An Open Letter to Democrats in Congress

Michael Munson
Jul 25, 2017 · 5 min read

It’s time for you guys to fight. This doesn’t mean making statements about how you hope Republicans do the right thing as it relates to the traitorous, disastrous, dangerous, ill-gotten, criminal, dishonest Trump Presidency. This doesn’t mean saying you have no power to do anything, and going through typical motions in Congress that can be snuffed out by the majority party. No, this means fighting for real, being relentless about getting what you want, or at least stoppping what most Americans don’t, even when the minority party.

Lest you forget, the United States of America was born of an outnumbered and outgunned band of people standing up for themselves against a tyrannical power when it seemed doing so was a hapless exercise. This letter wouldn’t be being written if those people didn’t prevail. Are any one of you Democratic members of Congress going to claim the GOP controlling it today are a tougher adversary to defeat than the British Army was for American revolutionaries in the 18th Century.

The movie “12 Angry Men” is my favorite of all time because it demonstrates the power of one person to change an outcome against seemingly impossible circumstances, with just critical thinking and ideas. The film starts with a jury of 12 men meeting in a room needing to arrive at a unanimous decision to deicide the guilt or innocence of a man in a case members of the jury just heard. It’s hot and uncomfortable. Most of them haven’t thought deeply about the facts presented in the trial and want to vote guilty so they can get on with their days. The first vote is taken without much discussion and every juror but one votes guilty. Slowly over the day, the case is discussed and more votes are taken. The more the facts of the case are deliberated, the more not guilty votes there are, until by the end of the movie, a jury that started out with 11/12 jurors voting to convict an innocent man, ends with 12/12 voting not guilty, and the accused being acquitted of a crime. It was all because one man stood up against those who outnumbered him, because he believed deeply that the accused was innocent, and fighting for an innocent man was a just cause. It’s a great story about the power of persuasion, listening, delving deep into what makes people tick inside based on their own life experiences and personal biases, to change minds that seemed locked.

Scene from the movie 12 Angry Men

Breakthroughs like this only happen by talking with and listening to people. They don’t occur by shouting across the room at each other. And they certainly don’t happen without engaging in a fight for what you believe in.

Democrats, when you want something badly you must be relentless about it. This is what Vladimir Putin has done to get what he wanted. This is what Trump did to get what he wanted. It’s what Republicans do all the time. But relentless doesn’t mean you have to break laws, use strong arm tactics, and coerce to get what you want. Fighting doesn’t necessarily mean physical engagement either. As the movie demonstrates, someone who is calm and uses reason to demonstrate the validity of previously dismissed perspectives, can be quite a strong fighter and win.

So here’s a challenge for all of you. Each one of you needs to invite a Republican law maker to meet with you for coffee or lunch. If they refuse the offer or it goes unresponded to, send another invite. If it still is ignored, you go to their office and make the invitation in person. And you do this until you get a meeting. You may even invite a member of the press to help document the experience. This is the way to demonstrate how committed you are to what you want. Kill with kindness and listen. Putting aside any specific policies or ideologies, what do Republican MOCs want, for themselves, their constituents, their country? What do they fear? What are their biases and from where do they come? Let them speak. Find where you have common ground. Show empathy for their fears and what created them. This is what it takes to build trust. This is how you bend minds and set up opportunities for compromise. This is what it takes to convince someone to buy what you are selling. This is what it takes to do your job.

I’m not going to tell you what you need to convince your fellow Republican lawmaker about, that’s up to you, but we all know the elephant in the room. Even aside from that, though, you guys have a multitude of things to discuss and figure out. But you are only ever going to get anywhere and do anything constructive if you start getting to know the other side personally. It sure isn’t coming from Republicans, so you, Democrats, must be the bigger men and women. This job you have isn’t suppose to be easy and you aren’t put there to take the path of least resistance. You are expected to do whatever it takes to fight for what your constituents want, prevent what they don’t, and make compromises to make sure you deliver on some items on their list.

My personal belief is the first thing all Democrats should do is talk with Republicans about Democracy. Find out if they believe in it and want to strengthen it. If they say they support Democracy, ask them how. Find out what parts of Democracy they want to strengthen and what they want to weaken. Introduce a resolution to Congress that re-affirms its belief in Democracy and the Separation of Powers. Then use Democracy as the uniting idea and campaign principle for the Democratic Party, at every level of government. This is how you win a fight. The side with the best ideas always wins. The fact Democrats aren’t winning demonstrates they need better policy ideas, but it also means better fighting ideas, period.

If you agree, Read this.

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Entrepreneurial dot connector who points out forests for those who only see trees.

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