You win some, you lose some
The trouble with politics is that wins are usually hard earned, while defeats can be handed to you out of nowhere. Kevin McCarthy handed us a rare easy victory with his bizarre eight hour motormouth stunt, making a fool of himself and blunting his own party’s ability to get anyone to take its criticism of the Build Back Better act seriously. Then, as the House was going through the motions of passing the legislation, the Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty verdict – which we all knew was likely coming – suddenly sent the day spinning sideways.
It’s difficult to even put these events within context of each other, because there really isn’t any proper context. The passage of Build Back Better in the House (and soon enough in the Senate) is proof that when you put solid and savvy people in charge of things, and you fight alongside them, great things can eventually happen. The Rittenhouse verdict is a reminder that right wing white guys with guns still unofficially have special rights in this country, no matter how much progress we’ve tried to make on that front.
So where does this leave us? It’s important to try to keep these two different developments separate in your head. Neither cancels out the other. They both happened. They’re both impactful, and they’re each a sign of something bigger. Build Back Better will positively impact the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans in very tangible ways – and it’s proof that Joe Biden’s presidency is alive and kicking. The Rittenhouse verdict is proof that our criminal justice system is more in need of reform than ever.
You win some, you lose some. You keep fighting. And you remind yourself along the way that if you weren’t fighting, they’d all be losses. It’s why we do what we do as activists. It’s more important than ever that we keep fighting, and winning the battles we can.
