As a liberal Democrat myself, I’m upset, I’m ashamed, and I’m scared more for our country’s future more than I have ever been in my life. However, there is important work ahead and Democrats need to be ready to fight against Donald Trump for every law he passes. We’ve lost the election, but as Hillary said, democracy does not just demand out participation once every 4 years, it demands it all the time. Democrats need to keep their heads up in the face of the immense adversity to come, and make sure that what just happened, and the consequences it will have on our country, never happens again. Here are some steps that Democrats need to take in order to cope with a Trump presidency

Accept it. First and foremost, Democrats need to accept that Trump is our President. Of course we don’t like the results, but a cornerstone of our democracy is the peaceful transfer of power from one party to another. Protests are fine, fighting tooth and nail to stop every law he tries to pass is fine. However, things like the #notmypresident hashtag trending on Twitter are only counterproductive to what Democrats need to accomplish. I, along with many other Democrats, feel robbed that for the second time in 16 years, a Democrat will lose because of an archaic, inaccurate system of electing the President. Hillary did win the popular vote, but both candidates knew the terms of the election, therefore knowing that an outcome like this could happen. It is no doubt a useless and broken system, but it is too late to change it now.

Acknowledge that progress will be lost for at least the next two years. Unfortunately, there is not much Democrats can do for the next two years. Hillary was not lying when she said that this election is one of the most important in decades; Republicans will control all branches of government, including the Supreme Court. If any judges should die or resign during Trump’s presidency, the Supreme Court will lean conservative for quite literally decades. The Democrats will have no opportunity to pass their own laws, and the only opportunity to stop Republican laws is convincing Republican Senators to vote against their own party.

Try to understand the Republican viewpoint. I agree that a vote for Trump was an endorsement of the racist, sexist, and xenophobic statements he has made throughout this campaign. However, there were many other reasons to vote for Trump. Poor, working class whites, especially in coal country, feel as though the system has let them down. This is the first candidate since the 70’s that has tailored his campaign around the needs of working class whites, and the first to give them a strong voice. Regardless of how successful Trump will be at bringing back jobs to coal country (I think he’ll fail miserably), he has promised to turn their life around. When a relatively large group of voters are poor, desperate for change, and disenfranchised, it’s easy to see why many of them would vote for Trump. Simply put: Trump promised them change, Clinton did not.

Let Democratic Congressmen work with Republicans on bipartisan efforts. It would be nice to think that as an outsider, Trump will bring an end to the feverish partisanship that has become commonplace in politics, but it will likely only intensify under his presidency. For the opportunities for bipartisan work that do come along, such as immigration reform and common sense gun control, Democrats must compromise with Republicans. It is the best the Democrats can do from such a powerless position.

Learn from our mistakes. It is pretty clear that Clinton should have won this election. With such an unqualified and overall terrible candidate in Trump, it took a plethora of mistakes to throw this election away. Trump did not unleash a hidden army of voters like many Republicans claim, he had less votes than both Romney and McCain. Hillary lost because 9 million Democratic voters were missing on election day. Turnout was atrocious, and as a result, Trump easily won. Next time around, Democrats need to pick a candidate that can energize the party, and isn’t surrounded in scandals. Hillary was certainly qualified, but not a good overall candidate. The DNC revelations severely hurt her campaign, arguably more so than her emails. When the leaders of the party actively work to suppress Bernie Sanders, a populist candidate, it comes as no surprise when many of Bernie’s supporters do not show up, or even flip to Trump.

Stay hopeful. It is true that much of our progress, especially on climate change, will be lost in the next 4 years. However, this election is not a signal that the Democratic Party is dying. The good news is that Republicans are deeply divided. While they rallied behind Trump for the election, old Reaganite Republicans will likely clash with the new GOP throughout Trump’s term. In terms of political views, Democrats are much more unified than Republicans. We have many strong candidates for the 2020 election, including Cory Booker, our Democratic Senator from New Jersey. Part of the American political system is losing ground on causes we have fought so hard for. It is normal and it is how Republicans have felt the past eight years. Now, it is their turn to run the country, and in a way, this is okay for the Democrats. Either Trump is a great President and we become a stronger, more unified country, or he is terrible, proving Democrats right and greatly boosting our chances to win the 2020 election.

For now, Democrats will need to take a backseat in government. The only thing we can do now is buckle down and weather out these next four years.