What a difference a year makes! Waking up after Election Day in 2017 is incredibly different from last November, when we faced the prospect of a misogynist-in-chief in the White House, starring in a four-year reality show of his own creation at our expense.
Trump and his cronies have worked hard to undermine every fundamental of our society: trust, solidarity, and equal opportunities for all. From the environment to health care, voting rights to immigration and education, they’ve relentlessly chipped away the bonds that hold us together.
But we’ve worked harder, and smarter. We’ve come together, and dawn has finally come. We had to take to the streets and then to the polls to defend our nation’s beliefs, but we did it.
A Path Emerges
Now, just a year later, Democrats and Progressives have reasons to feel proud. Tuesday’s wins point a path towards even greater gains in midterm elections next year, which can deal a death blow to Trump’s heartless agenda.
You know the headlines: the next governors of New Jersey and Virginia are Democrats, and Maine is the first state where voters overruled their Republican governor’s refusal to expand Medicaid, opening the door for more states to demand greater access to essential care for those who need it most.
Philadelphia voters elected a Civil Rights Attorney as their new District Attorney, and a wave of progressive candidates marked wins all the way down the ballot, from school boards to city councils and state legislatures, all across the country.
The Real Story
But the real story of 2017 is about a movement, one that People’s Action has been proud to nurture and support. It’s about people of color, immigrants, transgender people, women and young folks moving from protesting in the streets to contesting for governing power, and taking their rightful places in city halls and state capitols all across this country.
It’s the story of the resistance movement, which has stood up to daily challenges from white supremacy, corporate greed,…