Naturally there are a lot of things about the Trump presidency I find worrying, but here’s one you won’t hear much about.
I’m worried that when he eventually stops being President (that IS definitely going to happen, right?) many people who have been drawn to following politics will presume order has been restored and think all is right with the world again. Sure if someone’s not as bad as Trump, their policies have to be ok, right? As the man himself would say…WRONG!
Some former congressional staffers have put together a handy guide for organizing community political campaigns and putting pressure on your local public representative to resist the Trump agenda, using the Tea Party movement as an example of how it can succeed when done right. It is very detailed and The Best of the Left podcast this week featured it in audiobook form
Here’s how it starts…
Donald Trump is the biggest popular-vote loser in history to ever call himself President-Elect. In spite of the fact that he has no mandate, he will attempt to use his congressional majority to reshape America in his own racist, authoritarian, and corrupt image. If progressives are going to stop this, we must stand indivisibly opposed to Trump and the Members of Congress (MoCs) who would do his bidding. Together, we have the power to resist — and we have the power to win.
The thing is…I believe this guide can be used for more issues than just the Trump agenda.
Here in Ireland we have been seen a duopoly of pro-business parties running the country since the formation of the State. Sure, the regimes led by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael aren’t exactly in Trump territory, but acknowledging that can be a dangerous thing. There is a great deal of fixable income equality in this country, and neither party has done much about it over the years.
So I reckon that if you take this guide and make a few substitutions, like “Member of Oireachtas” for “Member of Congress” and “Civil War Parties” for “Trump”, it can help communities up and down the country who have similar views on issues like income equality, housing, water charges & repealing the 8th amendment co-ordinate their action towards pressuring TDs and councillors.
More people should be more interested in their government no matter who is in the White House. Personally I wouldn’t mind if “Indivisible” was made into a school textbook. JLP
#IANWAE
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