MoveOn Email Of The Day

Dear MoveOn member, There’s no sugarcoating it. The election results overall are devastating. And already, pundits are telling Democrats they “overreached,” and need to be less progressive.

Well, here’s our take: Americans needed to see Democrats out there, every day, fighting tooth and nail for regular folks. But too often, on things like the AIG bonus scandal and the foreclosure crisis, they saw corporate lobbyists getting their way while people suffered. Democrats made genuine and significant progress on issues like health care and Wall Street reform. But the Republicans, Fox, and corporate front groups systematically misled America about all of that. And then those same groups spent hundreds of millions to put Republicans over the top. Progressive heroes like Russ Feingold, Alan Grayson, and Tom Perriello stood up for everything we believe in. But they were swamped by voter frustration and corporate cash.

It sure makes the change we seek seem a long way off. But when I’m tempted to throw up my hands and walk away, I think of folks like Steve Nathan, an amazing MoveOn volunteer leader in Pennsylvania. Since Steve got laid off months ago, he’s been splitting his time between hunting for a job and helping organize hundreds of other MoveOn members. Then, two weeks ago, Steve arrived home from four hours out knocking on the doors of Democratic voters to find a foreclosure notice taped to his own door. “I’m in shock and stunned,” he wrote us in an email, apologizing for needing to cut back on his duties. But Steve didn’t cut back—he’s been out knocking on doors and coordinating volunteers almost every day since. Just like thousands of other MoveOn members who tirelessly canvassed, held house parties, and made calls all year. When I talked to Steve yesterday, he told me that, win or lose, house or no house, he’s not stopping his work for change. “Doing that,” he said, “would mean giving up all hope, and I’ll never do that.” We can’t either. Because Steve’s work—and your work—has made a difference. Now millions of people will get health care. Some of the worst Wall Street abuses have been reined in. Billions have been invested in clean energy. We can’t give up hope because our country is still hurting. And if corporate Republicans and tea partiers have their way, things will get a lot worse.

We can’t stop fighting because we carry in our hearts a vision of Americans coming together to take care of each other and make our country work again. And if we don’t fight for that vision, who will? Today, we should all take a breath. Tomorrow we need to get back to work. Our country needs us still. Thank you—for all you did this year to make change happen, and all you will do to keep up the fight.

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