A while back I mentioned to my City Councilperson that Democrats would do well to immediately put together a program similar to the successful REDMAP program that the Republicans implemented back around 2010.  I hinted that maybe she should be the person to instigate this program by bringing it up either in a city council meeting or mentioning it to the mayor.  I also mentioned to her that I did not really expect her to respond to me regarding my suggestion but that it should certainly be food for thought.  She did not respond.  I’m sure that she has plenty of other things that she is faced with that might cause her to put folks like me on the back burner; so that’s okay.  But I won’t stop pestering her whenever the urge strikes me, especially if I feel that the situation demands it.

That notwithstanding; right now, there is something that Republicans at the very highest level of federal government are assisting their fellow Republicans at the state level around the country to do that I believe amounts to REDMAP 2.0.  It is an all-out assault on the states that, in my opinion, too many Democrats seem to be totally oblivious to.  And Mr. Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are square in the middle of this plot and complicit in every move that Republicans in majority Republican states throughout America are making.  Republicans in these states are continuing to work hard to suppress votes and maintain control of these statehouses while they also work hard to take control politically at the local levels as well.  This includes mayoral positions, city councils, school boards and more.

While Mr. Trump is busy jumping up-and-down, waving his hands and saying and doing all sorts of ridiculous things to attract American voters attention and his cohorts, Speaker Ryan and Senate Majority Leader McConnell, are either overtly or tacitly supporting him – despite the damage that he is doing to America and our reputation; Republicans at the state level around the country – out of voters purview –  are quietly adding building blocks to their goals to suppress votes and take control at their local levels of government.  To be frank, I am astonished at how much that Mr. Trump has been able to get away with thus far as he continues to thumb his nose at government and the American people.  One can only hope that those politicians who are responsible to manage the checks-and-balances of our government to assure that the fidelity of America’s best interest is always maintained are holding back because, if they act at this point, it will only serve to hurt the stability of America and the world.  But we must be able to have confidence and believe that they are acutely aware of the situation and are capable of acting quickly and will act when appropriate.

In the meantime, as we continue to monitor the situation, if we take a close look at Speaker Ryan, one key person that he admires and an example of something that likely reflects his values (e.g., his American Health Care Act [ACHA] Bill) we should not be surprised at how he is conducting himself.  The ACHA shows that he has no problem with leaving those people (the takers) who need healthcare insurance the most in his heartless wake of ‘the makers and the takers’ that he and many of his Republican colleagues often refer to.  The ‘makers’ in this reference, by the way, refers to those that are considered by these Republicans to be the productive members of American society.  The ‘takers’ are the flip side of that coin, the non-productive members of American society.  And that one key person that Speaker Ryan highly admires and who, according to him, had a lot to do with him getting into politics?  It is Ayn Rand.  Speaker Ryan says that her book ‘Atlas Shrugged’ is one of the books that he constantly rereads and he insists that his interns, at the least, read it even if they might not embrace her and her ideology.

The point here is that as Democrats, or anyone else who wants to maintain a fair and just American democracy, we must not be distracted by the prestidigitation by Republicans via Mr. Trump and his constant antics.  Instead, in these dangerous times that are full of threats that pose a clear danger to our democracy that could easily morph into an existential threat to it as we know it, we must keep our eyes on the prize.  We must not allow ourselves to be lulled to sleep and duped into thinking that all of the apparent coincidences that exists between Mr. Trump and his administration and Russia are simply that so do not warrant America’s time and scrutiny to flesh out and determine the facts.  If it turns out that these are just coincidences then fine; there will be many Americans, including me, who owe Mr. Trump and his administration an apology.  However, if it turns out that these things are not just coincidences but instead reveal that Mr. Trump and his administration in anyway colluded with Russia to manipulate a U.S. election and/or are still colluding with them now, then they should be held to account.

Keep your eyes on the politics that are taking place at the state level throughout the country and especially in your state.  It is important!  It is important because there is great power at the state level especially when there are leaders at the federal level of government who painstakingly orchestrate the conglomeration of those state powers and then tirelessly work to control how that combined power will be used to further their party’s cause at the federal level.  And if you detect things that cause you to believe that our democracy is somehow being compromised, at the state level or any other level, then get to work immediately to correct the problem.

Finally, to my city council representative – if you happen to read this article, let it serve as my request to you to spread the word to the powers that be so that someone will soon be designated to spearhead the offensive to get elected Democrats and their constituents to focus on local and state power and politics and not just federal power and politics, thwarting the Republicans’ voter suppression efforts, and getting Democrats in gear to regain their power come the 2018 and 2020 elections.

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line