Candy

Ah, last night's election.

I'll start with the big takeaway: there is no "gotcha" you can produce for a Democrat candidate that will cause other Democrats to leap ship. Jay Jones won - the man who fantasized about killing children. No Democrat walked away from him, and he beat the Republican.

If you want to win, you can produce no thoughtful argument against Democrat opposition. Your only option is to out-organize the solid coalition that is the Democratic Party.

I ask my every audience in my seminar: which party is it that is more likely bring a busload of voters on election day? "Democrats" is the universal and consistent answer I hear.

Zohran Mamdani didn't brag of stellar resume. He bragged of things he would do for the people. Free buses, rent reduction, and so on. He offered candy.

Ignorant New Yorkers, who once elected socialist Bill de Blasio to the office of mayor, turned out and Mamdani won. If Sliwa had withdrawn his candidacy, Mamdani would have won anyway. Why? Because the only opposition that had a chance, Cuomo, ran on his resume and not an agenda that appealed to voters.

I tell candidates all of the time that it's about the Land of Milk and Honey. Mamdani offered one and Cuomo didn't. And that's the New York election.

Republicans pushed identity politics with Winsome Earle-Sears, the "black woman," and expected that Democrats might vote for her because of the color of her skin. Nope. She was wiped out in the election. (Despite a blizzard of text messages nationally - which goes to my perpetual point that text messages are a nothing burger for fundraising and turnout...) She also offered no oft-repeated agenda of what she offered the people. Without a Land of Milk and Honey, she was a black Republican who denounced Jay Jones, and her opponent didn't. That "I'm not horrible like you" posture achieved nothing.

The younger generations are terrified of their financial future. They should be. AI will replace so many jobs in the next few years, college bankrupts them, houses (and life) are unaffordable... what answers do Republicans have for that?

Outside of President Trump, nothing. And congressional Republicans do nothing to pass Trump's agenda or codify his EO's. They have no urgency. For them, it's the 1980's. They incessantly wear a "What, me worry?" look on their faces.

We get the government we allow. Last night, Republicans allowed socialists and Muslims to take root in major offices in cities and states.

We organize, or we lose everything. That's it. Whatever your political agenda, you either organize, or you will lose.

Some urge people to wake up. I don't. I urge them to love their families enough to take action to protect them. You either love your family or you don't. It's not about us. It's about what we're about to hand down to our children and grandchildren.

Those children and grandchildren are being offered poisonous candy. Will we make them eat it by doing nothing to prevent it?

8 Comments

Christin Bentley (Nov 5, 2025 7:13 AM):

Well said, Brett! This really got me: "The younger generations are terrified of their financial future. They should be. AI will replace so many jobs in the next few years, college bankrupts them, houses (and life) are unaffordable... what answers do Republicans have for that?" I am scared for the future generation!

Daniel Hunt (Nov 5, 2025 8:27 AM):

So true! I encounter this all the time on the campaign trail. I start by telling them an elected official is the employee, and he better listen to his boss, The People. I then ask them what issues are important to them. I make them a part of the solution. I then tell them my ideas and what I what to achieve. No one is interested in what school I went to.

Roy Getting (Nov 5, 2025 8:50 AM):

Very well said, Brett. All candidates must tell the voters what they will do not what they have done. If last night's results continue, our county's future is dim.

Kim Weber (Nov 5, 2025 9:16 AM):

Great analysis Brett! Every candidate running for office should attend your workshop and read your book. They must share their vision of their “land of milk and honey” with the voters every chance they get.

Sharon Fisher (Nov 5, 2025 10:04 AM):

NYC will be the place to watch for the next few years. I predict an influx of Muslims and more non Muslims moving out. It will resemble Michigan.

Eileen (Nov 5, 2025 1:09 PM):

3 very deep blue states....why is anyone shocked that that democrats won? Why is anyone in outside PA surprised they elected 3 liberal justices??? Why is anyone shocked that CA passed the gerrymandering bill???

Mark Beny (Nov 5, 2025 3:02 PM):

Depressingly true.

Sarah Stewart (Nov 7, 2025 11:04 AM):

I'm so tired of hearing, "my family has lived here for xx generations..." So what? I'm not voting for your family tree! I want real solutions and representation that listens to people and makes things better for the generations who come after us.