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HONESTY HURTS
It has been less than a month and we have entered a period of introspection and blame about what happened in the election and why. These are useful conversations that will go on for a long time because it is important to think honestly about both our strengths and shortcomings. Militaries write histories of past wars in order to learn and prepare for the next war. Our understanding of what happened and what we can do better will evolve in light of new data and analysis. It is early in our process but read In Case You Missed It below for some initial opinions and analysis of what went wrong.
While we continue to undertake the essential work of honest criticism, let’s remain proud of the work we did together and look for ways to build on it. Remember this:
- The election was very close. The count in the Electoral College (Trump 312 vs. Harris 226) makes Trump’s victory appear decisive when we lost the popular vote by just 1.6%, according to the latest count, and Trump’s margin of victory in most of the battleground states was even slimmer. This is hardly the “landslide” or “mandate” that Trump claims.
- The loss of the Senate was slimmer than it might have been because many Trump voters split their ballot and voted for Democratic Senate candidates. (See story below under In Case You Missed It.) The Republicans’ narrow 53-47 majority gives us a fighting chance to win back a Senate majority in 2026. In the House, the Republicans have hung on to a razor thin margin that will make it difficult for them to pass legislation, given the group’s fractious nature.
- Of the 10 states with ballot initiatives regarding abortion rights, seven voted to increase those rights and voters in three states approved initiatives to remove current language in their constitutions that limits same-sex marriage.
The next battle is not in four years – it will be the 2026 midterms. In the 2018 midterms, Democrats performed extremely well before re-taking the White House in 2020. Let's remember that we can do it again if we stay engaged in the fight – whatever forms it takes.
Talk to your friends. Tell them you aren’t quitting and neither should they.
Now more than ever,
Your faithful editor
In This Issue
- Upcoming Events
- Attend the ACLU's Virtual Town Hall
- A Word from Saving Democracy
- Please Turn in Your Yard Signs
- In Case You Missed It
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There is no regular meeting of the Salisbury Democratic Town Committee this month.
Monday December 2 at 5:30pm: The Sharon Democratic Town Committee - Regular monthly meeting. Everyone is welcome to attend in person on the second floor of Sharon Town Hall, 63 Main Street, in Sharon, or remotely on Zoom. Please email sharontowndemocrats@gmail.com for a link.
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Saturday December 14 at 5pm: Candlelight Vigil Against Gun Violence. It has been 12 years since the horrific shooting of 20 children and 6 teachers and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Gun violence continues to take its indiscriminate toll on thousands of people each year. Please join the community at the Town Green outside the White Hart Inn to remember Sandy Hook and all victims of gun violence. There will be a reading of victims’ names, music, and remarks by State Rep. Maria Horn. Please bring your own candle.
| Tuesday January 21 at 7pm: Salisbury Democratic Town Committee. This regular monthly SDTC meeting will be held at Town Hall and via Zoom. The SDTC is committed to promoting good government and democratic principles at every level of our civic life. The SDTC recruits candidates for local elective and appointed offices and supports the most qualified Democrats to run in municipal, state, and national elections. Meetings are usually on the third Tuesday of every month. Please email Al Ginouves to receive a copy of the agenda and the link to the meeting. All are welcome. | |
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ATTEND THE ACLU'S VIRTUAL TOWN MEETING
Many of us are feeling nervous about what a new Trump presidency will bring. With Trump in the White House and Republicans controlling both branches of Congress, organizations like the ACLU will play a critical role protecting our rights in Connecticut and across the country as they have done in the past. During the first Trump presidency, the ACLU undertook over 400 legal actions, stopping some of Trump's most egregious actions, such as the Muslim Ban and family separation along the border.
Sign up for the ACLU of CT's virtual Town Hall on Wednesday December 4 from 4-5pm. Lean more about the organization's plans to protect civil rights and liberties during the Trump Administration and find out how you can help. Hear from expert legal, policy, and communications staff about the implications of the new administration for our civil liberties, including voting rights, reproductive rights, free speech, immigrants’ rights, and the criminal legal system.
RSVP to learn more at www.acluct.org/townhalls. As always, engagement and action is the best antidote for hopelessness.
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A WORD FROM SAVING DEMOCRACY | |
Saving Democracy, our local advocacy group, is celebrating the victories of many candidates whom its work supported. Collectively, the group is heartbroken that Harris lost the race for President and is very concerned about the future under the incoming president. The post-election Saving Democracy gathering at the White Hart grieved the losses but also exuberantly celebrated both the victories and the community it has built -- a community of friends and neighbors who care deeply about our country and are willing to work hard to preserve the freedoms and values we cherish.
Saving Democracy mentor and author of the Substack Chop Wood Carry Water, Jessica Craven, offered these suggestions as we head into uncharted waters in our country:
I know very little about how we’re going to make it through the next few years, but I do know this: doing good, providing mutual aid, helping those who are down, standing with those being targeted—these are things that will not only keep us whole and staunch [sic] the bleeding in our communities, but bring us joy when few things can. I may be naive, but I’m convinced that love is the way out of this. It cannot prevail by force, but it can nevertheless prevail. We’ve seen it time and time again. How? Through the power of unity, perseverance, and compassion, and through determined collective action.
We will, then, keep looking for ways to lift each other up. We will not focus only on fighting those who are evil. We will focus even more on helping the helpers. This shift will make our burden lighter and keep us connected when dwelling only on our anger and fear would poison and isolate us. This isn’t to say we can’t feel those feelings—we will and we must. But let’s keep trying to channel them into connectedness—not the opposite. It is in this way that we will fuel our activism, find pockets of joy, and enable ourselves to stay in the fight.
They want us to give up. We will simply give instead. Of our compassion. Of our energy. Of our patriotism. Of our creativity. Of our generosity. Of our hope. Of our courage. Of our friendship.
In this way we will outlast them. Outsmart them. Outnumber them. They may win for a while. But with love and determination, we will prevail at last.
Saving Democracy will convene again when it becomes clear what actions can effectively contribute to the political opposition. Until then, all are invited to join a weekly Saving Democracy zoom during which Kathy Voldstad, a mindfulness-based stress reduction teacher, will offer practices that may help to reduce anxiety and stress and foster the resilience we will need for the years ahead. Each hour-long session will also include time to check in with each other. In December, the group will meet Thursdays at noon in this zoom room.
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PLEASE TURN IN YOUR YARD SIGNS
If you still have yard signs, we would like to collect them for the future because they are expensive. You are free to keep your Harris/Walz signs, but if you have signs for Maria Horn, Jahana Hayes, or Justin Potter, please feel free to drop them off at Al Ginouves' house at 22 Meadow Street in Lakeville. If you would like to have us pick them up, please email Al Ginouves to arrange pick up. They will be used again!
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Let the Autopsy Continue — Ten Reasons Trump Won — and Why We Must Soldier On. Journalist and political analyst Jonathan Alter writes that historians will argue for decades about why Trump won, and they will never reach a consensus. There are just too many factors for a monocausal analysis. Instead, he offers ten possible reasons, in no particular order. This piece is a good first stop for starting to understand the causes of Trump’s victory and, equally importantly, for suggesting what we do to perform better next time. https://oldgoats.substack.com/p/let-the-autopsy-continue.
The New Rules of the Youth Vote. 2024 should have been a triumph of the Democratic youth vote. With abortion rights under threat, climate change accelerating, and student debt relief on the ballot, the conventional wisdom saw young voters as Harris's firewall. Instead, her narrow margin among voters under 30, revealed something far more consequential: a generation of voters breaking free from traditional political patterns and featuring unprecedented gender divides, erosion of support from young men, and an increasingly independent approach to evaluating leadership. This analysis by John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, is a wake-up call for Democrats and valuable reading for understanding how we must change how we communicate with young voters. https://dellavolpe.substack.com/p/the-new-rules-of-the-youth-vote
Don’t Underestimate the Rogansphere. Fox News is watched by older people (the median age is 68). Now, a mammoth media ecosystem for young people has been established, and its audience is far bigger than Fox's, potentially reaching 10 times as many people. It’s an amorphous network of podcasts, YouTubers, Twitch streamers, and meme accounts from Kill Tony to Joe Rogan to Dilley Meme Team. They encompass entertainment, comedy, sports, health, relationships – and a distrust of the Democrats and the mainstream media permeates them all. Read this informative and frightening story by Sam Wolfson in The Guardian.
Why You May Be Wrong About Harris’s Loss. Though we don’t yet have accurate data about how various demographic groups voted and won’t for months, according to New York Times opinion writer David Wallace-Wells, we have entered a preliminary round of explanations and recriminations. If history is any guide, he writes, the menu of lessons to learn will prove both hugely influential and probably wrong in big ways. He offers a handful of initial observations about the race and how it is already being interpreted and misinterpreted. He offers some caveats, counterpoints, and context that may help us understand the meaning of a big messy election in a big messy country, at least until we get the actually reliable voter data. Read the full opinion piece in The New York Times.
Split-Ticket Voting Saves Democrats in Key Battleground Races. Split-ticket voting played a prominent role in several battleground states during the elections despite the practice becoming increasingly less common. Democrats clinched major Senate wins in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, saving the party from a total wipeout in the upper chamber, despite Vice President Harris falling short against Trump in all of those states. In North Carolina, Democrat Josh Stein prevailed in the governor’s race as did the Democratic candidates for attorney general and secretary of state -- despite voters casting more ballots for Trump. After months of speculation about the role ticket-splitting would play, the results showed the highest level in the past three presidential election years. Read more in The Hill.
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SHARE YOUR NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Please send us any news or announcements that you would like us to share with our community. We publish on the first of each month, so please send us any submissions at least one week in advance. Please submit to the editor at salsdemsnews@gmail.com.
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