We’ve reached the bribing voters stage of the midterm election cycle. This week, at a midterm GOP convention built around his increasingly fragile ego, Trump promised that if Republicans remained in power, he’d send dividends of $5,000 to every American, along with a veiled threat that this was something only he could do.
I guess we’re just supposed to ignore the fact that Trump is always promising to send Americans money. DOGE “savings”, Tariff rebate checks, Obamacare refunds, etc. Strangely, none of those checks have shown up in our bank accounts. Shocking that a man who so casually lies about being pulled from the rubble by firefighters on 9/11 would lie continually about checks supposedly en route. But with a legacy press that largely doesn’t hold him accountable for his lies and instead amplifies them, Trump has every incentive to lie about another rebate that taxpayers will never see.
Objectively, the midterms aren’t looking great for Trump’s Republican Party. Democrats are on track to win the House, and despite a tough map, a Democratic Senate majority seems more likely by the day. Down-ballot races at the state and local levels should help Democrats make gains there, too. Even with his regime using every tactic they can think of to subvert the election and suppress the vote, Democratic majorities are the likely outcome. Hence Trump’s 5K freakout.
It’s hard to get me amped up about elections these days, but Trump has managed to do it. Trump’s bribe harkens back to Elon Musk’s voter-payola scheme in Wisconsin last year. Musk’s gambit failed spectacularly, and I love seeing Trump go down the same path to failure. Trump is banking on the notion that all Americans are as corrupt and morally bankrupt as he is and that everyone can be bribed. I’m motivated to help show Trump how wrong he is come November.
Still, even with the outlook as good as it is, we can’t assume victory. If Americans want a functioning democracy and fair elections, we have to demand it. Here’s what we need to do:
We need to vote. As the Brennan Center for Justice points out, if Americans turn out to vote, election interference won’t succeed. The Brennan Center also has a handy guide for how to vote safely in the US, even if the Trump Regime attempts to use ICE or the military to intimidate voters at the polls.
We need to protect elections in our own backyards. One advantage we have is that US elections are run by states and municipalities rather than the Federal government. You can find ways to engage and organize in your own community. This moment requires us to think about election protection as a form of community defense, and our friends at States at the Core have an upcoming virtual training on September 16 that you should attend if you’re able. Common Cause has also put together some resources to help you get started.
We need to be vigilant about election-related conspiracies, propaganda, rumors, and disinformation. To help inoculate ourselves and our communities. The Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington is once again ramping up its work on this, and I recommend subscribing to their newsletter to stay on top of all things disinformation and be an informed validator in your social circles.
Trump is desperate. Let’s make the last two years of his term miserable by protecting this election and winning it.
ICYMI
The AI Researcher Who Just Quit Anthropic Says It’s ‘Crunch Time for Humanity’ (Wired)
You Have to Call Bigots What They Are (How Things Work)
Justice for ICE’s Victims Requires Truth and Reconciliation (Public Notice)
Coda
This might be the most delightful press clip I’ve ever had. Soap Opera Digest (yes, really!) wrote an article about how a plotline on Beyond the Gates helped me decide to go ahead and get my mammogram. The writer took real care with the piece, quoting me generously and linking to the newsletter twice. I’m not sure how much overlap there is between soap opera fans and political junkies, but BTG has two characters who are elected officials, so perhaps it’s more than I realize.
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That’s all for me right now. Catch you again next week!