Hi John,
I'm writing to you today because I want you to know I feel your pain. Kamala's loss — and Trump's win — were great disappointments. I feel like I'm cycling through the stages of grief: fear, sadness, rage…
But that's only part of the story. Finding opportunity in defeat is what has kept me doing this work for nearly 40 years.
Here's what I know for sure: We're not going to sit by while Trump tries to destroy our democracy. We will capitalize on our anger, we will fight back, and we will win.
I want to tell you a story from the early days of EMILYs List that I've been thinking about a lot lately. It's about defeat, hope, and what comes next:
In 1992, in the wake of Anita Hill's bravery during Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court hearings, women nationwide rose up. They were sick and tired of the harassment and discrimination they'd been forced to endure at work for decades. They demanded real political power. And they turned out in historic numbers to elect Democratic women.
EMILYs List's membership grew from 3,000 to 24,000 that year. We raised $6.5 million for our candidates. And we elected four Democratic women to the U.S. Senate and 20 to the U.S. House. It was an extraordinary, record-shattering year. And I'll be honest, John — after all that success, we felt a little invincible. We thought we could accomplish anything.
And then came 1994.
Newt Gingrich rolled out the GOP's "Contract with America" legislative platform, seeking to nationalize the midterm elections. And it worked. Republicans picked up 54 U.S. House seats and 10 U.S. Senate seats, taking control of both chambers. We lost some of the women we had just worked so hard to elect in 1992.
It was dubbed the "Republican Revolution." And in the aftermath, all the media wanted to talk about was how voters were sick of Democrats, how we had alienated the white men in our base, and how the American people no longer believed our party could deliver for them. It was a real moment of reckoning for our party. (Sound familiar?)
So here's what we did: We doubled down. We launched our "Boot Newt" campaign to combat the new speaker's extremist agenda, and we fought voter apathy by going straight to the press to let Americans know exactly what we stood for. We created the EMILYs List major donor program, which has gone on to raise hundreds of millions of dollars. We built a powerful political program that directly assists our women in launching and running their campaigns. And we launched Women Vote, our massively successful independent expenditure arm, which has helped elect hundreds of Democratic pro-choice women over the past 30 years.
1992 is the year that put EMILYs List on the map. But if it weren't for the losses of 1994, EMILYs List may not have become the powerhouse institution it is today.
The business of making real social change through electoral politics isn't easy, and it isn't linear. I call it "leaping and creeping" — we make big leaps forward, and then we face some tough losses, and then we creep forward again, win by win. After almost 40 years of EMILYs List, I'm here to tell you, John: We're always moving forward. Even when we lose. Even when it feels like all is lost. Over time, we are making real and lasting change. That's the story of EMILYs List, it's the story of the Democratic Party, and it's the story of America.
John, there's no way around it: We experienced a devastating loss last month. The incoming Trump administration poses an existential threat to our rights and our democracy. And while there are many reasons for fear, outrage, and disappointment, there are just as many reasons for hope. Together, we will rebuild and recover. The next leap is around the corner.
Thank you for being with EMILYs List, today and always.
Ellen Malcolm
Founder, EMILYs List
PS: If you're ready to help EMILYs List chart a new path forward, please donate today. Thank you.
