Go. Fight. Win.
The way forward.
Author’s note: I wrote this before last night’s events at the White House Correspondence dinner. Initially, I planned to hold this post and write something more current, but I’ve decided to leave this one as is. Mostly because whatever aspect(s) of last night you’re upset about —guns in America, mass shootings, our current politics, conspiracy theories, our current political media, or something else entirely — the way forward is to fight for the future we want. Recent events don’t change that.
-Melissa
Donald Trump started the redistricting war, but we finished it. This week, voters in Virginia, a key swing state, sent a decisive message to the Trump Regime: Stop messing with our elections.
I love everything about how Democrats engaged in this fight, starting with the fact that we fought it in the first place. When Trump started demanding red states push through redistricting bills, I fully expected Democratic leadership to make speeches and statements about Trump subverting democracy, and do nothing more while he went ahead and reengineered the makeup of the House.
Instead, we mounted a fight, starting in California. Even better, every mainstream Democrat from Speaker of the House Hakeem Jeffries to former President Barack Obama got on board, urging Democrats in California and Virginia to vote for blue state efforts to counter Trump’s dirty tricks. It felt so good to see Democrats acknowledging reality and fighting the system that exists now rather than pretending the old one was still in place.
Two big takeaways. The first is that when we fight, we win. We won’t win every time, but you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. The more frequent complaint from Democratic voters is that the party isn’t fighting hard enough. When party leadership shows up with more than just rhetoric, voters will show up too.
Second is that we can continue to fight smart and get creative. MAGA is doing everything it can to destroy America, taking it apart piece by piece and selling to the highest bidder. American Democracy as we knew it is gone, rapidly evolving into a system of competitive authoritarianism. The system is broken and beating the current Regime requires a new playbook.
My sense is that the last couple of years have radicalized many of us. We’ve grown tired of fighting to preserve a system that’s long gone and what I hear from people more and more is: What can we create? What can we build? What comes next?
The redistricting fight shows us what’s possible. We can and should bring that energy and innovation to every fight moving forward. From expanding the number of Justices on SCOTUS and revamping our court system to rewriting the social contract of what a government by and for the people should be providing. From electing insurgent outsider candidates like Zohran Mamdani and Katie Wilson to public office, to insisting on full accountability and prosecution for the criminals in the Trump Administration. With creativity and innovation, we can stop playing defense and start to build a better America for the future.
ICYMI
More Than 70 Minnesota Children Detained in Operation Metro Surge, Data Shows (Sahan Journal)
The Cascading Consequences of the Terror Campaign Against Children’s Literature (Rick Perlstein)
Want even more content? Subscribers receive bonus content on Fridays.
Coda
Questions or feedback? Reply directly to this email or leave a comment below. I love hearing from readers, and many of your ideas and questions have become articles. I read everything you send and respond to most messages.
That’s all for this week. Talk again next Sunday!