I haven’t posted in a while. I have felt a bit overwhelmed and downtrodden by all the nonsense coming out of the White House under this administration. I’ve had time to think about what is happening and what I can do to affect change. I’m sure others feel the same way. Here are some thoughts.
Elections have consequences
In yet another close presidential contest, Donald Trump prevailed over Kamala Harris. I was disappointed by this result, but I was not entirely surprised. Many people who might have voted for the Democratic candidate in past, chose to vote for third party candidates, not vote at all, or vote for the Republican candidate.
Donald Trump was re-elected to a second term. On inauguration day, he began issuing executive orders to implement the goals of Project 2025. These orders may prove to be illegal or unconstitutional, but it will be quite some time before they are all finally decided.
We are now seeing the results of that election. I am reminded daily that elections have consequences.
I enjoy canvassing voters during the election season. During the 2024 election season, I was surprised to hear from voters that they were concerned about many of the issues championed by candidate trump: border security, the price of common goods, and the perceived lack of success by the Biden administration in improving the lives of everyday Americans.
Were these concerns valid? No. But they were real. I tried to point out how many of the points raised by candidate Trump were often overstated or simply not true. Some people listened to my points. Some may have taken a second look at candidate Harris. But the persistent “feel” I got from speaking with voters was that candidate Harris had a lot to overcome on election day.
I was not entirely surprised by the results of the election. Disappointed, but not entirely surprised.
Immigration issues
One of Trump’s keystone campaign issues, and an element in Project 2025, was immigration and border security. He characterized the US-Mexico border as “wide open” and demonized immigrants with broad inaccurate strokes. This issue bothers me the most.
I have known many undocumented people in my life. The possibility of them being picked up by “la migra” was always acknowledged but the threat of physical violence during deportation was never a concern.
Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden both deported more people than Trump in their first terms. But neither resorted to militarizing federal agencies for “dramatic effect.” Agents are masked for their “safety” according to department heads and leaders. This may sound true, but the real reason for the masks (in my opinion) is to obscure the identities of the federal agents taking part in the unnecessarily violent raids and arrests we’ve been seeing.
US Representatives and Senators have oversight responsibility over the agencies conducting these raids and imprisoning people picked by these federal agents. They have a right to inspect these facilities without notice. But they are consistently denied entry into these federal facilities.
It’s troubling that an agencies created to enforce our laws are now the ones breaking them.
Qualified immunity does not apply
Law enforcement officers are normally protected by “qualified immunity.” This means that any action they take in the line of duty is protected from civil action by the person(s) being arrested or detained.
However (and this is important), qualified immunity does not protect the officers if they perform an act knowing that they are violating someone’s civil or constitutional rights.
This is the reason (I think) that they are hiding their identities: to keep from being sued or arrested for violating the rights of people arrested and/or deported without due process once there is a change in administration.
Limited options
Because Trump is in office and the GOP controls both houses of congress, the Democrats have limited options legislatively or administratively. Motions made in committees and on the house floor are not likely to come up for a vote. Should a vote be called, the simple majority needed to succeed under the House rules will not be found.
Many people have called for Democrats to take more actions against Trump. However, in the House or Senate, there is very little our elected representatives can actually accomplish.
What CAN we do? A lot, actually.
We’ve seen many protests taking place in many locations. I have participated in some of them myself. They will continue to happen as long as people are energized and organized to protest the nonsense coming from the White House.
Contacting your representative is an action available to everyone. While they may not be supportive of your concerns, your representative notes the number of calls and the issues of concern. We need to continue contacting our representatives.
Many actions are hosted by local clubs and organizations. Join a local group to meet like-minded people and work to raise awareness locally. Whether a Democratic club, an Indivisible group, or another civic group, effective change begins at the local level.
While they won’t lead to legal or political successes, they do allow We The People to express our discontent with the administration.
Going forward
The ultimate action that can be taken against this administration is impeachment AND REMOVAL. But the first obstacle to achieving this is the election of a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives and sixty Senators willing to vote to convict Trump.
This is where everyday people will be needed to make these goals come true.
The Democrats will nominate candidates for office. But voters (everyday people) will need to step as never before to make sure these candidates are elected.
People will need to volunteer for their local congressional campaign. They will need to ensure that everyone in their lives know who the Democratic candidate is AND that those people will turn out on election day and vote for the Democrat. In the past, some voters have issued “protest votes” by choosing third party candidates. But in this next election cycles, that could be catastrophic. Protest votes come from otherwise Democratic votes. They never come from Republican votes. A protest vote is essentially a vote for a Republican candidate. We can’t have that now.
Trump often speaks (jokes?) about staying in office past the end of this current term. His most recent actions taken to place US Military assets in large American citizens are troubling. These are steps many authoritarian governments take in the early part of taking control. As far fetched as it may seem, all Americans should be aware of future actions.
All Americans must be ready to work to elect representatives willing to stand up to Trump and support our democracy.