#56: We Will Extricate a Country From a Morass

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 where you can read and share these messages. 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.

This missive will be shorter than has been the custom. It isn’t just that it is the holiday season, but that we all need a little time to sort through the new crises. Budget politics and the wall are not the least of the issues, but they pale in the face of new deal between Donald Trump and Turkish premier Recip Tayyip Erdogran.

We knew Trump would try our souls, but this is the selling of a nation’s soul. Kurdish fighters have been in Syria successfully fighting ISIS with our help. That Trump would agree to abandon the Kurds in the face of Erdogan’s desire to kill them all is our nation’s new shame. Defense Secretary James Mattis proved he could bear a lot of things, but not this.

There have been plenty of other major challenges in the last two years as we together have sought to protect a nation from its president. We have had some considerable success:

• As Trump has sought to treat Putin as a special friend, Congress has resisted. Our policies and sanctions have remained in place and in some cases they have been strengthened. True, there is disarray in Europe, but the NATO alliance will hold, and we will remain an essential part of it. Angela Merkel has been replaced by her like-minded colleague Annagret Kramp-Karrenbauer. If Theresa May’s government falls over Brexit, her nation will turn to the center and left, not to the right.

• Robert Mueller has been protected sufficiently by Congress and is expected to issue his report by mid-February. If Trump had been able to devise a way to stop Mueller, he would have done so. It hasn’t just been Democrats who have been protecting Mueller, it is Republican Senate Intelligence Chair Richard Burr. Whether or not Trump is impeached, the multiple tracks of justice-seeking will continue. Notably, this is not just about Mueller’s powers, but those of various state and federal prosecutors. Talking to Mueller and prosecutors, Michael Flynn and Michael Cohen know things Donald Trump doesn’t want you to know, which soon will be revealed in detail.

• We took back the House by 40 seats, and generated the largest gap between Democratic and Republican votes in the history of midterm elections. We have filled our House with a new generation of younger, accomplished, principled, diverse Americans who are nicely distributed among the “wings” of Democrats. Over time, we will be as thrilled that we have them as we are overjoyed we have subpoena power. And, that’s saying a lot because the subpoenas will expose the con man at the highest level of his conniving.

It’s important to remind ourselves of these things daily because we need to be steady as this disgrace of a presidency exposes itself layer by layer, and the resultant wounds of the United States become even more apparent and in need of healing. The response of a nation to the Syria action and the Mueller report will reveal who Donald Trump is, and who we are. We are not having a minor dispute over small things. We have known for many months that these battles are about the very future of a country. It is a time that will demand something extra from us, and that’s what we will give. 

In less than two years, our resistance will win back the Senate and the presidency. We are unbowed.
Between now and when the new Congress convenes on January 3, let’s concentrate on one huge element which has been missing up to this point:

Motivating Republican Senators to Act on Behalf of Their Nation

During a constitutional crisis, a bi-partisan response is indispensable. Thus far the willingness of Republican Senators to step forward has been underwhelming. These days, there is no Arthur Vandenberg helping start the United Nations, no Jacob Javits fighting for civil rights, no Howard Baker standing up to Richard Nixon.

It’s good for us to understand that it is not a trivial matter for a sitting Republican Senator to face off against a vituperative and vengeful president who controls their party. It can easily keep you from being re-elected, and all of your life you have wanted to be a U.S. Senator. You have also convinced yourself and those who love you that even though you have not stood up to Trump in ways that have counted, you have been a quiet force protecting the nation. John McCain, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voting against the “skinny repeal” of the Affordable Care Act is the nearly singular exception. 

We can understand these things, but we can no longer tolerate them. There are glimmers. Senate Republicans do not intend to help Trump issue a free pass to Kashoggi-killing Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Previously unable to walk in Howard Baker’s Tennessee footsteps, Lamar Alexander has put his foot down on Trump’s proposal to change Senate rules to have fifty votes build the wall. The incredulous opposition of Lindsay Graham and the straightforward rebuke of Mitch McConnell over the Syria move and the resignation of Mattis may represent the first straw for a dozen or more Senate Republicans.

These are Republicans who do not love Putin at all in any way. They believe in international alliances anchored by friendship with France, Britain, Germany and Canada. It will not be easy to motivate these people to act, because the political cost to them could be great. They need to know that the cost to the country of them not acting will be far greater.

Please pick one of these vulnerable Republican Senators to target for your year-end activity. They are among the 22 Republicans up for re-election in 2020, compared to only 12 Democrats, who are mostly in safe seats. They Republican Senators know 2020 is coming.

Intensify. Please use the links to call the Senator, and call one or more of her or his district offices - all if you can spare some time. Do some internet searching and see if their legislative director or chief of staff has revealed contact information, and call or email them too. Do some research to determine their likely opponents in case you will need to use that information sooner rather than later.

Tell them that it is your strong expectation that they will defend our country today:
Joni Ernst of Iowa
Thom Tillis of North Carolina
Cory Gardner of Colorado
David Perdue of Georgia
Steve Daines of Montana

These are difficult times. One can disempower oneself as one ruefully absorbs the news. Let’s allow anger and bewilderment and sorrow to cause the redoubling of efforts instead. We will not let this man do these things. In the not too distant future, we will have new leadership for the troubled country that we love.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington

#55: We Will Be Able to Dream About What America Can Become

When I started this series of missives in November of 2016, I was despairing. I felt even then that we could take back the House in 2018, and that we had a shot at protecting the Affordable Care Act. But I did not imagine that our resistance would reach its present capacity. The reason we had the largest mid-term election margin since World War II is because we all obsessed about taking back the House. Certainly we were fortunate to have some outstanding candidates, but the Person of the Year for 2018 should be the Trump resister, who made those campaigns rock.

Responding to my own despair and that of my dear family, I pledged to provide a missive every two weeks until 2020, when we will no longer have to use the word President and the word Trump in the same sentence. Just think of how elevating that will feel, to once again start to dream about what America can become. In each of my 54 blog entries, I have tried to chronicle what has been happening in a way that cuts through the overwhelming amount of information available and which identifies matters of special importance. I have sought to provide important context about how certain decisions are made and have avoided the temptation to dwell on snarky things that one could say about Donald Trump. I have offered three specific things that my blog readers can do about all of this. I have been pleased at the number of people who act on these three things most every time they receive the missive.

I started with a list of 250 people. Gratifyingly, I have received a steady stream of “enrollments”. Now, between the e-blast, the blog itself and the Facebook post I have 2200 “followers”. This does not account for the further “reach” gained when recipients share the blog with their friends. If you will, please help me add those friends to our list and think of others who can join in on this adventure. The strength of the resistance is that there are hundreds of groups like ours who are intent on changing the world, and that we all just proved that we can. Please help us do even better by 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 where you can read and share these messages. You can also catch up on current and past missives on my blog page, A Path Forward to November 3, 2020.

Donald Trump made a very bad bet. In his previous life first as a real estate developer, and later as a marketer, he developed these habits--- promote your own brand aggressively, exaggerate as much as you can get away with, never apologize, and counterpunch against anyone who criticizes you, regardless of who they are and the significance or aptness of the criticism. He did not reckon that the brand promotion would be recognized as giving thanks for himself on Thanksgiving. As a real estate operative, he did not have to deal with fact checkers who keep posting and proving his prevarications. Once you are president, an ability to admit error and change course is essential, or you could get caught pretending that Kim Jong Un is your special friend who is ridding his country of nuclear weapons. He is not and they are not. Finally, the counterpunching eventually just makes you the world’s biggest bully. 

Many Republicans say that Trump’s political error in November was not talking enough about economic gains. They should be so lucky. He hemorrhaged votes in the suburbs not because these voters didn’t know what he has done, but because they did know both what he has done and, importantly, who he is and how he has done it. From the time that Ike was their uncle, Americans have judged a President’s character and voted as though character mattered. Too bad for Republicans that they have cast their lot behind someone whose tweets remind us of absence of character every single day.

It’s fair that in dying George H.W. Bush was remembered for his dedication to public service, and why wouldn’t we contrast it to Donald Trump’s lack of such dedication? And, it is fair that we find a lesson for these times around Bush’s gentler, kinder personal sensibilities which were seen as uncommon and were thus appreciated by other elected officials.
Of course, that’s why it was so disappointing that the father’s coalition effort to liberate Kuwait from Iraq morphed into the son’s made up war that has destabilized the Middle East. The senior Bush, Colin Powell, and Condoleeza Rice got played by Dick Cheney, and the world has been paying for it ever since.

All of which provides lessons for us as we realize we need to evaluate both the character and the policy approaches of the score of Democratic presidential candidates that are emerging. This vetting will seem odd for a while. For two years all of us have been focused on making Donald Trump an un-president. We have not had to stand by our own candidate. When we start doing the sorting, we are going to rediscover some differences among us.

We can handle that, because there is not as much of a gap between Democratic “liberals” and “progressives” as media commentators would want us to believe. You would be hard pressed to place all our shiny new members of Congress and our presidential candidates on some kind of center to left continuum. We will be able to nominate a ticket that keeps most all of us fully engaged in this movement. This outcome will be even more likely because Democrat primaries award delegates proportionally to the votes received, which will mean delegate totals will grow slowly, and the winnowing process will be as orderly as any group of Democrats can produce.

Those of us who are themselves part of a generation that brought us Trump, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will understand why Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Michael Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren still would deeply love to be president. It might be the hardest dream of all to put away. As kindly and gently as we can, we should let that them know that we are turning to younger generations, who bring a freshness to our party that will serve us well in November of 2020---- These candidates are Obama’s generation! Barrack Obama is 57. We could definitely stand more of that, no? Cory Booker is 49, Kamala Harris is 54. Amy Klobuchar is 58, Deval Patrick 62, Joaquin Castro 45, Michelle Obama 54, and Beto O’Rourke 46. There are others. Let’s see what their policy approaches are, and what character they can demonstrate.

Right now, it seems that all we are doing is waiting for Robert Mueller. There is no doubt that what he will have to say will be hugely consequential, and it is possible that it will mean that Trump will be unable to serve out his term. Here is a good place to never get ahead of ourselves. The fact that Democrats now control the House means that there will be evidence backing up some of our darkest suspicions about Trump and the Russians. And it could be that the evidence will be so strong that the House will be duty bound to pass articles of impeachment.

However, impeachment talk is political candy for some House members and they could stand to reduce their daily helping. They need to remember successful impeachment would require the votes of 20 Republican Senators. Without those votes, what would we be hoping to achieve? Now that we control the House, we have plenty of ways to expose the truth and support the upcoming indictments outside of the impeachment process. The real prize is not just in taking back the Presidency, but in restoring the American institutions that Trump has weakened and the rights he has trampled. Let’s keep our goals in the appropriate order.

And, in the meantime,we know the lame duck Congress is still sitting there in Washington D.C., and (for the moment) even worse, the lame duck Wisconsin State Legislature is still in session. It would be awful if those bent on whatever mischief they can get away with fell out of the habit of hearing from us. Here are three things we can do right now.

1) Stop the Perversion of the Democratic Process in Wisconsin
	The reason why the Wisconsin State Legislature is trying to limit the powers of incoming Democratic Governor Tony Evers is they can, as long as outgoing Republican Governor Scott Walker doesn’t veto their cynical, anti-Democratic actions. Some of these late night measures now before the Governor have been vetoed by him before, back when he was feeling it wasn’t such a great idea for the legislature to limit his powers over mostly minor disagreements. Among the provisions under consideration are moving the state’s job creation agency out from under the Governor’s control, and changing how the state decides to participate in lawsuits against the federal government. Republican Scott Walker might veto some or all of this package, which passed the Wisconsin Senate by one vote. If he does, it will be because he suspects the package passing will put him and Wisconsin Republicans under a cloud for a decade. Call the Governor’s office at 608-266-1212 and tell them they are right about that. In addition, attend to the fact that the bill restricts early voting to the two weeks before the election, for no other reason than to suppress voters. The advocacy group One Wisconsin Now believes they have legal grounds for a challenge. You can hear their argument, and you may decide to help them out.
2) Pass Criminal Justice Reform in the United States Congress Right Now
	It is difficult to collect a lot of praise from resisters for Jared Kushner. But it is indisputable that he has been an advocate for federal criminal justice reform, including considerable improvements in drug sentencing and modest improvements in judicial discretion. His early understanding of these issues came from his own father being incarcerated. Though Democrats would have liked the existing bi-partisan bill to go much further, it is still a breakthrough, and it will still release thousands of people from prison who no longer belong there. Can you imagine how much that matters to them and to their families? Mitch McConnell has still not committed to bringing the bill to the floor so the Senate can pass it (which it will) and so the President can sign it. Write or call your own two Senators. If they are already supporting it, please ask them respectfully to not come home for the holidays until they get this done.
3) Members of Congress, Tear Down that Wall
	There will be a government shutdown battle over walling out Mexico that will culminate on December 21. The dispute is between the $5 billion the House provided for a section of the wall and border security and the $1.5 the Senate provided for border security. The Republican leadership is trying very hard to avoid even a partial governmental shutdown on this issue, because they have discerned that it will be blamed on their party. As of this point, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi are not being helpful to the Republican leadership, because they agree with the Republicans that Trump shutting down the government will be blamed on Republicans. This wall issue will be with us until Trump returns to marketing hotel properties he does not own. So, it would be a good idea if organizations of which you are a member make their opposition formal. Here’s the list to which you can add your favorite organization.

One step at a time is the way that we need to go about all of this. Through the hardest of work, we won back the House. For our troubles, we saved our country from some but not even close to all of the worst things this highly unusual American presidency will bring us. Let’s keep on. Let’s see each of ourselves as a member of the first team that is carrying on this fight. And, let’s remember we will have some repairs to do even after we regain the Presidency less than two years from now.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington

#54: We Are Just Getting Started

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 where you can read and share these messages. 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.

It was all there in seventh grade if we were paying attention. Our noble Democratic experiment was built upon separation of powers, including a system of checks and balances. Some would have made George Washington king, but he showed clear disinterest and the Constitution made it impossible. The President would be the chief executive and commander in chief. She or he would carry out the laws enacted by Congress. The President could sign or veto laws passed by Congress, and Congress could override a veto with a 2/3 vote of both the Senate and the House. The President would appoint and the Senate approve members of the Supreme Court, who would settle statutory disputes and, (bolstered by the Marbury vs Madison case in 1803) determine the constitutionality of acts of Congress.

Even the enormous powers exercised during wartime by Franklin Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln left mostly unscathed this intentional, carefully-crafted system. It even has survived the worst judicial wrongheadedness, including the Dred Scott decision upholding slavery, and in our time, the tortured resolution of an election (Bush v. Gore) and the establishment of corporations as persons in Citizen’s United.

So, too, the Supreme Court and the 9th Circuit will survive Donald Trump, whose contemptuousness toward government institutions has been clear from the outset. Even so, one would not want to pass over the exchange between Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts too quickly. Some pundits seem to think it was just a bit of political theatre, but the labeling of judges by Trump as Trump judges and Obama judges and Bush judges was one of the greatest affronts to Trump’s oath of office. If there had not previously been scores of other Trumpian epithets hurled at Democratic institutions, more attention might have been paid. 

No one is proposing that John Roberts be elevated in the pantheon, but it is to his credit that he paid attention. The resistance should be more pleased than is presently apparent. John Roberts knows more than anyone that over half of Supreme Court decisions are made unanimously. He also knows that in just over 20% of Supreme Court rulings, five justices outvote the other four. Most importantly, he knows that it is a very dangerous thing for the independence of the courts to be tweet-defined, especially when the tweeter-in-chief may end up having some personal matters before the court.

Especially delicious is that two of the judicial actions Trump criticized (protection of Acosta’s press pass and defense of Muelller’s legitimacy) were taken by Trump appointees. Bush judicial appointees have ruled against Trump positions as well. It is one thing to concede that politics influences everything, certainly the judiciary. But it is foolish to ignore that the facts of the case and the nature of the underlying law are huge factors in the practices of the courts and thus in the decisions impeding Trump. If he stops affronting the Constitution, the courts will stop admonishing him.

The media wants to leave it that each executive action was “ruled unconstitutional”, obscuring that each of these cases has different claims and different merits. The recent case blocking Trump’s reduction of places where asylum can be sought was simple --- the statutory language on asylum-seeking does not in any way provide the President this discretion, so he is unconstitutionally claiming powers he does not possess. The legal arguments over the press pass of Jim Acosta is all about whether a property right (Jim Acosta’s ability to do his job) can be constitutionally extinguished by Trump without “due process of law” guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. Adherence by Trump and Sarah Sanders to due process would be establishment of legitimate standards for accreditation. The court didn’t need to address this issue, but any such standards would have to be consistent with freedom of speech and of the press as guaranteed in the 1st amendment. Finally, the initial Trump travel ban was blocked by the courts over its denial of “equal protection of the laws” under the 14th amendment. Trump was faulted for a baseless division of Muslims and non-Muslims.

With the Mueller report coming out soon, and more indictments certain to emerge, we need to retain a sophistication regarding the role of the courts and each of the constitutional protections that block many Trumpian excesses. The Brennan Center, Southern Poverty Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union (82 separate cases against Trump actions) have all been well funded by resisters to make certain we use every tool afforded to us in a country that has an independent judiciary. We will all make certain that they and our environmental litigators continue to have the support they need.

In the meantime, the lame duck Congress is coming to town, a month ahead of the best freshman class of new members of Congress to ever hit Washington. The goal for all of us is constant oversight, as vigilance is the price of liberty. We certainly don’t want to lose our edge during a lame duck session. The worst sort of mischief can be avoided by taking these three steps:

1) Knock Down the Wall
	Yes, there is going to be another wall show down. The House has passed $5 billion for the wall, and the Senate provided $1.5 billion for multiple border security efforts. The good news is that any appropriations compromise requires 60 votes in the Senate. Get used to this. The 50-vote budget reconciliation process was anomalous, and with the House going with the Democrats, it is a forgotten relic, mercifully. Trump’s selective interest in caravans (and the entirely bogus number of 500 criminals in the caravan) is designed to put pressure on the Senate in order to get 60 voters, as is his pledge to close down the government if his wall isn’t supported. Of course, Trump threatening to close down the government to get his way on the wall is a “go ahead, make my day” moment. But it remains the case that Charles Schumer would cut a $5 billion deal in a second if he could get some relief for Dreamers. You wouldn’t want Schumer or your own Senator of whichever party to get too careless on all of this. It is a good time to email your own two Senators, letting yourself get swept up by their email systems that favor people from their own states. They suspect what you think, but tell them anyway. The wall is un-American. It sends a signal to the world that we aren’t who we always said we were. Tell them that you want policies that provide a clear path forward for immigrants, asylum seekers and Dreamers. You might want to underscore your feelings on this matter. Peace Supplies has “No Wall” t-shirts, yard signs and bumper stickers.   Also, although it is a dismal picture, there is no time like the present to think about those in your region who might be considering sponsoring the few refugees (30,000 or so per year) who are being allowed into the country.
2) Don’t Forget Stacey Abrams
	It is one thing to campaign hard in a contested election in which a state has huge ideological splits. It is another thing to be Stacey Abrams and have to do it when your opponent is in charge of the election process, is bent on voter suppression and will not recuse himself. Please don’t forget that Stacey Abrams’ story is not even close to over. Get on the mailing list of her new organization Fair Fight Georgia and give her a little money if you can. If we can get an election in Georgia where people are encouraged to vote rather than being frightened, she will win.
3) Get Ready for All New Action of Climate Change
	It’s all there in the Fourth National Climate Assessment, which was legislatively mandated twenty years ago. The Trump administration would have done away with it if they could have found a way to do so.   This assessment was prepared by 13 federal agencies and is blunt and dramatic about the projected costs, which it says could be hundreds of billions of dollars. It notes that warming will continue to make weather events and fires more calamitous. Trump’s simple answer: “I don’t believe it.”  This will not be the status quo for long. Next year the Democratic House will pass a climate change bill to increase our national efforts and Charles Schumer will look for Republican votes in the Senate. There are several Republican up for re-election in 2020 in states that have turned blue or are turning blue. These Senators will either put the battle against climate change on their plate or be held politically accountable for not doing so. With the House in Democratic control we have all new ways to up the pressure. This is going to be an intensive effort. A good start would be to place yourself on the mailing list of the U.S. Climate Action Network, which includes the major environmental organizations and hundreds of local action groups.

It’s a new day, but not one that brings even a momentary thought of complacency. We are not tired, we are energized. The blue wave of November 6 is not signaling to us that we can walk away. It is telling us that we must not. We just created the biggest Congressional vote margin of victory since 1974. The Presidency is at stake in 2020, and with it our democracy’s essence. We’re just getting started.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington

#53: We Can Take Advantage of These Huge Gains

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 where you can read and share these messages. 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.

Tuesday, November 6 was a monumental day for the resistance, significantly more successful than many pundits and headlines reveal. We gained 35 or so House seats, the most since Watergate, and we did it in the face of Republican gerrymandering after the 2010 census. In terms of blocking many of the worst of Donald Trump’s abuses, hardly anything beats controlling one of the Houses of Congress. And where and how we did it is revelatory. We captured two thirds of America’s suburban districts. We won districts that we wouldn’t even have put into play in other years. We elected shiny, bright, focused younger people and diverse people who will make Congress look more like America. Youth voting increased by a third over 2014. 

We won a seat in Kansas, and its governorship. We won three of the four House seats in Iowa! We beat Dave Brat of the tea party in Virginia, and the Putin-admiring Dana Rohrbacker in California. Donald Trump dumped the insufficiently toadying Mark Sanford in South Carolina during the primary, permitting us to take the seat by beating his chosen acolyte Katie Arrington. We were not able to get the Georgia seat for Jon Ossoff in the special election in April, and now we have won it with Lucy McBath.

We took back seven governorships. We defeated Scott Walker in Wisconsin and won back Michigan behind Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois behind J.B. Pritzker. With the easy gubernatorial victory in Pennsylvania, we made a statement throughout the industrial Midwest. We flipped control of legislatures in six states and unseated 350 Republican state legislators. The red states of Idaho, Nebraska and Utah expanded Medicaid in their states to reach far more people who would otherwise be denied health care. In three states, we passed initiatives to turn away from gerrymandering.

Even in the Senate, with Kristin Sinema now winning the open seat in Arizona and Bill Nelson still a possibility in Florida, we minimized our losses to a maximum of two seats. This was in the face of the most favorable Republican map since the direct election of Senators began in 1913. Jacky Rosen beat Dean Heller in Nevada, after Trump turned him away from demonstrating the tiniest interest in the Affordable Care Act. 

We did all of this together. We all became a part of this movement when the Democratic Party itself was in disarray in November of 2016. We never asked permission of anyone. Working together in countless living rooms, we started aiming toward Tuesday’s outcome very early and with open wounds. With each month, our efforts got bigger and better. That’s why so many of our candidates won. And that’s why if we exhibit the same behavior going forward, wisely and relentlessly, we will take back the Presidency in two years.

It is good that we have never been more energized, because we still have a distance to go. It is intriguing to know that if we roll out the same margins in the same states in 2020, we would win the electoral vote 314-224. Of course now that we know that, let’s forget it, lest it lead to even a bit of comfort that could turn into laxity. If you are looking for a dose of information on resistance efforts in the future, sign up for Swing Left's "What's Next?" debriefing this Sunday the 18th.

The question is how we will use what we just did going forward, not only in the 2020 electoral process but through legislative action prior to then. We know that controlling the House means being able to block approaches that Trump and Mitch McConnell would otherwise advance. This is an especially powerful position on spending and on the domestic policy agenda, and less so in influencing or blocking Trump’s foreign policy. Of course, there also will be the fact-finding advantage of Committee chairs Adam Schiff (Intelligence), Jerome Nadler (Judiciary) and Elijah Cummings (Oversight) being able to issue subpoenas. The protective zone around the president’s varied misdeeds has been breached. 

Another change has received less attention. The Democratic control of the House will alter voting dynamics in the Senate. Last session, the Republicans were able to put their debates on health care and tax reform under the rubric of the budget reconciliation process. This meant that on these issues they would only need 50 votes in the Senate, rather than the 60 (to close debate) for ordinary legislation. The fact that they couldn’t lose two votes from their caucus on these reconciliation votes gave Susan Collins, John McCain and Lisa Murkowski political leverage even though they did not exercise it as often as we would have preferred.

Now tactics will change. The most common operative number for Mitch McConnell will be 60 Senators, because the House can block any such reconciliation process ploys. No more comforting the comfortable through tax bills. Outside of the painful confirmation processes where only the Senate acts, we are back to bi-partisan compromise. The President can wield influence by threatening to veto a bill, but his ability to advance legislation without Democrats just went away. McConnell’s approach will be to try to persuade eight or so Democrats to join his position on any specific issue so the Senate Republicans can get to 60.

Budgets must be negotiated and appropriations passed, so the government can run. There’s talk of some joint interest in infrastructure improvements and controlling drug pricing. Beyond those things, everything else is up in the air, including immigration and taking even tiny steps to battle climate change.

There will be plenty of work for all of us to influence these legislative processes, but there is some business we will need to take care of even before that. Let’s do these three things now:

1) The Elections are Not Quite Over
	We’re all watching Staci Abrams’ effort to get every vote counted, which could push her opponent under 50% of the vote and lead to a runoff election in December. It may well not happen (he is at 50.2%), but if it does we will all need to act quickly to provide support, because the runoff would be in December. Democrat Mike Espy is in a runoff on November 27 for a Senate seat from Mississippi. Because the more “moderate” of the Republicans survived the November 6 ballot, this race is a long shot for Espy. He was Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Agriculture and is a good candidate. Even with the longer odds, now that your treasury isn’t being sought from multiple political directions, you might want to give Mike Espy a boost to see what happens.
2) Protecting Robert Mueller
	We’ve all been successfully defending the Mueller investigation for two years, and more indictments are imminent. Now that we have taken back the House, we will get the extra measure of protection from Adam Schiff being Intelligence Committee chair. Goodbye Devin Nunes and your justice-impairing proclivities. Donald Trump’s appointment of Matt Whitaker as acting Attorney General is a new thumb in the eye. It may not meet the constitutional standards for confirmation. Equally important, Whitaker has publicly declared that there is no collusion between Trump and the Russians. Since this is a primary subject of the investigation, this statement should immediately disqualify Whitaker from any supervision of Mueller. Richard Burr, the Republican Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has prided himself in protecting Mueller. Please call one or both of two senior Republican members of this committee and ask what they are doing to protect the integrity of the investigation: Senator Marco Rubio of Florida: (202) 224-3041 Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma: (202) 224-5754
3) Remember the Impact of Non-Partisan Organizations
	It’s the season for charitable giving. There are many ways to use gifts to tax-exempt non-profits to fight against voter suppression and for free and fair elections. Depressing the vote has become the standard practice of the Trump party. Fighting back, The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University and the Southern Poverty Law Center are both able to accept your charitable giving under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. For those resisters over 70 ½, these organizations are also able to receive a portion of your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from your Individual Retirement Account.

It’s mystifying that not every resister has grasped the full implications of what we did together on November 6. Maybe some are just not wanting to celebrate knowing how much remains to be done before Trump is displaced and replaced. Bring it on.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington

#52: We’re Not Going to Let Him Pry the Bill of Rights Away From Us

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 of us have taken personally all of these things about Donald Trump. His presidency has eaten away at our country, and we have not been able to abide it at all.

We have been sustained by the too rare legislative victory, notably John McCain’s thumbs down on overturning the Affordable Care Act. Even more so, our strength will come from what we will make happen next Tuesday. We have put together the largest collection of well-funded and well-fought off-year Congressional campaigns in history. We have been unrelenting. Because of that, we will win back the House of Representatives on Tuesday, November 6. 

Through it all, have we been too miserable, too worried, too obsessed with Trump? Have we overlooked any commendable policies he has advanced? Have we allowed his con-man, bullying, prevaricating habits to blind us from his positives?

No. No, we have not overlooked his positives. There is no brighter side. He is in permanent service to himself. He swore an oath to the Constitution and seems to think he swore an oath at the Constitution. He will say anything that suits him at any time that suits him. Left to himself, he will take this country apart.

We do not want to be embittered, or heartsick. More importantly, we do not want to see the world’s longest, greatest noble experiment in self-determination slip away. We will not let the Bill of Rights go, and he will be unable to pry it from our hands.

After next Tuesday night, it will be back to work, but in a new phase. There will be an all new set of issues to confront. New legislative challenges will be before us and the Congress, including House committees investigating Trump’s self-dealing on behalf of his holdings; his campaign’s ties to Russia, and his antipathy toward paying the income tax the law requires.

We have barely begun to sort out our Presidential candidates. We must pick a winner, hopefully someone who can articulate a nation’s dreams and its citizens’ values. Certainly, we have missed that. We do not intend to have this unthinkable presidency repeated, or mimicked by another.

With early balloting underway, it might seem like this chapter is over. This is untrue. With us putting new districts in play, there could be as many as 20 house races decided by one percent or less. In races like these, what happens between now and Tuesday will be monumentally important. Similarly, four or five Senate races are tied. Winning over the last few undecided voters and getting our voters to vote will mean everything for our candidates.

As underscored in missive #51, think how awful it would be to wake up on November 7 and wish that we had done more. You know how to keep that from happening. Here’s three things we can do in the next week.

1) Do Everything You Can to Promote Voting
	You can only vote once, but you can wear your “I Voted” pin and be visible about having voted everywhere you go. Just think of the discussions you can start at the post office, the bank, the grocery store or on the bus. Please, please stop telling yourself that single votes don’t matter. If you are unaffiliated, Indivisible is doing phone banking in key districts every day until the election. Here’s where to sign up.
2) Yes, There is a Way to Make One More Donation That Counts
	Early on, veteran political organizers wondered out loud about Swing Left, whose leadership did not ask whether they could join the circle of resistance organizations. They just acted, and they have played a major role ever since. Now in connection with Act Blue, they have the perfect way to fix your worries that you haven’t donated enough. In their Immediate Impact Fund, they have selected nine Congressional races where the margins are tight, and where our candidates could use a last minute cash boost. We have put so much money in play that it might be hard to imagine that parting with a final $100 could make a difference, but it does because there are thousands of us making that same $100 calculation at the same time. Remember that resisters put 85 districts in play for good reasons, to maximize the blue wave and to make Republicans defend ground that they had always assumed was their own. Let’s make sure these candidates are supported.
3) Let’s Make Elections Better With Each Election Cycle
	The battle to end voter suppression is ongoing, as is the separate but related effort to improve redistricting practices. Congressional redistricting will commence once the 2020 Census has been completed. We will make gains in State Houses this year which will have huge consequences for redistricting. In many states, this means acquitting ourselves better in the usual political battles. It is good to remember that there is a higher goal--- using the initiative process or legislative actions to guarantee that both parties attend more carefully to the importance of considering the citizenry when they do district drawing. It is not just gerrymandering that disenfranchises voters. Sometimes the two major parties do horse trading that guarantees one party’s preeminence in one district, providing it to the other party in a neighboring district. This limits the number of swing districts and thus the choices that voters would otherwise be able to make. It produces members of Congress that are less willing to work across the aisle. As told by the outstanding Brennan Center, five states will vote on initiatives that will improve redistricting processes. Four other states are enmeshed in legislative debates on how to redistrict. Check and see if your state is included, and help make it so in the future. Some of these initiatives are drawing serious opposition with smokescreen advertising, so a last boost is a good idea.

Well, we knew it wouldn’t be easy. And it hasn’t been. From the beginning, about the only good thing one could say about the electoral events of November 2016 is that it would surface hidden layers of sexism, racism, homophobia, and xenophobia that we have been needing to get into the daylight and confront. We will keep that up for every minute it takes.

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