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republican party
Hello, Fascism
It’s here. What should Democrats be doing now?
Aug 13, 2025
It’s here. Stop all the useless debate. Whether it’s a consolidating dictatorship, as Rachel Maddow says, or an illiberal democracy, or an electoral autocracy…
If masked and plainclothes secret police arresting undocumented immigrants, students, and citizens alike, including members of Congress, aren’t a clear enough indication, then the military takeover of Washington DC, citing lies about the crime rate, is.
America has become a fascist state. How fascist is irrelevant; the question serves only as an excuse, a way to tag out and wait for things to blow over. It’s not that bad.
So it’s here. It’s here thanks to President Donald Trump. What did we expect? It’s here thanks to his enablers, most prominent among them, Republican members of Congress. It’s here thanks to Republican voters and nonvoters alike, whose apathy in the last election should not be forgiven.
If anything, with approval ratings rock bottom, Democrats would be showing that they aren’t as feeble as they currently are and have been.
It’s here thanks to the ignorant and indifferent, the dumb and deluded, the hateful, scornful, spiteful, shortsighted, racist, militaristic, misogynistic, misguided…
Democrats—failed candidates and sitting representatives—are at fault too. For never putting up an effective fight despite all the warnings they gave us, despite all the warnings we gave them, pleading for proper change; who, even out of power, continue to resist with little ambition or desperation, strongly-worded letters a testament to what they are or have become: slaves to donors, the corporate class, and their own irrelevancy. Hello, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
This needs to change. It’s starting to, maybe. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has offered a bit more fight, but he feels so very performative, both eyes on the presidency. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker feels a bit more honest—maybe it’s the belly—but as a billionaire, he’s also part of the problem.
A few others seem genuinely genuine, and are channeling, for once, the frustration of those they represent—or hope to—which happens also to be their own, rather than chiding us or assuring us that all is well. Hello, Zohran Mamdani.
So there’s some hope, however slim. The midterms loom. Republicans are scared. Trump aside, whose handling of the Epstein scandal has isolated even the most MAGA, his policies are unpopular. They will only grow more unpopular as their effects kick in; they can’t all be delayed until after the midterms. The reality of them will only grow more stark as ordinary people begin to suffer and Republicans and Fox News struggle to skew the story, losing track of their own lies. But only if Democrats make a concerted effort to connect the dots.
Avoid Town Halls, Republicans have been advised. It’s easy to see why. The few representatives to hold them regardless have been heckled and booed, called out for what they are: liars. Shameful. They’ve been called worse.
They’re scared. Which is why the party is trying to gerrymander their way out of a potential midterm defeat, to secure the one-party system they crave, a facade of democracy that will allow them, like other autocracies, to persist.
It’s here where Democrats and even Independents—elected representatives and prospective ones, organizers, activists, celebrities, podcast hosts—should be filling the void. Be for once bold. Brave. Enough with echo chambers. Strike deep into the heart of Trump country. Spark debate and controversy; garner headlines by simply being there, everywhere there’s a microphone and a too-large, red hat, at least some of which are definitely made in China.
Book Town Halls and adjacent venues; stage protests and counterprotests; tour as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) did, albeit under a less pretentious title… Fighting Oligarchy is like the polar opposite of Save Democracy, and we know how well that went… and explain, in the simplest terms, what we know is concerning people.
With cultural issues being a tad touchy—I get it—lead with economic, as Mamdani has been doing. We know how tariffs are hurting small businesses and big ones alike, like General Motors. How farmers are hurting. How tariffs are ensuring inflation remains high. How the Big Beautiful Bill Act will cut taxes for the rich and healthcare and food programs for those struggling to get by. How Trump has no plan regarding in vitro fertilization. How the wars in Ukraine and Gaza go on…
Name every single broken promise. Follow with the Epstein scandal. Repeat Trump’s own words: “terrific guy,” “A lot of fun to be with.” Show him partying with the pedophile. Over and over again. Show how he’s just another golf-loving nepo baby, a member of the Swamp as well the cabal of pedophiles—at least a sympathizer—he was entrusted to destroy; has he not floated a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell? Moved her to Club Fed? Hint how he’s complicit, harnessing the conspiracy theories his supporters have themselves created. Challenge them to find, if they can and want to, the most twisted justifications.
There’s just so much to go on outside the more nuanced ways in which the current administration is unraveling not just democracy—which we don’t even need to mention—but what truly makes America great: economic opportunity, stability… Betrayal cuts deep.
Let the wounds fester, and we might find that something resonates, ripples outwards, flowers, flourishes, that seed of doubt; even if the most dug in refuse to admit that they were wrong, scammed, grifted… then at least the more moderate or indifferent can come around, inspiring, if not a popular revolt, than enough votes or nonvotes to turn the tide when the time comes.
If anything, with approval ratings rock bottom, Democrats would be showing that they aren’t as feeble as they currently are and have been. That, even if they believe in progressive policies more conservative voters may not agree with, like trans rights, women’s rights, due process for undocumented immigrants, or stricter gun laws, they also believe in a familiar, free, and safe, bountiful America.
So it’s here: fascism. The best we can do now is ensure it’s short lived.
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Watchdog Unveils Standards for Countermeasures to 'Authoritarian' GOP Gerrymandering
"We will not sit idly by while political leaders manipulate voting maps to entrench their power and subvert our democracy," said the head of Common Cause.
Aug 12, 2025
As Republicans try to rig congressional maps in several states and Democrats threaten retaliatory measures, a pro-democracy watchdog on Tuesday unveiled new fairness standards underscoring that "independent redistricting commissions remain the gold standard for ending partisan gerrymandering."
Common Cause will hold an online media briefing Wednesday at noon Eastern time "to walk reporters though the six pieces of criteria the organization will use to evaluate any proposed maps."
The Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group said that "it will closely evaluate, but not automatically condemn, countermeasures" to Republican gerrymandering efforts—especially mid-decade redistricting not based on decennial censuses.
Amid the gerrymandering wars, we just launched 6 fairness criteria to hold all actors to the same principled standard: people first—not parties. Read our criteria here: www.commoncause.org/resources/po...
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— Common Cause (@commoncause.org) August 12, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Common Cause's six fairness criteria for mid-decade redistricting are:
- Proportionality: Any mid-decade redistricting should be a targeted response proportional to the threat posed by mid-decade gerrymanders in other states.
- Public participation: Any redistricting must include meaningful public participation, whether through ballot initiatives or open public processes.
- Racial equity: Redistricting must not further racial discrimination or dilute the political voice of Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian American, and Pacific Islander, or other communities of color.
- Federal reform: Leaders pursuing mid-decade redistricting must publicly endorse the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act, including provisions banning mid-decade redistricting and partisan gerrymandering.
- Endorsement of independent redistricting: Leaders pursuing mid-decade redistricting must publicly endorse citizen-led independent redistricting commissions as the long-term solution.
- Time-limited: Any new redistricting maps must expire following the 2030 Census, which counts all people in our country, and be replaced through the regular decennial redistricting process.
"We will not sit idly by while political leaders manipulate voting maps to entrench their power and subvert our democracy," Common Cause president and CEO Virginia Kase Solomón said in a statement. "But neither will we call for unilateral political disarmament in the face of authoritarian tactics that undermine fair representation."
"We have established a fairness criteria that we will use to evaluate all countermeasures so we can respond to the most urgent threats to fair representation while holding all actors to the same principled standard: people—not parties—first," she added.
Common Cause's fairness criteria come amid the ongoing standoff between Republicans trying to gerrymander Texas' congressional map and Democratic lawmakers who fled the state in a bid to stymie a vote on the measure. Texas state senators on Tuesday approved the proposed map despite a walkout by most of their Democratic colleagues.
Leaders of several Democrat-controlled states, most notably California, have threatened retaliatory redistricting.
"This moment is about more than responding to a single threat—it's about building the movement for lasting reform," Kase Solomón asserted. "This is not an isolated political tactic; it is part of a broader march toward authoritarianism, dismantling people-powered democracy, and stripping away the people's ability to have a political voice and say in how they are governed."
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Texas Senate Passes Political Map Rigged for Trump as Abbott Threatens Second Session
"This mid-decade redistricting isn't about fair representation—it's about politicians picking their voters instead of voters choosing their leaders," said the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus.
Aug 12, 2025
Despite a walkout by most Democrats in the Texas Senate on Tuesday, the chamber's 19 Republicans voted to approve a new congressional map that favors the GOP, which they aim to force through at President Donald Trump's request.
The gerrymandering battle has drawn national attention, as many Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives have fled the state to block the map from advancing, and Democratic governors have not only welcomed those legislators but also threatened to redraw their maps to counter the effort to hand Republicans five more congressional seats in the Lone Star State.
On Tuesday, nine Democrats walked out of the Senate, while Democratic Sens. Judith Zaffrini (21) and Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa (20) stayed and voted against the redistricting legislation, S.B. 4. The Houston Chronicle reported that the pair did not respond to requests for comment, but both represent South Texas, where "Trump made major gains in the last election."
In a lengthy statement about the Legislature's current special session and Tuesday's walkout, the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus stressed that families impacted by last month's deadly flooding "cannot afford more delays."
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott "has the power to move relief funds to survivors immediately using the same emergency budget authority he's used many times—for his border wall, school safety, and even to restore the Legislature's own funding," the Democrats noted. "But now, he's tying the passage of urgently needed relief to an unconstitutional redistricting plan."
"This mid-decade redistricting isn't about fair representation—it's about politicians picking their voters instead of voters choosing their leaders," the caucus continued, warning of future efforts to rig maps for the Republican Party. "That's why we walked out—because this session should only be about flood relief, and we refuse to engage in a corrupt process."
Abbott, meanwhile, threatened to "immediately" call a second special session if the chambers wrap up early on Friday as planned.
"The special session #2 agenda will have the exact same agenda, with the potential to add more items critical to Texans," he said Tuesday. "There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them. I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed."
Texas House Democrats have made clear that they intend to continue their quorum break despite their GOP colleagues' issuing civil arrest warrants, financial penalties, and even the legally dubious involvement of the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the request of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who faces a primary challenge from Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Paxton has set his sights on former Democratic Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke, whose political group Powered by People fundraised to support the lawmakers who left the state. They are now engaged in a legal battle, and Paxton wants a Tarrant County judge to jail and fine O'Rourke for allegedly violating an injunction granted late last week that forbade him from raising money for the Democrats who fled or spending to cover their expenses.
As The Texas Tribune reported:
On Tuesday, Paxton claimed that O'Rourke had violated that temporary injunction at a Fort Worth rally Saturday, when he told the crowd, "There are no refs in this game, fuck the rules."
According to a video of the event, O'Rourke appeared to say that phrase after urging the crowd to support retaliatory redistricting in other blue states—not in relation to the injunction.
Paxton's motion also cited social media posts by O'Rourke after the injunction came down, in which the Democrat said he was "still raising and rallying to stop the steal of five congressional seats in Texas," and included a donation link.
According to the newspaper, attorneys for O'Rourke argued in a court filing that Paxton was "knowingly taking a statement entirely out of context to intentionally misrepresent the statement," and the attorney general's motion "misrepresents" the temporary injunction, which only blocks the former congressman and his group from fundraising for "nonpolitical purposes."
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