Hey John,
I am in DC this week, meeting with colleagues, and it feels different here. It’s cold and gloomy, with slush on the ground. Of course, there’s the sadness hanging around President Carter’s funeral, but that’s not all. MAGA is taking their victory laps, and they are not being subtle. The Uber drivers and hotel staff tell me they have been exposed to some of the most hateful and outlandish rhetoric these past couple of weeks. Comments like “Have you packed your bags yet?” and others much worse that I don’t need to repeat.
Normally, I like to walk past the White House or the Capitol at night after my meetings, just to reflect on why we do the work that we do. This time, I just stayed in my hotel room and counted down the hours until I could fly out. The Trump presidency is upon us—no denying it, and no taking it back. What we have to do now is come to terms with how we got here.
This did not happen by accident, and it did not happen overnight. This is 10 years in the making. In 2015, Senator Sanders’ populist message was taking over not just the Democratic Party but the country as a whole, and corporate Democrats and corporate Republicans joined forces with the insurance industries, big pharma, and the military-industrial complex.
They created a narrative around Medicare for All that it would destroy America as we know it. Every single time progressive ideas reach the main stage, we are villainized for it. An example is protesters begging for the U.S. to stop sending money to Israel and end the genocide being labeled as terrorist sympathizers. The irony does not go unnoticed.
As Executive Director of No Dem Left Behind, my job now is to set a direction for not only our staff but our supporters, and I take this job very seriously. I respect the institution of our government, and I am heartbroken at the direction it has taken. I am receiving angry emails, texts, and messages. I have not replied to all of them, but I read every single one. We have to earn everyone’s trust back, and it starts with us understanding why we lost it in the first place.
As a party, we welcomed in millions of dollars from oligarchs who wanted to defeat Black members of Congress who spoke up against genocide and our role in funding it. Those same people then went ahead and funded a massive operation to defeat VP Harris, Senator Brown, and many others. Elon Musk has vowed to pour millions more into Democratic primaries so that he can elect Republican-lite candidates he can control. That is not democracy—that is oligarchy.
We are not going to solve our problems overnight, and we are not going to do it alone. We have to build the strongest populist movement this country has ever seen. As Democrats, we believe in a country that serves all of us, accepts all of us, and allows everyone an opportunity to thrive and be successful. The American Dream is lost for so many young Americans and people of color, but it doesn’t have to be this way. If we unify and stay true to ourselves, we can win. We will win. But first, we have a lot of work to do.
Thank you for your continued support,
Hassan Martini
