Notes from the Front Line
Of the Anti-Trump, Pro-Democracy Movement
Friends,
The Resistance is strong and growing. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are turning out to demand our democracy back and loudly reject Trump’s quasi-dictatorship. Last month some 1,300 pro-democracy, anti-Trump protests occurred around the country. May Day alone saw more than 1,000 of them. Citizens are also protesting at local Town Hall meetings across America.
Many of you are deeply involved. Others of you would like to be. I’ll keep you posted on where and how you can be, and also on the people and events shaping the pro-democracy, anti-Trump movement.
Here are some current notes from the front line.
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NO KINGS PROTEST JUNE 14
“No Kings” protests are planned for Trump’s birthday on June 14 — when Trump plans to hold a military parade more befitting a dictator than an elected head of state in a democracy, at an estimated cost of up to $45 million.
Citizens will counter with a No Kings National Day of Defiance (with organizing support provided by Indivisible, 50501, Public Citizen, and other groups).
See the full list of planned events and locations here.
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BERNIE AND RUN FOR SOMETHING
Bernie Sanders is putting organizational heft behind his appeal for progressives to run for office. He’s teaming up with the progressive group Run for Something and other groups to support potential candidates.
More than 5,000 have already signed up. If you’re interested or know someone who might be, see here.
“We want to make sure that we’re not just going into these spaces and holding rallies and disappearing, and we’re not just asking people to run for office,” said Jeremy Slevin, a top Sanders adviser. “We’re giving them the tools they need to actually do it — resources and trainings of how to file, how to hire a staff, how to set fundraising deadlines and comms goals — basically, how to run a campaign.”
“It is really exciting to see Bernie model bringing in a new generation of leaders for all other older Democrats,” says Amanda Litman, president of Run for Something. “It is not enough to just be at the front — you got to build power that sticks behind you.”
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TRUMP’S REGRESSIVE “BIG BEAUTIFUL” BILL IS IN BIG TROUBLE
A planned vote today in the House Budget Committee to advance the GOP megabill — Trump’s “big beautiful bill” that makes massive cuts in safety-net programs to finance tax giveaways to the richest Americans — is in peril.
The Republican proposal includes more than $600 billion in Medicaid cuts that are likely to throw more than 8 million people off the program, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office — along with some $300 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Hard-line conservative Republicans are pushing for even deeper Medicaid cuts — including moving up the start date of new work requirements embedded in the bill, which currently go into effect in 2029, after the end of Trump’s term. Moderates are wary of making deeper cuts to Medicaid.
Progressives are targeting 14 vulnerable Republicans — demanding they vote “no” on the emerging package. If you live in any of their districts, please call them and tell them you’re one of their constituents and that you want them to vote no on the so-called “big beautiful” package (the congressional switchboard number is 202-224-3121):
Mariannette Miller Meeks (IA-1)
John James (MI-10)
Zach Nunn (IA-3)
Derrick Van Orden (WI-3)
Tom Barrett (MI-7)
Bryan Steil (WI-1)
David Valadao (CA-22)
Kevin Kiley (CA-3)
Juan Ciscomani (AZ-6)
David Schweikert (AZ-1)
Scott Perry (PA-10)
Ryan Mackenzie (PA-7)
Gabe Evans (CO-8)
Tony Wied (WI-8)
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KEY VICTORY IN NORTH CAROLINA
After six months of Republican attempts to throw out votes, Allison Riggs, a Democrat, finally won the North Carolina Supreme Court race.
The stakes are almost as high as they were in the April 1 race for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, also won by a Democratic jurist. North Carolina’s legislative district maps are among the most gerrymandered in the country, and the state Supreme Court decides whether to uphold or overturn them. They now heavily favor Republicans.
Justice Riggs won by just over 700 votes, a lead confirmed by two recounts. Initially, her opponent, Judge Jefferson Griffin, would not accept the results and instead launched a bid to challenge tens of thousands of ballots in the race.
Last Monday, a federal judge — appointed by Trump — dealt a decisive blow to Griffin’s effort, ordering election officials to certify the results of the election and confirm that Riggs had won. Justice Riggs said, “I’m proud to continue upholding the Constitution and the rule of law as North Carolina’s Supreme Court Justice.”
“This is a victory for North Carolina voters, led by North Carolina voters,” said Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause North Carolina. “The people of North Carolina proved that we will not be silent …. We’ve shown the awesome power of everyday people to protect the freedom to vote.”
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MAYORAL VICTORY IN OMAHA
In Omaha’s mayoral election this week, Democrat John Ewing Jr. pulled off an upset victory over incumbent Republican Mayor Jean Stothert — leading her by 13 points, and flipping a seat Republicans won four years ago by 30 points.
This is a weathervane election, suggesting that winds are behind Democrats across the nation. Omaha hasn’t had a Democratic mayor since 2013, when Stothert beat Democratic incumbent Jim Suttle. Omaha lies at the heart of the 2nd Nebraska congressional district, a swing district whose GOP Congressman Don Bacon is facing pressure over Medicaid cuts in the emerging Republican budget bill.
Stothert ran a typical Republican hate-filled campaign, including attacks on transgender people. Ewing rebutted Stothert’s attacks with mailers reading “Jean’s focused on potties, John’s focused on fixing potholes.”
Ewing, a former deputy chief of police for Omaha, will become the city’s first Black mayor.
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BEN COHEN CAUSES GOOD TROUBLE IN CONGRESS
On Wednesday, Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, was arrested and charged with “crowding and obstructing” while protesting against the Gaza blockade during a hearing of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Video footage (above) shows him being hauled out of the committee room, handcuffed and escorted away.
As he’s being removed, a woman asks him why he’s being arrested. He replies: “Congress kills poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs and pays for it by kicking kids off Medicaid in the U.S.,” adding, “Congress and the senators need to ease the siege, they need to let food into Gaza. They need to let food to starving kids.”
Gaza is now in the 11th week of a total blockade by Israel that prevents essential items including food, fuel, and medicine from reaching the area’s 2.3 million Palestinians. Many are surviving on limited supplies of canned peas or dried beans.
A report this week from food security experts warns that Gaza is at “critical risk of famine.”
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THIS WEEK’S JOSEPH WELCH AWARD
For courage in the face of tyranny, this week’s Joseph Welch Award goes to Judge Hannah C. Dugan of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.
On Tuesday, Judge Dugan was indicted for obstructing a federal agency and concealing Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented immigrant who was being sought by federal officers at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. The charges carry a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $350,000 fine. Yesterday, Judge Dugan pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The background: On April 18, Judge Dugan presided over a pretrial hearing in a domestic abuse case against Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican immigrant. Federal officials gathered in the hallway outside her courtroom, planning to arrest Flores-Ruiz for being in the country illegally. But Judge Dugan — not wanting her courtroom or the courthouse to become a place where undocumented immigrants feared to appear — directed Flores-Ruiz through a different exit than the public door that led to the hallway where agents were waiting.
Yesterday outside the courthouse several hundred protesters demonstrated against the Trump regime’s treatment of Dugan and its immigration crackdown in Milwaukee. People in the crowd held signs that read, “We are a nation of laws,” “Defend Democracy,” and “Only Fascists Arrest Judges.” One speaker led the crowd in chants of “Hands off Hannah Dugan” and “Hands off our immigrant brothers and sisters.”
Earlier this month, more than 150 former state and federal judges signed a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi calling the arrest of Judge Dugan an attempt to intimidate the judiciary. “This cynical effort undermines the rule of law,” that letter said, “and destroys the trust the American people have in the nation’s judges to administer justice in the courtrooms and in the halls of justice across the land.”
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UPCOMING ELECTIONS:
New Jersey primary elections for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and state house, June 10.
Virginia primary elections for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and state house, June 17.
New York City primary election for mayor, June 24.
Arizona primary election, special election for Arizona’s 7th congressional district, July 15.
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Friends, have courage. We will prevail.
Robert, I appreciate your insights into the current status of our affairs — the good, the bad, and the ugly. You provide the persistent drumbeat to help march us out of darkness and claim victory over facism! 🙏
This kind of momentum is encouraging. Burnout is real, but disengagement isn’t an option. We need to keep showing up and the courts need to do their part in holding this administration accountable.