Thinking about...

We are now deep into “Now We Act,” a series of live, unscripted conversations with Democratic legislators, who will soon enjoy decisive majorities in both houses of the United States Congress.

These conversations, like the one I am releasing now with Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, take place thanks to the generosity and patience of the lawmakers themselves, who are willing to engage in impromptu exchanges about some fundamental questions, and to listen to my views as well as expressing theirs.

I’d like to explain why I initiated these.

As those of you who have been around me on my American journeys these last six months or so know, I have been confident that the opposition party, the Democrats, would win a big victory in the midterms. I was worried about attempts by Trump allies to disrupt the elections, and am thankful for the efforts of organizers and lawyers around the country that — along with the size of the Democratic victory — made that impossible.

My greater concern all along has been that Democrats might fail to transform a huge electoral victory into rapid and meaningful change.

I believe that voters have given Democrats a chance, and that Democrats have to take that chance, quickly, radically, demonstratively, showing concern for the daily difficulties people face, and getting on the right side of the issue of corruption. Affordability and accountability are connected, as Americans now understand: you can’t get to the underlying economic issues that have made life unaffordable without breaking the hold of corruption and addressing inequality.

Americans think that the system is broken — and they are right — but they also think that Trump is far, far more corrupt than the system — and there they are also right. This is what gives Democrats their once-in-a-lifetime chance: to show that they are better than they have been, to show that they are better than the system, to show that the system can be changed.

And it can be — that was the message today from Senator Chris Van Hollen. People have “invested hope” in the Democrats, he said, but they need “to follow through” on health care, data centers, and money in politics.

If Democrats don’t — and this is my feeling now — they will quickly lose credibility, and could even collapse as a political party. Their historical success in these elections arose from the hard work of organizers and candidates and the decisions of voters, but it was enabled by a certain historical moment. As Shakespeare has Brutus say in Julius Caesar: “There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.” My personal sense is that the Democrats have about six months before that tide goes out again. The task is to establish that that they are the party that wants money out of politics and back into citizens’ pockets.

I very much appreciated the combination of clear judgement and radical aims demonstrated by Senator Van Hollen in our conversation. We talked about the methods of authoritarians, the need to break normalization, the meaning of the freedom of speech, and the need to see the connections between the abuses of rights and the decline in good opportunities for all of us.

It is also worth pondering what Senator Van Hollen has to say about new members and leadership in the Senate at the end of our conversation: “We should not have a coronation.” “I’m listening now to people who are demanding change.” “The new members have demanded change.”

These “Now We Act” conversations are freely available to everyone. If you are a subscriber to this substack you will be notified by email when each new live conversation is broadcast and when each recording is released. If you are a paid subscriber you can leave questions in the comments; I will try to bring them up in future sessions. Feel free to share these recordings with others who might be interested.

I had four other live conversations with Senators on Monday November 9th (Senators Blumenthal, Baldwin, Kelly, and Kim); I will be posting those recordings each morning this week.

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Senator Tina Smith graciously met with me in Minneapolis just before the election, and just as graciously agree to take part in our first day of conversations with elected officials about how an election becomes a transformation. If you the system is rigged and you lose, you cannot unrig it; if it is rigged and you win anyway, then you have the chance to unrig it. I appreciated her frankness about the need to attend to issues of oligarchy and to listen to the “plea for big bold actions” and formulate a “populist antidote.” Now, she says, “we have to show that we are not just kidding around.” I certainly agree that failure to do this would give authoritarianism its best chance and I appreciated the Senator’s clarity on this point. Senator Smith was also clear on the point that citizens understand that Trump’s corruption is “costing you money”; and that therefore accountability and affordability are connected. It was also a pleasure to acknowledge the special role of Minnesotans took risks to give us the chance to get to this moment. I hope you enjoy this — and will tune in Monday when we continue these conversations with six more US Senators.

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Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire generously joined me on the first day of our new series Now We Act. She defines the large group of new Senators and Representatives as a “coalition of patriots” and speaks to the sense among voters that something essentially un-American was happening under “this corrupt” and “historically failed” president. This leads us to an essential conversation about the relationship between the extravagant corruption of the current administration and possible remedies. Senator Hassan also makes the interesting point that a difference between autocracies (her example is Russia) and democracies is responsiveness. (Which was a theme I was happy to pick up!) I appreciated as well her description of the effect of outside money and dark money and “mass communication strategies that are very opaque.” Everyone I spoke to on Friday agreed that we need radical campaign finance reform; here as elsewhere I appreciated the Senator’s patience as I gave my view of the Supreme Court’s (or its majority’s) misunderstanding of freedom of speech. We touched on some other fundamental issues, including the taxation of the wealthy and the future of Homeland Security and ICE. I hope you find this useful and will tune in Monday as I continue these conversations with half a dozen more US Senators.

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Representative Greg Casar of Austin joined me Friday for an energetic conversation that begins with the extraordinary turn in Texas politics. He and others have admirably agreed to unscripted conversations and to listening to my very long questions! The reason I am setting up the big questions is that I think Democrats have an open window, but one that will close in about six months. And that the twin issues of affordability and accountability are really one issue. Congressman Casar right off the bat has several interesting ideas here and affirms the point that Democrats have to move quickly. On campaign finance, he starts from the very sound view that the Supreme Court should not have been legislating the issue of money in the politics in the first place, and explains how the legislative process could work. And I also love the idea of using all of the next hundred weeks to pass ambitious legislation. For this and other reasons I hope you will take the chance to get to know Greg Casar, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

These conversations will continue on Monday with six US Senators on the list. They are available to everyone. If you are subscribed, you will get an email when each live conversation starts. If you are a paid subscriber, feel free to leave some questions for lawmakers in the comments, and I will try to work some of them in.

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“My head hurts from smiling,” says Representative Dean, recalling her work with other candidates in Pennsylvania and around the country. She kindly mentioned “On Tyranny,” which led us into a conversation about who has resisted, organized, and opened the door to major change, and what comes next. “We just elected diverse, qualified candidates, people color, people of different faiths,” a huge new class in the House of Representatives. Representative Dean mentions both “affordability and accountability,” which for me are essentially the same issue: you can’t get to kitchen-table issues without going through corruption. Representative Dean speaks at length about getting back the centrality of Congressional power, the power to make laws and “the power of the purse,” which is of course essential.

These conversations will continue on Monday, with six US Senators. They are available to everyone. If you are a subscriber, you will get an email notification. If you are a paid subscriber, feel free to leave questions below, and I will try to work them in.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe

Seth Magaziner, Congressman of Rhode Island, agreed to be the very first person to join our new series here called Now We Act. We test the idea that the elections open a window: voters (including people who chose not to vote) see corruption as central, and are waiting to see whether Democrats can get on the right side of this issue. Representative Magaziner sees the Democrats as having a mandate rather than a pat on the pat, and sets the tone for the conversations that followed all day Friday and will continue on Monday. He speaks of a “broader pay-to-play culture” and the need to get money out of campaigns and a “comprehensive set of ethics reforms” as well as getting dark money out of politics and a “much more progressive tax system.” And: “Elon Mush is due” to testify before Congress. Again I want to thank Seth Magaziner and others for agreeing to unscripted conversations on basic subjects — it’s a good sign when our elected representatives are willing to do this.

These live conversations continue on Monday with six US senators. If you subscribe you will get an email notice when each one starts; if you are a paid subscriber you can leave questions below and I will try to integrate them into future conversations. These live sessions are available to everyone.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe

Friends, I am doing some new live sessions here with Democratic Congresswomen, Congressmen, and Senators under the heading “Now We Act.” The central issue is how we get from change in the legislature to change in life. I have some ideas about this, which these elected officials are kindly willing to hear and discuss. I want to give credit to everyone who has joined these conversations: they are unscripted and free-flowing, and I think all the more interesting for that reason - and not every politician will agree to do such a thing! I am sharing first this recording of a terrific conversation with Rep. Ro Khanna of California, which goes deep into some basic questions of wealth and governance, and conveys very clearly his worldview and his ideas about a better future. And it was fun! Please share this with anyone who is interested. These conversations are available to all. There were five others yesterday the recordings of which I will share over the weekend, and there will be six new live conversations, all with Senators, on Monday November 9th (schedule below). If you are a paid subscriber, feel free to leave comments below, and I will work some of them in to future conversations with lawmakers.

Monday’s schedule, as it looks today:

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An election-day conversation with Jess Craven about what it means to win, what to do with power, and how to experience victory. The central theme in both policy and politics: to get to affordability you have to go through corruption. The opposition, once they gain power, will have a once-in-a-lifetime change to address the issue of money in elections, inequality, and the self-dealing of the presidential clans. May this be relevant and useful! Please share with others who might be interested or want to be engaged.

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On a little tour of the Midwest, and very happy to stop to tap the mind of the great Michael Podhorzer on the larger meaning of these midterms and on what must come next. Please have a look and a listen and share!

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What to expect on election day, what to do about it, and what comes after the opposition wins a big victory?

The big story right now is that the opposition party, the Democrats, has the chance for a decisive victory that creates conditions for the systemic change this country badly needs.

Of course the Trump regime will try to halt this. That is absolutely normal in such historical conditions. And they can be made to fail. And can be mocked.

A big enough margin will deter people from cheating for the losing side. And adherence to the rule of law means punishment for those who break the law in elections. Every gambit that cannot be deterred can be defeated.

After victory, the new majority should move quickly to signal that it is the party that opposes money in politics, that fights corruption, that will work for economic justice. This would be a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Glenn and I work through all of this. I hope you enjoy watching and listening. Please share with those who will be interested.

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit snyder.substack.com/subscribe