I’m an environmental voter. Donald Trump has reversed, or is in the process of reversing, some 100 environmental regulations that protect our health and safety, and the natural world.
I’m a human rights voter. Trump has torn apart families seeking asylum and caged their children. He has called protesters against police brutality “terrorists” and tried to militarize our cities.
I’m a voting rights voter. Trump has attacked voting by mail despite the pandemic, claiming without evidence that it will lead to widespread voter fraud. He has no concern for free and fair elections; he only cares about staying in office.
I’m a firm believer in transparency and accountability in government. Trump has fired five inspectors general since April, he has refused to turn over documents to Congress, and he has never made his tax returns public. Recently, he has refused to account for more than $500 billion in pandemic-related loans to major corporations. We may never get to know who got that money or how it was spent.
Trump isn’t acting alone. Virtually the entire Republican Party is in his thrall, with many in the party interested only in holding onto power rather than governing.
The outrages committed by Trump and the Republicans are almost endless. In fact, one of his main tactics is to so overwhelm us with one outrage after another that we can’t possibly respond to them all. If there is any chance of preventing the loss of our democratic values, it lies in decisively defeating Trump and the rest of the Republican ticket this November. The Trump party must never have the possibility of holding power again.
For this to happen, we in the safely Blue states need to do more than vote. We know that Biden will win in Massachusetts, in most if not all of New England. Without taking that for granted, our energy, time and money are needed in key swing states around the country.
I’ve been a volunteer with Swing Left – a leader in organizing folks in those “safe” states to help flip swing states – since Trump took office, working with hundreds of thousands of others to take government back from the extremists who now control the Republican Party. Our local group, Swing Left Pioneer Valley, canvassed, fundraised, phoned, and texted in support of congressional candidates two years ago in New Hampshire, New York and elsewhere – and they won.
In 2018, we and our allies took back the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2020, we aim to hold the House, take back the Senate, and send Trump and his minions packing, never to return. Here in the Valley, we’re contacting voters in Florida, Maine and Pennsylvania to register to vote, vote by mail if possible or turn out to vote in November. We’re raising money to support Joe Biden and Democratic challengers in eight key races for Senate seats currently held be Republicans. If we’re going to win this fall, it will take all of the energy we can muster to out-organize, out-fundraise, out-register, and out-vote the Republicans.
Defeating Trump and the Republicans is crucial to getting real change to happen, top to bottom. It won’t end racism. It won’t end gun violence. It won’t stop climate catastrophe. What it will do is remove a major obstacle to fundamental change. Our work won’t stop if we oust these people, but it will open doors that are now closed.
What can you do? Get involved. Give money. Make phone calls. Write letters and postcards. Get in touch with us at swingleftpioneervalley2020@gmail.com to learn more. Visit 413stayingconnected.org and tinyurl.com/slpv-events to find events and resources. Contact friends and family in swing states and ask them to help end the Trump-Republican regime. Do support your local and state Democratic candidates, and also reach out beyond our borders to make a difference. Your efforts could help decide whether we still have a democracy after Nov. 3.
Michael Dover is a retired environmental scientist and a cofounder of Swing Left Pioneer Valley. He lives in Leverett.