As has become tradition—largely due to the Supreme Court—the final week of June was a wild one when it came to American politics, democracy and progress.
Early last week, the good news was the big win in Moore v. Harper. Then, days later, came decisions striking down affirmative action, the student debt program, and allowing a Colorado website business to refuse to serve same-sex customers.
After Moore, talk emerged of a more moderate/reasonable wing of the Court. Of course, that lasted about a day, as the final three decisions (two of which appeared before the Court on highly questionable grounds when it comes to “standing”) splashed cold water on that optimism. (The post-Moore celebration missed the point that the good news was not that any progress was made—but that catastrophe was averted because truly rogue arguments that would’ve fully destroyed the rule of law in states were rejected. It didn’t take a moderate to reject those arguments. Anyone with the most basic commitment to the rule of law would’ve rejected North Carolina’s argument. (Yes, I write that knowing that three Justices did agree with that argument)).
Anyway, the whiplash from the decisions sent people into this long holiday weekend demoralized about the state of democracy.
Which is why I’m sending this newsletter…to provide some hope as we celebrate our nation’s birthday.
These decisions hit us just as we find ourselves amid a high-pitched battle for democracy at all levels: Increasingly disturbing words from Trump, DeSantis and others vying for the GOP nomination. The Congress and some of the figures now in charge of the House, careening into far-right machinations. States all over, undergoing various stages of the same downward spiral. Book bans and censorship at the local level, and new organizations like Moms for Liberty pushing them. Lawlessness. And now a court that seems to go out of its way to be on their side.
The forces against democracy are so organized and relentless, it seems. And yes, it can be overwhelming. And so many of us felt that this past week.
So let me provide some broader context:
From the time of our founding, there have ALWAYS been forces attempting to undermine the emergence of a diverse and healthy democracy. Those forces have always been there, pounding away, often using the very tactics we see now. Often making gains that have rendered painful setbacks for countless Americans. Often enforced through court rulings that seem to twist logic, history and even plain language on their heads.
That’s the bad news.
What’s the good news?
It’s that the side attacking democracy is not the side that determines the ultimate outcome. History tell us that the variable that determines the ultimate outcome is the side fighting for democracy.
If that side doesn’t see the battle for what it is, or if it doesn’t persist in standing up for democracy, or if it compromises in that fight, then yes…the side attacking democracy prevails. That’s how we got Jim Crow—at a certain point, the North stopped fighting for the newly enfranchised former slaves in the South. They compromised.
But if the side fighting for democracy sees the struggle for democracy for what it is, and relentlessly fights for it, and unites, that side historically wins. That’s how we forged Civil Rights gains, women’s suffrage, and all other historic progress we’ve made. Often, this change has been achieved by people starting from far more difficult places than where we find ourselves today.
So, where exactly do we stand today?
As always, there’s a group that’s been attacking democracy in this country. They’ve been at jt for a generation—driven by a variety of motivations, focused largely at the state level, and having found added motivation and accelerated progress after Obama’s victories in 2008 and 2012.
Unfortunately, the side that cares about democracy has not been fully engaged for much of this time, ceding ground, not fighting relentlessly, often blind to the entire battle the other side is waging. This side has won it’s share of federal elections, but—until recently—hasn’t been focused on the broader and deeper struggle of democracy enough to see where so much ground has been lost.
Most of the recent setbacks that we’ve seen are the down-stream result stemming from that mismatch of past years. One side going for broke in attacking democracy, with the other side failing to respond in kind, laid the foundation for the setbacks that are kicking in today. Today’s bad/disturbing news—in courts, in states, on political stages, even in the poisonous national dialogue—is largely the consequence of those past failures. Because, as always, if one side is attacking democracy and the other side is not fighting for it, the side attacking succeeds.
BUT…
While behind, the side that cares about democracy IS waking up.
In fact, this side has a small winning streak building (for reasons I cover in my book and elsewhere).
Needless to say, it rallied to defeat Trump in ‘20. Then, counter to decades where the party in power loses badly in the midterm, it made critical gains in 2022. Not just by holding the Senate and faring better in the House than expected. But by actually making gains in the very places—statehouse and statewide races—where it lost so much ground only a decade ago, in both 2010 and 2014. Not only did this side pick up entire institutions in Michigan (both house and senate), Pennsylvania (house), Minnesota (senate), but for the first time in decades, not a single state legislature flipped the other direction from the party in the White House.
And perhaps even more surprisingly, not a single election denier won a Secretary of State race in a swing state. Throw in the special election wins in Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan protecting abortion access, along with the Wisconsin Supreme Court win in April, and the pro-democracy side has actually built some much needed momentum.
That momentum is not going to immediately arrest the consequences of past losses, but that momentum is key for the future, and for the long battle of democracy we are in.
So as we take stock of where we are on this July 4, yes, there is a side that is relentlessly attacking democracy. There always is. The damage from its effort (and a failure to fight back effectively as it took hold) is clear, ongoing and painful.
But what matters most in the long run is the fight we NOW wage FOR democracy. Do we fight back fiercely, and relentlessly, and together? Is doing so our top and unifying priority?
And the good news is that more are answering yes to those questions. More are waking up to the battle, and what we have to do. More are participating in smarter and more strategic ways, which is why there was an explosion of support in all the wins of the winning streak we are seeing. And all around America, more are joining to help in the future phases of this battle—be it Ohio in August, Virginia in November, and so many other places where democracy is in the balance.
And it is that momentum that matters most.
Because the side attacking democracy is not the side that determines the ultimate outcome. What determines the ultimate outcome is the side fighting for democracy.
Are you in?
Happy Fourth!
July 4 Pep Talk