Let the Courage Primaries Begin!
One of my earliest jobs involved writing speeches for the CEO of a processed meats business. At the time, I knew very little about processed meats and even less about business. My routine was to panic quietly for weeks, then pull an all-nighter. There was something about an empty office and the fear of failure (what even happens to a person who flunks out of processed meats?) that always resulted in a serviceable draft by dawn.
By serviceable, I mean a draft carefully calibrated to address investor concerns without alienating other stakeholders. Back then, I thought political speeches—urgent communications about something as important as our civic life—were fundamentally different from business speeches. But the truth is, most political speeches are built in the same small “c” conservative way—designed not to offend—and, as a result, most are just as forgettable.
JB Pritzker’s speech last Sunday was different. It broke through—and here’s why: he took a firm moral stance. Unlike Gavin Newsom, who’s twisting so hard to the right he’s going to sprain something, or Gretchen Whitmer, who’s still operating as if it’s business as usual, Pritzker—who also governs a state full of vulnerable constituents—is willing to speak in plain terms about right and wrong.
In defense of boring speakers everywhere—in both business and politics—it’s often been fine not to take a moral stance at every turn. In normal times, we assume—for efficiency’s sake, if nothing else—a shared moral framework, at least around the basics like the rule of law. But these are not normal times. This moment calls for leaders willing to sound the alarm, and Governor Pritzker did just that.
Pritzker is not alone in taking a firm stance against Trump & Co.: his fellow governor, Josh Shapiro, is as principled a leader as I have seen. Bernie Sanders and AOC have galvanized enormous crowds with their righteousness. Cory Booker sustained moral clarity for 25 straight hours.
In these first 100 days of the resistance, the leadership vacuum has been real. But now, a few contenders are starting to come into view. I have no idea who the Democratic nominee for President will be in 2028; whether a centrist or a leftist prevails will depend in my view largely on an under-discussed question: on top of all the other economic uncertainty we’re facing, how many jobs will be lost to AI in the next four years?
That said, I’d still bet on this much: no matter where they fall on the policy spectrum, the Democratic nominee will be someone who made it clear, early on, that they understood the stakes of Trump 2.0—and had the spine to fight.
Kate
Note:
Our first Zoom discussion will take place on Monday, May 5th at 5pm PT. Please email me if you’d like the link: kategacewalton@gmail.com. There aren’t going to be a lot of rules, but please consider 1) having your video on—faces build trust—and 2) being willing to share your thoughts. You’ve heard a lot about where I am in this moment; I’m hoping to hear where you are.
