Over the last few months writers have spent a lot of time focused on the 2016 Presidential Race. They speak of it in epic, gargantuan terms of the importance of the election. It is true, that the presidential race will have significant, direct consequences in our life. But is the presidential race the fight of our lifetime?
In order for something to qualify as the fight of our lifetime, it has to be more than about the end conclusions, it also must be about how difficult and direct the change is to our communities and members. In light of that, for some of us, people like myself, the war of our lifetimes isn’t in a federal race — it’s happening in the state houses.
This last week, Americans For Prosperity, the Koch conservative PAC, began to spend real money on the 2016 races, and they did so by spending significant amounts of money on state house races. The Democratic response: we are still desperately behind in candidates. Numerous races nationwide remain open with Republicans facing no challenger at all.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article50935595.html
The 2016 general election is more than 10 months away, but 53 legislators – nearly a third of the N.C. General Assembly – learned Monday that they’ll get another term.
That’s because no one filed to run against 40 House members and 13 senators by Monday’s noon deadline.
That’s just North Carolina. In states around the country, Republicans and Democrats will face no race at all next fall; they have no challenger, and they will have no reason to campaign for the vote. None. While many Democrats nationwide are also gerrymeandered into seats that guarantee them no challenge, it is far more Republicans who will face no challenge.. at all.
http://stanfordpolitics.com/2015/04/the-democrats-have-no-bench/
The media has only recently begun to comment on the disintegration of the Democratic bench, but the process actually began several years ago. Four months before the 2010 election, the Democrats controlled 61 of the 99 state legislative bodies in the United States. By the end of the 2012 election cycle, that number had dropped to 36; today, that number stands at 30.
While others focus on the White House exclusively, the location that most desperately needs a “revolution” is in more Democratic citizens deciding to run for local races on their ballot; city councils, county commissions, state house & state senate. These races in many states not only lack Democratic candidates, they promote the worst policies that we have to offer.
Elections of Sheriff, County Prosecutor, Mayor — all of these races also have significant, significant impact. Ask the residents of Ferguson, Missouri; St. Louis County; Cleveland, Ohio or any American city how the elected power of a county prosecutor or mayor can shape their day to day life.
Democrats nationwide are desperate for candidates — and guess what, for Bernie supporters who believe that this is a revolution, I urge you to consider becoming what he actually proposes: a revolutionary who runs for office to fulfill his goal. No, that doesn’t mean you have to run for US House or Senate. But, it does mean that many of you live in a place where you can run for: Precinct Person (a party office), city council (city office), mayor (city), School board (local office), water board (local office), County Commission (county office), Board of Trustees (local office), State House (state office), State Senate (state office) — hell, if your municipality has a urban renewal panel, a city legislature, or other you have plenty of options available to you.
The reality is, the Democratic bench right now is weak — really weak. It is because for far too long, we have focused exclusively on the Presidency to the detriment of absolutely everything else. Now, as filing deadlines approach nationwide, more Democratic candidates at every level need your support, or, if there is not one, then they need your sweat & effort in helping to locate a Democrat to represent you.
I do not buy the excuse “they cannot win” as a reasonable argument; if more Democrats in several states had just brought in slightly more votes in losses in states like Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas, Virginia their losses would have still paved the way for large shifts in statewide races. I don’t buy the argument that “people cannot be motivated around that” — the next time someone tells you they are “all in” on Bernie’s revolution or they are pumped up to stand for Hillary, if they are unprepared to do work on local races then their “revolution” is as fake as a 3 dollar bill, and their legs apparently can’t hold them up for too long.
The fight of our lifetime is one that will take a very long time, it is not one that will be resolved over the course of a primary. When we set our bar that low, when we believe that one primary season is “the fight of our lifetime” we excuse ourselves of the long, hard work that will go into reshaping our states to represent the kind of government the people deserve.
So, with the help of a few others, we’re going to start profiling these state races. You may be excited about sending $20 to Bernie or Hillary — who already have campaigns of tens of millions — but I ask you, what better joy would there be then defeating a state house Republican for less then $10,000 we could raise? What is more rewarding than a $20 investment in a campaign where you know almost 100% of it goes straight into the street and voter outreach. What about efforts designed to help get people driver’s license and IDs to make sure they can vote?
Because those things — those things are the real fight of our lifetime. To make sure that, as a Republic, all of the people in America are properly represented and can gain access to a ballot box. To make sure that a city government represents the people.
This is the battle we aren’t likely to win this year. Or next year. Or 2018. But we can have impact every year from now to 2020. And that is the effort we must undertake if we want to make big changes in the future. If we want to make sure gerry meandering is opposed, if we want to make sure state houses don’t move at every angle to stop federal proposals and standards.
That’s what Crowdsourcing the 50-State Strategy is about. It is what many of our groups here are trying to build — and if you are ready, I say again: The best place to #StandWithHer may be in a state house or a city office. The best way to conduct a #BernieRevolution may be by ousting your local Republican from the state house or city government. If your area is well served, then the best use of your $20 may be to get more politicians who can #StandWithHer or #JoinTheRevolution.
Because simply put: that is the fight of our lifetime. Not one race. Several thousand, nationwide. Races that will determine how your children are educated, whether your city will discriminate or not, whether your law enforcement is fair and well served, how prosecutions are handled, how your state will spend your tax dollars.
So, we’re asking you: are you ready?