The past few days have been awful. No question about it. No matter how one thinks about Senator Franken or Representative Conyers, there has been damage done to the Democratic Party. And, at the same time, shitheads like Trump and Moore add insult to injury. Add the tax plan, and no rational person could help but feel dismayed.

Yet, it will be our collective response to the current outrages that will define our future. It's a sad feature in this nation's history that it's only when enough people recognize that it's actually as bad as you and I know it is now, today, before society reaches that tipping point where meaningful, positive change can take root. And we are there, in the context of being able to impact the 2018 elections. But that will merely be the starting line for the effort to make serious institutionalized changes. It will be difficult, no doubt, but not nearly as difficult as if we fail to harness our energies.