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While a term like people of color might ring hollow or even confused, immigrants across generations share at the very least the experience of building a life in a foreign country. They must, in other words, disaggregate and then reorganize into an even broader movement that could build on existing, like-minded grass-roots organizations, such as those that emerged from the Bernie Sanders campaign in Nevada or immigrant labor organizations throughout New York and California, and develop a spirit of solidarity that puts less weight on questions of belonging and citizenship for these nebulously and conditionally defined groups and more on the experiences, as working-class immigrants, they share both in America and their homelands.

Too much of the messaging toward these groups is aimed at the upwardly ascendant second- and third-generation immigrants who worry about questions of representation within elite institutions. If Democrats want to combat charges of socialism, which are perhaps especially effective on immigrants who fled Communist or socialist countries, they must stop believing that an immigrant shows up in America and immediately begins worrying, say, about how many Asian or Latino actors have been cast in the latest comic book movie.

This, of course, does not mean that the Democratic Party should entirely abandon its anti-racist message. Part of the effort must include a much-needed clarification between the needs of Black Americans and Latino and Asian immigrants; that would end the confusing and harmful conflation between two groups whose interests and actions are often at odds with one another.

Nor should we succumb to the temptation to wipe away all distinctions. Some part of every immigrant will still identify with their home country, through language, food and culture. The path forward is to create coalitions that make sense, not only for the immigrants themselves but also in their relationships with both working-class Black and white Americans.

Such a strategy would require the upwardly mobile second-generation immigrants the people most likely to be tasked with broadcasting this message out toward the public to do something that might feel counterintuitive or even contradictory. But we must abandon the broad style of diversity politics that designates us as people of color. Those categories might help us navigate the academy and the workplace, but they only resonate with a small, generally wealthy portion of our population.

The late historian Noel Ignatiev argued that racism in America could be solved only when white people committed treason against the white race when they recognized that the antagonists in their lives werent Black people, but rather the wealthy class that used racism to divide workers whose interests should be aligned.

In a similar spirit, those of us who have assimilated into the professional class must commit treason against people of color and help build a coalition of working-class immigrants, from Guatemalan workers in fish processing plants and Bangladeshi cabdrivers to Chinese and Vietnamese restaurant workers and Mexican farm workers.

Link:
People of Color Do Not Belong to the Democratic Party - The New York Times

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., downplayed Houses losses in this year's elections, pointing out that Democrats made historic gains in 2018. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., downplayed Houses losses in this year's elections, pointing out that Democrats made historic gains in 2018.

Updated at 10 a.m. ET

House Democrats started this month hoping, and preparing, to gain seats in the election. Instead, their once-robust majority in the House has dwindled, and Democrats are on track to begin next year with the slimmest majority in decades.

Now members on the progressive left and Democratic Party moderates are again at odds over whose policies won in 2020 and how they should govern as a party.

Some Democrats are frustrated that the debate is happening at all. Joe Biden won the presidential election, and Democrats will hold their majority in the House. While control of the Senate is still to be decided, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., returned to Washington, D.C., after the election to celebrate the wins that have already materialized.

"We'll be able to do great things for the American people," Pelosi told reporters at a news conference. "We've lost some battles, but we won the war. We have the gavel."

But Democrats lost a lot of battles. House Republicans have gained a net seven seats and have advantages in several races that have yet to be called, despite going into the election with the expectation that Democrats could win as many at 15 seats.

Polling on both sides of the aisle showed Democrats with advantages in key districts in states like Texas and Indiana, where they hoped to gain new seats. Tight races in places like Iowa and New York broke in favor of Republicans when the votes were tallied.

Debate about messaging

Democrats' losses have been heavily concentrated in the "majority-maker" districts areas where Democrats defeated Republicans in 2018. Some progressive members, such as Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., say that isn't a surprise.

"I think people are mourning the loss of some colleagues that wasn't as expected as it should have been," Jayapal said in an interview with NPR. "I think we just have to be real about what happened here. And we should focus on our long-term organizing strategy, because I think that is what is ultimately going to help us."

For progressives such as Jayapal, that long-term organizing strategy involves bringing out young, diverse new voters who are energized by progressive policies like "Medicare for All," a $15 minimum wage and an aggressive approach to curbing climate change.

Jayapal points to enormous turnout in cities such as Atlanta as an example of what an energized coalition can do. Those voters have boosted Biden's numbers in Georgia, putting him ahead and on the verge of winning that state for Democrats after decades of Republican wins.

She and other progressives say that they helped drive the party's national platform to the left on major social issues and that this, in turn, motivated voters to the polls. She says progressives also worked as emissaries for the party in communities that voted in huge numbers this year.

"[Progressives] helped Joe Biden deliver a very progressive agenda," Jayapal said. "That led to this huge turnout of young people, Black and brown and immigrant voters that delivered us victories in these key states."

Moderates say big progressive turnout in cities and suburbs may drive up Democrats' numbers in statewide and presidential races, but in their closely divided districts, they argue, some progressive messages can turn toxic.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger was narrowly reelected in a Virginia district that went for Republicans from 1971 until she won in 2018. She says Democrats need to focus more on proactive messages and passing bills that speak to people, like funding for education and expanded rural broadband. She told NPR the party needs to be communicating to all voters, not just a progressive base, about how those policies impact them.

"I think it's important that we recognize that, you know, while importantly and wonderfully Joe Biden is our president-elect, the man he ran against, our current president, got 70 million Americans to vote for him," Spanberger said in an interview. "We are asking for people to give us the responsibility of legislating. And we have to be clear on what we intend to do with that responsibility."

"Defund the police" cited as main impediment with swing voters

Moderates say they've been hamstrung by political slogans that don't actually reflect the policies Democrats have passed like "defund the police."

House Democrats passed a sweeping police reform package this year called the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. That bill outlaws chokeholds, gives the Justice Department greater power to intervene in use-of-force cases, creates a national registry for police conduct complaints and restructures the pipeline of military equipment to local police departments. It does not defund the police.

"People know what the term 'defund' means," Spanberger said. "I have had people just across the spectrum say they don't want to see police departments defunded."

But "defund the police" was an effective attack line for Republicans in tight races where Democrats lost. One example is Rep. Max Rose, D-N.Y., who lost in a district that was blanketed with an ad of retired New York City police officers talking about how Rose betrayed them.

"He promised us that he was going to support the police, and then he marches with people looking to defund the police," recounts an officer in the ad.

This division isn't new for Democrats. Pelosi often says the diversity of her caucus extends to some parts of their ideology. That is something Democrats often publicly celebrate, but the divisions become more critical as they look ahead to legislate with President-elect Biden.

Both sides of the party are looking for someone to blame as the losses sink in. Some blame the polls. Some blame internal calculations at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The finger-pointing boiled over in a party conference call recently, and DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., announced a few days later that she would not seek reelection to that leadership job.

Pelosi and her top leadership team are expected to be easily reelected to their posts, but the race for who will succeed Bustos has intensified.

Rep. Tony Cardenas of California, who is running to lead the DCCC, says it's wrong to argue that the party must choose between either retaining disaffected Republicans and moderates or winning over progressives.

"I think the emphasis of trying to hold on to a certain type of voter is the wrong place to start," Cardenas said in an interview with NPR.

Cardenas said Democrats can win by connecting with diverse voters and winning their trust. But, he said, the party also must do the basic job of passing bills and getting legislation done.

"Unfortunately, we have a lot of good candidates who their message gets overshadowed by millions of dollars of the Republican message that just literally doesn't even use their own words," Cardenas said. "And those are the kinds of tactics that we're having to combat."

That's something most Democrats agree on. They say the next election won't be centered on Democrats running against President Trump. They'll be running on a record they plan to build with Biden.

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, who is competing against Cardenas to run the campaign committee, agreed. Maloney said Democrats in the House will be working on a Biden agenda and will have all of the power and support that being of the party with a president in the White House affords.

"Joe Biden is the perfect president for the moment," Maloney said. "He will help us turn the corner on the pandemic, get our businesses going again, open the economy responsibly and heal the wounds and repair some of the damage from the Trump years."

But Maloney added that Democrats will also benefit from time.

"I also believe we'll be entering the cycle next time with the pandemic, God willing, in the rearview mirror and an economy that's in full rebound," he said.

Deciding which elements of the Biden agenda to enact first will be part of the challenge. Progressives want to see health care reforms and elements of the Green New Deal at the top of the list.

Biden himself has signaled plans to focus heavily on making the fight against COVID-19 his No. 1 priority.

Many Democrats say a tightly tailored focus on the virus, the economy and kitchen-table issues could unite them. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said Democrats need to keep that in mind as they define their agenda.

"We're going to have to do core agenda items like trade deals that level the playing field broadband, so that as we're dealing with a pandemic, that urban schools and rural schools have the same access and equal opportunity so that everybody's got an education," Dingell said. "The most important, valuable thing to have, we need to make sure that every young person can afford a college education and not graduate with staggering student debt talking about just these issues that matter every day."

Dingell says that the political environment has strayed far from that basic political work in the Trump years and that Democrats have a chance to win over a wider range of voters by renewing that focus.

"There's more agreement on that," she said. "There's more agreement than disagreement."

Read this article:
House Democrats At Odds After 2020 Election Losses - NPR

Joe Biden is the president-elect of the United States. Here's a look at America's next first family. USA TODAY

WASHINGTON Several electionsacross the country still hadnt been decided when the blame game started.

House Democrats were stunned by their lossesafter weeks of forecasting had predicteda big win on Election Day.Whispers of leadership change swirled, and Houselawmakers soon moved from privately bashing one anotherto a public airing of grievanceson social media and in the media.

It's not a new fight, the battle waged between progressives and moderates over the vision of the Democratic Party. But this time around, moderatesare emboldened.After spending the past few years working in the background as progressives became a leading voicein the party, moderates came out swinging after Election Day losses.

Moderates,who helped Democrats take the House in 2018and saw their colleagues ousted in key districts this year, not only demanded changes within the party apparatusbutloudly issued warnings that Democrats will lose power in the 2022 midterm elections should they not make changes. Progressivesfiercely dismissthat notion.

"For any organization, any team to have been successful, you have to have unity," said Rep. CindyAxne, the only Democrat to win a federal race in Iowa so far this year. (One race is yet to be called). "The No. 1 thing is you all have to be focused on the mission, and the way that you're going to go about getting there ishaving the same strategy to get there. When you don't have that, unity is gone and it makes it a lot more difficult. So I do have concerns."

The bickering over incremental progress versus bold changes has takennew form.Democrats find themselves not only quarreling about the disappointing results of the election, but they already are butting heads on the path forward, leaving in the crossfire both the legislative agenda inthe Biden administration and changes needed to make Democratic gains in the next election.

USA TODAY interviewed key Democratic lawmakersfrom different factions ofthe partyabout the path forward,what needs to change to win areas President Donald Trump turned redand the legislation that could muster support from both sides of the aisle.

Intraparty disputes have become almost routine, often sprungfrom two important developments for Democrats in the past five years: Sen.Bernie Sanders' popular presidential runs, that inspired a new generation of progressive activists,and the arrival of new progressives, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.,afterthe2018midterms.

Moderates, many from swing districts or states, often focuson local issues that don't always draw the spotlightand boast of working across the aisle to enact more incremental changes in larger policy. Progressives, on the other hand, have advocated more sweeping change, calling for Democrats to be bold on urgent issues affecting their constituents, such as climate change, access to health careand criminal justice reform.

But unlike past fights over the direction of the party, thenextyear marks a new moment for Democrats as they take control of the White House, forcing Biden to navigate through deeply rooted beliefs in both branches of the party.

'IT WAS A FAILURE': Furious House Democrats unload as leadership promises answers after election losses

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Moderate Democratswho have seen their colleagues ousted by Republicanswere quick topoint fingers.They argued that Republican attacks linking members to socialism and the "defund the police" movementwere a death knell, and they blamedsomeprogressive members forloudly backing those ideas.

Just days after the election, HouseDemocrats huddled on a phone callthat featured yelling and tears.Rep. AbigailSpanberger, a moderate Democrat fromVirginiawho eked out a victory, told the rest of her conference that Democrats needed to learn a lesson from the lossesor "we will be f---ingtorn apart in 2022."

In the days that followed, theargumentmoved to the pages of The New York Times, whereRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democratic socialist,argued that poor outreach and digital campaigning sunk moderatesin swing districts. In turn, Rep.ConorLamb, a Pennsylvania moderate who fended off a Republican challenger,responded that unpopular progressive messaging, such as defunding the police and talk of socialism,lost Democrats seats and could lose the House majority in the future.

MORE ON DEM LOSSES: House Democrats didn't see 'blue wave' to expand majority. Here's what we know.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is urging Republicans to stop the "charade" of President Donald Trump's reelection, as the coronavirus sweeps through the United States. Pelosi says without leadership, the COVID crisis will further "spiral." (Nov. 13) AP Domestic

Progressives have bristled at the blame laid at their feet.

We have to be very, very careful in pointing those fingers, and we need to just look at the data as it comes in, said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat who co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Many of the accusations hurled at progressives were not supported by evidence, she argued, pointing out that incumbent Democrats who ran in swing districts and supported "Medicare for All" ended up winning their reelection bids.

Moderates have similarly taken issue with assessments by progressives over the losses, notablyafter Ocasio-Cortez said some swing-district Democrats were "sitting ducks" because of poor voter outreach and digital campaigning.

They argued that progressives in very liberal districts are out of touch with voters in their areas who don't support many progressive policiesbut rather want a Washington that works togetherto enact change.

Obviously, we all need to sit down and have a big family meeting to get a better understanding of what these districts are like,"said Axne, D-Iowa. "A lot of people make assumptions about who can win where when they have absolutely no clue what it's like here on the ground.

Sen. Joe Manchin,one of the few remaining red-state Democrats who has been a vocal opponent of many progressivepolicies, said the fighting wasashame because there's enough room to have every good idea put on the table.

But, he said, proposals such as defunding the police are sofar out of the mainstream policies he and other Democrats could never support. Thats when I saidDefund my butt!,a reference to a tweet that drew the ire of Ocasio-Cortez.

Manchin echoed his fellow Democrats, saying the election displayed clear issues the party needs to address.

When you have someone with the flaws that President Trump had, after four years of us seeing those flaws, and they walk into the voting boothand they say, Well, that's better than the other side, so I'll go for him anyway, something's wrong," Manchin said. "It should not have been a close election in any way, shape or form.

At the top of his list for change wasDemocratsmaking a stronger case onthe economy.

When you don't have a message on the economy, (voters)believe that that (Democratic)brand basically is more concerned and interested in people that don't work or won't work, more so than the people that do work and will work," he said."There's a problem.

More: A record number of Republican women will serve in the House after the GOP ate into Democratic majority

More: Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell are friends who have brokered deals in the Senate: Can they still work together?

Across the board, moderates stressed that the best path forward was helping Biden get a legislative agenda through Congress and compromising with Republicans. Many stressed the needfor progressives to tone down their rhetoric and for swing-district Democratsto better connect with voters back home in hopes that GOP attacks aiming to tie them to far-left policy wouldnt stick.

Congresswoman-elect Carolyn Bourdeaux of Georgia, one of the only Democratsto flip a district this year,saidRepublican attackstying her to Medicare for Alland defunding the policedid not work because she was clear on where my feet are planted.She doesn't support either and stressed the need for Democrats to take adistrict-by-district approach.

Axnecredited her win in Iowa to the connections she built in her district. She stressed that Democrats needed to examine voting trends amongrural residents and examine why Democrats lost so many over the years.

We continue to ignore them. I didn't ignore them. And that's why I'm sitting here, because their voices are valuable. They deserve to be heard and they're important for this country'ssuccess,Axnesaid.

STIMULUS BEFORE BIDEN TAKES OFFICE?: Coronavirus stimulus negotiations in a 'lame duck' session likely to face more deadlock

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez quickly emerged as one of the leading progressive voices in the Democratic Party.(Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Progressiveshave offeredtheir ownremedies.Ocasio-Cortezargued in The Times that Democratsas a wholeneedto understand that weare not the enemy. And that their base is not the enemy.

She stressed the need for different factions of the party to work together and use the assets from everyone at the party.Specifically, Ocasio-Cortezhighlighted the need for Democrats to invest more online in digital advertising and outreach.

These folks are pointing toward Republican messaging that they feel killed them, right? But why were you so vulnerable to that attack? Ocasio-Cortez said in The Times. If youre not door-knocking, if youre not on the internet, if your main points of reliance are TV and mail, then youre not running a campaign on all cylinders. I just dont see how anyone could be making ideological claims when they didnt run a full-fledged campaign.

Progressives such as Jayapal and Rep. Mark Pocan, both of whom co-chair the progressive caucus,were more subdued about immediate changes in Democrats approach. Both said adeep diveinto voter data would display more about what went wrong this cycle and what changes were needed, something the House Democrats' campaign arm has already promised it would do.

Butboth agreed Trump is an outlier in politics that likely had a greater impact than polling could predictand his removal from the White House could change thingssignificantlyin the next cycle.

I do think we all do that the anomaly really is that Donald Trump has been historically odd to the political system, Pocan said.

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Jayapal added that far-left ideas and organizing boosted voter turnout in critical swing states and in cities like Detroit, Philadelphiaand Atlanta that led to Biden's win.

Democrats losses this cycle were tough, she said, but she noted Republicans and Trump had been working every day since he came into office to organize on the ground, to invest in real infrastructure, different kinds of media that reach people. Democrats did not necessarily anticipate the kind of turnout Trump would drive, nor did they organize as consistently over the course of the year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden ran as a moderate, someone known for making deals across the aisle. But since he left the Senateat the beginning of 2009,a lot has changed. Partisanship is deep-rooted, even in the Senate, whichhas historically beenknown for its members' abilityto strike a deal.The number of red-state Democratshas dwindled.Onlythree Democratic senatorsrepresent states won by Trump in 2020.

And while leaders on both sides of the aisle have said they hope to get bipartisan deals across the finish line, Biden could be the first president in more than 30 years to take office withoutcontrol over both chambers of Congress. Democrats still have a chance to take control of Congressif theywin both Senate seats in Georgia in a January runoff, though it will be a tough featina state turning purple with a history of backingRepublicans.

More: Joe Biden will walk into the Oval Office facing a litany of weighty issues. Here's what they are.

More: A fiercely contested presidential election reinforced the nation's divide. What's next?

Joe Biden has spent nearly 5 decades in politics, culminating in his candidacy for president in 2020. USA TODAY

"I think the country spoke pretty loudly in this last election that they want us to work together, said Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who co-chairs the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. I believe there was a lot of ticket-splitting and a lot of voters whosaid wewant to turn the page on the White House, but we want acheck (on a purely Democratic agenda.)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi downplayed concerns that her smaller majority in the House and thelikelihood of the Senate remaining in Republican hands would mean a less aggressive legislative agenda.

We still have the power of the majority, but on top of that, our leverage and our powerisgreatly enhanced by having a Democratic president in the White House, Pelosi said Friday at a news conference.

There couldbe room for compromise.

Nearly every lawmaker who spoke to USA TODAYidentified a coronavirus stimulus package and infrastructure as key areas where Democrats could work with Republicans.Bidens platform called for a $2 trillion investment in infrastructure and clean energy during his first term.

More: For Biden, unwinding the Trump presidency could be a full-time job fraught with politics

More: Now, a fast start: Joe Biden's historic victory will be followed by big problems and hard choices

Besides Senate Republicans possibly standing in the way, Biden will have to navigate the demands of progressives, some knowntoreject proposals backed by party leadership over concerns they did not go far enough.The Progressive Caucus, which countedclose to 100 members in thelast Congress, will expand its numbersin the next Congress and could flex its muscleas one of the largest voting blocsin House.

Moderates expressed anxietythat the far-left flank of the party could make it difficult for them to get things done.

I am somebody who believes progress is better than purity, saidRep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla. "This whole idea that somehow focusing on what can be done is not bold is incorrect. In my opinion, bold is getting things done."

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Progressives say their goals have not changedand didnt deny there could be members who vote against legislation if it didnt go far enough.

Are we always going to try to move things to be bigger and bolder? Likely,Pocansaid, arguing not many bills were likely to move through Congress because of expected Republican control of the Senate. Instead, Pocan said, most changes would occur by executive action.Other progressives were confident they would be able to move forward on legislative priorities.

Congressman-electMondaireJonessaidprogressives could be patient, calling progressivism " long-suffering work."

But another progressive freshman from New York, Congressman-elect Jamaal Bowman, said progressive priorities like COVID-19 relief, Medicare for All,public housing investmentand the Green New Deal were demands of the American people that Biden needs to respond to.

Democrats moderates and progressives alike need to be ready to hold him accountable, he said.

Biden, for his part, has struck anambitioustone.He saidTuesday that he wanted to work with Congressto dramatically ramp up health care protections, get America to universal coverage, and lower health care costs as soon as humanly possible.

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/15/joe-biden-take-presidency-democrats-battle-over-future-party/6278276002/

See the original post here:
Democratic Party waging a war over its future just as Joe Biden takes helm - USA TODAY

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In separate interviews on Sunday, the two Democratic candidates for US Senate in Georgia said their runoff elections in January would be decisive for Americas future.

If Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock beat their Republican incumbent opponents, Democrats will regain control of the Senate, Kamala Harris serving as a tie-breaking vice-president in a chamber split 50-50. Though precarious, that would give Joe Biden greater hope of implementing his legislative agenda.

Democrats hold the US House but fear a Republican-controlled Senate would hamper everything from a nationwide Covid-19 response to economic stimulus initiatives. Republicans fear losing a vital foothold on Capitol Hill. As a result, tens of millions of dollars are flowing into Georgia, where Ossoff will face David Perdue and Warnock will face Kelly Loeffler in the 5 January runoffs, necessitated by no candidate receiving more than 50% of the vote this month.

What were feeling for the first time in four years is hope

Trump is leaving, whether he knows it or not, Ossoff told ABCs This Week, referring to the presidents refusal to concede defeat by Biden. And the question now is how were going to contain this pandemic which is raging out of control, which is spreading at an accelerating rate.

Ossoff won 48% of the vote to Perdues 49.7%. The remainder went to a Libertarian who is now out of the race.

There are hundreds of thousands of lives hanging in the balance, there are millions of jobs and homes and livelihoods hanging in the balance, Ossoff said. And thats why its so important to win these two Senate races so that the incoming presidential administration can govern, can lead, can enact the solutions necessary to contain this virus and invest in economic recovery.

Georgia went to Biden in the presidential election, a recount unlikely to change the result. Crediting former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams organizing efforts for shifting Georgias vote no Democratic presidential candidate had won the state since 1996 Ossoff said: What were feeling for the first time in four years is hope.

With Trump departing, we have the opportunity to define the next chapter in American history, to lead out of this crisis. But only by winning these Senate seats.

The GOP at the national level has no leader, has no message and has no vision other than stopping Joe Biden. But we are in a crisis, we need leadership, we need to make sure that Joe Biden can govern and this administration is successful.

This is a Georgia race. And Im Georgia

Warnock, a pastor, won 33% of the vote over Loefflers 26%, with the rest going to other candidates including Doug Collins, a Republican US representative. In total, Democratic candidates polled 35.7% and Republicans 45.8%. Warnock told CNNs State of the Union that did not worry him.

I finished first, handily, far ahead of a candidate whos the wealthiest member of Congress, who poured millions of dollars into this race, he said.

And we finished in a strong position. Theres no question in my mind that as Georgians hear about my commitment to access to affordable healthcare, the dignity of work, the work Ive been doing for years standing up for ordinary people, we will prevail come 5 January.

The CNN host Jake Tapper pointed out that Republicans have tried to link Warnock to Democrats in Washington, to cast him as a dangerous radical.

Listen, Warnock said. This is a Georgia race. And Im Georgia. I grew up in Savannah, Georgia, my church is in Atlanta. Im pastor of the spiritual home of Martin Luther King Jr.

I grew up in public housing, one of 12 children in my family. Im number 11. And the first graduate of a four-year college in my family. I know personally the importance of good federal policy, combined with personal responsibility, work, grit and determination. Thats the reason Im able to run for the United States Senate. I am an iteration of the American dream.

Im running for the Senate because that promise is slipping away from far too many people. Thats what this race is about and thats what I can take, I will continue to lift up. Even as I move across the great state of Georgia, people are responding to that message.

See the article here:
Democratic candidates say Georgia Senate elections will be decisive for US - The Guardian

Republicans headed into Election Day were told by Democrats, the media, and some of their own that the political sky was falling on them and it would be devastating. The once-in-a-century global pandemic, government-imposed economic stifling, post-George Floyd social upheaval, and a president many find personally distasteful would force a reckoning of historic proportions. The Republican Party was about to drown with Trump tied around its neck.

It did not happen.

Sure, in Colorado, the most productive, bi-partisan senator in the U.S. lost by a large margin to a candidate who I just cannot go there but you get the point. POTUS got crushed here. But beyond those two high-profile, Trump-related races, everything else remained remarkably status quo.

Outside of Colorado, the news for Republicans was overwhelmingly positive. The Blue Wave redux appears to have only dampened Republican socks.

The polls relied upon by the mainstream pundits said that the Democrats would take control of the U.S. Senate from Republicans, who held a 53-45 advantage (+2 Independents who caucus with the Dems) on election night. It was a lock. Then, the ballots were counted. It was devastating. For the Democrats. Presuming both Georgia seats stay Republican in January 2021 a safe bet GOP control of the Senate will have been whittled down all the way to52-46 (+2).

Democrats entered election night with a 232-197 advantage in the House of Representatives. The consensus from mainstream talking heads was that Republicans, saddled with Trumps claimed toxicity, would lose a bunch more seats. The Economist predicted twelve. Fivethirtyeight said seven. The opposite happened. While some races remain too close to call, it appears that the Dems 35 seat advantage may be reduced to as little as 14, the smallest majority in 18 years.

The GOP defied expectations by continuing to grow its tent. In the centenary year for womens suffrage in America, thirteen non-incumbent women became newly elected House Republicans. One of them is Coloradan Lauren Boebert, a 33-year-old entrepreneur with four school-aged children, who defeated a 70-year-old, career academician and politician. Congresswoman-elect Boebert will be the first woman to represent our 3rd Congressional District, the largest district in Colorado and one of the largest in America.

The poor showing by Dems on election night has already led to infighting. Self-described moderate (what does that even mean anymore?) Dem members blame progressives for losses during a period they projected to expand their dominance, citing 130 primary battles and the negative impact at the polls of corrosive terms like socialism and defund the police. This debate is only going to get hotter over the next two years. Fire up the popcorn.

There are two big reasons to bet that the GOP will expand their control of the U.S. Senate and take back the House in two years: mid-term elections in 2022 and redistricting.

In the modern era, on average, the presidents party has suffered a loss of 30 seats in Congress. Losses have been significantly larger for first-term, mid-term Democrat presidents, such as LBJ (47 House, 4 Senate), Clinton (52 House, 2 Senate), and Obama (63 House, 6 Senate). The most obvious explanation is the over-reach government engages in when it is controlled by a single party (see Colorado). Here, Biden may actually benefit from the fact that he likely will be the first Democrat president since the late 1800s to enter office without full control of Congress. He can thank Mitch McConnell for that.

Redistricting will likely cost Democrats even more seats over the next decade. The 2020 Census will result in the redrawing of congressional and state legislative boundaries across the country, and by legislatures in 31 states (not Colorado). To influence that result, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee spent $50 million (five times its 2010 amount) to flip thirteen targeted legislative chambers, such as North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Candidates and outside groups spent an estimated half of a billion dollars to flip red chambers to blue. The result: total failure. Not only did the GOP hold onto every chamber it had going into election night, it flipped both chambers in New Hampshire and took back the governorship in Montana. Republicans will now draw lines for 175 congressional districts, only 47 for the Dems.

Even here, in Colorado, despite an enormous spending advantage, the Dems gained exactly zero seats in the state House and merely one seat in the state Senate. Republicans are poised to reclaim the upper chamber two years from now by winning only three newly redistricted seats during the mid-terms.

The election for the top of the ticket bore out that Colorado is blue, for now. But the 2022 election cycle has already begun and there is plenty to turn GOP frowns (and Dem majorities in Colorado) upside down.

George Brauchler is a non-smoking suburban father of four public school-attending children who owns no cows, commercial property or robots, and who only gambles by driving on our roads. He currently serves as district attorney for the 18th Judicial District.

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Brauchler: Democrats predicted a wave in Colorado but the tide barely dampened Republicans socks on Election Day - Greeley Tribune