As someone who normally relies on the written word as the tool that never fails, I have found myself tongue-tied this week. So, I’ll fall back on the words of Kamala Harris and other strong voices in the Democratic Party.

“Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars,” Kamala said as she wrapped up her (choke) concession speech.

“I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time, and for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here's the thing, America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion of stars.”

The Dark

Like so many of us, I came home late last Tuesday night on a big Blue high from all the fanfare and camaraderie at our election party in Fairhope. Like so many of us, I will never forget the moment it hit me that this was not going to end well. For me, the bitter epiphany came when I saw former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill choking back tears on the MSNBC election night panel. Each person has their own horrible moment.

That’s when I knew that all of our calling, all of our door knocking; all of our chanting of “when we fight, we win,” on the street corner; all of our buying of pens imprinted with “we won’t go back,” and shopping bags that say “winning in 2024” - it had all come to this. Our fellow Americans had chosen the Dictator for a Day.

That’s the dark.

I am not ashamed to tell you that it was late last week before I poked my head out from under the covers. It’s easy to admit because I know I was in very good company.

The Stars

But when I finally found the fortitude to pick up my phone, I saw an unprecedented number of approval requests for our Baldwin County Democrats Facebook page. I saw nearly as many new signups for our newsletter and for new volunteers. And it’s been the same story all week long.

You are the stars.

Baldwin County worked hard to help elect Shomari Figures. He won in a new district created only after a series of hard-fought court battles. Baldwin County was part of Figures’ strong ground game that defeated a billionaire opponent. So, when we fought, we won that one.

Tom Holmes stepped up to be the Democrat on the Baldwin County ballot in his bid for US Congress in District 1 - even as he weathered the passing of his son. This is the kind of bravery we are going to seek as we move into the new year and embrace our renewed commitment to fielding local candidates and raising money to support their campaigns for city councils, school boards, county seats and state representatives.

Brand new Baldwin Democrats are organizing themselves to set up regional support groups and meet-ups. These are the kind of team members we are going to count on as our party swells on pace with Baldwin County’s population itself. Our membership topped 2,000 last month. We added nearly 300 new members this year and more are joining us every single day. We’ll need lots of self-starters to get all the work done.

The Light Forward is Local

Our political focus going into 2025 will switch to local issues and races. Shomari Figures was out ahead of that. His focus on local Alabama issues like healthcare and rural hospital closings, jobs, childcare and local economy is what lifted him to victory, he said on MSNBC’s The Weekend Sunday.

“The focus on local culture, local history, local knowledge of what’s happening in your community” and not “playing into national issues” is the tactic that is taking him to Congress, he said.

Another of my favorite public servants, State Rep Justin Jones of Tennessee, points to Shaundelle Brooks, the mother of a gun violence victim, who won a state rep seat on a gun control platform in a state that is nearly as Red as Alabama.

"People closest to the pain can tap into our power,” Jones said.

This is not a time to throw up our hands, Kamala said.

“This is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, to mobilize, and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together.”

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Let’s see some stars come out tomorrow by showing up in force at Read Freely Alabama’s Town Hall to Stop Censorship in Alabama Libraries, 6 p.m. at the Fairhope Unitarian Church. We’ll see each other at the support groups that are forming and at the South Baldwin Democrats holiday party at Lulu’s ‘in Gulf Shores Dec. 10.

We’re going to need an influx of cash to fund our local candidates. For reasons that are too complicated to explain here, the state and national Democratic organizations are not going to send us any money, so we’re going to have to rely on our own resources. Fortunately, we have lots of resources here in Baldwin County.

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