Well, folks, we’ve got four days until the midterm elections, and something very interesting is happening.
Donald Trump has canceled campaign rallies in Kansas and Iowa.
Now, according to the Republican National Committee, he’s canceling because the Republican candidates are doing so well that they don’t need him anymore.
Really?
That’s interesting, because according to a CNN poll reported yesterday, Republican Senator Roger Marshall is trailing his Democratic opponent by four points.
In Kansas!
KANSAS!
That’s like the Pope losing an election at the Vatican!
And the Republicans are telling us everything is going so well that Trump doesn’t need to show up?
I’ve got a question.
If everything is going so well, why are these races so close?
And why are Republicans having to fight so hard in states they’ve traditionally dominated?
Something is happening in American politics, and I think we need to pay attention.
THE PRESIDENT AND THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Now, Trump is 80 years old.
He’s been campaigning relentlessly, sometimes speaking for hours at a time, traveling from state to state.
And reporters have started asking questions about his health.
One reporter asked whether the Kansas cancellation had anything to do with his physical condition.
Trump responded by telling the reporter he was disgusting and looked like hell.
Well, there’s a reassuring presidential response!
Apparently, the question was about Trump’s health, but somehow the reporter ended up getting the physical examination.
Now, I don’t know why Trump canceled these rallies.
Maybe he’s exhausted. Maybe it’s a strategic decision. Maybe there’s something else going on.
We simply don’t know.
But what we do know is that the Republicans are replacing these massive rallies with something called tele-rallies.
That’s right.
Instead of standing in front of thousands of screaming supporters, Trump gets on the telephone, talks for five or ten minutes, and hangs up.
Five or ten minutes!
For a man who can spend two hours talking about windmills, showerheads, and how nobody has ever been treated more unfairly than Donald Trump, that’s a remarkable change.
But here’s the important question.
Is the campaign changing because of Trump, or because of the voters?
SOMETHING IS HAPPENING WITH THE VOTERS
Look at what’s happening around the country.
The article describes Republican candidates struggling in places where they would ordinarily expect comfortable margins.
And what’s driving that?
The economy.
The cost of living.
The war in Iran.
The uncertainty people feel about their futures.
Now, I’ve been spending a lot of time talking to ordinary people.
Not politicians.
Not consultants.
Not professional commentators.
Ordinary Americans.
And something I’ve learned is that people don’t experience the economy as a collection of statistics.
They experience it when they walk into the grocery store.
When they fill up their gas tanks.
When they pay their rent.
When they look at their children and wonder whether those kids will ever be able to afford a house.
You can tell people the economy is doing wonderfully.
But if they’re working two jobs and still can’t pay their bills, they’re going to have a different opinion.
And here’s something else.
People don’t necessarily care which political party created the problem.
They want somebody to fix it.
That’s where our political system has been failing so many Americans.
WHAT HAPPENS ON TUESDAY?
Now, Tuesday is November 3.
Election Day.
And there is enormous uncertainty about what happens next.
Will Republicans maintain control of Congress?
Will Democrats gain enough seats to take control of one or both chambers?
Will voters deliver a divided government?
We don’t know.
And we shouldn’t pretend that we do.
Polls are snapshots, not election results.
But we can certainly talk about what different outcomes would mean.
If Democrats take control of the House, they would gain the power to conduct investigations, issue subpoenas, and oversee the administration.
If they take the Senate as well, the balance of power in Washington changes even more dramatically.
But here’s something people need to understand.
Winning an election doesn’t automatically solve anything.
You still have to govern.
You still have to pass legislation.
You still have to negotiate.
And you still have to convince Americans that their government is capable of improving their lives.
That’s a much bigger challenge than winning a campaign.
And if Republicans maintain control, they will still face the same economic pressures and public concerns that are shaping this election.
The problems don’t disappear on Wednesday morning.
THE QUESTION NOBODY WANTS TO ASK
Here’s what interests me most.
What if the frustration we’re seeing isn’t simply about Donald Trump?
What if it’s about something much bigger?
What if millions of Americans are tired of the entire political performance?
Think about it.
We spend billions of dollars on campaigns.
We watch politicians attack one another.
We hear endless promises.
We watch television commercials telling us that the other candidate is going to destroy America.
And then Election Day comes.
Somebody wins.
Somebody loses.
And millions of Americans wake up the next morning facing exactly the same problems.
Their rent is still due.
Their medical bills haven’t disappeared.
Their children still can’t afford a house.
And they’re still wondering whether anybody in Washington is listening.
Maybe that’s the real issue.
Not whether politicians are talking enough, but whether they’re listening enough.
And that brings me to something I’ve been discovering in Greensboro.
WHAT I’M LEARNING FROM STRANGERS
I’m conducting a project to interview a thousand people in Greensboro.
And I can tell you something.
People have a lot to say.
But here’s what’s fascinating.
When I approach somebody and ask whether they’d be willing to talk, sometimes they look at me like I’m trying to sell them a timeshare.
And I understand that!
I’m a 69-year-old guy walking around downtown asking strangers about their lives.
I could be running for mayor.
Or I could be starting a cult.
It’s a fine line!
But once people realize I’m genuinely interested in what they have to say, something remarkable happens.
They open up.
They tell me about their families.
Their struggles.
Their hopes.
Their disappointments.
And sometimes, after we’ve been talking for half an hour, they’ll say something extraordinary.
“Nobody’s ever asked me that before.”
Think about that.
We’re living in a country where everybody has an opinion, everybody has a platform, everybody has something to say.
But how many people are actually listening?
That’s what I think our politics needs more of.
Not another two-hour speech.
Not another attack advertisement.
Not another politician telling us how wonderful everything is.
Maybe we need more conversations.
Real conversations.
Between people who don’t necessarily agree.
THE FINAL FOUR DAYS
So here we are.
Four days before the midterms.
Trump has canceled two rallies.
Republicans say everything is fine.
Democrats are competing for control of Congress.
And millions of Americans are getting ready to make their voices heard.
But I want to leave you with one thought.
Democracy isn’t a television show.
It’s not a sporting event.
And it’s not supposed to be a competition between two groups of people who hate each other.
It’s a system in which ordinary citizens have the power to choose their representatives and hold them accountable.
And that power doesn’t belong to Donald Trump.
It doesn’t belong to the Republican Party.
It doesn’t belong to the Democratic Party.
It belongs to us.
Every single one of us.
And regardless of what happens Tuesday, we’re going to have a country to run on Wednesday.
We’re going to have neighbors.
We’re going to have communities.
We’re going to have problems that need solving.
And we’re going to need one another.
So here’s my suggestion.
Stop treating politics like a spectator sport.
Ask questions.
Listen to somebody you disagree with.
Pay attention to what your elected officials actually do.
And above all, participate.
Because democracy doesn’t work simply because politicians show up.
It works when citizens show up.
I’m John Eagleton.
And I believe it’s time we stopped being spectators and started being citizens.
But first, we show up.
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