When people heard, “I'm not Trump,” their response — whether out loud or in silence — was, “Okay... but what more are you?”

You need to be more than just not the monster. You need to give people something real to believe in.

And it has to be something new, something inspiring — not the same tired promises they've heard their whole lives from everyone who came before you.

People want healthcare.
Full stop.

They're fed up with hearing that maybe, someday, they might get access to affordable healthcare. They want real healthcare — now.

Telling people that, perhaps, their healthcare might suck a little less someday is not a winning strategy.

Kamala Harris didn't have the message, and she didn't have the energy. She was never going to beat anyone with that approach.

Donald Trump is a monster who promised to be a monster and do monstrous things — and that inspired jerks to show up in waves.

This isn’t an argument to be pro-monster. It’s a warning: if all you offer is the same status quo that people on both sides are fed up with, you’re not going to win. You have to be more than “not the monster.”

The problem with many political arguments is that people fall into a "them vs. us" mindset. It's an easy trap to fall into — I've been guilty of it myself.

But real victory requires seeing the full picture.

Why did Donald Trump win? Because some people like monsters. That's not an argument in favor of monsters. But the fact remains: we had record voter turnout — and Donald Trump still won. That means a lot of people sat this one out, and many of those who showed up were pro-monster.

Donald Trump inspired his base. Kamala Harris did not inspire the other half of the country.

This isn't rocket science — it's simple logic.

In a country where people were either looking for a monster or something genuinely better than what they've always had, someone like Kamala Harris was never going to win. She represented more of the same.

Again, not rocket science. Just logic. And accepting that reality is how you understand what we're working with.

This is the America we're working with.

If it's not progressive, it will be conservative.

There's a hard pill that some people — especially those in the establishment and in leadership — don't want to swallow.

Come the midterms, I want everyone to remember a phrase I've been saying for years:

"If it's not progressive, it will be conservative."

The kind of change Americans are looking for is fundamental. That's why Kamala Harris lost — she positioned herself as a centrist moderate at a time when the country isn't interested in “same thing, different day” politics.

It's a hard pill for some to swallow, but the results speak for themselves.