Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Losing races in red states isn't the end of the world (#3064)

     We dems put up a fight in both congressional races yesterday and for that the hope is strong for a 2018 reversal in the House and maybe even the Senate. Now I know it is discouraging to come close in these special election only to fall short. I get it. Yet with all my heart and mind I know the tide is turning. In Kansas, Montana, Georgia and South Carolina, with deep red districts that had special elections in these states, we dems were very competitive. So competitive that the winners were not a given. Although republicans won them all, they were not foregone conclusions. If there are now battlefields in the deep red districts then you know that the marginal and even districts could well come back to democratic control.
     Another aspect is that the Supreme Court is going to hear a major case involving gerrymandering that could well change the protections republicans have installed to protect their current congresspeople. Today, after the two defeats last night it may seem like we dems are just spinning our wheels but we are not. We were so far behind before and now we are almost on an even playing field. Almost, the Supreme Court case will make the field even if it strikes down the gerrymandering republicans manipulated to elect more of their candidates. I don't feel the sense of loss that a crushing defeat would bring, Instead I feel an even more enthusiastic determination to confront and push past the politics of austerity and segregation.
     That silver lining, the percentage of vote totals for our candidates last night and previously in the other special elections, were far superior to what we got in those districts just 8 months ago. The tide is turning from republican politics since that politics is only for the greedy wealthy. I still have faith in America despite the deep pockets of the republican donors who are constantly using their money to advertise falsehoods. When the agenda of austerity and segregation start to hit home with the overall American electorate the worm will complete it's turn. Never stop resisting and never give up. When you are right and are still not winning it only means that the struggle is real and deserves our every effort if we are to succeed.

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