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We all wake up the same way, dreading Trump’s morning ego ablutions on Twitter.
Then as the coffee, sunlight or some other controlled substance kicks in we begin to wonder what he’s distracting us from today. Is it his rank looting of taxpayers through the tax code? His abandonment of millions of Americans in Puerto Rico? His disrespect and mockery of gold star families? His campaign’s obvious collusion with a foreign power intent on at least disrupting our elections?
On this average Thursday morning, we were served a hot cup of the president of the United States accusing the FBI of engaging in treason to distract from the various misdeeds he and his family have committed .
So what do we do about it?
We Tweet. We Facebook. We make calls. We march. We go to meetings. We knock on doors. And then we Tweet some more.
Is it working? Yes and no.
You know about the yes part. Trump hasn’t even been able to get Republicans to back Mike Pence’s agenda.
For comparison: Sample legislation from 2009, when Democrats also controlled the House, Senate and presidency. pic.twitter.com/fFnd0WCWzC
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) October 19, 2017
And while we’ve lost high-profile special elections in GOP House districts, the narrow margins suggest the beginning of a Democratic wave. And several wins in state-level special elections back that up.
But we cannot deny that we’re still losing, too. Pence’s picks for the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary will be a chain on America’s progress for generations.
Every once in a while, Trump tells the truth and gets it right. https://t.co/wuJZfvfNlp pic.twitter.com/Vzw2p53faI
— corey robin (@CoreyRobin) October 18, 2017
And Pence’s picks for the cabinet are imposing failing GOP policies — like Betsy DeVos’ giveaways to for-profit schools — with little-to-no oversight.
The only way to stop this, or at least restore the checks and balances that constrain outright tyranny is to win.
Wins in Virginia and Maine could extend Medicaid expansion to almost a million Americans. And a defeat of the most radical GOP Senatorial nominee in Alabama could put a serious roadblock on Trump and Pence’s quest for tax breaks for the rich that could save his presidency.
Winning requires regular hope transfusions. And that’s part of what Eclectablog does with our reporting about how activism makes a difference.
But, since the 2016 election, our most important role is as a Cassandra that screams about the warnings coming out of GOP states like Michigan. We have an obligation to remind again and again that Trump is only possible because of the vast networks built in purple states like ours by real right-wing billionaires that made the Flint Water Crisis possible and tragedies like Puerto Rico inevitable. And though it’s painful, we also have expose and attempt to resolve the chasms that threaten to divide a progressive movement that has never been so necessary.
None of that is possible without support from the community of readers and supporters that we are nurturing.
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