WHAT TO DO

No putting your head in the sand, folks. Not now

So much has happened. So much to discuss…

I sent a separate email to those of you who graciously contributed to my campaign for DNC Chair, so for some of you a bit of this will be repeated information.

Just to catch everyone up: my ultimate experience of the DNC race was positive, although by the time I entered, the top contenders were already well established: Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler and Minnesota Chair Ken Martin.

In the end, knowing I had no chance to win, I left the race and endorsed Ken Martin. Ken was ethical and honorable with us when I ran in the Democratic primary - very respectful of my democratic right to be there - and if he handles his Chairmanship of the DNC with the same level of integrity, the Democratic Party has a chance to rise from the ashes of its electoral defeats.

Importantly, I left the race feeling that my argument for a more transformational, visionary, and ethical vision for the DNC had been heard. And that has always been my goal: to say things I’ve felt need to be said. There is a quote from author Arnold Patent that has guided my career, whether as an author, speaker, or politician: “If there’s something you genuinely need to say, there’s someone out there who genuinely needs to hear it.”

Now we’re in a moment unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. And there are things we all genuinely need to say.

The nation is in shock. Our democracy teeters. This could, if we’re not careful, be the end…

I asked my daughter today if she felt it was hyperbolic to say we’re in the midst of an authoritarian coup.

Her response was the following…

It’s not too much because the defining characteristics of an authoritarian coup—undermining democratic institutions, consolidating power through legal and extralegal means, suppressing dissent, and rejecting the legitimacy of electoral outcomes—are happening in real time. The U.S. has seen:

1. Election subversion efforts: The refusal to accept election results, attempts to overturn lawful outcomes, and efforts to install loyalists in key election oversight positions.

2. Erosion of democratic norms: The normalization of political violence (e.g., Jan. 6 attack), systematic disinformation, and the delegitimization of independent media and the judiciary.

3. Legal manipulation for consolidation of power: The use of the courts to punish political opponents while shielding allies, combined with an increasing push toward authoritarian-style immunity for leaders.

4. Authoritarian rhetoric and policy proposals: Open discussions about weaponizing the federal government against critics, mass deportation plans, and using the military domestically to suppress opposition.

These are classic authoritarian takeover tactics seen globally. The fact that they are unfolding through existing institutions does not make them less dangerous—it makes them more insidious. This is not alarmism; it’s pattern recognition.

I think she’s right.

We are indeed in the midst of an authoritarian takeover, with Elon Musk’s Starlink control of federal computer systems a terrifying reality. The President is basically seeking to nullify the power of Congress and even the Constitution itself. He has halted the work of important governmental functions regarding health, education, food for the hungry, assistance for the disabled, foreign aid and much more. He has demonized and attacked federal workers as though they are our enemy; the new head of the OMB even said he wanted to “traumatize” them. The President has appointed extremely unqualified people to head governmental agencies (Kash Patel at the FBI is particularly frightening; yes, he is capable of turning the agency into an American gestapo). Our President has, according to their governments, abused the human rights of people deported to Latin America by shackling them in sweltering plane rides. He is willing to cut money from any services, including Medicaid, to pay for his tax cuts for billionaires. And the Supreme Court has already given him immunity from any criminal prosecution should he argue that whatever he did, he did within his capacity as President.

Worst of all, Republican Congresspeople who know better - who say in private that they know better - are allowing him to do this. Whenever anyone points out that such legislators are afraid Musk will make good on his threat to fund primary challengers against them if they don’t fall in line, I respond that politicians aren’t the only people who have to make ethical decisions at work.

So here we are. “And how are you feeling tonight, Marianne?” you might ask.

Calm, actually. I’m calm because I believe in my fellow Americans. I believe the vast majority of us - Republican as well as Democrat - know when a bridge is too far. Respect our Constitution. And know a president is not a King.

So what can you do? I’ll tell you what you can do. Everyone reading this has one Congressperson and two Senators. Look them up..and call them. All three. Tell the person who answers the phone that this is a Constituent Call. They’ll ask your name and address and what message you’d like delivered to your Congressperson or Senator. And tell them. It’s particularly good if any of your Congresspeople are Republican, but it’s just as important if they’re a Democrat. LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD. Tell them that as a voter you will support them if they oppose Trump’s overreach, and you will hold them accountable at the ballot box if they do not. The number of the Congressional switchboard is (202) 224-3121.

This will not be over soon. We’re in a very serious place, unlike anything that has happened in this country before. But it isn’t an option to look away. This is happening, and it’s happening on our watch. We must passionately respond.

A Course in Miracles says the presence of fear is a sure sign we’re trusting in our own strength. There is a power in us, but not of us, that will guide us through this perilous moment for our democracy. The end of the Declaration of Independence states the signer’s “firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence.” Let us so rely.

If you’re the praying type, pray. George Washington prayed at Valley Forge. It isn’t a sign of a weak mind, but of knowledge of how consciousness operates, to pray for a miracle. In the presence of love, miracles occur naturally. Our task is to so love our country that at this critical moment, we are available to be who we have to be - and do what we have to do - to save her from those who deeply, deeply misunderstand.