Thread by @benwikler

"The Republican-led Wisconsin State Legislature has not taken one single action since the crisis hit. Not. One."

The legislature ripped powers away from @GovEvers after he was elected and before he was sworn in. Now, as people die, silence. Read this:

recombobulationarea.substack.com/p/discombobula…

"Wisconsin is not really a functioning democracy. In 2018, 54 percent of voters chose a Democratic candidate for the state Assembly. But Republicans have so completely gerrymandered the state that they prevailed in 63 of the state’s 99 Assembly races."

vox.com/2020/4/2/21202…

The legislators who are refusing to allow Wisconsinites to vote safely—stonewalling the Governor's call to send every registered Wisconsinite a ballot, refusing to consider delay—lost the vote in the 2018 election. They hold power due to gerrymandered maps.

The person that Wisconsin's Republican legislators are seeking to help by blocking safe voting options is Dan Kelly. Dan Kelly was appointed to Wisconsin's Supreme Court by Scott Walker as a thank-you gift for defending two things: Walker's corruption... and gerrymandered maps.

It's a circle. An ouroboros serpent, eating its own tail. GOP gerrymanders maps. GOP lawyer defends maps. GOP lawyer appointed Justice. Maps elect GOP legislators. GOP legislators suppress vote to help Justice. Next steps: GOP re-gerrymanders maps. GOP Justice defends maps again.

No. The way we break this cycle—this vicious circle of undemocratic, unearned power—is by fighting against the odds. It's by organizing to win elections even when the deck is stacked against majority rule.

Wisconsin has an election on April 7. But, because we fought in court—a big we, Democrats and civil rights groups and community organizations representing those harmed by these policies—we got an extension. Ballots can be requested until 5pm Friday. Returned until April 13. Time.

No matter where you are, you can help. And by helping win Wisconsin, you help topple the entire Trump regime and change the history of this country. Tomorrow morning, we hit the phones. Sign up for a shift here. Let's use every precious minute. secure.ngpvan.com/IkMsEFTWdk2w_v…

The Democratic leader in Wisconsin's Assembly is @GordonHintz. he's made clear that if he were in charge—as in, if 54% of the votes had led to a majority, rather than 37% of the gerrymandered seats—he'd delay this election and mail voters ballots.

What you see in Wisconsin is a compounding crisis of democracy. A broken system resulting in more breakage. But there are specific people who broke it. And to fix it, we need to defeat them in elections.

Wisconsin’s broken democracy is a microcosm of America’s. The GOP’s tactics here have, for a decade, been exported nationwide. And we’re the electoral college tipping-point state this fall. If we win here, the Trump presidency ends. So. Let’s get to work.