John, By now you’ve likely seen the clips going around of Speaker Pelosi ripping up her copy of the State of the Union address at the conclusion of Trump’s speech before Congress on Tuesday. While many were praising her demonstration of defiance, I have to say, I was not impressed with her performance art. Yes, it’s true: Trump delivered a “manifesto of mistruths,” as she later described it. Each of his SOTU addresses have suffered the same. But the annual tradition lingered beneath a particularly dark cloud this year following the President’s impeachment. We are not in normal times, and we cannot condone our elected leaders pretending as if we are. As Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi had more than sufficient authority -- and cause -- to cancel the SOTU. Instead she gave him an audience before a joint session of Congress, with a primetime slot, to broadcast his lies to millions. Ripping up some papers does nothing to cancel out the damage done from unleashing propaganda in a forum like this. It would have been a lot more meaningful for the Speaker to rip up Trump’s military budget that she helped approve in December. Or the $4.6B she helped him secure to keep funding concentration camps on the border. Our first opportunity to take out these complacent incumbents is just a few weeks away, with 18 of our candidates’ primaries happening in March, April, and May. We need to support them with getting out the vote. Can you chip in $5, $10, or $25 to help us build our GOTV operation? If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your one-time contribution will go through immediately: Clever performance art will not save us from the encroaching fascism of this administration. Our Constitution was built to withstand tests like these -- but only if our leaders have the courage to do their duty. We deserve better than this. Help us elect a new generation of leaders who will fight for justice and stand up for what is right no matter the cost. For a Brand New Congress, Cory Archibald
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