When the world ends

So, taking on Donald. It won’t be easy, the man and his flying monkeys control all three branches of government right now. This--the next four years and especially the first two years--is going to suck. I can’t say how badly right now because it’s the day after the election.

Good news, though, decent people of the world! We have a chance to take back a big chunk of the government in 2018. Donald is going to get to appoint one justice right away, because Republicans are racist assholes who wanted to delegitimize our first black president. If we’re lucky, it’s going to be someone like Scalia. If not, it will be worse. But one justice isn’t enough to flip the court entirely. What would be really bad would be another justice retiring or dying, because then, we’ve got a conservative court. And I will have to throw out my ribbon adorned “Bride & Bride” wedding binder, which would be a goddamn shame.

Now, two years after January, we have another election, and it’s a doozy. As my excellent government and politics teacher taught me, the legislative branch drafts and passes laws. Whichever party controls that branch gets to decide which laws get passed (it’s far more complicated but that’s what you need to know for this post.) In 2018, every single seat in Congress goes up for reelection.

Yeah, you heard me right. Every. Single. One. Plus, 38 states are having gubernatorial elections. Now, midterms aren’t sexy. They don’t get countdown clocks on CNN. But with a blue Congress, Donald is severely limited. Also, state governments, local elections--they’re powerful. They can pass laws to protect the civil rights of the populations that Donald is most likely to hurt. Think about North Carolina or Indiana and the recent “bathroom bills.” These laws were passed by Republican governors. Let’s vote those guys out of office.

And...if we have blue governors and congresspeople, the state is more likely to protect the voting rights of minority citizens. That’s a big deal. Disenfranchisement contributed to Donald’s win in a big way, and we need to stop it.

Why do Republicans win? There are a lot of reasons. I can’t list all of them, I don’t have the time. Racism is one reason, and it’s a big one. Racism is in every crack and cranny of the American system, and it’s a big reason why Donald won. Sexism is another, of course. Homophobia. But there’s another reason. Republicans fight dirty. They blow dogwhistles until people’s ears bleed. They have the Koch brothers, a propaganda network with roots in almost every source for information.
Being horrible is easy, it’s being good that takes work. Acknowledging your privilege is work. Listening to others is work. Looking past your own feelings is work. Republicans are the big bowl of stale candy on your end table. You could get up and make yourself a bowl of ice cream, but you’re tired and it’s late and you want something sweet now. And then the candy is actually a fireball filled with dog shit.
Sorry. Can you tell that I’m still freaking out? But here’s the deal: This is our best way out. This is how we stop him. But we have to turn out. We have to canvass and make phone calls and fight like hell to make 2018 be a total landslide. Because if Donald keeps a majority for four years, it makes him more likely to win in 2020. This is a path out of the darkness. Let’s start running down it, as fast as we can.

Originally published on November 9, 2016