Why Voting In the 2018 Midterm Elections Is the Best Revenge

Since the beginning of 2016, one in five Americans has taken political action. For tens of millions of us, the Trump-Pence administration’s relentless attacks on women, immigrants, the LGBTQ community and folks with lower incomes have made inaction untenable. Our lives are on the line. And, for two years, showing up to protests and speaking out at rallies has been our best recourse against every threat anti-healthcare politicians posed.

That all changes Tuesday. To quote my former colleague and president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Cecile Richards, “Marching is great. Knitting a pink pussy hat is great. Calling members of Congress, also great. But voting is the whole deal. And that’s how we are going to change the direction of this country.”

That’s why Planned Parenthood Votes along with Planned Parenthood political organizations across the country have been hard at work with our largest midterm electoral program in our history, March.Vote.Win.

We’ve put our full force behind races in key states—namely Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—to engage voters through door-to-door canvassing, phone banking, and organizing. We’re also partnering with progressive groups to mobilize voters in Florida, Michigan, and Nevada who normally sit out midterm elections. This is our shot. And we don’t intend to miss.

Think about what we’ve been through these past two years: A Republican-led Senate confirmed a judge for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court who faced multiple, credible allegations of sexual assault—and he was nominated by a president who famously bragged on tape about assaulting women. This, after his accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, courageously recounted her trauma on a national stage. Our Department of Health and Human Services officials have attempted to limit access to birth control and to strip transgender people of their identities and legal protections. Meanwhile, our state legislatures have introduced hundreds of bills that would reduce access to abortion care for millions of women, disproportionately impacting marginalized communities who already face barriers to care.

And no one can forget the effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. There were reports that cases of beer were being wheeled into the Capitol before House members even began to vote on The American Health Care Act (AHCA)—a wildly unpopular piece of legislation that would have blocked patients from access to care at Planned Parenthood.

217 representatives voted to pass the AHCA. 217 representatives decided they were okay with 23 million people losing their health care coverage. With insurance companies once again charging people with pre-existing conditions exorbitant rates. With undermining maternity care and forcing mothers who rely on Medicaid to go back to work 60 days after childbirth. Now is our chance to hold them accountable.

With ample evidence of politician’s disdain for the people they purport to serve, it’s no wonder that issues of women’s rights and women’s health are motivating voters in unprecedented ways. Of the one-in-five Americans who have attended protests and rallies since 2016, nearly 50 percent cite women’s rights for spurring them into action.

The good news is that, this election, we have the chance to elect officials who embody our values and understand our concerns. A record number of women have already run and won primary victories. In Alabama, where Doug Jones won with 98 percent of black women’s support, an unprecedented 70 black women decided to run for office in the state.

This is our chance to make history. As NPR writes, “In terms of raw numbers, women have outvoted men in every national election since at least 1964.” Imagine if we came together to vote for our interests. To block politicians with bad ideas from ever penning a bad bill. To grab back what was taken from us.

Voting is the best revenge. So what are you waiting for?

Deirdre Schifeling is the Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Votes.