How to effectively resist Trump: Bombard and recall any elected officials who support him.


I've watched from the sidelines over the last few weeks as Trump was inaugurated and several protests, marches and more have arisen in response to his actions and policies. I'm a cynic and a pessimist, and I come from a place where nothing works and no one believes the government/system is looking out for them, so I think this will get worse before it gets better. The executive order on immigration also confirmed a few fears I've had since I came to this country - that one day immigrants and naturalized citizens would be treated as something 'less', and that everything online/trackable about us would be used against us. For the longest time my friends laughed at my paranoia, but not last week.

Enough about me. I've watched the protests and marches with hope and wondered how I could contribute in a way that was more than just being present. All I have is ideas - ways that I think the current forces can and should be harnessed to advance and enshrine tolerance, and to oppose the reversion that the Trump administration appears to be advocating for. These are just ideas - feel free to reject, refine and ignore as you see fit.

Using Protests To Apply Specific Pressure:
Everyone protest should be targeted at an elected official. Most of the protests that get coverage are in relatively liberal areas (cities) where elected officials probably already lean in the direction of the protesters. These protesters often get covered by relatively liberal outlets, and when people like me watch them, we feel good. When Mitch McConnell watches them, he feels nothing. This is because the people in his district aren't protesting, and if they are, they're getting no coverage, and the protest doesn't really put him under direct pressure. It's not personal. He can continue his day well assured that the ~40% of his district's voting population will turn out again, and that when they do, the odds will be in his favor. An incredibly tangible outcome of a protest, will be one that disabuses him of this notion. A protest can achieve this by:
1. Having every protester call his home
2. Having every protester call his cellphone
3. Having every protester call his local/field office(s)
4. Having every protester call his DC office(s)
5. Marching to, protesting in front of, and blockading his family home
6. Marching to, protesting in front of, and blockading his vacation home
7. Marching to, protesting in front of, and blockading his local/field office(s)
8. Depending on the state/local election rules, having every protestor sign recall petitions (most effective for state/local officials)

The point is for every elected official, particularly in swing or red states, to personally feel the negative impact that their silence or approval of Trump's policies are having. If we make it personal, and make it hard for them to live, work, and do business, IN BETWEEN ELECTION cycles, they will respond. If we make them afraid of losing their elected office, they will respond. If we actually threaten their elected office, as citizens, as voters they will respond, or lose. If we wait till the next election in 2018, it will be too late.

In this way, a protest of a few hundred or a few thousand people, strategically located in swing and red states, could have a much greater effect than several thousand people showing up in new york city, which is in a safely democratic state. So, the next time you’re at a protest, circulate a recall petition!