Tag: Be Prepared

Do You Live In Or Near a 2020 Swing State?
Choose Your Core Four · Community Activism · Elections · Read, Educate Yourself, Prepare

Do You Live In Or Near a 2020 Swing State?

otycd

Do you live in a 2020 swing state? Find out. 

 

Whenever a presidential election approaches on the calendar, there’s much discussion of swing states–states that seem like they could tilt toward either the Democratic candidate or the Republican, and which should prove critical to a victory in the Electoral College. [A candidate has to rack up a minimum of 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency. As of December 2019, the Electoral College consisted of 538 votes.]

 

Things have gotten ever more polarized over the years, which means the number of legitimate swing states has shrunk. But until we get rid of the Electoral College, swing states will exist, and they will matter more to the candidates than will states that are firmly red or blue.

 

In an August 2019 guest column for Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball, Alfred J. Tuchfarber identified six 2020 swing states:

 

Florida

Michigan

Minnesota

New Hampshire

Pennsylvania

Wisconsin

 

If you live in or near one of these states, it’s a good idea to pay closer attention and devote time and money to bringing about the result that you want to see.

 

In particular, you will want to stay on top of threats to the integrity of the voter rolls–attempts to restrict or suppress residents’ ability to cast a ballot–and you will want to do what you can to fight back.

 

And though Trump is notably weak on a national level, he might show stronger-than-expected poll numbers in specific states. For example, an early November 2019 CNBC piece shows Trump trailing Joe Biden in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Wisconsin, but faring better against Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. [Important note: the  polls discussed took place weeks before the House of Representatives wrote and voted on articles of impeachment against Trump.]

 

A looser definition seems to apply to “battleground” states–those regarded as less important to the overall Electoral College count, but which could be in play in the next presidential election.

 

In an undated piece about 2020 Battleground States, Taegan Goddard counts the six swing states mentioned above and includes:

 

Maine

North Carolina

Georgia

Texas

Arizona

 

If you live in or near these five states, you’ll want to keep an eye on things here as well. That said, if you need to budget your attention, favor the swing states over the battleground states. The six swing states merit mention in both the Sabato and the Goddard articles.

 

 

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Note Where the Nearest Nobody Is Above the Law Rally Takes Place, NOW, Just In Case. If Trump Does Fire Mueller or Rosenstein, Etc., the Server Might Crash
Marches and Protests · Uncategorized

Note Where the Nearest Nobody Is Above the Law Rally Takes Place, NOW, Just In Case. If Trump Does Fire Mueller or Rosenstein, Etc., the Server Might Crash

otycd

ThisOTYCD post originally appeared in May 2018. In the lead-up to the midterms, we’re re-running important posts. Please click on the announcement from Sarah Jane to learn why you’re not seeing timely daily posts.

 

Take a moment and note down the actual address and directions to the site where the Nobody Is Above the Law rally is happening closest to you. Just in case.

 

We hope it won’t be necessary to rally. But if Trump actually fires Special Counsel Robert Mueller, or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, or does some other ridiculous thing to undermine the Trump-Russia investigation and thus cause a constitutional crisis, you’ll need to be ready to go to your nearest protest site.

 

As of late April 2018, more than 350,000 people have RSVPed. That’s good! But if Trump does the deed, there’ll be a lot more people than that who’ll be interested in going out to one of the 900-plus protests.

 

Think about it. That 350,000 number represents those who intend to protest and who are comfortable filling out a form and giving their info to MoveOn.org.

 

For every person who’s willing to do that, there are a bunch more who are only willing to do the first of those things.

 

And for every person who intends to protest but who doesn’t want to fill out a form or give their info to MoveOn.org, there’s a bunch more people who will realize they want to protest once the batsignal is hanging in the sky over their heads. (Metaphorically.)

 

If you’re a regular reader of OTYCD, you’ve probably become The One In Your Circle Who Knows About Politics. Your friends and family will expect you to know where the Mueller Firing Rapid Response protest is, and how to get there, and where they can park.

 

Do you?

 

At the very least you need to go to the Mueller Firing Rapid Response page, find your protest site, and write down the name of the spot and its street address.

 

Put it on paper. Put it in your phone. Email it to yourself. Heck, do all three.

 

Even better, take some time and teach yourself how to give good, precise directions to the site, and learn what the parking options are.

 

We’re saying this because if Trump does the deed–and remember, we know he’s threatened to do it at least twice and hasn’t carried through–it’s possible that the MoveOn.org site, which is hosting the Mueller Firing Rapid Response page, will be super-slammed in seconds, and it might go down due to the spike in traffic.

 

Be prepared. Plan ahead. Take down the protest site info and put it where you can get it easily.

 

 

Find your Mueller Firing Rapid Response protest site here:

https://act.moveon.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response-events/search/

 

 

While you’re at it, review The Plan–what would trigger the protests, and why:

https://act.moveon.org/survey/mueller-firing-rapid-response-plan/?

 

 

And you may as well review the FAQ page, too, and take notes:

https://act.moveon.org/survey/mueller-firing-rapid-response-faq/?

 

 

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Prepare For A Rapid Response In Case Trump Fires Special Counsel Bob Mueller, or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Or… (Updated April 2018)
Action Alerts · Read, Educate Yourself, Prepare · Stand Up for Civilization · Stand Up for Norms

Prepare For A Rapid Response In Case Trump Fires Special Counsel Bob Mueller, or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Or… (Updated April 2018)

otycd1 Comment

This OTYCD entry originally posted in November 2017.

 

Update, mid-April 2018: This update is just to reflect that the scope of the actions covered by the rapid response plan has expanded.

Be prepared to act if:

Trump fires Special Counsel Robert Mueller

OR

Trump fires Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein

OR

Trump attempts to compromise the Mueller investigation by other means.

 

As of mid-April 2018, more than 300,000 people have RSVPed to the Nobody Is Above The Law website coordinated by MoveOn.org.

 

To RSVP and learn where your nearest rally site is, follow the link below. Also, scroll down this OTYCD page for specific time-linked instructions on what to do and when.

https://act.moveon.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response-events/search/

 

Update, mid-March 2018: After the FBI carried out the firing of already-outgoing deputy director Andrew McCabe on March 16, 2018, John Dowd, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, urged Rod Rosenstein to end the probe led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

 

When asked for comment on a Trump tweet about the firing, Dowd wrote, “I pray that Acting Attorney General Rosenstein will follow the brilliant and courageous example of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility and Attorney General Jeff Sessions and bring an end to alleged Russia Collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe’s boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt Dossier.”

 

See an article about the Dowd statement by The Daily Beast:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-lawyer-its-time-to-fire-robert-mueller

 

For this reason, we at OTYCD are asking you all to refresh yourself on where you’re gathering if Rosenstein fires Mueller; to consider RSVPing to the link below if you haven’t yet; to start or restart talking about your walkout plans with friends and family; and to start or finish getting your protest signs ready.

 

 

Update, January 2018: On the evening of Thursday, January 25, 2018, news broke that President Trump attempted to fire Robert Mueller in June 2017.

 

Only the refusal of White House counsel Don McGahn stayed his hand (Trump evidently wanted McGahn to carry out the action; McGahn refused and threatened to quit.)

 

See the New York Times story on the incident:

 

As we ready this update, more than 180,000 people have signed on to join Nobody is Above the Law rallies. Please consider doing so if you haven’t yet.

 

Learn what to do if Trump actually up and fires special counsel Bob Mueller. Be ready to act on the spot.

 

The Minutemen of Massachusetts got their name because they stood ready to muster against their British overseers at a moment’s notice.

 

This is the modern version of the Minutemen militia–you need to be ready, at a moment’s notice, to muster and defend our democracy if Trump actually does the second-dumbest thing he could possibly do and fires Mueller.

 

Moveon.org has detailed plans to hold emergency ‘Nobody is Above the Law’ rallies if this happens.

 

Below is a link to a map with a search tool that will show you where your nearest rally would be held if Trump fires Mueller (and let’s hope fervently that it never happens).

 

Here also are general instructions from Moveon.org:

 

Rallies will begin hours after news breaks of a Mueller firing:

  • If Mueller is fired BEFORE 2 P.M. local time —>  events will begin @ 5 P.M. local time
  • If Mueller is fired AFTER 2 P.M. local time —> events will begin @ noon local time the following day
    • This is the general plan—please confirm details on your event page, as individual hosts may tailor their events to their local plan.

 

 

Again, we at OTYCD hope this plan will never need to be enacted. But we also think it’s a good idea to think about your daily patterns and cross-match them against the map, so you can make sure you can get to what would be the event closest to you.

 

 

See where your nearest emergency rally would take place:

https://act.moveon.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response-events/search/

 

 

This link includes organizational materials, including training videos, images to share on social media, de-escalation tips, and a downloadable sign:

https://act.moveon.org/survey/mueller-firing-rapid-response-materials/?

 

 

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