October 14th
Dear ones,
The continued, politicization of the military and open lawlessness of the administration is chilling. The president’s campaign ran an online ad yesterday that feature Joint Chiefs head General Mark Milley, without his consent. Of course, the president doesn’t do consent, which is bad news for those who believe that governments “derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The governed are poised to vote the president out, but Defense Secretary Mike Esper gave evasive answers to questions concerning “the role of the armed forces in a peaceful transition of power” submitted by Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) Slotkin and Sherrill were distressed that Esper failed to answer a pointed question about “whether he would refuse an order to send active-duty troops to be present at polling places” with more than a vague response about abiding the Constitution.
How do we respond to this? To return to my theme, we must work to avert the power grab and we have to be ready for it. I believe one key is to change the public’s expectation of a result on election night. Yesterday, I made a sign. In case you’re not one of the four people who follow me on Instagram, I’ve included it below. I know that sign-making can be challenging (mine is not big enough, so I’m planning a do-over). Emily, an artist and designer who has been working from home for justice with us for months now, has agreed to design printable window signs to be printed on six sheets of letter-sized paper and then assembled on the window. In addition to distributing the design through social media, we are hoping to generate a list of people in each of these states who would be willing to work on the ground (details to follow): Arizona, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. Please make your list of people. Get in touch with them today about the importance of asking their governors to commit to a full and fair vote count in their state.
with love,
L