Heath HaussamenI became a Democrat last year.
Choosing a political party is not a revolutionary act, even for many journalists. But it was for me: I had stubbornly refused to declare membership in any such organization my entire adult life. I’ve spent much of my journalism career digging through the political muck and all that divides us to seek understanding and help build bridges.
My highest societal value is democracy, a system that gives us a voice in our government and encourages us to find ways to work together to move forward. I’ve always viewed my role as a facilitator more than a direct participant.
I made sure people from across the political spectrum participated in the debate at NMPolitics.net, the state political website I used to run. I consistently made space for conservatives, even though it earned me harsh criticism from some folks on the other side.
But when one political team breaks the social contract that holds our nation together, as the Republican Party has done, that changes everything — at least for me.
Witnessing the fascist threat growing
When the conservative tea party movement was growing 15 or so years ago, I defended it. I wrote about folks who were engaging in the public debate for the first time. I enjoyed that work; it felt meaningful.
Back then I was a member of an evangelical church. I witnessed the right’s political awakening of that era firsthand.
I was equally interested when folks who were in the minority in that religious culture, those on the left, were seeking to be included. I was often asked if Democrats could be Christians. I was excited when our pastor asked me to participate in a discussion about that in front of our church. He wanted to communicate that the answer was an emphatic yes, and I was happy to help.
Back then I felt like my journalism and my efforts at church were helping move the needle in the direction of diversity of opinion and increased participation in the public sphere, that I was doing my part in my little corner of the world.
But I watched the fascist threat grow in the evangelical movement. An increasing belief that Christians were being persecuted in the United States grew into a stubborn focus on Bible quotes about God’s law trumping that of any government. That led to efforts to stifle dissenting views on moral issues and, in some corners, an obsession with a literal reading of the Book of Revelation.
Our pastor quashed my efforts to discuss gay marriage openly in the church. I left that day and never returned.
A president becomes a monarch
I’m devastated that, years later, evangelicals and others in the religious right are fueling the Republican Party’s play to reshape our society into something more authoritarian and less free.
Today’s GOP is a haven for religious folks who are openly working to create a theocracy and nativists who are prepared to fight for a nation that exists only for people of one race.
Their first insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021 almost toppled our democracy. Thankfully, traitors who conspired to use fake electors to overthrow our government, including Steve Pearce and others in New Mexico, failed.
Their second insurrection came at the ballot box, aided by years of gerrymandering districts and enacting laws to discourage voting by people who are more likely to back Democrats. Russia’s successful efforts to reshape Americans’ views and votes also contributed, so the GOP has cozied up to that enemy of American democracy.
Now we’re swearing in a president — again — who consistently undermines the systems, laws and norms that prop up our democracy for personal gain. He appears to have the power to do anything he wants in his official capacity, because the conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, including some who lied to get those jobs, reshaped our presidency into a monarchy without any case law to justify upending the founding principle of our society.
Journalism defends democracy
The GOP has clung to values most Americans don’t share, so this is a natural shift. When you can’t win fair elections and you’re unwilling to evolve, your choices are to become irrelevant, cheat, or grab power by force.
Too many of those folks believe we are entering the terribly bloody days before their savior’s return, so their willingness to resort to violence to halt America’s progress isn’t surprising. The oligarchs who are fed up with democracy’s constraints are happy to use that belief to their advantage.
We cannot allow them to continue dragging us down this path.
Though many news organizations struggle to live up to our profession’s ideals, journalism is fundamentally a democracy-supporting institution. Good journalism helps people understand and participate in their society’s decision-making processes. It defends systems and laws that enable citizen participation in and influence over their government. It shines light in dark corners where those who seek to undermine our fundamental rights are hiding.
For me, defending democracy once meant going above and beyond to give conservatives a voice on the news outlet I ran. Today it means opposing the metastasized cancer the GOP has become.
So I registered as a Democrat in 2024. I voted for Kamala Harris and most Democrats, including my spouse Sarah Silva, who’s now the state representative for House District 53. I helped Sarah get elected. I didn’t vote for any Republicans; there were none I was willing to support on my ballot.
Frankly, it was also satisfying to vote against a couple of awful Democrats who didn’t deserve to win primary races. I’ve not been able to do that before.
The core fight of our time
I’ve chosen to plant myself somewhere new because the GOP has scorched the landscape we all used to share. If we want to preserve our freedom to participate in our government and advocate for our beliefs, we must rethink how we’ve been living. Those who are able must bring the skills and energy we have to meet this historic moment.
Until recently, I was too ill to bring much to this fight. I’m grateful for my restored health and determined to use it for good. I am unwilling to abandon my daughter and her generation to the GOP’s fascist vision.
After more than two decades in journalism and then several years being hobbled by illness, starting a new commentary website wasn’t what I planned to be doing in 2025. I was preparing to build an earthen house on our land in the mountains. Same for Sarah: In addition to our building plans, she had been putting love into a vegetable garden during our extended isolation while I was ill. She will be in Santa Fe for the legislative session when it’s time to plant this year.
We have a friend who has paused her dreams of starting a family while she helps people organize to resist the Trump administration’s plans for our border communities.
This is what’s required. I will work with anyone who is fighting for our democracy. I’m grateful for the prominent conservatives we have as allies like Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger and Joe Walsh. When Republicans in New Mexico stand up for democracy, I intend to have their backs. And when Democrats act in ways that are anti-democratic, I’ll continue to watchdog them.
I remain a critic of the Democratic Party, which has contributed to our descent into fascism. It is often spineless, overly indentured to the oligarchy, and sometimes genocidal. On top of that, it’s too often out of touch with and even indifferent to the struggles of many Americans, especially rural folks.
One of the best things about our democracy is that we can form alliances to reach shared goals even when we disagree on other things. Perhaps joining the Democratic Party will help move the needle on these issues, at least locally. Time will tell.
We have to try. We face a credible, fascist threat from a political party that may have enough power to overthrow our democracy. This is the core fight of our time. For the defenders of democracy, this is our team. I’ll give it everything I have for as long as I am able. I hope you will too.