An Open Letter to Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA-50)

Dear Mr. Peters,

I'm writing as your constituent to congratulate you on winning reelection again this year. I'm also pleased, as I imagine you must be, to see such incredible wins across our country. As I write this letter, the Democrats are projected to win 259 seats in the House—the biggest gain for the party since the 1974 post-Watergate elections, and delivering the biggest Democratic House majority in more than three decades. And thanks to the work of the candidates, volunteers, and grassroots organizers around the country, not only will Democrats take control of the Senate with the biggest gain in 40 years, but we also saw a sea change in states previously written off as "deeply red," including Kansas, Iowa, Mississippi, the Carolinas, and, of course, Texas. There is so much to celebrate and so much to be optimistic about for the future, and I know you join us all in that celebration.

Nevertheless, the optimism we feel also comes with a cautious note. I truly believe that this election is an opportunity for the American people and for the Democrats as a party, but only if we take away the correct message from the results and learn the lesson of history. This is not the time for bipartisanship or compromise. The Democrats must forcefully make the case for their ability to deliver for the nation. If they do, I believe that this year's wins will be the beginning of a profound shift in American politics. If, on the other hand, the Democrats do not show results for America, the voters could just as easily abandon the party—and they'd arguably be right to do so. This election, as so many pundits and even Republicans have noted, was less an embrace of the Democratic party and more a thorough repudiation of Trump and the Republicans.

On Wednesday morning, Leader Jeffries appeared on Morning Joe and was asked by host Joe Scarborough, "How do you keep your caucus focused on the things that got them elected . . . instead of retribution?" Jeffries responded, "The American people don't want us to get even; they want us to get things done on their behalf." It may surprise you to know that despite the criticism that comment received from many of my grassroots colleagues on social media, I actually agree with Leader Jeffries, but perhaps not in quite the way he meant.

The American people desperately need the Democrats to get things done on our behalf. Not only do we need the Democrats to get things done, we need to see them getting things done. Households are breaking under the strain of rising prices and stagnant wages while corporate profits and wealth concentration are at all-time highs. Masked thugs have been kidnapping members of our community, separating families, imprisoning people in filthy, disease-ridden camps, and even killing people in the street, while the President, his family, and members of his regime use their positions to enrich themselves in the most nakedly corrupt ways seen in living memory. The very foundations of our democracy and our rights are being attacked, aided and abetted by a Supreme Court that has been thoroughly captured by the extreme right. No half-measures or incremental changes can fix this. Going back to the 2024 or 2016 status quo is not enough.

We need the Democrats to enact major structural change, but what can you actually accomplish? Despite the historic gains made in this election in both the House and the Senate, there remain huge obstacles. Democrats do not have enough votes in the Senate to overcome a legislative filibuster, nor are there enough votes in the combined Congress to override a veto. Republicans have shown time and again for decades that they will obstruct good governance at every turn, no matter how many conciliatory moves the Democrats make. There is no reason to assume this time will be any different. Indeed, just today Trump announced that he will be elevating Stephen Miller to the position of White House Chief of Staff, a clear sign that no conciliation from this regime is coming.

Faced with Republican obstruction in the past, Democrats have often aimed low or tried to reach across the aisle, and while in normal times bipartisanship can be a reasonable strategy and even a laudable moral position, the election results this year make clear in no uncertain terms that the American people do not want to work with the Republicans. Of course if any Republicans want to cross the aisle to do what's right, they should be welcomed. But we can't assume that will happen. Whatever you're going to do, you need to do it on your own.

And this is where my second point of agreement with Leader Jeffries comes. The American people do not want or need the Democrats to get even. We do not want or need you to pursue retribution. What we do want and need is for you to protect us and repair the harms that have been done. We need you to show that you are fighting for the rule of law and fighting against corruption. That means investigations. It means prosecutions. And, yes, it may mean impeachment, not only of the President but of members of his administration.

Secretary Kennedy's policies at HHS have left Americans sicker and poorer, and have allowed misinformation to spread like wildfire—or, more to the point, like measles. Secretary Hegseth's policies at DOD were part of what got us into a pointless and costly war of choice, while also purging the military of many of its best and brightest. Secretary Mullin's policies at DHS have terrorized communities all over this country while his masked agents operate with complete impunity. And at the top of it all, the President has allowed, facilitated, and directed innumerable actions against our people and our democracy while lining his pockets and cozying up to foreign dictators. Standing up to these men and doing whatever is possible to remove them from office is not retribution. It is harm reduction. It is upholding the ideals the Constitution is based on, the ideals of a free and fair and functioning society. It is patriotism.

The American people do not want or need half-measures. We do not want ICE to wear body cameras; we want the agency abolished and agents who broke the law to be prosecuted. We do not want to go back to the status quo of 2020 or 2016; we want universal healthcare and childcare, a livable wage, affordable housing and education, worker protections and environmental protections, monopolies broken up, and for the rich to finally pay their fair share of taxes. We want our rights, whether a woman's right to choose, the right to vote, the right to worship or not worship as we choose, the right to love as we choose, to live in our own bodies as we choose. We want to live in a world where the wealthy and powerful are held to account for their crimes just as everyone else is.

A century ago, the Great Depression ravaged this country and America responded with the New Deal. In the 1950s, McCarthyism and the Red Scare turned American against American, but following the moral stance of journalist Edward R. Murrow, the Senate condemned Senator McCarthy. In the 1960s, America enacted the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. And in the 1970s, America stood up against the abuses and corruption of the Nixon Administration. The times we are living through now require the same scale of change and the same values and convictions. It is a daunting task, to be sure, but in Murrow's words, we must "remember that we are not descended from fearful men." America needs the Democratic Party to step up. If you can do so, not only will the momentum of this year's elections continue but the country will be better off for it. But if you squander this opportunity, we will all pay for it.

Sincerely,
Mike Sakasegawa, constituent

It's been a long time since I've written to this newsletter, I know. I hope that wherever you are, whatever you're doing, you're safe and healthy, and that you're feeling some hope. I am.

I'll write more soon. In the meantime, as always, I know you're doing your best, and I am, too. So, take care.

-Mike