Why We Need Nauseous Optimism

For the first time in years, I’ve been walking around with a smile on my face. Maybe you have, too.

The positive energy unleashed by Kamala Harris over the last two weeks is in such stark contrast to the negative energy unleashed by Trump for the last nine years that it feels as if America has had a new beginning.

Complete strangers come up to me — also smiling — and say: “At last!” Or “Isn’t it wonderful?” Or “I’m so relieved!”

Millions of Americans are mobilizing for Kamala. We’re volunteering our time and energy. We’re donating to her campaign as we’ve never donated before.

Hundreds of thousands of young people are creating pro-Kamala content for social media — a new form of political participation, as well as free advertising.

We’ve all been given new hope that Donald Trump — perhaps the worst human being ever to occupy the Oval Office — will be consigned to the dustbin of history.

(Even Olympic hero Simone Biles is into it — mocking Trump’s claim that immigrants take “Black jobs” by calling her gold-winning gymnastic performance a “Black job.”)

But wait.

I’ve been in and around politics long enough to know that our current euphoria needs to be tempered.

The election is 91 days from today. That may seem soon, but almost anything can happen between now and then. If polls are to be believed, Harris is basically tied with Trump among likely voters.

However much I believe that her positive energy will trounce his negative energy — and gain a major victory 91 days from now — and that Democrats will take control of both houses of Congress — we need to be prepared for Trump and his lackeys to mount a mammoth offensive.

We can’t allow our good feelings to drift into complacency.

Trump and his enablers will throw whatever they can at her. Even though nothing has seemed to stick so far, we must be ready for the possibility that something will.

Four reasons to expect trouble ahead:

First, the mainstream media can’t abide a love fest for long. They have to sell advertising and eyeballs, so they’ll soon turn contrarian — reporting Republican-generated opposition research about Harris. (I’m reminded of the old journalism saw that there are only two media stories — “oh, the wonder of it” and “oh, the shame of it” — and one always follows the other.)

We must be ready to respond to those charges with facts — in letters to editors, interviews with local media, public statements from groups we’re associated with, and grassroots organizing.

Second, Trump is getting desperate — and he is capable of almost anything. He knows the upcoming election is likely to mean the difference between going to jail and going scot-free — so he will pull out all the stops, including racism and misogyny.

Expect even more bigotry and lies to from him and his enablers. The cesspool will likely turn even more fetid. Sadly, enough Americans are openly or tacitly racist and misogynistic to make this a powerful ploy.

What should we do? Call out racism and misogyny, however and wherever it appears. Shame those who perpetuate bigotry. Mobilize others to call it out, too.

Third, the billionaires are starting to mobilize against her.

To take one example, Elon Musk — the richest man in the world, who has 192 million followers on X (largely because he owns the platform and can maximize his reach on it) — has started a PAC that collects highly detailed personal information. Musk’s goal is to target voters in key battleground states with tailored digital ads favoring Trump and harming Harris.

In addition, X’s AI chatbot has told millions of users — falsely — that Kamala Harris is not eligible to appear on their state’s 2024 presidential ballot.

What can you do? At the least, make it expensive for Musk to use his wealth and ownership of X this way. Boycott Tesla, urge your friends to do the same, and tell advertisers to get off the X platform.

Fourth, most House Republicans are election deniers. Speaker Mike Johnson was one the ringleaders in 2020. If Kamala wins, House Republicans could have enough votes to try to force the presidential election into the House, via the 12th Amendment, where Republicans are likely to have a majority.

We must demand that the media ask any and all Republican members of Congress being interviewed if they will accept the results of the election and will certify the results from the Electoral College — and if not, explain why not.

I don’t want to diminish the positive energy we’re enjoying now. I just want us to be realistic about what could, and almost certainly will, come next — and be prepared.

Practice nauseous optimism — hoping for the best but knowing in the pit of your stomach that the road ahead will be difficult.

And resolve that — despite the sickening techniques Trump will use against her — we will do everything in our lawful power to make Kamala Harris the next president of the United States.

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(Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of “The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It.” Read more from Robert Reich at https://robertreich.substack.com/)