I thought this sounded encouraging, looks like even some of his "supporters" are turning on him because this link to a song parody of Bye Bye Miss American Pie to "The Day Democracy Died" was sent to my husband by a friend of his who is/was a T supporter! (looks like former!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ue5F57dZMU&feature=youtu.be
After reading the latest batch of predictions, it seems a good time to revive this thread. I know COVID has taken over and is the main focus in media and on a lot of people's minds for good reason, but as my 13 year old keeps saying, "whatever happened to the election?"
We know it is likely that voting access may be limited, and voting by mail is likely to be necessary, so we can focus attention on that. What else can we visualize and/or take action toward to help make voter turnout and a blue wave more likely? I believe, and there is evidence to support that the current GOP does not represent the will of the majority of Americans. So again the question: what can we do--what will you do--to help preserve our democracy? It may only be contemplative action--that's fine. But let's share ideas and inspire one another.
I had already pledged to myself that I would get out and do some work to help get more people to the polls, especially from marginalized populations. Right now I'm not sure what that will look like, but I am following local chapters of organizations like the League of Women Voters, Fair Fight (Stacey Abrams), and one called Common Cause NC to see what I can do when the time comes. I'll keep praying that more & more eyes are opened and that people turn toward hope rather than cynicism so they act and vote. I know Elizabeth Warren and others are working on legislative action to protect voting rights and ensure mail access.
What else?
I don't know about you, but I am planning to vote no matter what. The Republicans already tried to stop a fair election in Wisconsin. They limited the time for people to get absentee ballots (and in some cases, refused to send and/or accept absentee ballots), refused to postpone the election, and cut the number of polling stations down to 5 just so they could help a conservative incumbent judge keep his seat.
Guess what? IT DIDN'T WORK!!!!!!
Not only did the Democratic challenger win, but she won by double digits! The harder Republicans tried to change the outcome, the worse the backlash.
Now, some people are saying this didn't matter, because the Democratic Presidential Primary was going on, so the Democrats were going to come out anyway. However, I think it was understood by then that Biden would soon become the presumptive nominee anyway, so I cannot believe that interests in Biden was what drove voters to the booths.
What we are seeing (and what Republicans refuse to believe), is that Donald Trump has become a rallying cry for everyone with a sense of decency and a longing for a time when civility in politics was the norm. People actually braved a pandemic, at the cost of their health and possibly lives, to send a message to Republicans that their days in power are numbered. How can we shrink from our responsibilities after seeing their example?
As for me, I live in a red state that will probably make it more difficult to vote. But I don't care. When the time comes, I will grab my mask, my homemade hazmat suit, and head to the nearest poll place, be it rain, sun, or snow. I will endure lines and jump through hoops to vote straight down the ticket and vote against every single Republican. Even in races that only a Republican is running in, I will write in another name. But I swear I will vote for anyone so long as it is not Trump or a Trump supporter. And there is nothing they can do to stop me.
Republicans should be very, very afraid. Democratic voters risked their lives to vote in the middle of a pandemic (they shouldn't have had to, but they did). No matter what they pull, they can't stop us. Because we will make them pay by taking away their power and putting them back where they belong.
Oh, they will try other things. They will try to say Biden is a rapist (which they are already doing, which I think is ironic since we have the Predator in Chief bragging on tape about sexual assault). They will try to investigate Hunter Biden again. They will try to use the coronavirus as a means to keep us from voting.
In short, they will try everything they can to win, because they know their party is dying. Come 2024, they will be overwhelmingly outnumbered, and they have already driven away a good portion of their own party. Their only chance is to win 2020, so they can continue to gerrymander and redistrict in order to silence us as voters.
If Wisconsin is a sign of things to come, I think the Republicans better consider getting rid of Trump now instead of riding this out until the election. Practically all of their up-and-coming stars have kissed King Trump's ring, so if they try to run for higher office in a national setting, they will be remembered as a "Trump supporter" and be equally despised by a large majority of the population. Right now, a sizable majority of voters detest Trump with a passion and will endure anything to ensure that he is not granted another term. If I were the Republicans, I would be wondering what else voters are willing to do if they try to silence us again. Because if voters are willing to risk their lives just to vote, it should worry Republicans what would happen if they take more direct measures to try to stop us.
I think the best thing we can do is make sure they know now that they can't stop us no matter what measures they try to implement. Hopefully, they will get the message and not try. And if they don't, then we vote regardless. I pledge that now, and I hope everyone on this site will do the same, regardless of who they are and which party they are. Because if Trump and his supporters win, then more Americans will die. It is as simple as that.
Loved your post!!!
I’m from Wisconsin and I would’ve crawled thru broken glass on my hands and knees to vote. And you are right...it had little to do with Biden. Defeat any Republican on the ballot regardless of the position, but in particular the Republican candidate for WI Supreme Court!
We have another big election coming up on May 12. It’s for Sean Duffy’s old seat. We need to get Tricia Zunker elected to Congress. She is running against a gun slinging, good old boy...Tom Tiffany. I hope Trump comes out to endorse Tiffany so we can all crawl thru glass together again! And we will!
Much love to you my friend. ❤️
You and your fellow Wisconsin voters are heroes and a true inspiration to the rest of us. Keep up the good work, and may Tennessee one day join you guys in going in the right direction. (AKA-a peaceful direction).
I know that the Republicans in my area are getting nervous. They remember an incident that occurred in East Tennessee in 1946 when one party tried to mess with the election (For more information, go to Wikipedia and type in "Battle of Athens." During that election, where the incumbent sheriff actually took possession of some of the ballot boxes in order to count them without the other party present, the other party (mostly returning GIs from World War II) decided to hold an armed standoff. There were riots in the streets, cars being turned over, businesses receiving damage, and the actual use of guns and dynamite on the sheriff's office).
Long story short, the GIs ran the sheriff out of town. Thankfully, no one was killed.
There is talk that the Democrats are getting fired up in certain areas of Tennessee so that, if anyone tries to tamper with the vote, they will respond in a similar fashion. For that reason, many Republican leaders are being moderate in their approach and are not openly calling for voting restrictions. Still, the area is rather tense right now.
To further compound the problem, it turns out that the Sheriff in the Battle of Athens was a Democrat, and the GIs (made of pretty much anyone who hated the Sheriff, including members of his own party), ran on the Republican ticket. So the Republicans today are unable to condemn any Democrats who point to Athens as a rallying cry and a warning to Republicans should they try to stop the vote, least they be condemned as hypocrites because they touted the patriotism of the GIs for decades for using force to exercise their right to vote.
Thankfully, as I said, people are looking at the Battle of Athens as the cautionary tale it is meant to be. So many Republicans here will certainly be unwilling to try to tamper with the vote in ways like they did in 1946. While I don't doubt that Republicans will do something to curtail the Democratic surge here, it will likely not do much, as they are genuinely concerned of an uprising. Please remember that the majority of voters here who are Republican are elderly, white, and tend to be male. Democrats, on the other hand, are more racially inclusive, female, and tend to be younger (40 years or less). And right now the small majority of Democrats in East Tennessee are fired up to the point that they will literally walk through fire to vote.
Republicans, as I said, have a right to worry. While things may now change much locally where I live (mostly because the Republicans here tend to be more moderate and do not support Trump openly), the implications at the state and national level are high. If the enthusiasm holds and fears of the coronavirus linger, many Republicans may stay home and not vote because (1) they are elderly and don't want to run the risk of voting during a pandemic, as they know that they are more likely to get very sick, and (2) in the event that the state does mail-in voting, then they will have difficulty because they are less familiar with technology and tend to live in more rural areas, so they will have little internet service. While not true across the board, there is a sizable portion of Republicans who have these problems, so any attempts to keep Democrats from voting will likely also affect the Republicans too, and in disproportionate numbers. So if the Democrats in Tennessee show the same resilience and courage that the Democrats in Wisconsin just demonstrated, then Trump may win the state by only a few points or possibly even lose Tennessee completely, as West Tennessee is democratic and will even out the Republican votes from East Tennessee. Therefore, Middle Tennessee (Nashville) will be the true battleground for us.
There are still way too many months before November, and anything can happen. But regardless, I plan to vote for every Democrat and Independent on the ballot to show Republicans that they can't steal my vote. Even if (by some miracle or act from God) Trump is no longer President at that time, I still plan to show them the consequences of trying to take our rights away from us. Hopefully, Tennessee will be like Wisconsin and do it peacefully. God bless Wisconsin and all the light workers there!
And good luck voting Tiffany out!
Justin Amash is "launching an exploratory committee" to run for president as a Libertarian candidate.
Reports are Trump is quite pleased by this, believing Amash will take votes away from Biden, while others argue Amash will only take votes away from Trump.
Any of you have any intuition about this?
@allyn Am catching up and just read your post. So encouraging to be informed about what’s really happening on the ground and to read about the blue upsurge in areas that seemed to be broadly brushed red. It would appear to me that similar sentiments are mushrooming in other parts of the country, even if we haven’t read too much about them?
If possible, I would really find it helpful/useful for a reading on Tara Reade, whether she is telling the truth (my intuition says no but I am afraid of my bias/emotions influencing my judgement). Also, I echo the request on Amash. I don't think we need more Republicanism in our lives so I don't support him and his Freedom Caucus ideals so again, I have concern that my feelings are coloring my intuition. (Despite Independent and neverTrump enthusiasm for him, I suspect even if he does decide to take the Libertarian ticket, he will not win but part of me feels he will not d/t pressure from Republican Party, polling, and/or funding issues or a combination thereof). Thirdly, VP picks-- for fun.
@rowsella I am also sensing a "no" on Tara Reade RE her telling the truth. As an aside, her twitter feed seems to be run by bots - she herself is an eloquent writer, but there are MANY errors related to omission of articles throughout her twitter feed. It doesn't add up at all.