It’s difficult to escape the feeling that 2017 was a year far longer and far more unsettling than those past. We’ve witnessed constant attacks on our rights, the passage of an extremely unpopular tax bill, and a manufactured crisis that has left 800,000 young immigrants at risk for deportation. But before we take on another year of Muslim and refugee bans, legislative battles, and standing up for basic democratic norms and rights, let’s take a moment to cherish some of the victories we captured along the way.
The day after Trump’s inauguration, millions of people across the country rallied in protest of the new administration’s policy agenda in the Women’s March. Later, Americans mobilized to voice criticism of multiple attacks on health care, successfully killing each bill and protecting health coverage for over 20 million people who gained it thanks to the Affordable Care Act.
You fought to take down emblems of the harmful history of slavery, and you knocked on enough doors to reverse the effects of voter suppression in Virginia. Your outrage successfully derailed the hopes of three extremely unqualified judicial nominees. Your dedication to climate science and environmental protection kept hope alive, as countless people across the country – including several mayors and governors – pledged to uphold the Paris Climate Accord, even after the president withdrew the United States from the agreement. In one city, bump stocks were banned, starting the slow but critical fight to make America a safer place to own a gun, and courts struck down gerrymandering that had racial motives.
The year wrapped up with a dramatic win for Doug Jones in the Alabama senate, a sign of defeat for alleged predators like Roy Moore, which complemented the strides made by the #MeToo movement. Throughout the chaos, there were even moments of beauty and unity, such as when the country turned to the sky during the August solar eclipse, the touching photo of Barack Obama with school children, or perhaps the time a campaign for free chicken nuggets for a teenager took over the internet for a day.
The Center for American Progress Action Fund thanks you for your dedication to progressive ideas and commitment to fighting for a strong, just, and free America. We will continue this fight in 2018, but for now, allow yourself to feel pride in the work we have done.
We wish you a restful holiday season, and we’ll see you on January 2nd, refreshed and ready to take up the fight again.
The Progress Report will be taking a break between Dec. 23 and Jan. 1. The next Progress Report will be on Jan. 2, 2018. Thank you for subscribing.