Fighting Trump, Trumpism, and its creeping authoritarianism requires a coordinated and sustained movement. It is not enough to post on Facebook, or even attend marches, though these are important. The resistance against Trump has been growing, but its main weakness is its decentralization. Different groups organize marches, (some) politicians in Washington and elsewhere do what they can, lawsuits are filed. Trump and the coalition he has built around him, however, are stubborn and will be impervious to change unless it is forced on them. As President, Trump has significant resources at his disposal to counter any resistance against his style of "governing." In order to be effective, resistance must be nationally coordinated and unrelenting. It must make no small gestures, but moves calculated to stop any more consolidation of his authority and power. Ultimately, it must seek the removal of Trump from office before his natural term is up.
As such, Trump Resistance must seek the following things:
1. National and centralized organization -- and governing body, if you will -- that can bring together the disparate entities -- political, social, legal -- that are currently fighting him. Resistance actions on all fronts must be in direct dialogue and support of one another, so that Trumpism can be hit from all sides on a particular issue, with a particular, defined goal in mind. Trumpism must be overwhelmed. It takes organization to pull this off, and these efforts must be somewhat centrally-directed vis-a-vis the creation of an organized coalition with a unified governing body that can drive strategy. Furthermore, undirected resistance has the high likelihood of devolving into chaos and anarchy, and ultimately, futility.
2. Ultimately, the movement must seek Trump's removal. The damage he can do to our system of government, our national security, and international stability demands that he not be allowed to continue. The Constitution provides two mechanisms to remove an unfit President: Impeachment, and the invocation of Article 25 of the Constitution. Currently, there are a number of petitions circulating demanding the former. But in order to get Congress, the majority of whom has shown itself spineless against Trump, to do its national duty, we must consolidate all of the disparate voices into one voice and demand that cannot be ignored. This is why Point 1 is so important: we have to present a unified front. The Trump people will seek to divide us along political and identity lines so that resistance cannot grow into an effective mechanism for change and for the removal of Trump from office. If Congress won't take it upon itself to remove this dangerous man from office, We the People must take up the mantel.
There are a number of things we can do in the short-term. I propose the following:
1. Show up to rallies and protests
2. Contact your representatives, both state and national. In face of the federal Congress's fecklessness and aiding and abetting the Trump regime, the States have done a good job stepping up to the plate to resist. Let's encourage them to keep at it
3. In addition to protesting on April 15, Tax Day, I propose that everyone who is able -- individuals doing their own taxes, corporate payroll people, local and state governments -- withhold paying federal taxes. If the Trump regime won't listen to the people, then it has no right to expect anything from the people. And since Trump likes to use the threat of pulling federal money from people who disagree with him, or people/entities he does not like, let us respond in kind. Since Trump only seems to care about money and the influence it buys, let's speak his language. While IRS consequences for individuals can be steep, the government cannot punish people en masse. If even 1/6 of the country's population did not pay their federal taxes, that is roughly 50 million people. The government cannot punish 50 million people at once; the resulting outcry would be enough to topple it.
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