Trump's political innovation is saying the quiet part out loud. It might sound like a gaffe, but he's actually very effectively rallying his troops against democracy to steal the November election 7 months early. (/Thread)
Trump says out loud that brown people are rapists and criminals. That democracy is a sucker's game. That he can do whatever he wants. He replaces dog whistle politics with bullhorn politics.
To some of us, this just sounds politically tone deaf. "Look at this idiot who can't even feign support for pluralistic democracy! What a dolt!"
But it's darker than that- because we don't even blink. It's just another Wednesday in Trump's America.
But it's darker than that- because we don't even blink. It's just another Wednesday in Trump's America.
This would be scary at any time. But we're now in the midst of a global pandemic and economic implosion. It's moments like this when authoritarians have the opportunity to seize control. And Trump, aided by the GOP, is taking his shot.
He can't win the game under the current rules, so he and the GOP are trying to change the rules.
Their goal is simple: steal the November election 7 months ahead of time.
Their goal is simple: steal the November election 7 months ahead of time.
These attacks on democracy aren't new. They're foundational to how the modern GOP entrenches its power.
Look at what happened in Wisconsin yesterday. It was years in the making.
1) A decade ago, the Wisconsin GOP gutted union political power
2) They created the most gerrymandered state legislature in the country
3) They stacked the courts
1) A decade ago, the Wisconsin GOP gutted union political power
2) They created the most gerrymandered state legislature in the country
3) They stacked the courts
4) When a Dem governor was elected, they held an emergency session to gut his power
5) When the Dem governor tried to delay the election, the state GOP court blocked him
6) Then the GOP U.S. Supreme Court backed up the state GOP
5) When the Dem governor tried to delay the election, the state GOP court blocked him
6) Then the GOP U.S. Supreme Court backed up the state GOP
The result was exactly what the GOP wanted: long lines of mostly Black and brown Wisconsinites in masks standing 6 feet apart trying to vote in Milwaukee and elsewhere with a limited number polling stations.
People having to choose between their lives and their vote.
People having to choose between their lives and their vote.
What we saw yesterday in Wisconsin is the November 3rd that Trump and his GOP allies are fighting for right now.
Trump won't self-regulate. His GOP allies support him unquestioningly. The GOP courts are in his pocket. The media "both sides" every issue. Our democracy is crumbling.
The only thing that will change this is you.
The only thing that will change this is you.
That's a huge scary intractable problem, and it's hard to wrap your head around it. So let's make it very specific: there will be a new legislative response to COVID. It either will or will not include protections for our democracy.
.@SenWarren put the best plan on paper. This is what we should be fighting for, and here's a thread on what you can do right now.
This is f'ing exhausting and exasperating. At the same time we're defending the basic functioning of our democracy, we're dealing with a real national trauma. The Indivisible team has been hit hard by this - and we know we're not alone.
Things are bad right now. Trump + the GOP are taking advantage of that. Nobody is coming to save us. We've got to save ourselves and each other. /end
