LGBTQ elder voices matter now more than ever

Democrats can win if they pledge solidarity. Wisconsin showed it’s possible. Solidarity doesn’t mean there aren’t primaries and debates. What it means is everyone pledges to support the winner of the Democratic primary. The midterm elections will be local elections. Democratic candidates must do whatever they can, often highlighting different issues, to get their voters to the polls. For my support in the general election, a candidate must pledge their first vote to elect Democratic leaders, whether in the statehouse, or Congress. 

It’s been clear for many years what the goals of the Democratic Party are. That doesn’t mean every Democrat is for everything the party espouses. That is what comes from having a ‘Big Tent.’ The party stands for: equality, gun control, raising taxes on the wealthy, and working to ameliorate climate change. It stands for choice, passing the ERA and Equality Act, fair immigration laws, being part of NATO, and the World Health Organization. The party supports raising the minimum wage, strong Medicare and Medicaid, robust Social Security, unions, and working toward a two-state solution in the Middle East. The party supports Ukraine remaining a free nation, fair trade policies, and making sure we have three equal branches of government; legislative, executive, and judicial, to ensure a vibrant system of checks and balances. The Republican Party, which today is Donald Trump’s MAGA party, paid for by his Nazi sympathizing co-president, Elon Musk, has clearly shown they believe in none of this.

So, my serious question to those Democrats and independents, who write and shout for one reason or another, “I will never again support a Democrat,” or those who believe in these Democratic Party values but then stay home and don’t vote: What is it you are looking for? Help me, and others, to understand. With this wide schism in values between the two parties, and the reality is except for a couple of rare districts, there are only two parties that can actually win a general election, what do you think you can accomplish by your actions, or lack of action? I am at a loss. So again, please help me understand.

I was brought up on institutional politics. I believe more strongly than ever in the Democratic Party. Do our leaders do everything right? No. Do they sometimes get me mad? YES! Should some of them retire and let younger people get elected, definitely YES! But despite all of this, the schism in values is so wide, the thought of continued domination by the MAGA Republican Party is so frightening, I believe we will not have a democracy left to fight for if we don’t stand together, and defeat them. 

We lost this past election and are stuck with President Felon, and his co-president, the Nazi sympathizing megalomaniac, Musk. We lost for a host of reasons, a big one is our voters either stayed home, voted for a third party, or some even for Republicans, to register their displeasure. Whatever the reason, they created this frightening reality we face today. 

I have a difficult time trying to understand how others don’t see this. Or if they do, why some still don’t want to join hands, to do something about it. That is my problem, and a huge problem for the Democratic Party. The question is, how do we reach those people who often say they share the Democratic Party’s values, but don’t come out to vote in huge numbers to help change things, or at the minimum, stop Trump/Musk, and what they are doing to destroy our country?

In 2024, Trump won 77,284,118 votes, or 49.8 percent of the votes cast for president. Trump won 3,059,799 more popular votes than he won in 2020. Kamala Harris won 74,999,166 votes or 48.3 percent of the votes cast. That was 6,285,500 fewer popular votes than Biden won in 2020. So had even half of those voters come out for Harris, she might have won. So those who didn’t vote for the Democrat in 2024, where do they see the country going? What is it they want? Will anything get them to vote for Democrats in the future? In 2024, 116,000 changed votes, out of over 15 million cast in three states — 40,000 in Michigan, 61,000 in Pennsylvania, and 15,000 in Wisconsin — would have changed the election.  

I hear Democrats attacking the party for not fighting back. They then follow that up with “I will never vote for Democrats again!” So, again, my question is “who is it they will vote for?” Some say they want younger people to lead the party. I agree with that. I have written there should be age limits, and term limits. I don’t like that nearly 60 out of 100 senators are over 70. Many over 80. They are in both parties. It is time to stop asking young voters to vote for their grandparents, or even great-grandparents. 

But then my question to those who complain is, “what are you going to do about it?” Seems to me unless you vote, it won’t change. I think to get the younger people you want as leaders in the future, you have to work to elect them. First, encourage the people you want to run for office. When they agree, you will then have to volunteer in their campaigns, donate money if you can, and come out and vote for them. In my mind, learned in old line institutional politics, that is the way you get change.

I recently saw a post on Facebook, “sign a petition to not give any money to Democrats until Schumer (D-NY) resigns as Senate minority leader.” I am not sure what that person expects to happen, and how not giving to Democrats doesn’t play directly into the hands of Musk and Trump. Knowledge of the system, means you understand the leaders of the party in the Senate are elected by their caucus. What happens if you don’t like the Democratic caucus’s choice to replace Schumer? 

For me, again an older guy brought up on institutional politics, and having political science and public administration degrees, I have a hard time understanding young people today thinking they can get instant change in politics. We do not have a king or dictator, even though Trump thinks he is one, and whose heroes are Putin and Xi Jinping. The instant change he is trying for isn’t progress, but as we see, moving backwards. Is that what we want? Our Constitution is written, and our government is set up, so change, moving forward towards progress, is incremental. It takes time. Whether it’s progress in women’s rights, the rights of the LGBTQ community, the disability community, civil rights, or ameliorating climate change; it takes time. I know that’s incredibly frustrating. But to see progress one must stick with it. 

Over all the years I have voted, never have I voted for a perfect candidate. Perfect candidates, like perfect people, don’t exist. Is that what young people are looking for?  I don’t know, but I think the Democratic Party, and its local candidates, need to find out what it will take to get people out to vote, and vote for them.  

My thoughts are the 2025 and 2026 elections will be determined at the local level. From school board, to county council, from statehouse, to Congress. The debates, and fight for votes, will be on the ground. I believe as we move forward, the wins will come from the ground up, not the top down. It will be up to those over six million who didn’t vote for Harris in 2024, to decide if they will come out for Democrats locally in 2025 and 2026. If they do, we will win like we did in Wisconsin. If they don’t, we may actually lose our democracy. 

Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist.