Congressman Nadler: How We Resist Trump and His Extreme Agenda
Since Election Day, many people have asked me what they might do to support those of us in Congress who are ready and willing to stand up and fight the Trump agenda.
My answer starts with a fundamental belief that the 240-year-old institutions of our government, in particular, our systems of checks and balances, were, in part, created with the precise goal of averting tyranny. These institutions can only function properly, however, when our country’s leaders work vigorously to ensure that they do, and when citizens remain fully engaged in the process. Now more than ever, with a President-elect who threatens to undermine and even delegitimize those institutions—and in doing so, to damage the very soul of our liberal democracy—I implore everyone to help our country help itself.
We cannot wait four years to vote Mr. Trump out of office, as members of the GOP Senate and House Majorities have already stated that they will facilitate the Trump agenda, even if they weren’t supporters of his during the campaign.
So we must do everything we can to stop Trump and his extreme agenda now. We do this by:
-Holding him accountable for the tenor and tactics of his campaign, as well as his past and ongoing deplorable personal, professional and political conduct;
-Waging fierce battles against every regressive action he takes—from personnel appointments to his legislative program—in order to thwart or at least slow them down;
-Exposing his Republican enablers in Congress, and voting them out of office in 2018, with the goal of taking back either the House or the Senate for Democratic control.
-To achieve this, we must keep our eyes on two important goals: depressing Trump’s public support and dividing the Congressional GOP from him and from each other.
........................................................................
The large-scale protests that have occurred across this country have been a critical first step in combatting normalization. They should certainly continue in the non-violent way they have been conducted thus far. They are already changing the tone of the media around the Steve Bannon appointment, for example.
The creative use of every basic organizing strategy to keep this up is what is now essential to fight normalization. Here are some ideas:
-Write letters to media editors every time you see an article or broadcast that utilizes a normalizing tone or doesn’t make note of the extreme nature of Trump, his behavior and rhetoric, or his Administration’s actions.
-Use the hashtag #NotNormal or #DontNormalize on your social media platforms.
-Contact your elected officials via petitions, letters, calls and social media to urge them to resist any action that would normalize the --Administration and demand that they loudly condemn any Trump actions that are unbefitting our democracy.
-Reach out to your friends and family and encourage them to do the same.
-Support rhetorically and financially those organizations that are stepping up to fight normalization.
...................................................................................
There is much to do and no time to lose because the soul of our country is on the line. We must be brave and stand up.
This is just the beginning. Just as the #DumpBannon campaign has emerged and appears to be growing and changing the narrative on this appointment, there will be any number of campaigns like it to join in the coming days and months. Many local efforts will soon materialize organically and national advocacy groups are planning now for how they will conduct their issue advocacy campaigns moving forward. Congressional campaigns will be launching in short order. Keep your eyes on social media to connect with all of these, and we will also do our best to direct you to the most effective of these efforts in the coming days and months.
There are also large, national efforts underway to strategize around, not only Presidential election of 2020, but also the complex process of redistricting, which will hopefully produce more winnable Democratic districts in the future. And of course, there are also other things we should be doing individually, locally to care for our neighbors and others who may come under attack by the Trump agenda.
There will be so many ways to be involved. But whatever you do, get involved in some way right now, as we have no time to lose.
We must act quickly if we hope to really slow the advancement of the Trump agenda.
None of this will be easy. I’ve personally fought Trump many times, and he was a ruthless and dangerous man without the Presidency. Now that he has the reins of government, it’s going to take tremendous courage and tremendous effort to stand up to him.
This is an unprecedented moment, and it requires a kind of bravery, discipline and focus which historical moments of this import call for. We have no choice – people’s lives and the soul of our country is at stake. For our children and grandchildren, we must now stiffen our spines for this fight, because there is no time to waste and this is a fight we must not lose.
http://www.jerrynadler.com/news-clips/how-we-resist-trump-and-his-extreme-agenda
= new reply since forum marked as read
