The Election Is Over: Now The Real Work Begins

It’s been A WEEK. When I woke up yesterday I cried, and then I thought about giving up. But then I got on a few calls, and I talked to people, and went for a run to clear my head… and I am not f—-ing giving up.

Politics for Parents isn’t about me, it’s not for me, I don’t want to make any money from this. I took on this project because it was an idea I had, and I had some time to explore it. So I did. And people got drawn in, and subscribed, and got excited. The American experiment in democracy is not over, far from it. This project is all about accountability work, and so, I will be here doing it.

This is a big undertaking on my own, so while I wait for our new leaders to be sworn into office, I will be reaching out to others and exploring partnerships. If you want to get on board, please reach out to me: nicole@nicoletaetsch.com.

Here is what I think the path forward for Politics for Parents is and why it matters.

1. In my political work over the past few years, I have heard so many leaders say “We all want the same thing for our children”. I believe that to be true for parents. I know parents who voted for Trump who want a great life for their kids, as I want for mine. From my perspective there is a HUGE opportunity for parents to find common ground and come together on policy issues to advocate for our children. In several states, voters were in favor of abortion protections and still voted for Trump - we need to think about that. Many of these voters don’t want some of the scary things he and his surrogates have promised. We need to be together and invite Trump voters to join us if he takes action on these things that most Americans do not support.

2. Good information and ENGAGING DISCUSSION on policy issues is more important than ever. Trump campaigned on some lofty goals, and millions of working Americans found it appealing. We need accountability work now more than ever to take a hard look at how policies impact us, and to make sure the everyday voter knows. We need to hold our officials accountable for upholding their promises (if, say, a man ran on giving us the best economy we will ever see). We also need to be informed on policy decisions and we need our eyes open to the ramifications (dismantling Obamacare or mass deportations come to mind here).

3. Democracy requires that citizens participate. I am not a pundit or aspiring politician, I am just a mom who gives a shit. I don’t think we should abdicate responsibility for democracy to people who have built careers in politics. In fact, I think career politicians and overpaid consultants are a large reason we found ourselves here, but that’s another conversation for another day. For now, what I know to be true, is that we have seen everyday citizens do amazing work in these past few months, and democracy gives US the power to continue to achieve great things. So please, figure out your place and come help with the work.

So, if you want to collaborate on this project, please reach out! If you have friends who work in media, or production, or they’re influencers, feel free to forward this or recommend that I reach out to them. I am going to continue to be an activist as a private citizen, because that’s what democracy requires. We need every day people to talk to one another, get involved, and get to work.

As I said, good information will be more important now than ever, here are some things I am listening to and reading:

The Morning After, election debrief from the Rutgers Eagleton Institute

The Bulwark - YouTube or Substack ; Their election debrief episode was also great, listen/watch here.

Ben Rhodes book titled “After the Fall”- about to pick it up from my local library. (I’m not going to link to it on Amazon because we should not be supporting Jeff Bezos - another discussion for another time).

The 19th - A women-run news outlet that everyone should pay to subscribe to. Women’s voices and quality reporting matter now more than ever.

And, of course, support NPR!