The midterms are only 91 days away, and if the Democrats retake the House of Representatives, it will mark the beginning of the end of the Trump regime. Pro-Democracy forces need to stay laser-focused on helping the Democrats succeed.
Why?
Not because the Democratic Party is so great; it isn’t. Not because I necessarily agree with all or most of what Democratic candidates in any particular district stand for; I don’t. It’s because this is the only way we can establish a federal power center that is independent of Trump’s vise-like grip. The House controls the purse strings and can conduct investigations into corrupt, illegal, and unconstitutional activity. A win would allow Democrats to compete with Trump for media attention: Just as the press can’t ignore Trump because “he is the President,” the press won’t be able to ignore Hakeem Jefferies once he’s the Speaker.
Unfortunately, rather than focusing on electing every Democrat, left, right, and center, there are pundits and politicians looking to provoke intra-party fights. Some insist Democratic candidates pass purity tests on every issue of interest to the Left, while others argue only centrists are electable and that the party should reject Democratic Socialists or face blow-back from voters outside of liberal enclaves.
The fact is, this is a diverse country, and every district has its unique characteristics—a different amalgam of social classes, races, religions, ethnic groups, and locally important issues. Candidates who can win by landslides in New York, California, and Massachusetts may lose by landslides in Iowa, Virginia, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Maine, or Michigan.
This year in my home state of New York, pro-Palestinian Democratic Socialist candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier won her primary in New York’s 13th congressional district, but last year in my district (the 16th) a similar pro-Palestinian Democratic Socialist candidate, incumbent Rep. Jamaal Bowman, lost heavily in his primary. That primary was won by pro-Israel moderate liberal challenger George Latimer. Latimer won his primary challenge, not only because his district is 10% Jewish, but because he is an indefatigable retail politician. He made it a point for years to attend every community event he possibly could—once he even attended our neighborhood BBQ—whereas I never saw Bowman except at protest demonstrations. Every district is different, and every candidate has unique strengths and weaknesses.
For the purposes of the upcoming midterms, the Democratic Party should be an extremely large tent which supports every candidate who will vote with the party on the majority of issues. Maverick Democrats who sometimes vote with Republicans are better than Republicans who vote in lock-step with Trump on every issue; Candidates whose sympathies lean towards Palestine and those whose sympathies lean toward Israel should both be acceptable if they can best win their districts; Candidates who prefer Medicare-for-All and those who just prefer the restoration of Obamacare subsidies should both be acceptable if they can best win their district; Candidates who call themselves socialists and those who oppose socialism should both be acceptable if they can best win their districts. The main idea is to win.
I’m not saying these differences don’t matter; They do. After the Democrats retake the House, voters can pressure their representatives to change their stances or organize to elect candidates closer to their hearts the next go round. But to divide ourselves over ideological differences now only rewards Trump and furthers our drift into autocracy.
This is not a moment for purity.
It’s an “all hands on deck” moment.
The purists who voted for Ralph Nader or Jill Stein in previous elections helped elect George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Their votes did nothing to advance the causes they cared intensely about, but only helped further oligarchy and reaction at home and senseless war abroad.
We can only win through broad coalitions, and we can only build broad coalitions by accepting our differences. Any candidate who believes in America as a racially diverse and pluralistic nation and in the rule of law, maintaining and improving the social safety net, governmental checks and balances, a free press, limiting climate change, and not bullying the rest of the world is someone we ought to be able to vote for, even if we must hold our noses because of their stances on other issues.
Let’s retake the House now and fight over our differences another day.