“The 2017 victories go far beyond these important governorship wins [in Va. and NJ] into small towns, large towns and states in the south and north where we have numerous ‘firsts’ of  transgender, lesbian, Latin, Sikh, Vietnamese, Sudanese, Liberian, black females/males, and white women being elected in countless leading political positions. Congratulations America! If there is anything encouraging in America since the presidential election last year it has to be this recent 2017 election cycle.”

-Heather Gray, Nov. 9 Justice Initiative column

November 7 was a very big day for liberals, progressives and revolutionaries. All over the country Trump and Trumpism were repudiated at the ballot box. The possibility of the Republicans losing one or more houses of Congress a year from now is very real.

Such an outcome won’t be “the revolution,” that’s for sure. But it would be a critical development, make it much more difficult for Trump, if he’s still in office then, or Pence and the Republicans to achieve anything significant in 2019 and 2020. It would also set the stage for the needed political battle within the Democratic Party over its future direction heading toward November, 2020.

That battle should be a top priority for all progressives. It is key to weakening Trumpism and building the mass popular movement for the transformational change urgently needed.

The progressive wing of the Democratic Party was strengthened by the November 7th election outcomes, by and large. Various reports indicate, as Heather Gray writes above, that this was not a typical set of Democratic Party victories. It is clear that the mass movement which the Bernie Sanders campaign brought together has not dissipated but is continuing to make its presence felt both in the streets and in the voting booths, through a mix of different organizations and efforts.