No, I didn’t leave the “a” out of “Defection”.
It occurs to me is that what we need right now is for good people to stand up and do the right thing (especially the Electors), and for many people who are not well loved here to switch parties and deny trump control of the Senate and maybe, the House.
Folks like Lindsey Graham, who frankly I have nothing positive to say about except that he really seems to hate trump. Apparently he is claiming the Russians hacked his campaign. There have to be other Republicans who feel similarly?
The question I want to ask these people is:
Which side of history do you want to be on?
Do you want to be on the side that enabled fascism to take root in the government of the United States of America because your party wanted power badly enough to (at best) look the other way when someone like Putin influenced the election?
Or do you want to be able to tell your constituents that you decided to help fight the changes that are undoubtedly coming, harmful changes that they didn’t realize they were voting for, if indeed they voted for him at all? I assure you they’ll thank you once they realize the damage he’s trying to cause, if they know you fought for them.
I don’t know Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer but I’m positive they’d roll out the red carpet for you if you just walked on over and sat on the other side.
Because right now standing on the Republican side means standing with trump. He won’t allow any dissent, so if you disagree with him get ready for a shitload of tweets and threats to your political lives through the Party if you stay a republican and try to defy him.
And if you’re standing on the Republican side, it also means you’re standing for these and so much more that is abhorrent:
- the dismantling of social security and medicare, which will plunge millions of retirees and disabled people into illness and poverty
- the end of Obamacare — with no real replacement — which will leave millions out of access to affordable health care
- the loss of any chance the U.S. could lead the world in renewable energy technology as the Department of Energy’s strides are erased and it becomes a subsidiary of Big Oil.
- the loss of pristine wilderness, clean air, and potable water to extraction activities and infrastructure — destroying an infinite resource for a finite one, long-term destruction for short term gain. And most Americans disagree with that tactic. You’d only be standing with oil companies on this one, and in a wasteland you helped create, I’m afraid.
- the loss of any chance of our children to be educated on a par with so many other nations who already greatly exceed us in their capacity to educate, as the Dept of Education is dismantled
- the loss of environmental protection that WILL spell the end of millions of species (including ourselves in the end) as the EPA is dismantled by someone beholden to Big Oil who doesn’t understand climate change
- the expansion of animal cruelty as the USDA is led by someone who thinks puppy mills should actually exist
- state-sponsored discrimination against people for their religion or ethnicity, and the rise in hate crime and violence it has already begun to unleash
- foreign policy based on access to oil rather than what’s best for the US or the world, and likely boots on the ground where we don’t need to be (but where oil is — remember Cheney’s Iraq oil map?)
- and speaking of that, a reversion back to the mistaken and tragic policies of the GWB administration — and unbelievably, worse
- whatever chaos ensues from selecting incompetent boobs like Ben Carson to key positions affecting millions of people
- the loss of consumer protection and worker protection and the resulting damage to the economy as the money flows even more fully to the top 1%, a good portion of whom would now occupy the Cabinet and other high offices
- the suffering of people of color, women, Muslims, and other minorities
Understand that the only reason to stand with people who are poised to plunder and despoil is that you agree with them, or you decided to go along to protect yourself. Because these are not simply people who believe that conservative ideology and policies are better for the country, better for the economy, better for the citizens in the long run. These are people who don’t care about conservative ideology at all. They don’t care about you remaining in office because they can just install someone who doesn’t question them. They care about money and power, and it doesn’t matter to them if their policies are good for the country.
And there is likely to be a huge voter backlash including people who voted for him, as they realize just how awful things are going to get. You can be on the right side of this. Switch parties and give the Democrats a fighting chance to stand up to this mad man.
We’re in a war for the soul of the nation and it hasn’t even really begun. Will you stand on the side of protecting our Democracy and our way of life and the very heart of who we are as a nation, or will you stand with those who have decided to collude with a foreign power and leverage our Democracy to enrich themselves with money and power?
Can it be that “all” republicans are craven and cynical and self-serving enough to simply go along without complaint despite the danger to our Democracy? I hope not. I hope there are some that will decide they can’t stand with the Party of “me first, the nation be damned” anymore, and decide to stand for the nation and the Constitution, and for what’s best for the people.
I live in the heart of Los Angeles, and luckily there is no one for me to call and try to convince to switch parties. But if your Republican Senators or Congress members are not totally ignorant blockheads, let them know what you think of what they and their colleagues are allowing and what they could do about it.