John,

Let's face it, we are in a rut. Not just as a party, but as a country.

The news coming out of Washington is bleak, and many of us are still crushed by the relentless stream of terrible SCOTUS rulings on voting rights, abortion rights, gun rights, religion in public schools, climate change efforts, and everything else.

The war in Ukraine is not in the news every day anymore, but its effects are still felt … at the gas pump and the grocery store especially, but also emotionally and psychologically, when we think about how the Ukrainians are literally fighting for their lives while we stand by feeling helpless, our country’s hands tied.

During this time, I’m reminded of that famous saying: “The night is darkest just before the dawn.”

May and June were full of dark moments for our country, but we’re determined to make July and August brighter.

We’re ready to get busy organizing – over the last few weeks, the No Dem Left Behind team has been meeting and strategizing with our partners across the country and gearing up for the midterms.

We’re not going to lie: We expect these midterms will be contentious and brutal, and the stakes could not be higher.

But the good news is, it looks like we Democrats are motivated and energized to defeat the GQP, and we’re getting ready to show up in force at the ballot box come November.

When we show up, we win – it's that simple. We outnumber the Republicans to begin with, and on the issues of abortion rights, voting rights, and gun safety reform – all the hot topics of the moment – independents overwhelmingly side with us. That’s without even counting suburban Republican women, many of whom also side with us on these issues.

Politics is a numbers game – our job is to crunch the numbers and find the votes we need to win. Remember, in order for Democrats to legislate, we need a functional majority, and that means flipping more seats blue.

I know that requires us asking for money, and lately, people have been angry with us. I read all your messages and try to reply to as many as possible, but in case you’re one of the people frustrated about fundraising and you haven’t written in or received a reply form me yet, here’s what I want to say to you …

This grit, this fight, this daily struggle is what Democracy is supposed to be. It's not supposed to be easy to win elections. You are supposed to have to go out and earn it – earn the votes and dollars you need to win door to door, person by person.

Our side does all that, while the other side just picks up a few corporate checks and works to keep those donors happy. The problem is, the only way to keep those donors happy is by hurting all the rest of us.

When they don't pay their fair share, who do you think has to pick up the slack? We do.

The system is broken, and it needs a reset.

So, how do we do it?

52, that's how. We need 52 votes in the Senate, if we get that, we can permanently change the direction we’re headed as a country. We can codify Roe into law, we can pass strong gun safety reform legislation to protect our children and our schools. We can pass permanent voting rights protections and rewrite our broken tax laws.

And it doesn’t have to stop there!

• We can pass judicial reform laws, not just for the Supreme Court but the entire federal judicial system. Lifelong appointments are an outdated practice that needs to be reviewed and addressed.
• We can pass reforms to make our healthcare system more inclusive, more accessible, and CHEAPER!
• We can do a better job protecting the planet we live on. I’m sure you’ve noticed how volatile weather patterns have been all across the country the last few years. Climate change is real, and it and needs to be addressed.

I know that sounds like a lot to take on, and you might feel overwhelmed just reading it. But folks, that’s the beauty of democracy: No one person has to tackle all these problems alone. We are Americans, and when we work together, we can do anything.

In the military, I worked side-by-side with people from every part of these United States and there was no animosity between us at all. We weren’t “red staters” or blue staters,” “coastal elites” or “flyovers.” We were all just Americans, in the fight together as brothers and sisters. All of us need to remind ourselves of that.

As Democrats, we believe in all of this, and it used to be that we trusted Republicans to believe in it, too. We didn't agree with them about many things, but we at least trusted them to do what they believed was best for America.

Sadly, January 6^th changed all that. Every Republican saw our democracy attacked; some of them took part in planning the attack. Now, most of them want to pretend – and want us to pretend – like it never happened.

Well, it did happen, and our country will never be the same again. Some of the people who carried out the attack are behind bars, but not the ones truly responsible. The ones who planned it and made sure it happened; those treasonous thugs are still free.

I hope that’s something else we can look forward to in the months to come – justice for the traitors behind January 6^th.

The January 6^th hearings aren’t just for show, they’re being meticulously crafted to prove without a doubt that Donald Trump and his Republican collaborators planned it all, set it in. motion, and knew exactly what would happen when they did.

We need to prove this to the American people, not just to Democrats, and that is exactly what the select committee is doing.

Democrats, Independents, and Republicans who value country over party – we’ve all got to fight this battle together, or else you won’t recognize the country we live in come November if the other side wins, I can promise you that.

We can't – and we won't – let that happen. Enjoy your holiday weekend, then get ready to get to work … together.

Sappers clear the way, Airborne all the way!

--Retired Major Richard Ojeda