I love the first couple of days after an Election Day in America – regardless of outcome. It’s a time when we get real, tangible data about what voting Americans think of the status quo. At the end of heated races, we get to see how messages resonated and gain a glimpse into what our neighbors want to achieve through their newly elected officials.
But I don’t love the victory laps.
Maybe it rubs the idealist in me the wrong way. Maybe I’m overly eager for folks to move on from campaign rhetoric and into the work of governing. But the celebrations from either end of the political spectrum can be a bit much. And I say that knowing full well that I also have moments when I fall victim to the very same mentality.
But as you prepare your advocacy team to move into the dynamics of a newly fielded roster of elected officials, it’s important to check that tendency as quickly as we can. I wrote about this last year in another post as we waited to learn the results from the contentious 2020 election. Here’s a key excerpt:
“Chances are, our volunteers come from varied political paradigms. You owe it to your agenda to put a check on your own view of this election. Regardless of who wins, it’s already in the rearview mirror.
Starting right now…show grace to your team. Show grace to candidates in contested races – half of whom won’t win. Show grace, warmth, and value to those you’ll need in the next session of congress, your state legislature, or city council meeting. Find ways to re-engage them as part of your team.
We owe it to our own causes to realize that elections are finite, but advocacy is an infinite game – and one we have to keep playing regardless of one cycle. Win or lose, graciously.”
Luke Crumley
Partisan rancor heats us to the core. But the necessity of good governance requires us to dissipate that heat quickly. We have to cool off, right away. Unless, of course, we’re willing to sacrifice critical time to begin evaluating the results, developing an action plan, and transitioning back into the relationship building game.
Unfortunately, neither major party structure is good about turning the burner down right after a win. Instead, they transition almost immediately in to a war footing for the next cycle. So we see public celebrations of victories, and displays that flaunt an opponent’s failure. Even when a victor takes the high road and applauds that opponent for a well-run race, the lackeys jump in to pile on the insults. And now we see even more of it through the power of social media.
It’s fine to celebrate a win, but in the coming days, you’ll own the problems you ran to correct. You’ll be on the hook for delivering results. And sometimes the folks you’ll need most are the one’s you’re taunting now.
In the end, it’s almost all fair game. Everyone does it. But I’m saying we should challenge ourselves individually to be even just a little bit better. We need to beware our victory laps because we may just trip ourselves up and injure the cause before we can get to the starting block of the next race.
And with no fear of sounding like the broken record I am, I’ll say it again: win or lose, do so graciously. It’s time to govern.
Part of the Possible 