1). So, here is the thing, my progressive friends. I want the same things you want. I am all in. Medicare for All? Sure. Green New Deal? Let’s do it. Free college for all Americans? I’d vote for it. But—in case you hadn’t noticed, it is pretty fucking hard to win

2). elections. We aren’t a country (yet) where being popular-voted gets you elected. It isn’t that progressive policies aren’t great ideas—they are the BEST ideas and policies. However, the GOP is an extremely well-oiled political spin machine, which is very effective at

3) portraying even a moderate Democrat as the communist spawn of Hugo Chavez. Their spin doesn’t have to be true—it has a ready audience of people who are desperate to believe their opponent is evil. They have been slow-boiled by Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson to a place where

4). the truth doesn’t matter, only rage-winning does. Winning, for them,isn’t just no M4A. It is no healthcare for anyone at all. No taxes, no government, no civil rights, no progress. They are as stubborn and selfish a group as you have ever seen. But they are who you have to

5). persuade. You see, you already have my vote. I’ll go as hard to the left as we can, while still winning elections. But if we act crazy, if we talk like Nancy Pelosi is too conservative, if we try to eat the whole apple in one bite, we will lose in 2022. And in 2024. And

6). In every other election afterwards—until we get another opponent who shits the bed so hard that even members of his own party leave him in disgust. Because that is what it takes for us to win, with our big split tent—full of everyone from centrists to those who want to take

7). an immediate, hard swerve to the left. Democrats value everyone, which is good. But we also value every opinion—which means we are going to disagree a lot. That is fine, as long as we compromise when it counts—to win elections. When we win elections, we get power. When

8). we get power, we can make changes. When we show that those changes don’t run the country into the ground, we can win more votes, more power, and more progress. If it seems too long to wait an election cycle for what you want, think about how it felt to go backwards for four

9) years, while they put up walls, caged children, and tried to kill off the healthcare we did have. Let’s win—together. And then, let’s move further left—together. Trying to pull me left does us no good—you already have my vote, but we need theirs, to win. Persuade them to

10) give us a try. Don’t talk crazy—they like their crazy, but they won’t like ours. Don’t talk about where we will be in 10 or 20 years, talk to them about how you can make their lives better next year. Show them we aren’t “radical,” we are human. Pull from their center,

11). don’t bother with their right wing. Don’t engage with them on the hot-button talking points they are easily inflamed about, talk about what they want to see in their own lives, workplaces and communities. They can be persuaded—I was. It just takes a little more patience and

12) a little less infighting. Be aspirational when you are with your people. Be moderate when you are trying to persuade the right. If we lose by even 1% again, we can lose 100% of our country.
If you totally agree with me, you may not be a real Democrat—disagreement is kind

13) of our thing. If you mostly agree, give this a retweet, to see if we can find some others to rally to the cause. And if you totally disagree, for god’s sake just unfollow me and keep it to yourself—so we can win a fucking election. Didn’t this feel good?