Thanksgiving

 Thanksgiving

 

As a progressive Democrat, I celebrate this holiday being thankful there are so many people working to make the world a better place. 

 

More and more are seeing the positives of a progressive political agenda as we work on saving the planet from the ravages of climate change and the new diseases that threaten our existence. We give thanks to those working tirelessly to build a future with universal healthcare and a green economy. 

 

We see the benefits of equality of opportunity for everyone, not just those who look or think like us. We want a world where the wealth that surrounds us is shared by all, not just the privileged few. When we prosper, we build a longer table, not higher walls. 

 

We welcome strangers who come to our shores seeking a new life and the opportunity to raise their families safe from violence. We recognize them for what our ancestors once were, refugees. We understand that our country can support us all and are willing to share in its bounty. 

 

We understand that equality for women means protecting their freedom to control their own bodies and to choose whether to bear children or not without interference from the government. It means the end to glass ceilings and gender specific jobs.

 

We give thanks for diversity and inclusion, putting aside concerns about skin color and cultural differences, who they love, what language they speak or the nation from whence they came. All have something to contribute to the fabric of our civilization and deserve the chance to do just that. 

 

We give thanks for those who choose to educate our children in public schools, who put themselves in danger to keep us safe from those who would do us harm and put out fires in our communities. We appreciate the other public servants who have chosen to work to make our communities safe and prosperous. 

 

We support the right of those who work for others to band together in unions and associations to demand safe working conditions and a living wage. Those who produce wealth, educate, or respond when things go wrong deserve a seat at the table where decisions that impact their lives and livelihoods are being made.  

 

We give thanks for the understanding that we are all in this together. Those things that divide us do not contribute to forward progress for the whole. Some, unfortunately, highlight division for their own selfish goals. We are thankful for the ability to recognize the threat and combat it effectively.

 

We give thanks for peace at home and abroad and thank those whose vigilance helps to prevent conflict here and abroad. While striving for peace, we understand that conflict is sometimes inevitable as we stand up to authoritarian plutocrats and fascists.

 

We give thanks for our friends and families, those we support and those who support us. Families are defined by more than blood relationships. The love and respect shared in family is given freely and without condition. 

 

We give thanks for our Democracy which gives each of us a voice and a seat at the governing table. We set aside our differences to rise in common defense of that cherished institution of self-governance against those who try to subvert and steal it in the pursuit of power. 

 

We celebrate the natural beauty that surrounds us in mountains, lakes, rivers and streams, oceans and skies understanding that this beauty provides us with the very stuff of life. We give thanks to those who help keep our waters pure and the air we breathe clean. 

 

We have lots to be thankful for this long weekend. Most of all, we must continue to give thanks for the duration of the next trip around the sun so all that makes us who we are continues to improve. 

 

Midterm Recap

 The Arc of Political History

 

I have been actively involved in issues political since the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s. I watched efforts from those opposed to change ebb and flow as elections were won and lost over the intervening years. I have lived under administrations Republican and Democrat in states both liberal and conservative. There is a political pendulum which moves both ways but seems mostly to move more to the left than the right over time. 

 

During those decades there have been few constants. One of those constants has been that midterm elections have always favored the party out of power. Our recent midterm elections are mostly over, and that constant has faded almost to oblivion. 

 

Democrats were supposed to be overwhelmed by the Trump led red wave. It turns out that the red wave never crested or broke but limped ashore as a trickle. Yes, Republicans may take control of the House of Representatives, but they failed to take the Senate. Safe Republican held seats remained safe thanks to gerrymandered districts. 

 

Most notably, most of Trump’s hand-picked candidates who passed the litmus test of unqualified support for the “Big Lie” about the 2020 presidential election, lost their contests to Democrats. The former occupant of the White House took such a beating that even some of his closest advisors have told him to hold off announcing another run for the presidency until after the run-off election in Georgia where incumbent Rev. Raphael Warnock is being challenged by the Trump endorsed impaired former football player, Herschel Walker. 

 

What tipped the scales in both federal and state elections where decent candidates showed up was the influx of new young voters and those who came to the polls to show their disgust with Republican efforts to ban abortions and curtail reproductive freedom after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this Summer. In every state where abortion measures were on the ballot, pro-abortion measures won. It did not matter if the state was red or blue, people voted to preserve access to abortion and reproductive healthcare. 

 

We must give thanks to Justices Alioto and Thomas and the three Trump appointees to the Court for the gift that will keep on giving for years to come. Eliminating the constitutional protections for privacy and reproductive freedom coupled with Thomas’ threats to extend the holding in Dobbs to the privacy grounded protections for same sex marriage, contraception and even inter-racial marriage will provide organizers with the issue that will win elections wherever women and their partners, the LBGTQI community and civil rights proponents live.

 

Young people whose parents and grandparents lived with the now eliminated protections will be easily motivated to get involved in the political process. We have already seen their impact on elections this cycle. Until a constitutional right to privacy and bodily autonomy is restored, these new voters will turn to the Democratic party which has wisely hitched its star to this defining issue. 

 

Trump’s hold over the Republican Party is clearly losing its grip. The simmering civil war in the GOP over the backward-looking Trump and his false claims will soon erupt into a nasty public bar fight as the varying factions vie for control. In a party where winning is the goal, Trump will soon become irrelevant. The larger problem is that the GOP has yet to find a compelling argument that will unite the right.

 

Fear of the “others” appears not to be a winner as shown by the loss of the Washington County “Anti-Crime” referendum and Tim Michels’ defeat by the mild-mannered Tony Evers. The so-called bread and butter issues of the economy and its twin brother inflation won’t carry the day either. People seem more concerned with rebuilding our infrastructure, personal freedom, protecting the planet and helping their fellow travelers get by and succeed, but those are issues supported by Democrats. 

 

We had an exhilarating set of victories this week. Now the real work of making sure the promises of those we elected are kept and providing a voice and encouragement to the newly motivated activists who helped make the victories possible. 

 

After a few days rest and reflection, it will be on to the next elections come early Spring where we can change the balance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and elect more progressives to local school boards, city councils and county boards. Onward.