LGBTQ elder voices matter now more than ever

The Democrats can win if they pledge solidarity. Wisconsin has shown that it is possible. Solidarity does not mean there is no primary or debate. What that means is that everyone pledges to support the Democratic primary winner. Midterm elections will be local elections. Democrat candidates must do what they can often highlight a variety of issues to bring voters to the vote. For my support in the general election, candidates must pledge their first vote to elect a Democratic leader, whether in the state capitol or in Congress.

The Democrats’ goals have been clear for years. That doesn’t mean that every Democrat is everything the party supports. That comes from having a “big tent.” The party is working on equality, gun control, tax increases on the wealthy, and improving climate change. It stands for ERA and Equality Act, which is part of NATO, the Fair Immigration Act, and the Option that is part of the World Health Organization. The party supports working towards solutions for the minimum wage, strong Medicare and Medicaid, robust social security, unions, and two Middle Eastern states. The party supports Ukraine’s free state, fair trade policy, and confirm that there are three equal governments. Legislation, enforcement and judicial justice to ensure a strong system of checks and balance. Today, Donald Trump’s Maga Party, Republican, was paid by his Nazi sympathetic co-chairman Elon Musk, but it clearly shows that they don’t believe this.

So, for some reason, “I will never support Democrats again,” or my serious questions about Democrats and independents who write and scream about people who believe in the values ​​of these Democrats but who are at home and don’t vote, help me and others understand. This broad division and reality of values ​​between the two parties, with the exception of a few unusual districts, there are only two parties that can actually win a general election. What do you think you can achieve through your actions or lack of action? I’m at a loss. Again, please help me understand.

I was raised in institutional politics. I believe in the Democrats more strongly than ever before. Does our leader do everything right? no. Do they sometimes make me mad? yes! If some of them retire and young people are elected, then surely yes! But despite all this, the division of values ​​is so broad that the idea of ​​continued domination by the Maga Republicans is so frightening that I don’t think there will be any democracy to fight if we don’t stand together and defeat it.

We have lost this past election and are plagued by the musk, the magnificent rock that the felons and his co-president, the Nazis, sympathize with. We lost for many reasons. The big thing is that our voters were at home, vote for third parties, or register their complaints with Republicans as well. Whatever the reason, they created this horrifying reality we face today.

It’s hard to try and understand how others won’t see this. Or, if so, some people still don’t want to mess around with why they’re doing something about it. That’s my problem and it’s a big problem for the Democrats. The question is, we often share the values ​​of Democrats, but we don’t go out to vote in huge numbers to help change things, stop Trump/Musk and what are they doing to destroy our country, how do we get there?

Trump in 2024 I won 77,284,118 votes, or 49.8% of votes thrown at the president. Trump won 3,059,799 popularity votes than he won in 2020. Kamala Harris won 74,999,166 votes or 48.3% of the cast. This was less popular votes of 6,285,500 than Biden won in 2020, so if even half of those voters came out for Harris, she might have won. So those who didn’t vote for Democrats in 2024, where do they see the country go? What do they want? Is there anything in the future that will make them vote for Democrats? In 2024, 116,000 people changed casts to more than 15 million people in three states. 40,000 people in Michigan, 61,000 people in Pennsylvania and 15,000 people in Wisconsin will likely have changed elections.

I heard Democrats attack the party by not fighting back. Then, “I will never vote for Democrats again!” So, again, my question is, “Who are they going to vote?” Some people want young people to lead the party. I agree with that. There should be age and duration restrictions. I don’t like that out of the 100 senators, 60 have more than 70. Many senators are over 80. They are on both parties. It’s time to stop asking younger voters to vote for their grandparents, or even great grandparents.

But my question for those who complain is, “What are you going to do about it?” Unless I vote, it won’t change to me. In order to get the young people you want as leaders in the future, I think you have to work to elect them. First, encourage those who want to run for the office. When they agree, you need to volunteer in their campaigns, donate money if possible, come out and vote for them. In my opinion, I learned in the institutional politics of the old line, that’s how you change.

I recently saw on Facebook “Schumer (D-NY) sign a petition to not give Democrats money until he resigns as a minority leader in the Senate.” I don’t know what that person will happen, and how things that don’t give to the Democrats won’t be played directly in Musk and Trump’s hands. Knowledge of the system means understanding that Senate party leaders are elected by their caucus. What if you don’t like the Democratic Caucus’ choice to replace Schumer?

For me, once again, older guys are raising in institutional politics and earning degrees in political science and administrative, so I have a hard time understanding that today young people think they can make immediate changes in politics. Despite Trump’s views himself as one and his hero is the Jinping of Putin and Xi Jinping, we have no kings or dictators. The immediate change he is trying is not progress, but as we see it, it moves backwards. Is that what we want? Our constitution is written and our government is established, so change is progressive to advance towards progress. It will take time. Progress in women’s rights, rights in the LGBTQ community, communities of disability, civil rights, or improvements in climate change. It will take time. I know it’s very frustrating. But in order to see progress, we need to stick to it.

Over all the years I’ve voted for, I’ve never voted for the perfect candidate. There is no perfect candidate like the perfect people. Is that what young people are looking for? I don’t know, but I think Democrats and their local candidates need to know what it takes to vote and vote for people.

My opinion is that elections for 2025 and 2026 will be decided at the local level. From the Board of Education to the county council, the state capitol and the legislature. The battle for debate and votes is on the ground. As we move forward, we believe victory comes from scratch, not from top down. The decision to decide whether or not the more than 6 million people who didn’t vote for Harris in 2024 will be coming out for Democrats locally in 2025 and 2026 will be as they did in Wisconsin if they do. If they don’t, we may actually lose democracy.

Peter Rosenstein A longtime LGBTQ rights and a Democratic activist.