Spotted in Portland and posted by @radicalgrafitti on Instagram. I want this on a teeshirt.
Hi, all, and happy Friday!
Also, happy No Kings Eve!
Taegan Goddard wrote some interesting and, I think, incisive commentary in today’s Political Wire; I’m going to quote it in full here.
He said:
The “No Kings” protests this weekend could be one of the biggest political moments of the year.
More than 2,500 events are planned across the country — a massive show of peaceful defiance that has already struck a nerve with Republicans in Washington.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) denounced them as a “hate America rally,” predicting “Hamas supporters,” “antifa types,” and “Marxists” would dominate the crowds.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) piled on, saying “you’ll see the hate for America all over this thing.”
And White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt went even further by claiming their “main constituency is made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens and violent criminals.”
That kind of coordinated outrage says a lot. When authoritarians fear mass dissent, they attack it before it happens.
The “No Kings” movement takes its name from the founding spirit of the American Revolution.
Organizers describe it as a celebration of freedom and the democratic promise that still animates the country nearly 250 years later.
That reminder comes at a critical moment. The United States has tipped into authoritarianism.
Yet the shift is not irreversible. Most Americans are not Donald Trump voters. And even among those who were, many are beginning to question the fear, chaos, and decay that now define his second term.
If history bends toward democracy, this weekend could mark the moment the bend began again.
The “No Kings” protests may one day be remembered as the point when public resistance to authoritarianism stopped simmering — and started to boil.
And judging by Republican panic, those in power know it.
Yes, yes, yes! Love this!
“The shift is not irreversible.” And Republicans in power know it. They do fear tomorrow’s rallies—it’s abundantly clear. Between now and then they will bluster, bloviate, and threaten, calling us worse and worse names and doing their damndest to instill fear in everyone associated with the events.
They will fail.
Tomorrow will be historic. It will be beautiful. It will be remembered just as the March on Washington is, or the Suffragettes’ marches, or the Vietnam protests, as peaceful demonstrations that changed the course of history.
We are getting there, y’all. Keep on keeping on!
Let us know which protest you’ll be at in the comments—and what your sign says! Let’s make tomorrow a glorious, joyous, harmonious testament to People Power, democracy, and love of freedom. And take lots of pictures! The mainstream media may not cover these events, so we should!
So proud to be in this fight with you.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲 and Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, I just read that tariff costs are going to hit $1.2 trillion this year—and consumers will take most of the hit. This is outrageous. Americans are struggling—with grocery costs, housing costs, healthcare expenses and more, and Trump is adding insult to injury in every way he can. These tariffs aren’t legal and there’s no strategy behind them. They are hurting consumers, farmers, and working Americans in general. Congress needs to end them now.
I also want Congress to pass a permanent extension of the ACA premium tax credits. I support Democrats in demanding this and, going forward, will only vote for lawmakers who put healthcare above bailing out billionaires. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
Your extra credit today is simply to share some of the below information. The economic data is really bad—Americans need to know it. The below is from Defending America Action:
This week, Trump continued to obliterate the economic security of millions across the country as working families pay the price for his reckless incompetence. Despite the government shutdown delaying reporting data, new economic reports this week indicated weaker US retail sales and manufacturing than expected. Grocery prices are spiking as consumers bear the brunt of Trump’s tariff costs, stoking widespread pessimism in the U.S. economy across party lines. And everyone from farmers to CEOs are expressing concern and apprehension over Trump’s tariffs. Trump’s anemic economy is hitting the poorest Americans the hardest and his policies are stoking a dire affordability crisis.
Read more about how Trump’s tariffs are continuing to wreak havoc on the U.S. economy:
HEADLINES
The Guardian: 75% of Americans Report Soaring Prices As Trump Claims Inflation ‘Over’.
Wall Street Journal: Grocery Prices Keep Rising. Frustrated Consumers Are Trying to Adapt.
New York Magazine: Grocery Prices Are Rising. Trump’s Focused on Everything Else.
The Guardian: Americans’ Pessimism About the Economy Cuts Across Political Lines.
Bloomberg: Card Data Show Softer US Retail Sales as Shutdown Delays Report.
Seeking Alpha: Philly Fed Manufacturing Index Sinks More Than Expected In October.
NPR: American Farmers Are Hurting. Trump’s Trade War Is Making It Worse.
Yahoo Finance: Sticker Shock: Car Prices Top $50k For First Time In US, Kelley Blue Book Says.
Axios: CEOs Grow More Apprehensive As Tariff Uncertainty Weighs.
Get Smart! 📚
On Wednesday, October 22 at 7pm ET, join Kerry Kennedy, President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), for a powerful conversation on the urgent need to reform America’s immigration system. Together, they will expose the illegal overreach of ICE, the corruption and abuses within detention facilities, and the devastating impact of unjust deportations on families and communities.
This discussion will also go beyond immigration to examine the real-world consequences of the ongoing government shutdown, RFK Jr.’s dangerous campaign to dismantle America’s public health infrastructure, and how advocates, lawmakers, and the courts can work together to slow Trump’s authoritarian overreach through legal and civic action.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from two leading voices on human rights and justice about how we can work together to protect immigrant communities and defend our shared values.
Messaging! Messaging! Messaging! 📣
IT’S GO TIME! #NoKings 🔥
DemCast has put together a great toolkit with all kinds of great content to publicize the event on whatever platform you use. It’s got videos and simple graphics. It’s great!
You can also get some ideas for in-the-real-world amplification here—because not everyone is on line! You can chalk your sidewalk, paste up flyers…there are some great ideas.
Let’s flood every feed—real and virtual—with our message:
No Kings. No Dictators. No Tyrants. Just Us — the People.
Give 💰!
Please join All In for NC and 13 other groups in support of Down Home North Carolina for a Down Home NC fundraising event Oct. 21
Speakers: Sen. Chris Murphy, D-CT; Dreama Caldwell and Todd Zimmer, Down Home’s dynamic co-directors.
Down Home organizes rural member chapters on local issues. At election time, they canvass extensively (630,000 homes in 2024!) and help win key races, from critical state house seats to supreme court and US Senate. New national data shows their effectiveness:
The programs of the 26 studied organizations in 10 states achieved a contact rate of 9.3 percent, much higher than the 5.3 percent rate of other Democratic or progressive field operations. Those reached by the partner organizations, as compared against other non-partner field programs, were more likely to be people of color, younger, and infrequent voters.
Down Home did even better than these averages: Black men canvassed by them voted 16 points above the average; Black women, 14 points.
Please donate any amount to RSVP here. The Zoom registration link will be sent 48 hours in advance. Please email mafornc@gmail.com with any questions.
Grab Your Wallet! 💳
Spotify is running ICE recruitment ads. I just cancelled my account. It’s a terrible company anyway and I was only paying for it because Mj insists on using it. But I’m done and I hope you’ll consider cancelling too—if you’re a paid subscriber, that is.
This is one of the few levers we have at our disposal. Please consider using it.
Win Races! 🗳
Sister District is teaming up with their friends at the Gaslit Nation Podcast for a special Halloween phonebank to help their endorsed candidates through the final stretch before Election Day. They’ll be joined by Andrea Chalupa, host and producer of the Webby Award–honored civic action podcast Gaslit Nation, who will kick things off with remarks about what’s at stake in Virginia.
They have other great Virginia phonebanks coming up, too:
Tues 6pm ET / 3pm PT with host, Ella, and our partner, Reproductive Freedom for All, for VA Candidates Leslie Mehta OR Joshua Thomas!
Wed 6pm ET / 3pm PT with host Lauren, for VA Candidates Shelly Simonds & Jessica Anderson!
Thurs 4pm ET / 1pm PT with host Lindsay, for VA Candidates Jessica Anderson OR Lindsey Dougherty!
Sat 12pm ET / 9am PT with host Ashton, for VA Candidates Phil Hernandez OR Kacey Carnegie!
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T ] [Text SIGN PKNWUS to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]
(Note that for the most effective RESISTBOT it’s best to personalize this text. More about how to do this here. But if you’re short on time just send it as is using the above code.)
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority seems ready to gut what remains of the Voting Rights Act. In Callais v. Louisiana, their questions made clear an intent to make racial discrimination in voting easier to hide and harder to prove — effectively giving states free rein to silence Black and minority voters. If Section 2 is weakened or struck down, it would destroy one of the last civil-rights safeguards against racial gerrymandering and could lock partisan control of the House for a generation.
Congress cannot sit idle while the Court dismantles democracy. It must pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 14 / S. 4) to restore preclearance, reinforce Section 2 protections, and guarantee that every American has an equal voice in elections. The Constitution grants Congress — not the courts — the power to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment’s promise of fair voting.
Surrender is not an option. A ruling against Section 2 would be a betrayal of civil-rights history, but it would not end the struggle for justice. Giving up now would “sell the American people short.” We have agency, and Congress has the duty to act.
Do not let this Court erase the progress generations fought for. Pass H.R. 14 and S. 4 now — before voter suppression becomes the law of the land.
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
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