Democracy Out Loud #427:Strength

The power of the people is greater than the people in power.

Our protests and phone calls and other efforts so far have made a real difference. We can feel and see how the widespread opposition to autocracy and extremism is beginning to tip the balance. Senator Cory Booker singlehandedly burst through the wall of inertia which has crippled the Senate, citing his constituents as his inspiration. His strength, brilliance, compassion, and determination changed history during the more than 25 hours that he held the floor. The Florida special election votes signaled that the margin of victory for Republicans in their safest districts has narrowed by half. Even in Louisiana, voters showed that they are paying attention and will vote against extremism. Susan Crawford’s Wisconsin Supreme Court victory was the icing on the cake and a big loss for Elon Musk.

Now is the moment to deepen our individual and collective action. What we are doing is working, and there have to be more of us, pushing harder.

Protests all over the country are increasing in strength and numbers ahead of the big one Saturday April 5. Now is the time to lean into our organizing and activism. It has never been more important to show up. Whether or not you are physically able to protest, it is more important than ever to call your representatives and senators in federal and state government. Let 5Calls.org help you find out who represents you and help you with messaging.

The deportation without due process of people to a for-profit prison in El Salvador supposedly targeted gang members but this has proven not to be true. In the case of at least one of these people, Kilmar Abrego García, this was a very big mistake and the Justice Department admitted it (Washington Post gift article) and could bring him back, but they have refused to do so. This is a good thing to call legislators about. One of his lawyers said, “I’ve never had a case remotely like this, in which they intentionally deport someone to a country without any legal authorization to do so.”

Below, from the Bulwark, prisoners watch behind bars as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (center), alongside El Salvador’s Minister of Justice and Public Security Gustavo Villatoro (right), enact an obscene and highly staged visit to the Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 26, 2025. (Photo by Alex Brandon/Pool/AFP via Getty Images).

Deportations to this prison continue according to the US Department of State. As M. Gessen has pointed out, we now live in a police state (NYTimes gift article). Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked the visas of 300 students who protested in support of Palestine, including two students at NC State University.

Trump’s tariffs and other economic policies will almost certainly push us into a recession. He will use businesses, as he has used law firms, to increase his power over all of us. See, “Trump’s Tariffs are a Tool for Authoritarianism.”

As you know, our Legislative Response Team is keeping an eye on the bills being introduced in the NC General Assembly. Mark and Mary and I were there this week making public comment about two terrible anti-DEI bills, and Mark and others continue to work on other bills. Check out the NCGA calendar for this week, and notice HB 127, “Voter Registration Drive Form.” This bill is up in committee at 10 am on Monday April 7, and it would make it illegal for any person or organization to use an actual registration form to register voters. If you can go to this committee meeting and sign up to speak (usually for 1 or 2 minutes), or if you would like to join the Legislative Response Team, please email Mark at DemocracyOutLoud@gmail.com.

Town Halls are flourishing all over the country, and we need more of them in North Carolina. Is there someone who could help me keep track of people who are organizing them so we can offer support as needed including publicity? I know some of you are working on town halls for Richard Hudson and Brad Knott but I don’t have the capacity to keep up. Email me at DemocracyOutLoud@gmail.com if you are interested in being a point person or if you are planning a town hall.

I know many of us are physically unable to go to a protest on April 5. If you want to go and can’t stand for a long time, consider taking a chair and a sign and getting there early enough to find parking and tuck yourself in. If that is too much, consider taking one of the actions in Chop Wood, Carry Water. The protests are important but they are only part of the many actions that can tip the balance.

If you can go to one of the protests, you can find one near you at this link. You are welcome to gather with other Democracy Out Loud folks. We are aiming to be there early, and hope to find each other in Raleigh near the seating area near the corner of Jones St and North Wilmington St (across from the NCGA.).

From Diane: Democratic Women of Orange County are offering two buses from Chapel Hill to Raleigh on April 5. You can get more information and sign up at this link.

Everyone is welcome to join us every Tuesday from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm on our weekly zoom call. If you are new, come early (“doors open” at 10:45 am) so we can welcome you. If you need the link, email Jewel at Democracy Out Loud@gmail.com.

Everyone is also welcome to join us every Thursday at 10 am, also on zoom, for our guided meditation. It’s fine if you don’t have meditation experience. This practice is a way we can move the energy of grief and anger and so many things that we are feeling right now, and it can help us ground ourselves in a shared purpose for action. Email Jewel for the zoom link as above.

Thank you for reading this! I truly appreciate all the ways you are showing up. Whatever we can do, however small, is needed. This is an incredibly challenging time; please take very good care of yourself. It is not just what you do, but who you are that is needed now.

love, Karen

“We cannot play ostrich. Democracy just cannot flourish amid fear. Liberty cannot bloom amid hate. Justice cannot take root amid rage. America must get to work. In the chill climate in which we live, we must go against the prevailing wind. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred and the mistrust. We must dissent from a nation that has buried its head in the sand, waiting in vain for the needs of its poor, its elderly, and its sick to disappear and just blow away. We must dissent from a government that has left its young without jobs, education or hope. We must dissent from the poverty of vision and the absence of moral leadership. We must dissent because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better.” - Thurgood Marshall, in 1992, quoted by Edward Marshall, who is organizing an Indivisible group specifically to save Social Security (you can email him at dr.edwardmarshall@gmail.com)