Yes, the risks are enormous and Trump tries to make them bigger every day. It's called desperation. But the question is, can they cheat enough? We just got a possible answer...from Viktor Orbán, of all people.
Orbán is not tRump. tRump will never concede and only double and triple down. Orbán has not left office yet, until he does, stay focused on Hungary. The threat is not over.
For sure. I said that in my piece. Take a look. Orban was not planning on conceding...just the reverse. But the victory was so overwhelming that he had no choice. Trump, of course, will scream fraud no matter how big the margin but, judging by his approval ratings, fewer people are lsitening.
Michale Flynn is a key player in tRumps plan to interfere with our elections. Pro Publica is out with a piece about how the people who stopped tRumps steal in 2020 have been replaced with those that were part of the attempt to suppress with Biden election.
I don’t know if that was done in Hungary but the players are on the payroll and have the thin veneer of authority. We need to watch what is happening in Virginia now and what has happened in Fulton and Riverside Counties. Watch the local sheriff’s as much as we watch the election deniers.
We must all remain vigilant, anticipate the worse and be ready to prevent their actions before they act.
Totally right. But yes, Orban had totally stacked the deck in Hungary. One key wrinkle is that the courts have moved away from supporting Trump's excesses. I wrote on that too, haha.
He was actually relatively normal until his older brother, Fred, Jr, died and Fred Sr transferred all that pressure to succeed to him. I know people who know him well and his story would be pathetic if he were not loathsome and destructive.
His older brother did not " just die" . Actions of his father, the nazy Fred Trump Senior drove him to self destruction. If you wantvto know the dinamics of that very dysfunctional family, read Mary Trump's book. The story is nauseating. The whole family, is,abhorrent. Where is Ivanka kidding? Her hubby, Jared Kushner uscstuffing his pockets making deals with Saudi Arabia.....
I know the circumstances well. I actually met Robert, the younger son, who was perfectly normal. He was a Trump, of course, so his values left something to be desired, but both he and his socialite wife would not raise an eyebrow. Donald, on the other hand, is instantly identifiable as...strange, to say the least. And massively insecure.
Indeed. But the country is moving against him and he seems to like the skills to get it back. In business, this is the time he would normally declare bankruptcy and walk away. Not an option here.
Yep, that's what it boils down to. Speak up, remain vigilant, and be ready to vote, as JV says. But also get busy registering voters, educating reluctant or non-participating eligible voters as to why this coming November is make-or-break time for our democracy, helping voters understand where and how to vote, signing up to be a poll watcher or election worker, and even driving or accompanying voters to their polling places, if that's what's needed.
Organize your neighbors and your block to do the same. Get one person on the next block over from you to do the same. You don't have to lead it all -- just start something up and let it spread as it will. Hyper-local organizing is what builds community and neighborhood strength and leads to powerful, widespread collective action.
Use your social media presence, if you have one. Write letters to the editor. Work with organizers like your local Indivisible chapter or any other grass-roots community or social service group. See what the League of Women Voters has going on in your area. If you belong to a faith community, see if your church/temple/mosque has such an effort under way. If it doesn't and having one wouldn't go against your group's rules or beliefs, start one.
In short, promote democracy by actively working to get people to vote. We have six months. Don't waste your time trying to convert the MAGA cultists. Focus on unregistered citizens, young and new voters, and the non-participatory or occasional voters.
It's exhausting, thankless, unglamorous work that happens one person at a time, and you'll meet with indifference, ignorance, and rudeness. Do it anyway. Commit to doing something, then push yourself 5% or 10% further out of your comfort zone and do a little more. The upcoming midterm election is likely to be our last chance.
As it happens, Robert Hubbell's Substack column today gives a big shout-out to many of the grass-roots groups instrumental in the recent Virginia election. Think postcards, text banking, phone banking, and more. Your area will have its own grass-roots groups, of course.
I live in Maryland, am speaking with friends and family (as much as possible) to urge them to local action in Red States. Providing them with contact numbers and info to further survival of our democracy.
When he pardoned the Jan 6 insurrectionists, it is possible that they may show up at the polls all over the country to intimidate voters which will be easy for them if they were willing to carry out an insurrection.
I do that too. I think it will be a good idea to provide a more secure route for voters to use while standing in line. Instead of all standing outside in a long line subjected to whatever and whoever chooses to address them directly, having a wall between the voters and the public, greeters, and intimidators will provide them some degree of safety. Some will still be outside waiting to enter the secure area, but once inside they may feel safe enough to vote their choice.
This is why (sadly) the lawyers like Marc Elias are NOT going to save us. People like Elias sue Trump after he has done something that can be seen as breaking the law. But by then it's already TOO LATE... because (b) Trump is a master at "running out the clock" by challenging results and (b) Trump gets "first mover advantage". Lawsuits are a REACTIVE strategy. We need a PROACTIVE strategy that prevents Trump from doing things like putting people who are against democracy in positions of power. We must "think outside the box". What's one such strategy? A NATIONAL STRIKE... which is a WHOLE SYSTEM approach to removing Trump by going after the only thing he cares about (other that power): Money. I'm open to suggestions for other options. But I am tired of hearing people like Marc Elias saying he will save us. He will not. And this is NOT a personal attack on him. This is an attack on the strategy that says "Let Trump do something. Then we will respond."
Marc Elias has never said he will rescue us. He works diligently to keep things honest. For whatever reasons you concoct to attack his work, he does not present himself and work in any suggesting a vanity project platform for his personal benefit. His work is to keep our system fair and a functioning democracy rather than a plaything for the rich and corrupt to easily manipulate for their benefit. One case in point -- Trump, but there are many others. (Michael Flynn just sponsored a conference featuring many MAGA luminaries and January 6 demonstrators/rioters.)
Elias a an effective and brave advocate. Attacking him and others who do this work while implicitly presenting your position as representing a similar political space seems like it is envy. Very few on the same side approach the situation the same way. A varied team approaching from different angles is more likely to succeed.
I agree and I think it is impossible to predicted his moves. Proactive constraint requires majorities in the House and Senate. Our blue-state governors and AGs have been proactive, but still have to wait until the action occurs. Elias fights hard the minute 47 polls a new attack.
Orban also thought he had things wrapped up after he established control over so much of Hungarian political and judicial infrastructure. He thought he did, anyway, but the Hungarian voters had enough and they came out in massive numbers
It's exactly what we need to do. We need to do voter registration drives everywhere anytime and as often as possible. We need to get people to come out in our numbers and overwhelm GOP voter suppression and Trump's insanity. And we must do this for every single election, whether small or large.
We can take back the House and the Senate in 2026 - and for the future of our nation, the globe too, we absolutely must do so.
I see your point, Steve. That’s why I was relieved to hear Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders speak with Scott MacFarlane April 17 about anticipatory legal strategies for safeguarding our elections. Please see link below. I can’t do it justice! Norm said, “We’re ready for anything he throws at us.” He’s ready to challenge executive orders in advance, & like Joyce has explained Federal judges are available on day of elections & advocacy groups are prepared to intervene legally in 30-60 minutes to get injunctions, etc. Norm, Marc, Sky Perryman, State Deputy Attorneys General and others know what to watch for & will act preemptively, the day of, and after elections, as they did in 2020 and other times. But we absolutely have to do our part and work to have a massive voter turnout like Hungary did! That makes it harder to challenge. [If you don’t know Norm, look up his brilliant bio.]. (Start at Min. 17 on: https://substack.com/@macfarlanenews/note/p-194447448r=198vk1&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action )
Thank you for all you write. And while I appreciate the “act real fast” strategy you outline, it is still a reactive strategy. We need to proactively - as a nation - eliminate the ability of criminals / those controlled by Big Money to hold public office. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, we need “a re-birth of freedom… so that government of the people, by the people, and for the people does not perish from the Earth”!
Agree, Steve. This is a systemic issue. The toxic system that allowed, and encouraged THETRUMP to happen. Ifwe continue to allow illegal, unethical, immoral, money-grabbing power to control us, this ship is going down. I wish we could ship him off to Iran, and allow them to do as they please.
Thank you for seeing my point. Yes, the design of our societal / political system makes Trump possible. The Constitution just has an age and “born here” requirement. Says nothing about not bejnv a criminal. That’s one of many fundamental mistakes!
It's definitely a significant issue, but every time Trump or his team of incompetents try something, they fail. That, not to mention, Orban also thought he had things wrapped up.
A key is to register every freaking voter we can then get everybody out in the numbers that we have to vote. It worked in Hungary and it will work here, too
False claims about elections are being used at the highest levels of government to justify seizing ballots and targeting voter rolls and privileged information.
Since you have a duty to protect the integrity of our elections, what are you doing to protect our votes in 2026?
I need to be sure that you are taking proactive steps to protect voter information and to ensure the Federal government can not disrupt or interfere in elections in Washington State.
No more "restoring norms" BS from the Blue Team if they regain the reigns from these racketeering fraudsters unless you want to keep their threats alive. Go after them as aggressively and "creatively" as they've been going after democracy. And by "them" I'm referring to the entirety of this organized criminal operation running the Executive Branch and its sponsors and enablers.
I dont think a general strike is well timed before the election. It would provide justification for national emergency. Every state should use paper ballots. And perhaps interim tallies that are share with the AG of the state and reps of both parties. The best way is shining as much light as possible. And yet, where are the Dems? Why are they not creative enough to get these facts out into the open BEFORE the midterms? Be outrageous, break the goddamn norms! What are they f*ing waiting for?
I have to agree with Barbara on this. Most American voters have no idea who their Secretary of State is or what the job does. We who are reading Joyce’s newsletter are a self-selected, vanishingly small part of the electorate. We read because we want to stay informed and involved. We’re not representative of the voters at all. If word of the demolition of our fair election infrastructure is to be widely publicized it’s got to come from public figures, people with visibility and a microphone. Back in the day a show like 60 Minutes might have done it. Today it’s got to be prominent politicians and others. In our culture the voices that would have the best penetration would, I think, be Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, et al. A sorry state, yes, but we are no longer a serious or well-informed country.
How is it that politicians can appoint people to oversee elections!? This is like giving the keys to the treasury to a thief and asking him to make sure no one removes anything! Surely this is not what was originally intended, was it? Yes, Trump would steal an election if it were at all possible. He would refuse to address any complaints and then ignore whatever he didn't agree with. He would feint whenever approached for an explanation, just like he has done with the Epstein files. If he has installed his people in election monitoring, there is already a problem...
I am very concerned about the upcoming elections. My Secretary of State (Nebraska) willingly handed over our voter rolls to the federal government. I wrote a letter to him back in early March asking why he had done this and expressing my disappointment in his actions. I have yet to receive a response. Not that I was really expecting one. It was just further proof that if they can’t win with their ideas, the Republican Party will force them upon us.
I know we are all supposed to run in circles... However, the results of this coming election, this immense turnout and overwhelming repudiation of trumpiness, will utterly drown any MINI-me efforts by the dispirited, bewildered dregs of republican anti-Americans to rig the election. We will take our country back!
Yes, the risks are enormous and Trump tries to make them bigger every day. It's called desperation. But the question is, can they cheat enough? We just got a possible answer...from Viktor Orbán, of all people.
https://lawrencegoldstone.substack.com/p/lessons-from-hungary
This is how he has behaved all through his life. So maybe he has always operated out of desperation.
Maybe?
Good point.
Orbán is not tRump. tRump will never concede and only double and triple down. Orbán has not left office yet, until he does, stay focused on Hungary. The threat is not over.
For sure. I said that in my piece. Take a look. Orban was not planning on conceding...just the reverse. But the victory was so overwhelming that he had no choice. Trump, of course, will scream fraud no matter how big the margin but, judging by his approval ratings, fewer people are lsitening.
Michale Flynn is a key player in tRumps plan to interfere with our elections. Pro Publica is out with a piece about how the people who stopped tRumps steal in 2020 have been replaced with those that were part of the attempt to suppress with Biden election.
I don’t know if that was done in Hungary but the players are on the payroll and have the thin veneer of authority. We need to watch what is happening in Virginia now and what has happened in Fulton and Riverside Counties. Watch the local sheriff’s as much as we watch the election deniers.
We must all remain vigilant, anticipate the worse and be ready to prevent their actions before they act.
Totally right. But yes, Orban had totally stacked the deck in Hungary. One key wrinkle is that the courts have moved away from supporting Trump's excesses. I wrote on that too, haha.
https://lawrencegoldstone.substack.com/p/is-trump-losing-the-courts-hes-sure
He was actually relatively normal until his older brother, Fred, Jr, died and Fred Sr transferred all that pressure to succeed to him. I know people who know him well and his story would be pathetic if he were not loathsome and destructive.
His older brother did not " just die" . Actions of his father, the nazy Fred Trump Senior drove him to self destruction. If you wantvto know the dinamics of that very dysfunctional family, read Mary Trump's book. The story is nauseating. The whole family, is,abhorrent. Where is Ivanka kidding? Her hubby, Jared Kushner uscstuffing his pockets making deals with Saudi Arabia.....
I know the circumstances well. I actually met Robert, the younger son, who was perfectly normal. He was a Trump, of course, so his values left something to be desired, but both he and his socialite wife would not raise an eyebrow. Donald, on the other hand, is instantly identifiable as...strange, to say the least. And massively insecure.
Fingers crossed!
Indeed. But the country is moving against him and he seems to like the skills to get it back. In business, this is the time he would normally declare bankruptcy and walk away. Not an option here.
This is true!
I guess we have to turn out the vote and make it "Too Big To Rig!"
Yep, that's what it boils down to. Speak up, remain vigilant, and be ready to vote, as JV says. But also get busy registering voters, educating reluctant or non-participating eligible voters as to why this coming November is make-or-break time for our democracy, helping voters understand where and how to vote, signing up to be a poll watcher or election worker, and even driving or accompanying voters to their polling places, if that's what's needed.
Organize your neighbors and your block to do the same. Get one person on the next block over from you to do the same. You don't have to lead it all -- just start something up and let it spread as it will. Hyper-local organizing is what builds community and neighborhood strength and leads to powerful, widespread collective action.
Use your social media presence, if you have one. Write letters to the editor. Work with organizers like your local Indivisible chapter or any other grass-roots community or social service group. See what the League of Women Voters has going on in your area. If you belong to a faith community, see if your church/temple/mosque has such an effort under way. If it doesn't and having one wouldn't go against your group's rules or beliefs, start one.
In short, promote democracy by actively working to get people to vote. We have six months. Don't waste your time trying to convert the MAGA cultists. Focus on unregistered citizens, young and new voters, and the non-participatory or occasional voters.
It's exhausting, thankless, unglamorous work that happens one person at a time, and you'll meet with indifference, ignorance, and rudeness. Do it anyway. Commit to doing something, then push yourself 5% or 10% further out of your comfort zone and do a little more. The upcoming midterm election is likely to be our last chance.
This is an excellent template for positive action for all of us to follow.
As it happens, Robert Hubbell's Substack column today gives a big shout-out to many of the grass-roots groups instrumental in the recent Virginia election. Think postcards, text banking, phone banking, and more. Your area will have its own grass-roots groups, of course.
https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/grassroots-organizers-and-volunteers
I live in Maryland, am speaking with friends and family (as much as possible) to urge them to local action in Red States. Providing them with contact numbers and info to further survival of our democracy.
Too Big to Rig is the goal!!
When he pardoned the Jan 6 insurrectionists, it is possible that they may show up at the polls all over the country to intimidate voters which will be easy for them if they were willing to carry out an insurrection.
I have signed up to be a poll watcher. We will be at the polls to document any intimidation that they try to pull off.
I do that too. I think it will be a good idea to provide a more secure route for voters to use while standing in line. Instead of all standing outside in a long line subjected to whatever and whoever chooses to address them directly, having a wall between the voters and the public, greeters, and intimidators will provide them some degree of safety. Some will still be outside waiting to enter the secure area, but once inside they may feel safe enough to vote their choice.
Possible? Probable.
They can try to bully us all they want. We’re so pissed off that we’re not gonna budge!
Including voter intimidation by ICE in large cities.
The more it's bigger, the more they will call you a rigger!
Stay strong. Be rigorous.
It’s gonna be a tough situation because there’s no way Trump will accept losing
But he's not on the ticket. That said, it seems nearly all the candidates he promotes lose. We have to keep fighting to keep our democracy!
Great slogan
I donno about that: Biden won by 7 million votes (if I remember correctly).
So frightening for our democracy. I am furious.
You, and several millions of usage EXTREMELY FURIOUS. We are apoplectic!
This is why (sadly) the lawyers like Marc Elias are NOT going to save us. People like Elias sue Trump after he has done something that can be seen as breaking the law. But by then it's already TOO LATE... because (b) Trump is a master at "running out the clock" by challenging results and (b) Trump gets "first mover advantage". Lawsuits are a REACTIVE strategy. We need a PROACTIVE strategy that prevents Trump from doing things like putting people who are against democracy in positions of power. We must "think outside the box". What's one such strategy? A NATIONAL STRIKE... which is a WHOLE SYSTEM approach to removing Trump by going after the only thing he cares about (other that power): Money. I'm open to suggestions for other options. But I am tired of hearing people like Marc Elias saying he will save us. He will not. And this is NOT a personal attack on him. This is an attack on the strategy that says "Let Trump do something. Then we will respond."
Marc Elias has never said he will rescue us. He works diligently to keep things honest. For whatever reasons you concoct to attack his work, he does not present himself and work in any suggesting a vanity project platform for his personal benefit. His work is to keep our system fair and a functioning democracy rather than a plaything for the rich and corrupt to easily manipulate for their benefit. One case in point -- Trump, but there are many others. (Michael Flynn just sponsored a conference featuring many MAGA luminaries and January 6 demonstrators/rioters.)
Elias a an effective and brave advocate. Attacking him and others who do this work while implicitly presenting your position as representing a similar political space seems like it is envy. Very few on the same side approach the situation the same way. A varied team approaching from different angles is more likely to succeed.
You’ve missed my point completely. I did NOT attack him. I attacked the MINDSET that says it’s okay to let Trump go first!
I support both, but counterpunching often wins fights.
And a mindset without a mind? Interesting.
I agree and I think it is impossible to predicted his moves. Proactive constraint requires majorities in the House and Senate. Our blue-state governors and AGs have been proactive, but still have to wait until the action occurs. Elias fights hard the minute 47 polls a new attack.
May 1 National Strike - google about it, then spread the word
I support the idea of a National Strike, but May 1 seems too soon perhaps?
Why? Make it the first and 15th of every month until elections!!!
First one. It's a warning we CAN bring Donnie's and the oligarchs world to its knees.
One of the reasons they're rushing to implement AI and robots thanks Elon
PUBLISH THE DAMN EPSTEIN FILES!!!
Subpoena all witnesses, starting with Trump.
Orban also thought he had things wrapped up after he established control over so much of Hungarian political and judicial infrastructure. He thought he did, anyway, but the Hungarian voters had enough and they came out in massive numbers
It's exactly what we need to do. We need to do voter registration drives everywhere anytime and as often as possible. We need to get people to come out in our numbers and overwhelm GOP voter suppression and Trump's insanity. And we must do this for every single election, whether small or large.
We can take back the House and the Senate in 2026 - and for the future of our nation, the globe too, we absolutely must do so.
Orban and his thugs are presently busy sending death threats to Peter Magyar, who is not about to be intimidated!!
I see your point, Steve. That’s why I was relieved to hear Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders speak with Scott MacFarlane April 17 about anticipatory legal strategies for safeguarding our elections. Please see link below. I can’t do it justice! Norm said, “We’re ready for anything he throws at us.” He’s ready to challenge executive orders in advance, & like Joyce has explained Federal judges are available on day of elections & advocacy groups are prepared to intervene legally in 30-60 minutes to get injunctions, etc. Norm, Marc, Sky Perryman, State Deputy Attorneys General and others know what to watch for & will act preemptively, the day of, and after elections, as they did in 2020 and other times. But we absolutely have to do our part and work to have a massive voter turnout like Hungary did! That makes it harder to challenge. [If you don’t know Norm, look up his brilliant bio.]. (Start at Min. 17 on: https://substack.com/@macfarlanenews/note/p-194447448r=198vk1&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action )
Thank you for all you write. And while I appreciate the “act real fast” strategy you outline, it is still a reactive strategy. We need to proactively - as a nation - eliminate the ability of criminals / those controlled by Big Money to hold public office. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, we need “a re-birth of freedom… so that government of the people, by the people, and for the people does not perish from the Earth”!
Both strategies are important.
Agree, Steve. This is a systemic issue. The toxic system that allowed, and encouraged THETRUMP to happen. Ifwe continue to allow illegal, unethical, immoral, money-grabbing power to control us, this ship is going down. I wish we could ship him off to Iran, and allow them to do as they please.
Thank you for seeing my point. Yes, the design of our societal / political system makes Trump possible. The Constitution just has an age and “born here” requirement. Says nothing about not bejnv a criminal. That’s one of many fundamental mistakes!
It's definitely a significant issue, but every time Trump or his team of incompetents try something, they fail. That, not to mention, Orban also thought he had things wrapped up.
A key is to register every freaking voter we can then get everybody out in the numbers that we have to vote. It worked in Hungary and it will work here, too
Last day to register in Georgia was the 20th so it’s time to start getting the voters to the polls. Early voting starts in Georgia on the 27th.
Last date for the primary!
Sec. Hobbs,
False claims about elections are being used at the highest levels of government to justify seizing ballots and targeting voter rolls and privileged information.
Since you have a duty to protect the integrity of our elections, what are you doing to protect our votes in 2026?
I need to be sure that you are taking proactive steps to protect voter information and to ensure the Federal government can not disrupt or interfere in elections in Washington State.
Thanks you, Barbara Perra, Mill Creek, WA.
Barbara, I’m going to use your letter as a template to encourage others to reach out to their state official. Thank you!
No more "restoring norms" BS from the Blue Team if they regain the reigns from these racketeering fraudsters unless you want to keep their threats alive. Go after them as aggressively and "creatively" as they've been going after democracy. And by "them" I'm referring to the entirety of this organized criminal operation running the Executive Branch and its sponsors and enablers.
I dont think a general strike is well timed before the election. It would provide justification for national emergency. Every state should use paper ballots. And perhaps interim tallies that are share with the AG of the state and reps of both parties. The best way is shining as much light as possible. And yet, where are the Dems? Why are they not creative enough to get these facts out into the open BEFORE the midterms? Be outrageous, break the goddamn norms! What are they f*ing waiting for?
There are! Look up Sec of states, Steve Simon, Cisco Aguilar, Adrien Fontes. Don’t put down the Dems. Support them.
I have to agree with Barbara on this. Most American voters have no idea who their Secretary of State is or what the job does. We who are reading Joyce’s newsletter are a self-selected, vanishingly small part of the electorate. We read because we want to stay informed and involved. We’re not representative of the voters at all. If word of the demolition of our fair election infrastructure is to be widely publicized it’s got to come from public figures, people with visibility and a microphone. Back in the day a show like 60 Minutes might have done it. Today it’s got to be prominent politicians and others. In our culture the voices that would have the best penetration would, I think, be Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, et al. A sorry state, yes, but we are no longer a serious or well-informed country.
Aren't state officials supposed to know about false claims? Did you send them your essay,
How is it that politicians can appoint people to oversee elections!? This is like giving the keys to the treasury to a thief and asking him to make sure no one removes anything! Surely this is not what was originally intended, was it? Yes, Trump would steal an election if it were at all possible. He would refuse to address any complaints and then ignore whatever he didn't agree with. He would feint whenever approached for an explanation, just like he has done with the Epstein files. If he has installed his people in election monitoring, there is already a problem...
I am very concerned about the upcoming elections. My Secretary of State (Nebraska) willingly handed over our voter rolls to the federal government. I wrote a letter to him back in early March asking why he had done this and expressing my disappointment in his actions. I have yet to receive a response. Not that I was really expecting one. It was just further proof that if they can’t win with their ideas, the Republican Party will force them upon us.
Just one Goliath after another …
Too big to rig! I love it!
I know we are all supposed to run in circles... However, the results of this coming election, this immense turnout and overwhelming repudiation of trumpiness, will utterly drown any MINI-me efforts by the dispirited, bewildered dregs of republican anti-Americans to rig the election. We will take our country back!
Heather Honey and Cleta? Really names?
Isn't this what the Second Amendment is for?
;)
YES, IT IS!