' your message for where you are. THAT is what the true Progressive candidates displayed when winning an island/beachhead in a sea of red.
That is what the people hunger for and what will wake up that 100,000,000 that sit on the sideline in apathy for any given election.
Wake them up and we can achieve whatever we want. ..
5
''...but they also won new seats in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and South Carolina.'' - and there you have it.
What the Democratic party requires (other than obviously becoming more Progressive and representative of the people) is to have a 537 federally elected official strategy. That means running credible and fearless candidates that are unequivocal for 435 house seats, 100 senate seats and for President and Vice President,
Do NOT give up in any race, and do NOT ''tailor'' your message for where you are. THAT is what the true Progressive candidates displayed when winning an island/beachhead in a sea of red.
That is what the people hunger for and what will wake up that 100,000,000 that sit on the sideline in apathy for any given election.
Wake them up and we can achieve whatever we want...
5
Another piece of anecdotal evidence regarding Lucy McBath. District 6 includes a piece of 3 counties, Cobb (R), North Fulton (R), and Dekalb (D). Gerrymandering in 2010 mapped it as Republican. Low and behold as time went on both Cobb and Fulton saw an influx of African Americans moving in as a result of upward mobility, then add a dynamic individual, and great volunteers as the article mentioned. Boom, Lucy wins.
Cobb is now Democrat, as is another big county adjacent to Atlanta, Gwinnett. And in addition to Lucy, a dozen new Democratic state reps were elected in Atlanta's surrounding counties.
Yes Michelle the Resistance won big.
51
I keep wondering.....why are we so divided as a country? So evenly split? (Though I keep hearing there are way more Democrats than Republicans so then why is it always so tight?). If all Dems voted would we stop being so evenly divided? Would we overwhelm the R's even with gerrymandering?
Because, frankly, this is getting so very tiresome. No one should have voted for Trump or Rs this time around. Trump said he was on the ballot. It should have been at least three-quarters of us voting against him and his party. But instead it's just a whisper between us. Are we wired differently from each other? Do our brains work differently? Why didn't Trump's closing fear message resonate with Ds like it did with Rs?
It shouldn't have even been a contest. And that's why I'm not energized by taking the House. And now Trump has his perfect enemy blah blah blah. Without the Senate there is no accountability for this terrible president and nothing will get done.
11
@sophia
Hang in there! One problem is that Democrats are not evenly spread out, but are overrepresented in urban areas. But the second issue is that here, as elsewhere (Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, various Latin American countries) fascism garners a lot of popular and institutional support. I think we can win but not overnight. It took a while to get here and it is going to take a while to dig our way out.
11
@sophia Please remember how important it is to vote blue when Susan Collins is next up for election. She sold out not only Maine but women across the US this last year.
1
@sophia
Research has been done showing evidence that the brain function of the progressive thinking person differs from that of a conservative thinking person.
I've been active in an Indivisible group in a rather deep red section of Indiana for the full two years and have no intention of stopping. This year, our House district still went red, but it was a washed-out pink. We are making progress. When we do any public demonstration, which are attended by usually only close to 100 folks maximum, we get many dozens and even hundreds of honks and waves of support from the cars passing by. It's important to get out there, to show folks in this heavily red district who do not happen to agree with the policies of this administration: you are not alone. This encourages more and more people to come forth and join forces. Many of us have found one another now, and we will continue to do the work that's long been needed to make this a truly representative democracy. It's the only good thing to come out of this administration.
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@Nino Gretsky Thanks to all the grassroots volunteers who worked so hard to build a Blue Wave.
The struggle continues. Never, ever give up. For our health & for our planet...Vote Blue!
3
During the run up to election day, I kept reading articles about low interest and low turnout. At the same time, I was looking at absentee voting in Virginia and saw a significant turnout of voters 21 and younger, and absentee voting that was close to Presidential turnout. Reporters could have looked at the same data that i saw, but they were too enamored of their story line to bother with the facts.
15
Miss Goldberg, please stop calling it the "resistance". That makes it sound like it's some kind of minority uprising.
It is not. It is Women - over one-half of OUR society - finally taking their power by voting for the Socially Conscious Women who are stepping up to take one-half the power they should have had all along.
It is black Americans and other non-white citizens using their rights to vote and running for office - and winning.
Yes, we are changing the social fabric of OUR United States of America but it's not a "resistance". It's the beginning of OUR story instead of more white male HIStory of fear-anger-hate-Lies,Lies,Lies-death-destruction-WAR-rape-pillage-plunder.
It's centuries past time.
344
@njglea I look for your posts and never fail to read them with interest.
I take your point that we must move on beyond mere resistance. It is time for pro-action.
However, I must tell you that I am a white male over 60. Please be careful when you start pinning all the ills of the moment (or indeed of history) on us. That brush is too broad. I have been on your side my entire life and I wager there are a great many like me out there. Include us, won't you? Together we can change this.
46
Thank you, Edward. I have often said it is not "men" in general who are the problem. It is the male power-over model we have all had to live with for centuries.
Men had to figure out how to survive in the systems, too.
However, it is time for new, inclusive systems and men like you who recognize it are part of the solution.
Thanks to you all. OUR story of shared Socially Conscious female/male power starts now.
28
@njglea
Our Story.
I like it! Thank you.
As a male of the species, I fully agree that the males of the species (regardless of color, origin, creed, etc.) are the problem.
It is time for the Females of the species to help rebalance the mess we have created.
8
"People were “looking around to see who or what was going to come and save them,” Levin said. “And the answer was nothing. The answer was that they had to do it themselves.”"
I like this quote, Michelle Goldberg, because (I hope to God) it keeps Democrats on their toes. I think the reason they surpassed expectations is that sometimes the dimmer the outlook, the harder some folks will work to prove naysayers wrong.
After the disaster of 2016, I sure hope Democrats have learned they can't assume anything.
Trump bet the house on his dark vision of America, one that only appealed to a finite base, versus Democrats who decided to expand theirs by using an intensive ground game targeting first-time voters, as well as apathetic ones.
I hear over and over that democracy wins the more the electorate expands. The US already has an extremely low level of voter participation compared to Canada and European democracies (I'll refrain from observing it's debatable whether or not we still have a democratic republic).
But the fact that the turnout was as large as it was really cheered me. That said, Democrats can't afford to rest on their gains.
I hope they never ever forget the feeling they had on November 9, 2016.
269
@ChristineMcM. You are absolutely right with regard to the quote you lead off with. For over a year after Trump was elected, I kept praying that one of the titans of industry, or some powerful intellect, or a respected foreign leader would smack down our president and bring him in line. It took me a while to realize that WE THE PEOPLE had to do it ourselves rather than wringing our hands and waiting for some knight in shining armor to do the hard work. I think we can expect some dark days ahead, but we now have a game plan developing for the next 2 years.
7
@ChristineMcM, I will never forget the sorrow and depression that still lingers after that calamitous election. Love your commentary.
7
I thank Beto for his long fight
He illuminated the night
Gave support to others
His Sisters and Brothers,
He proved that Resistance had might!
477
@Larry Eisenberg
I love Beto too. Hope he becomes president in 2020.
5
@Larry Eisenberg
The last American to convert one term in the House and a losing Senate election into occupation of the White House was Abraham Lincoln. But the rebels did not secede this time. Beto is no Lincoln. Nor is he an Quincy Adams, LBJ, H.W./W Bush nor Quanah Parker.
1
@Larry Eisenberg
But his elective stars were crossed
And the end result he lost
1
The Republicans strengthened their position in the Senate and their losses in the House were well in line with standard midterm losses for the President’s party. And many of the House wins were centrist Democrats who will not rubber stamp every attempt at obstruction by the more leftist wing of the party. The Senate will continue to confirm justices. And it actually seems like perhaps some bipartisan legislation might actually be passed. So no, the resistance didn’t accomplish much.
6
@Shiv
Nope, will have to disagree with that assessment and your down playing of Democratic accomplishments in this election. The Democrats did very well and a short summary of the great job they did is they won the House, had small losses in the Senate, had big gains in state governments, and had a number of ballot issues accepted across the country that support Democratic policy positions e.g., expanding Medicaid and increasing the minimum wage to name just two. So no, can't agree with your negativity.
23
@Shiv
"..and their losses in the House were well in line with standard midterm losses for the President’s party."
No matter. The subpoena power of the Democratic House will turn tables faster than you can say, 'Run Away!"
Your wanna-be tough-guy president won't go outside in the rain for WWI soldiers who died fighting on the Western Front.
While on the U.S. Southern Border your stable-genius president has amassed a show of force, American Marines awaiting the arrival of 3rd world refugee families seeking asylum and opportunity. (Are the troops digging trenches to defend when they arrive next month?)
What you don't see (and the willfully blinded FOX viewers) is the Coward-in-Chief is throwing hissy-fits every where he goes. He is picking fights with reporters rather than respond-with honesty-to their questions. He mocks members of his own party who lost on Tuesday.
And he still refers to the Russian attacks on our elections as a hoax...but he considers the free-press to be "the enemy of the people."
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and controversy."
By all accounts, the American President is lying in a bed in a Paris Hotel watching FOX News, too scared to stand up.
The Kremlin reported that the meeting between Putin and the Puppet-in-Chief is still on...rain or shine.
And Shiv...the resistance hasn't even been sworn in yet.
2
@Shiv Keep whistling in the dark.
2
It looks like ms. Goldberg is going to promote some activism' momentum for Dems.
It's not.
First you have to consider that every first midterm election since new presidency goes against it. It's natural, it's going on for quite some time and it's bipartisan.
Second the victory of Dems is still down a chamber. They missed the Senate.
In 2010 midterm election, after the newly installed mr. Obama's presidency- an equivalent situation to that of today-, Republicans won both House and Senate, without all the activists, popular media members, last ex-president and wife and even ex-presidential candidate strongly campaigning.
For how great this victory could be, it has its upside effects for Dems who are constrained to transitioning from activists movement to legislative party, that is they are called to prove they can govern effectively.
And third, the victories of Dems were mainly by very small margin ( under 3000 votes ), which is tempting to say they almost lost with the same strenght of saying they barely won- by looking at the data i see no Resistance gain for women, all except one of the women elected in the House were democrats substituing male candidates, and there was no big gain in votes compared to Dems male candidate.
And with all the barrage of voting campaign they were rolling out, I strongly doubt there is any margin to improve on the campaign organization's side, and if there is, it's small compared to the political side, which is all to build.
10
Jee, no matter how small the margin of victories was, it is still bigger than the victory of Trump who managed to win the Presidency by losing the popular vote. All this just shows deficiency of the American Democracy where elected institutions do not represent majority of the country.
13
@Alex p; Considering the criminal gerrymandering, voter purges and voter intimidation, the margin of victory was much greater than the vote counts suggest. 1.4 million mostly African-American adults will gain the right to vote in Florida in 2020, and more and more minority and mixed race people will come of age.
3
@Alex p. Hello Alex! You must be drinking from the Republican "glass half full cup." The Dems are not down a chamber but rather up one. That's a big gain, and will help reinstate at least a few checks and balances, one of the most important concepts introduced by our Founding Fathers. So what is it that you call the "political side"? Tooth and claw Republicans? A whiter shade of pale?
3
If Trump keeps pulling stunts like the one he pulled today, even states like Oklahoma will get disgusted and turn purple, if not blue. He couldn't attend the memorial for American soldiers killed in WWI because it was raining. He might get his hair wet. General Kelly went and walked among the American graves while Trump sat in his hotel room.
784
@Linda,
It is possible that Trump may be on his way out, and is sitting in a funk in Paris, while Paradise Lost has taken place in California and we are watching Trump take his Last Stand.
Chaos, Confusion and Climate Change make for an impoverished Country in need of a strong, steadfast president to guide us out of these political burning woods and toxic environment, and set us back on the path to 2020, with a vision of prosperity for the future.
58
Linda, please! You are expecting way too much from your President. It was chilly, windy day with a chance of rain, and perhaps he was worried about how his hair may be blown about. Completely understandable. I’m sure that those Americans who sacrificed their lives in the muddy trenches of the WW1 would completely understand.
34
@Linda: Not to mention that he visibly sulked all the way through Macron's speech. What a rude, immature, and selfish killjoy 45 is. If he's not the center of attention, or if he's in the midst of people who disagree with him, he radiates negativity and petulance. He is worse than an embarassment to the country, he is a danger to the world's precarious peace.
44
Success feels a lot better. The most dangerous thing about Trump to me was the feeling of helplessness he caused while acting like an unstoppable malign force who would define America his way.
I believe this election has turned the tables on him. He now realizes where he is and there are forces beyond his control.
Here in Northeast PA, a blue part of the state, voters reelected Democrats, our great governor, Tom Wolf, Senator Bob Casey, and sent the challenger to our Congressman Matt Cartright back to New Jersey. An interesting side note is that challenger, John Chrin, bought three houses here before he got one in the right district to claim residence. No kidding!
131
@MG
The higher one is, the harder the fall.
Trump is going to be sorry he ever ran for president.
29
@MG, that feeling of helplessness wasn't due to Trump, it was due to the entire Republican Party's conspiracy in Congress and many state governments.
30
Thanks Michelle, for putting into perspective how we felt on the morning after Election Day 2016, compared to how we feel today, Nov. 10, 2018. The reason everything feels more hopeful, more normal, more possible today is a lot of people's vision, hard work, and belief. People channeled our anger, depression and fear into action and community. Today in America we know we'll always have to work to keep from becoming a fascist oligarchy, and the threats to voting rights, the environment, and human rights are still as acute as ever. But the difference is that we also know from personal experience that we have in our own hands mechanisms built into our system to fight the threats, and we are confident because we are getting really good at using them as a community, a team. An American culture we can be proud of has successfully resisted and beaten the dead hand of far-right hate and extremism that wants to trap us in the hopeless cul de sac of its lawless past. We're out, and we're never going back.
43
''...but they also won new seats in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and South Carolina.'' - and there you have it.
What the Democratic party requires (other than obviously becoming more Progressive and representative of the people) is to have a 537 federally elected official strategy. That means running credible and fearless candidates that are unequivocal for 435 house seats, 100 senate seats and for President and Vice President,
Do NOT give up in any race, and do NOT ''tailor'' your message for where you are. THAT is what the true Progressive candidates displayed when winning an island/beachhead in a sea of red.
That is what the people hunger for and what will wake up that 100,000,000 that sit on the sideline in apathy for any given election.
Wake them up and we can achieve whatever we want.
29
I too felt let down right after the election but now am much more energized and hopeful. In Georgia and Florida, we have two progressive black candidates neck and neck with with very conservative white candidates in the very deep South. Emphasis, very deep South. These are areas shot through with voter suppression and the Jim Crow that never dies. Racism is as hard to get rid of as cockroaches. You dump poison on them and pretty soon they start eating it and keep multiplying.
Women are rallying to the cause while rural and southern men are clinging to their patriarchy. But this isn't about installing a matriarchy. It's about treating people like human beings and not property. It's about universal respect. It's about ridding our nation of the cancer of hate that Trump and his followers represent. It's about honoring our institutions.
We have just been through 40 years of baloney trickle down tax cuts for the rich. We have just been through over 20 years of Fox News. We have just endured the branding of the term"socialism" in regards to anything remotely progressive while conservatives champion, farm subsidies, agricultural price supports, federal crop insurance, oil and gas subsidies, ethanol mandates, mandated postal service for remote areas, and so on. All of which are socialism.
Regaining our nation is a process, not an event. We must keep that thought in front of us. That process must never end. Remember the cockroaches.
625
@Bruce Rozenblit What would be so bad about installing a matriarchy? I know it scares the pants off men, but that's because they imagine that matriarchy is a mirror image of patriarchy, but with the "others" in charge. Lack of imagination, say I. Matriarchies are not to be feared, they are to be hoped for.
84
Socialism Is Progressive. It is not an advocacy for everything being collectively and democratically owned, only for the most important things.
11
@Bruce Rozenblit
Yes but I am very concerned, fearful and troubled about the smiling and smirking faces of our hacking and meddling foreign "allies" Abdel el-Sisi, Recep Erdogan, Rodrigo Duterte
, Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Salman.
While Mitch McConnell is working hard to reverse the outcomes of the Civil War and Civil Rights eras. The advice and consent of the House is not necessary for Presidential appointment nominations.
9
Congratulations to the Resistance for all of their hard work.Their gains in local and State contests will make a huge difference turning the tide from red to blue.It will inspire people on the local level to stay involved and on guard.Trump did not take his loss of the House well and will be in non stop campaign mode to make his voice heard.His cheering section lost their seats- he has so few cheering for him.After the Mueller report and investigations by the House he wilhave even fewer!
29
@Janet Michael
trump is now a wounded boar or bore, depending on the moment, and can be dangerous as he lashes out wildly. Keep him in sight and keep poking him mentally.
This is exactly what my kids learned from Bernie's run during the primaries. That no office was small, from school committee to town selectman to municipality to county offices to state and national offices, everything started as a grass roots effort, door to door, raising money from we the people, not on corporate money or celebrity money. Those young people inspired by Bernie, threw themselves into the revolution, worked hard, with passion, with sincerity. After all it is their future at stake. So did women, of all stripes, they could not stand quiet, aside any more, they had to get in and make a difference. These things take time patience and a sincere wish to make things better, for all of us, but most of all, for our kids and grand children. Poor things.
75
Trump has opened a door for the Democrats in many Red States with Blue metros like Texas, Georgia and Arizona. He is keeping it propped open with fresh weekly outrages like Matthew Whitaker. I think he actually derives some strange pleasure from the shocked reactions he gets from the non-Fox media (his "enemies of the people") and the majority of Americans when he spews one bizarre lie or childish insult after another, then denies them and finally going one better on the original fable or insult. This pleasure seeking seems to displace any sense of mature leadership.
The pillars of Trumpism (19th century mercantilism, white nationalism, ethical bankruptcy, financial piracy and extreme wealth concentration) were latent in the more extreme wing of the GOP and finally have found full expression in his Presidency.
And we will learn over the next two years how well his policies play out, like trade wars with the world, massive corporate tax cuts, reckless deficit spending, so called fossil fuel "energy dominance", deportations of hundreds of thousands of temporary status refugees, environmental and business deregulation and rejection of all of our former alliances in the world.
Many urbans and suburbans, farmers, veterans and especially younger people and women may be tired from all this winning, especially in a slowing economy, setting the stage for flipping the Senate in 2020 and 2022, where the GOP faces the same unfavorable math that the Democrats did in 2018.
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@Look Ahead Fables is a good word to use in the context of Trump. More than anything, he represents the horrific figures of fairy tales, starting with Bluebeard. He's not smart, but he understands the fealty that tales can engender. It feels to me as if he is tapping an ugly, atavistic, core of humankind, the pre-Enlightenment version (the Enlightenment is not a perfect movement either) which thrives on blood sacrifice, and chest thumping at the expense of others.
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On Tuesday, we captured not only the House and other important races, but also momentum. We must harness that forward motion and use it in the offices newly won and for 2020.
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The Blue Wave was in there in 2018 and it will be bigger in 2020.
What Americans need to remember is that Republicans can't stand democracy and the will of the people and they work non-stop at gerrymandering, purging voter files, suppressing votes, and sabotaging democracy.
This country is much Democratic than people realize; it's just that the Republican party is a legitimate criminal organization.
Democrats won roughly 50% of the vote in North Carolina on Tuesday, their best performance in almost a decade, but they won just three of the state’s 13 congressional seats — the same as in 2014 and 2016.
That happened because the Democratic wave couldn't overcome the country’s most extreme gerrymanders, a congressional map that unindicted criminal Republican legislators brazenly stated on the record that they carefully crafted “to give a partisan advantage to 10 Republicans and 3 Democrats.”
Rep. David Lewis, who chairs North Carolina’s rigged Republican redistricting committees, is quoted in a lawsuit describing North Carolina’s redistricting:
“We want to make clear that we are going to use political data in drawing this map. It is to gain partisan advantage on the map … I want that criteria to be clearly stated and understood.”
Lewis also said they were drawing a map to elect 10 congressional Republicans and three Democrats “because I do not believe it’s possible to draw a map with 11 Republicans and two Democrats.”
We are dealing with Russian-Republican mobsters.
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@Socrates
Couldn’t agree more with your take on gerrymandering. In Michigan the State elected Democrats, all women BTW, to Governor, AG, Secretary of State, two State .supreme Court seats, and returned Stabenow to the US Senate, yet still were unable to flip even one State house. Although the margin in both houses has narrowed considerably, in a normal election both would have flipped.
The good news Is that State citizens have awoken from their long slumber and approved a ballot proposal taking gerrymandering away from politicians. It goes into effect in the 2020 election. Good news for those of us in severely gerrymandered districts.
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@Socrates: Stop thinking in terms of Democrats and Republicans. This is a generational divide--the worst of self-serving regressive Baby Boomers whose progressive wing became apathetic until 2016 versus a young collection of progressive youths who see what could have been over the past 40 years and what actually happened.
I'd take a young Republican willing to tackle important social problems over a historically apathetic, AARP Progressive harping safely from the confines of their 401k any day.
Vote youth in 2020. Vote new ideas today. Vote out Nancy Pelosi come January.
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@Socratesea
Great interview with Noam Chomsky in Scientific American - he calls the Trump cabal criminally insane, largely for their psychotic ignoring of the climate change disaster.
As usual with Noam, spot on.
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I should have also mentioned we elected John Fetterman, Lieutenant Governor, who said he will not live in the Lt governor’s mansion, he thinks it should be used as a visitor’s center. He ran a grassroots campaign and has an interesting story.
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Michelle, there's good exhaustion, and there's hopeless exhaustion; onward, victory awaits !
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Additional factoids adding to the article's 2 Texas references/reasons for pursuing 50-state strategy:
1) Last Tuesday, out of 60 judicial spots on the ballot in Harris County (home of Houston), 59 GOP'er judges lost their bid for election. Seems like a pretty good win percentage for the blue crowd.
2) Statewide, out of 20 GOP'er incumbent Appellate Court jJudges seeking re-election, 19 were told 'get out'. Seems like another respectable win percentage.
3) Tarrant County, the reddest county in the U.S.A. following Orange County Ca.'s vote for Hillary in '16, went for Beto over Cruz; Dallas County's blue is creeping west into Fort Worth :)
These data are important, because the Resistance must continue investing in Texas, since the 2020 census re-apportionment will likely put 4 of the 10 largest cities here; we already have 5 of the 15 largest burghs.
P.S. - If last Tuesday wasn't a blue wave (per GOP'er apologists) we can hardly for the real blue wave to wash over !
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