Heidi Li FeldmanWe are going to need a wholesale reconstruction of the U.S. federal government if we are ever to restore anything like rule of law and pluralistic democracy in the U.S. I know I have said this before, but it bears repeating. If Democrats gain control of one or even both houses in the midterms they may be able to limit just a bit of what Trump, with Roberts Court, can do but that will be only a small patch on a government that must be completely overhauled. 1/
This does not mean we shouldn’t fight like hell to protect the freedom and fairness of the midterms and to put as many Democrats in office as possible. But we also have to be honest with ourselves. This cold Second American Civil War will not be won nor ended by Democrats gaining control of one of or both houses in 2026. 2/
That would be a stopgap measure, en route to kicking Republican Fascism out of the White House. We need to wrest control of both Congress and the Executive in order to ever reform the Supreme Court as is necessary. 3/
Even if we put anti-fascists in the Presidency and in control of Congress, we will have to insist they do the work necessary to a) fix the corrupt Roberts Court, b) enact all manner of laws to undo the effects of Republican Fascist rule and to attempt to bulwark the federal government from future fascist demolition. 4/
We have to cultivate in ourselves the fortitude, resilience, and patience to fight both Republican Fascism and many Democrats’ tendency to lapse into complacency or timidity. It is going to take decades, I believe. 5/
Those fights will be necessary beyond the midterms, regardless of which party has control of which chamber of Congress. That doesn’t mean the immediate battle - to win the midterms for anti-fascism - is not important. One does not win a war without winning battles. 6/
But we have to be calm and steely-eyed about building an _extended series_ of battle victories. We must exercise discipline, use our energy and resources wisely. Borrowing a phrase from a friend, we must not squander time or effort on unnecessary irritants. We must plan for the long haul. 7/7
Paul_IPv6we need careful but durable and sustainable fixes. that's not fast but it's the way you get things that last.
Chuck@heidilifeldman My question is can you get to the 'Reconstruction' part without the killing each other 'Civil War' part. I certainly hope that is possible.
Toot Uncommon Ω@heidilifeldman Or the Free States could secede from the Orange States and we can reestablish our Constitution and the rule of law. Soft secession without violent separation is a viable first step. The Free States withhold all payments to the feds until order is restored. They pay out more than they take in to begin with. Gerrymandering and winner take all award of electors are the primary reasons the Constitution crashed. We can ban those, keep the rest, and get the old America (somewhat) back.
BlueDotSecession isn't an option. It would mean abandoning millions of people in so-called red states to the fascists.
GrumpyDad 🇺🇦🇵🇸@heidilifeldman You will need more than one generation to do that
Toni Aittoniemi@heidilifeldman End the electoral monarchy: It’s an imperial presidency. Cut down the power of the executive, or a more competent authoritarian than Trump will use it to end democracy for good in 2036 latest.
Change your voting system from first-past-the-post to fractional, with much larger electoral areas to cut down the advantage of gerrymandering. Don’t elect 1 of 20 from a small area, elect 20 of 1000 from a larger area.
And kill Citizens United. Normal people have to run.
Moz@heidilifeldman Quite right. But you'll (outsider speaking) also need to have a set of alternative plans.
Because your democratic process may fail before it gets the chance.
Because your democratic process may fail before it gets the chance.
Ben Rosengart@heidilifeldman Reformers will not be "pushing on an open door" — the same forces that helped Trump tear down the old order, will resist the imposition of a new. We'll need a great deal of organization and planning.
Joe Brockmeier@heidilifeldman it’s not a silver bullet by any means, but if we don’t do that, we are truly and completely screwed if we wind up with two more years of Republican controlled Congress.
Darren du Nord@heidilifeldman My fear is that once in power, Dems will try to go back to normal, reach out across the aisle, let bygones be bygones, govern from the center and forgive and forget. Do they realize the rules have changed forever?
Scary Austin
Full Metal Archaeopteryx@darren
One major impediment will be the oligarchs backing both sides
To be fair, most members of congress are millionaires who whine about their congressional salary being insufficient
@heidilifeldman
Tim@darren @heidilifeldman
The rules never changed, then or now.
The Dems who want to go back to normal were always part of the problem because they didn't object to, or worse, actively assisted with incremental shifts towards fascism.
The rules never changed, then or now.
The Dems who want to go back to normal were always part of the problem because they didn't object to, or worse, actively assisted with incremental shifts towards fascism.