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You are here: Home / Archives for Organizing & Resistance / Protest Is the New Brunch

Protest Is the New Brunch

Sunday Night Open Thread: Farewell, for Now, to the ‘People’s Convoy’

by Anne Laurie|  August 7, 202210:28 pm| 42 Comments

This post is in: domestic terrorists, Enhanced Protest Techniques, Grifters Gonna Grift, Open Threads, Protest Is the New Brunch

After covering versions of the People’s Convoy for six months: today was the end of it. In the end, they accomplished absolutely nothing besides looping the Beltway, fighting each other, spamming the emergency line, badgering DC residents, & wasting fuel.

— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) August 5, 2022

But the grift will never die…

The People’s Convoy left D.C., but these folks are still here – The Washington Post https://t.co/9NtxHT7IOf

— Truth Finder (@Truthfinder1235) August 7, 2022

… The response, instead, has been mostly indifference. As well as some heckling and trolling. And some criticism that the 1776 Restoration Movement is just another group using a narrowly defined patriotism to grift for dollars and social media clout.

The protesters deny all of that. They say their cause is pure. For the past few weeks in Washington, their morning ritual has been the same. The first-risers get coffee going. Someone puts out doughnuts and fruit and snacks. Ice-filled coolers are restocked with water bottles…

Their demands are both insistent and vague. When asked for specifics, the members will say that they want representatives to recognize that they work for the people and address their grievances.

What the protest boils down to for most is a belief that the federal government should have much less authority over state governments when it comes to deciding almost every issue.

Support for that position here has been hard to garner. Most visitors have ignored them. The majority of the people who have stopped to talk with them have been foreigners, Fisher said. “They want to know what we’re about,” he said…

“This is family,” says Ohio truck driver and evangelical minister David Riddell, 57, the group’s leader, who said he never joined a protest until he connected with the People’s Convoy earlier this year. His eyes brim with tears. “So far in this movement, I’ve baptized three of them in the Potomac, renewed the vows of another couple, celebrated the 57th wedding anniversary with another one. This is family.”

In the family, Riddell allows debate and input on the issues, but he makes the final decisions, he said. He is also a member of the Proud Boys, the far-right extremist group that has a number of its leaders facing federal charges of seditious conspiracy and “opposing the lawful transfer of presidential power by force” on Jan. 6, 2021.

Riddell says he was not at the Capitol that day and has told his followers that if they choose violence, then he will no longer take part in the protest…

show full post on front page

Many in the splinter group say they are anti-socialist and anti-big government and anti anything they think is anti-American. Their food and gas expenses are funded, they say, by other Americans who feel the same way they do. The group’s brochure solicits donations through Cash App, Venmo and Zelle. Riddell estimates the group has raised about $73,000 since forming.

They don’t believe mainstream news and get their information from far-right websites. They also follow each other’s live streams (there are lots of live streams). In their shared distrust of government and politicians and media, they found a community of like-minded souls…

If some of the group’s goals were philosophical and long-term, some of their needs were practical and immediate. When he first led his group into the District, Riddell said didn’t think he should need a permit to protest. “The Constitution is our permit,” he said defiantly. But protesters need port-a-potties. And port-a-potties need a permit. “The toilets is what broke me,” Riddell said, laughing.

For showers and to get a break from camping out in their cars, members occasionally headed to their base camp, a truck stop 83 miles away in Bunker Hill, W.Va., where their supplies of food, water, hygiene products, toilet paper and snacks are stored…

There have also been ongoing hostilities with members of another offshoot of the People’s Convoy who have accused the 1776 Restoration Movement of having members who are convicted sex offenders. Riddell said there was a former member of the group who had been convicted of child molestation in Indiana but that that person has left. That hasn’t stopped the bickering, online and in person, between the two groups.

On Monday, the group’s protest permit expires. By then, the last of the 1776 Restoration Movement protesters will have packed up their signs and flags and camp chairs and coolers and retreated to Bunker Hill, where they plan to regroup, reorganize, reread the Constitution and prepare to return in early September to seek redress of their grievances once more.

TBogg reportorial sighting:

These are some of the biggest losers in the entire universe. Complete idiots. Not even smart enough to be considered dumbasses. https://t.co/qC1hm0f0vf

— Jimmy Malone, Liberal & Ultra-Masker (@malonespeaking) August 7, 2022

The Canadian version was a lot more ‘successful’ in the short term, for reasons.

In Canada, the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests amplified anti-government sentiment among Canadians angry at COVID restrictions and, less visibly, offered a hook for anti-establishment and far-right voices to draw a bigger audience https://t.co/l7hMamevID

— Reuters (@Reuters) August 4, 2022

Making chicken salad from… well, you know:

… Extremists used the convoy “as a pulpit to get their ideas across and, in that sense, it was a success,” said David Hofmann, associate professor of sociology at the University of New Brunswick, who has been researching extremism in Canada for about a decade.

They did that directly, with talk of deposing and prosecuting the heads of Canadian government during the protests, as the convoy’s organizers declared was their goal in a “Memorandum of Understanding” leading up to the blockade.

But they were also able to do that less directly, by talking up the merits of the convoy on social media and podcasts that also promoted more extremist rhetoric and conspiracy theories…

Around 30% of Canadians agreed with the convoy’s message in February at the height of the protests, a number that has since shrunk to 25% in July, according to polling research firm Ekos Research Associates.

[Can we compromise on 27%?]

Though most COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings, wearing masks and vaccine requirements have been lifted in recent months, smaller anti-government protests have continued, with some held as recently as the national holiday on July 1…

With broad support for policies like universal healthcare and gun control, Canada has long been viewed as more moderate than its southern neighbor. But analysts say right-wing extremism has long had a home north of the U.S. border — and the “Freedom Convoy” movement and related anti-government protests against COVID-19 restrictions have given it new momentum.

A 2015 study identified about 100 far-right extremist groups. The number has tripled since then, Hofmann said.

Larger groups have splintered but the overall number of participants has also grown, Hofmann said.

He and his colleagues have identified about 1,200 visibly active participants who have either had contact with police or the media or have been active on social media, he said.

This is up from previous counts but changing methodologies make comparisons difficult, he said…

Sunday Night Open Thread: Farewell, for Now, to the ‘People’s Convoy’Post + Comments (42)

GOP Death Cult Open Thread: DC-Area (Social Media) Traffic Alert

by Anne Laurie|  November 13, 20206:25 pm| 102 Comments

This post is in: GOP Death Cult, Open Threads, Protest Is the New Brunch, Trumpery

New: The disparate tribes of MAGA Nation — Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, Infowars fanatics, Groypers, Proud Boys, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and die-hard Trump fans — are promoting an impromptu, chaotic MAGApalooza rally in DC on Saturday.https://t.co/CMzrlNykVU

— Tina Nguyen (@tina_nguyen) November 11, 2020

From the Washington Post‘s ‘Local’ section:

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Demonstrations in support of President Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the presidential election will descend on downtown Washington this weekend…

The rallies, which include a Women for Trump event, a “Million MAGA March” and a “Stop the Steal” demonstration — which falsely asserts that voter fraud cost Trump the election — will begin Saturday morning in and around Freedom Plaza.

The pro-Trump rallies have garnered support from Fox News host Sean Hannity as well as more fringe figures, including Enrique Tarrio, chairman of the Proud Boys; self-described “American Nationalist” and social media agitator Nicholas Fuentes; conservative provocateur Jack Posobiec, who promoted the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory tied to the 2016 shooting at D.C. pizzeria Comet Ping Pong; Scott Presler, a pro-Trump activist who works with anti-Muslim group ACT for America; and Infowars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones…

Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller responded to a tweet Thursday in support of the rally, saying, “Love the outpouring of support for @realDonaldTrump!”

A handful of anti-Trump rallies have also been announced, including one near Union Station organized by local activists and a protest involving Refuse Fascism D.C., which has said it intends to stand against “the Trump regime’s attempts to steal the election.”….

Christopher Rodriguez, D.C.’s director of homeland security and emergency management, said in a news conference Thursday that officials are expecting a relatively small turnout at Saturday’s rally spread out among about a dozen groups.

Local website DCist has been updating the potential rally numbers:

… On Friday, the National Park Service has issued a permit for 10,000 people in Freedom Plaza. According to NPS spokesperson Mike Litterst, Women for America First originally requested a permit for 50 people. Following a meeting between the organization and NPS on Tuesday, Litterst said Women for America First increased the number of attendees on their permit to “more accurately reflect the size and scope of their event.”

Bethel Campus Fellowship, a Maryland-based Christian group for young people, has also requested a permit for Saturday. The application expects 500 people near the Ellipse for a “Proclaim Freedom Crusade” to “encounter Jesus and experience FREEDOM like never before.” It’s unclear if this event is linked to the MAGA demonstrations. (A pro-life group has also submitted a request for a 250-person prayer event on Sunday in Lafayette Park. )

According to the various social media pages set up for Saturday’s rally, the activity is set to start in Freedom Plaza at 12 p.m., and continue with a march to the Supreme Court around 2 p.m…

A list of planned counter protests:
– They/Them Collective has planned a “F*ck MAGA” counter protest on Saturday at 12 p.m. at the Supreme Court.
– All Out D.C., a collective of anti-fascist activist groups in D.C., has also promoted a counter protest for 12 p.m., beginning near Union Station.
– Refuse Fascism has a counter protest planned for 11 a.m. at Freedom Plaza.

Will there be street closures?

Yes. D.C. police released a list of more than 30 streets downtown that will be closed to vehicular traffic from 6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Saturday. Several streets in the area will also be closed to street parking starting at 2 p.m. on Friday until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday…

So just a bit of advice for DC tweeps: these will mostly be local white supremacists who've been trying (and failing) to start shit in the city for four straight years, joined by a smattering of the Grifter diaspora.

Have fun yelling 'you lost, bitch' but don't get too worked up

— Zeddy (@Zeddary) November 13, 2020

this is what happens when the big guy doesn’t give a shit what you do because he’s got the biggest megaphone and needs all the cash – we are entering fight for scraps time https://t.co/rOlpUEfDcw

— kilgore trout, four seasons appreciator (@KT_So_It_Goes) November 13, 2020

someone will win! they’ll be excited and happy! they’ll prostrate themselves before the big guy and say look what we are doing for you mr. trump sir please love us and promote us. and donny will say fuck you pay me

— kilgore trout, four seasons appreciator (@KT_So_It_Goes) November 13, 2020

GOP Death Cult Open Thread: DC-Area (Social Media) Traffic AlertPost + Comments (102)

Ohio Jackals – Contact Info For Your Legislators

by Cheryl Rofer|  May 12, 20191:51 pm| 23 Comments

This post is in: A Woman's Place Is In The House, Domestic Politics, domestic terrorists, Don't Agonize - Organize, Enhanced Protest Techniques, Politics, Protest Is the New Brunch

If you are enraged about Ohio’s vile forced-pregnancy bill (H.B. 182), debbie has compiled a list of the sponsor and co-sponsors the members of the Insurance Committee who began hearings on the bill last week.. I’m going to put them below the fold. Keep in mind that the Insurance Committee is hearing the bill and is not responsible for it. The Sponsor and Co-Sponsors want the bill to become law. Write, call, demonstrate! Let these people know what you think!

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Sponsor
Representative John Becker (R-Union Township)
District 65
77 S. High St
12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 466-8134
Fax (614) 719-3966
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/john-becker/contact

Co-Sponsors
Representative A. Nino Vitale (R-Urbana)
District 85
77 S. High St
12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 466-1507
Fax (614) 719-3978
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/a-nino-vitale/contact

Representative Candice Keller (R-Middletown)
District 53
77 S. High St
12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 644-5094
Fax (614) 719-6953
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/candice-keller/contact

Representative Jon Cross (R-Kenton)
District 83
77 S. High St
13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 466-3819
Fax (614) 719-3976
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/jon-cross/contact

Representative Reggie Stoltzfus (R-Minerva)
District 50
77 S. High St
11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 466-9078
Fax (614) 719-6950
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/reggie-stoltzfus/contact

Representative Paul Zeltwanger (R-Mason)
District 54

77 S. High St
12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 644-6027
Fax (614) 719-3967
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/paul-zeltwanger/contact

Representative Susan Manchester (R-Lakeview)
District 84
77 S. High St
13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 466-6344
Fax (614) 719-3977
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/susan-manchester/contact

Representative Niraj J. Antani (R-Miamisburg) *** Also on Insurance Committee ***
District 42
77 S. High St
11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-6504
Fax: (614) 466-6966
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/niraj-j-antani/contact

Representative Bill Dean (R-Xenia)
District 74
77 S. High St
12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 466-1470
Fax (614) 719-0010
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/bill-dean/contact

Representative Timothy E. Ginter (R-Salem)
District 5
77 S. High St
13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 466-8022
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/timothy-e-ginter/contact

Representative Scott Wiggam (R-Wooster)
District 1
77 S. High St
13th Floor

Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 466-1474
Fax (614) 719-0003
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/scott-wiggam/contact

Representative Darrell Kick (R-Loudon)
District 70
77 S. High St
13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 466-2994
Fax (614) 719-6997
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/darrell-kick/contact

Representative Craig S. Riedel (R-Defance)
District 82
77 S. High St
11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 644-5091
Fax (614) 719-3974
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/craig-s-riedel/contact

Representative Thomas E. Brinkman, Jr. (R-Mt. Lookout)
District 27
77 S. High St
11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 644-6886
Fax: (614) 719-3588
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/thomas-e-brinkman-jr/contact

Representative Ron Hood R-Ashville)
District 78
77 S. High St
12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 466-1464
Fax (614) 719-3961
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/ron-hood/contact

Representative Don Jones (R-Freeport)
District 95
77 S. High St
11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 644-8728

Fax (614) 719-6993
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/don-jones/contact

Representative Riordan T. McClain (R-Upper Sandusky)
District 87
77 S. High St
13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 644-6265
Fax (614) 719-6982
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/riordan-t-mcclain/contact

Representative James M. Hoops (R-Napoleon)
District 81
77 S. High St
11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 466-3760
Fax (614) 719-3975
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/james-m-hoops/contact

Representative Kris Jordan (R-Delaware County)
District 67
77 S. High St
11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone (614) 644-6711
Fax (614) 719-0002
Email http://www.ohiohouse.gov/kris-jordan/contact

 

Insurance Committee

Representative Thomas E. Brinkman, Jr. (R-Mt. Lookout) Chair
District 27

77 S. High St
11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 644-6886
Fax: (614) 719-3588
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/thomas-e-brinkman-jr/contact

Representative Niraj J. Antani (R-Miamisburg) Vice Chair
District 42
77 S. High St
11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-6504
Fax: (614) 466-6966
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/niraj-j-antani/contact

Representative Kristin Boggs (D-Columbus) Ranking Member
District 18
77 S. High St
14th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-1896
Fax: (614) 719-6964
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/kristin-boggs/contact

Representative Richard D. Brown (D-Canal Winchester)
District 20
77 S. High St
10th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 644-6002
Fax: (614) 719-6959
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/richard-d-brown/contact

Representative Anthony DeVitis (R-Green)
District 36
77 S. High St
11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-1790
Fax: (614) 719-6943
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/anthony-devitis/contact

Representative Haraz N. Ghanbari (R-Perrysburg)
District 3
77 S. High St
13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-8104
Fax: (614) 719-0006
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/haraz-n-ghanbari/contact

Representative George F. Lang (R-West Chester)
District 52
77 S. High St
13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-8550
Fax: (614) 719-6955
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/george-f-lang/contact

Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova Township)
District 47
77 S. High St
13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-1731
Fax: (614) 719-6946
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/derek-merrin/contact

Representative Jessica E. Miranda (D-Forest Park)
District 28
77 S. High St
10th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-8120
Fax: (614) 719-3582
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/jessica-e-miranda/contact

Representative Thomas F. Patton (R-Strongsville)
District 7
77 S. High St
14th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-4895
Fax: (614) 719-6957
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/thomas-f-patton/contact

Representative Scott Ryan (R-Granville Township)
District 71
77 S. High St
13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-1482
Fax: (614) 719-3971
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/scott-ryan/contact

Representative Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Cleveland)
District 14

77 S. High St
10th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-3350
Fax: (614) 719-3910
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/bride-rose-sweeney/contact

Representative Terrence Upchurch (D-Cleveland)
District 10
77 S. High St
11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-7954
Fax: (614) 719-0010
Email: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/terrence-upchurch/contact

Ohio Jackals – Contact Info For Your LegislatorsPost + Comments (23)

Late Night Open Thread: Bill Weld Steps Into the Arena

by Anne Laurie|  April 17, 20192:26 am| 46 Comments

This post is in: Election 2020, Open Threads, Protest Is the New Brunch, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome

I’ll admit to a having a soft spot for ol’ Bill — and not just because, when he was Governor, he sent us a nice letter granting the required permission for an old friend to perform our wedding ceremony. He’s not gonna be the Republican nominee, but I might send his NH campaign a few bucks, because if Fox News is ever required to acknowledge Weld’s candidacy the Oval Office Squatter will burst a blood vessel flexing his little thumbs on twitter.

(Also, the Airport Diner featured in the clip does an excellent fried chicken livers & mashed potatoes plate — I try to eat there the once or twice a year when we go to Manchester for a Currier exhibit or a quilt show.)

Check out his comments on the Mueller report, at approximately 2:20 below:

"Jake, I'm announcing that I'm running for President… as a Republican against the President in 2020."

Former Gov. Bill Weld officially announces he is challenging President Trump for the GOP nomination. https://t.co/Q5z30Qjw8o pic.twitter.com/QBSwtdxPUx

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) April 15, 2019

With Bill Weld formally declaring his candidacy for president, here’s a key moment from his career: March 1988, when he made national headlines resigning in protest from the Reagan Justice Department.

He returned to MA and the next year launched a successful bid for governor: pic.twitter.com/yHuURqDeXx

— Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki) April 15, 2019

My latest: Bill Weld launches campaign against Trump for 2020 Republican nomination, will focus efforts on NH.

Fmr Romney adviser Stuart Stevens has left his longtime firm to serve as strategist. Fmr NH GOP chair Jennifer Horn will run the campaign. https://t.co/Sq8PPKF4SM

— Robert Costa (@costareports) April 15, 2019

… [I]f Weld’s campaign did somehow get traction, it could present a headache to the Trump operation, and history has demonstrated the effect of such challenges.

In 1992, President George H.W. Bush faced a troublesome run from the right from commentator Patrick J. Buchanan, who embarrassed the incumbent by winning 37 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary and fighting Bush until the national convention. The weakened president lost to Democrat Bill Clinton.

Similarly, President Gerald R. Ford had to fend off a Republican challenge from Ronald Reagan in 1976 before losing in the general election to Democrat Jimmy Carter…

I'm in! #Weld2020 https://t.co/XARRN08rUb

— Gov. Bill Weld (@GovBillWeld) April 15, 2019

Late Night Open Thread: Bill Weld Steps Into the ArenaPost + Comments (46)

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

by Anne Laurie|  March 27, 20194:56 am| 201 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Protest Is the New Brunch, Proud to Be A Democrat, Russiagate, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome

?? REMINDER: Less than 24 hours after the Trump administration announced they're officially demanding the *entire* ACA be repealed, @HouseDemocrats are rolling out an #ACA 2.0 bill which would repair & *vastly* improve the ACA: https://t.co/OOAEtANlwU

— Charles Gaba (@charles_gaba) March 26, 2019


Feels like Wednesday is the new Friday — too much news for one week. And I’m just a spectator here!
 
At the same time:

Pelosi’s exact quote at caucus meeting, per attendee: “We have to see the report. We cannot make a judgment on the basis of an interpretation by a man who was hired for his job because he believes the president is above the law and he wrote a 19-page memo to demonstrate that.”

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 26, 2019

.@SpeakerPelosi: "Let us see the report. We don’t need an interpretation by the Attorney General, who was appointed for a particular job — to make sure the president is above the law.

We need to see the report." #ReleaseTheFullMuellerReport pic.twitter.com/TLA2mLjl67

— Matt Rogers ?? (@Politidope) March 26, 2019

March for Truth is currently planning on giving the Department of Justice until the deadline set by six Democratic committee chairs in the House of Representatives to turn over the full Mueller report before setting march dates.

The deadline is April 2nd. Follow and sign up now.

— The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) March 26, 2019

Wednesday Morning Open ThreadPost + Comments (201)

Deploraville Dispatch

by Betty Cracker|  November 26, 20188:57 am| 230 Comments

This post is in: Don't Agonize - Organize, Election 2020, Fables Of The Reconstruction, Open Threads, Politics, Post-racial America, Protest Is the New Brunch, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republican Stupidity, Assholes, Blatant Liars and the Lies They Tell, Decline and Fall, General Stupidity, Get Mad You Sons Of Bitches

Did you argue politics with relatives over the holiday weekend? My Trumpster kin had nothing to say about their orange idol. I suspect they’re ashamed of him but too stubborn to admit it.

I’d like to think that’s progress, but I know better; they still believe the same stupid shit that made them vote for a racist, sexist, xenophobic demagogue in the first place.

Over the weekend, I read a Washington Monthly piece by Daniel Block about Democrats in deep red areas — kinda the opposite of the Deploraville safari articles about “heartland” Trump voters.

There’s a lot of truth to it, IMO. Here’s an excerpt:

Reporters have descended on conservative bastions like Augusta, as well as counties that recently flipped from blue to red, in a bid to understand how a reality television star became president. They have spoken to longtime, working-class conservatives and ex-Democrats who, through Trump, finally found a vehicle through which to express their political frustrations. In doing so, they’ve routinely painted a picture of Trump-voting America so predictable that it has become a trope. Yet very few journalists have chosen to focus on the Democrats in Trump country who stayed Democrats…

But even in places like Augusta County, thousands of people voted for Hillary Clinton. No depiction of Trump country is complete without them. Most of their neighbors may be standing by the president, but if Augusta is any indication, Democrats in rural red counties are just as fired up and enthused as their counterparts in liberal cities. In Virginia’s Sixth Congressional District, which includes Augusta, no Democrat has mounted a midterm congressional campaign in twenty years. This year, four people ran…

As more activists come out of the woodwork, the Democratic Party gains more people like Frank Nolen: human faces who can make the party more accessible to residents with hidden liberal inclinations. This is critical for the party’s fortunes. Building a viable electoral infrastructure depends on making it socially acceptable to be a Democrat.

Ironic, isn’t it, that the people who belong to the party that opposes an abusive, corrupt, would-be authoritarian degenerate are the ones who suffer social consequences for that. But it’s a reality that many of us live on the daily. That’s part of the reason you won’t find me boo-hooing over Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ comped cheese plate or pitying Tucker Carlson for blowback to his hate-mongering.

Fox News feeds its viewers a steady diet of “oppressed conservatives in Hollywood” stories and plays up incidents where its wealthy hate-mongers are harassed by ordinary citizens. The Fox News audience eats that victimization shit up — all the while engaging in subtle and overt intimidation tactics against neighbors with different political views.

The Post has an article today by doctoral candidate Emily Van Duyn about Democratic women secretly organizing in a deep red part of Texas. Some of the women in the underground group she studied shared why they’re unwilling to “come out” as Democrats:

The existence of this group does more than tell us about 136 women in a small county in Texas. Their experience of fear and intimidation challenges assumptions about democracy in the United States. That is, in a truly liberal democracy, people should be able to voice their views without fear of retaliation.

These women’s choice to engage and persist underground also challenges us to reconsider the privilege of being publicly political and the possibility that the things we see on the surface in our communities, the yard signs, the bumper stickers, are not the whole story.

It’s not the whole story, and we can’t write off the folks in those places. I know it’s tempting to give up on red areas — I live in one, and sometimes I think the best solution is to re-stage Sherman’s march. In a post about radicalized rural kids earlier this week, Mistermix observed:

This is not to say that radicalized rural kids aren’t a problem – but the problem is bigger than that. The Senate and the Electoral College over-represent states that intelligent progressive kids want to leave. Maybe, as Deb and James Fallows have reported, some of these kids will stay and enlarge blue dots in otherwise conservative states. But why bother when you can just move a few hundred miles away and not have to deal with the narrow minds and poverty of spirit that infects rural America?

I don’t have a good answer to that dilemma for individuals. I fled my conservative home turf as a young person too, only to ultimately return. But as a society, if we want to have a functioning democracy (and maybe even avoid a second civil war), those of us who do choose to remain in red areas — people like Cole, some of you, and me — have to do the hard work of building an electoral infrastructure, as outlined in the Washington Monthly piece.

That’s the only way forward. I sure hope we can pull it off.

Deploraville DispatchPost + Comments (230)

Nobody Is Above The Law: Mueller Rapid Response Has Been Activated

by TaMara|  November 7, 20189:35 pm| 96 Comments

This post is in: Enhanced Protest Techniques, Protest Is the New Brunch, Trump-Russia

I’ve received several requests to post this update. If you signed up for the Rapid Response you’ve probably received an email like this:

Earlier today, Donald Trump installed a crony to oversee special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, crossing a red line.1 MoveOn and our allies are activating the Nobody Is Above the Law network meaning there will be actions around the country tomorrow, Thursday, November 8 at 5 p.m. local time (please confirm at the link to your local event below) and we need to see you, your friends, family members, and neighbors there!

By replacing Rod Rosenstein with just-named Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker as Mueller’s boss overseeing the investigation, Trump has undercut the independence of the investigation. Whitaker has publicly outlined strategies to stifle the investigation, referred to Mueller’s team as a “lynch mob,” and cannot be allowed to remain in charge of it.2 This amounts to a direct assault on the independent Mueller probe which has already produced dozens of indictments, guilty pleas, and guilty verdicts.

You’ve RSVP’d to attend a rapid-response event if Trump crossed one of the red lines and interfered with the Mueller investigation—one of hundreds of events nationwide that will show an immediate, massive rejection of Trump’s interference. Now it’s time we come together to act! These events will take place across the country on Thursday, November 8! Most are at 5 pm

Here are the links to find an event in your area:

https://act.moveon.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response-events/search/

https://act.moveon.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response-events

https://act.moveon.org

Please be aware, all these links are down at the moment. Looks like they are on overload.

Nobody Is Above The Law: Mueller Rapid Response Has Been ActivatedPost + Comments (96)

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