Read on Twitter
1/ A thread for my fellow “not-democrats”. Yesterday sucked. Many of us would prefer to blame the events on a crazy fringe and wash our hands, but we should bear in mind that actions have consequences and dog-whistles are dog-whistles, whether blown by the right or the left.
2/ Post '16 election, as someone who didn’t vote Trump but felt like I understood the phenomenon that caused his rise, I found myself consoling my more liberal friends while attempting to explain how this might have at least partly been caused by action or inaction on their part.
3/ The election was lost for the Dems because the party lost touch with the country. That’s how democracy works! Sure, Trump captured “something” in the consciousness of the American people, but there were at least as many votes *against* the Dems as there were votes *for* Trump.
4/ Today, on the other side of a Dem sweep and an absolutely appalling reaction by some on the right, I think it would be hypocritical to not be introspective. We bear at least part of the responsibility for this election, this insurrection, and the widening cultural divide.
5/ The Reps lost because they’ve lost touch with the country. That’s how democracy works! Sure, Biden captured “something” in the consciousness of the American people, but there were at least as many votes *against* Trump as votes *for* Biden - obviously, an understatement.
6/ Yesterday was representative of that failure. Who are these crazy people?! It seems “they” are a result of people on the right (myself included) who begrudgingly tolerated madness because it seemed like a fair tradeoff to avoid the many far left policies that I find troubling.
7/ Trump lost the election, so hopefully, we’re around 2 weeks from putting some of this nightmare behind us. But if we forget about what happened yesterday and what has been happening for the last 4 years, I’m afraid that we won’t actually be able to move forward.
8/ We can’t give ground to demagogues and their supporters. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiples it.”
9/ It is possible to care about morality & be a Republican. But we need a non-negotiable philosophy for what that means. Character matters. Good governance matters. Peaceful transitions of power matter. Election integrity matters. Equality of all persons matters. Justice matters.
10/ Let’s get back to work…on ourselves. Enough with the blame shifting, the complaining, and the conspiracies. If we believe we have a vision for the country that’s better than the alternative, it is on *us* to convince voters of that.
11/ I’m heartbroken for all the people who have been hurt by this admin. I’m sorry that the right failed to produce a vision for a better tomorrow and instead resorted (through both action and inaction) to behavior that is unjust, shameful, undemocratic, and embarrassing.
12/ Our democracy won’t work without active participation from a diverse set of people (gender, ethnic, ideological, and otherwise). We are up for the challenge of finding a pathway to mutual respect. We have no other choice. Our country depends on it. God Bless America. 
