I'm Latino, progressive and I have deep roots in the working class -- my father was a bracero, a guest farmworker and cook, and my mom worked as a nursing home laundry attendant. This month, I became the first Democrat elected to Congress since Donald Trump became president. Like every other member of Congress, my top priority will be my district. And like every other freshman, I'll have to learn the ropes. But as the newest Democrat on the Hill, I plan to do my part to help steer my party in a winning direction.
Here's what we need to do:
First, let's get past the 2016 primary. We already know what polls tell us, that Democratic voters increasingly want the party to head in a more liberal direction. But the voters I talk to aren't interested in a Bernie-or-Hillary litmus test -- if they did, I never would've been elected to Congress. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont carried my district in the primary last year but I supported Hillary Clinton from the start. Early in my campaign, media accounts cast the race as a proxy fight, but even if Democrats in the race (California has open, multiparty primaries) didn't see eye to eye on every policy question, we agreed more than we didn't.
And when it comes to pushing back on the Trump-Ryan agenda, there's too much at stake for progressives to slice and dice ourselves into different factions. This month, House Republicans voted to gut the rules for Wall Street that were put in place to protect Americans from another economic meltdown. Meanwhile, a group of 13 Republican men is meeting in secret to craft the Senate's response to the atrocious health-care bill, passed by the House, that is projected to take away health coverage from millions -- despite polling that shows only 29 percent of Americans support the House GOP bill. To stop them, Democrats have to be united.
I give credit where it is due; congressional Democrats have stuck together to oppose Republican policies that would devastate middle-class and low-income families. They haven't won every legislative battle, but we would be in worse shape without a united Democratic caucus. Democratic campaigns and candidates should take note: Our voters and the American people want strong progressive leadership. Not capitulation. But if, after two years, all we can say to voters is that we're the anti-Trump party, there's no reason to think we'll win enough congressional seats to change the calculus in Congress. Resisting isn't enough.
Next, Democrats must communicate in a way that directly appeals to people's everyday concerns. Take climate change: Progressives often default to elite-speak on this issue -- publicly debating the impact of fractional increases in temperature -- and wind up ceding the argument to Republicans. But it doesn't matter whether you're from coal country, the Rust Belt or the Sun Belt, everyone wants and deserves clean air and water.
As a California state legislator, I supported our cap-and-trade law to force polluters to pay for releasing harmful greenhouse gases to combat climate change. But I also went a step further. I fought for and passed a bill to invest at least 35 percent of the revenue from polluters into low-income neighborhoods, the places that are disproportionately affected by climate change. My aim, in other words, was to fight for equity and environmental justice in a way that would provide real, direct benefits to working families. My bill was supported by both Republicans and Democrats; by members representing both urban districts and rural districts.
[Democrats keep looking for a hero. But only small wins can save them now.]
Third, some tactical advice: Throw out the old playbook for building grass-roots support by way of town hall meetings. With town halls, elected officials force voters to come to them. Many times, the folks who show up are passionate and informed about policy. That's great, but you're not likely to reach working people who might not be able to devote their Saturday to an elected official's event, or people new to the political process who want to interact but haven't figured out how to do it.
Let's spend less time taking questions from behind podiums and more time genuinely engaging in our communities. In my four years as a state legislator, I went to dozens of nontraditional events -- everything from bird watchings to tree giveaways, neighborhood cleanups to self-defense clinics for women -- going where people are instead of asking them to come to me. It's how I learned about their struggles and how legislative decisions affected their lives.
When we get to 2018 and 2020, Democrats shouldn't have to start from scratch to tell our story. We should have a united party behind us, and we should show up ready to communicate both how we'll fight the disastrous Republican agenda and how our ideas will benefit working families.
Commentary on 06/21/2017