Thread by @AngrierWHStaff

THREAD:

I know sometimes I’m appallingly optimistic, but truthfully, I’m just as concerned as you are.

If you’re looking for a fear-mongering feed, this isn’t the right one for you. I’d probably have more followers if I stoked fears daily, but that’s just not my style.

With that being said, we are quickly approaching the crossroads of authoritarianism and democracy.

It feels like in the post-Barr letter victory lap, something is fundamentally broken in America.

It’s almost time to (peacefully) shut down DC and not leave until he does, but I don’t think we’re there yet; I’m willing to give the Dems a chance to conduct their oversight.

That’s the purpose behind my optimism. It’s not false hope, it’s just how DC works.

It’s easy to say “we should be doing ___ right now” or “omg why hasn’t the report leaked yet?!,” but I’m not going to panic — and I would encourage you not to, either — until we see what Barr releases.

We have to do this right, because we only get one shot at it.

If the Dems look overly partisan right now, it hands the GOP a clear victory. They’re in the middle of their “NO COLLUSION NO OBSTRUCTION” victory lap.

That’s about to end, and they know it.

It feels like the nation is burning right now. Norms are being shattered left and right.

Frankly, post-Mueller investigation Trump is fucking terrifying. This is what we always expected him to be.

We *didn’t* expect the system to completely fail for two years, though.

Yes, DC is maddeningly slow; it always has been.

In the other hand, the Democrats are doing *almost* exactly what they should be doing: they’re investigating, issuing subpoenas, conducting real oversight, and holding the administration accountable.

If Barr’s version of the Mueller report sucks, you’re going to see things kick into overdrive.

The Democrats aren’t playing around. They have response packages in the hopper — they’re just hoping they don’t have to use them.

I’ve said it before, but I know it feels hopeless sometimes — that’s by design.

Trump spins up these bullshit tornadoes to discourage/distract people and keep them off guard.

We can’t let that work — there’s too much legitimate stuff to worry about right now.

In the midst of all the little stuff, Trump is sliding further towards authoritarianism.

He’s openly encouraging people to break the law with the promise of a pardon, and considering taking executive action to hurt his perceived enemies.

These are clear impeachable offenses.

It’s well-past time for the GOP to quit normalizing this behavior. A Democrat would have been impeached approximately 23 times by now.

The absolute spinelessness of the GOP Congress is *still* the most disappointing part of this Presidency to me.

Despite all this, I’m still optimistic.

We crushed it in the midterms. The GOP suffered their worst defeat since Nixon.

We’re going to do it again in 2020. That’s why you can’t give up.

In closing, I’ve seen a lot of Tom Clancy-esque fears on here over the last few days:

- no, the IRS isn’t going to forge Trump’s taxes
- no, Trump isn’t going to cancel the election
- yes, the Russians and the Chinese will meddle. No, that doesn’t mean you should skip voting

Your voice still matters. The moment you start to act like it doesn’t, they actually win.

I’m always going to give it to you straight, whether you like what I have to say or not.

Yes, this is a scary time for America, but NO, we haven’t lost. Chin up. Stay in the fight. <end>