“When we as Americans pay our taxes we’re not making contributions to the Trump campaign or the Obama campaign. We’re paying for our government to function. That’s what this laws about.” - @ianbassin#inners
“If you use your official office, your official government title and you go out there holding yourself out as a representative of the American people in your public, official capacity, you can’t endorse candidates...” - @ianbassin#inners
“At what point do we cease to be a government of laws and not of men?” - @ianbassin#inners
“They slowly pull the threads out of the system until there’s no system left.” - @ianbassin#inners
“He’s poking his finger in the eye of America and saying, ‘This is Trumpistan, not the United States of America, are you going to do anything about it?’” - @ianbassin#inners
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Here are the six major threats that we can expect from an authoritarian president occupying the White House in 2025
(plus, threaded below for more ⬇️🧵)
1⃣ Pardons to license lawbreaking: As president Trump was a pioneer in pardon abuse and has promised to further abuse that power to reward violent actors and place himself above the law
Trump, the likely R nominee for POTUS, has promised to enact policies threatening core democratic institutions.
In a new report, our experts analyze whether & how those promises might override the checks designed to constrain POTUS abuses of power. authoritarianplaybook2025.org
The report, written by a cross-ideological team of experts, thoroughly compiles Trump’s stated plans and tackles the question: Is our system of checks & balances robust enough to constrain an autocrat in the White House?
It focuses on 6 threat areas 🧵⬇️
1⃣ Pardons to license lawbreaking:
During Trump’s 1st term, he used pardons to induce witnesses against him into silence. In a 2nd term, he's indicated to further abuse pardons to incite political violence, incentivize lawbreaking for his benefit, & place himself above the law.
BREAKING: The city of San Marcos and its police dept have agreed to settle our case alleging they turned a blind eye to the so-called “Trump Train” engaging in political violence against passengers on the Biden-Harris bus in lead-up to the 2020 election. protectdemocracy.org/work/san-marco…
In settling this case, the City on behalf of the police department has admitted to falling short of its policing standards and has agreed to institute mandatory training for all its officers and to compensate the victims they failed to protect.
🔗 ➡️ protdem.org/4054mJN
In filing this case, the victims claimed police violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871—a law that makes it illegal for law enforcement to negligently fail to take steps to prevent certain conspiracies to engage in election-related violence or intimidation. protectdemocracy.org/work/klan-act-…
“From what began as one woman’s fight, the excuses for silence have been lifted, and this illegal barrier between truth and the American people is forever removed. Democracy dies in fear and silence, but only if we let it. We refused, and we won.”
This decision is a significant win for our democracy by establishing a bright line for all future candidates who might attempt to silence staff and prevent critical information from reaching voters.
NEW: “For a Better Democracy: Proportional Representation” from @DemJournal assembles insights from over a dozen leading scholars, examining how a more proportional electoral system could address some of the most enduring issues undermining our democracy. democracyjournal.org/magazine/70/fo…
Our winner-take-all electoral system is “dangerously warping our politics,” write our own @g_tudor & @btremitiere. Proportional representation is “one way out.” democracyjournal.org/magazine/70/wh…
@g_tudor @btremitiere “The constitutional uncertainty that surrounds § 2 presents an opportunity to fundamentally rethink... American electoral structures of representation for a 21st century multiracial polity,” write @ProfGuyCharles of @Harvard_Law & @Prof_lfr of @IUMaurerLaw democracyjournal.org/magazine/70/wh…
Our own @edgarlin_WI writes in @journalsentinel that serious threats exist in Wisconsin’s election ecosystem because – facing harassment and burnout – our election workers are at risk of leaving in droves. jsonline.com/story/opinion/…
But there is hope, @edgarlin_WI continues. The Wisconsin legislature’s Campaign & Election Committee under @RepKrug’s leadership has taken the first step by holding a hearing and signaling that it would address the issue.
Legislative solutions to protect election workers in WI would include four pillars:
✅ Funding & training to support physical security
✅ Prohibitions against intimidation & harassment
✅ Privacy protection against “doxxing"
✅ Civil causes of action for harassment & doxxing