By Senior Copywriter, D’Anne Witkowski
I have to say, it was pretty awesome to see Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow up on the DNC stage with her giant copy of Project 2025, calling disgraced former president and convicted felon Donald Trump a “petty, selfish man.” And, no, not just because The Guerrilla Politic worked on her first campaign for State Senate in which she ousted a Republican candidate who conventional wisdom said was unbeatable. Okay, yeah, that is part of it. But our girl McMorrow got a prime time speaking slot at the convention. Better, I would argue, than President Joe Biden himself, who didn’t get stage time until almost 11:30 p.m. – long after his, and my, bedtime.
Michigan was well represented throughout the convention: U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. And then there was Attorney General Dana Nessel who had my favorite line of the entire event: “I’ve got a message for the Republicans and the Justices of the United States Supreme Court: You can pry this wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hand!”
I mean, with a guest list like this, who needs Beyoncé? Okay, I get it. Hearts were broken that Beyoncé did not show up and play a medley of hits past and present, including “Single Ladies” (dedicated to a segment of the U.S. population particularly hated by Republicans), “Bills, Bills, Bills” (the economic anthem of America’s middle class), or “Say My Name” (throwing shade at all of the Republicans who cannot pronounce “Kamala”). Maybe in 2028!
I mean, if the U.S. survives that long! Seriously, Trump getting elected again will be very, very, very bad. As McMorrow said, Project 2025 is a blueprint for a Trump dictatorship. And under a Trump dictatorship, a lot of people will suffer. And I don’t know if you’re, like, a history buff or anything, but dictatorships aren’t pretty. And dictators have absolutely no incentive to loosen their grip on power once they have it. In fact, they have every incentive to quash dissent and to unleash violence in order to ensure that they don’t have to answer to voters. Er, I’m sorry, did I say voters? I mean subjects.
Now, straight, cis gender, white dudes will largely be fine. But everybody else? Not fine at all.
This means a couple of things: if you’re a straight, cis gender, white dude, then you owe it to everyone you know and love who isn’t a straight, cis gender, white dude to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot, including, of course, Vice President Kamala Harris. You also need to vote for nonpartisan candidates – school board, judges, etc. – who aren’t racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic monsters.
And then there are the white ladies who voted for Trump in 2016 AND 2020. I remember hearing people wondering how so many white women could vote for Trump in 2016 after the Access Hollywood “grab ‘em by the pussy” tape came out. And then these same folks were wondering how so many white women could vote for Trump AGAIN in 2020 after seeing how fucking terrible he was while in office.
The answer is pretty simple: it’s white supremacy, baby! Racism is a hell of a drug. White women largely feel protected by a white supremacist power structure because, well, they are! Granted, they’re oppressed under the very structure they embrace, but at least they aren’t hated as much as women who are not white!
It’s the logical conclusion to a system that treats rights like pie: you’d better step on some necks because there isn’t enough to go around!
Except there is. There’s plenty of pie for everyone. Also, apple pie is the best in my opinion. Especially the apple pie my wife makes for me every year for Thanksgiving. And Republicans and the Justices of the United States Supreme Court can pry my apple pie from my cold, dead, gay, sticky hand!
I’m kidding! Remember? There is enough pie for everyone. The United States is the richest country on earth. We can afford to make pie for everyone.
But not if Trump is elected. That man will eat as much pie as he can and then throw the rest in the trash along with the U.S. Constitution.
It’s difficult to imagine someone more odious than Donald Trump. Someone less deserving of power. And yet, here we are. Again.
I know you’re tired of hearing that this is the most important election in your lifetime. Honestly, it’s annoying AF to be told that the sky is falling every four years. But, well, democracy is pretty annoying in that it requires your attention. It demands it. Democracy, much like a toddler, cannot be left to fend for itself or things will go terribly wrong. Maintaining Democracy is exhausting. But the alternative is so utterly horrifying that we can’t leave it up to chance.
Close your eyes and listen as democracy sings, “Pull me into your arms. Say I'm the one you want. If you don't, you'll be alone. And like a ghost I'll be gone.”
There will always be a triflin' good-for-nothing type actin’ kinda shady as they try to steal democracy away.
In the words of Queen Bey, “If you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it.” But even that isn’t enough. We’ve got to renew those vows EVERY. SINGLE. ELECTION.
Love,
The Guerrilla Politic