A moment of opportunity and promise

August 26, 2024

Hi, everyone. The reflection below was prepared for WAVE, a women-led grassroots organization in Costa Mesa, California. WAVE asked me to record a short video for their in-person event on September 5. (More below.) Making the video caused me to reflect on where we stand at this moment in America’s political history. I share my reflections with you.

We find ourselves standing at a moment bristling with opportunity and hope, challenge and risk, redemption and possibility. Simply having arrived at this moment, without more, is a victory. But the victory is not complete. Much work remains, and we can take nothing for granted. But we can see the beginnings of the path forward.

Winning in November is not the end of our struggle but is instead the first step in healing the divisions that beset us, restoring the rule of law, and reclaiming the decency and humanity that are the salve of a civil society.  

A victory in November will not merely be a political outcome. The more significant development is the sea change that precedes victory: The outpouring of enthusiasm, personal commitment, and joy that welled up from a long-forgotten and deeply buried spring in the hearts of all Americans. After eight years of darkness and division, Americans were primed for renewal. Over a period measured in hours, they responded in overwhelming numbers to the chance to reclaim the soul of America.

Setting aside the details of how victory unfolds in November (or over the following electoral cycles), one thing is clear: We are not going back. The hundreds of thousands of newly engaged Americans are the vanguard of a new era of activism and personal commitment. They are first-time voters coming of age, veteran voters, lapsed voters, always-eligible “did -not-vote” voters, Americans who felt forgotten, unseen, and unheard. The candidacy of Kamala Harris inspired them in a way that surprised them and the political press—which continues to misapprehend the moment and the movement.

It is, indeed, a moment of opportunity and promise. Everyone should rejoice and take confidence from the awakening that we have witnessed. It is an awesome spectacle. Be part of it. Live it. Remember it—so you can tell your grandchildren what you did when Americans shook themselves from their despair and chose to claim the future as their own.

But one critical part of the story must also be remembered and retold. It is the story of the eight years between 2016 and 2024 when democracy hung in the balance.

It was a difficult and challenging period when many Americans were too anxious or frightened to engage. Many understandably looked away or looked inward in an act of self-preservation and protection. They had jobs to do, bills to pay, families to feed, and life challenges to face. Taking on the MAGA movement, led by a bully, wannabe dictator, and sexual abuser, was not within their personal bandwidth. Again, for entirely understandable reasons.

During those eight years when democracy and decency seemed to be in exile, one group of Americans kept the faith and sustained the flame of democracy for all: Grassroots volunteers.

Many major grassroots volunteer groups today emerged in the dark hours of November 2016—and the darker years that followed. This newsletter did. So, too, did WAVE, Indivisible, Swing Left, PostCardsToVoters, Sister District, Field Team 6, Run for Something, Markers for Democracy, VoteRiders, The Civics Center, Lawyers Defending American Democracy (LDAD), Third Act, Moms Demand Action, Red Wine and Blue, and many more.

Existing grassroots organizations rose to the new threat of MAGA extremism: the ACLU, the Brennan Center for Justice, the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, Planned Parenthood, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and many more.

During the challenging years after 2016, existing political institutions struggled to address the new threat; indeed, some surrendered and submitted to hostile takeovers: Congress, the Supreme Court, the press, state legislatures, and the administrative state.

But the newest actors on the scene—grassroots volunteer organizations—served as catalysts and change agents. Their only allegiance was to democracy, guided by the passion of their volunteers. They refused to be told “No,” they rejected corporate sponsors by relying on individual donors, operated outside the feudal system of vested interests, and defied conventional wisdom with its suffocating mantra of “That’s not the way we do things.”

They were disrupters, freedom fighters, and patriots who sometimes threatened and annoyed the establishment and its consultants who became wealthy (and remain so) by maintaining a political system that is frequently a closed loop isolated from the people it is designed to serve.

Because they seized the moment and acted when action was demanded without asking for permission, their contributions have oftentimes been minimized or ignored. But when the history of this period is written by scholars interested in the truth, they will say that it was the grassroots volunteer who stood in the breach and saved democracy . . . literally saved democracy by carrying it on their backs during its hour of need.

During the challenging eight years between 2016 and 2024, grassroots volunteers kept democracy alive during a period of exile. We can see the promised land. We are not there yet. But we have been joined by a wave of Americans newly energized with enthusiasm and hope. Embrace them, mentor them, train them, and then loose them on an America that needs healing.

But make no mistake: We have arrived safely at this moment because of you. We can see the next victory and the path forward because you abided, because you did not waver, because you were a faithful servant of democracy. God bless you all and thank you for what you have done for America!

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Trump's campaign showing signs of stress

The Trump campaign is showing signs of stress. That fact (alone) will not help us defeat Trump, but it validates the sense Democrats have that Kamala Harris is running the right campaign at the moment—despite the best efforts of major media publishers to tell her to “knock it off” and do things they want. The polls remain tight, registrations among Democrats are exceeding those among Republicans, and Democratic enthusiasm remains high.

Let’s look at a couple of ways the Trump campaign is signaling that Kamala Harris is succeeding in connecting with the American people.

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Trump's promotion of the endorsement by RFK Jr. is a sign of panic and desperation.

The Trump campaign is being hammered by the impression that Trump and Vance are weirdos who can’t relate to everyday Americans. Accepting the endorsement of RFK Jr. does nothing to blunt the criticism of weirdness. Kennedy’s long tale of picking up a dead bear cub (to skin and eat) and using it instead to stage a fake bicycle accident in Central Park (because he was late in getting to the airport) is something that no other American (out of 320 million) would imagine let alone execute.

Given Kennedy’s low single-digit support, any boost from an endorsement by RFK Jr. is insubstantial. So, in exchange for an uncertain improvement of a tiny amount, Trump is willing to take on the baggage of dead bear cubs, brain worms, anti-vaccine conspiracies, and an adversary who attacked Trump as vigorously as any Democratic opponent.

But Trump took on that baggage in exchange for nothing. RFK Jr. has not dropped out of the race entirely. He has “suspended” his campaign—and has continued to urge voters in red and blue states to “vote for me.” His name remains on the ballot most states, although he is working to remove it in a handful of swing states. See Mediate, Kennedy Claims He Could Still End Up In The White House

Despite RFK Jr.’s continued status as a candidate seeking votes, Trump embraced Kennedy as if he were a vice-presidential running mate. Indeed, there is (baseless) speculation that Trump will replace JD Vance with Kennedy in October. See Newsweek, Trump's 'October Surprise' May Include RFK Jr.

Trump encouraged that speculation when he shared a photo of RFK Jr. and Trump with a caption reading, “The strongest anti-establishment ticket in American history.”

Promoting RFK Jr. as part of the Trump “ticket” is a sure sign that Trump regrets selecting JD Vance, who put in a cringe-inducing stop at a donut shop. Vance came across as robotic and devoid of human emotions as he asked every employee in the shop how long they had worked at the shop and replied to everyone, “Okay.” Watch this segment of Alex Wagner on MSNBC for the full flavor: For JD Vance donut shop visit, a double order of cringe.

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz continue to storm through battleground states together, while Trump sends JD Vance to abandoned parking lots as Trump golfs in New Jersey. Sooner or later, reporters will begin focusing on the “will Trump dump Vance” storyline. That is distracting, at least, and contrasts sharply with the discipline and unity of the Harris-Walz campaign.

As Josh Marshall said over the weekend,

I’m getting the sense that JD is still Trumps running mate in the sense that Melania is still his wife. Just kind of a “We shan’t speak of it again” kind of thing.

But it gets worse! In the days following the Democratic convention, Trump promised that Americans would experience “joy” every day under his administration and he “would protect women’s reproductive rights.” See Politico, Trump’s pledge to be ‘great for women and their reproductive rights’ angers advocates.

Trump's desperate lie that he will be “great” for women’s reproductive rights will fool no one interested in or affected by the issue. Worse (for Trump), his promise to be “great” for reproductive rights is angering anti-choice religious fundamentalists who form the core of his support. Per Politico,

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action, said on X that the Truth Social post had “understandably upset many within the pro-life movement.” National Review editor Philip Klein wrote that, in the battle over abortion, it “increasingly looks like Trump is joining the other side.”

Just as Democrats are finally achieving discipline in their messaging, the Trump campaign isn’t sure who its V.P. nominee is and whether it supports abortion restrictions. The backtracking and sliding on core issues is a sign that the Trump campaign knows the Harris-Walz campaign is gaining traction with American voters.

As I said at the outset, the fact that Trump's campaign is struggling to find a counter-attack to Harris and Walz does not guarantee victory. But it confirms that the wave of enthusiasm and optimism driving Democrats is real. We can ask for nothing better as we try to convince voters that democracy hangs in the balance in 2024.

Opportunities for Reader Engagement

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Join a Today’s Edition fundraiser in support of Jessica Morse, CA-3

Join me on August 28th from 5:00 p.m. Pacific / 8:00 p.m. Eastern to support Jessica Morse, who is running for CA-3. I will chat with Jessica about the status of her race to flip a MAGA seat blue, her work experience, and policy positions.

Jessica Morse is running against MAGA freshman Republican Kevin Kiley.

Jessica is currently the only woman congressional challenger in California in a competitive seat, giving her an inherent advantage during an election that is swinging on women's reproductive rights. Support Jessica Morse! RSVP here.

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Meet with Walk the Walk to learn about strategic races

Walk the Walk USA
Tuesday, August 27, 5:30pm PT / 8:30pm ET
Zoom event - Latest Recommendations: Walk the Walk USA’s 2024 Democracy Preservation Portfolio. 

Join Walk the Walk USA for the latest updates on our 2024 Democracy Preservation Portfolio. Learn about the critical work we need to do right now to win up and down the ballot this year. And to build on today's momentum for the years to come.

Walk the Walk is an all-volunteer initiative that raises funds for strategic voter empowerment in key geographies -- to realize the promise of an inclusive U.S. democracy.  Since Walk the Walk is run entirely by volunteers and has no overhead, every dollar raised goes to its effective grassroots partners.
Attendance is free – Sign up in advance here!

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WAVE event in Costa Mesa, CA on Thursday, September 5 at 6 p.m.

As noted in my introduction, WAVE is a a women-led grassroots organization in Costa Mesa, California. It his hosting an event entitled, Democracy on Fire, featuring a great panel of speakers, including California Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, David Hogg, Cheyenne Hunt, Sasha Renee Perez, Jessica Craven, and me (via video). Check out the event, here: 2024 Democracy on Fire.

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Concluding Thoughts

Kamala Harris is under no obligation to follow the “old model” of presidential campaigns—because the media has abandoned the old rules as they apply to Trump. For example, on September 5, Trump will host an “awards gala” for January 6 insurrectionists. That fact should be the only thing any media outlet discusses until Trump is driven from the race.

But JD Vance was on the Sunday talk shows and was not asked a single question about the awards gala for insurrectionists. So, the media has no standing to tell Kamala Harris how she can run her campaign until they start doing theirs.

Readers often suggest that Kamala Harris should “sit down with the press” because . . . well, because that’s the way it was done before Trump, and Kamala Harris must therefore live by those rules or be subjected to whining by the media.

We all know the game the press is playing. They are chomping at the bit to attack Kamala Harris with hostile questions because they know she will give substantive answers, unlike Trump, who is incapable of sustained, logical thought. The media has given up reporting on Trump in a serious way, so it is looking for another target to which they can apply the rules from the “before-times.”

Here's my point: Don’t be distracted by the media’s pique. Outside the D.C. beltway, no one cares whether, when, and how long Kamala Harris sits for a hostile view. Almost every day, Americans see her on the campaign trail and understand she is meeting with real people. That’s enough for now. If her campaign senses that campaigning rather than interviewing is not working, it is easy and quick to set up an interview. In other words, “don’t sweat it.”

Talk to you tomorrow!

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The photo below is my second attempt at photographing the Lagoon Nebula, which is 4,000 light-years from Earth and has a diameter of about 100 light years.

In the photo below, note the dark patches that appear to be in front of the Lagoon Nebula. Some of the patches are Bok globules, which “are isolated and relatively small dark nebulae containing dense cosmic dust and gas from which star formation may take place.” More research is needed to determine if the Bok globules are proto-stars (or something else).