Defeating Trump is priority #1, but it is not the only task for our progressive movement

As I’m sure you are aware, this is not a normal election.

It is not a normal election when we are running against someone who is a pathological liar.

It is not a normal election when we are running against someone who has been convicted of 34 felonies.

It is not a normal election when our opponent is a convicted sexual abuser and, as a private businessman, was involved in 4,000 lawsuits — indicating a total lack of trustworthiness.

But it’s even worse than that.

When Donald Trump claims that “nobody” showed up at a 10,000 person Harris-Walz rally in Michigan that was livestreamed and widely covered by the media, that it was all AI, and that Democrats cheat all of the time, there is a method to his madness.

Clearly, and dangerously, what Trump is doing is undermining American democracy and laying the groundwork for rejecting the election results if he loses.

There will be limited progress on these issues or any others that the working people of this country care about unless we continue to elect a growing number of progressives to Congress this November.

If you can convince your supporters that thousands of people who attended a televised rally do not exist, it will not be hard to convince them that the election returns in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and elsewhere are “fake” and “fraudulent.”

It should be a secret to no one. Trump’s goal is to destroy faith in American institutions and the rule of law and move us toward an authoritarian society.

But it’s not just Trump’s dishonesty and authoritarianism that must be defeated.

We cannot elect someone who believes that, in the year 2024, women do not have the right to control their own bodies. For the sake of our kids and future generations we cannot elect someone who believes that climate change is a “hoax.”

This is why we must do everything we can to see that Trump is defeated and Kamala Harris is our next president.

But we must do more, much more.

Not only do we have to defeat Trump, but we must build a strong grassroots movement that can confront the extraordinary greed of the big money interests who have so much power over the economic and political life of our country. I know that it’s not fashionable to talk about in the corporate media or the halls of Congress, but we are rapidly moving toward an oligarchic form of society with unprecedented income and wealth inequality. We must change that. Our goal must be to end an absurd situation in which three people own more wealth than the bottom half of our society, and create a nation and government that works for all — not just the few.

Yes. We need to overturn the disastrous Supreme Court decision on Citizens United and move toward public funding of elections. Billionaires should not be able to buy elections.

Yes. We need to join the rest of the industrialized world and guarantee healthcare to all as a human right, not a privilege. Every American should be able to see a doctor when they need to.

Yes. We need to raise the minimum wage to a living wage and make it easier for workers to join unions. Sixty percent of our people should not be living paycheck to paycheck.

Yes. We need to address the unprecedented level of income and wealth inequality and demand that the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes. Working people should not be paying an effective tax rate higher than the 1%.

Yes. We need to build millions of units of low-income and affordable housing and cap rent increases. In America, 600,000 people should not be homeless.

Yes. We need to end the absurdity of having the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country, make a strong child tax credit permanent and invest heavily in childcare.

Yes. We need to increase Social Security benefits and extend the solvency of the program by lifting the cap on taxable income.

Yes. We must strengthen public education in America, pay teachers the salaries they deserve and make sure that every person, regardless of income, receives the higher education they need to pursue their dreams.

Bottom line. We are living in a pivotal moment in American history. In the next three months let us roll up our sleeves, come together and do the hard work that has to be done in order to defeat Trump and elect Kamala Harris as president.

And let us also understand that there will be limited progress on these issues or any others that the working people of this country care about unless we continue to elect a growing number of progressives to Congress this November.

Those are the things I have been working on this election. That’s why I have been on the road and done some great events in Minnesota, Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere — and that is what I will continue doing through Election Day.

Our task is clear. In the next 81 days let us do all that we can to help the Harris-Walz ticket win a major victory. And, on the day following that win, let us continue our struggle to transform our country and create the kind of nation we know we can become.