2024 Anti-Trump, Anti-MAGA Election Preparedness

Note: This page is work in progress and will be updated as we move toward the election in November.

1) Know what's at stake.

The next president may have the opportunity to select two Supreme Court justices. As if we're not in enough trouble already with today's extremist court. Trump's appointees have been a disaster for the country, making quid pro quo decisions favoring their billionaire associates, disregarding long-established precedent, and hinting at reversing decisions on same-sex marriage and contraception.

Here are two of the most damaging decisions of the past year:

In Trump v. United States, SCOTUS made presidents “absolutely immune from criminal prosecution for conduct within his exclusive sphere of constitutional authority”. And with Loper Bright Enters. v. Raimondo, the court transferred authority from expert-run administrative agencies to the judiciary, interfering with the ability of agencies to perform essential regulatory functions.

Ex-justice department officials raise alarm over US supreme court’s immunity ruling | by Peter Stone for The Guardian | 2024

“We had a revolution to get rid of [the] kingly prerogative and the supreme court just reinstituted it. This emboldens any president to indulge his baser instincts. Secure in their ability to avoid criminal responsibility and confident in the supine nature of Congressional impeachment oversight, they will be willing to push to the edge of permissible conduct and beyond.”

Opinionpalooza: This SCOTUS Decision Is Actually Even More Devastating Than We First Thought | Amicus Podcast with Dahlia Lithwick | 2024

“The Supreme Court’s biggest power grab for a generation isn’t just about bestowing new and huge powers upon itself, it’s also about shifting power from agencies established in the public interest to corporations, industry, and billionaires.”

Project 2025 is the anti-democratic blueprint for a second-term Trump presidency authored by the The Heritage Foundation with the support of more than 100 right-wing organizations – including ALEC, Tea Party Patriots, and Turning Point USA. At least five of the authors are known racists or white supremacists. Getting the word out about Project 2025 is critical in the months leading up to the 2024 election to be sure that voters understand the extent of what is at stake. Trump has claimed to be unfamiliar with Project 2025, but like so many things he says, that's simply untrue. His running mate, JD Vance, wrote the Project 2025 introduction.

A guide to Project 2025, the extreme right-wing agenda for the next Republican administration | by Sophie Lawton, Jacina Hollins-Borges, Jack Wheatley, John Knefel & Ethan Collier for MediaMatters | 2024

This is an excellent overview of Project 2025 from an established, respected source, with a high-level summary, plenty of supporting links, all the detail you need, and easy-to-use navigation.

‘All about dismantling the autonomy of women’: Project 2025 warns that Dobbs is ‘just the beginning’ | Ali Velshi on MSNBC | 2024

“In the foreword of Project 2025, on page six, the Heritage Foundation’s president Kevin Roberts warns, 'The Dobbs decision is just the beginning.' Abortion is mentioned 199 times in the document and it includes plenty of ideas to further restrict reproductive rights that are so extreme that it will continue to endanger more women’s lives. 'Project 2025 is about dismantling democracy,' says Georgetown Constitutional Law & Global Health Policy professor Michele Goodwin, noting that abortion is just the first part of it. 'This is all about dismantling the autonomy of women.'”

Heather Cox Richardson Talks Project 2025 | via Red Wine and Blue on YouTube

If you don't know Heather Cox Richardson, she's a respected historian with a large and devoted following. It is worth 53 minutes of your time to listen to what she has to say about Project 2025. There are links and opportunities to connect with the host organization in the video description. (I have no affiliation.)

2) Take him seriously.

Trump's not “joking” about serving more than one term

He didn't “embarrass himself” in front of the National Association of Black Journalists, as some folks have been saying after the event. He gave racist responses with intent.

Look what he posted to Truth Social after the event:

So don't discount him. Don't give him the benefit of the doubt. Don't believe the lies. Don't dismiss the buffoonery. This is all deadly serious. It's not hyperbole to say that this year's election could be our last.

How the alt-right uses internet trolling to confuse you into dismissing its ideology | Aja Romano for Vox | 2017 (This one is dated, but still highly relevant. “Alt right” is terminology coined by Richard Spencer to obscure the extremist, nothing-new-under-the-sun nature of his movement. Just say “far right” or “right wing extremists,” “white supremacists,” etc.)

“Trolling distorts reality in order to trick you into dismissing its message”

Listen to U.S. Attorney and law professor Joyce Vance on this:

3) Trump will try to regain the presidency by any means necessary.

He has already threatened to challenge the results of the election if he doesn't win. And that was before he was convicted on 34 felony counts. He'll do what it takes, from blunt lies and political pressure to court appeals and incitement to violence. We've seen all of this before and there's every reason to believe we'll see it again.

**Get Ready Now: Republicans Will Refuse to Certify a Harris Win

“There are more than enough such individuals in these key posts to bring us to a constitutional crisis.”

These Swing State Election Officials Are Pro-Trump Election Deniers | by Justin Glawe for Rolling Stone | 2024

“In the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, Rolling Stone and American Doom identified at least 70 pro-Trump election conspiracists currently working as county election officials who have questioned the validity of elections or delayed or refused to certify results. At least 22 of these county election officials have refused or delayed certification in recent years.”

‘It’s Gonna Take a Civil War’: Trump Campaign Speaker Warns of Violence if Dems Win | Tim Dickenson for Rolling Stone | 2024

“At a rally in Ohio with J.D Vance, a GOP state senator said Trump victory in 2024 is the last chance to avoid bloody conflict”

Note: As of August 10, 2024, Trump appears to be losing support among white supremacists, major players in the January 6 insurrection. Will the threat of violence flag or simply move under a new masthead?

4) Keeping Trump out of the White House starts with engaging American voters and getting the word about the very real threats of a second Trump term.

Whether we're talking to family members or strangers on the internet, it's smart to know when to cut our losses, how to recognize trolls who engage only waste our time and demoralize us, how to effectively exit those conversations, and how things can go very wrong on social media. The following resources are excellent – even if you just dip in a toe for a bit.

The Alt-Right* Playbook | Innuendo Studios | 2018

This series is designed to help viewers identify far-right rhetorical strategies and avoid getting sucked in and played. It runs over 6 hours in all, but it's broken down into (mostly) relatively short topical videos that are highly engaging and include many real-life examples, at least some of which will be familiar to many viewers. Watch as much or as little as you want, but I would recommend watching at least through video 9, Endnote 2: White Fascism, if you can. If you have concerns about terminology, jump right to Endnote 1: What I Mean When I Say “The Right.”

It's YouTube. There are ads. But I haven't found another complete repository If you prefer to read, every video has a link to a transcript in the description section. *NOTE: As noted previously, “alt-right” is a term coined by far-right, white nationalist Richard Spencer. Use a different term. Some outlets call him a neo-Nazi (or just shorthand it to “Nazi”), others simply go with “white nationalist” or “right-wing extremist.”

Internet Hate Machine | Podcast by Bridget Todd | 2023

“Bridget Todd explains how bad actors use the internet to target and silence marginalized people, especially Black women. Excluding them from discourse and desensitizing us to sexist, racist attacks makes us all less safe. Bridget talks with people who have been the targets of coordinated attacks, activists who are fighting back, and experts to help break down the deliberate agenda behind it.”

The whole series is worth listening to, but several episodes are especially pertinent to the moment:

Listen on your preferred podcast app.

5) It's not over 'til it's over.

Things feel a wee bit hopeful right now, don't they? With Kamala Harris on board and punching back hard – engendering historic democratic unity and enthusiasm – it's tempting to think that Trump's chances for 2024 are flagging. But if you're old enough to remember 2016, then you know there's no sure thing. Millions of Americans gathered around their TV sets that year to watch Hillary Clinton defeat a vile, clownish candidate to become the first woman president of the United States – and went to bed devastated. Then, on January 6, 2021, we saw Trump and his gang try to negate the will of he voters and violently seize control of the country.

So in 2024 we fight with everything we have until it's over. And truth be told, there's really no such thing as over. A lot of Americans thought that this country had “progressed” away from the worst of its past. I used to be one of them. It's impossible now to ignore the fact that, like Friday the 13th's Freddy Krueger, the worst lurks behind the scenes, ready to return under favorable circumstances with violence and vengeance. If Trump doesn't get his authoritarian way in 2024, there are other far-right politicians waiting to take up the mantle from him. And a groundwork has been laid that just might enable them to succeed.

6) Get involved.

More to come here, but a good starting point would be to sign up as a volunteer with the Harris 2024 campaign.

hello, reader :)