You Have to Be in The Room
...and fight everywhere
I recall a recent conversation with my cousin, one of the few people from my hometown with whom I can have political conversations. I miss those moments with my mom, every Saturday morning, coffee and politics with her and my uncle on her sun porch, overlooking her garden. We talked about the political climate and events in the country and how they played out in our work environments.
So now I was carrying on the tradition with my cousin. We talked about how the Constitutional Republicans had taken over the town. This particular brand of conservative extremists is a sore spot for both of us because a few years back they stole a critical county commission seat by denying officially “tied” primary candidates the customary run-off election; a run-off that wouldn’t have required any additional funding. My cousin was one of the candidates, aah but that’s a story for another day.
This conversation focused on the various local and state races. She thought most of the candidates were unlikely to win. I agreed in part but made a point to remind her of the many reasons it was important for them to run – win or lose. It was an excellent opportunity to remind her of the new organization I was working with, Blue Tennessee, a sister organization of Every State Blue, an organization whose focus is to ensure Democrats fight everywhere –no more unchallenged races. I stressed the importance for every citizen to have a “choice.” I talked about how we’d never regain any type of normalcy in governance if people didn’t challenge the extremists by running for office, a long-term incremental effort that would eventually yield results. This is exactly how these extremists gained power. We must think more strategically going forward to regain power and restore normalcy.
Most of the candidates were not taking advantage of a simple strategy, she said. They were not attending local civic events, where she felt much of the Republican Strategy and funding was being revealed. I’m always there and they know and recognize me, she said, “You have to be in the room!”
We exchanged more of our amateur political stratagems and promised to chat again soon. Afterwards, I thought she’s right, you must be in the room, you have to be in the race, you have to be in it to win it. These truisms are what lead me to embrace the work of an organization that embodies this philosophy, the newest chapter of Every State Blue, Blue Tennessee. We need a chapter in every state.
I am composing this on the very day the world is commemorating D-Day, literally Day-Day marking the end of WWII. A moment in history when Democracy around the world was threatened by a fast-moving fascist agenda enacted by a tyrannical dictator who was “voted” into office. 80 years later we face a similar situation at home and aboard with a renewed and re-energized rise in the far-right conservative movement.
We must fight against it now in our own country like all the courageous anti-fascists did 80 years ago on the shores of Normandy and elsewhere.
Like Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi says, “When we fight, we win.”
We may not win every fight but staying in the fight is how we win in the overall battle for Democracy. In the words of President Biden, we’re in a Battle for the Soul of the Nation.