Plea to the DNC for the future of the Democratic Party

I am a millennial.  I'm an older millennial, to be sure, but still count as one (for better and for worse).  The first presidential election I voted in was 2004.  I cast my vote for John Edwards in the primary  because I felt he was the more liberal option compared to John Kerry.  I still proudly voted for John Kerry in 2004 and was frustrated when he didn't win.  After that election, I decided to re-register as "unaffiliated" in California as I didn't feel the need to label myself as a member of any party (sound familiar?).

And then along came Barack Obama.  I doubt I will ever feel the way I felt about Barack Obama again - you just can't replicate the emotions around that first politician who truly inspires you.  The hope, the excitement, the exhilaration of being part of a movement - part of something bigger than yourself.  Obama didn't sound like a politician; he didn't speak in soundbites.  He promised that we were going to change Washington for the better.  I grew up in the dysfunction of the end of the Clinton administration, the chaos of the 2000 election, and the dejection of the 2004 election - change and hope were things I desperately needed to believe in.

Eight years later, I shocked a lot of friends by throwing my full-throated support behind Hillary Clinton, someone I couldn't stand in 2008.  I was asked why I didn't support Bernie Sanders.  I'm an avowed progressive.  I'm young(ish).  I lived in England and missed my socialized healthcare.  I supported affordable college tuition.  I'm an outspoken proponent for peace around the world.  Why didn't I #FeelTheBern?

I appreciated many of the goals of the Sanders campaign but didn't agree with the path laid out to reach them.  While I've always been idealistic, I'm also a realist who loves the nitty gritty details.  I need more than "political revolution" as an answer to the question of "how."  I want leaders who are constantly learning and striving to understand more on issues.  Further, I've never been an absolutist when it comes to beliefs and I'm uncomfortable with any movement that demands fealty to a strict ideology or worships one specific leader.

All the things I didn't appreciate when I was younger made me so excited about Hillary Clinton as an adult - her tenacity, her attention to detail, her depth and breadth of knowledge, her passion for helping those without a voice, and the historical nature of her nomination.  I had recently moved to Texas and registered for the Democratic Party once again, despite not needing to do so to vote in the primary.  Hillary Clinton brought me home to the Democratic Party.

My plea to the DNC is this - please don't forget about us.  Please remember that you have passionate people who want to see the Democratic Party continue to be a big tent party, not become a party for one segment of people.  Hillary Clinton's campaign brought attention to a range of issues affecting a diverse population of people; we can't let that get lost while trying to appease millennials and those on the left.

The Democratic Party needs to grow and it can't do that by narrowing its field.  We should reach out to the moderate Republicans who voted for Hillary Clinton this election and are horrified at the path the Republican Party is heading down.  The Democratic Party has the chance to lead the opposition against the horror show that will be the Donald Trump presidency.  But in order to do so, the party needs every ally it can find.   

It's On Us Now

This is not the blog post I was hoping to write tonight.  This morning, I was filled with optimism.  The polls looked good for Hillary Clinton.  We were going to elect our first female president.  Americans were going to vote responsibly and we would all be ok.  Five hours ago, as the tears spilled over, I realized that the night was going in a horrific direction.  My heart broke for the promise of a better tomorrow, now smashed beneath the tyrannical boots of fear, hatred, and ignorance.  My husband held me as I cried.

A part of me is furious.  I am so angry at the older generations who are so terrified that their antiquated version of America is no more that they looked to the most horrific, authoritarian man who promise to turn back the clocks to a time when America was great - if you were a white male, that is. I'm even more angry at the folks who like to pretend that we aren't a two-party system and insist on voting third-party, even if the candidates are unprepared, unqualified, and ignorant.  But what good does that anger do?

So here is my demand to my generation - this is our future, our children's future, and it's time for us to step up.  We need to stop acting like we are somehow too cool to participate in the democratic process.  We need to stop hiding behind cynicism and touting our third-party participation like it's a hipster badge of honor.  We know people who are facing deportation.  We know people who face discrimination based on their faith, their skin color, their orientation.  We know people whose marriages are at risk.  We know people who will lose their healthcare.  And your protest votes, or "votes of conscience," will not protect them and have, in fact, put them at risk.

It is now on us to protect these communities - we owe it to them.  It is time for us to fight for our future and our democracy. Educate yourselves on the past so we stop repeating history.  Learn about how our democratic system actually works and how you can work within it to improve it.  Get involved in your community.  Run for a local office.  Organize.  Now is the time to shut up and put up.  Our future depends on it.

My heart may be broken but my resolve is stronger than ever.