Let’s Beat Our 3 Real Opponents

Donald Trump is an abscess, a blowhard, and a clown—as Hillary Clinton proved Monday night--but he is, above all else, a distraction.

Here are our three real opponents in 2016:

1. Climate change: I know the Republican nominee says it is a myth circulated by the Chinese, but we face no larger threat as a civilization than the radical destabilization of the climate and our ecosystem by ceaseless carbon emissions. Can we break from the carbon economy and invest in renewable energy, biodiversity, and a sustainable economy?

2. Neglect of our physical, economic, educational and social Infrastructure: The bridges are falling down; the Metro is still unreliable and unsafe; our highways and roads are decaying; the water systems are ailing and dangerous; the port systems are compromised; cybersecurity is shaky; college is increasingly unaffordable; and our churches, synagogues, nightclubs, movie theaters, and schools are sitting ducks for the depraved and deranged because the NRA and its allies have been blocking common-sense gun safety measures. Can we get past the right-wing economics of public disinvestment and austerity by overcome the politics of division and paranoia to reinvest seriously in America?  We need a Green Deal for America’s future.

3. Gerrymandering and Citizens United: In 2012, Democratic candidates collected more than 1.4 million votes more than Republicans did in U.S. House elections across America, but they ended up with 33 more seats than we did.  That’s because they controlled the vast majority of state legislatures and continued to gerrymander the national Democratic majority into oblivion. Gerrymandering is now the linchpin of Republican power in America. Meantime, the uncontrolled spending by tycoons and CEOs made possible in the age of Citizens United tilts both our politics and our public policy towards plutocracy. And who protects gerrymandering and cash government? The Roberts Supreme Court where 5 conservative Justices slap down efforts at environmental, redistricting and campaign finance reform.

Enough. We need to break the dysfunctional politics that promotes a corrupt bully and clown like Donald Trump instead of addressing the real challenges of our time. I want to be a leader for dramatic change in America's political conversation.

I am spending every spare minute organizing for a Democratic landslide--from the White House to the people’s House. Will you join me now?