Democrats Find A New Voice!

by Gregg Chadwick

I'm so fucking proud of you too, @BetoORourke pic.twitter.com/JBdKB7Exl2

— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) November 7, 2018

For the first time in two years, I had a deeply restful sleep last night. After watching anti-union and anti-education Scott Walker fall to Tony Evers in Wisconsin and viewing Harley Rouda's lead over Russian stooge Dana Rohrabacher in CA  48, I felt hopeful. My painting The Future Is Woke no longer felt aspirational  - we did it! Retaking the House with a Blue Wave is the first step in restoring sanity in our nation.  After last night's powerful rebuke to the blowhard in the White House, it is clear as  Michael Scherer and Josh Dawsey write in the Washington Post that Democrats found "a new voice, with a new generation of leaders emerging and a new playbook for winning." As Barack Obama put it: "Congratulations to everybody who showed up and participated in our democracy in record numbers yesterday. The change we need won’t come from one election alone – but it is a start. Last night, voters across the country started it."

Voters elected the U.S.'s first Muslim congresswomen, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota (left)
Jared Polis in Colorado defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Walker Stapleton to become the first openly gay man elected governor in the U.S.(center)
Sharice Davids of Kansas and Debra Haaland of New Mexico, both Democrats, are the first Native American women elected to Congress. (right)
(photos by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images, Rick T. Wilking/Getty Images, Whitney Curtis AFP via NPR)

NPR reports that "record numbers of Native Americans, Muslim Americans and women, including many women of color, ran for office in 2018. A "rainbow wave" of LGBTQ candidates also sought office. And after the ballots were cast, all those groups notched notable firsts." As the father of a trans daughter, I am heartened that Massachusetts passed a transgender protection law that should inspire other states to do the same. And in Florida, Amendment 4 passed easily, restoring voting rights to 1.4 million ex-felons. 

Beto O'Rourke ran a hard fought campaign and was amazingly positive in defeat. Dare I say presidential? - "We just want to say thank you to everyone who made this possible. Everyone who made us feel hopeful, everyone who inspired us. Everyone who became the most amazing campaign we could have ever hoped to belong to. Grateful that we got to do this with you. We love you. Goodnight!"

All political races are important, including local school boards and state legislatures. Yesterday, Democrats flipped "seven state legislative chambers and 333 seats, adding 6 more trifectas (gov+both chambers), per DLCC." As Alex Seitz Wald noted on twitter: "Few ever pay attention to these races, but they’re important for redistributing and waves can be leveraged for major gains."

Adding to the good news, with the Democratic take over of the House, Eddie Bernice Johnson, a congresswoman with a STEM background as a nurse is poised to wrest the House Science committee from climate change deniers. She promises to "Restore the credibility of the Science Committee as a place where science is respected and recognized."

Last night, at least 10 candidates with backgrounds in science won seats, bolstering the House’s new ranks of science advocates. 

There's something special about a country that can welcome and allow a Somali refugee to reach Congress without having to shed her identity. https://t.co/3BBcfau5Vu

— Elizabeth Tsurkov (@Elizrael) November 7, 2018

We Won the House now let's keep going! - - We Need All Hands on Deck in 2019

Over 100 women were elected last night! 👏🏻👏🏼👏🏽👏🏾👏🏿 #RepresenHer https://t.co/KYmWLS6FME

— Miss Representation (@RepresentPledge) November 7, 2018

Bruce Springsteen - Land of Hope and Dreams

Gregg Chadwick
American River (for Greil Marcus)
24”x36” oil on linen 2016
Audis Husar Gallery, Beverly Hills

                

Bruce Springsteen has pre-released an album from his Springsteen on Broadway engagement.

His album announcement is accompanied by a first taste of his Broadway recording: an acoustic version of his train metaphor song "Land of Hope and Dreams." 
Lauren Onkey writes about the song on NPR Music:

"Land of Hope and Dreams" is the penultimate song of the Broadway show, an uplifting end to a night that features a lot of heartbreaking stories of characters — including Springsteen himself — who fall into isolation. Rooted in the gospel song "This Train" and The Impressions' 1965 gospel-soul hit "People Get Ready," "Land of Hope and Dreams" imagines a communal train where all are welcome — saints, sinners, whores, gamblers, thieves, lost souls, fools, kings, the brokenhearted — as it heads off to unknown future. It's classic Springsteen: grand, optimistic, spiritual and open-ended enough to be embraced by a big audience....
Springsteen has performed "Land of Hope and Dreams" often for benefit concerts and political rallies, including campaign stops for Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election. It seems no coincidence, then, that he's released it on the eve of the midterm elections, and into the teeth of a violent and divisive time in American life. It's an assertion that we're all in this together.

Please Watch and Then Vote! -> WILL HOGE - Gilded Walls (Official Music Video)