Time to think of what to do, when Trump and the GOP steal our midterm elections?
TAT readers,
Today’s essay is one I’ve been pondering for months. Anyone that has been paying attention during the Trump-era and especially this second term, know full well that our midterm elections, will not be “free and fair” elections. Some of the GOP’s preparations go back more than a decade, and have greatly accelerated since Inauguration Day. They’ve been radically gerrymandering, changing state election laws to disenfranchise minority or opposition voters, firing election workers from your local voting station, removing whole staffs within federal, state and Local governments who are responsible for safeguarding our elections, etc., etc., etc. In short, today’s Republican congressional sycophants to the Trump administration, are denying us the very thing that makes us Americans… the right to vote in free and fair elections.
The point is, no serious voter should be living under the illusion that November’s election will be free and fair. The only question that remains, is what will any of us do about it. Will we take to the streets, mob local congressional offices with angry voters, engage in all manner of civil disobedience etc.? What I am driving at is that we are 110 days until the Midterms and if we are to oppose the intended theft of our votes, we need to start now figuring out what our actions will be when it occurs. As I have been writing since my autopsy of the Democratic Party’s abject failure in 2024, they are worthless, absent from leadership and we must do this ourselves. So, let’s get serious about mapping out our response to a likely “rigged” election in November.
Background essays on the hapless DNC are below:
I began writing about today’s topic just four days after Inauguration Day, January 20th, 2025 by writing, “An open letter to everyone’s friends and family that voted for Trump... again.” I followed up through February and March of 2025 with a six-part series on the coup underway by the administration, which included recommendations for who the resistance must target. Now, with only a hundred and ten days to go to the midterms, those recommendations are not only still appropriate but now urgently needed. To save everyone a great deal of reading, I’ll cover a few of those highlighted recommendations again today. There will also be some modifications to those previous recommendations.
Okay my friends and fellow patriots, let’s get serious. The short answer to “what will we do” must include civil disobedience on a scale not seen since my youth during the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. Between 1960-1970 when I was between 4 and 14 years old, the evening news was dominated by the Vietnam War, massive protests, demonstrations, sit-ins, boycotts and every other form of civil disobedience, up to and including occasional violence that even extended to bombings. The Reverend Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream speech” in Washington D.C. drew hundreds of thousands of marchers and he’d already given different versions of this iconic American speech at huge rallies in many other large cities around the country. By the time that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 had passed, the US had begun fighting in Vietnam. Those massive, nationwide protests simply rolled over into anti-war protests.
For the rest of the 1960s and even as far as the early 70s, the war in Vietnam and the protests against it were mainstays on the 6:00 o’clock news with Walter Cronkite. One minute we’d be watching actual combat in Vietnam and a few minutes later, the news about some enormous protest, sit-in, demonstration and even terrorist bombings at US universities. Americans are no stranger to mass protest. In fact, it’s part of who we are as Americans. World War I veterans marched on Washington during the Great Depression to acquire their promised bonuses, only to be ridden down by US cavalry troops led by none other than Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur would go on to become a four-star general during WW II and the Korean War, before being fired by President Truman.
There is a deep chord within American citizens that will not tolerate being talked down to, deprived of our rights and threatened. This is all that we get from the current administration. They refuse to follow the law, even when ordered to by federal judges, which leaves us, “we-the-people” subjected to the same tyranny that sparked our revolution from British rule. We’ve seen multiple of the “No-Kings” rallies in the past which were nice and inspiring, but they went towards no stated goal and worst of all, were not supported by any sustaining narrative. Since the resistance is devoid of a narrative, we must craft one. It could simply be as elementary as, “we demand that the administration and ruling party adhere to the law.” It could also be longer and more detailed but either way, we need one. Fighting the daily outrages are necessary to some extent but the only thing that wins, is an overarching narrative with supporting narratives that express our grievances simply and elegantly. The best delivery method for such narratives is in person supported by thousands of patriots who believe as we do.
When I talk about massive civil displays of our anger, I’m not talking about once a month or more, I’m talking about millions of Americans in the streets every weekend until after election day. Where these protests occur is equally important to the numbers. As I have been saying for over a year, take these massive protests right to the home offices of Republican senators and representatives, and drag the local media with you. Every elected Republican official is vulnerable and collectively, they are the weakest link. This makes them an ideal target for large-scale protests. Their editors may be cowed by threats from the administration, but they cannot ignore thousands of local citizens in the streets.
Look guys, most mainstream US media these days has the spine of a garden slug. If we don’t force them to do their jobs, they won’t. The only way to get their attention is to “get in good trouble,” as recommended by the late congressman and civil rights icon, John Lewis. Here’s the deal and there’s no way around it, every sitting Republican in congress is terrified of the midterms. Our mission is to ensure that they will fear the wrath of the people.
The GOP did this to themselves. At every turn during the Trump era, they’ve had a chance to follow the law and support their constituents. At every opportunity they’ve chosen poorly in order to not rile the madness of their dear leader in the Oval Office. Our government has not been this unhinged from the law and the constitution its based upon, since the outset of the Civil War. Unless we are loud and insistent with our demands of them, they will refuse to put our needs over their fear of Trump. It really is this simple.
Many Americans still refuse to believe that this administration, supported by the entire Republican presence in congress, will attempt to “rig” the midterms. I find their disbelief incredulous since the administration has been breaking the law and violating our constitution from the very first hour of this maximalist-corrupt, second Trump term. Some of the nation’s best analysts have been following the administration’s plans to steal our midterms now for months. Todd Blanche, acting AG, Pete Hegseth at DoD, Markwayne Mullin at DHS, and countless other administration officials have sat in front of congressional hearings and refused to commit to not putting troops and DHS law enforcement at our polling sites. We’ve seen this movie before, especially with the Supreme Court. They say what they need to in order to be confirmed as cabinet members by the US Senate and then… turn around and fail to keep their pledges. There is no honor among thieves.
For those curious as to “how” the midterms will not be “free and fair,” please see the links below.
Trump moves to tighten federal control of elections ahead of midterms
The Campaign to Undermine the Midterms | Brennan Center for Justice
How the Trump administration is trying to reshape how elections are run PBS News
8 Things to Know About Trump’s Effort to “Take Over” Midterm Elections — ProPublica
Inside Trump’s Effort to “Take Over” the Midterm Elections — ProPublica
Then there’s that voter suppression bill called the Save Act, that both Trump and his congressional cronies are pushing hard. Every single Republican that I have read about or heard speak in a video, has lied outrageously about this voter suppression bill. It’s simply a solution looking for a problem. In other words, we have no issue with non-American voters. There is not one shred of evidence to support the need for this additional costly addition to laws that have been on the books, since 1996.
"Congress is moving the SAVE Act suite of bills, which would disenfranchise millions of eligible Americans from registering to vote. This time, they’ve added provisions that would also make it harder to cast one’s ballot. Here is what you need to know. A renewed push for the SAVE Act For the last several months, online supporters of the SAVE Act have partnered with President Trump, Representative Chip Roy (R-TX-21), Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), and even Elon Musk to promote the legislation through social media platforms. The focus has been on spreading mis- and disinformation about voting in our country, largely around non-citizen voting. Claims that non-citizens participate in federal elections are wildly overdramatized and false. In fact, it is already illegal for non-citizens to register to vote AND cast a ballot in state and federal elections across the country. In 2016, the Brennan Center for Justice found that across 42 jurisdictions with high immigrant populations, there were only 30 cases of suspected noncitizens voting out of 23.5 million votes cast (.0001%). An audit of Georgia voter rolls found that out of 8.2 million registered voters, there were only 9 instances where a noncitizen cast a ballot. Claims that noncitizen voting is a true threat capitalize on racism and fear to promote certain politicians' agendas." - The SAVE Act is Headed to the Senate: A Push to Restrict Voting Access - League of Women Voters - February 23, 2026
Summary
As you can see, there is no “if” the Republicans will attempt to steal our election. There is no DNC, no Congress, no SCOTUS and no other guardrails to protect our most important constitutional rights. We are the cavalry and so we must act like it. The best targets for our outrage are every single GOP elected official, whether local or at the national level. After well over a decade of Trumpism, anyone still supporting the GOP, are complicit in the destruction of our republic. It’s truly that simple. Everyone that cares about American democracy and our children and grandchildren’s future, now has no choice but to be loud and dogged in their pursuit of justice. I realize for those trapped in neighborhoods, small towns and rural regions of the country, have a tough row to hoe due to peer pressure. Urban folks are much the same at the neighborhood level. We must face our fears and take to the streets. I protest best from my keyboard but will take any opportunity to join in the throngs of patriots that do take to the streets.
As for what we are shaming Republican officials for, there are plenty of options but if we narrow the list down a bit, the campaign becomes more cohesive. For example, most honest Americans regardless of political preference, wants; justice for the Epstein victims regardless of who is involved, justice for the January 6th insurrection, an enforceable code of ethics for our deviant SCOTUS, restoration of every dollar stolen from us, the tax payers, to vote out every sitting Republican in congress, an overturned Citizens United, and last but not least, an impeached president and to investigate and prosecute Trump, his family and his oligarchs without exception, for violations of US law in their business dealings. As we all well know… this list could be pages longer if necessary, but I’m certain that you get the point.
In many respects, this essay isn’t just about what to do after the election has been stolen, but what we must do here and now. A little over a hundred days to operate, isn’t very much time, considering how much pressure we must put on the administration, SCOTUS, Congress and even the DNC. Work together to form a plan, get some great walking or running shoes and let’s hit the pavement. It’s the only way to hold onto what millions of Americans have fought to protect. This is our country, not Trump’s, his oligarchs, his spineless GOP and their voters, who put us into this mess in the first place. It’s too late to save the GOP voters but we can save the republic. That’s a pretty darn good trade in my book.
My very best for your weekend,
Paul
p.s. Over the next week or two, I’ll be spending as much time with loved ones as possible. It’s that time of year for visiting with family and dear friends. I will try and push out an essay or so. I look at this partial break as a time to recharge my batteries for the last few months of this election. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in our streets fighting for our liberty.