It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times
As someone who basically runs my mouth for a living, I’m usually not at a loss for words. But 2020 has delivered a jarring number of loss-for-words moments. Last night we lost Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Two months ago we lost John Lewis. Along the way we’ve lost more than 200,000 mostly anonymous, everyday Americans to COVID. Large chunks of the country are literally on fire. And this is all playing out even as we’re fighting a war to save our nation.
This year has been, simply put, the worst of times. In at least some ways it’s going to get even worse. The COVID death toll will continue to rise. The political landscape will get even uglier in the coming weeks. If anything good has happened in 2020, it’s been overshadowed by the nonstop parade of bad.
But I’m here to tell you we can turn this around. Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing has only served to galvanize support for not only electing Joe Biden, but also electing a Democratic Senate. Millions of dollars in donations poured in to Democratic Senate races last night alone. We’ve got the heart and soul, we’ve got the momentum, we’ve got the lead, and we can win this election.
The battle over the Supreme Court seat is also winnable. If just four Republican Senators look at their own reelection or career prospects and selfishly decide that they’re more interested in helping themselves than they are in helping Mitch McConnell, the confirmation won’t happen. We just have to help make some of these Republican Senators understand that their only hope of still having a career is if they tell McConnell to shove it. They should take a look at Susan Collins as an example; she sided with McConnell on Kavanaugh, and now she’s losing her reelection bid in a blowout.
So we fight onward. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a giant, and now she’s gone. That means we have to be the adults and step up and lead the fight. There’s no time for self pity, self doubt, or anything along those lines. We can mourn later for all that 2020 has taken away from us. These next six weeks, we’re locked in a battle for our country and our lives, and we have to leave it all on the field. Let GOP Senators up for reelection know that we’ll target them for defeat if they dare try to fill that Supreme Court seat. Volunteer. Phone bank. Register people to vote. Let’s get to work. It’s the only option we have.
