I think we could be headed for an era of hyper partisan states rights where the state you live in will make a huge difference in the life you and your family will experience. We could be heading for the un-united United States.

Those of us who believed Trump’s defeat in 2020 would herald the beginning of the end of the MAGA movement were wrong. The anti-democratic movement in our country is not slowing down. Millions of Republicans continue to believe Joe Biden is not our legitimate president.

Fifty-eight percent of respondents surveyed across the country believe Biden’s victory was legitimate, while 33% contend it was illegitimate – numbers that have held steady since the university’s last poll on the subject in April. Of Republicans polled, an overwhelming majority of them – 71% – still contest the 2020 election results. Only 21% believe Biden’s win was legitimate. (USNews)

The truth is that the 2020 election was a squeaky clean presidential election thanks to Trump. Trump’s prediction that the election would be stolen from him caused election officials to closely monitor the vote count and carefully follow protocols. Trump and his cronies were the ones trying to rig the election after he lost to Biden.

But truth and reality are not what millions of Republican MAGA followers want. They are loyal members of Trump’s cult these days.

Trump’s coup never ended. Instead, it morphed into the Big Lie that has powered anti-democratic state election laws across the country.

It is clear that Republican led state legislatures are busy rigging the voting system: voter suppression, voter purges of black and brown people, severe limitations on mailed in ballots, limitations on the number of ballot boxes especially in high density Democratic districts, election subversion and nullification (meaning, if they don’t like the way the voters voted in the presidential election they will have the power to claim voter fraud and send a GOP loyal slate of electors to the Electoral College instead) which is designed to insure Trump returns to power whether or not that reflects the will of the voters.

As of May 14, 2021, legislators have introduced 389 bills with restrictive provisions in 48 states. Twenty-two bills with restrictive provisions have already been enacted. In addition, at least 61 bills with restrictive provisions in 18 states are moving through legislatures. (Brennan Center)

Republicans won’t need a mob of MAGA insurrectionists to storm the Capitol next time as they did on January 6, 2021, because this ongoing slow motion MAGA insurrection will have already rigged the system in every battleground state with a Republican legislature.

Profanity laced threats of violence against local election officials in Republican led or battleground states are being carried out with the goal of getting neutral election officials to leave office so that Trump loyalists can take their places. This is part of a slow moving putsch (violent overthrow of the government).

Republicans are following a playbook that will position them for the presidential showdown in 2024.

Unless there is a Democratic governor to veto these measures and a state legislature without enough Republicans to overturn a veto. This is one reason why it is so important that Governor Evers (Wisconsin), Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan) be re-elected and Josh Shapiro win in Pennsylvania in the gubernatorial races in 2022! Please support these three governors by donating to their campaigns!!

What is the Underlying Reason This is Happening?

The catalyst for this effort by the GOP is the shifting demographics of America as black and brown people become the majority and the white population is scared into thinking they will be “replaced.” The goal of Republicans is to install an authoritarian leader by 2024. That government would act in favor of the needs and wishes of many white low education blue collar men and women, evangelicals and the ultra wealthy in our country with Trump at the helm as our first American dictator. (His first term was just a rehearsal.)

The Supreme Court has been set up to help accomplish this goal. It has five politicized “conservative” justices who are already empowering states’ rights. The upcoming abortion rights decision will horrify and shock many women who have believed their reproductive rights were inviolate. The Court will permit states to limit abortion rights to extinction if they chose to do it, crushing a fundamental national right American women have relied on for almost 50 years. Other rights that figure prominently in the culture wars will be at risk too.

Trump is Still the Leader of the GOP

Trump is playing king maker at Mar-a-Lago. He has his hit list; threatening candidates who support people like Lisa Murkowski of Alaska who voted to impeach him, and endorsing candidates who will take out his enemies like Liz Cheney.

While the Republican Party is working to divide the United States into the un-United States, Democrats are trying to do the opposite: maintain the United States as a unified government with national laws that apply to everyone. That is the clear goal of Joe Biden and it reflects the wishes of a majority of Americans. But…

The Ultra Wealthy Have a Huge Influence

The bad news is that our country was never a true democracy with one person one vote. The founders did not anticipate the future we now face. Thanks to the Electoral College and the allotment of two senators for each state no matter the population size, those 50 Democrats in the Senate represent the will of the majority but do not have enough votes to enact the will of the majority. 41 million Americans are underrepresented in the Senate because of a political system that has been hijacked by the ultra wealthy right wing who have commandeered the GOP and use it for their own benefit and power.

Citizens United gave them the power to exert overwhelming influence on the political system. Conservative media is their megaphone. Republican voters across the country joined the MAGA cult, believing THEY are preserving democracy by attacking the Capitol, for example.  Blue collar Fox News watching Americans are eager to vote against their own interests because they  believe they are preserving their culture and stopping a scourge of socialism from taking hold. In upcoming elections the ultra right will try to convince suburban women to vote Republican out of fear of critical race theory, a fear that their children are being blamed and shamed for racial injustice.

The ultra right monied interests are underwriting the Big Lie and the shattering of the UNITED States into the Divided States of America.

Are There Any Hail Mary Pass Plays for the Dems?

The For the People Act, passed by the House and now awaiting action in the Senate, would block many of the state-level restrictions that have been or may soon be enacted into law. (Brennan Center)

Congress could pass the “Manchin Compromise” Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to keep elections fair, but we have two Democratic Senators who have been bought by special interests and are behaving more like Republicans – Manchin and Sinema. The filibuster stands in the way of Voting Rights even if these two wolves in sheeps’ clothing vote in favor of these Voting Acts- they have already said they will not alter the filibuster.

Other Democratic senators are said to be hiding behind Manchin and Sinema. They also oppose altering the filibuster but are not saying it out loud. Unless Democrats get all 50 senators on board to pass this legislation AND create a carve out for the filibuster, the GOP will win and the insurrection playbook will be implemented. It is predictable that once the GOP is in power again the GOP will not think twice about ending the filibuster so that the Democratic minority will not be able to block whatever legislation they decide to pass.

What Else Could Counter the “Divided” States of America?

The January 6th Committee in the House will be holding public hearings starting after the first of the year.

They will try to capture the attention of an American public. This is a country that is sick of the pandemic and busy distracting itself with Tik Tok and celebrity videos on their cell phones. When it comes to political news, Americans seems to have the attention span of a newt. But if the January 6th Committee has the evidence to convince enough Independent voters that Trump and Trumpism is a danger to our country, that could help to erode the energy of the MAGA movement. We will have to see what they have uncovered.

Democrats need to convince enough Americans in battleground states to pay attention to the importance of keeping our democracy or the Dems could be in for a big loss in the midterms. Why? Because the winds are currently blowing in favor of Republicans.

1. Americans usually vote their pocketbooks issues and those issues currently favor Republicans.

Americans would need to believe the following things are getting better with Biden as president: inflation (cost of gas, meat, and other household goods), supply chain problems, crime, education (which is really that the pandemic is under control and that Critical Race Theory is not a problem), and scary brown people are not coming in at the borders. If these topics are top of mind and not addressed or clearly getting better, especially for those crucial suburban women swing voters, it could help Republicans win not only state elections and national legislative victories but the presidency as well. Democrats think that giving Americans good policies that help their families will win them elections. That is not enough.

Culture war issues have to be addressed and there must be much stronger messaging about this administrations’ successes! Workers are commanding higher wages. Jobs are abundant. Our country is recovering faster than other countries. This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated who were dumb enough to listen to Trump and Fox hosts. Biden finally got us out of Afghanistan and Trump flubbed the exit by openly agreeing to leave on a date certain. I could go on. There’s a lot to crow about but they need to get out their megaphones and use them.

2. Progressives are pouting and upset with Biden for failing to deliver everything they wanted and Biden and the Dems needs their energy to win elections.

Biden must reinvigorate (or terrify) unhappy progressives to get out the vote for the Dems even though they didn’t get everything they wanted. Don’t pout. Get to work! We need MORE REAL Democrats in the House and Senate to get more real change. Biden has been amazingly successful given the tiny vote margins he has had to deal with. Want to pass the BBB Act? Give Biden more Democrats to work with!!

Hyper partisan states’ rights will mean your state governors, secretaries of state, Attorneys General and the composition of your state legislature will be extremely important for YOUR life. Whether these people are Republicans or Democrats will affect you far more than it does now.

If the United States shatters into red and blue hyper partisan states, states will be more like little countries each with their own set of laws affecting you and your family very personally and directly. There will be an erosion of overarching national laws that apply to everyone. We will, in short, become the Un-United United States of America.

Blue states, for example, will maintain and enlarge democratic norms and pass laws that support people in need. They will have far more socially liberal laws promoting diversity, and allowing abortion and reproductive freedom, for example.

Red states will pass anti-democratic and illiberal laws affecting personal rights and fostering regressive societal interests. For example, red state legislatures would pass anti-abortion, anti-birth control, anti-LGBTQ, anti-gun control, anti-protest, anti-vax and anti-vaccine mandate, anti police reformation, and anti-expansion of Medicaid and other social safety net laws. Red states will use a Texas or Florida model and their motto would be “Fix your problems yourself, you slacker.” “No more nanny state.”  “We are not here to help you.”

Remember that devastating snow storm in Texas because the grid failed? Texas has yet to change laws affecting the electrical grid to protect Texans from another such debacle. In Florida, governor DeSantis is forcing schools to reopen without masks or vaccine mandates. Local school boards are being infected with partisan politics. Red states will limit access to books with information about what happened in our country’s Civil War, for example. Women in some red states who have miscarriages will risk prosecution for fetal homicide. Red states will allow open carry of AR-15s and other weapons of war in shopping malls and on the streets. LGBTQ rights will be at risk. We already see this happening in red v blue states. With a Supreme Court that fosters states’ rights these tendencies would likely go into hyperdrive as states express their culture war proclivities through state legislation without a national congress that could generate national legislation to override those state laws.

The Ultimate Nightmare

You know what that would be: Trump gets back in power!  Knowing how the levers of government work and who will be loyal to him, we would have an American version of dictatorship in which blue states could be a huge disadvantage and red states treated more favorably. Remember when Trump wasn’t sure he was going to give California federal money to help rebuild after devastating wildfires? There would be more of that. If a blue state has a natural disaster, it might not get federal funds unless Trump gets something he demands from the state like the rights to build a lucrative Trump Tower or another money making venture for himself or his grifter family. Remember Trump’s quid pro quos with Ukraine? That’s how he rolls.

Wake up America!

The Divided States of America is coming unless we can throw some Hail Mary passes!! We still have time to do it. Could someone knock some sense into Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema?! Can someone please tell Biden and Democratic leaders to stop squabbling and start bragging about what they HAVE gotten accomplished?!