Peter Atterberg

It will be a long road, but this country’s summer and beautiful sunrise will come again. We, the American people, in all of our righteous might, will see this through to stability, economic prosperity, and absolute victory. - 42

Never lose faith that we are still the greatest country on Earth. Winters come and they’re harsh, but the Spring and Summer always return. The nighttime eventually gives way to a beautiful sunrise. - 41

I want to end this by sharing two historical moments. The 1963 March on Washington and supporters celebrating President Obama’s historic victory in 2008. Some of the biggest accomplishments feel impossible until they happen. Never lose hope.- 40

This country is ours as much as it is those good people happened to vote differently. We will go forward and we will do it together. United as proud Americans standing up for principle, progress, and the future. - 39

We shall overcome and persevere. We shall rise up and succeed. Eventually, every working class policy initiative we stand for will be signed into law. Every ideal we believe in will outlast this period of chaos. - 38

It’s in the darkest hour we realize within our hearts the power to find the warrior in all of this. We must also remember that through a never-yielding effort and hard work, the tides will eventually turn. Yes, things will get worse before they get better, but things will get better. - 37

Each time we must live with those emotions and force ourselves back up to our feet. Because it’s in the darkest of nights that the stars shine the brightest. - 36

During this resistance we are going to experience heartbreak and we will be knocked down. We will experience fear and despair. We will feel anger and outrage. - 35

Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., President Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Abraham Lincoln, and Eleanor Roosevelt. These four giants led the charge in times far more dangerous than our own. All four of them never gave up, even as some of them met their untimely end. - 34

Should the more likely outcome happen where the Trump administration simply ends up being an array of bad policies that hurt the American people then we will fight just as hard to resist those and advocate for better policies. - 33

Our resistance must be strategic, concise, and intentional. If Trump tries to break democracy, there are 74 million of us who will civically, legally, and peacefully fight back. - 32

There must be no room for us to be accused of hyperbole and overreaction. Trump’s words cannot be allowed to phase us. It will be the policies he puts into action that matter most. - 31

The Resistance:

There will be many policies and words spoken by the incoming administration that we will find abhorrent. It will be difficult but we must focus solely on their actions and the negative impact they will have on all Americans.- 30

We must reach them in a language that resonates with them. Not everyone who voted differently is a cult member or a jerk. In fact, a supermajority of Americans are good people. Never forget that. - 29

Instead, we must reach them with our passion, facts, and empathy. We must also listen to them, hear them, and understand what they need from us so that we can earn back their votes.- 28

Let’s get our message of truth out to every American who will listen, even those who disagree with us. We do not need to talk down to others or hold resentment towards them. - 27

So, be proud of the effort we put in. And still let’s be honest with ourselves in the areas where we must evolve our messaging, our policies, and our tactics. And then let’s fight with everything we have in our beings. - 26

We cannot forget what we are fighting for: A better world for all Americans. For the working class Americans and for those working while experiencing poverty. This fight is for all of us, no matter who we are and what our class status is. We all have a stake in this game. - 25

We were not wrong to stand up for NATO, Ukraine, and our other international alliances. We are on the right side of these issues and of history. - 24

Remember, we were not wrong to stand up for empathy, decency, and sanity. We were not wrong to stand up for individual liberties, reproductive freedoms, and working class policies. - 23

There are no privileged Americans. There is only all of us in the working class. We’re united by the causes we believe in and our tough work ethic. With that work ethic, we’re going to fight for the policies that will secure a better life for all Americans. - 22

In this time of change for our cause, we must not allow any conversation to be taboo. No idea can be too controversial to suggest. And every idea must be open to scrutiny no matter who it is from. We must confront some hard truths about our approach and have the courage to evolve. - 21

The fight a head will by no means be easy. The tactics we use in this fight must evolve from what we used before. A self-reflection and heavy conversation will be had over the coming year on who we want to be as a movement, a party, and a country. - 20

We fight in every state legislature and for every governorship. We fight in the U.S congress and senate. We fight from coast to coast, across every county. We fight all the way to the White House for what we know is right. And we never surrender. We never give up. We never yield. - 19

So, what the hell do we do next? Civically and peacefully, we fight. We fight in every municipality in the country. We fight in every school board and township election. We fight in the courts. We fight through marches and organizing on every street corner. - 18

The reality is Trump just grew his vote share larger in the swing states than Kamala Harris could keep up with. There are still millions of us who did what we felt was right. This was a decisive victory for Trump, but it was not a landslide. We came close. - 17

What does all of this mean? The enthusiasm we felt for Kamala Harris was real. That groundswell of support we saw across the swing states? It was all real. - 16

U.S. House Democrats still managed to flip some seats. Wisconsin democrats gained four state senate seats. Democrats kept their majority in the Pennsylvania State House. Democratic State Representative Suzanne Ness won reelection in an Illinois swing district. - 15

She came close to matching Biden’s numbers in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Senate Democrats won their races in Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, and Arizona. - 14

Secondly, Kamala Harris received 74 million votes nationwide. Barack Obama in 2008 received only 69 million votes. Kamala Harris got more votes in Wisconsin and Georgia than Joe Biden did in 2020. - 13