The holidays are a truly welcomed relief this year for many of us. We get to spend time with family, friends and welcomed acquaintances. Love and goodwill prevail, and we try to end the year still hopeful and resolute.
We also get to take the temperature of the people we really care about during the holidays. How are they feeling? What are they thinking? What is their general disposition? We try to reconnect and feel part of something meaningful.
At one notable Thanksgiving dinner this year, where about a dozen stakeholders in the election were gathered, the conversation was light and comfortably superficial. Despite those folks having career and family matters threatened by the result of the presidential vote, not a word was said of the election. There was no pre-dinner edict that such talk was forbidden. It just went that way. It seemed clear that for such politically aware people, a temporary break from the national discourse was necessary, They weren't retreating; they were in the process of recharging their batteries. It made sense, because there will be ample opportunities to re-engage soon enough.
We all react to situations in our own way, but it's wise for some people to avoid panic and burnout by taking a break from the yammering on cable news panels and the rage on social media platforms. It's also reassuring to see others among us still slamming Trump's policies and critiquing his choices for top government positions and trying to plan for what is expected as well as the unknown.
It will not be difficult to re-ignite the opposition to Trump -- he will do the most to pull people back into the fight. However, as folks begin to find their way back to the political fray, we should also pursue intelligent analysis and honest reflection, and most of all, avoid the blame game.
We just lost a frighteningly significant chunk of the working class vote -- white, Black, and Latino -- because we couldn't convince them the price of eggs would either come down. or their income and ability to absorb inflated prices would go up. This is a big problem, and right now we need to look for ideas and solutions, not find somebody to take the fall.
We've already learned a few things from the election, above all that the truth is not enough to counter Trump's propaganda and tactics, and having the facts on our side doesn't guarantee a positive result. That's a tough pill to swallow for anyone with respect for the rule of law and classical education, but nonetheless, that's what we are enduring in the aftermath of the 2024 elections.
So given that we are not going to abandon our core values and embrace Trump's success in lying about nearly everything to win an election, we're going to have to do a better job of crafting and telling our side of the story. We already have the ability to tell interesting stories about what we stand for, but we don't do a very good job of bringing our intended audience into our stories. We're all fond of charts that measure the periodic metrics, but telling people things are getting better when they are seeing their household budgets erode because of the cost of everyday life is annoying after a while.
"When we talk about the economy and the data points that are typically associated with measuring the economy, and the jobs report and all of those things — great, beautiful and nice leading indicators, all of that — that doesn’t mean anything to people who don’t have money in the market and aren’t watching at that level,"
Michigan State Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet explained in The New York Times after she won an open seat in a white blue collar area by 6.7 percentage points.
"What really matters to them is how much it costs at the grocery store and the gas pump," said the congresswoman-elect, who constantly discussed the economy and avoided discussing the threat Trump presents to democracy.
We need to work on establishing and communicating the relevance of national policies to individual voters and their families in a big way. Voters need to feel they are part of a story, not just hear it, after all the stories we should be sharing are theirs. That's how we need to connect, by getting voters after they hear from us to think, "Hey, that's me they're talking about!"
We're going to have to make many of these types of adjustments in real time, but fortiunately Trump is giving us a pretty good idea of the chaos that is coming. He is already overplaying his hand with the unqualified and ridiculous nominees he's naming to key jobs in the administration. Almost a month away from being sworn in and Trump is even giving some Senate Republicans heartburn. Corporate and Wall Street campaign contributors are loading up on the antacid over what is emerging as the next administration. It will be important to communicate Trump's failings every step of the way and exploit the division in the GOP ranks at every opportunity, but there will be plenty of time for all that.
Now is a good time to reaffirm our commitment to the most essential political entity in our lives, our loved ones and friends. As we keep that group close and tight, we can build out from there as we re-engage in political debate and reorganize on each of our own timetables. Happy holidays are already happening, and it feels good. Rest assured Deb and Mara will be at their posts and Left of Center PAC will be here whenever you're ready.
Written by Ken Bazinet, a former White House correspondent, has covered three presidents and five presidential elections. Still writing, he works with organizations and individuals that focus on opening and expanding ballot access to Black, Latino, Women, Native American, pro-worker and rural voters. He is third generation organized labor. It took him a month to get motivated to write this item, because he's clearly on his own timetable.