Democracy Out Loud #438:This past week, a pivot in both directions

And now, a huge distraction from the dystopian federal budget.

It’s a big deal when Marjorie Taylor Greene and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez agree on something, but they both agree that we need to stop Trump from dragging us into yet another endless war. Indivisible has made it easy to contact our Senators at this link about this.

You can also use 5calls.org, which can help with a whole lot of other things we need to be calling them about, notably the budget. This would be a very good week to call Senators every day.

Joyce Vance wrote, “This past week may be remembered as a genuine pivot, a moment when the increasing sprint of authoritarianism took a militaristic and violent turn.” At the same time, “Last weekend revealed a pathway forward with historic peaceful resistance emerging throughout the country.”

Sherrilyn Ifill said that now “Americans who believe in democracy are not looking to members of Congress, political party leaders or tech billionaires to lead. We are leading – demonstrating the kind of character and integrity that holds together a democracy. Instead we are marching, boycotting, speaking, writing, organizing, litigating, advocating, demanding - not because we have no fear, but in spite of our fear.”

If you attended any of the protests last Saturday, you know how powerful they were. If you weren’t able to be at one of them, watch Rachel Maddow’s 7-minute segment on the largest protest in our history. We can feel that it was a turning point.

(below, Pittsboro, Chatham County NC last Saturday - photo by Greg Stewart)

Incredibly, the Senate budget proposal is even worse than the one the House voted on. Both extend tax cuts for the very wealthy, cut SNAP food aid, cut Medicaid drastically, limit the court’s power to challenge Trump’s policies, and roll back clean energy incentives created by President Biden. The Senate version also mandates the sale of 40% of all public land! It is incredibly important that the Senate get vigorous pushback on every single one of these things. This bill needs to go down in flames.

According to Bloomberg, “Within hours of the bill’s release, cracks were forming among Republicans about the scope of the Medicaid cuts,” which are even larger in the Senate version. But backroom deals and reward and punishment structures will influence these votes, and our Senators do not have a history of doing the right thing. Mass public pressure works, and every Senator must be pressured over the next few weeks. If (God forbid) the Senate version passes, we will once again focus on the House. Neither budget can be allowed to happen; both will cause huge suffering and death.

This was our point on Wednesday when we protested at both Senator Tillis’s and Burr’s offices. Much gratitude to everyone, especially Mark and Calile and Maddie and Wake County Indivisible and Rob and everyone who came and spoke and helped in so many ways on an incredibly hot day, dramatizing how many people will die if one of these budgets pass. Here is the document Mark created. Maybe we need to take this show on the road.

(below, the “die in” at Senator Tillis’s office in Raleigh. Photos by Jenny Warburg)

Durham Dems Action Substack is about Inside Outside Politics and is packed with good information.

There is an extensive list of protests this coming week in the Engaged Durhamites 4 Democracy Substack.

At the very last minute on Friday, Governor Stein vetoed the two anti-immigrant bills (SB 153) and SB 138) and the open carry bill (SB 50). Please contact your Representative and Senator in the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) and urge them to vote NO on overriding the veto. We expect that vote very soon.

Everyone is invited to join us every Tuesday from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm for our weekly zoom meeting. If you are new, come at 11:00 am when “doors open” so we can welcome you. Write to Jewel at DemocracyOutLoud@gmail.com if you need the zoom link and tell her a bit about yourself. You are also welcome to come to our Thursday guided meditation (same zoom link).

This week our guest is Iliana Santillan, who spoke at our rally this week. She worked with us back when we were on the street protesting immigration policy during the first Trump administration and was formerly the Executive Director of El Pueblo. She recently founded Brava NC, an organizing and cultural strategy hub that uplifts and protects Latino communities through civic engagement, storytelling, and coalition building.

(Below, one of the flyers which appeared in California recently at construction sites.)

When I worked with dying people as a pastor and then as a nurse, I learned how to be in the moment because it felt like that’s all we had. Of course, now I have to practice this over and over every day; it is so easy for the mind to wander off.

This time in history feels a lot to me like being with dying people. We are watching a lot of people and things die. I hope you are finding as I am that this collapse is forcing us to be in the present moment and cherish our beloveds and communities more deeply, and to learn how to perch on the razor’s edge of taking action while also practicing self-care and care for each other. We are in this for the long haul, and we can see and feel the shift to something better. Hang on.

love, Karen

“We are living in the time when small men and women rule. Our only hope is to become bigger ourselves. More focused in our determination to fight. More robust in our advocacy. More strategic in our planning. Firmer in our conviction. More compassionate and loving in our communication and actions with those who are joined with us in this great struggle. More unwavering in our character and integrity. More unified and resolute. And even more ruthless in our analysis. No one is coming to save us. We will need to save ourselves.” - Sherrilyn Ifill, When Small Men and Women Rule, People of Character Stand Up, June 20, 2025