Our take: fight back, now more than ever

Emailed to our e-action list on Wednesday, Nov 10 at 10 am.Dear friends,Holy election night.Like you, we’re stunned. A lot changed last night.But, here’s one thing that will never change: We are a fight-back organization – rooted in love, righteous anger, and action.We’re not going to sit on the sidelines. We care too much about each other and the future of our people and planet. We will not be complicit in hate and division. We know that we all do better, when we all do better. The work we do together is more important than ever.Here’s our take on what happened:

• Populism won big. But it’s a deeply misguided and unsettling populism based in fear and hate.

• The Democratic Party lost big. They failed to act on issues that matter to everyday people.
• There’s been a sea change at the Iowa Statehouse. That’s a huge challenge on the issues we fight for. But we’ll keep fighting. We need you with us.

• Misogyny, racism, homophobia, and ableism are deep-seated problems to be dealt with. Trump created a hostile climate for immigrants, women, and people of color in our communities. We need to stand with them.

• The anti-establishment sentiment on both sides was loud and clear throughout the whole election cycle. People are turned off, tuned out, and feel betrayed by “business as usual” politics. That’s why we supported Bernie Sanders in the caucuses and why we are committed to building people-powered politics in Iowa. It’s time to do politics differently.

• The way forward is clear. Four states voted to increase the minimum wage and several more voted to get big money out of politics. Movement candidates who think like us and act like us bucked the trend and won. If there's a silver lining this is it. We want to see more of this.

We’re going to fight for what we need to make our community more just, democratic and fair. We are going to stand up for each other. We need to be louder than ever. We need you with us and we need to invite more people in.The Trump fight-back starts today. As we type this, high school students in Des Moines are walking out to say NO to division and hate. We’re going to join them.Shoot us a line, we want to know your thoughts.In love and solidarity,Hugh Espey,Executive Director