A Message To Young People Who Feel Betrayed By Washington

In the 2006 election, the American people voted to change policy in Iraq and what happened in Washington was the Democrats and Repulicans agreed to the functional equivalent of stealing the 2006 election retroactively.

Among many people, especially young people, there is sadness, outrage and anger that those they elected to Congress did not wage the fight and honor the election. There is a danger that young people conclude that elections don't matter.

Two thoughts:

First, no doubt what happened was a disgrace and those of us who worked the hardest for a Democratic Congress should not give up, but redouble our efforts, and challenge our leaders.

Second, the history of America is that the good guys win, though often after great struggle and disappointment, and that all around the world history proves that wars ultimately end, often with political agreements instead of endless carnage and war.

We will not accept a war without end, a president without morality, a Congress, without courage, or a Democratic Party without the will to fight for what is right.

The situation today is very much like the years I worked for the congressional leadership when Tip O'Neill and Jim Wright were Speaker. The Reagan diaries show at length how we fought tooth and nail, in a way that Democrats have not yet begun to fight.

In an essay for The Hill, a longer version of this post, I appeal to young people to keep the faith, make a stand, and continue the hard fight that we will ultimately win, because 70 percent of Americans are with us.

I hope everyone, especially young people, will think about this post and my essay for The Hill.

Today we lost.

Tomorrow we will be back.

Someday we will win.