Embracing the Politics of Generosity and Inclusion
Electoral Trends as Part of a Larger Movement for Change
Across the nation, Americans are rejecting the politics of greed and turning toward a new political movement.
The strength of Americans’ desire for political change continues to grow with each Republican loss in the House of Representatives. Three House districts long held by Republicans, supposedly packed with dyed-in-the-wool conservatives, chose Democratic candidates. In Illinois, Louisiana, and then Mississippi, formerly “red” districts have gone “blue” as Americans of all political backgrounds continue to reject the politics of greed and move toward the politics of generosity and inclusion.
Pundits have worked hard to explain away Republican election losses: they’ve blamed flawed candidates, they’ve claimed one race doesn’t equal a trend, and they’ve cited left-over Democratic fundraising advantages. The influential Republican Congressman Tom Davis wrote a 20-page memo diagnosing his party’s problems leading up to the 2008 elections. But there’s one fundamental point missing from all their explanations: the Republican product itself is flawed. Republican operatives analyze fundraising, examine polling data, and talk about their “brand,” as if they’re trying to re-package detergent for a new ad campaign. But, at the end of the day, the American people know the stuff inside the box hasn’t changed, and doesn’t work.
That’s the reason for the growing electoral trend. The Republican losses in formerly safe districts and the record turnout in the Democratic Presidential primaries are deeply connected to a larger movement. Americans want change and we’re not going to be distracted by packaging or slogans.
We want the war in Iraq to end and to bring our troops home safe – carefully, but quickly.
We want to steward our environment, not pay lip-service to the beauty of nature while gutting environmental laws. We want to position our country to lead the growing green revolution.
We want to restore America’s moral standing in the world by re-asserting our respect for the human and civil rights on which this country was founded.
We want prosperity for working families, not viscous competition for resources that don’t have to be scarce. We believe the pressures of a global market call for more affordable college education, not more jobs leaving our shores. And we’ll be voting for health care to be a national guarantee, not an individual burden.
All these changes are within our grasp and we can achieve them – if we join together. The wind is at our backs – let’s seize the opportunity. This year, we can rise above electoral politics, the politics where professionals get together every 18 months to get the usual suspects elected. We can join our electoral politics to a larger movement, a movement that embraces and advances the politics of generosity and inclusion. We can create a movement that fundamentally changes politics in America – from the ground up. For our part, the Ellison campaign has committed to turn out at least 20,000 brand new voters in the Fifth Congressional District, reaching out to neighborhoods and people who lack a voice in politics.
Come join us in this historic effort!