In November 2020, Trump lost. He knew he lost. Everyone knew he lost. You know why he knew he lost? Because … he lost. He had fewer votes than the other guy. You don’t have to be a mathematician to understand this.
We all know what he did next, of course. He and his crew went around to statehouses looking for help overturning that loss, but, for most, it was a bridge too far. Fast forward to January 6, 2021, the Hail Mary attempt to bring down the entire system with rioters and insurrectionists, fighting their way into the Capitol so that your vote wouldn’t count.
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David Pepper joined Sam Osterhout to explain that what we’re seeing now in places like Texas, where Trump asked Republicans to find seats in a mostly unprecedented mid-decade redistricting attempt, is actually a more focused, organized, and proactive January 6th.
Given the chaos in the streets, the economic signposts, and Trump’s failures on so, so many things, they know that they are facing a potential slaughter in the next couple elections. But rather than do something radical like, say, make better policy, they want to take away your vote.
Gerrymandering — especially at a time when redistricting is not typically undertaken — is an attempt to create a system of competitive authoritarianism. It’s that simple.
But there’s hope. Organizations like Blue Ohio are creating a grassroots movement to fund Democrats not just in competitive seats, but in every race up and down the ticket. We’ve ceded ground to Republicans in safe red districts by not even competing. But when we field a candidate, we can push back and at least give them a run for their money.
We will lose races, but we have to get caught trying.
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