Listening to Donald Trump or reading his social media posts, it seems like the guy has gone off the deep end.
And look — maybe he has. At a minimum he has proven himself to be increasingly unhinged and incoherent.
But the reality is, a lot of what Trump is doing is a purposeful strategy.
Steve Bannon let us all in on their “flood the zone” strategy back in 2018: do so much that’s so bad, and do it so often, that people just don’t have the time or energy to fight back.
Flooding the zone with one egregious transgression after another starts making the chaos feel normal — and it can even make it hard to drum up the righteous outrage we should be feeling.
But knowing that this is their actual strategy makes it that much more important for us to pay attention and speak out.
So here’s my recipe for fighting back:
1. Tune in. I’m not saying you have to watch the news 24/7 or keep push alerts on your phone. But we don’t have the luxury of burying our heads in the sand and just hoping this will take care of itself.
2. Connect with people around you. I know from my work in post-coup transitions and post-conflict resolution that community is one of the most critical parts of recovering from democratic backslides. We can’t isolate ourselves — join a group, talk with your neighbors, spend time with friends and family.
3. When you can, support Democratic candidates who are trying to reestablish stability in Washington. There are so many great Democrats who will be on the ballot this year — frontline Members of Congress defending their seats, challengers trying to kick out Republicans, and state and local leaders on the ground. All of them could use our support to win.
As for the first two: I’ll continue keeping you updated on important news through these emails, and sharing ways to connect when I can. (One great option is to find your local Indivisible group!)
And when it comes to securing Democratic victories in November, my team is working hard on all our plans to support key Democratic races. We’ll be channeling support directly to the candidates who need it most.
If you want to be a part of that work, please chip in today. I can promise you your donation will be put to good use to support Democratic wins here in California and across the country.
