U.S. Senator Peter Welch was in Middlebury this Wednesday with some good advice for Americans desperate to know what they can do to in the face of Trump’s chaotic rule—continue to improve the quality of life for you and your neighbors and do everything you can to change the balance of power in Congress come November.

But he also recognized Democrats must get back to their roots to advocate for working families, maintain a viable safety net for the less fortunate, and support affordable housing and healthcare initiatives for the middle class. Those issues plus continuing the party’s focus on climate change and developing renewable energy as the energy solution for the next century, addressing the huge disparity in wealth, and controlling immigration at the borders while also ensuring reasonable restraints on ICE and other federal agents.

Those national issues should favor Democrats, if the party stays on message and stays active through the next seven months. In the meantime, Welch said, also make a difference in your local communities. “What you do locally,” Welch said, “really, really matters.” That’s true regardless of party. We’re all Americans and when we work together locally, that’s easier to see and remember.