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.
Please click here to be added to our list. You can also follow me on Facebook where you can read and share these messages. The more people we can reach, the more we contribute to this growing movement. We share these posts on our blog, Our Unfinished Work, every three weeks.
You wake up in the morning and you think that nothing has changed. You sense that Donald Trump and his possible heir Ron DeSantis have the same following as Trump did in 2016. You find it more than a little disconcerting that any of your fellow citizens have fallen for his con. That many millions have done so is unbelievable.
For a long time, your greatest fears have been motivating you. You have been a part of America’s great resistance for six years. You have done whatever you could do to sound the alarm. You put your time and money into taking back the House in 2018 and the Senate and Presidency in 2020.
Because it is an off-year election, holding on to the House and the Senate in 2022 may be the hardest task so far. It seems even more difficult because it is not your only worry. You have been deeply concerned about election deniers prevailing in swing state elections. You’ve read persuasive articles that our democracy is in serious peril. You want to be less of a worrier about all that, but the January 6 hearings have not provided comfort. It seems astonishing that all of that could have happened in our country in modern times.
The insults to the Constitution are taking their toll on you. So is the malevolence of the miscreants, the rabidness of their followers, and the willingness of Republican party leaders either to enable the destruction, or to look the other way.
And then you suddenly recognize that the story is not that these awful things are happening, but that we have prevailed against an attempted coup! Certainly, vigilance is liberty’s price. But it isn’t true that we are in greater danger of a coup in 2024 because Donald Trump no longer controls the Executive branch of the federal government, and the defenses have been built stronger and higher. And it isn’t even close to the truth that Trump enjoys the same level of support no matter what felonies he commits.
The events of September 21 showed you that the longer Trump has been away from the White House, the more his legal jeopardy grows. New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a $250 million civil suit after Trump invoked the fifth amendment 450 times in a deposition. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the bizarre ruling of the Federal District Court, restoring the FBI’s control over the classified documents Donald Trump purloined, leaving Trump open to felony charges. Trump and Sean Hannity were left fantasizing that Trump could declassify the government’s secrets by “thinking about it”.
The truth is that he has been draining supporters on a regular basis since 2016. The problem is not just an Achilles heel, but his whole body. His “it’s all a witch hunt” response to everything has resonated with his MAGA hat wearers. But the insurrection and the stealing of classified documents have been anathema to independent voters, 67% of whom do not want Trump to run again. By 54% to 38%, voters believe that Trump’s post-election denialism “went so far as to threaten American democracy.”
Most importantly, his deep self-admiration necessary to retain the 30% of voters who are his core are the very approaches that are driving independents away. He has been a campaign aide to us for some time, at least since he helped us elect Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock to the Senate. His selection of J.D. Vance and Mehmet Oz as 2022 Senate candidates is appreciated as well.
As the Department of Justice proceeds, we need to walk away from the narrative of the Teflon Trump to the understanding that he is a tired old huckster. He is not done tormenting us, but he is done “leading” our country. Ironically, given that Trump declared himself “Very Pro Choice” in 1999, the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v Wade could impact the 2022 elections in a way that will keep the House, expand our majority in the Senate and accelerate Trump’s ongoing demise.
The key word is could. Nearly everything that we knew in March would have to happen for this to be possible has since taken place. The Ukrainians fight on with our strong support. Gas prices have dropped by more than a dollar a gallon. The pandemic has waned, and Manchin and Schumer surprised us with a major investment fighting climate change. Even with the Federal Reserve Board dampening the economy, the job market remains strong.
The number one way to change the likelihood of positive outcomes from could to will remains taking the fight over a woman’s right to choose into every precinct in America. The Dobbs ruling overturning Roe v Wade has energized our voters and made our claim with independents. The Kansas referendum proved that we are reaching and motivating those voters. Women are outpacing men among new voting registrants. What falls to us now and every day until November 8 is the obligation to take additional advantage of the court’s awful ruling.
As we do that, let’s remember that our rights under the Constitution go to the heart of the matter. As Dr. King emphasized, the arc of history bends toward justice. Sometimes that arc does not bend as significantly as we would like, but our progress has been real. The removal of the right to choose is new. A fundamental right afforded to generations of American women has been removed. This is about not standing for that at all, and not resting until we have righted a wrong. Let’s do these three things:
| 1) Review All Current Activity | |
 | The need to turbocharge the right to choose as a campaign issue requires each of us to take a fresh look at all our current activities. If we are donating to state legislative candidates, are we evaluating which states are amid current battles over choice, or where the majority is in the balance? If we aren’t focusing on states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Arizona, we aren’t doing it right. Are the postcards we are writing, the calls we are making, the doorbells we are ringing and the donations we are making going to candidates who understand the importance of this battle and how it can be key to their victory? |
2) Give Wells Fargo Your Counsel | |
 | After the Dobbs decision, 41 major American companies pledged to pay the travel costs of their employees if they need to go to another state to receive an abortion. Open Secrets has discovered that despite that commitment, a number of these companies have provided campaign contributions to candidates who voted against the House effort to codify Roe v Wade. Among these is Wells Fargo. It would be good to email them and tell them this could affect your future business. Write Wells Fargo independent board member Celeste Clark, who has had a distinguished career and who is chair of their Corporate Responsibility Committee. She can be reached at boardcommunications@wellsfargo.com. |
3) Target Wisconsin Today | |
 | Since it is late in the campaign season, one must be careful to only send money to organizations or candidates if there is certainty that it can be spent well between now and November 8. You can’t find greater certainty than the Political Action Committee organized by Wisconsin State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski. She was a candidate for the Senate before she yielded to Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, himself an excellent candidate to beat the malevolent Ron Johnson. Now Godlewski has organized Women Win Wisconsin, a PAC supporting Barnes’ effort and the campaigns of six women running for the state legislature. This is an outstanding place to click and send your donation, which you should do at this very moment. |
There are a thousand of us who receive this e-blast, and a thousand Facebook followers, and all the friends with whom we share these hopes and schemes. Followers of Our Unfinished Work just sent $13,000 to Mi Familia Vota in Arizona to defeat an election-results-denier running for Secretary of State, where he would supervise elections! Let’s keep it up and ensure that the arc always bends toward justice.
David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington
