Five-minute political commentary | November 8, 2026
I read a fascinating article this morning about Keisha Lance Bottoms, the newly elected governor of Georgia.
Now, this is an extraordinary story.
The day before the election, Bottoms visited a cemetery in rural Georgia, where her great-great-grandmother is buried.
Her ancestors were enslaved in that very state.
And now, generations later, she’s about to become the first Black female governor in the history of the United States.
Think about that for a minute.
From slavery to the governor’s mansion.
That’s not just political history. That’s American history.
And I think it’s absolutely wonderful.
But what really caught my attention wasn’t the historic victory.
It was something Bottoms said afterward.
She understands that winning an election isn’t enough.
You actually have to accomplish something.
What a revolutionary concept!
Apparently, somewhere along the way, American politicians forgot that getting elected is supposed to be the beginning of the job, not the accomplishment.
We’ve turned elections into sporting events.
The Democrats win! The Republicans lose!
Everybody celebrates, somebody cries, somebody demands a recount, and the consultants start planning the next election.
Meanwhile, the American people are standing there saying:
“Excuse me. Can somebody do something about the price of fucking groceries?”
And that brings me to the 2026 midterms.
The Democrats just had an extraordinary election.
But I think they’d better be very careful about what they think happened.
Because here’s my interpretation.
A lot of people didn’t vote for Democrats because they suddenly fell in love with the Democratic Party.
They voted for Democrats because they were fed up with the Republicans.
That’s an enormous distinction.
It’s like going to a restaurant, ordering a steak, discovering it’s terrible, and sending it back.
That doesn’t mean you’re suddenly in love with the chicken.
It means the steak sucked!
And now the chicken had better be pretty damn good.
So here’s my message to the Democratic Party.
Don’t confuse rejection of your opponent with unconditional approval of your agenda.
You’ve been given an opportunity.
Now do something with it.
And the first thing I’d suggest?
Widen the damn tent!
Stop treating politics like a private country club where everybody has to agree on every issue before they’re allowed through the front door.
There are millions of Americans who don’t identify with either political party.
I’m one of them.
And I’ve spent months interviewing people in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Young people. Old people. Black people. White people. Business owners. Bartenders. Students. Retirees.
And you know what I’ve discovered?
People have a hell of a lot more in common than our political system would have us believe.
They want affordable housing.
They want decent healthcare.
They want good schools.
They want safe neighborhoods.
They want an opportunity to make a living.
And they’d really appreciate it if their government would stop acting like a dysfunctional family at Thanksgiving.
So here’s an idea.
Instead of asking Americans whether they’re Democrats or Republicans, why don’t we ask them what they need?
And then listen to the answers!
That’s what Keisha Lance Bottoms seems to understand.
And that’s what the Democratic Party needs to embrace.
Not everybody who disagrees with you is your enemy.
Not every Republican is a Trump supporter.
Not every independent is secretly waiting to become a Democrat.
And not every Democrat agrees with the national party leadership.
That’s America!
We’re 340 million people with 340 million different opinions.
Good luck getting everybody to agree on anything.
Hell, I live alone, and sometimes I can’t even get a unanimous vote in my own house!
But there are things we can agree on.
And I’d start with the cost of living.
People need relief.
Not another congressional study.
Not another 600-page proposal that nobody reads.
Actual relief.
For example, let’s look at gasoline taxes.
The federal gasoline tax is 18.4 cents per gallon.
Why not consider suspending it temporarily while developing a responsible way to replace the highway funding?
Would that solve inflation?
Of course not.
But it would be something tangible.
Something people could see.
And then let’s tackle the much bigger issue.
End the war in Iran.
Bring both parties together.
Use Congress’s constitutional authority.
Demand serious negotiations toward a ceasefire.
Because wars aren’t just expensive in terms of lives lost.
They’re expensive in terms of everything.
Energy. Transportation. Manufacturing. Food.
And every American family eventually feels those costs.
Now, ending the war isn’t as simple as passing a resolution. The president has constitutional powers, Congress has its own powers, and Iran has a say in any negotiated settlement.
But that’s precisely why our elected representatives need to work together.
And here’s the important part.
These aren’t Democratic ideas.
They’re not Republican ideas.
They’re American priorities.
Of course, there are legitimate disagreements about how to accomplish them.
That’s what Congress is supposed to work out.
Compromise isn’t surrender.
It’s how representative government functions.
And I don’t particularly care who gets the credit.
If a Republican introduces a good idea, Democrats ought to support it.
If a Democrat introduces a good idea, Republicans ought to support it.
I know. I know.
I’m describing a system of government so radical that we might have to give it a name.
How about…
Democracy?
Now, there’s another thing Democrats need to understand.
The next two years cannot become one endless argument with Donald Trump.
Yes, Congress has a responsibility to provide oversight.
Yes, the president must operate within the law.
And yes, Stephen Miller’s new role in the White House raises important questions about how aggressively the administration intends to use executive authority.
But congressional oversight and actually governing are not mutually exclusive.
You can walk and chew gum at the same time.
At least, I hope our elected representatives can.
Although, having watched Congress for the last several years, I’m beginning to have my doubts.
Here’s what I’d like to see.
A Congress that identifies the five most pressing problems facing Americans.
A Congress that invites members of both parties to develop solutions.
A Congress that holds public hearings where ordinary citizens get to speak.
And a Congress that measures success not by how many political opponents it embarrasses, but by how many people’s lives it improves.
Because the American people are tired of being spectators.
They want to participate.
They want to be heard.
And most importantly, they want results.
Which brings me back to Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Her election represents an extraordinary chapter in American history.
A woman whose ancestors were enslaved in Georgia will now govern that state.
That deserves recognition.
But imagine something even more extraordinary.
Imagine that four years from now, the people of Georgia aren’t just celebrating the fact that she made history.
They’re celebrating the fact that their lives got better.
Their children received a better education.
Their healthcare became more accessible.
Their communities became stronger.
Their economic opportunities expanded.
Now THAT would be a legacy.
And it’s the same standard we should apply to every elected official in America.
Republican. Democrat. Independent.
I don’t care.
Don’t tell me what party you belong to.
Tell me what you’re going to accomplish.
And then show me.
Because the Democrats won an election.
They haven’t won the confidence of the American people forever.
That has to be earned.
Every single day.
And if they want to build a lasting coalition, they need to stop thinking about how to make the Democratic Party bigger.
They need to start thinking about how to make America work better for everybody.
Because ultimately, that’s what widening the tent really means.
Not convincing everybody to become a Democrat.
It’s convincing everybody that their government belongs to them.
And that their participation matters.
That’s how you turn spectators into citizens.
But first…
We show up.
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