All the badness of 2017 started in 2016. And way before then.

Then Secretary of State Jason Kander (D) had a thing or two to say to the republican majority in the Missouri House on the first day of the 2017 legislative session. They got upset.

Secretary of State Jason Kander (D): [….] I know I’m not who you came to hear and I know that none of this was what you wanted to hear. But I am your Secretary of State for a bit little longer, and as a result I feel a responsibility to tell you that even though you have the power to take away the right to vote from the citizens of Missouri, you that shouldn’t.

And that if you choose to follow the example of Wisconsin or North Carolina, well then, I guess we’ll see you in court. [….]

On the day of the inauguration of the current administration around 2,000 people showed up at the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City for a rally and protest march.

There should have been more.

On the next day for the Women’s March 10,000 people showed up in Washington Square Park in Kansas City to protest the new administration.

There should have been more.

Less than ten days into the new administration 1,000 people showed up at the International Terminal at Kansas City International Airport to protest Trump’s first Muslim ban.

There should have been more.

The belief in and hope for “bipartisanship” and “compromise” with people in control in our current political environment who neither believe in nor hope for bipartisanship is as useful in modern American politics as signing a petition.

There are some people who will never vote for any Democratic party candidate. Ever. Accept that. Act accordingly. Don’t waste your time or energy.

Interestingly, in our current political environment not one republican member of Congress representing Missouri has seen fit to hold open (and accessible) public town halls for their constituents. Do you ever wonder why? There are no consequences for them. And we let them get away with it.

Yet, in 2017 Senator Claire McCaskill (D) held fifty open public town halls across the state in areas that Donald Trump carried in the 2016 election. People in the City of St. Louis and in Kansas City will be waiting for their turn in 2018.

Call you Senators and Representative. Visit their offices. Tell them what you think. Often. Demand their accountability in open public town halls.

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r), in the 4th Congressional District, has glued herself to Donald Trump and his agenda. Сделать Америку великой Снова.

There is a challenger, but she, too, like previous challengers will be grossly underfunded in the race against an entrenched incumbent funded and beholden to special interests.

Find something constructive to do for the Democratic Party challenger. Then do it. Then repeat.

A pro tip – in October 2018 don’t complain to anyone who’ll listen that the Democratic Party candidate doesn’t have enough yard signs out. Empty lots don’t vote.

If you want to accomplish any good in 2018 don’t waste your time and energy preaching to the choir on social media or signing petitions no one reads.

1) Make sure you’re registered to vote. 2) Be certain you have the required ID to vote. 3) Make sure everyone you know and all the potential voters you help to register to vote have the required ID to vote. Provisional ballots aren’t worth shit. Solve ID problems before the fact. 4) On Election Day in 2018 drag your sorry ass to your polling place and vote. Then drag the sorry asses of your friends and the people you registered to vote to their polling places so that they do actually vote.

“Rule #4: Be outraged. [….] it is essential to maintain one’s capacity for shock. This will lead people to call you unreasonable [….] It is no fun to be the only hysterical person in the room. Prepare yourself.”
– Autocracy: Rules for Survival – Masha Gessen

Elections always have consequences. Ask Supreme Court Justice Merrick Garland about that when you get the chance. Ask the 1% about that, too. Ask any public school classroom teacher.

Don’t waste your time trying to engage fascists or Nazis in “constructive” dialogue. They’re fascist and Nazis for a reason, not because of “economic anxiety”.

“Rule #5: Don’t make compromises. [….] In an autocracy, politics as the art of the possible is in fact utterly amoral. [….]”
– Autocracy: Rules for Survival – Masha Gessen

“Rule #2: Do not be taken in by small signs of normality. [….] …history has seen many catastrophes, and most of them unfolded over time. That time included periods of relative calm. [….]”
– Autocracy: Rules for Survival – Masha Gessen

None of this is normal. Act accordingly. Given the last two years I’m not holding my breath.

Previously:

The Political Year in Pictures – 2017 – part 1 (December 28, 2017)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2017 – part 2 (December 28, 2017)

Our top ten traffic posts for 2017 (December 29, 2017)