On election night, a friend asked on Facebook, “So what do we do if Trump wins?” It seems that many people had not thought about it before that moment.
I had. I’m not saying my first thoughts are great, and they
should not be definitive. Here’s my list, if you’re looking for somewhere to
start. Please add to it.
- Organize to protect Muslims, Latinos, and other immigrants and vulnerable groups from violence. Safe spaces in homes and places of worship.
- In Congress, build bipartisan coalitions for the rule of law and against dictatorial excesses.
- Win over non-"deplorable" Trump voters by showing them their legitimate economic concerns have been heard.
- Push to win state legislatures and governorships to destroy Republican gerrymandering when it's time for redistricting four years from now.
- Use federalism and states' rights to assert the authority of state governments to have more progressive laws than the federal government does, particularly around marriage and health care.
- Stop saying the country is full of idiots. Listen to On the Media’s “Busted: America’s Poverty Myths,” read Arlie Hochschild's book Strangers in Their Own Land, and talk to people you think might hate you. Some of them do. (I'm not that naive.) But some of them think you're the one who hates and looks down on them, and you could both be surprised.
- Create Medicare-for-all health systems at the state level, because if Trump wins, the federal system is going down.
- Reorganize underground railroads to help women in need of abortions get to states that still have clinics performing them.
- Find sympathetic members of the police and National Guard who will resist unconstitutional orders. Support them. Pay their legal fees if necessary.
- Build a Popular Front Against Fascism. Everybody from the Greens to the Libertarians needs to find ways to work together.
- Form a compact of coastal states that will mutually aid one another to adapt to rising sea levels.
- Protect journalists. Trump has been whipping people into a frenzy against "the media" at rallies all year. More than ever, we're going to need honest reporting, investigation, and analysis. We can't get that if the journalists are in jail.
