Three Wins Today: Dec 16, 2025
Everything that has a chance of surviving takes time
Everyday I hear “Democrats are moving right.” And I just think, what…
What are you talking about? Where is that even coming from? How….
But it’s easy. If you didn’t pay attention to politics till after Obergefell v Hodges. If you were just minding your own business till Dobbs, yeah okay, I kinda get it.
Cause you didn’t see what the Democratic party was when gay marriage and pro choice weren’t pillars of the party, and we’re talking less than 15 years ago.
Every time I try to have this conversation with someone I rack my brain for how to explain it.
How do you explain to someone who have only known a world where Donald Trump was in politics what the world was like before?
How do you explain to someone that, yeah, we absolutely had Republican friends because, they weren’t literal Nazis, for the most part it genuinely was a different view of the economy?
How do you explain to someone that social issues just weren’t what separated the parties?
Well, I think, maybe the best way just became available on Netflix again: West Wing.
West Wing was magic when it came out. It wasn’t meant to be hope for the future, cause it started while Clinton was still president, but by weeks into season 2, Bush had been elected. It was there through 9/11 and the Iraq war. It was there through Dick Cheney’s hunting incident and “Mission Accomplished.”
It made the Bush presidency bearable. And if you’re younger, if you don’t remember 9/11 or the Iraq war, this doesn’t mean anything. But it was literally the only thing keeping many Democrats sane.
And now, those who didn’t live through the West Wing years will watch it and think “wow, that’s not progressive at all.”
But here’s the thing, IT WAS. It was one of the most progressive shows to be on air.
The first episode sets the stage for a government that is loudly pro choice, even if the president isn’t and supports gay rights and is willing to go toe to toe with the Christian right, and at the time that was an incredibly big deal.
For people to say that it’s not progressive, just shows how far we HAVE come. It proves the point that the Dem party is not moving further right, change is just slow. Gay marriage happened, and supporting choice became a red line in getting certain party endorsements.
But, now that we’re not passing any big landmarks it feels like we’ve slowed down to a slow crawl towards progress. But it’s always been a crawl. A crawl that has included many instances of one step forward and two steps back with every single issue.
Getting to a place where gay rights and reproductive rights became part of the Dem platform was not linear, and it didn’t happen overnight.
But, in the end, it did happen.
If you truly and honestly think Democrats are going backwards, watch West Wing. Feel the discomfort of knowing that these moments were truly groundbreaking.
And yes, it’s a TV show, but staff members of the Clinton admin were consultants on the show. Most millennials in politics now were first inspired by the show. It may have been a fictional president, but that show informed the real political world in so many ways.
So look at what it meant to be a Democrat between 1999 and 2007. And then see if you can still say we’re moving backwards.
Not making progress at the rate you wish we could is not the same thing. And it’s just something you’re going to have to learn to accept, because everything that has a chance of surviving takes time.
Dedham, Massachusetts
Fri, Dec 5 - The Archdiocese of Boston made a plea for St Susan’s Parish to take down their anti ICE nativity scene (Which you can see above).
In place of the holy family, it says “ICE WAS HERE” and on a small sign below that is “The Holy Family is safe in our Church ... If you see ICE please call LUCE at 617-370-5023.”
The archdiocese argued that a nativity scene should not have “divisive political messaging.” But, the church, which is no stranger to these kinds of fights, isn’t planning on removing it anytime soon.
At a press conference on Mon, Dec 8, Reverand Stephen Josoma said:
Any divisiveness is a reflection of our polarized society. Most of which originates with the changing unjust policies and laws from the current United States administration, not emanating from an nativity display outside of a church in Dedham. It’s a prophetic reflection that challenges the faithful to find new paths to bring the good news announced at that first Christmas to all of God’s people.
He went on to say that they are hoping to meet with Bishop Richard Henning to state their case and will potentially take his thoughts into consideration, if this meeting does occur.
I cannot imagine that, if Pope Leo gets wind of this, he would side with the archbishop, given everything he’s said so far.
It’s really great to see all of these churches keep the spirit of the story alive, by not erasing the refugee aspect, no matter what certain people want.
Federal Way, Washington
Sat, Dec 6 - It has been 18 years since voters approved a Sound Transit extension to Federal Way, and it finally opened this month. The 1 Line is now 41 miles long, making it the second longest line in the country.
At the ribbon cutting, Mayor Jim Ferrell said:
For decades, we’ve talked about how important this is. This is really going to be something that really connects up the entire region, and it’s billions of dollars of investment and connection where people are going to be able to get on the light rail and go to points north. But it’s more than that. It’s about economic opportunity. It’s about the economic development and growth of this community.
We must have constant reminders of the progress being made, and new and improved public transit is always one of these reminders.
Public transit makes it possible for anyone in any economic situation to have more places they can look for work or find healthcare or just experience the world. And that’s really important when it comes to equity. We must not forget that.
National
Wed, Dec 10 - I am so excited for this one. The DLCC, or the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which focuses on state legislative races, is expanding their target map in a big way.
They think it’s possible to flip the Arizona and New Hampshire Legislatures, as in both House and Senate. These are very purple states, even though they both have Dems in the Senate, AZ has a Dem governor, and both of NH’s congressional reps are Dems, but when you get down to state races, we don’t do so well, so for them to be making these a target is pretty huge.
They think we can break or prevent Republican supermajorities in the: Florida, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio House and Senate, and Indiana, Kansas and South Carolina House. Have you ever heard any of these states as targets for state level things like this? I haven’t.
They think we can flip seats in the PA Senate, Nebraska Legislature, TX House and House and Senate in Georgia and Maine.
And finally, they’re targeting building up our already strong supermajorites in: Colorado and Vermont House and Senate, Delaware, New Mexico and Washington House, Nevada Assembly, and New York and Oregon Senate.
President Heather Williams said in a statement about the announcement:
2026 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fundamentally transform state legislative power. With multiple new majorities and trifectas in play next year, this isn’t a moment for modest gains – we are thinking more expansively than ever to sweep the landscape and create lasting power in statehouses. Beyond cementing Democratic state power, our 2026 wins will fundamentally shift power up and down the ticket and shape the future of Democratic power for years to come.
All this targeting will also come with massive investments in these races.
As Heather said, this is a big deal. We have this massive opportunity that we can’t pass up. That also means, taking state legislative races seriously. I know it feels like a bigger deal to focus on the congressional races, but we can really make lasting gains at state level next year, but we’re gonna have to fight to make it happen.
And, when we fight, we win.
I hope you enjoyed these wins, and they bring you peace of mind, especially after the tragedies of this weekend.
Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!