November 2021
What Last Week’s Elections Taught Us: Game on!
Some headlines following last week’s election results were little short of apocalyptic. It’s certainly true that the Republican strategy triumphed in Virginia. The good news is that we already understand how to defeat that strategy: smart messaging, grassroots organizing, and doubling down on our commitment to a more progressive future.
Setbacks hurt. But a key part of the Republican playbook is that they want us to be discouraged--something we emphatically reject. We proceed clear-eyed, with focus and determination. As Billy Wimsatt of Movement Voter Project shared in a post-election briefing with Airlift’s community of funders and activists, it’s important to “confront the brutal facts and maintain unwavering faith.”
Let’s also savor some good news. Tuesday brought striking examples of victories that strongly support Airlift’s approach of growing democracy from the grassroots. In Tucson, the $15 minimum wage triumphed; lots of progressive mayors were elected; Larry Krasner, Philadelphia’s progressive DA, beat his Republican opponent; St. Paul/Minneapolis passed rent control; and in Milwaukee (home to Airlift partner LIT), the incumbent school board prevailed against conservatives who opposed the teaching of critical race theory. The passage of the infrastructure bill, with the expected passage of Build Back Better soon to follow, is also extremely good news.
Returning to the loss of Virginia’s governor’s race, Tory Gavito of our sister funding organization, Way to Win, and Adam Gentelson, former staffer to Harry Reid, laid out in a must-read New York Times article their analysis of why Republicans won. Focusing on messaging and organizing, they point out that Youngkin was able to use racially coded attacks (specifically opposition to teaching CRT in schools) “to motivate sky-high white turnout without paying a penalty among minority [notably Hispanic] voters.”
Gavito and Gentelson urge Democrats to stop avoiding talking about race and start re-framing the issue through “the race-class narrative.” This approach emphasizes how special interests and the elite seek to divide working people by race, obscuring their common interests. The race-class narrative also paints a more hopeful and positive future. Its effectiveness has been rigorously researched and tested by Ian Lopez Haney with Airlift partners Pennsylvania Stands Up and Down Home North Carolina! (President Obama put it to pretty good use too.) Gavito and Gentelson also note that Democrats must expand their audience, persuading those who are reachable in the suburbs while also genuinely reaching out to typically ignored white working class and POC voters. Democrats need to retain and mobilize their base AND expand it through outreach and persuasion. We need to focus on the Hispanic vote, which Republicans are actively courting and winning.
Was there more we could have done to win last week throughout the country? That is a tantalizing question. As Zo Tobi, Director of Donor Organizing with MVP says, his guiding principle is “to wake up with no regrets and be completely proud that I did everything in my power.”
So, we invite you to ask yourself: “What am I willing to do to wake up with no regrets a year from now?”
On the Ground: Fighting Voter Suppression
“Spoiler: they’re trying to disenfranchise folks.” -Gwen Frisbie-Fulton, Down Home North Carolina
No kidding. As we’ve all seen, the Big Lie is working as planned. Republican-dominated states and districts are passing laws to make voting harder, especially for poor, black, brown, and young voters. As Frisbie-Fulton also notes, “We are seeing increases in voter suppression legislation and the emboldened actions of the far-right going hand in hand to slowly roll out what January 6th did not complete: A coup against our democracy.”
The GOP’s shock-and-awe campaign against voting rights encompasses everything from the outrageously petty--like criminalizing handing out food and water to Georgians waiting in line to vote--to opening the door to brazen theft by empowering legislatures to get rid of election officials and overturn election results they don’t like. Purging voter rolls, making it harder to vote by mail, eliminating drop boxes, confusing and discriminatory voter ID requirements, and provisional voting restrictions are commonplace. Not to mention extreme partisan gerrymandering.
It’s horrifying, but voter suppression is not new or surprising. Bull Connor’s police dogs and fire hoses of yesteryear have been replaced by today’s more subtle arcane legalese and dog whistles of “election integrity,” but the intent--and the violence--have not gone away. Indeed, Down Home NC notes that the current right-wing fanaticism has made fighting voter suppression more difficult and dangerous. During the run-up to the 2020 election, escalating threats in community gatherings and online chatter prompted Down Home to mobilize poll protection in rural areas. There were reports of weapons and intimidation at polling places, and a peaceful March to the Polls parade was pepper-sprayed by police in Alamance County.
We’ve seen alarming right-wing escalation all over the country. Between threats and exhaustion, election workers are burning out--sometimes even quitting--only to be replaced by political hacks.
Another widespread “soft” suppressor is confusion. Restrictive voter ID requirements are passed, then overturned or at least temporarily halted by the courts, sowing chaos and confusion that discourages people from voting altogether. The same is true with restored voting rights to former felons; people are so confused and worried about getting in trouble that they don’t vote.
Intimidation, exhaustion, confusion, and demoralization: these are the insidious and equally devastating companions to concrete laws that restrict voting. Perhaps that’s the point.
Airlift’s partner groups have been fighting back on multiple fronts: lobbying Congress and the White House to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act; taking it to the courts by winning lawsuits against voting restrictions; and doing what they always do--massive organizing to educate, register, and turn out voters. Their efforts are what build movements and deliver victories.
On-the-ground work isn’t glamorous. It’s based on building trusting relationships, not glitz. But that’s exactly what we need. In good times and bad, the grassroots, bottom-up strategy of year-round engagement by community organizers works. These are the trusted messengers who can combat misinformation, confusion, and demoralization. They rally people to get involved and to vote. They know how to ignore the national noise and focus on what most affects peoples’ daily lives. And guess what? When people care about the minimum wage or who’s on the city council, they come out and vote--up and down the entire ballot. That means more progressive votes on the local level, but also more progressive votes for state legislators, secretaries of state, governors, and federal office seekers. It means a better future for America.
Our partners don’t quit, and we can’t quit either. Now more than ever, it’s time to double down in supporting the hard work ahead.
Speaking of Fighting Voter Suppression . . .
Join Us November 16!
Live from the Frontlines
“Upholding Voting Rights”
What's been learned in Texas?
Julian Castro, former mayor of San Antonio and Obama's Secretary of HUD, now a CNN political analyst and Our America podcaster, will give an insider's view of the dangers of voter suppression and the activism needed to counteract it. Airlift will explore with him and with Claudia Yoli Ferla, the director of the incredibly effective grassroots advocacy group, MOVE Texas, how to defend voting rights from the current onslaught by Republicans.
Register Now
Tuesday, November 16, 5 pm Pacific / 8 pm Eastern
Ask Yourself, ‘What am I Willing to Do to Wake Up with No Regrets a Year from Now?”
Make Monthly Donations by Check. Set up automatic payments with the Bill Pay service at your bank for Airlift, PO Box 617, Corte Madera, CA 94976.
Make Monthly Donations Online at ActBlue
And of course, you can always write us a check and send it to Airlift, PO Box 617, Corte Madera, CA 94976.
Want to give a tax-deductible contribution?
Contact us at: info@airlift.fund
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
Field Notes
Big Little Lies--Another widespread virulent variant we must fight: Down Home NC member Mike writes on the organized mob hysteria about critical race theory and mask mandates that infected his small rural community. Read more
LIT fought hard to get police out of Milwaukee schools. Now they’re fighting new attempts to use a traffic accident as an excuse to reintroduce them. Read more.
“We don’t defend democracy by just going home. We double down.” --Val Benavidez, Texas Freedom Network