Thread by @benwikler

BREAKING: A Trump advisor told the WI GOP that “Traditionally it’s always been Republicans suppressing votes in places”—& "It’s going to be a much bigger program, a much more aggressive program, a much better-funded program" in 2020.

Give to fight back: wisdems.org/donate

These quotes come from audio of an event at a WI country club where a Trump advisor briefed influential Rs on strategy. Trump is personally on board: "He’s committed to this, he believes in it and he will do whatever it takes to make sure it’s successful.”
apnews.com/af2f0ede054d8b…

Rs have been blocked from so-called "poll monitoring" since 1982, after a "federal lawsuit claimed the RNC and the state GOP had off-duty police stand at polling places in urban areas wearing armbands that read 'National Ballot Security Task Force,' with guns visible on some."

... but last year, a judge lifted the consent decree that blocked the RNC from intimidating voters. So now they're back in business. And as we learned today, it's explicitly a core strategy for their victory.

politico.com/story/2018/01/…

Trump and the GOP's plan to suppress Democratic votes in 2020 is a direct threat to democracy, and should be condemned by anyone who believes in the Constitution.

But we have to do more than condemn the tactics of the GOP—we have to defeat them. And we have to make them backfire. That's what we're going to do in Wisconsin in 2020. And we need your help.

>> wisdems.org/volunteer
>> wisdems.org/donate
>> help spread the word: RT!

They're all in on this: "Clark made the comments Nov. 21 in a meeting of the Republican National Lawyers Association’s Wisconsin chapter. Attendees included the state Senate’s top Republican, Scott Fitzgerald, along with the executive director of the Wisconsin Republican Party."

One core element of the strategy to defeat this voter suppression is by building voter protection teams, with lawyers and organizers, in every battleground state. That's what @staceyabrams's group @fairfightaction is doing, with us and others.

@staceyabrams @fairfightaction Another element is making absolutely sure that all of our voters now their rights, know where and when to vote, and know how to overcome whatever hurdles the GOP puts in place. That's what our organizing team will do, and is doing—in every community & corner of the state.

@staceyabrams @fairfightaction And a third piece is re-registering folks that the GOP purges—and many others. (The GOP's remarks on voter suppression occurred roughly three weeks before the right-wing judge ordered the 234,000-voter purge in Wisconsin.) We're on the case. nytimes.com/aponline/2019/…

@staceyabrams @fairfightaction Right now, the key thing to understand is this: the mask is off. Trump's strategy for re-election is suppressing the vote. Republican concerns about "voter fraud" are a sham—a smokescreen for blocking out legit voters. The GOP knows they can't win a fair fight. So they cheat.

Here’s the actual audio. First you heat WI State Senate leader Scott Fitzgerald, who is running for Congress. Then Justin Clark from the Trump campaign. Lots of rustling and noise. But worth a listen.

SO much fascinating stuff in this audio from Trump campaign’s closed door briefing. Including: “if Trump wins Wisconsin, he wins the election. If he loses Wisconsin, he loses the election. It’s absolutely the tipping point state.” On that, we agree.

Here’s another write-up. GOP’s defense is that they were being sarcastic about voter suppression, referring to accusations by Dems. But the context is a discussion of RNC “Election Day Operations” plans that Trump refers to as being about “voter fraud.” 🧐
theguardian.com/us-news/2019/d…