There are a hundred perfectly logical reasons why the results in Georgia and South Carolina (and Montana and Kansas) are good, even great news for Democrats going forward. The margin shifts have been remarkable and point toward Democrats having a very good chance to take back the House of Representatives in 2018. We have the energy, we have the momentum, we have the driving purpose on our side. And a deeply unpopular president helps too. But none of that is making me feel any better at the moment and I bet you’re feeling the same way.
Losing sucks. Losing by much less than you would have expected still sucks. It’s okay to be disappointed that all the money and volunteers hours and effort put into electing Jon Ossoff failed. But what we can’t let that do is affect all of the hard work that needs to happen between now and November 2018.
In sports, coaches and athletes celebrate a win or feel a loss until midnight, and then they put it away and it’s on to the next game. Since we’re not multi-millionaire professional athletes, I’m going to give everyone an extra day if they want. Let out all that frustration (safely!) that things are really bad right now and 45 percent of the country just doesn’t seen to care. It’s ridiculous that so many Republicans would rather see liberals lose while America burns than do anything to stop it. It is so freaking annoying that we lose race after race by 3-6 points, seemingly no matter how GOP the district was beforehand.
Get that all out of your system, and then pick yourself up and get back to work. However you’ve been getting involved (your local party, Indivisible, Swing Left, an issue groups, a union) get right back to it. There is a ton of work to be done, and sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves isn’t going to save America from Donald Trump. We, getting back to the grindstone and organizing and volunteering and giving money, are going to do it.
I’ve got another sports saying for you: first you lose big, then you lose small, then you win small, then you win big. And we’re losing small right now, but soon enough, we’re going to start winning small. And then in 2018 we’re going to win big.