Thread by @RemakingManhood

Dominance-based authoritarians like Trump hold immense power until the moment in which it starts to slip away. Then they lose it with shocking speed as the cowards that supported him flee the legal and political ramifications of his actions. /1

Because Trump's power is rooted in domination for its own sake, his actions will never be consistent. In fact, hypocrisy is central to how authoritarians assert their dominance, saying in effect, "I don't care what I said yesterday, I answer to no one." /2

Two things need to be understood. Trump is not the source of GOP authoritarianism. He is the figurehead. NEVER FORGET, because of it's collective four year silence the GOP INVESTED in Trump's strong man white nationalism, trading our democratic rights for his power grab. /3

The GOP's collective history has been to use racism to win elections, co-oping racist Southern voters after the Voting and Civils rights acts were passed int he 60's. They have worked for decades to undermine the vote, gerrymander, eliminate voting rights legislation and more. /4

What Trump represents was the moment when the GOP pushed all their chips onto the table and bet on ending democracy. They took off their mask of rational conservatism and went full on white nationalist authoritarian. The GOP made the calculation that Trump could pull it off. /5

Democrats have fought back against unprecedented GOP and foreign actor anti-democracy initiatives :
Gerrymandering
Vote suppression
USPS's DeJoy hiding ballots
Russian and Saudi troll farms
Massive Facebook disinformation
Multi-million dollar GOP campaigns
Right wing media
/6

Trump's grip on power is slipping away. Some right wing media and elected officials are distancing themselves. Now he will do the only thing he knows how to do. He will double down on domination behavior. He will be at this most incendiary and dangerous over the next months. /7

We must remain vigilant and be very careful. Right now the electoral count and popular vote are going against Trump. Encouraging street violence remains one option for him. If he can stir up open street violence, he can declare martial law, send in troops. Don't fall for it. /8

Some in the GOP will bank on us forgetting that they all supported Trump, seeking to rebrand a new "moderate GOP." Never forget that Mitt Romney voted for Amy Coney Barrett. No GOP elected official gets a pass on helping Trump and McConnell pack our judiciary. NO ONE SPOKE UP /9

Many in the GOP will seek Trump's mantle. We are looking at years of GOP candidates doubling down on Trump's white supremacist language and dominance politics, inviting attacks on opponents. Some were newly elected this cycle. The battle against the fascist GOP has only begun /10

IT WAS NEVER ABOUT TRUMP. It is about white supremacy as the core value of the Republican Party. For decades it has been carefully crafted and incrementally instituted. Trump tempted them to go for it all. They fell for Trump's narcotic authoritarianism. All of them. /11

We must hold the Republican Party to every word spoken and every word they failed to say about Trump. They must be known for what they are is, a retrogressive, anti-democratic, authoritarian party that, for its own political ends, weaponized a pandemic against its own people. /12

The Republican Party does not get a do-over. They do not get to be rehabilitated or rebranded. They must be fought every step of the way, from here on out, with the same ferocity by which they have attacked, murdered and robbed our fellow Americans, BIPOC, LGBTQI+, immigrants /13

So stay vigilant and be smart as we move to the inauguration of Joe Biden. But know we are in the battle of our lives against white supremacy, predatory capitalism, violence against women and BIPOC and all the ugliest aspects of our dark and violent history. /14

Millions of white folks, me included, have spent decades expressing our support of BIPOC by voting. That passive advocacy was NEVER going to be enough. We must connect, engage and join in active community with all people if we want to defeat the white supremacy of the GOP. /15

All that I have said here, I say primarily to the millions of white folks who are waking up to our responsibility for what comes next. None of this is news to BIPOC, LGBTQI+ people, immigrants.
For my white friends out there, our work is only beginning. /16