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This is a difficult newsletter to write. I feel a strange silent void right now. Shock, anger, disappointment, stunned disbelief. Some people want to talk; I find it difficult.
I feel compassion today for the situation of our wonderful candidates who did win their races. At a time when they should be celebrating — and we all should be sharing in their achievement — we feel depleted.
So let’s first acknowledge the NH House candidates who won their races: Jerry Stringham, Heather Baldwin, Janet Lucas, Sallie Fellows, Bill Bolton, and Peter Lovet. And acknowledge our disappointment that Jolene Farmer, Carolyn Fleuhr Lobban, and Richard Lobban didn’t make it — each of you worked exceedingly hard in difficult districts!
In the NH Senate, Sue Prentiss is returning, but our other wonderful candidates will have to wait another two years. We are hoping you’ll try again — you were all great candidates!
This is not going to be an easy four years, either in New Hampshire or in the nation. But remember, from the day he enters the White House, Trump will be a lame-duck president. His election poses a grave threat to our democracy, but we cannot allow him to determine our fate.
We know exactly who he is and how he intends to govern. We know he has no respect for the law, let alone the values and traditions of democracy. We must insist that constitutional checks and balances and basic civil rights be preserved. And we must forcefully publicize his failures when they occur, which they inevitably will.
I leave you with a segment of Robert Hubbell’s piece, published this morning. (https://substack.com/app?utm_campaign=email-read-in-app&utm_source=email)
“Democrats and people who love America are grieving. That is understandable. Everyone will need time to express feelings of shock, anger, and fear. Respect those who need to talk about what happened and those who don’t want to talk about it. Everyone will need to process the results in their own way.
It will take time to digest what happened and why it happened. Both are necessary inquiries. But there is no rational explanation for America’s election of a felon, adjudicated sexual abuser, incessant liar, narcissist, and aspiring dictator. None. So, think about it as much as you need to, but don’t waste emotional energy seeking answers where there are none.
Trump is an avatar of anger for millions who see their world slipping away. There is additional nuance about racism, misogyny, and white nationalism, but it’s not more complicated than that.
We must invest all our energy in the process of recovery and the continued defense of democracy.
Before the election, many commentators warned about the end of democracy if Trump won. That isn’t going to happen—not on our watch. America is bigger than Trump and his extremism. Democracy will end only if we give up. I am not going to give up. You aren’t going to give up, either. It won’t be easy. It may get worse before it gets better. But it will get better if we refuse to give up the fight.
For those of you who have the ability to do so, providing leadership, comfort, and hope today will be a blessing to those who feel shattered. No false optimism, just genuine determination. The same strength and determination John Lewis felt when he dragged himself from a hospital bed with a cracked skull to complete his march from Selma to Montgomery two weeks after Blood Sunday. . .
. . . We have a lot of work to do. I am devoting my life to making a better America for my daughters and grandchildren—and yours, too. I hope you will continue to be by my side in this endeavor. It will be the greatest, most meaningful work of our lives.”
Onward.
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