Dear Indivisibles,
We took the House. We keep repeating it over and over to ourselves: We took the House.
How we built the wave.
When Trump won, the political establishment assumed that the Affordable Care Act was as good as dead. They assumed that Republicans had built, through gerrymandering, a secure majority in the House. They assumed Trump could count on four years of a Republican Congress.
They didn’t count on us.
A lot of people in Washington will rush to claim credit for Tuesday’s results.But you know the truth: this didn’t start in Washington.
It started in our cities and towns. It started in our living rooms, or in a community center, or at a march (or on a bus on the way back from a march), or in a church or mosque or synagogue. It started with finding our voices, our communities, and our power. It started with us coming together.
We showed up -- first at marches and airports, then at town halls and district offices. We held our representatives’ feet to the fire. We made sure they answered for every vote they took and every statement they made. We fought -- long and hard -- to stop the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, to turn Trump’s tax scam into a political liability, and to join in defense of DACA recipients and our communities under threat.
We forced many of these Republicans into early retirements. We tied others to their most unpopular votes and quotes. We laid the groundwork for the campaigns that took shape this year… and for Democrats to have a competitive House map.
And then we went from pressuring our representatives to replacing them. We got behind exciting candidates. We knocked doors, made calls, sent texts, and raised money. We ran for office ourselves. And on Tuesday, whether our candidates won or lost, we were part of a nationwide wave that has changed the course of American democracy.
We didn’t win everywhere -- in some states, Republicans have rigged the rules, or we’re still building the power we’ll need to win. We’re mourning losses in critical places like Florida, Georgia, and Texas. But we’ve achieved something fundamental: we’ve taken control of one chamber of Congress. And we can use it as a check on this administration, and to lead the path forward.
What comes next: we go on offense.
The original Indivisible Guide was all about defense. Republicans had unified control of the House, the Senate, and the White House. We had lost state legislatures and governorships. We felt lost and scared and alone. And the best thing we could think to do was write a practical guide to making Congress listen to their constituents (that’s you!).
We knew that Trump would threaten our families, our neighbors, and our democracy. We believed that the only thing that could stop him and his Congressional Republican footsoldiers was a massive, nationwide surge of everyday people banding together, getting organized, and fighting for the America that we believed in.
But then something incredible happened: we took our anger and grief and turned it into fuel for collective action. We organized and we built power.
Tuesday’s enormous victory changes the game. In a few days, we’ll release a new Indivisible guide: Indivisible on Offense. (We’ve been working on a new guide for months… we kind of had a feeling last night's victory might happen.) In 2017, we made Congress listen. In 2018, we remade Congress. And in 2019, the next Congress will feature a new generation of brave, diverse leaders.
The new Democratic House majority has agenda-setting power. They can pass legislation. They can use investigatory and subpoena power. They can act as a check on this Administration. This all gets a little wonky and complex, but it’s hugely powerful. And we’ll release Indivisible on Offense next week to walk you through all the ins and outs, and help you work to ensure Democrats use all their new powers.
We all know Trump won’t take this loss sitting down. The fight for our democracy is far from over. But we also know that Indivisibles all over the country made last night's win possible and showed how we can win again.
We’re not scared anymore. We’re not lost. We’re not alone. We know that America belongs to all of us -- and that we’re all in this together. Indivisible.
In solidarity,
Ezra and Leah
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