Thread by @DemWrite

I’m getting a lot of this:

“I supported the blue wave and for what? Democrats aren’t living up to their end of the bargain.”

It’s time to dispel the myth that blue wave activism was a down payment on impeachment.

It was not. Zero seats flipped on an impeachment platform. /1

I get it. This is very frustrating and slow. It seems so obvious. And we expect people to lead on principle, not on politics.

Set aside your frustrations with Dem leadership for a moment and think back to the blue wave districts that flipped red to blue. /2

I interviewed and published a sizable chunk of Dems who flipped seats in 2018. I asked them explicitly about impeachment. They were across-the-board non-committal. That’s not what they ran on. They ran on healthcare. They ran on voting rights. They ran on the environment. /3

I get frustrated with the argument, “I can’t and won’t support Democrats as long as ‘they’ stall on impeachment.” Good luck with that. Slip on your flack jacket, prep your fallout shelter and get ready to fight for spots in food lines. That’s our GOP future. /4

Are the people of #CA48 better represented by Harley Rouda than by Dana Rohrabacher? Are the people of #KS03 better represented by Sharice David’s than by Kevin Yoder? You’re goddamn right they are. We can’t act like House & Senate elections amount to national representation. /5

They do not. Representatives represent their constituents. If you are mad at Leadership, then so be it. But don’t take it out on the good people of #AZ06 or #CA04 or #OH01 who - impeachment or not - would be better represented by someone who cared about their well being. /6

It is a worthwhile endeavor to fight for them to have better representation, even if we don’t live in their district and regardless of what Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer do. I don’t know about you, but the people themselves were my motivation for fighting to flip seats. /7

There is plenty of work to do right now to help our fellow Americans get better representation. There are 2019 races to win - like voting in @AndyBeshearKY for KY governor. Do you think the people of KY would be better represented by Andy, or by his GOP counterpart? /8

Or maybe you could hone in on helping to elect Virginia Dems to flip the state legislature. Care about women’s rights? If the VA leg flips, we could get the #ERA ratified. /9

And then into 2020. If we honestly hold out support for Democrats in flippable districts because of Trump and frustrations with slow-moving justice, then he has won. Period. We should just disband. /10

Alternative: we could be grown ups and separate national party politics from local representation, and continue to work on behalf of our American neighbors who deserve representatives that give a damn about their health, financial security & rights. Hint: that is not the GOP. //

If you read this thread and your response is, “but he must be impeached”, then you missed the point. This thread is impeachment agnostic.