January 2, 2018
The start of a new year is customarily a time of renewal. We mark the transition by resolving to leave disappointment and bad habits in the past; using the flip of a calendar page to re-commit ourselves to self improvement. In 2018, our collective renewal project must be our democracy. The garbage fire that was 2017 has made it abundantly clear that we are in the midst of an unprecedented emergency. Our country is in the grip of cruel, corrupt racists and our activism and their incompetence are all that stands between us and fascism.
A year of consolidated Republican control of the federal government has inflicted some real damage, despite our constant opposition. Immigration arrests are up 30%, tearing families apart and leaving Latino immigrants with an ever present sense of dread that circumscribes their liberty (Source: “Fiscal Year 2017 ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Report,”www.ice.gov). In Puerto Rico, more than three months after Hurricane Maria, 45% of the island is STILL without power (Source: “3 Months after Maria, barely half of Puerto Rico has power,” by Danica Cato, The Chicago Tribune, 12/31/17). The death toll may be over 1000 people (Source: “Official Toll in Puerto Rico: 64. Actual Deaths May be 1052,” by Frances Robles, Kenan Davis, Sheri Fink and Sarah Almukhtar, The New York Times, 12/9/17). Meanwhile, Trump and his sycophantic helpmates in Congress are packing the courts at an unprecedented pace with right wing ideologues who will have lifetime tenure.
The scope of the emergency our country faces is clear and we should be prepared to meet it with steely determination. In that spirit, I propose the following New Year’s Resolutions:
- Journalists and pundits should resolve to stop equivocating and call things what they are. Trump is a liar. Terms like “misspoke” or “misstatements” belong in Merchant/Ivory films. Call a lie a lie, in real time.
- Trump is a racist who emboldens vicious white supremacists and Nazis. Journalists cannot participate in their branding efforts by using their preferred terminology of “alt right.” It makes them sound like people who have mild disagreements with Milton Friedman. It obscures their goal — to terrorize, deport or murder all nonwhite or Jewish Americans. Their repugnant views must NOT be mainstreamed or sanitized. Resolve to call them what they are: anti-Semitic and racist white supremacists.
- The Democratic Party must resolve to listen to and empower its base — Black voters. The victories in Virginia and Alabama were due in large measure to Black women and men, in coalition with progressive young white voters and suburban moderates. That means the Democratic Party must fight voter suppression with everything it has, invest in GOTV efforts early and most importantly, get behind Black women candidates.
- The news media and the Democratic Party must resolve to stop obsessing over Trump voters’ unwavering support for Trump. It’s not a mystery. A campaign centered on racism appealed to racists and his diehard supporters will not abandon Trump as long as he continues to pursue policies targeted to hurt people of color. The fact is though, that while the racism of his working class supporters is real, so is their despair. A platform that meaningfully addresses the lack of opportunity and income inequality decimating working and middle class Americans will peel off some of their votes. There is no need to pander to ignorance and hatred to win elections.
- American Citizens – Whether you are a progressive or centrist Democrat, a fiscal conservative or Never Trump Republican, you have one job this year – to resolve to get a Democratic Congress elected in November 2018. Don’t be fooled by moderate murmurs from Marco Rubio or Susan Collins. Don’t get bogged down in purity tests. Every day, do one thing to make that goal a reality. Whether it is registering voters, donating to the ACLU or the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; pushing for paper ballots to thwart Russian hacking efforts or knocking on doors, don’t let a day go by where you don’t do one thing to accomplish that goal. Nothing less than the fate of the country is at stake.
Happy New Year!
#HappyBlueYear