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Teri Kanefield Profile picture
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Feb 4 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
I've been saying that the way to save democracy is through civic engagement, particularly at the local level.

The right-wing understands that.

Let me tell you what's been happening in Shasta County, CA.

sacbee.com/news/californi…
The extremists, backed by outside money, are working to take over county leadership including local boards.

They want to oust conservatives who are not "conservative" enough. . . meaning they are not reactionary coup-loving extremists.
thenation.com/article/politi…
These extremists know that Trump planned and supported that coup and they love him anyway.

They know he supports white supremacists and they love him anyway.

I want Trump indicted, but I don't delude myself into thinking indicting Trump will "save" democracy.
Democrats tend to focus on national politics and national elections.

Extremists focus on local elections, perhaps because they hate the federal government, so they instinctively go for local control.

Solution: Get involved with your local politics:
terikanefield.com/things-to-do/
Thanks.

I stand corrected.

They are dangerous.

The solution is for everyone who loves democracy to find a way to get engaged.
Now we need millions more like Moneca⤵️

The goal isn't to change the minds of people who disagree.

The goal is to turn out the voters who want to see the fringe element driven back to the fringes.

When you talk to voters, tell them about Shasta County.

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More from @Teri_Kanefield

Teri Kanefield Profile picture
Feb 3
Screenshot so I don't give airtime to people who trade on despair, even though it seems stingy of me to deny people such an easy route to popularity and attention.

Facts:

🔹Nobody knows what is happening inside the DOJ except people who work there.

1/
🔹People who speculate on what is happening based on evidence are, well, speculating.

🔹One problem is distinguishing fact from speculation.

🔹Here's the shocker: Just because someone is a well-known lawyer doesn't mean they are right when they speculate.

2/
🔹Another shocker: Not all lawyers are smart or good lawyers.

🔹It can be very difficult to distinguish legal facts from legal opinions. If you're a nonlawyer, this is harder than distinguishing facts or speculation.

Some things are legal facts. Others are legal opinions.

3/
Read 15 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
Feb 2
I think you mean "punished." Indictment simply means "charged with a crime" or accused.

People think Rule of Law requires that all people who break the law get punished. Nope. Let me explain.

A government needs a source of authority . . .
. . . sociologist Max Weber outlined 3 sources of authority.

The first traditional. This is the authority underlying monarchies.

Second is rule of law. This is the authority underlying democracy.

Third is what he called "charismatic leader."
Today we'd say "demagogue" or "strongman." This is the source of authority underlying fascist governments.

So if the source of authority is a body of law and not the whim of a king or the commands of a strongman, you have a democracy.

When rule of law breaks down . . .
Read 8 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
Feb 2
Person: There should be indictments by now!

Me: 768 indictments so far, including Steve Bannon and a recent indictment for seditious conspiracy. . .
in an investigation that is ongoing. . .
in less than a year, during a pandemic.

Person: NONE OF THOSE COUNT.
⤵️The Trump Org, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Allen Weisselberg, George Papadopoulos, Rick Gates, George Nader, Michael Cohen, Lev Parnas. . .

Two impeachments.

The Mueller team indicted or got guilty pleas from 34 people and 3 companies.

But none of those count, right?
Wrong about what?

I've said what has happened already.
I make no future predictions.

Person #1: There have been no indictments.

Me: Yes there have been (and I list them)

Person #2: Will you admit you're wrong?

Read 27 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
Feb 1
Read this announcement carefully.

I doubt Trump wrote it, but the argument is "why do they need to pass a law against what we tried to do if what we tried to do was illegal?"

This is the attitude he has always had toward the law, and it's the attitude his father had.

1/
I'm not saying this will work as a defense.

As I said earlier, in the criminal context, most defenses fail (ask any criminal defense lawyer).

I'm saying that it's not an admission of guilt. It's a convoluted argument that what he wanted Pence to do wasn't illegal.

2/
In fact, the law that Democrats and a few others are trying to pass is to clarify the Electoral Count Act so people don't get the idea the vice president can win the election.

As I said earlier, Trump usually loses in court.
This is for the Court of Right-Wing Opinion.

3/
Read 5 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
Jan 31
Outrage is not productive. I'd wager that the only people who think it is, are those who profit from outrage in some way.

Take FOX. Their business model is to keep their viewers glued to the screen with fear and outrage.

I'd say it's counterproductive . . .
. . . when you're spinning with outrage, you can't think or plan. Too much outrage leads people to think it's all hopeless, which leads to cynicism, which leads to nihilism.

In life-threatening emergencies, cool heads save lives . . .

terikanefield.com/things-to-do/
The question is: How do we save democracy?

Do we jump to conclusions from headlines and keep everyone spinning with outrage?

Or do we plan how we can get more Democrats into office in the 2022 elections?

terikanefield.com/things-to-do/
Read 6 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
Jan 31
People, people, people.

To begin with, Trump is a total liar. I am not denying that.

But instead of reading a headline that announced that Trump committed perjury and demanding prosecution, let's look a little closer.

(Although I hate to take away everyone's fun)

1/
The headline says this⤵️

What happened was this. Mueller wanted to question Trump in person, but Trump refused because he wanted to avoid a "perjury trap" . . .

2/
Instead, Trump submitted written answers through his lawyers. nbcnews.com/politics/donal…

The answer he submitted was basically "I don't recall."

3/
Read 20 tweets

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