#70: Help American Voters Remember their Core Beliefs

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It turns out that selecting a President among all candidates not named Trump is going to be a lot of work. Of course, it is well worth the effort.

What’s happened so far is all fine. Rhapsodies over individual candidates might ultimately emerge, but not just yet. No particular outcome is inevitable. There is no team of elite power brokers orchestrating the way it is going to turn out. Its unpredictably is part of its charm. Six months ago, few would have predicted that Mayor Pete would be displacing Beto O’Rourke, or that Elizabeth Warren would be gently pushing Bernie Sanders aside, or even that Kamala Harris would be getting a lot more traction than fellow Senators Gillibrand, Booker and Klobuchar. Months from now our expectations may well have been scrambled again.

Together we have developed unprecedented focus. There is more access to more candidates, more volunteer efforts to engage in, more donations to be made, and more things to dwell on or obsess over. With all of those good things comes two dangers, that we will be conclusion-jumpers, and that we will be captured by someone else’s faulty narrative.

In the first instance, we are prone to wishful thinking. No, Daniel Epstein’s arrest is not going to bring down his former buddy Trump, as much as we may wish it so. With the resignation of British ambassador Kim Darroch for privately informing his government that Trump is incompetent and inept, it would have been fair for us to jump to a conclusion that the secret is finally out. But, to foreign governments and not just a few Republican Senators (in private), it hasn’t been a secret at all. Darroch was stating the obvious. He is an extremely bright, well-educated, well-spoken man. Stupidly and wackily, Trump called Darroch stupid and wacky,

More dangerous than wishful thinking is fully accepting the narrative of any single pundit, AOC’s tweets, or the collective wisdom of one’s Facebook friends. On issues like Medicare for All, what has emerged is overreaching statements like “If that many candidates raised their hands on this issue at the debate, then we can’t win.” But we are just at the start of sorting out these issues together. What we have now in a very predictably messy Democratic way is not a pitched battle between liberalism and progressivism, as suggested by everyone’s favorite faulty narrative. Instead we will have is a fair discussion of how to protect and improve upon the health care guarantees of the Affordable Care Act, and how to keep from diminishing the ways the existing indispensable Medicare program serves seniors.

It’s a faulty narrative because considering all the issues in play, one would be hard pressed to take the Democratic candidates and put them on a moderate to liberal to progressive continuum, except of course for Bernie Sanders. That’s a good thing, and it makes John Hickenlooper’s use of the word socialism even more self-serving and ridiculous and unacceptable. All of these candidates are versed well in their own arguments regarding their electability. Let’s give them a chance to articulate their claims. In the meantime, let’s expect them all to understand every day that among others there are four voter cohorts we need them to attend to, and ways to make certain we don’t leave anyone un-reached.

• The all-important independent voters, who fled Republican Congressional candidates in flocks last November. They are wanting a President who is more like a President. Since they themselves consider both parties a possibility, they don’t like Trump’s daily vilification of the other side. A large number of these voters are suburban women, and rightly or rightly they have concluded that Trump is predatory toward women. The gender gap remains huge. Our candidates must make certain that voters know that the protection of the right to choose will depend entirely on their vote in 2020.

• Latino citizens make up more than 11% of the electorate. This will be the fastest growing cohort for some time, which has led to the resisters giving considerable support to voter registration efforts. Over 70% of these voters vote for the Democratic candidate, which is high but considerably lower than the percentage of African-Americans who vote for Democrats. Still, in the 2018 Congressional elections, nine Republican seats were taken by Democrats in districts where Latinos are at least 10% of the voters. Border issues are important regardless of how politically consequential they are or aren’t,, but even more powerful politically is providing a path to citizenship for Dreamers. We have to make certain our candidates don’t see DACA as yesterday’s issue. It will be back before all of us because the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in November, and it gives our candidates an important chance to spotlight Trump’s intransigence and mean-spiritedness. 

• Young voters aged 18-30 are more open to Medicare for All provisions that would eliminate supplemental coverage than are voters over 65, who have experienced the benefits of such coverage. As stated above, this will need some sorting out. Young voters got the message in 2018 that elections matter, voting at a higher rate in an off-year election than any time since 1954. Reversing Trump on climate change is a huge motivation for these voters, which will not be difficult for our candidates to remember. This is also the cohort that would be happiest to see the Democratic ticket include generational change, which some of candidates can offer and others cannot.

• Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania were supposed to save us from Donald Trump in 2016. Obviously, other things were happening like the Russian intervention, but there is no question we slipped among blue collar voters. The more we remember the firewall was breached and rebuild it, the better off we will be in November 2020. The emphasis by our candidates on strengthening the middle class can resonate, but only when the economic message reflects the authentic nature and experience of the candidate, which is something we can check when we are doing our choosing. Happily, we have new leadership in these states which will help us boost our presidential candidates. We took all three Governor’s races in 2018. Tom Wolf won by 840,000 votes in Pennsylvania, Gretchen Whitmer by 400,000 votes in Michigan, and Tony Evers squeaked by incumbent Scott Walker in Wisconsin. All won the blue collar vote.

As missive #69 emphasized, the Democratic position is favored over the Republican position on all of the major issues to be debated in 2020. It’s good to make the candidates dig deeper on these matters. Have we forgotten that deciding what the government is going to do with and for the people is the essence of democracy? But, it’s also good to remember the basics. If permitted, Donald Trump would take away choice from every woman in America, take away Affordable Care Act coverage from 20 million people, leave a million Dreamers subject to deportation, and refuse to defend the planet we all inhabit from climate change. Understanding these simple truths drives us every day, and calls for us to do these three things:

1) Sadly, Give Up on Susan Collins
	We must take back the Senate for dozens of reasons, most urgently to protect the constitutional rights of women in the next Supreme Court nomination. Unfortunately, as hard as Susan Collins has tried to moderate Trump’s worst positions, she twisted herself into a pretzel to back Brett Kavanaugh, even though she herself is pro-choice. She is a vote for Mitch McConnell as Majority Leader. We have a much better chance of taking back the Senate if we win Maine, so we need to thank Susan Collins for trying and send her home. Rather than spending the next year waiting out the primaries, we need to boost the best candidate right now, Maine’s Democratic Speaker of the House Sara Gideon. Why not give up coffee for a week, send the money to Sara Gideon, and let the prospect of taking back the Senate keep you awake?
2) Get College Campuses Ready for the Fall
	Registering to vote has been revolutionized. Online registration is possible in almost all states. National organizations like Rock the Vote can tell you everything you need to know about registering.  You can send high school kids the link as an 18th birthday present. You can also pay some attention to what four-year colleges and community colleges are doing institutionally to include voter registration opportunities as a part of the orientation experience of incoming students. Start by identifying the college nearest you. Search online for the name and email of their president and write her or him asking for a description of what they are doing about aiding in registration. Depending on their answer, help them find and utilize the tools they need, or notify the nearest Indivisible group regarding their current shortcomings.
3) Win a State Legislative Majority
	Virginia, Louisiana and Mississippi are holding state legislative elections this fall. In all three states, it will be the last legislative election before the post 2020 census redistricting, so the stakes are huge. There are several organizations bent upon flipping the Virginia legislature and making inroads in the other two states, but Sister Districts is a premier effort. If you are out of money, they have multiple other ways you can help. If you have some money, give that to them too. Virginia is an extraordinary opportunity. Republicans hold a 21-19 majority in the Senate and a 51-48 majority in the House. Democrats have benefited from some recent court-mandated redistricting. If you do one thing today, get involved in what will be happening in November 2019 in Virginia.

There are a lot of people trying to figure out what Donald Trump is going to do next and working hard to prevent the worst of it. There is an enormously effective way to put this awful blot on our nation’s history behind us--- a huge victory at the ballot box on November 3, 2020. It can’t come too soon.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington

#64: These are Things Presidents Do Not Do

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When you are trying to save your country, you can’t get anything done without your equilibrium. Reaching an unbalancing level of despair over the Trump presidency is understandable, given its daily wounds to the soul. Still, we understand that every single day we can shake off numbness, use anger to fuel new energy, and turn any personal floundering into a Trump-defeating relentlessness. We have been at this a very long time. But, since flagging has never been an option, let’s stand straight and tall and let’s get to it.

William Barr’s contortions will be paused briefly. Before he starts up again, let’s see where we are. Imagine if the president of the United States was thought by some to be hiding a highly destructive explosive device. When worries about the existence of such a device come up, the president says anyone who even suggests that such a device exists such be prosecuted, that no such device exists, and that it is all a hoax. From that point on, he attacks anyone, anywhere who even hints that such a device should be looked for.

Then he takes it further, going to heretofore unimaginable lengths. He takes ten specific actions to impede anyone and everyone who is either looking for the device or wondering whether he knows where it is. He rages and insults justice for two years. He lies openly and consistently. He makes up things, fires people and asks intelligence officials to break the law in service to him.

At the end, investigators find the device, and they detail the ten ways in which the president willfully obstructed the search for it. And then they say they cannot say for sure that notwithstanding every single lie and posterior-protecting, government-assaulting, evidence-obscuring step that this president ever knew where the device was in the first place! 

So, if that is the legal judgement, so be it, but in no way is it the judgement of the people as to what a president is permitted to do, or what he is excused for doing. Each of Trump’s ten obstructions are unthinkable. Each provides us the opportunity for a referendum on what this country is in danger of becoming, or, better yet, a referendum on how we can prevent such an outcome.
The ten extremely well documented steps of obstruction will be with us for the next 19 months. Hearings will be held, and further disclosures will emerge. While we and the candidates we support attend to an agenda for America’s future, we will not ever set aside these stains on our country. 

These are things that presidents do not do, not now, nor in the past, nor in the future. We will make certain the presentation of this evidence drives us further and harder. It will result in more of everything--- more voter registrations, more support of candidates, more personal involvement in the 2020 election, more voting, and the most gratifying celebration on November 3rd.

With the Mueller report release we will each pledge to do something special this week to signal where we are steering the country. Trump’s now well documented flaunting of the rule of law will grow the resistance.

The report and the situation can’t be summarized better than the effort put forward by the New York Times, first broadly explaining the report and its impact and then providing clear and compelling and mind-bending excerpts. Anyone wondering what it all adds up should treat the Times excerpts as a must read. In the simplest terms, following are the ten obstructions, several of which would even have raised Richard Nixon’s eyebrows. They are also articulated in greater detail by Politico. 

1. Asking FBI director James Comey to end the investigation of Michael Flynn, using the all-important “he’s a good guy” exoneration argument
2. Sitting on Air Force One and drafting a statement saying that Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with the Russians was primarily about adoptions. Would that it had been the case for the 400,000 or so children in Russian orphanages.
3. Firing James Comey. First Trump outrageously claimed that the firing had to do with Comey’s inappropriate announcement about Hilary Clinton a week before the 2016 election. Then he told NBC’s Lester Holt, “I decided to just do it. You know this Russia thing about Trump and Russia is a made up story.”
4. Demanding that White House Counsel Don McGahn fire Robert Mueller, causing McGahn to refuse to do so and to clean out his office. Telling McGahn to claim Mueller had a conflict of interest, which was false.
5. Asking Corey Lewandowski to tell Attorney General Jeff Sessions to announce that the special investigation was “very unfair” and that the president had done nothing wrong. Throughout Sessions’ service, Trump believed that the Attorney General should act as his personal attorney.
6. Demanding that Jeff Sessions “un-recuse” himself so that he could exert influence over Robert Mueller on Trump’s behalf.
7. Asking McGahn and other aides to disavow the account that he sought to fire Mueller, thus telling them to perjure themselves in front of federal investigators.
8. Maintaining publicly that there was no Russian role in the election while privately seeking more Wikileaks disclosures of emails hacked by the Russians.
9. Passing word to attorneys for Michael Flynn of the president’s “warm feelings” toward Flynn after Flynn had agreed to provide information to Mueller. Trump’s personal counsel asked Flynn’s attorney for a “heads up” if Flynn was giving the government incriminating information.
10. Changing from praising Michael Cohen’s conduct when he lied to Congress about a possible Trump Tower in Moscow, to his personal counsel discussing a pardon with Cohen, and finally to calling Cohen a “rat” when he provided testimony to Mueller.

It isn’t as though it is difficult to figure out what to do now. We won back the House of Representatives in part because it would enable us to go beyond Bill Barr would have us do and dig deeper than Donald Trump would have us dig. We know that Jerome Nadler, Adam Schiff and Elijah Cummings and their committees are accepting this obligation. Even though we have other business to attend to, we are not going to walk away from the details of a 400-page report that details a sitting president’s daily contempt for the law, or from the 14 separate prosecutorial referrals that are being acted upon. We will not forget today’s image of a foolish and immoral man (regrettably, our president) with crumbs on his face and his hand permanently stuck in the cookie jar.

So let’s do these three things, making them especially intensive in recognition of what we learned from Robert Mueller:

1) Put North Carolina Back in Play
	Republicans in North Carolina are more vulnerable than ever now that the Mueller report has been released. The unfortunate collateral damage is being suffered by Senator Richard Burr. Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Burr had previously been praised by Democrat Mark Warner for reaching across the aisle on the Russia investigation. Now Mueller’s report maintains that Burr passed on to the White House sensitive information from James Comey regarding which White House aides the FBI was investigating. The Raleigh News Observer has already indicated its displeasure. Burr is up for re-election in 2022.  Facing a strong Democratic challenge in 2020 is Republican Senator Thom Tillis. Tillis was very public about his opposition to Trump’s executive order on the wall, since it usurped Congressional power. He was scheduled to vote that way until the last minute, when the Republican Party threatened him with a challenge in the 2020 primary. He caved in. He is an apologist for Trump on Mueller matters.  We can pick up a Senate seat in 2020 (helping to take back the Senate) and again in 2022. Donations to a war chest for the winner of the 2020 Democratic primary are growing. Act Blue has a way you can donate to this fund now. One could decide to donate a dollar for each of Trump’s abuses of his office, but who has that kind of money?
2) Remember the Lawyers
	In fourteen separate instances, the legal action related to the findings of the Mueller investigation will be carried out by federal prosecutors who have received referrals from Robert Mueller. There remains a strong need for lawyers outside of government to step forward and make certain that the public’s interests are protected. The American Civil Liberties Union is an excellent investment in this regard. An uncommon litigator has emerged to expand those interests. The Electronic Privacy Information Center is normally focused on such issues as Facebook violations of consumer privacy. In this case, they have been a valuable proponent for the public release of the report with the fewest possible redactions.
3) Understanding What it May All Come Down To
	Right now, the likelihood is that resisters will emerge victorious on November 3, 2020. Trump’s disapproval rating is mired in the low 40's, and we achieved a great start last November. Further, the Mueller report shows a manic president pushing every obstruction button he could find, and more than a few collusion buttons. Ironically, he is thought to be in a better legal position because aides devised ways to ignore his orders. Even as he sought to collude and obstruct, he couldn’t always get the job done! One more knock on his leadership skills? Maybe the Democratic candidates will ding each other more than necessary and maybe by summer of 2020 the polls get a little closer than we want. We can invest in preventing that situation now. Signing up new voters (especially those in the age group 18-30) is not just a matter of sending a check to an organization. Forty states offer online registration. That means in effect that you can become your own personal registrar. You can make it a habit to ask people you know whether they registered. You can get them their online link and check on them to make sure they got it done.  A number of organizations provide the necessary links for online registration, including Ballotpedia. You can even go one step further, getting large civic minded organizations you know to partner with Rock the Vote to create a customized voter registration page on their websites.

If you are feeling the urge to put this all down for a little while, read the Mueller report excerpts in the New York Times, or read the whole report. We were never in need of a bit more motivation. But just in case we were wondering whether the threats to our country are so huge as to be worthy of our efforts, we just got the depressing but energizing answer.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington

#58: This is What We Will Do to Take Back the Senate

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It was a week after the November 2018 election when the extent of the victory by the resistance became clear. There was a stunning increase in voter turnout compared to other non-presidential years. Democratic inroads in the suburbs were significant. And thus we won back 40 seats and flipped the House.

There was nothing accidental about any of this. It required unprecedented grass roots campaign activity and financial support. It included dozens of excellent candidates stepping forward who had never intended to run for office and who were motivated by Donald Trump.

Now it falls to all of us to duplicate or even expand on that massive effort and take back the Senate on November 3, 2020. This matters hugely because the Senate provides the sole review of numerous Presidential appointments, including those to the Cabinet and to the Supreme Court. As we know the Supreme Court nomination process puts Roe v. Wade itself at risk. It is not inevitable that it will be overturned, but the very real risk of losing this constitutional guarantee entirely underscores that we must have the Senate majority when Steven Breyer or Ruth Bader Ginsburg retire. The Senate also has extra importance because it has played a more pronounced role than the House in protecting alliances abroad, which Donald Trump has been intent on eviscerating.

Although Doug Jones of Alabama may be the only Democratic Senator who will face re-election problems, Republicans could launch major challenges to Tina Smith in Minnesota and Gary Peters in Michigan. In contrast, there are many states in which Republican Senators are vulnerable. Democrats think they can unseat Cory Gardner in Colorado, Martha McSally in Arizona (where Gabby Giffords’ husband, astronaut Marc Kelly, may run), Susan Collins in Maine, and Thom Tillis in North Carolina. They are eager to challenge Joni Ernst in Iowa, Dan Sullivan in Alaska, David Perdue in Georgia (where Stacey Abrams may run) and Steve Daines in Montana. They may also compete for the seat in Tennessee that will be vacant after the retirement of Republican Lamar Alexander.

That adds up to nine races. Remember how exhilarated you felt after we flipped the House? You can experience that feeling again in less than two years! Beyond these nine, the number of other races which will be competitive depends upon how Donald Trump does between now and then, and how hard we all work. Given that Trump needs to face Mueller and given his shutdown-slip in the polls, we can anticipate a favorable electoral climate. We also fully understand that we must generate massive candidate support. With these motivations, it would behoove this movement to dive into the nine races above, and at the minimum, these three additional states:

• Kansas has a vacant seat due to the impending retirement of Pat Roberts. Democrats are fresh from winning the governorship and a Congressional seat in the Kansas City area, and believe they have a solid chance.

• Republican John Cornyn will likely seek re-election in Texas. Demographics will continue to drive the state toward Democrats. Will Beto O’Rourke be the Democratic candidate?

• How can one not campaign in Kentucky against the soulless service and Trump-tolerating Mitch McConnell? 

We must understand that winning a Senate campaign has notable differences from taking back the Presidency, which is more about national media and less about local organizing. Happily, these Senate races will be a bit more like super-sized House campaigns, for which our postcards, doorbelling, millions of small contributions, voter registration and other ongoing obsessions carried the day.

In the next year, these Senate Republicans will have numerous opportunities to pull away from Trump, or in the alternative to defend the indefensible. It was a recent encouraging sign when eleven Republican Senators challenged the Trump administration, voting to block the removal of sanctions from an oligarch colleague of Putin. Four of these votes came from the politically vulnerable Collins, Daines, Gardner and McSally. But it was more of a shadow of courage, rather than a profile, since they and Mitch McConnell knew all along that they would need 13 Republican votes to help the Democrats prevail. That is, McConnell consented to his caucus members voting their conscience, but would not have been their sweet-hearted uncle if they had found two more votes. The whole episode had value only as a signal of future possibilities.

We must carefully watch the upcoming opportunities for Republicans to either distance themselves from Trump or otherwise be held accountable for not doing so. The first pertains to the theatrics of the budget showdown. The little considered fact is that in December, Republicans in the Senate joined Democrats in passing by voice vote the same set of budget proposals that they now argue are evidence of Schumer’s and Pelosi’s intransigence. These budget proposals would have become law without any shutdown if Trump hadn’t turned on FOX-TV to hear the criticism of Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh. So why can’t these Republicans figure out that they were right the first time?

There will be at least two other votes in 2019 that will tell a tale about vulnerable Republican senators. First the Democratic House will send over to the Senate a bill that solidifies protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions. These Affordable Care Act guarantees have been diminished by Trump and the Republican Congress. Second, Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues will figure out a way for the Senate to have to vote on at least modest steps to respond to climate change. This will handily provide each Republican a chance to recognize the existence of the greatest environmental challenge now faced by humankind.

While the government is closed down, let’s work to change government. Taking back the Senate would be nothing but an excellent thing to do. It depends upon our efforts now, not just a year from this fall. Let’s pretend that it is later than it is, so that it never becomes too late.

1) Making Certain People Can Vote in 2020
	There are all sorts of ways in which election laws and rules can diminish and distort the vote. This is one place where vigilance is the price of liberty. Left on their own, state legislatures can throw up new voting roadblocks. The most pernicious of these are voter ID laws. 35 states require the voter to have some sort of identification. The strictest requirement (a photo ID with little or no option) is in force in six states, and can suppress the vote by as much as 10%. The National Conference of State Legislatures details where there are new voter ID efforts.  Other ways to suppress the vote include reducing polling hours or limiting the use of mail ballots. In the face of such threats, Democrats have proposed all-mail ballots and to confront turn-out at an earlier stage, automatic voter registration. Find out what is happening. As all 50 legislatures head into session, it would be good for you to know whether such organizations with local affiliates as the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union have an active voting law agenda in your state legislature. You can ask them, or write to your state representative. Another way to find out would be to write the chair or executive director of your state’s Democratic Party. Their answer will provide insight regarding what is going on in the area of voting rights and it will give you a hint as to whether the state party is sleepy or spirited.
2) Understanding the Value of Early Investment
	Grass roots contributions from across the country played an indispensable role in the 2016 elections. We stepped away from our previous time-honored tendencies to underfund our candidates. The instruments are already set up so that we can choose the most promising 2020 Senate races (see above) and invest early in our candidate. The funds go into an Act Blue “district account” that will be transferred to the candidate when she or he is nominated. Act Blue has proven itself to be an effective low cost online funding intermediary. In this case, they have selected the nine races targeted above, and are also seeking funding for four Democratic incumbents. They allow us to pick and choose rather than prescribing a single bundle. Early money is like yeast.
3) Making Food Available to Those Who Need to Eat
	We should be pleased and proud that food banks across America are providing groceries to federal employees who have now missed two paychecks. This is an additional load for these food banks, all of whom already have numerous clients who have employment problems even more serious than those who have Donald Trump as their titular boss. It’s a perfect time to donate food to your local food bank through the systems they have established. You are saying something to Trump and to America by making sure these shelves are filled, and thus are accessible to laid-off workers, and to other hungry people who live in a country that needs to pay more attention.

Well, at least we share one sensibility with Donald Trump. Accounts are that he had no desire or intention to be president, evidenced by the fact that he had no true transition team and underscored by his efforts to create Trump Tower Moscow up until the end of the campaign. For our part, we had no intention or desire for him to be president either… We will get this all done, celebrate when he is out of office, and make certain something like this does not happen again.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington

#51: Do This Important Work Daily, and Hit Your Piggy Bank With a Hammer

Thank you for continuing to share these messages with your friends, if you are not already on our mailing list, please click here to be added to our list. You can also follow me on Facebook. The more people we can reach, the more we contribute to this growing movement. We share these posts on our blog, A Path Forward to November 3, 2020, every two weeks, which means there will be a total of 100 missives before the Presidential election of 2020, in which our country will select a whole new course.

First, find your equilibrium, even as you harbor big dreams for November 6th. 

Then, eliminate political distractions. Checking Real Clear Politics or other sites is fine, but you must know it doesn’t count as actual campaigning for a candidate. Put aside silly discussions which have been the trend of late, like “We in the resistance should be less civil than we have been!” What is that even about? This week and every week, tell the truth, oppose Donald Trump with everything you’ve got, work hard and try to make the country and its politics better. Exchanges about whether you should be more personally unpleasant or a bit thuggish are not worth your time. 

Stop even thinking about which of Trump’s offenses are impeachable, at least for now. Put aside your solid arguments about the political unfairness of the Electoral College. Instead, in the next three weeks, in the time you can allot to politics, spend every bit of it on winning on the 6th.

Think about how you could feel waking up on the 7th. Imagine hearing that 15 or so Congressional races and countless local elections were decided by less than 2% of the vote. Most certainly, this is what will happen. Even with your considerable efforts between now and election day, what if you end up wishing that you had put it all on the table, and that you had worked even harder or donated even more? There won’t be any going back, no do-overs.

So, whatever you would end up wishing you had done, do it now. Maybe you have stopped and wondered what one person alone can do. But you are not alone. You are a part of a movement of millions of people who said two years ago, “No, this will not stand.” This movement depends on all of us knowing that others are by our side every single time we ring a doorbell, send a postcard, or make a donation. Revel in that and contribute to that. Rather than the presence of all of us causing you to decide to do less, make sure it motivates you to do more.

If you find yourself a little lost emotionally, listen to Robert Reich about the nature of his hopefulness. Feed off of the energy of others. Motivate yourself by talking to any unflinching, tireless friends or become unflinching or tireless yourself. 

We are not what Thomas Paine called “summer soldiers” or “sunshine patriots”, who eventually demonstrate that their commitment is thin. We are at this every day, and because we are, the nation will reap rewards. When Paine talked about the “times that try men’s souls” he was battling against a tyranny much greater than Trump’s, but it doesn’t hurt to remember the rest. After he warned that summer soldiers “will in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country” he insisted that one who “stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman… the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” 

Donald Trump is arguing that we should see his two years as a time of accomplishment. His argument would be stronger if you would take away his abdication of America’s global position, his mindless incuriosity and willingness to assume any random tweet as the truth, his obsession with himself rather than We the People, his attempt to destroy access to health care for many millions of people for whom health care is essential, his insults to leaders of countries who have stood by our side during the most dangerous of times, his refusal to recognize the huge global environmental threat of climate change, his delight in passing a tax bill to comfort the comfortable, his bullying of others and his fanning of flames of hatred toward people who are vulnerable, his “love” for Chairman Kim and any other dictator who writes him nice letters and his eagerness to separate those who seek asylum from their children.

There won’t be any more legislating until after the election, when there will be a dangerous “lame duck” session in which Paul Ryan will try to advance his agenda one more time. By now it has been stripped of any semblance of a Paul Ryan idea. Like Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan made a choice to mute his objections to Trump’s innumerable excesses. Both will argue that they were able to shape what has emerged to our collective advantage, that they made things better than they would have been. But it will be their ultimate participation in Trump’s mean-spiritedness and assaults on democracy which will provide them their place in history.

It’s time to move forward with Paine’s “glorious triumph.” We’re done legislating, we are finishing up on registering, and we are now voting on a country’s future. Right now, in the House races, the news is good. Polls on the “generic” Congressional vote (which asks which party’s candidate you are intending to vote for) are showing a 10%+ Democratic advantage). We need to win back 24 seats to control the House. These kinds of polls signal that we can win 40 if we don’t hold anything back, as signaled by Five Thirty Eight. Unlike the Senate election map (where most of the contested elections are in red states) 58 of the 70 House races in play are in blue states, many in suburban districts previously dominated by Republicans. Here is where the gigantic gender gap is playing to our greatest advantage.

Even after the Kavanagh debacle focused our voters and some of Trump’s, we have an enthusiasm advantage, where our movement is more likely to get people to the polls. Now is the time for the doorbelling, the calls, and the attention to turnout that will give us the blue wave we seek. Many of us live in such an intense political environment that it is difficult to remember that more than a third of Americans identify as Independents. More than half of those registered have fallen out of the habit of voting regularly. Please find these people today, and every day until November 6, and please do these three things:

1) Take a Final Pass at Getting People Registered
	There are any number of people who are out there intending to get themselves registered, and not necessarily understanding how easy it is, and not understanding that deadlines are looming. Can you or your friends or your voting age children find more folks to get registered? For a certain younger cohort that votes in insufficient numbers, it’s a matter of finding a clever cure for electile dysfunction. The good news is that some analysts are rejecting the notion that we are facing the typical lower than average mid-term election turnout from younger voters.  Please remember to vote as early as you can. The earlier you vote, the more you will help feed the narrative of a high turnout election, and the more others will follow your lead.
2) Make Your Final Decision on How You Can Help During the Final Two Weeks
	Many of us have already made our decision as to where and how we can boost one or more candidates. If you have found a candidate whose staff knows how to deploy you, go for it! Some of us have participated in an independent group of activists, a Democratic Party organization, or an Indivisible cell. Indivisible still has events you can support or phone banks to join. Or, see what Swing Left has in mind. And then in the perfect way to work together, 22 organizations have combined their efforts to make the last weekend before the election the biggest get out the vote drive possible. You wouldn’t want to be hanging out at home on November 3 and 4, would you?
3) Hit the Piggy Bank With a Hammer
	Previous missives have noted that taking back the Senate is a much more difficult task. Even if we fall short and “only” take back the House, we will be in far, far better position to protect America and the world from Donald Trump than is presently case. Ironically, the reason why the Senate map is so difficult (with almost all the key races in red states) is that we did so well in winning those close races in 2012. That’s why Democrats like Jon Tester, Joe Manchin, Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Donnelly and Claire McCaskill are there in the first place. There is an ideal place to send one last check. In Nevada, Democratic Congresswoman Jacky Rosen is running even with Republican Dean Heller. This is a winnable race in a smaller state. The margin of victory will be small. Dean Heller went from having an independent voice to being enthralled by Donald Trump. Go figure. Just think how it would boost each of us if we were to click and donate to Jacky Rosen today.

It is difficult to keep focus over 24 months. It’s hard not to begin thinking of Donald Trump’s malevolence as business as usual. One could be tempted to shut it all out and try to go on with life without having to shoulder the worries about a nation at risk. But we are not going to do that. As Thomas Paine said, you deserve our love and thanks for all the work you have undertaken.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington

#50: Help Accelerate Donald Trump’s Downfall

Thank you for continuing to share these messages with your friends, if you are not already on our mailing list, please click here to be added to our list. You can also follow me on Facebook. The more people we can reach, the more we contribute to this growing movement. We share these posts on our blog, A Path Forward to November 3, 2020, every two weeks, which means there will be a total of 100 missives before the Presidential election of 2020, in which our country will select a whole new course.

Some things about politics and government are complex. Legislative processes are arcane, and they are intentionally built to slow things down, not speed them up. And, as much as they may seem like a contest of television advertising, close Congressional races and the strategies it takes to win them can be complicated too, as strategies are devised, deployed and parried.

Having an election just over thirty days away has the effect of making everything that counts simpler, more obvious and more immediate. So much of what we as resisters have worked for is within our grasp if we tighten our grip now. Right around the corner is a dramatic change to our fortunes, which fell off the precipice in November of 2016. Just over four weeks from now, as we take back the House, win back several Governorships, and contend for the Senate, we can block much Donald Trump's nation-rending.

After we take back the House, Adam Schiff will be coordinating the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation of Russian election meddling, not the head sycophant Devin Nunes. There will be new ways to stymie the destruction of environmental regulations, protect refugees, energize criminal justice reform, block further tax giveaways, and prevent the walling off of Mexico. As importantly, the Democratic leadership of House committees will be able to use subpoena power to explore and expose any number of Trump cons and misdeeds to which the American people continue to be subjected.

With these stakes, our usual luxuries and habits must be set aside. Tweet-generated despair must be followed with an immediate rebound, not an extended period of mourning. Existential discussions of Trump, tittering about Trump gaffes, and exchanges of YouTube videos must all be dispensed with in favor of the real and immediate work before us. It takes just one question to motivate. Do you remember how awful you felt on November 8, 2016, how you would have done anything to take away the shame and the dismay and the worry and the fear? Now we have that chance.

Keeping the Affordable Care Act alive was splendid, as was forcing a reversal of Trump’s policy of separating children from their parents at the border. But, those were just a modest preview of what is to come if the blue wave brings us 40, 50 or even more House seats. 

Achieving that outcome isn’t just about the excellence of our candidate slate or the last month campaign efforts they are devising. This is about how many of us are standing with these candidates and how tall each of us stands. We must not and will not let ourselves get distracted when the focus on getting this done should be the sharpest. Whether or not you live in an enclave of like-minded people (sometimes making the election seem distant) or whether it is around you every day, you are in a position to do more than you have been planning to do! In fact, in some cases you are in a position to do MUCH MUCH more than you are presently planning to do. Since you felt badly in November 2016 and you have felt Trump-despair many times hence, then it’s time for you to take a specific pledge to upgrade your October activities. Among the seven deadly sins that could diminish the blue wave are distraction, overconfidence, misdirection (doing work that is less productive), and procrastination.

We can absolve ourselves of all sins by taking seven steps that characterize the finest resisters. Pledge to yourself today that you will get these things done.

First, be a part of the last wave of postcard sending through many of your local Indivisible cells or through the postcard maniac, Tony the Democrat. We have sent millions of colorful, compelling customized postcards. If you haven’t already done this, you surely wouldn’t want the election to be over without sending a hundred or so yourself.

Second, go to a rally. The closer we get to the election, the more we will collect in large numbers to signify that American is about to change. Large rallies attract attention and thus help get out the vote. Going to hear one of leaders speak will help you feed off the collective energy that is being generated.

Third, however much money you have donated so far, write at least one more check and send it just as soon as you can, since final campaign plans are being formulated. Give up something--- an evening out, a weekend trip, and write a check you never intended to write.

Fourth, find a campaign near or far that needs you there in person. As this missive has emphasized, pick a campaign that has already demonstrated that it is adept in deploying volunteers. Honor them with your presence, at least for a weekend.

Fifth, figure out everyone you know between 18 and 30 and email or text them to remind them that you can still register online in many states, and that they should pass the word. Rock the Vote will tell you and them everything you need to know. 

Sixth, in states accepting early ballots, send a message to like-minded friends asking them to vote as early as possible. The media will be following the early casting of ballots. They will interpret any uncommonly large early pile as supporting a blue wave, which itself will help generate a blue wave.

Seventh, find something you can do on election day that will be helpful to our cause. This could be last minute calling, taking people to the polls, or even holding a campaign sign in a public place.

There may be as many as 20 Congressional races decided by 2% or less. Take the pledge. Do some things you hadn’t expected to. Don’t be a bystander. Surprise yourself at how much you can get done. Help start the beginning of the end of Donald Trump’s assault on America.

And, since that isn’t quite enough, please do these three things:

1) Fight Against the Trump Refugee Cap
	Emma Lazarus said “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” and we made the Statue of Liberty a beacon for refugees. With 25 million people in refugee camps worldwide, Donald Trump has set the United States refugee quota at 30,000 for 2018, the lowest level since the current refugee resettlement program was established in 1980.  Mike Pompeo opposed that decision. When he announced the number, he said it wasn’t indicative of the treatment of vulnerable persons by the United States. Of course, the problem with that heartening sentiment is that it is untrue. Call the majority staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration at 202-224-7840. They won’t necessarily be expecting your call, which will give it even more resonance. Tell them that it is up to them to make sure the beacon is still there.
2) Check Out Initiatives in Your State
	There are 154 Initiatives on the ballot in 38 states. 20 of these are focused on voter access, campaign finance, redistricting methods and other elements of fair and free elections. Find out what is happening in your state. Make certain to continue the fight against voter suppression and for the highest level of citizen participation.
3) Go for Beto O’Rourke, One More Time
	There are all sorts of Democratic Senatorial Candidates that need your support--- Bredesen in Tennessee, Nelson in Florida, Heitkamp in North Dakota. But none will strike the fancy more than the quixotic, exotic effort of Beto O’Rourke to beat Ted Cruz by being a smart, open, idealistic, energetic candidate. He’s not taking PAC money, and he needs our help. $25 each from donors across the country adds up nicely. Beto O’Rourke says that “Texas deserves better” than Ted Cruz. That is a thought that is easy to endorse.

As the months wore on after the 2016 election, it seemed like the day would never come in which we would have our first rebound opportunity. Now it is here. Let’s seize every opportunity it offers, please.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington

#49: How Will We Attend to the Repairs?

Thank you for continuing to share these messages with your friends, if you are not already on our mailing list, please click here to be added to our list. You can also follow me on Facebook. The more people we can reach, the more we contribute to this growing movement. We share these posts on our blog, A Path Forward to November 3, 2020, every two weeks, which means there will be a total of 100 missives before the Presidential election of 2020, in which our country will select a whole new course.

After a pointed, obsessively researched take down of Donald Trump, Bob Woodward said Americans should "wake up", though he later said it would be helpful if some would "calm down".

Should we calm down? Yes, and no. Yes, we should remember that the republic for which we stand has been diminished but has not been dissolved. Yes, it is necessary for us to maintain some equilibrium. And, no we will never make light of what Donald Trump represents. 

Our nation was flawed before he began his nasty deeds. Wealth inequality was huge and growing before he grew it much further. We were slow on climate change and too comfortable with doing business with undemocratic foreign leaders. Our anti-poverty efforts were patchy and innsufficient.

In every area he has touched, he has made things worse. With gall, he's pulled up apart with profound disrespect for democratic institutions and monumental unearned personal self-regard.

Starting with November 6, we will win the country back one election, one plea bargain and one legislative victory at a time. Not only does Donald Trump not have a way out of the hole he has excavated, he can't help but keep on digging. What a foolish man.

As we usher him out, in what specific ways will we attend to repairs? Outside of how we address the great policy issues of our time, how will we answer what underlies all of them--- Who is going to play a part in doing the addressing? Who is welcomed into the political process, not just during elections, but in the whole democratic experiment? Who feels a part now? Who will be enabled to join us, and what are the rules that will keep their participation from being suppressed? Who can come here tomorrow, like we and our generations of families did yesterday?

This is the larger post-Trump restoration. It will be the re-invention or resurgence of how we do things with and for each other in this country. How can we guarantee that all of us together will take this on?

Donald Trump is 71, all the evidence that you need that age does not always bring wisdom. Either we ourselves are that age or older, or we have friends or family that are. Wouldn't it be delicious if Trump's age cohort was indispensable in rebuilding American political systems?

If these folks have individual retirement accounts or a 401k, they are obligated at age 70 1/2 to start to take an annual Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Many do not know that (if their finances permit) all or a portion of their RMD can be transferred to a qualified non-profit. This will keep the distribution from being a taxable event AND help in the long-term retooling of America, all at the same time.

Required minimum distributions can fight against white nationalism through the Southern Poverty Law Center. 

Morris Dees' splendid organization has been in the vanguard against intolerance for decades.

Long term investments including RMDs and other charitable contributions can underpin our push back against voter suppression. The eligible organization that stands out for the quality of its work and its rich understanding of the threats we case is the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University 

We must also make a long-term commitment to welcoming lovers of democracy from around the world. Will we really countenance the shutting of the door that most of our own families walked through? Here the RMD should go to your local or regional charitable organization that provides free legal assistance to immigrants facing deportation or other legal proceedings.

As we address these long term necessities, we aren't forgetting that November 6 must be depended on to give us a huge initial lift, There's a lot of work to be done between now and then. Let's start with these three things:

1) Make Certain Senator Debbie Stabenow Will Prevail
	In the Farm Bill now under consideration, the Republican leadership has implanted new work rules that would result in denying Food Stamps to as many as 1.5 million present participants. They are inventive enough to give a trillion dollars or so of tax breaks to the very wealthy, but they have not quite figured out how to give a loaf of bread to someone who otherwise would have none. Luckily, they need 60 votes in the Senate and Debbie Stabenow (the ranking Democrat on the Agriculture Committee) is standing in the way. Make sure the Democrats on the Agriculture Committee stay with her: Tina Smith of Minnesota (202) 224-5641 Sherrod Brown of Ohio (202) 224-2315 Bob Casey of Pennsylvania (202) 224-6324 Insist there be no Farm Bill if it includes the new draconian rules.
2) Boost Michelle Obama's New Project
	As this missive has previously emphasized, getting people registered so they can vote on November 6 is the current number one job of resisters. September 22nd through 29th will be the biggest week of the year in terms of meeting that goal as When We All Vote holds a series of events.  It's not too late to help Michelle Obama, Lin-Michael Miranda, Tom Hanks and others get us focused.
3) Bring Florida a Democratic Governor
	With all the talk of the Senate and House, we are at risk of forgetting to take back several governor-ships. We would (perish the thought) fail to take advantage of the gifts Donald Trump has made available by his support of the most right wing (and less electable) candidate in several races. He has put us ahead in Florida though his support of Jim Desantis. Take a chance on Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum, who has an excellent chance of becoming the next Governor, and the first African-American Governor of that state.

This is not a mysterious thing. We know exactly what needs to be done by November 6, and we know exactly how to do it. Now that we've heard what's in Bob Woodward's book we know that a nation hangs in the balance.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington