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Dear Progressive Reader,
What is there to say? It is difficult to begin this newsletter after the surprising results of Tuesday’s elections. It is perhaps not surprising that Donald Trump was able to win the presidency, given his past track record (in 2016) of manipulating voter sentiment and the Electoral College system to secure a victory. But the fact that Trump and other Republicans were able to “run the table”—winning the Electoral College, popular vote, control of the U.S. Senate and probably the House of Representatives as well. The “blue wall” that Democrats were counting on went dramatically for Trump and the Republican Party made significant inroads ([link removed]) into every voter demographic that had traditionally leaned Democratic. Voter turnout is on track (final counts are still pending) to be close to ([link removed]) the record levels of 2020, but overall numbers for Vice President Kamala Harris remain
well below ([link removed]) the record level reached by Joe Biden in his 2020 race.
Analysts and strategists are beginning their analysis of what went wrong, but immediately following the announcement of Trump’s victory, U.S Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent of Vermont, said it perhaps best in a statement ([link removed]) released on the social media platform X: “It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them. While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right.” As Sarah Lahm writing from Minnesota on our website this week points out ([link removed]) , we are “left to the wolves represented by Trump and J.D. Vance and their embrace of grievance-driven bro culture. They are ‘weird,’ as [Minnesota Governor Tim] Walz famously pointed out, and now they’re in charge.”
Meanwhile, the potential threats of the next four years under a Trump/Vance Administration are already beginning to rear their heads. I have heard several stories of young, elementary school children being threatened by their classmates whose parents are Trump supporters, and the Trevor Project and other organizations operating hotlines for LGBTQ+ youth cite increases in calls and texts on Wednesday of up to 700 ([link removed]) percent. Transgender people are particularly concerned about what a Trump Administration will mean, given the campaign’s excessive use ([link removed]) of anti-trans rhetoric.
A key difference between 2024 and Trump’s previous 2016 transition ([link removed]) to office, is that this time preparations have been made well in advance. We have written numerous times ([link removed]) in The Progressive about documents like Project 2025 ([link removed]) and Agenda 47 ([link removed]) , which lay the groundwork for rapid changes in federal agencies, employees, and the policies they would enforce. State governments are already preparing to engage in lawsuits against actions by a new Trump Administration. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has convened ([link removed]) a
special legislative session to allocate funds for court cases, and Wisconsin’s Attorney General Josh Kaul has promised ([link removed]) to use the state’s justice system to protect the rights of Wisconsinites against possible moves by Trump. As Bill Lueders emphasizes ([link removed]) in an op-ed this week, “[The] struggle for a more just world is now going to be a whole lot more difficult, which means that the commitment we bring to the fight will need to be a whole lot stronger.”
In the coming days and months more will become clear about how the new administration will work to fulfill (or in some cases forget) its campaign promises, but one thing is clear: Progressives need to be watchful and protect liberties and rights wherever they are challenged and use every tool to resist a slide into authoritarianism and the deconstruction of democracy. We also need to care for our friends, neighbors, and those who may be particularly at risk from the newly ascendant MAGA sensibilities. In 2016, Trump’s campaign rhetoric ([link removed]) of violence and retaliation led to a rise in violence, particularly against immigrant communities ([link removed]) as well as women ([link removed]) and
LGBTQ+ ([link removed]) people. In the wake of the resounding victories of 2024, we must expect that more of this will take place. The series of racist text messages ([link removed]) this week targeting young African Americans is probably only the tip of that iceberg. Now more than ever, we must build our communities of support and care for each other, and especially those most vulnerable. The challenges ahead of us will demand it.
This Sunday also marks the anniversary of the 1898 riots in Wilmington, North Carolina that unseated elected Black politicians in a deadly race riot seeking to undo the gains of Reconstruction. As many as 300 Black residents were killed. The event is described in a new podcast Echoes of a Coup ([link removed]) and will be featured in the film, American Coup ([link removed]) that premieres on public television this week. Ed Rampell provided us with this review ([link removed]) , noting, “As the conflict between white supremacy and authoritarianism and multi-racial democracy continues to play out, American Coup: Wilmington 1898 is a must-see film for 2024 America, so that what did happen here may never happen again.”
Elsewhere on our website this week, in two pieces by writers from Gaza, Mohammed Abdul Jabbar Abu Seif speaks to ([link removed]) a ninety-one year old Palestinian survivor of the 1948 Nakba, and Yousef Aljamal talks to ([link removed]) Palestinian children who long for their life before the current war. Also, Mike Ervin examines ([link removed]) the unfriendly skies of the way airlines treat wheelchairs and the people who use them; Eleanor Bader drills into ([link removed]) a new report by PEN America on the right’s attack on inclusivity in public education; and Lucy McKernan opines
([link removed]) on how laws against “harassment” of hunters impinge on the rights of others.
Please keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time.
Sincerely,
Norman Stockwell
Publisher
P.S. - The new 2025 Hidden History of the United States calendar is now available. You can order one online and have it mailed to you. Don’t miss a minute of the “hidden history” of 2025. Just go to indiepublishers.shop ([link removed]) , and while you are there, checkout some of our other great offerings as well. There is still time to get your items delivered for the holidays.
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