Herding Donkeys

Stuff yourself back into the political tent

After the elections, I’ve had so many jumbled thoughts about what this means for the Democratic Party, our nation, our communities and our people. I’ve determined that only speaking my opinions to others robs me of the rigor it requires to type them out, which in turn allows me to develop more complete thoughts and stances. So here goes nothing…

One of my jumbled thoughts has been around how the 2024 election served as a dismantling for the Democratic Party’s status quo. It has shown how the Democratic Party is out of step with our nation’s culture and aspirations and has failed to achieve relevancy. It’s a symbol of how the average American has rejected, in some capacity, the “Resistance Democrat”, and it has given us an opportunity to rebuild into something more mature and dynamic that speaks to the broader electorate.

But it’s hard to see any silver lining when Trump is trying to expand the powers of the presidency every time you refresh your newsfeed.

Trump is trying to overwhelm us with a slurry of executive orders, signing papers left and right to assume a nearly monarchical power that our government was built to prevent. Each executive order sends the country into confusion and chaos, where liberals take to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to scream into the echo-chamber about how the latest one has destroyed the fabric of our nation.

Don’t get me wrong, I do truly believe he’s destroying the fabric of our nation, and we should be incredibly alarmed. But I’m curious to see if Democrats will be able to mobilize in any sort of productive way to save it.

I’d like to try to suggest some actions in these newsletters that we can all take to fight against Trump’s America, and the first thing I’d prescribe is that everyone needs to get inside the Democratic tent.

Queue “Come Together” by The Beatles

Democrats haven’t had this little political power in a long time. We are the minority in the Senate and the House, the Supreme Court is packed with Trump’s justices, more states have Republican governors and Republican-majority (or super majority) state legislatures, and Trump won the popular vote by a narrow margin. Our powers of opposition are limited in Trump’s world.

And who’s the enemy in Trump’s world? The powerless Democrats. The liberal lefties, the middle-class, unions, poor people, the LGBT+ community, anyone other than a Christian, anyone okay with nuance in our society, immigrants, people who look like immigrants, Blacks (especially Black women), women in general… especially if you ever wore a pussy hat… the list goes on and on. So that probably means YOU, Reader.

And so, as my FIL Vince pointed out (shout out Vinny!!) … Why, if the MAGA party views the left as the enemy, can the left not view itself as a collective?

Problem #1: You’re an “Independent”

I know you looooove going to parties and proclaiming, “well I’m more of an independent myself” as you swirl your IPA around, waiting for the proverbial pat on the back that symbolizes you’re a critical thinker. But believe you me, I go home and look up your voting record and usually find you’ve only voted for Democratic candidates your entire life — busted!! (people love me at parties) But, when you say this, what you really mean is that you don’t want to be lumped in with partisan hacks who, unlike you, can’t seem to understand how each party has its downfalls and how government can be [pick whatever negative adjective]. We get it!!

Does government move slowly, especially in the US, and especially in recent years? Yes. Does the government and your party of choice do things you don’t agree with all the time? Yeah. Is the two-party system flawed? Fo’ sho’. Is the electoral college a DEI program for red states? Of course. But, unfortunately, it’s the hand we’ve been dealt. If we want to improve the system, our best (and potentially only) path forward is to work within the system to achieve change, not give up because we don’t like the game.

From the dawn of our American government, political parties have emerged as the primary pathway to achieve political change. It’s how we build coalitions, compromise, discuss differences and make incremental changes to build a better nation. Parties are messy and imperfect; they change and adapt only once everyone is on board, and our government is set up so that the two-party system will continue to reign until enough states adopt other voting systems (and it doesn’t look like that’s happening very soon given last year's failure of ranked choice voting.)

So — I find the desire to say you’re an independent, while you mostly align with one Party, a detriment to our organizing power. When you start to publicly reject the Party that you would most often vote to give power, you’re crippling one of the most important avenues you have to making a better society. (This does not mean you cannot criticize the Party! It means to be able to criticize, you should first establish your vested interest in its success.)

Problem #2: You’re so left you won’t participate in the left

I frequently find that many of the most dedicated and outspoken progressives are a part of left-wing NGOs or organizing groups that, unfortunately, spend a significant amount of their time and resources to criticize and crucify the left. Take the City Council Movement members in Knoxville, who spend their organizing energy attacking our primarily Democratic City Council, while the County Commission operates with relative impunity, pushing through damaging and regressive right-wing policies under the leadership of our wrestler mayor. [I’ll do more on the City Council Movement in a different piece…]

Activist organizations like the City Council Movement rely on Democratic governments to pass any of their policy ideas. But instead of working with elected Democrats to either achieve their goals or simply move the needle, they hold the Democrats in contempt. This intra-party conflict delays any hope of implementing progressive policies and gives Republicans a free pass to govern as they wish.

Over the election cycle, I saw how progressives couldn’t reconcile their political philosophy with their political action.

Many of us believe in elaborate, maybe eccentric, political philosophies, because most of us are liberal elites from some college in the sticks (go vols bby). But is your political philosophy leading you to nihilism, where you reject participation in your own government and concede what people-power you do have for a pat on the back for your moralistic behavior — a behavior that could lead you to the privileged decision of bowing out of the political process because it probably won’t affect you anyways?? I’d say, yeah.

I understand the hatred of capitalism and the overconsumption that it’s created. I understand the musing about how countries are just lands and borders are a framework we’ve imposed upon ourselves. I implore you to continue questioning the very way we’ve set up our society, to reach for a better alternative. But at the end of the day, diving into your mind palace of political philosophy doesn’t help a single soul when you’ve failed to elect the candidate who will get you closer to your goal.

[Here’s my fave Madame Secretary scene about candidates. Start at :20 and ends at 2:08]

My wrap up: herding asses

To fight Trump, to defend our nation, we have to first recognize the pathway to our goal — and I truly believe that means making the Democratic Party better. But to do that, you have to be willing to compromise when your political philosophy is in the distinct minority to the rest of society. We have to cast a wide net to scoop up Americans who don’t like the direction Trump is taking, without losing our raison d’être.

And it means coming together to fight, because if we remain in our progressive / independent / party-hack bubbles, the Republicans will pull our country into an even darker reality without much effort.

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Chop something to forget

One of my favorite ways to reconnect with my day, myself, and with Charlie is to cook something, which means we need to cook a lot to get away from doomscrolling our newsfeeds.

Recently, we made a homemade meatball sub. I’d never had one, and I thought the best way to experience the sandwich would be to make it from scratch. Here’s a few links that will lead you to meatball heaven.

• Charlie made homemade baguettes, starting with a poolish. The chewy baguette gives you a soft interior and crunchy exterior that pairs well with the meatball texture! Try your own baguettes with this recipe.

• Meatballs are always better when they finish cooking in your tomato sauce. They’re less chewy and more flavorful. Panfry the meatballs on all sides, pour your homemade sauce on top, simmer until done in the middle.

• Toast your baguette in the broiler with some butter and garlic powder on one side and a provolone slice on the other. Take out once the cheese is meltyyyyy.

• Assemble. Chop fresh parsley, sprinkle on top.

• Smash.

• Fight.