Yes, definitely resistance, not opposition. Things are definitely gonna get ugly. Four additional points:
1. Biden should absolutely require that the incoming administration (I can't even bear to mention the principal figure's name) conform exactly to the black-letter requirements of the Presidential Transition Act: sign the ethics pledges and do whatever else is called for. To let the orange criminal and his henchmen skate out of fear that a messy transition will be chaotic and damaging would be to give in to extortion. I have no doubt the orange criminal would unhesitatingly try to leverage the prospect -- or even the overt threat -- of chaos to extort acquiescence to his ignoring the Act. The transition is going to be a mess in any case. Anything untoward that occurs is on the incoming guy, not on Biden.
By the way, Garland ought to be jumping out of his shoes to prosecute Lanza under the Logan Act. I know, ain't gonna happen; am just sayin'.
2. Point taken about the Smith prosecutions and continuing them through the inauguration. On the other hand, as Joyce Vance has explained, Smith's winding the cases down now gives him the chance to fully document all that has happened and all the evidence he has, for the historical record. He would not have that chance if he kept going and were summarily fired on January 20th at one minute past noon. Further, it's likely a very safe bet that every scrap of evidence and documentation would mysteriously disappear immediately and the revision of recent history would thus begin with some major erasures.
Either way you slice it, it's an extremely bitter pill to swallow, the more so that it's clear that AG Garland totally fell down on the job. Coulda woulda shoulda. It's far too late now, goddamn it.
3. As Benjamin Franklin supposedly said, three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead. The idea of widespread voting fraud involving hundreds of people in many dozens of election offices all around the country, which is what it would take to roll up a margin as great as what we ended with, is nonsensical on its face. Please stop beating the conspiracy drum, y'all -- as Rebecca Solnit put it in her essay yesterday, "Not being them and not being like them is the first job."
To your first three points: Yes, yes and yes! And thanks for sharing Rebecca Solnit's timely and important essay. As Solnit is a regular contributor to the Guardian my first impulse ("Here we go again, the Guardian is leading the way, the US main stream media once again are wanting") probably was wrong. But in any case I hope this essay is widely distributed and read in the US.
Solnit has published similar sentiments in other places, but I was glad to see her Guardian essay go into detail. Another person who takes this approach to creating change is George Lakey, whose books have guided many groups for a long time in using non-violent but determined resistance to effect change. I have had the pleasure of working on a project with him.
Another wonderful read is Rivera Sun's The Dandelion Insurrection. A work of speculative fiction, it ignited my sleeping activist soul. Rivera Sun is a writer, teacher, and advocate for peace and non-violent resistance. If you buy the book directly from the author, it will come signed and include a bumper sticker that reads, "Be Kind, Be Connected, Be Unafraid, With Love, The Dandelion Insurrection." I have my sticker posted directly above my desk.
Your 4 points strike me as spot on, especially your 4th referring to Solnit’s piece, which I hope is in some way memorialized as it seems to me to rather perfectly capture the enormity of the shift we are sadly seemingly on the verge of experiencing. As I read that piece, aspects of Amor Towles’ novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, came to mind. What is most concerning to me and perhaps different than most comparative circumstances gone by is our loss of the Court/courts, checks and balances, etc. I am struggling to see a PEACEFUL way forward, given that there is no remaining USA or similar symbol and/or savior to come to the rescue, to admire as the example, to shine its light of hope, etc. — is there?
Thank you pts!!!! I LOVE this article by Ms. Solnit who is new to me. I'm going to memorize it as my handbook for the next four years and share as widely as I can. Blessings,.
Thank you for your three excellent points. And Solnit! One of the most penetrating political essays I have ever read. I didn't know Solnit was such a big Orwell fan. If you haven't recently read Animal Farm (I find more apt than 1984) then do. I also recommend having a strong faith in something; for me it's a higher power but for others it may simply be overwhelmingly confident in oneself and one's principles. Solnit talks about love and I was so impressed for her using the word because love is a difficult word to use and not come off sounding all touchy-feely, kumbaya. Just keep in mind love has different meanings for different kinds of relationships. In terms of "loving thine enemy" a mystic friend of mine says think of forgive your enemy, have some empathy. I think we need to embrace this. As Solnit writes we truly must love what we are fighting for and not what we are fighting against. I also believe we need to talk about what kind of resistance we should be embracing. Throw out the playbook; we have entered unchartered territory.
PTS, This is very thoughtful and well said. I, particularly like #2 and would encourage the powers that be to do everything possible to put the evidence on the record and available to future generations- certainly current generations would be well served also.
Let me add one final note. Having read Michael Lewis’s The Fifth Risk I encourage others to at least scan it. His report of the transition in three cabinet departments can aptly demonstrate just a peek into what a 2024 transition would look like. Heavens! I’d bet they’d sign the ethics papers and move on to do whatever the hell they want.
It is time for media to step up the investigative journalism and take serious that DJT is not normal. To do any less would (will) be malfeasant journalism.
Just looked and The Fifth Risk is available online as a pdf. I'd also recommend Michael Lewis' book The Premonition about how the foundational research which enabled rapid development of the Covid vaccine as well as many others. Sound dry but the book is a fascinating, sometimes amusing read.
Thank you for this wonderful and inspiring article. Figuring out how to best put our individual talents to work in resisting MAGA will require some soul searching. In the end, we will all find our seat at the table.
Beautiful Robert - Thank you! Communities are coming together --my Indivisible group just met up yesterday.
Regarding the election out come - I don't think there was hacking involved per se-- but sustained disinformation, bots, nazification of X/Twitter -- over and over and over; I phone banked a lot and heard these MAGA lies -- and try as I might, it was difficult to change minds, or at least get an "oh, I'll look into that" -- so much disinformation for so long. Add in the most recent connection to Putin from tRump & Musk -- add in Jill Stein, the R's and more, I think we just experienced a Kremlin coup.
As you say, we have our work cut out for us -- Grassroots 2.0
I'm hearing a lot of feedback of MAGA lies as well from some trump voters I otherwise respect. I'm going to try to engage them with facts and see if they waver.
Brave conversations, Bob, not because you fear getting beat up, I suppose, but because the weight of arrogance and victory is on their side. Good luck and even dropping seeds of doubt is good work. Reports on your experience would be welcomed by this reader with any advice on what works.
Jeanne, a bloodless coup by an authoritarian dictator, Vladimir Putin, occurred on election day. In 1939, the last time authoritarians attempted to take over the world, the world was saved by the United States of America working in conjunction with Britain and other allies. That United States of America, as of Nov. 5, no longer exists. There is no one to ride to our rescue.
Thank you for your thoughtful and measured words. I have a group of Expats who will be meeting this week to discuss what we will be doing going forward to help the US and democracy from abroad.
Your voice and thoughts calm me, and I am very grateful to you. I love your ideas, and I am concerned that this time is different from his prior election.
Trump will have more power, and the weaponization of the police and the justice department, and unchecked power to respond to protesters.
I am worried about the collapse of entire agencies, and the ending of institutions we counted on to keep life as we know it, going.
I am praying for Biden and other agencies to gum up the gears to prevent the total collapse of order, and to stop the takeover of the military. It feels like the resistance must take place from within.
Please keep talking about how we navigate this new reality. Thank you
Your fears are understandable and reasonable. But do not underestimate the scale and heft of the federal government. It is embedded in every part of our lives. If we try to take away one part of it, the unintended consequences will be severe and widespread. Jay Kuo posted a note that parents who have autistic Children are suddenly realizing that the department of education is the source of much of the funding for the special education needs of their children. Many of those parents voted for Trump, in part, because he vowed to eliminate the department of education, which is a lifeline to their children. I have no doubt that he will act very cautiously in doing so once he realizes the damage that he might inflict on vulnerable populations.
Robert, forgive me, but I cannot resist rewording the last part of your comment: "...Once he realizes the damage that he might inflict on his ability to do anything without backlash."
Exactly. There's no way he would care in any way about damage inflicted on vulnerable populations. In fact, I've no doubt he intends to inflict damage on many vulnerable populations.
Thank you Robert. You are a kind soul like me. Cruelty, however, is the point of these changes.
A person who runs on retribution isn't concerned about pain, even if those who voted for him.
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Removing the Department of Education is to force children into charter schools. The substack the Bulwark had simulation exercises with members of the military and other government officials to see what might happen under another Trump administration. It was helpful to read. Please keep up the good work, as we find ways around this administration.
Why won’t anyone address the real reason Kamala lost? She’s a woman. White men, Latino’s and even black men were never going to vote for a woman. Why is everyone afraid to admit it.
I have urged readers to refrain from slicing and dicing the electorate to assign blame for Harris’s loss. For example, millions of white, Latino, and Black male voters supported Kamala Harris. It is an incorrect generalization to say that white, Latino, and Black male voters did not support her.
The real question is why 12 million people who supported Joe Biden in 2020 did not support Kamala Harris in 2024. I have repeatedly asserted that the reason so many voters abandoned Kamala Harris is because Trump ran on racism, sexism, and white supremacy. Sadly, those campaign themes resonated with millions upon millions of Americans of every race and gender. Let’s not beat up on white, Latino, and Black males who are our allies in this fight. The problem is racism and sexism, wherever it resides.
I’m not saying every white male, black male , and Latinos didn’t vote for her, of course some did. But, you have to admit way more didn’t and why is that? I maintain these groups - as a whole - were not ready to pull the lever for a woman. It’s really the only consistent theme across the board. NOT ME! I was for her 4 years ago and again this time around. I honestly thought we were past the misogyny. Unfortunately , we are not.
But, Linda, that is exactly what you said in your post to which Robert replied. You made generalizations and then in this post you repeated them while denying it. The thing that has most troubled me throughout the election was the tendency too many people have had to generalize and use language that demeaned others, instead of seeking out the commonalities.
Do you really think I’m so stupid that I thought every white man, every black man and all Latinos voted for trump? Clearly we did not expect the percentages to be what they were. What concerns me is no one is talking about the woman factor. She ran as perfect a campaign as she could. What else could she possibly have done? The workplace I retired from was maybe 10% women of 4000+ employees. The excuses to thwart women in every phase of the workplace was astounding from the crapiest jobs, the least paying jobs, hiring us at all and of course promotions was a given. I saw these same excuses visited on Kamala. Thats what we need to figure out how to remedy. Sounds like Patrick gets it.
A question is how do we change the heart and minds of men AND the 52% of women who also voted for Trump? Feminist writers and thinkers and resisters have been asking this for literally hundreds of years and teaching us. We need to attend, read, study, learn, talk, and act.
Our work must be deep to combat the profound sickness of a fraudulent masculinity rooted in America, but not unknown in other countries as well. It starts with men standing up for different visions of themselves and their sons, brothers, and treating the women of the world with respect and admiration. Many of us feel defeated. We know that. I want to spend my remaining years reading fiction and poetry and in hiking and study of the natural world and calculus (a correction of a big hole in my education), but when Robert and you all give the clarion call to resist, I can't just look away with a complacent, "Well, I gave money and did a little and I tried."
But most of all I can't because my 15 year old granddaughter is scared and depressed and faces an unhappy world. As her mother (a nurse and epidemiologist) enjoined her that it is time to "fight for our rights as women," My whip-smart granddaughter responded, "But why even bother? He'll just take away our right to assemble, he'll take away the free press. Did you know that Adams tried that, Mom? [She is taking AP American History.] He'll take away my right to go to school? What does it matter? He is coming for all of us, and he can do whatever he wants now." I will talk to my granddaughter. My son and daughter-in-law are already doing what they can to calm her fears with respect. (This is posted with her permission.).
As I saw those sad faces at Kamala Harris' concession speech, as I shed tears with them, the thought occurred to me that we really should be offering those young people, whose hopes and dreams are OUR hopes and dreams, a place in this Resistance 2.0. I am involved in several ways with it and many who have been so active are "of an age" (my age.) I am not for passing the baton, but for reaching out and offering a hand to those like your granddaughter to be a part of something that WILL save our democracy, I don't know how this is done, given the difference in communication between our age groups, but I'm sure that where there's a will, there's a way.
Thank you, Ellen. There have been young folks reaching out all along. There have been beautiful alliances across the generations. But I agree that in many ways we have let young people down, by so much harping on how they had no future if Trump wins. It is up to us to create an atmosphere in which they know we have their backs, that we will continue to work for their future, and find ways that they feel that can join us as allies in creating that future.
Dear readers, in my last posting that should be 52% of WHITE women who voted for Trump. Black women voted for him at around 8%. The word"white" was accidentally deleted in an edit. Sorry.
I read this morning on Heather Richardson Cox’s daily letter the following. ‘The day after trump won the election, Afghanistan’s Taliban congratulated the American people for “not handing leadership of their great country to a woman.” ‘ Don’t ignore this sentiment.
You may be aware Rabbi Sharon Brous is senior and founding rabbi of IKAR, and author of “The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Heal Our Hearts and Mend Our Broken World”.
Following is link to IKAR's Shabbat Services of this past Saturday where Rabbi Sharon Brous spoke to this moment, powerfully. Passionately.
The sermon in its entirety is 19 or so minutes and it begins near the156.21 mark.
The following are highlights I have taken down, not intended to be a transcript. Much of that which I share are the actual words of Rabbi Brous although I am remiss in providing full direct quotes and surely, I have left out some compelling statements. And I haven’t nearly captured the depth and breadth of the powerful message, and messenger. So, forgive me.
Context: The referenced Torah readings are about how Abram (later Abraham) and his wife Sarah journeyed together into the unknown. It was an exploration, when disaster strikes. It’s a story of the uncertainty of their times.
“Could Abram, could we hold on to a dream that evaporated before our very eyes? Can he, can we recognize that a dream deferred is not a dream that has died?
“Just as hope doesn’t die, dreams do not die; they just take new shape; they just form new timelines.
“[T]he dream that we … dreamed for America did not die. It feels like it did, but it didn’t. There is a lot for us to grieve … but one thing I will not grieve is the death of the dream. Because our dream, the dream of a just and merciful multi-racial democracy in which all people live in dignity, that dream is the right dream. It is the only future. It’s just now clear that it will take much much longer to achieve that dream than any of us had ever imagined.
“Our dream is the dream of an America … in which nobody tells them [her daughters] this just proves a woman will never be president, because, hello, more than 100 men have run for president and lost, and only two women have lost so far. It’s just math.
“A dream where assault weapons are banned, not books.
“An America that is built on the recognition that every single one of us is part of a web of humanity. That we belong to each other. That our highest calling as a nation is our sacred responsibility to care for one another.
“This week we have entered a spiritual exile.
“I hope that we will respond with grace and courage.
“Please do not forget who you are. Surround yourselves with others who will help you remember.
“Please do not ever believe that you are powerless. You and I and especially we are mightier than our wildest imagination.
“Please do not ever believe you are alone. I say this especially to our queer family, especially to our trans family, especially to our immigrant family, especially to our disabled family, especially to our black family, and especially to black women who have fought and fought and fought for this democracy, for a country that has failed again and again to fight for them.
“Please, we cannot believe that where we are now is where the story ends. Remember that the dream does not die.
“One day, if we hold on, we will leave this narrow place, and our great shared audacious dream will be realized.
Thank you for this. I guess it’s been arrogance - or hubris? - on my part to think that I would live to see this dream of equality come to fruition. I am so, so sad.
It will be a resistance. The frogs are boiled, people. I am stupefied and dumbfounded at the number of reasonable people who are advocating cautious movement forward, utilizing the rule of law and the promise of future elections. Have they not listened? Trump will not continue the rule of law, or permit any fair, free elections in future. Of course, maybe he will change his mind, swayed by moral compunction. What do you think?
We don't know the future. I fear these possibilities, but there are other possibilities as well. America is a huge country; it is complicated to change so much so fast. They don't have much time to implement all the things they want while so many of us will be fighting them at every turn, gumming up the works with lawsuits and delay tactics. Governors are already standing up for the people of their states. As long as people resist, they will not be able to carry out all of their plans, especially when they will have tons of infighting and incompetence in their ranks.
If you haven't read Rebecca Solnit's article linked above, I encourage you to do so. She writes, 'Just like the fossil fuel industry loves doomers who give up on defeating it, so authoritarians love fear, surrender, people who’ve decided they’re already defeated, who are already afraid to resist. Do not give them what they want. After the first Trump election Timothy Snyder’s first mandate for facing the coming trouble was: 'Do not obey prematurely. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.'"
Even if you believe in your bones that our fate is sealed, I encourage you and everyone here not to act accordingly. We must act as though we believe we have a chance to save our country. To do otherwise would be to surrender.
I'm thinking about the peaceful transfer of power. Which has been the practice in the US since its beginning. How does the US go ahead with a peaceful transfer of power to a person who has already criminally violated that practice? It's absurd to peacefully transfer power to a person who does not practice or believe in it. But it's also beyond absurd. It's a violation of the trust we in the US have in our democracy and government. I am a mental health therapist. The population of the US is now being told we must peacefully transfer power to a person whom we have all witnessed did not, tragically did not, honor that practice in 2021. Can't a legal case be brought to block returning to the office of president anyone who, as president, has already ignited a coup against a peaceful transfer?
JMO, but I suspect that that Biden wanted no part of prosecuting Trump. Biden didn't want even the appearance of misusing DOJ against a political opponent.
I'm old enough to remember when Nixon resigned and Ford pardoned him,because, gee, it would have been so terribly disruptive to indict a former president. Sometimes it's better to rip the bandaid off the wound and address the deeper infection.
The clock for taking legal steps to keep the insurrectionists from completing what they started on Jan 6 started running on Jan 20, 2021. It stopped on Nov 5, 2024.
On 11 November 2022 I was at the NSW Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph in Martin Place, Sydney, Australia. I asked the officer at a table by meter-high, temporary fencing if she needed to see ID. She responded no, we’re just checking bags. I went in and stood by a temporary fence. 30 minutes later they announced PM Albanese who walked by me five meters away and sat ten meters away. He was soon followed by the PM of NSW and the Mayor of Sydney.
As the ceremony proceeded I searched the crowd and the rooftops: no visible security or snipers. They just weren’t worried about armed idiots acting.
Imagine no active shooter drills, I wonder if you can? Sadly we are now doomed to four more years of mass shootings and thoughts and prayers.
Hopefully we are not headed to WW III as we remember our veterans.
Resistance it is! Let the historians deal with how to call what we need to do. Let's do it.
Resistance should include critiquing the legacy media and letting them know on a daily basis how they are no longer trustworthy. This morning I was appalled by David Leonhardt use of this phrase: 'Trump thumped Kamala Harris" as he referred to a district T won in past elections. I wrote the following to the NYT.
Your coverage of the election is despicable. The NYT treats a criminal who won the presidency just like any other person. It is irresponsible journalism, unethical and sensationalist.
Is it really a good idea to use expressions like, 'Trump thumped Kamala Harris," in your reporting.* (David Leonhardt) A criminal white man "thumped" a black woman?
Please learn the meaning of the words you use before you print them:
To thump: to hit or strike heavily, especially with the fist or a blunt implement.
"Holman thumped the desk with his hand"
I canceled my subscription months ago and I will work tirelessly to get as many people as possible to do the same. The NYT is no longer a reliable source of news, it has helped to create it and it is now a sustainer of the fascist regime we have in the USA.
Distorted Reality: See how Musk's disinformation helped elect Trump (along with Podcast). Based on Rebecca Solnit's article in the Guardian"F*ck the media explanations that Trump won because he was talking to them about the economy..."
In the absence of a definitive study of why Trump won and Democrats lost the 2024 election, I’m inclined to believe the result flowed from a concatenation of *virtually all* of the explanations – a proverbial “death by a thousand cuts”.
“Resisting over the next four years will be difficult. The only thing that would be more difficult is not resisting.” Thank you, Robert. These are words to live by.
Robert also counsels unity. Tonight I attended a gathering initially intended to celebrate volunteers who wrote postcards. It turned into a sharing of minds and feelings. We had some disagreements, but because we trust each other’s intentions, we found unity in diversity.
One participant stressed the need to allow incompatible thoughts to coexist. I want to caution against entirely tuning out mainstream media. They are still staffed with dedicated journalists and opinion writers. Some of them are interpreting events within a conventional framework. Our task as independent thinkers is to sort through which of their observations make sense and which interpretations are absurd in the face of current circumstances. I appreciate very much Robert's reminder that Trump is starting the transition in a characteristically lawless fashion.
A closing thought: It will take time to find our way, and we will sometimes have to respond urgently.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment and for sharing the outcome of the gathering you attended. A good model for the rest of us to keep in mind. Bless you, Gary. (That's a sort of generic multi-cultural blessing from a multi-cultural person, btw.)
After spending Wed and Thurs mostly crying, I decided on Fri to not let Trump steal my joy. To not let Trump reside in my brain. To continue my outreach work with fellow Democrats - to connect with voters and support candidates. So I'll be organizing Kitchen Table Gatherings, and I'll be recruiting candidates. This work is soul-replenishing.
Thank you for your lovely words. I just won't give him that power. I want to continue to listen to voters as to why they voted Republican. Clearly we've got a lot to learn.
I hope to be able to do something similar, working outside the town I live in. Still figuring it out, and I'll probably bounce off one of the groups I worked with during the election who are now re-defining their purpose. I love the term Kitchen Table Gatherings. Reminds me of what my family used to call "kitchen table story-telling". Passing along knowledge and power.
Have you connected with your local Dem group? That's what I'm involved with here in Maine, and it's a wonderful team. In terms of the Kitchen Table Gatherings, we decided to try this a couple of years ago. In each regional area of the county, we start with a small group to decide place, day, and time, and then reach out to all we know in the area. Some parts of the county have been more successful than others with this, but where it's worked, folks have liked it. The gatherings are part social and part focused discussion. I think it's a way to help folks feel connected positively to other Democrats - to build social identity and a sense of belonging. I like your idea of personal story-telling - that seems just right during this time.
We literally gather around someone's kitchen table, with light refreshments, and have some social time, and then usually a discussion. The host calls the shots in terms of time and day, and our county committee is available for defraying costs if needed. Very low tech, very informal, very much a hang with Dems/independents. The beauty of these gatherings has been to connect folks on the fringes with folks who are more involved, and the ripple effect has pulled in new folks around the county.
The House of Representatives still has 19 races not yet called. Democrats are currently leading in 10 races and Republicans in 9. And yes, Republicans are also curing ballots.
Ballot cure opportunities include phoning Democratic voters whose ballots commonly need a signature redone, following up in person, captaining a turf, and recruiting volunteers. I find the in-person follow up to be a slog, but the House is on the line and these numbers of votes are making a difference! Hey, it's a slog for democracy!
With the vote counting, campaign resources, state-local party coordination, and state timelines differing, the needs are fluid, so registering to cure ballots might take a bit more searching--but persist. Some campaigns also need donations to fund ballot cure staff and/or recounts.
Find a state’s Democratic Party and look for the House candidate’s campaign. Or check
Not yet. Ballots are still being counted and ballots cured, especially for the 6 close house races in California. And even if we do lose the House, the narrower the margin, the better.
Resistance also implies that not all action has to be overt or involve aggression or force. It can be something a simple as refusing to accept an idea one knows to be false, or being thoughtful about the actions one chooses, to make sure they have the desired outcome.
Interesting how all the plans were in place to not certify state results, even speaker Johnson was involved. I wonder what would have happened if Kamala had won? Of course Trump was ready to scream voter fraud again but it's only fraud when he loses, not when he wins.
I wonder if there are any legal repercussions if he doesn't sign that transference/ethic document, or if he does sign it but doesn't abide by it? If not what good is such a document? Especially if Biden let's him off the hook.
Remember when he said this would be the last election, that "You won't have to vote anymore" I think he meant it and plans to stay in power like Putin. Then if he does what happens next? Does the army step in? Or will he replace the top pentagon generals with loyal Trumpers? Silly question: Of course he will, he already said how much he admired Hitlers generals because they followed orders without question.
So our intent is to fight him in the normal way, get the majority of voters to like us. Where is David when you need him, to fight this Goliath?
it’s hard to imagine he will actually live thru this term, given how much his health seems to have deteriorated. i wouldn’t put it past Vance to stay past 8 years though
Belinda. for some reason my old windows 7 browser won't let me check the "like" button, but yes I agree that is a real possibility, of course he won't divulge his health report any more than he would divulge his tax returns, These should be mandatory but the GOP Congress won't even consider such a law. I dread to think of Vance being president.
It doesn't matter if Trump lives or not. Putin is in charge. Musk and Thiel will carry out his instructions. Vance will be the figurehead. Putin now owns the Senate, it seems the House, and certainly SCOTUS. There are thousands of Project 2025 people mobilizing to take control of the American governmental infrastructure. Neither the individual Trump nor the individual Vance is important. Both are expendable. Both are easily replaceable.
Yes, definitely resistance, not opposition. Things are definitely gonna get ugly. Four additional points:
1. Biden should absolutely require that the incoming administration (I can't even bear to mention the principal figure's name) conform exactly to the black-letter requirements of the Presidential Transition Act: sign the ethics pledges and do whatever else is called for. To let the orange criminal and his henchmen skate out of fear that a messy transition will be chaotic and damaging would be to give in to extortion. I have no doubt the orange criminal would unhesitatingly try to leverage the prospect -- or even the overt threat -- of chaos to extort acquiescence to his ignoring the Act. The transition is going to be a mess in any case. Anything untoward that occurs is on the incoming guy, not on Biden.
By the way, Garland ought to be jumping out of his shoes to prosecute Lanza under the Logan Act. I know, ain't gonna happen; am just sayin'.
2. Point taken about the Smith prosecutions and continuing them through the inauguration. On the other hand, as Joyce Vance has explained, Smith's winding the cases down now gives him the chance to fully document all that has happened and all the evidence he has, for the historical record. He would not have that chance if he kept going and were summarily fired on January 20th at one minute past noon. Further, it's likely a very safe bet that every scrap of evidence and documentation would mysteriously disappear immediately and the revision of recent history would thus begin with some major erasures.
Either way you slice it, it's an extremely bitter pill to swallow, the more so that it's clear that AG Garland totally fell down on the job. Coulda woulda shoulda. It's far too late now, goddamn it.
3. As Benjamin Franklin supposedly said, three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead. The idea of widespread voting fraud involving hundreds of people in many dozens of election offices all around the country, which is what it would take to roll up a margin as great as what we ended with, is nonsensical on its face. Please stop beating the conspiracy drum, y'all -- as Rebecca Solnit put it in her essay yesterday, "Not being them and not being like them is the first job."
4. Speaking of Solnit, see this fairly long and very thoughtful essay, which dovetails with Robert's spot-on concluding points: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/09/authoritarians-like-trump-love-fear-defeatism-surrender-do-not-give-them-what-they-want.
In resistance and solidarity,
Resident of a solid blue state that just elected a staunchly anti-Trump governor and attorney general
Excellent comments, all around. I will store the Franklin quote in my quiver for future use.
To your first three points: Yes, yes and yes! And thanks for sharing Rebecca Solnit's timely and important essay. As Solnit is a regular contributor to the Guardian my first impulse ("Here we go again, the Guardian is leading the way, the US main stream media once again are wanting") probably was wrong. But in any case I hope this essay is widely distributed and read in the US.
Solnit has published similar sentiments in other places, but I was glad to see her Guardian essay go into detail. Another person who takes this approach to creating change is George Lakey, whose books have guided many groups for a long time in using non-violent but determined resistance to effect change. I have had the pleasure of working on a project with him.
Another wonderful read is Rivera Sun's The Dandelion Insurrection. A work of speculative fiction, it ignited my sleeping activist soul. Rivera Sun is a writer, teacher, and advocate for peace and non-violent resistance. If you buy the book directly from the author, it will come signed and include a bumper sticker that reads, "Be Kind, Be Connected, Be Unafraid, With Love, The Dandelion Insurrection." I have my sticker posted directly above my desk.
Hear hear
Your 4 points strike me as spot on, especially your 4th referring to Solnit’s piece, which I hope is in some way memorialized as it seems to me to rather perfectly capture the enormity of the shift we are sadly seemingly on the verge of experiencing. As I read that piece, aspects of Amor Towles’ novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, came to mind. What is most concerning to me and perhaps different than most comparative circumstances gone by is our loss of the Court/courts, checks and balances, etc. I am struggling to see a PEACEFUL way forward, given that there is no remaining USA or similar symbol and/or savior to come to the rescue, to admire as the example, to shine its light of hope, etc. — is there?
Thank you pts!!!! I LOVE this article by Ms. Solnit who is new to me. I'm going to memorize it as my handbook for the next four years and share as widely as I can. Blessings,.
Thank you for your three excellent points. And Solnit! One of the most penetrating political essays I have ever read. I didn't know Solnit was such a big Orwell fan. If you haven't recently read Animal Farm (I find more apt than 1984) then do. I also recommend having a strong faith in something; for me it's a higher power but for others it may simply be overwhelmingly confident in oneself and one's principles. Solnit talks about love and I was so impressed for her using the word because love is a difficult word to use and not come off sounding all touchy-feely, kumbaya. Just keep in mind love has different meanings for different kinds of relationships. In terms of "loving thine enemy" a mystic friend of mine says think of forgive your enemy, have some empathy. I think we need to embrace this. As Solnit writes we truly must love what we are fighting for and not what we are fighting against. I also believe we need to talk about what kind of resistance we should be embracing. Throw out the playbook; we have entered unchartered territory.
This is spectacular, pts. Thank you so much!
PTS, This is very thoughtful and well said. I, particularly like #2 and would encourage the powers that be to do everything possible to put the evidence on the record and available to future generations- certainly current generations would be well served also.
Let me add one final note. Having read Michael Lewis’s The Fifth Risk I encourage others to at least scan it. His report of the transition in three cabinet departments can aptly demonstrate just a peek into what a 2024 transition would look like. Heavens! I’d bet they’d sign the ethics papers and move on to do whatever the hell they want.
It is time for media to step up the investigative journalism and take serious that DJT is not normal. To do any less would (will) be malfeasant journalism.
Just looked and The Fifth Risk is available online as a pdf. I'd also recommend Michael Lewis' book The Premonition about how the foundational research which enabled rapid development of the Covid vaccine as well as many others. Sound dry but the book is a fascinating, sometimes amusing read.
Thank you for this wonderful and inspiring article. Figuring out how to best put our individual talents to work in resisting MAGA will require some soul searching. In the end, we will all find our seat at the table.
Beautiful Robert - Thank you! Communities are coming together --my Indivisible group just met up yesterday.
Regarding the election out come - I don't think there was hacking involved per se-- but sustained disinformation, bots, nazification of X/Twitter -- over and over and over; I phone banked a lot and heard these MAGA lies -- and try as I might, it was difficult to change minds, or at least get an "oh, I'll look into that" -- so much disinformation for so long. Add in the most recent connection to Putin from tRump & Musk -- add in Jill Stein, the R's and more, I think we just experienced a Kremlin coup.
As you say, we have our work cut out for us -- Grassroots 2.0
"Putin fights for years to acquire Ukraine. But has been gifted America without firing a shot"
Psy ops. Russian involvement should be investigated ASAP. Same for Musk. The Philadelphia case should just be a start. https://phillyda.org/news/phila-das-office-statement-on-federal-judge-remanding-suit-against-america-pac-elon-musk-to-pa-state-court-in-philadelphia/
Thank you. Since it will be a state case there will be no pardon from his boss, the convicted felon. Will musk get bond?
I'm hearing a lot of feedback of MAGA lies as well from some trump voters I otherwise respect. I'm going to try to engage them with facts and see if they waver.
Brave conversations, Bob, not because you fear getting beat up, I suppose, but because the weight of arrogance and victory is on their side. Good luck and even dropping seeds of doubt is good work. Reports on your experience would be welcomed by this reader with any advice on what works.
Jeanne, a bloodless coup by an authoritarian dictator, Vladimir Putin, occurred on election day. In 1939, the last time authoritarians attempted to take over the world, the world was saved by the United States of America working in conjunction with Britain and other allies. That United States of America, as of Nov. 5, no longer exists. There is no one to ride to our rescue.
Thank you for your thoughtful and measured words. I have a group of Expats who will be meeting this week to discuss what we will be doing going forward to help the US and democracy from abroad.
It's great to hear you haven't skipped a beat, Linda. Thank you for continuing your impressive activism. Be well.
Dear Robert,
Your voice and thoughts calm me, and I am very grateful to you. I love your ideas, and I am concerned that this time is different from his prior election.
Trump will have more power, and the weaponization of the police and the justice department, and unchecked power to respond to protesters.
I am worried about the collapse of entire agencies, and the ending of institutions we counted on to keep life as we know it, going.
I am praying for Biden and other agencies to gum up the gears to prevent the total collapse of order, and to stop the takeover of the military. It feels like the resistance must take place from within.
Please keep talking about how we navigate this new reality. Thank you
Your fears are understandable and reasonable. But do not underestimate the scale and heft of the federal government. It is embedded in every part of our lives. If we try to take away one part of it, the unintended consequences will be severe and widespread. Jay Kuo posted a note that parents who have autistic Children are suddenly realizing that the department of education is the source of much of the funding for the special education needs of their children. Many of those parents voted for Trump, in part, because he vowed to eliminate the department of education, which is a lifeline to their children. I have no doubt that he will act very cautiously in doing so once he realizes the damage that he might inflict on vulnerable populations.
Robert, forgive me, but I cannot resist rewording the last part of your comment: "...Once he realizes the damage that he might inflict on his ability to do anything without backlash."
Exactly. There's no way he would care in any way about damage inflicted on vulnerable populations. In fact, I've no doubt he intends to inflict damage on many vulnerable populations.
Thank you Robert. You are a kind soul like me. Cruelty, however, is the point of these changes.
A person who runs on retribution isn't concerned about pain, even if those who voted for him.
.
Removing the Department of Education is to force children into charter schools. The substack the Bulwark had simulation exercises with members of the military and other government officials to see what might happen under another Trump administration. It was helpful to read. Please keep up the good work, as we find ways around this administration.
Why won’t anyone address the real reason Kamala lost? She’s a woman. White men, Latino’s and even black men were never going to vote for a woman. Why is everyone afraid to admit it.
I have urged readers to refrain from slicing and dicing the electorate to assign blame for Harris’s loss. For example, millions of white, Latino, and Black male voters supported Kamala Harris. It is an incorrect generalization to say that white, Latino, and Black male voters did not support her.
The real question is why 12 million people who supported Joe Biden in 2020 did not support Kamala Harris in 2024. I have repeatedly asserted that the reason so many voters abandoned Kamala Harris is because Trump ran on racism, sexism, and white supremacy. Sadly, those campaign themes resonated with millions upon millions of Americans of every race and gender. Let’s not beat up on white, Latino, and Black males who are our allies in this fight. The problem is racism and sexism, wherever it resides.
I’m not saying every white male, black male , and Latinos didn’t vote for her, of course some did. But, you have to admit way more didn’t and why is that? I maintain these groups - as a whole - were not ready to pull the lever for a woman. It’s really the only consistent theme across the board. NOT ME! I was for her 4 years ago and again this time around. I honestly thought we were past the misogyny. Unfortunately , we are not.
But, Linda, that is exactly what you said in your post to which Robert replied. You made generalizations and then in this post you repeated them while denying it. The thing that has most troubled me throughout the election was the tendency too many people have had to generalize and use language that demeaned others, instead of seeking out the commonalities.
Do you really think I’m so stupid that I thought every white man, every black man and all Latinos voted for trump? Clearly we did not expect the percentages to be what they were. What concerns me is no one is talking about the woman factor. She ran as perfect a campaign as she could. What else could she possibly have done? The workplace I retired from was maybe 10% women of 4000+ employees. The excuses to thwart women in every phase of the workplace was astounding from the crapiest jobs, the least paying jobs, hiring us at all and of course promotions was a given. I saw these same excuses visited on Kamala. Thats what we need to figure out how to remedy. Sounds like Patrick gets it.
A question is how do we change the heart and minds of men AND the 52% of women who also voted for Trump? Feminist writers and thinkers and resisters have been asking this for literally hundreds of years and teaching us. We need to attend, read, study, learn, talk, and act.
Our work must be deep to combat the profound sickness of a fraudulent masculinity rooted in America, but not unknown in other countries as well. It starts with men standing up for different visions of themselves and their sons, brothers, and treating the women of the world with respect and admiration. Many of us feel defeated. We know that. I want to spend my remaining years reading fiction and poetry and in hiking and study of the natural world and calculus (a correction of a big hole in my education), but when Robert and you all give the clarion call to resist, I can't just look away with a complacent, "Well, I gave money and did a little and I tried."
But most of all I can't because my 15 year old granddaughter is scared and depressed and faces an unhappy world. As her mother (a nurse and epidemiologist) enjoined her that it is time to "fight for our rights as women," My whip-smart granddaughter responded, "But why even bother? He'll just take away our right to assemble, he'll take away the free press. Did you know that Adams tried that, Mom? [She is taking AP American History.] He'll take away my right to go to school? What does it matter? He is coming for all of us, and he can do whatever he wants now." I will talk to my granddaughter. My son and daughter-in-law are already doing what they can to calm her fears with respect. (This is posted with her permission.).
I can't abandon this fight. None of us can.
As I saw those sad faces at Kamala Harris' concession speech, as I shed tears with them, the thought occurred to me that we really should be offering those young people, whose hopes and dreams are OUR hopes and dreams, a place in this Resistance 2.0. I am involved in several ways with it and many who have been so active are "of an age" (my age.) I am not for passing the baton, but for reaching out and offering a hand to those like your granddaughter to be a part of something that WILL save our democracy, I don't know how this is done, given the difference in communication between our age groups, but I'm sure that where there's a will, there's a way.
Thank you, Ellen. There have been young folks reaching out all along. There have been beautiful alliances across the generations. But I agree that in many ways we have let young people down, by so much harping on how they had no future if Trump wins. It is up to us to create an atmosphere in which they know we have their backs, that we will continue to work for their future, and find ways that they feel that can join us as allies in creating that future.
Dear readers, in my last posting that should be 52% of WHITE women who voted for Trump. Black women voted for him at around 8%. The word"white" was accidentally deleted in an edit. Sorry.
I read this morning on Heather Richardson Cox’s daily letter the following. ‘The day after trump won the election, Afghanistan’s Taliban congratulated the American people for “not handing leadership of their great country to a woman.” ‘ Don’t ignore this sentiment.
The real winner of this election was misinformation. Orwell was off by 40yrs. The question now is, "What are we going to do about it?" https://newrepublic.com/post/188197/trump-media-information-landscape-fox
Hear, hear!
You may be aware Rabbi Sharon Brous is senior and founding rabbi of IKAR, and author of “The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Heal Our Hearts and Mend Our Broken World”.
Following is link to IKAR's Shabbat Services of this past Saturday where Rabbi Sharon Brous spoke to this moment, powerfully. Passionately.
https://www.youtube.com/live/ldL_Vh9bCkM
The sermon in its entirety is 19 or so minutes and it begins near the156.21 mark.
The following are highlights I have taken down, not intended to be a transcript. Much of that which I share are the actual words of Rabbi Brous although I am remiss in providing full direct quotes and surely, I have left out some compelling statements. And I haven’t nearly captured the depth and breadth of the powerful message, and messenger. So, forgive me.
Context: The referenced Torah readings are about how Abram (later Abraham) and his wife Sarah journeyed together into the unknown. It was an exploration, when disaster strikes. It’s a story of the uncertainty of their times.
“Could Abram, could we hold on to a dream that evaporated before our very eyes? Can he, can we recognize that a dream deferred is not a dream that has died?
“Just as hope doesn’t die, dreams do not die; they just take new shape; they just form new timelines.
“[T]he dream that we … dreamed for America did not die. It feels like it did, but it didn’t. There is a lot for us to grieve … but one thing I will not grieve is the death of the dream. Because our dream, the dream of a just and merciful multi-racial democracy in which all people live in dignity, that dream is the right dream. It is the only future. It’s just now clear that it will take much much longer to achieve that dream than any of us had ever imagined.
“Our dream is the dream of an America … in which nobody tells them [her daughters] this just proves a woman will never be president, because, hello, more than 100 men have run for president and lost, and only two women have lost so far. It’s just math.
“A dream where assault weapons are banned, not books.
“An America that is built on the recognition that every single one of us is part of a web of humanity. That we belong to each other. That our highest calling as a nation is our sacred responsibility to care for one another.
“This week we have entered a spiritual exile.
“I hope that we will respond with grace and courage.
“Please do not forget who you are. Surround yourselves with others who will help you remember.
“Please do not ever believe that you are powerless. You and I and especially we are mightier than our wildest imagination.
“Please do not ever believe you are alone. I say this especially to our queer family, especially to our trans family, especially to our immigrant family, especially to our disabled family, especially to our black family, and especially to black women who have fought and fought and fought for this democracy, for a country that has failed again and again to fight for them.
“Please, we cannot believe that where we are now is where the story ends. Remember that the dream does not die.
“One day, if we hold on, we will leave this narrow place, and our great shared audacious dream will be realized.
“I wish you all strength.
“Shabbat Shalom.”
Powerful words: We are in a spiritual exile.
Thank you for this. I guess it’s been arrogance - or hubris? - on my part to think that I would live to see this dream of equality come to fruition. I am so, so sad.
I believe if was 78% of Jewish women and 72% of Jewish men voted for Kamala along with their Black sisters and brothers. I am in that 78% group.
This aggression will not stand, man.
The resistance abides.
It will be a resistance. The frogs are boiled, people. I am stupefied and dumbfounded at the number of reasonable people who are advocating cautious movement forward, utilizing the rule of law and the promise of future elections. Have they not listened? Trump will not continue the rule of law, or permit any fair, free elections in future. Of course, maybe he will change his mind, swayed by moral compunction. What do you think?
We don't know the future. I fear these possibilities, but there are other possibilities as well. America is a huge country; it is complicated to change so much so fast. They don't have much time to implement all the things they want while so many of us will be fighting them at every turn, gumming up the works with lawsuits and delay tactics. Governors are already standing up for the people of their states. As long as people resist, they will not be able to carry out all of their plans, especially when they will have tons of infighting and incompetence in their ranks.
If you haven't read Rebecca Solnit's article linked above, I encourage you to do so. She writes, 'Just like the fossil fuel industry loves doomers who give up on defeating it, so authoritarians love fear, surrender, people who’ve decided they’re already defeated, who are already afraid to resist. Do not give them what they want. After the first Trump election Timothy Snyder’s first mandate for facing the coming trouble was: 'Do not obey prematurely. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.'"
Even if you believe in your bones that our fate is sealed, I encourage you and everyone here not to act accordingly. We must act as though we believe we have a chance to save our country. To do otherwise would be to surrender.
I'm thinking about the peaceful transfer of power. Which has been the practice in the US since its beginning. How does the US go ahead with a peaceful transfer of power to a person who has already criminally violated that practice? It's absurd to peacefully transfer power to a person who does not practice or believe in it. But it's also beyond absurd. It's a violation of the trust we in the US have in our democracy and government. I am a mental health therapist. The population of the US is now being told we must peacefully transfer power to a person whom we have all witnessed did not, tragically did not, honor that practice in 2021. Can't a legal case be brought to block returning to the office of president anyone who, as president, has already ignited a coup against a peaceful transfer?
Merrick Garland had the opportunity. He blew it.
JMO, but I suspect that that Biden wanted no part of prosecuting Trump. Biden didn't want even the appearance of misusing DOJ against a political opponent.
I'm old enough to remember when Nixon resigned and Ford pardoned him,because, gee, it would have been so terribly disruptive to indict a former president. Sometimes it's better to rip the bandaid off the wound and address the deeper infection.
I had had high hopes for him at the beginning. He turned a blind eye to the horrors that were happening. I will never forgive him for that. Never!
The clock for taking legal steps to keep the insurrectionists from completing what they started on Jan 6 started running on Jan 20, 2021. It stopped on Nov 5, 2024.
Stefan, I fear you are right.
Exactly
On 11 November 2022 I was at the NSW Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph in Martin Place, Sydney, Australia. I asked the officer at a table by meter-high, temporary fencing if she needed to see ID. She responded no, we’re just checking bags. I went in and stood by a temporary fence. 30 minutes later they announced PM Albanese who walked by me five meters away and sat ten meters away. He was soon followed by the PM of NSW and the Mayor of Sydney.
As the ceremony proceeded I searched the crowd and the rooftops: no visible security or snipers. They just weren’t worried about armed idiots acting.
Imagine no active shooter drills, I wonder if you can? Sadly we are now doomed to four more years of mass shootings and thoughts and prayers.
Hopefully we are not headed to WW III as we remember our veterans.
Resistance it is! Let the historians deal with how to call what we need to do. Let's do it.
Resistance should include critiquing the legacy media and letting them know on a daily basis how they are no longer trustworthy. This morning I was appalled by David Leonhardt use of this phrase: 'Trump thumped Kamala Harris" as he referred to a district T won in past elections. I wrote the following to the NYT.
Your coverage of the election is despicable. The NYT treats a criminal who won the presidency just like any other person. It is irresponsible journalism, unethical and sensationalist.
Is it really a good idea to use expressions like, 'Trump thumped Kamala Harris," in your reporting.* (David Leonhardt) A criminal white man "thumped" a black woman?
Please learn the meaning of the words you use before you print them:
To thump: to hit or strike heavily, especially with the fist or a blunt implement.
"Holman thumped the desk with his hand"
I canceled my subscription months ago and I will work tirelessly to get as many people as possible to do the same. The NYT is no longer a reliable source of news, it has helped to create it and it is now a sustainer of the fascist regime we have in the USA.
Shame on all of you.
A well-written criticism, using terms the lout might understand. Thank you.
Distorted Reality: See how Musk's disinformation helped elect Trump (along with Podcast). Based on Rebecca Solnit's article in the Guardian"F*ck the media explanations that Trump won because he was talking to them about the economy..."
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/11/10/distorted-reality-how-musk-helped-elect-trump/
In the absence of a definitive study of why Trump won and Democrats lost the 2024 election, I’m inclined to believe the result flowed from a concatenation of *virtually all* of the explanations – a proverbial “death by a thousand cuts”.
It's a good rationale. And useful if, accepting it, we can enable ourselves to stop looking backward. We have to look forward. It's going to be tough.
Isn't White Christian Nationalism the umbrella term for racist sexism (aka misogyny)?
Christian means WHITE now. ugh. I am so sad.
And it also means *not* Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, etc., agnostic, …
“Resisting over the next four years will be difficult. The only thing that would be more difficult is not resisting.” Thank you, Robert. These are words to live by.
Robert also counsels unity. Tonight I attended a gathering initially intended to celebrate volunteers who wrote postcards. It turned into a sharing of minds and feelings. We had some disagreements, but because we trust each other’s intentions, we found unity in diversity.
One participant stressed the need to allow incompatible thoughts to coexist. I want to caution against entirely tuning out mainstream media. They are still staffed with dedicated journalists and opinion writers. Some of them are interpreting events within a conventional framework. Our task as independent thinkers is to sort through which of their observations make sense and which interpretations are absurd in the face of current circumstances. I appreciate very much Robert's reminder that Trump is starting the transition in a characteristically lawless fashion.
A closing thought: It will take time to find our way, and we will sometimes have to respond urgently.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment and for sharing the outcome of the gathering you attended. A good model for the rest of us to keep in mind. Bless you, Gary. (That's a sort of generic multi-cultural blessing from a multi-cultural person, btw.)
I’m spiritual and am grateful for your blessing. 🙏
After spending Wed and Thurs mostly crying, I decided on Fri to not let Trump steal my joy. To not let Trump reside in my brain. To continue my outreach work with fellow Democrats - to connect with voters and support candidates. So I'll be organizing Kitchen Table Gatherings, and I'll be recruiting candidates. This work is soul-replenishing.
That is the best, the only, response!
Thank you for your lovely words. I just won't give him that power. I want to continue to listen to voters as to why they voted Republican. Clearly we've got a lot to learn.
I hope to be able to do something similar, working outside the town I live in. Still figuring it out, and I'll probably bounce off one of the groups I worked with during the election who are now re-defining their purpose. I love the term Kitchen Table Gatherings. Reminds me of what my family used to call "kitchen table story-telling". Passing along knowledge and power.
Have you connected with your local Dem group? That's what I'm involved with here in Maine, and it's a wonderful team. In terms of the Kitchen Table Gatherings, we decided to try this a couple of years ago. In each regional area of the county, we start with a small group to decide place, day, and time, and then reach out to all we know in the area. Some parts of the county have been more successful than others with this, but where it's worked, folks have liked it. The gatherings are part social and part focused discussion. I think it's a way to help folks feel connected positively to other Democrats - to build social identity and a sense of belonging. I like your idea of personal story-telling - that seems just right during this time.
When you say "Kitchen Table Gatherings," is this a specific thing, or just what you call your community-building?
We literally gather around someone's kitchen table, with light refreshments, and have some social time, and then usually a discussion. The host calls the shots in terms of time and day, and our county committee is available for defraying costs if needed. Very low tech, very informal, very much a hang with Dems/independents. The beauty of these gatherings has been to connect folks on the fringes with folks who are more involved, and the ripple effect has pulled in new folks around the county.
CURE BALLOTS!!!
The House of Representatives still has 19 races not yet called. Democrats are currently leading in 10 races and Republicans in 9. And yes, Republicans are also curing ballots.
https://apps.npr.org/2024-election-results/house.html
Ballot cure opportunities include phoning Democratic voters whose ballots commonly need a signature redone, following up in person, captaining a turf, and recruiting volunteers. I find the in-person follow up to be a slog, but the House is on the line and these numbers of votes are making a difference! Hey, it's a slog for democracy!
With the vote counting, campaign resources, state-local party coordination, and state timelines differing, the needs are fluid, so registering to cure ballots might take a bit more searching--but persist. Some campaigns also need donations to fund ballot cure staff and/or recounts.
Find a state’s Democratic Party and look for the House candidate’s campaign. Or check
www.mobilize.us
CA-22 Rudy Salas:
https://www.mobilize.us/dccc/event/742490/
CA-27 George Whitesides:
https://www.georgewhitesides.com/
CA-45 Derek Tran:
https://www.mobilize.us/derektranforcongress/event/742562/
CO-08 Yadira Caraveo:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebePsIceUN5TdFYJWRR-LZ2EcaZ6oRFruhuGkqswJZq-dJlQ/viewform
This is just a start. Arizona and Pennsylvania have close races in need. Pile on your info!
Yes! Come on people, start Resistance here.
Do we need to be in the state to help cure the ballots?
No
We lost the House.
Not yet. Ballots are still being counted and ballots cured, especially for the 6 close house races in California. And even if we do lose the House, the narrower the margin, the better.
Resistance it is!
That's what they called the French during WWII (and other nationalities that resisted fascism). The resistance fighters.
Resistance also implies that not all action has to be overt or involve aggression or force. It can be something a simple as refusing to accept an idea one knows to be false, or being thoughtful about the actions one chooses, to make sure they have the desired outcome.
Interesting how all the plans were in place to not certify state results, even speaker Johnson was involved. I wonder what would have happened if Kamala had won? Of course Trump was ready to scream voter fraud again but it's only fraud when he loses, not when he wins.
I wonder if there are any legal repercussions if he doesn't sign that transference/ethic document, or if he does sign it but doesn't abide by it? If not what good is such a document? Especially if Biden let's him off the hook.
Remember when he said this would be the last election, that "You won't have to vote anymore" I think he meant it and plans to stay in power like Putin. Then if he does what happens next? Does the army step in? Or will he replace the top pentagon generals with loyal Trumpers? Silly question: Of course he will, he already said how much he admired Hitlers generals because they followed orders without question.
So our intent is to fight him in the normal way, get the majority of voters to like us. Where is David when you need him, to fight this Goliath?
mo
it’s hard to imagine he will actually live thru this term, given how much his health seems to have deteriorated. i wouldn’t put it past Vance to stay past 8 years though
Belinda. for some reason my old windows 7 browser won't let me check the "like" button, but yes I agree that is a real possibility, of course he won't divulge his health report any more than he would divulge his tax returns, These should be mandatory but the GOP Congress won't even consider such a law. I dread to think of Vance being president.
he’d be thrilled to divulge them if he was well. he’s probably fired every doctor that told him the truth.
It doesn't matter if Trump lives or not. Putin is in charge. Musk and Thiel will carry out his instructions. Vance will be the figurehead. Putin now owns the Senate, it seems the House, and certainly SCOTUS. There are thousands of Project 2025 people mobilizing to take control of the American governmental infrastructure. Neither the individual Trump nor the individual Vance is important. Both are expendable. Both are easily replaceable.
Gilligan’s Island on steroids: https://snyder.substack.com/p/oligarchs-island