“Turmoil” is one word for the past few weeks. “Fractured” is another. “Despondent and helpless” is how many of us have been left to feel. A major turning point for this party and this country is at hand, and we .. the grassroots .. are powerless to decide what happens.

But there is opportunity in this as well, for us. The current crisis has laid bare the real issues we face. There is no more pretense about this being traditional politics. Winning is no longer about our candidate, and in truth it never has been. Long before the current crisis, we all came to accept that November 5th was about stopping Trump. The candidate became irrelevant other than as a vehicle to achieve it. Do you remember Obama and the emotions of “Yes, we can!”? The feelings of hope? That sort of thing has become a distant memory, lost in everything that has come into play. There is no Obama to excite us today, and there isn’t going to be. That leaves us pushing a negative as our entire campaign, possibly two negatives, and each and every one of us knows that’s a hard sell.

“Stunned” is what we all felt last Thursday, every Democrat in this country who cares .. stunned and demoralized because something much bigger than politics is clearly at stake. As the grassroots, we cannot control what the power figures in Washington are going to do, or those in the state capitol. But identity is one thing we can control. The demand for a resurrected Democratic Party identity based on core values and vision .. values we all believe in, basic beliefs that give us purpose and meaning .. that is very much in our power. That is in your power.

The values that define the Democratic Party are not just political positions; they are the bedrock of American ideals. At our core, Democrats believe that all people are created equal—this is America’s fundamental principle, deeply embedded in our nation’s history and enshrined in our founding documents.

From the stirring words of the Declaration of Independence to the profound promises of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the narrative of American democracy has been one of relentless pursuit of freedom, justice, and opportunity for all. These documents do not merely outline a system of governance but call for a society that uplifts and provides for every individual, affirming that true democracy is by the people and for the people.

There’s real hope following the recent victory on Issue One in Ohio and the votes in Kansas. These votes weren’t really about abortion, on a fundamental, emotional level they were about who owns a woman’s body. It shows that when people are given a clear choice about basic concepts of justice, especially when they can see a direct effect on their lives .. they respond firmly, and decisively.

What is our purpose as a political party?

Have you ever thought about it? Why do we exist? Is our purpose winning the next election? Is that what we are, a political machine to win elections?

Or are we something more? Is our unstated purpose to build a better nation, to make people’s lives better? Is that unstated purpose why LBJ worked so hard on his vision of A Great Society, sacrificed so much? Is that why the Kennedy’s stood up for black Americans in the 60s? Is that unstated purpose part of why we admire Lincoln, why Democrats have been part of every movement for social progress in American history? Think back to Obama. “Yes, we can!” inspired each and every one of us. It wasn’t because we knew it would help us win an election, it was because Obama’s words touched something much deeper, because it touched our unspoken purpose.

Politics is wishy-washy. It’s about compromise, the art of the possible. It’s also about money and everything cynical imaginable. Politics is necessary. It’s a fact of life that we will be engaged in forever, but by itself, politics doesn’t inspire anybody. In fact, it turns off incredible numbers of people, Democrats included.