This is the next of a new series of missives on our unfinished work to restore the promise of our country and its government. Each will focus on a single element of the many opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. Each will provide three steps we can all take to build upon our huge victories winning back the House in 2018 and the Presidency in 2020.
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We feel numb. Our heart aches for the families in Buffalo and Uvalde. And then it aches for our country in its distress, battling for equilibrium and jolted every single week. By far the greatest obstacle to getting our footing is those that have an alternative view of what we are and should become. The other obstacle will be our own selves if we lose our will.
Polls show a strong majority of Americans want what we want--- the protection of a woman’s right to choose; new initiatives to significantly curb carbon emissions; prohibitions on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and a political system that examines and recognizes facts and devises and implements solutions. We have functioned for six years now with truth on the scaffold. Lying about elections (and lying about most everything else) is not going to fall out of fashion on its own. It needs to be pushed out.
In Congress, Trump’s grip is weakening, but Republicans are still locked into their Faustian bargain, trading their souls to avoid being “primaried” by whatever maniacal, election result-denying person Trump selects. Thus, they will agree to some gun control measures, increasing “red flag warnings,” but will fall far short of what the nation needs to stop the carnage.
If the November election were held today, we would lose the House. But we have a few more months. Between now and then, the Supreme Court will overturn Roe V. Wade. This will meaningfully increase our turnout and sway some independent voters, including suburban woman. It will help us hold onto a score of seats we narrowly won in 2020. There is no basis to the claim that the decision will help both sides equally.
Republican position on the right to choose and failing to restrict sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines give us an all-new boost in several closely contested Senate elections. As much as Democrats have criticized Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema, it has been hugely significant to have 50 votes in the Senate, especially in approving judicial appointments and passing the COVID-related American Rescue Plan and the infrastructure law known as the American Jobs Plan.
The goal is to go from having 50 Senators caucusing as Democrats to 54 or 55. This will keep Mitch McConnell out of the Majority Leader’s office and make Charles Schumer less dependent on Manchin’s assent. It could seem so, but this goal is not outlandish. We are fortunate that there are contests for open Senate seats in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri and North Carolina and strong candidates against vulnerable Republican incumbents Marco Rubio in Florida and by now stone crazy Ron Johnson in Wisconsin.
We have already received some help from Donald Trump, and he has promised some more. He is testing out suppressing the Republican vote, saying that his supporters may stay home in November rather than voting for Republican Brian Kemp, who pulverized Trump’s candidate David Purdue. Trump’s legendary petulance will not only help Stacey Abrams in Georgia, it will hold back Republican Herschel Walker in his effort to unseat Democratic Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock.
The Trump grievance traveling road show is a swell party for Democrats since it accelerates our turnout and pushes independent voters to us. Trump requires that the candidates he supports dwell on his lies about the 2020 elections, Thankfully, his ego will not let him recede. We should take up a collection to support him traveling to swing states as often as possible.
In addition to defending Warnock’s seat, we need to win Catherine Cortez Masto’s re-election in Nevada and Mark Kelly’s in Arizona. Then we need to go out and win ourselves most, or all, of these six Senate races:
- In North Carolina, we are set up nicely. We would have taken back a Senate seat there in 2020 if our candidate Cal Cunningham had stuck to the fine idea of having one woman in his life at a time. This time, Republican Senator Richard Burr is retiring, and we have a very strong candidate in the former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, Cheri Beasley. She will be running against the Trump-supported election denier Ted Budd. She should be able to pick up some support from those who voted in the primary for former moderate Republican governor Pat McCrory.
- Pennsylvania is very promising as well. Our candidate is Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, who has caught attention due to his 6-foot 8-inch height, his tattoos, his service as mayor of Braddock, and most of all, his unflinching nature. The Republican Candidate will likely be Dr. Mehmet Oz, who will beat Doug McCormack by a thousand votes out of more than a million cast. Oz is not a wizard. We will benefit from the upcoming recount, which is sure to generate some additional bad feelings among Republicans.
- We hope to be helped in Ohio by the long warfare among Republican candidates, including a threatened fistfight on their debate stage. J.D. Vance won the race, overcoming the delicious fact that he accurately referred to Trump in 2016 as “noxious”, and “reprehensible”, and said “My God, what an idiot.” Our candidate is long time blue collar focused Congressman Tim Ryan, who is polling even with Vance.
- The open seat in Missouri would not be in play at all, except there is a chance that on August 2 Republicans will nominate Eric Greitens, who resigned the Missouri governorship in 2018 after his hairdresser accused him of blackmail over their sexual affair. Democrats will nominate Busch beer heiress Trudy Busch Valentine on August 2.
- Wisconsin is not an open seat, since COVID, climate change and insurrection denier Ron Johnson occupies it in his own special way, in which facts are no consideration. He is a bit more vulnerable than he would otherwise be since he had initially promised not to run again. The race is even more attractive because Democrats hold the governorship and the other Senate seat. Our candidate (to be determined in the August 9 primary) will be Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes or businessperson Alex Lasry.
- Florida will not be easy, since Marco Rubio is less vulnerable than Ron Johnson. However, former Orlando police chief Val Demings is running a very competitive race and is an ideal candidate. She distinguished herself during the second set of Trump impeachment hearings and was on Joe Biden’s list of potential vice-presidential candidates.
Our candidates are being selected with considerably less drama than the Republican candidates. It will take a lot, including Trump’s miserable behavior and a strong response to the Supreme Court’s likely decision to overturn Roe V. Wade, but we can pull this off. We can defend in Georgia, Arizona and Nevada and win the majority of the six races above. We can do it all with the formula tested in 2018 and 2020, starting with these three things:
| 1) Help Organize in Each of the Six Targeted States | |
| Our targeted candidates will raise huge amounts of money, as they did in 2020. This makes donating to grassroots organizers an even more attractive option than it otherwise would be. These groups will make certain that new voters are registered, suppressed votes get freed and cast, diverse populations are reached, and voter turnout is increased. These are all things that we do at scale when we want to win. David Domke’s Common Power is excellent at identifying effective on the ground partners. Common Power’s grassroots organizer recommendations in four key states are: Pennsylvania - NextGen Pennsylvania North Carolina - You Can Vote Florida - Forward Florida Action Ohio - Ohio Organizing Collaborative | |
2) Support the Young People Who Are Obsessed with Voter Registration | |
 | For a long time, large organizations like Rock the Vote have gotten most of the attention when new voter registration gets its due. Now, an all-new organization, Voters of Tomorrow, founded by immigrant Santiago Mayor and led by college students is spreading across the country. They need a boost. |
3) Give Your Counsel to John Cornyn | |
 | It is self-evident that whatever gun restrictions that Republican Senators agree to will be too little. They won’t agree to increase the age for purchase from 18 to 21, which would match the age one can legally buy a cigarette. They won’t agree to banning assault rifles. But they might well agree to universal background checks and “red flag” warnings, both steps worth taking. Help them along by calling their chief negotiator, Senator John Cornyn of Texas, at 202-224-2934. |
In the midst of the most awful news about gun violence, Donald Trump lost in Georgia. We need to build upon the bit of momentum that gives us. It is now that attention must be paid.
David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington
