Since Tuesday, I have been cackling to myself. I am so, so relieved. The results of the election were far better than anything I could have hoped for. I’m proud of every person who went out an voted, canvased, convinced others to vote, and I am especially grateful for the people who organized in Southern states. Without Black voters and young people, the democrats would have been screwed in so many states.
In the days leading up to the election, I was a wreck. I had voted early and dropped my ballot off in the local drop-box, and while I was fairly certain my state’s senator and my local house representative were solidly safe, I feel like I have PTSD from 2016 and 2024. All of Tuesday and into Wednesday, I kept waiting to have the rug pulled out from under me. I’m happy that the democrats won so soundly, but what I’m more happy about is how overtly people are pushing back against the regime. I care less about the politicians themselves and more about the overall vibe of the country changing so overtly. People are as sick of them as I am, and we are in this together. I was skeptical of the No Kings protests, but I think they were key in making people realize they weren’t alone in opposing the regime and that there were more of us than them.
As happy as I am, I know that we need to be up democrats’ butts going into 2027. Politicians are not the people, and while they can make laws that help us, we need to push them to be better and more progressive than they are now. We cannot give them a moment’s peace in regards to holding the regime accountable and giving the people the social safety net we need and deserve. We need to keep them from throwing trans people and trans kids under the bus because if they’ll throw away one group’s rights, they’ll do it for anyone’s rights. As many of you know I’m nonbinary and my partner is a trans woman. We both are neurodivergent while I also have chronic health issues. Healthcare, disability rights, and trans rights are always at the forefront of my mind.
I know democrats can only get so much done with the president still being there, but they can do a lot if they have the drive to do it. We can be excited and relieved and still pop up like truth coming up from her well to crack the whip at the democrats to do the right thing and hit the ground running. I want them to get so much stuff done in the next two years that a democrat president is the obvious choice and that, that election is a total and utter blow out like it was today. With so many states with democrats for governors and as the ones in the majority within state houses and senates, maybe people will finally see they aren’t boogeymen and that they can make their lives better with their policies.
There will definitely be dud politicians (cough Fetterman cough), but I am holding onto hope so hard that this is the start of things getting better. I was only in high school when Obama was first elected, but that spirit of fuck you, republicans is in the air again but far stronger. We need to keep the momentum going and not have a repeat with the Biden administration where we don’t go far enough and backslide. No one in this country can afford that backslide, especially not our immigrant neighbors, people of color, trans people, and of course, children. We need to remember that this election is the beginning, not the end. Even when a democrat becomes president, that isn’t the end.
Until our country takes steps forward to make life better and more equitable for everyone, we need to keep pushing.
In the meantime, revel in those MAGA tears on social media, cackle evilly, do a little happy dance, and then, email your senators and house members telling them not to re-elect Schumer and Jeffries as leaders of the senate and house.
