Photo / Erik McGregor
We stand on the brink.
Democracy in America is in danger of being destroyed.
President Trump has dispatched federal agents to several cities where they have brutally assaulted and kidnapped dedicated activists taking part in Black Lives Matter protests. If protesters can be abducted and thrown into unmarked vans by what amounts to a secret police force, how can the United States even pretend to be a democracy?
Trump has become the banner of a dangerous white supremacist, and increasingly militarized, movement, which serves the interests of the most ideologically right-wing of the owners of major corporations.
Four more years of Trump would mean his administration could destroy the last remnants of democracy in this country.
Trump must be stopped. The only certain way to beat him is to vote for the Democratic presidential nominee this fall — and Trump’s defeat has to be certain. The next step in the long fight to change this country is to crush Trump at the polls.
We need a massive turnout of voters in November. The right to vote is under attack. From attempts to thwart absentee voting to mandatory ID laws to the closing of polling places to the refusal of some states to restore the voting rights of ex-felons to many other kinds of trickery, this country is witnessing a systematic and relentless campaign of voter suppression. This campaign is designed especially to suppress the African American vote. This year, it’s imperative that we protect the right to vote by using it — en masse.
We have to use the vote to oust Trump, but we also need to wield that weapon skillfully in other electoral contests this fall. In addition to the presidential contest, there are many local, state, and national races which are important.
The 2018 mid-term election sent several outstanding young progressive leaders to the U.S. Congress and to state legislatures. This year, a number of important working-class leaders are running for state and national offices from places like West Virginia, New York, Missouri, Illinois and elsewhere. These candidates deserve our support and our votes. We need a tidal wave of ballots for these candidates in November.
And November is just the first step. The tsunami of protest must roll on long after the 2020 election. The ongoing heroic protests in Portland, Oregon and other cities show the way forward. We have to continue marching in the streets right through the election; vote at the polls; and then march in the streets again as soon as the polls close.
Let’s stay in the streets.
Let’s get out the vote.
Let’s defeat Trump and everything he represents.
Let’s strengthen the powerful movement now underway to transform America.
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