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Action Plans and Resources! [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-03-07
(First, the situation we’re in, then actions we can take and some useful resources! Please write suggestions for improvements in the comments. If you want a .pdf of this with clickable links, for further distribution, Kosmail me.)
The Situation:
In the House the Republicans have 218 seats while the Democrats have 214. There are three vacancies after Rep. Turner, D-TX, passed away March 5th, and Gov. Abbot (R) probably won't call an election until November. The Republicans hope (reasonably so) that after the April 1 special elections, they'll have two more seats. This is a very narrow majority, and they have to pass the budget by March 14, before the April 1 elections. Republicans are fighting each other viciously about the budget; some of them want massive tax cuts ($4.5 billion) for the rich, regardless of exploding the deficit; others want the deficit to be zero. The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (R-LA), is weak and generally disliked; he barely squeaked into office. Republicans will probably need Democratic votes to pass a budget and avoid shutdown of the government; this is the strongest leverage Democrats currently have.
In the Senate the Republicans have 53 seats while the Democrats have 47. Ties are broken by the Vice President. Many bills are subject to a filibuster ("cloture rule"), which requires 60 votes to pass. A simple majority can approve cabinet members, judges, etc. Senators can also block certain nominations, and they can take other actions that slow the Senate to a crawl, placing pressure on the Republicans to make a deal and get the Senate moving again.
As Democrats are in the minority in both House and Senate, we can't hold any investigations if the Republicans remain united.
We have a system of unusually strong states, and many of them are run by Democrats. State laws govern health (e.g., vaccination, abortion), education, justice, and welfare, though the federal government can try to affect these powers by holding back payments to the states (e.g., for education, for welfare, for a crisis). Federal law overrides state law when there is a direct conflict or when actions cross state lines.
Virginia and New Jersey have state-wide elections in 2025. At this time, Democrats hold a bare majority in both the Virginia House and Senate, which inhibits the Trumpian governor.
The Courts have indicated that they are often willing to rule against Trump. If the "rule of law" collapses, then lawyers and judges lose their relevance and careers; what is then needed are corrupt "fixers." The Supreme Court is aware that they rely on the President to obey their decisions and on respect and support from the public. They are also aware that Trump may simply ignore them, and that their approval rating is near historic lows, with 44% currently disapproving. The Supreme Court may therefore try to be unified, or close to unified (e.g., 7-2) in voting against Trump in some cases, hoping that he'll feel he has to obey.
A danger is that Trump (and shadow-President Musk) have shown that they do not feel bound by any laws or, probably, by rulings of the Courts or even of the Supreme Court. Musk's 20-somethings are in the Treasury, where they can fiddle with payments, illegally stopping those they don't like regardless of Congress. The Insurrection Act of 1792 (amended) gives Trump the power to deploy troops to "suppress civil disorder," which is very vague and that Trump can define as he likes.
Actions For Individuals:
First, don't "surrender in advance." Don't freeze in despair; that's what Trump and Musk want us to do as a result of their "shock and awe" campaign. Take care of yourself, but don't retreat from the world at this time. Action postponed may become action denied. See Daily Kos: "The Science of Defeating an Authoritarian, part 1 - Get Yourself and Friends Ready to Fight" by Anthropologist
Second, the situation is very bad, but not impossible. Trump and Musk are probably moving too quickly. If they had taken a year to infiltrate institutions and concurrently created a drop in grocery prices, etc., the subtlety of their attack and the sugar coating of their actions might have resulted in widespread public support that would have been difficult to overcome. Instead, voters are being forced to see Trump's megalomania, threats against our allies, and love notes to our sworn enemies, coupled with Musk's layoffs of public employees that are impacting Trump voters.
Trump's and Musk's approval ratings are already the lowest for a new President (and shadow President) in history. (In mid-February, Trump's approval was 47% and dropping according to 538, and 45% according to Gallup. Musk's approval was 42%; with 63% concerned about Musk's access to federal databases. Trump has "exceeded his authority" according to 57%.) People feel that "the rich" are stealing from everyone. Inflation, the biggest concern of voters in the 2024 election, is beginning to rise, and Trump's push to raise tariffs and deport undocumented workers will make this worse.
So.... what can we do?
First, we must be absolutely clear that we're in a crisis. Most people don't want to worry about politics. Indeed, the strongest predictor that people would vote against Trump was whether they believed that Project 2025 would come true if he were elected.
Second, we must show up. If people don't see opposition, or if they think that the opposition is weak, they'll avoid worrying about the coup. Therefore, we need to provide "social proof" that there IS opposition and that this IS a crisis. To do that we must increase the perception that many people feel as we do by showing up in public spaces and social media and disagreeing with what is happening. But don't spread yourself too thin. Pick a local topic and/or a group that you can feel connected to, and focus on it. E.g., your local school board meeting; a local chapter of Indivisible, Sister District, Swing Left; your union. Also educate the local leaders of civic organizations about what is happening, then get them on our team so they can organize others. Use Mobilize (
https://www.mobilize.us/) to find nearby actions.
Third, we must show what to do. People need to feel they can do something about a problem; otherwise they give up, become cynical, avoid worry. Show we're having fun while doing it! Don't let the Trumpers suck the joy out of us; it lowers our energy and it's unattractive. And joy in one's heritage and culture is a perfect foil for negative caricatures of minorities and communities of color as criminals, victims, etc.
Here are our Key Points: The economy is lousy, and Trump owns it. Trump has senile dementia, indulging in revenge, starting fights with our allies, and wrecking necessary government functions (VA, Social Security, Medicaid, Health, Farm Aid, Weather Service, Airports, National Parks, etc.). Meanwhile, Musk and the billionaires are running wild, snooping into our private information, stealing our money, and scheming to profit from the mess they've created. This is a hostile takeover of our government by bullies for billionaires.
Specific Actions:
Join a Group: There are thousands of chapters of Indivisible, Sister District, Swing Left, and Move On; at least one will have goals and people you can connect to. Mobilize has other local opportunities. Also your local Democratic Party Central Committee. In the San Francisco Bay Area, look at the Bay Area Coalition (
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2670842163071252 ). There are specialty groups also; use Google to find them. E.g., for programmers: Ragtag, Tech for Campaigns For voter registration: Hope Springs, Field Team 6 And the Democratic Party: DNC, DSCC (Senate), DCCC (House), DLCC (States).
Call and Write to Your Representatives: Yes, even to Democrats. The calls are counted; they help your Member show the other Members that people care ("social proof"). If you can include a short, concrete, emotional story about the effect on your life, that's the best! Provide your contact info and zip code.
Protest: The groups above, and Mobilize, run public protests. This shows others that we're not an irrelevant minority ("social proof"). Avoid giving Trump an excuse to "suppress civil disorder"; e.g., by violent demonstrations. (If you see someone acting badly, clear space around them so that the police can deal with the situation. Don't amplify it; don't provide an opportunity for the media to show violence.)
Donate to Candidates: Groups often have donation drives. Donate directly to candidates you like, but be sure that you're actually having an impact. Don't waste your money on people who probably won't win. (The major groups, above, can help guide you.)
Support Journalism and Activists: Subscribe to your local news media; support national blogs and podcasts. Support organizations that are competently opposing Trump. (See Resources below.) Some activist organizations are scams; investigate on Open Secrets (
https://www.opensecrets.org/) first.
Canvass, Make Phone Calls, Send Texts, Write Postcards and Letters: There are ongoing campaigns for special elections, judges, etc. Virginia and New Jersey have major elections in 2025. In order of effectiveness: Door-to-door canvassing, phone banking, text banking, postcards and letters. Canvassing and phone banking help validate voter lists before elections and help find volunteers; you typically call only Democrats, and many of them appreciate hearing a friendly Democratic voice. Postcards can make a 1 to 3% difference, which wins close elections. The groups above run campaigns, as does Postcards to Voters (
https://postcardstovoters.org/)
Be Active on Social Media: But avoid "slacktivism"; don't let merely clicking "likes" be your only action. Don't "feed the trolls" with snarky responses, etc., although ridicule of truly absurd positions may be helpful. Instead, if you can write a short correction that doesn't needlessly inflame, this may influence others who are reading the interchange. Clicking "angry" or "sad" may raise the probability that a particular message is shown to others; "like" may be less effective. The best method is to make the Key Points (above) using real, concrete, personal examples. Appeal to emotion with stories about real, immediate, personal effects; don't get lost in abstractions (e.g., "rule of law" "Constitution").
Talk to Friends; Organize: The groups, above, can help you organize house parties. Talk to your friends about politics; make your views known ("social proof"). You'll be astounded by how many people don't know what is going on. See Daily Kos: "The Science of Defeating an Authoritarian, Part 2 - Sink Trump's Approval Ratings" and Daily Kos: "The Science of Defeating an Authoritarian, Part 3 - It's the Corruption, Stupid!" both by Anthropologist
Don't waste your time with cult-believers, but if you must, see the references in
https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2025-03-11/false-beliefs-post-truth-world-psychological-causes-and-antidotes for advice. (Summary: people often join cults because they're lonely, and it becomes part of their identity and community. Be very respectful, ask concrete questions, and provide a supportive environment so that if they decide to leave the cult they won't fall back into the misery of being lonely.)
Run for Something: If you really want to step up, run for something! Local school boards are being overrun by crackpot right-wingers; town and county seats shouldn't be ceded to Republicans. The major organizations can help you, as can the local Democratic Central Committee and specialized groups such as the aptly-named Run For Something (
https://runforsomething.net/)
Resources:
Read Heather Cox Richardson (
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/), Chop Wood Carry Water (
https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/), DailyKos (
https://www.dailykos.com/), The Contrarian (
https://contrarian.substack.com/)
Anything from Anat Shenker-Osario; e.g.,
https://the.ink/p/watch-an-actual-plan-to-beat-fascism from which I got some of the points in my discussion. Her "Freedom Over Fascism" messaging toolkit:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s0JbXhND7-1iqABNcUNL031NQLxkLfr-USkCKGZTidI/
Encouraging YouTube videos from Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and Jasmine Crockett; from Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg; from Governor JB Pritzker; from MeidasTouch.
The websites for the major groups above and for groups focused on specific issues; e.g., climate change (
https://350.org/ ,
https://www.edf.org/ ,
https://www.sierraclub.org/), rights (
https://www.aclu.org/ ,
https://www.hrc.org/ ,
https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/). These websites usually have organizing advice, graphics for signs, and links to local chapters.
To avoid losing your mind: Jimmy Kimmel (
https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyKimmelLive) and The Daily Show (
https://www.youtube.com/@TheDailyShow) Walks in the woods. Friends. Pussycats. And, of course, Daily Kos Good News Roundup!
Finally, if things get worse, The Simple Sabotage Field Manual published by the U.S. in World War II:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26184 E.g., for the first day of mandatory attendance at HUD. And Daily Kos: "The Science of Defeating an Authoritarian, Part 5 - Everyday Forms of Resistance" by Anthropologist
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