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After 28 years of service in Arlington County’s local government, first on the School Board and then the County Board, I have stepped into a new role and life chapter: Private Citizen. My career has equipped me with extensive experience, valuable connections, and an unwavering passion for fostering good local government in Arlington and in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia (DMV) region, an area I call home.

November 10 Blog: The Elites Had Nothing to Do With It

Dear Friends:

Is “joy scrolling” the opposite of “doom scrolling?” Whatever it is, I imagine many of us have been indulging. Tuesday was a big step for our nation…and the world. Now we have a good chance of defeating fascism here, but there is a lot of work ahead to cure the rot in our country and dig the nation out of the huge hole Trump has put us in in order to both enrich himself and help Vladimir Putin. In considering the past 2 years, the word “treason" comes frequently to mind.

The best comment I’ve heard so far about Tuesday was Nicole Wallace pointing out how the elites had nothing to do with this victory: not the big law firms and universities, nor the wealthy corporate “leaders” who all bent the knee to fascism when they could have stood up to it. And, although many Democrats worked hard and did well, a feckless Democratic Party establishment deserves little credit. Sure there are some exceptions, but by and large it was left for the lower courts and common people, some of whom died protecting their neighbors, many of whom came out in

rain, snow, heat and frigid weather on street corners, overpasses, huge demonstrations for almost two years. We The People did it. Our “leaders” failed us. The American people won on Tuesday and deserve the credit.

There were a number of moments that brought tears to my eyes the last few days, but the most moving for me was to see the "I Voted” stickers placed at the informal memorials for Alex Pretti and Renee Goode. Some day we need a memorial not just for them, but for all the people murdered by ICE. The memorials in Minneapolis were created spontaneously and decorated on Tuesday by common people, to honor common people who were uncommonly brave.

How Tuesday really happened has not been discussed enough. In all the articles I’ve read and podcasts I’ve listened to, the words "No Kings" has almost never come up. Heather Cox Richardson has been pointing out what common people have been doing, and this article by Dan Froomkinoutlines it well.

But Except for Heather, there’s been no mention that I’ve heard of the thousands of common people who have been out not only for big “No Kings” demonstrations, but also for regular protests on bridges, streets and at Tesla dealerships and ICE concentration camps. Nor have I heard much about Indivisible which did so much to organize those protests, bring people into the an organized resistance movement, and supported incredible candidates like Abdul Al-Sayed and Peggy Flanagan, Angie Nixon, Josh Turek and Sam Forstag. A number of outstanding candidates supported by Indivisible took on the Democratic establishment to win first their primaries and then the general election. They refused AIPAC and crypto money. They

It is an exciting moment, but….if we are not careful, our “leaders" will fail us again despite the incredible opportunity for real change we, the people, have just given them.

Looking forward, there is much to do. The elites will still try to take credit in some cases and, in others, make us forget how complicit they were. The Republican Party may be totally destroyed, but they hold the presidency for 2 more years. We are entering the dangerous phase when a wounded beast lashes out. Stephen Miller is now the White House Chief of Staff.

Also, the Democratic Party is experiencing long needed generational change BUT transitions are tricky and many of the old Democratic establishment are resisting change now as they did before the election. Chuck Schumer wants to be Senate Majority Leader. He’s had a good career and done many good things, but he is clearly from, and of, another time and moment.

were out-spent by multiples and some were barely supported, or even actively opposed, by the Democratic Party establishment…but they won. Again, the people did this, not the elites and supposed leaders.

Schumer is beholden to AIPAC, got steamrolled by Trump rather than fight in 2025, and is just not who is needed to stand up to this regime over the next 2 years. He’s already said he’ll keep the filibuster which is anti-democratic and blocks progressive legislation, but yet doesn’t block terrible appointments. And he’s supported by the mainstream media, which also is good in many ways, but needs to change, too, as I noted above. On the weekly Indivisible call, Ezra Levin said that Schumer is already lining up support and that in the next few days we’d be seeing articles in mainstream media saying how great Chuck Schumer is and how he deserves the credit for this incredible win. And, bingo!….when I next look at my email there is an article in the The Atlantic favorable to Schumer. Next day in the New York Times, there’s an article and a podcast supportive of Chuck Schumer. This is so what we do NOT need!

I know I am not alone in fearing the Democratic Party will “blow it.” Democrats need to show right away that things are different now.

I believe making Chuck Schumer Majority Leader in the Senate would send a terrible message. His selection is all too likely to begin the squandering of this amazing opportunity the voters have gifted the country. If you agree with me, please let your Democratic Senators know that you do not want to see Schumer back in leadership. Also, keep an eye out for the BAAJA (Bipartisan American Accountability and Jobs Act) bill in the Senate. I do not know the details of it, and I understand as of this writing it’s about to be amended before it comes up on Monday, November 9th, but it eases regulations on energy infrastructure projects which, with the current Congress is simply not to be trusted. We need to stay vigilant these next two months to prevent as much as possible from being slipped through before next year. I wish I trusted all our Democratic Senators and Congressman to see to this….but I don’t. If they think people are watching, they are much more likely to do the right thing. Anything that is good now, will be fine in January and can be passed then.

We’re easing up on our presence on the bridge, but will be out for Veterans Day. Originally we’d planned to say HONOR VETS IMPEACH HEGSETH, but it looks like Hegseth will not last long anyway. Therefore we’ll likely say HONOR VETS END IRAN WAR which is another of the things that can and should be done during this lame duck Congress.

As always, I hope this blog has been helpful and I welcome comments and reactions. I hope you’ve been able to get outside lately. The weather has been gorgeous. It feels like nature is celebrating with us for a while. If you did anything to help fight fascism these past 2 years (and I bet every one of my readers did): Job well done!

Yours in peaceful resistance,

Libby