Serious question: How do we welcome or include current Republicans in this work to shift the country? Do we?
At the core, we’re seeking to build a pro-democracy coalition.
And that’s the trouble. The current Republican party is not pro-democracy.
It just isn’t. If we list all the ways the Republican party isn’t pro-democracy we’ll get way off track — and that list isn’t the point of this post.
The point is… how do we include (or welcome) Republicans in our work to shift the country? Should we?
We tweaked all of our nonprofit’s “about” snippets a few weeks ago to be more inclusive of Republicans, but I think that was a mistake. I struggle with this.
It’s challenging, because our work and our principles are anchored in the Democratic party principles of inclusivity and equity and taking care of humans. Government that works. Science. Freedom to manage our own health decisions and care. Stuff like that.
We’d like to include and be welcoming to ex-Republicans who have realized their former party has gone funky and that they should vote against it until it melts down; and until the hate-mongers go back to their hidey-holes with their bigotry. It’s important to note that including and being welcoming to ex-Republicans doesn’t mean catering to their interests and weakening our own values. It means including and being welcoming.
That kind of alliance with ex-Republicans makes sense. These are folks who recognize that their former party is a problem, and they no longer support it. An alliance with former Republicans doesn’t have to be forever, but it does need to be for the foreseeable future. It’s going to take a very long time to get this Trumpist/MAGA/far-right Republican party as it’s currently operating pushed back into the shadows.
It is super important that we all collectively build as big of an alliance as possible to leverage the power of democracy to win against far-right extremism. That will take Democrats, independents, and ex-Republicans. For 2024, we’ll need to mobilize and inspire more people than we’ve collectively mobilized yet to win clearer majorities against the far-right in elections from school board to US president.
The 2022 elections held the line, but there were no overwhelming Democratic majorities except in a few critical states that are helping to stabilize democracy for now. The US House — the “chamber of the people” — is now controlled by Republicans and driven by the far-right. Republicans won or held majorities in numerous state legislatures where an increasingly far-right agenda is being implemented. Straight-up fascism is emerging in many of these locations. Legalized bigotry, anti-intellectualism, control of human bodies and health decisions, and control of educational content are but a few examples. Books are being banned. Child labor laws are being overturned. Institutions that have taken decades to refine and grow are being undermined or dismantled — from colleges to public schools to libraries to oversight agencies.
So I ask the question again: do we include current Republicans in our coalition-building?
Unfortunately, I think the most appropriate answer is “no.”
One powerful group that’s also made the decision not to include current Republicans is The Lincoln Project — a group founded by ex-Republican strategists that has specifically declared itself to be against Trumpism. Their website notes that they’ve “expanded to include individuals from across the political spectrum. We are first and foremost: pro-democracy.” A recent Lincoln Project press release in reaction to Trump’s indictment declares “Trump dominates the party so much that even his primary opponents are too afraid of his power to criticize him… Their refusal to condemn Trump is undermining the Rule of Law and continues normalizing Trump’s criminal behavior. What they are doing is traitorous and unAmerican.””
Right on. I’m down with that. You might be, too.
The Lincoln Project is doing fantastic work — specifically on messaging and on using social media. Their latest ad simply called “Espionage” (below) highlights how Trump now joins a list of other treasonous Americans, and how the other Republican presidential candidates are condoning him. The last line: “Patriots know people who commit this crime belong in prison — not the White House.”
The Lincoln Project is fantastic in what it’s pushing — a total defeat of Trumpism. They advocate for voting for Democrats (i.e., as the biggest party that can win against current Republicans) until the Republican party as it stands now has been defeated and something new can rise like a phoenix from the ashes.
Which is good. The Lincoln Project is playing a long game and we need that. Down the road, we’ll need a new other major party for the most basic functioning of our democracy. Perhaps down the road we can get closer a healthier, renewed 2-party system — or even to a more robust multi-party system. That would be lovely. It’s not our primary mission here, though. It’s not the urgent thing now, either. The urgent thing is that humans and democracy are threatened worldwide because the US democracy is endangered by a far-right authoritarian movement that’s fast gaining ground. An alliance of Democrats, independents, and ex-Republicans is critical to overwhelm that threat and to push it back.
Here we’re about shifting the country. We’d like it the country to go away from far-right extremism and toward a healthier democracy… but we’re also thinking bigger than that.
We’d like to have a country that believes in investing in communities, in humans, in education, in science, in health, in public health, in innovation, in sustainability, in mitigating climate damage, in mitigating disasters, and so on. We’d like to have a country that embraces humans and humanity, that teaches accurate history, that allows for medical and healthcare freedom, that encourages reading instead of banning books, and so on. The lists go on and on.
The direction this country has been headed in since the pushback against the civil rights movement has been generally conservative.
It’s been five decades of refusing to invest in US communities. It’s been four decades of “trickle-down” economics where the rich get richer and now we’re in like another robber baron era where plutocrats and oligarchs have untold power not just over government but also over how we communicate and how we even fight for a better society. All while we’re less able to fight all that because real wages have totally stagnated and the wealth gap has increased; while full-time decent jobs with decent benefits have become less common; while unions are in decline; while you need two or more incomes or jobs to run a home; while we have less available free time; and while our social fabric has become threadbare, torn, and knotted.
All of that and the resentment that comes with it is part of why we’ve got an authoritarian movement… but don’t try to explain that to the current Republican Trumpist MAGA crowd. Three decades of culture wars have blamed every bit of it on Democrats, on feminists, on inclusiveness, on intellectuals, on government anywhere, on perceived “coastal elites,” and on every other group of people out there that are not white men.
I recently had an opportunity to explain the work we’re doing at this nonprofit to a Republican woman I know because I live in rural America. She said, “Can I ask you something? If it’s about bringing transformation in the country, why does it need to be partisan?”
Where do you start? The answer I gave was about the hatred, the bigotry, the racism, the anti-Semitism, and the anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment from so many in the MAGA crowd. I said that I can’t be on board building a coalition with people who think all of that hatred and intolerance is okay, and who refuse to call it out as abhorrent and unacceptable.
What I said to this person was okay. But the deeper answers to that question are things we probably all need to get more comfortable talking about. It’s so many things.
Even as I type this, twice-impeached twice-indicted former president Donald J. Trump has just been in a federal Florida courthouse getting arraigned and arrested for espionage (indictment here), and actual current Republicans are actively condoning, endorsing, and supporting what he’s done. They make excuses. They’re weakening US national security with their dismissiveness and lies that ignore or divert attention from how spectacularly dangerous it is for Trump to have stolen and done who-knows-what with such highly classified materials.
Fifty years of Republican-dominated policies in the US have weakened our communities and our society. How do we push the Overton window back to the left… in any way?
I think we do it by being clearer about why we’re building a coalition, and what our aims are. We don’t want to go back to a country before Trump.
We want to go forward to a country that evolves beyond everything we’ve been and done up to now. A society that takes us to a better place. A society that creates stronger communities. A society that gives families in all their forms more support. A society that takes care of actual humans in all of our diversity; including babies and kids. A society that’s willing and able to take on tough problems from gun violence to climate change with courage and creativity. A society that’s more sustainable and more resilient because of a planet that’s increasingly stressed with more humans and more disasters than ever. The visionary lists go on, too.
We can be so much more.
So how about this? We welcome anyone who’s willing to help with all that.
Yes, we need a coalition to help us push back against far-right extremism and to hold this democracy together. But you can’t just fight against hate with nothing. We need our humanity, and we need our values, and we need big vision. We can build a coalition anchored in all that, and move forward from there.
Trump escalatored onto the presidential candidate scene just about eight years ago. We’re weaker and less secure because of it. We’re more fractured. We’re less stable. We’re less competitive internationally. We’re not working collectively on any major huge problem-solving that we desperately need in an era of very active climate change and intensifying disasters. And Americans are losing freedoms, rights, and access to everything from simply existing to healthcare to bathrooms to books every single day. That’s not helping us thrive and flourish. It’s dangerous and scary and we’re in shock and overwhelmed by it.
We can’t condone, endorse, or build alliances with a Republican party or with Republicans that continue to endorse the big lie that Trump somehow won the 2020 election (he didn’t); with a Republican party that is actively undermining national security; with a Republican party that is taking rights and freedoms away from Americans; or with a Republican party that has actively refused for years to call out straight-up racism, bigotry, anti-Semitism, and advocacy for political violence by its own members. How can we build alliances with people who would endanger our health, our existence, or our people? How can we build a coalition with people who refuse to accept our humanity, our rights, and our freedoms?
So how about that?
Thank you for sticking with us as we build the foundation for this work. We’re growing a volunteer base and starting coalition work to grow this shift. We’re getting some traction, and we’re having very cool brainstorming conversations about what we can do and be. Join in our Facebook group or on a Zoom call (listed below) to get in on the action. Holler with your own ideas and feedback. This will be what we make it.
Onward.
June Shift the Country Zoom Calls
Register via Eventbrite link to get Zoom call login info:
Thursday, June 15, evening — Let’s Talk National Security. Perspective, Q&A, and informal discussion about national security & what we can do about it in light of the Trump federal indictment & Republican support for his action.
Friday, June 16, afternoon — A Social. Get together online to talk informally about politics, life, national security, what we can do with this nonprofit, or whatever. The point is connection & community.
Sunday, June 18, afternoon/evening — Let’s Talk National Security. Perspective, Q&A, and informal discussion about national security & what we can do about it in light of the Trump federal indictment & Republican support for his action.
Monday, June 19, evening — Team Call for Volunteers. All are welcome.
June 22, Thursday, afternoon — How We Can Drive Widespread Pressure for Political Change.
June 25, Sunday, afternoon/evening — Strength & Support Session.
June 27, Tuesday, evening — Ramping Up Business Pressure to Make Shift Happen.
Ex-Republicans are welcome--on condition they acknowledge what Shift the Country stands for--saving our democracy--and are willing to admit that it is in peril because of trump and his followers. We need to be up front that they may not always be comfortable with our tactics, and if they aren't, we may need to part company. They are not welcome if they hope to change our aims or focus. I can't imagine any current Republicans wanting to join... I do think it's important that Shift the Country supporters are on board with this, so thanks for asking the question, Vanessa.
I agree with "No." I am waiting for the conversation we need to have about "allies", because many who think they are, are not.