We must learn if we are going to win

Elections aren't going anywhere and we need to get to work

Trump is not a dictator

I know there is a lot of fear right now among many in progressive circles that Donald Trump has ruthless plans to end our democracy, cancel elections, and remain in power forever. He’ll use national emergency and Insurrection Act declarations to stay in power and use the military to transform into a dictator.

I am not one of those guys.

I am not dismissing his malign plans. I am certainly not underestimating how much he will work to dismantle key institutions, blow up whatever guardrails remain to keep him in check, and exact revenge on his enemies…and his allies even. There is a lot of really bad stuff he is planning and a lot of really bad people that will help. But not enough of either.

Having said that, I believe all of that can be true without giving up in advance or surrendering without a shot fired. It’s the rage right now to quote Tim Snyder, the author of ‘On Tyranny,’ and there is a good reason for it. Rule number one applies right now.

Read what he is saying there. Most of the power is freely given. Many have been applying that rule to the media and others. Mike and Joe got a whole faceful of this quote when they made their way to Mar-a-Lago to “mend fences” with Donald Trump. This is also being applied to the many oligarchs and media titans who have all decided to get busy with their bending of the knee.

Do not obey surrender in advance

I would argue that it also applies to us by giving into our worst fears. When we sit in fear or worry and project the worst possible outcomes with the rise of MAGA and the return of the insanity, we are giving them power. We know it is going to be hard and there will be things that are truly shocking and un-American but we cannot surrender without a fight. We cannot give in to our worst instincts and allow them to carry out their malign plans as some kind of foregone conclusion.

I refuse to surrender without a fight. As I wrote on Thursday, the Gaetz loss is proof that all is not a monolith in the Trump movement. Even Senators who are all in on Trump said there must be limits.

That my friends is what we call a crack in the facade. Now let’s jam something in there and make it a gaping hole.

We do that by taking on the challenges one-by-one and not letting any pass. His cabinet picks are clearly insane. Pete Hegseth is next in the barrel it seems as scrutiny of what he has written about a ‘civil war’, Christian Nationalism, reports of sexual assault accusations, and more drip out every day. The heat is building.

Veterans organizations of all political stripes are going to have to step up and fight in the trenches to stop some of the outrageous ideas they are floating for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, and more. They have literally floated disbanding the VA so when they “back off” of that completely ridiculous idea “just” cutting massive amounts of benefits will seem like a compromise. Those “compromises” will put veterans below the poverty line, lead to increased suicide, homelessness, and death. We must band together.

We must win elections

As you’ve no doubt heard repeatedly from me we have elections as soon as February in the United States. 30 states have local elections plus Supreme Court picks in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and statewide elections in Virginia and New Jersey. Democrats must compete and win across the board.

How do we do it? Clearly something went wrong at the national level and many are talking about the overwhelming global pushback against ruling parties, the headwinds Vice President Harris faced as essentially an incumbent herself, and only having 100 days to run a campaign. What do we need to do to win these important local and state level races?

One place to look is Ohio’s 1st Congressional District. That purple region that is home to none other than J.D. Vance himself, re-elected a Democrat to the House for the first time in 40 years. Not only did Greg Landsman win again but increased his margin of victory from 6 points to 9 as well.

Not long after the election he took to social media to lay out a bullet list of things he did that he believes made the difference. He had ten points but here are a few of my favorites:

1. People are clearly frustrated with the economy and politics. Trump won big, picked up voters across almost every demographic, and folks cited the economy and immigration as top concerns. We have to meet them where they are. .

2. I do not believe people want the chaos, extremism or cruelty of the far-right.

3. I strongly believe that while people are frustrated and feeling left out, the answer is not to demagogue the other.

4. Democrats need a clearer message.

5. It’s my bank account balance, stupid. Get prices down and use tax reform to help working people pay their bills.

6. Care about everyone, everywhere. Democrats need to show up in red areas and connect with those voters, too.

7. We also have to do media that reaches everyone – beyond legacy media and do podcasts and jump on YouTube channels and shows. Even the ones that may be less friendly. When we go on them, be normal and speak honestly. Have some fun connecting with new audiences.

8. We should always fight injustice and unfairness while understanding that identity politics is unpleasant for most people.

9. Democrats should serve as the firewall against Trump’s worst impulses AND find ways to work with Republicans on bipartisan solutions.

10. This is a moment for the center-left and center-right to step up. In my first term, it was the center-left and center-right that ensured we avoided a default on our loans, which would have been catastrophic.

11. Understand the moment and keep organizing. Find candidates and issues you can believe in, and be all in. None of us can fix it all, but we can find our passion and make a difference in our corner of this great nation.

12. No one can tell you with any certainty everything will be okay or everything will be awful. It’ll be what we make of it.

I had to talk to him…again

I especially liked number 7 about going everywhere and doing all media. I know Greg stands by that statement because he was one of only two sitting House members not running for higher office that joined my ‘In the Hot Seat’ series of short interviews before the election. He did it because his staff reached out to me and asked to.

So, after seeing his Twitter thread I reached out directly to him via email and he jumped right on it. It was a great conversation and I especially loved his measure of success when trying to figure out if he is connecting with his constituents. They just call him “Greg.”

There are a lot of great lessons both in his list and our chat on this week’s ‘On Democracy with FPWellman.’

Rep. Greg Landsman

Southwest Ohio Representative Greg Landsman is the first Democrat to win re-election in Ohio-01 in 40 years. Prior to his time in elected office, Greg was a public-school teacher and worked in education advocacy. Greg earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Ohio University and a master’s degree in Theology from Harvard University. In Congress, Representative Landsman serves on the House Committee on Small Business and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

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