Democracy Out Loud #418.1: Rapid Response

It is important that we act now, and act together

Trump & Co are moving very fast to dismantle the government and turn taxpayer money into a slush fund for billionaires. We have to act fast too. Last week massive public pressure thwarted an illegal action within two days. Last night, over 40,000 of us joined a zoom call with movement leaders in response to the latest outrage, which is frankly terrifying. Elon Musk has gained access to the US Treasury payment system by which it funds every single thing it does. (See Musk Watch, sent by Karen M, for info about his “team”.)

Robert Hubbell’s summary, “Stay focused on the unfolding coup,” explains what is happening. “Musk and his street gang of Silicon Valley engineers have found a way to circumvent Congress, the president, and the executive branch by stealing the nation’s checkbook.”

Heather Cox Richardson wrote this morning, “As political scientist Seth Masket put it in tusk: “Elon Musk is not a federal employee, nor has he been appointed by the President nor approved by the Senate to have any leadership role in government…. Musk has no role in government. It does not matter that he is an ally of the President. Musk is a private citizen taking control of established government offices. That is not efficiency; that is a coup.”

In response, we have to lean into the networks we have been building for years. Last night there was a zoom call with tens of thousands of people, and we heard from leaders of Indivisible, Working Families Party, and teachers’ and nurses’ unions, and we have a plan. The Senate must use the power it has immediately, and it must block Trump’s Cabinet appointments, especially the appointment of Russell Vought to the Office of Management and Budget. If we can mount strong enough public pressure, we can strengthen the spines of Senators to do the right thing. Learn more here.

By all means, call and email Senators, and this situation demands an additional response. We need massive visits to every single one of their state offices. If you are near Raleigh, sign up to come to Senator Tillis’s office at 2 pm tomorrow. If you are near any other offices of Senator Tillis, or in a different state, learn more and sign up to host a visit at this link. If staff refuses to see you, do what we did for our first three years: protest peacefully outside their office. Senator Budd seems to have no field offices but leave him messages anyway.

Read the whole toolkit about how to take this action, wherever you are, at this link.

If you are not in North Carolina, do the same thing with your Senator. Democratic Senators have power they must use now.

Tomorrow February 4, we will meet on zoom from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm as usual (“doors open” 11:15 am) and our special guest is NC Senator Sophia Chitlik. If you need the zoom link, email Jewel at DemocracyOutLoud@gmail.com and tell us just a tiny bit about yourself. This is a recently added layer of security.

Everyone is also invited to our guided meditation every Thursday at 10 am, also on zoom, at the same zoom link.

Robert Reich explains about the tariffs and other craziness, “Trump says he’s doing this for American workers. Nothing could be farther from the truth. He’s doing this for himself and for the world’s oligarchy, which, in turn, is busily siphoning off the wealth of the world.”

Please use caution regarding the protests for Wednesday which are being planned by anonymous people on Reddit. If the coup planners think that martial law would be a good way to further their goals, they will find a way to do that. Don’t help them.

There was a massive and peaceful protest of Trump’s immigration policies in Los Angeles over the weekend. That collective spirit is needed now; we just have to avoid injuries, arrests, and property damage provoked by hotheads or saboteurs. In North Carolina, it is now illegal to block roads or wear masks in protests.

February is Black History Month. This is more important than ever now that there are people and entire institutions working to erase Black history and Black people by declaring war on DEI. As Jamille Bouie wrote in the New York Times, DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) is to Trump, “the presence — in a skilled or high-status role — of anyone who isn’t white, male and able-bodied, regardless of qualifications or abilities. And on the other end, in the Orwellian formulation of the president and his allies, it is meritocracy to bestow the highest public trust on men like Hegseth, who have, if nothing else, the right look.”

Eight years ago, a few of us signed up to go to Senator Tillis’s office at 310 New Bern Avenue in Raleigh to protest Trump’s cabinet appointments. We continued to protest there every single week for more than three years. Tomorrow, Tuesday, at 2 pm we will gather at that same place and do what we learned to do so very well. If you can help by being a marshal or contributing signs or something else, please email us at democracyoutloud@gmail.com.

The news is scary right now, and it will get worse. Know that there are millions of us who see what is going on and we are all fighting for the same thing. During the first Trump administration, I found that marching around on the sidewalk every week with people who felt the same way I did was a kind of magic. It healed my soul and strengthened my mind. Join us tomorrow if you can, or find another way to take action and to connect with people you trust. We can do this.

love, Karen

“Less than 24 hours after Trump announced his radical, unconstitutional freeze on federal funds, the White House has rescinded the memo. We rattled them.

“But this fight is far from over. Trump is still committed to unconstitutionally withholding funds distributed by Congress. That’s why he’s nominated Russell Vought (pronounced like “Vote”) – the Project 2025 architect who illegally did that very thing during Trump’s first term – to run the Office of Management and Budget.

“Vought’s plans go much further – he intends to staff the government with MAGA sycophants and starve agencies he doesn’t like of congressionally-allocated resources. In fact, he’s refused to testify in any of his confirmation hearings that he would place the Constitution above Trump’s demands – solidifying his allegiance to MAGA over our democracy.

“The Senate could vote on Vought’s confirmation in the coming days. We must use the opportunity to stop him from becoming OMB Director, where we know that he will continue to enable Trump’s outrageous power grab.”

Fill out this form and tell Senators “that they should call for Vought’s nomination to be withdrawn in light of recent events and to vote NO if his confirmation moves forward.” - Indivisible