Open Letter: Progressives, Hold Your Fire, You Elected Joe

We won. Trump lost. Now what?

I’m happy, but already worried. Do I see people talking about an agenda to help working people? Do I see discussions regarding how we are going to improve healthcare or education? 1/30

Is anyone suddenly animated with renewed excitement to rebuild the middleclass and close the wealth gap? No. Instead, I see Republican John Kasich on television bashing progressives and talking about cutting Social Security to balance the budget—telling Democrats what to do. 2/30

Kasich, is the Republican who spoke at the Democratic Convention—we lost Ohio anyway. While he’s reveling in taking cheap shots at the “left” (instead of blaming his own party for Trump) there has been a Tsunami of posts...3/30

...and articles desperately pleading that we all find a way to reach out to the Trump voters—who I know (more than anyone) really don’t want to be reached out to quite yet—turn on Fox News. 4/30

And I see commentator after commentator reminding America that “centrist” politicians saved us.

I heard a conference call today where one of our local Democratic politicians gleefully preached the need to “go to the middle.” 5/30

He seemed more interested in building a bridge to people who hate us, rather than to the the members of this own party who disagree with him. I’m glad we are the party of empathy—even for those who spitefully persecute us. I’m glad we don’t glory in the pain of others. 6/30

But before this goes any further, let’s remember how we really go this win. Let’s get a few things straight.

Joe Biden won because of progressives—not Republicans like Kasich. The country is split pretty much 50/50, just like the party enrollment numbers nationally suggest. 7/30

But people like @AOC, @BernieSanders, and @ewarren swallowed their pride and fought tooth and nail for @JoeBiden. For heaven’s sakes, @IlhanMN and @RashidaTlaib saved Minnesota and Michaigan by knocking thousands of doors with their progressive armies to get votes for Biden. 8/30

By progressive I mean people who believe every American has a right to healthcare, believe that climate change is an immediate threat (and opportunity for innovation), and believe the wealth gap is destroying our Democracy. 9/30

I do not agree with everything the people whose names I mentioned stand for, but I bet we all agree on these principles, and we agree that we must stop bending to the whims of Wall Street, resist unfair trade, and get corporate money out of politics. 10/30

So call me a progressive, or liberal, or whatever. But don’t tell me I’m the problem. But don’t tell me I’m the problem. The real problem is neo-liberalism or “Republican Light” policies. 11/30

If you want to really build a bridge to many Trump voters, it will take time and you do it by working for them and eschewing the Republican-Light nonesense that got us in this mess. 12/30

That’s what led to cutting the social safety net, changing the rules of the free market and our tax code to benefit the richest family dynasties, and trade deals that undermined workers and benefited the most powerful corporations.
13/30

These are the policies that are so unpopular and gutted America. This is what created the vacuum of desperation that gave us Trump. We have shifted so far to the right that common sense policies of so called “progressives” are suddenly radical... 14/30

It’s silly too blame progressives for anything, a convenient and inappropriate scapegoat, becuase we haven’t had a real progressive government since FDR. Let’s dig deeper. I ran as a progressive. 15/30

Did it hurt me more than it hurt moderate candidates in other districts in Upstate New York? No. I ran in the reddest district agaisnt a billionaire clan, and when all is said in done (we are still counting ballots) we will do comparable or better than the... 16/30

Democratic candidates that refused to say a word about Trump, really mention Black Lives Matter, or stand up the NRA. The difference is I can look at myself in the mirror. We all struggled, because a struggling rural America—betrayed by traditional Republicans...17/30

and Republican-light Democrats— looked to Trump (an incredible cheerleader) as their savior. But why has Trump become so beloved by the working class? It’s largely emotional. Remember, most of his rhetoric and ideas sound nothing like those of traditional...18/30

Republicans. And politics is not linear, it’s möbius. Or if I say it more bluntly, he stole Bernie Sanders talking points and covered it all in globs and globs of WWE, Vince McMahon ketchup and mayo. The problem wasn’t so much his style, however, it was that he...19/30

...was hollow, all talk. Trump sounded like he cared, but he did nothing to help the working class. Why am I bringing this up now? Today. The day after such a momentous election we all fought so hard for. Because I see us already repeating the mistakes of the past.
20/30

I love Joe Biden. Respect him. But we all know that many voted against Trump as much as they voted for Joe. In the years to come, we must give people something to cheer for, rather than just cheer against. And ballot initiatives on progressive issues...21/30

such as voter access, marijuana legalization, a higher minimum wage, etc., pass by huge margins across the country. And healthcare for all? It’s more popular than ever. Own it. All of it. If we are not proud of our ideas, no one else will be either.
22/30

We cannot again create a self-fulfilling prophecy. If it’s close and a Republican-light candidate wins, Democratic leadership says “Thank God we went to the middle.” If the Republican-light candidate loses, the Democratic leadership says...23/30

...“It’s because progressives split the vote.” The progressive element of the party bears all the blame and receives none of the credit. But look at the polls on issues, not labels. People don’t want a centrist. They want healthcare. 24/30

What’s more amazing, the progressive candidates are often vastly outfunded and they still over perform. Guess how much money I got from the National Democratic Party in all of my races? No matter how close I came. Almost zip! 25/30

Once they sent out a flier with the wrong date and a pic of Cuomo. My name was not even on it. Yes. Cuomo. In Upstate! I don’t know Cuomo! How many votes did that cost me? Meanwhile, they dump millions and millions into Republican-light candidates who underperform. 26/30

I know she tried, but how about Amy McGrath? She had a campaign budget the size of a small nation’s GDP. But for the first six months of her campaign, she refused to even say Trump’s name. Meanwhile, over in Tennessee (one state over), underfunded...27/30

..under respected, progressive @Bradshaw2020, did just about the same with no help and almost no money at all. Hats off to to you Marquita. Some may point to progressive @karaforcongress in Nebraska, who lost a close race in a purple seat. 28/30

What happened? Her centrist Democratic rival endorsed her republican opponent! How come party loyalty only goes one way? Why do I say all this? Because I feel I need to. I’m a progressive candidate, in a red region. 29/30

But I have a network of people behind me, who are just as mad as I am that we got so little help. Heck, I could barely get some of our local chairs on the phone over the past few years. Yet we almost won 30/30 (plus one below)

Progressives are not the problem. They are the fire—outsiders, rebels, those change the world . . . Even if the party we love gives AOC only three minutes and John Kasich twenty.

Hold your fire,

Nate