Well, the unthinkable happened. There were enough people in this country who hate democracy (or Pres. Biden or Kamala Harris) so much they voted in a blubbering, demented, uneducated, senile, narcissistic, racist, misogynistic, bigoted, fraudulent, adjudicated sexual assaulter and convicted felon to unleash his autocratic fantasies on the rest of us.
Jokes on them . . . if they think they’re going to miss out on the ride to hell, they need to think again!
In the meantime, we need to take the words of the late Congressman John Lewis to heart. He believed in the importance of getting in “good trouble, necessary trouble.” Historian Timothy Snyder recently stated, “Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.” Good advice.
To that end, there are now Democrat governors in several states preparing to do what they can to protect their citizens from an overbearing and lawless autocrat. On Nov. 7th, California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom called for lawmakers to hold a special session with regards to protecting his state’s progressive policies. During Trump’s first term, Democratic leaders began California's resistance campaign against conservative policies. They have now rekindled this campaign. “The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle,” stated Newsom.
California State Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said his office has been working with Democratic attorneys general throughout the country anticipating and preparing for a Trump win.
New York’s Gov. Kathy Hochul and Atty. Gen. Letitia James along with their senior staffers will be regularly meeting to consider legal strategies to protect “key areas that are most likely to face threats from the Trump administration.” These areas would include civil rights, environmental, gun safety, immigration, labor rights, LGBTQ rights and reproductive rights. “If you try to harm New Yorkers or roll back their rights, I will fight you every step of the way.”
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey immediately stated women’s rights would be protected and she would not support deportation efforts on the part of a new administration.
Washington’s Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson, said his team have been busy scrutinizing Trump’s remarks on the campaign trail, reviewing his possible agenda, and reading every line of Project 2025. "Nothing that Donald Trump does, or his administration does, takes away our ability to enforce our rights here in Washington state, to protect our environment, to defend civil rights of all Washingtonians. And we are far, far better resourced to do that work than we were in Jan. 2017."
JB Pritzker, Illinois Gov., has stated, “You come for my people, you come through me.” He had been working with the General Assembly to create a plan in the event of a reelected Trump and assured the people of Illinois they will remain a state where everyone’s rights remain protected, including healthcare, labor and women’s rights. Pritzker has also been familiarizing himself with Project 2025.
Meanwhile, attorneys general in blue states throughout the country have announced they too, are preparing for legal fights.
How about New Hampshire? Has our Gov.-elect Kelly Ayotte or the attorney general come out with statements on how they would protect their citizens from a wannabe dictator? Nope. Even though she rescinded her support of Trump in 2016, she endorsed him in 2024 so I guess we have our answer on that.
Coming up on Tues. Nov. 19th from 6:30-8:00 there will be a “What Now?” in Cohen Hall which is upstairs at the Keene Public Library. This is co-sponsored by the Clean Energy Team and the Monadnock Sustainability Hub. Can you offer support or do you need it? Do you have ideas for strategy and action or would like to learn of some? Either way, come if you can.
"Modern authoritarianism, as it's growing inside Europe and now coming to the United States, rests much more on the use of power to protect the guilty than to persecute the innocent. And its motive is not crazy totalitarian utopianism, it's motive is repressive kleptocracy. To steal and to use the powers of the state to protect theft." ~
David Frum, Canadian-American political commentator
"Clarity of language is the first casualty of authoritarianism." ~
Robin Morgan, American activist, journalist, writer