Senator-elect James Talarico swept Texas on a platform of love. Credit: Reuters
It’s the values, stupid
The conventional wisdom going into election day was that a “red undertow” would drive the Democrats to victory – not a blue wave. Democrats lacked any coherent policy position or vision to vote for, the argument goes. Instead, Americans voted against high gas prices, data centers run amok, and Trump’s billion-dollar-a-day war of choice.
And it’s true – they did vote against those things. But here’s what that analysis misses: At some point, policies and positions become greater than the sum of their parts and it’s the values behind them that are actually on the ballot.
On November 3, people showed up for Democratic values. Because those are the core American values that most of us – with the exception of thieving crony capitalists – love with every fiber of our red, white, and blue beings.
The Republicans gave us selfishness, injustice, and cruelty:
$75 billion redirected from food stamps to ICE
“I love the inflation”
Denigrating a gubernatorial candidate who was raped as a child
“Accidentally” removing 15,000 voters from the rolls in Mississippi
After ignoring corruption in the first Trump term, corruption became the #2 reason after affordability that people voted blue in 2026, according to polls.
People weren’t as bothered by corruption when it felt more theoretical. But this time we have the one-two punch of financial injury and moral injury.
When we’ve been robbed of even basic wellbeing while billionaires become richer, we can feel in our bones how wrong that is.
When we see ICE agents regularly brutalizing our hard-working neighbors, our hearts ache.
Just last year, moral injury was officially recognized by the American Psychiatric Association as a mental health condition, defined as “psychological harm incurred from committing, witnessing, or being subject to actions that violate one’s moral code.”
The “red undertow” diagnosis ignores the emotional anguish Americans have endured these last two years as a natural human response to Trumpian immorality.
Did the red undertow have an effect? Sure it did. But I contend that it’s Americans’ flight to decency and fairness that turned a blue wave into a bluenami of epic proportions.
So. Where do we go from here?
One of the most exciting things about the midterms was the rise of so many diverse, exciting new personalities on the national stage, each of whom embodies fairness and decency in their own way.
Shout-out to progressive Christian seminarian James Talarico who won Texas on a platform of love – actual love! Talk about moral extremism — in the best possible way.
I’m not suggesting the Dems embrace this messaging; Talarico’s love platform would seem weird and forced coming from most people. But Americans just elected whip-smart physicians, scientists, military veterans, nurses, DAs, and others who have their own stories and their own take on values.
In contrast with the centralized megaphone of a certain autocratic president, this diversity of voices is something that can fill our big tent and make it stronger.
One final thought: I believe the unsung heroes of fairness and decency this election are the grassroots organizers who made it their mission to connect with marginalized voters around the U.S.
Talarico credited one such group, the Texas Organizing Project, in his victory speech.
While Elon Musk spent nearly half a billion dollars on fear-mongering ads, people from groups like the Movement Voter Project, Indivisible, and Seed the Vote were having hundreds of thousands of respectful, face-to-face conversations on front porches across the country.
These folks walked the walk of fairness and decency by taking the time to educate their fellow Americans on the issues, help people vote, and generally lift up those who too often fall through the cracks of the electoral machine. It’s a good medium and a good message. And pretty darned effective, as it turns out.
Trump’s moral corruption will continue to be a useful foil for values-driven Democrats over the next two years. And then — and then! Let’s see what our values-driven big tent can accomplish in 2028 and beyond.
