If you’re concerned about Trump’s nominations, the most impactful thing you can do is to reach out to your US Senators and voice your opposition. A large volume of brief phone calls do make a difference at strategic times. Immediately after a nomination announcement is one of those strategic times, because they are figuring out how/whether to respond publicly. Democracy must be fought for even after elections have ended.

Contacting Senators from both parties also matters right now. The prevailing message in the media is that Dems need to cater even more to Republicans to win the next election, they need to hear your voice if you disagree with that.

The most effective phone calls take less than a minute: say your name, your city or ZIP code, and what you support/oppose, maybe a sentence on why. You’ll be marked down on a spread sheet that is discussed at the daily office strategy meeting.

Other actions like brief emails, meeting in-person at the district office, meeting in-person at the DC office, can also be effective, but take more time and energy. Emails aren’t always read right away like a phone call must be answered for example. And you generally need to make an appointment for an in-person meeting.

Find your Senators’ contact info

  • cymbal_king@lemmy.worldOP
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    13 hours ago

    Nazis rose to power in Germany and kept doing worse things because too many people had this defeatist attitude

    • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
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      10 hours ago

      That’s an incredibly reductionist and ahistorical explanation of how the Nazis overthrew the Weimar Republic…

      Not to mention incredibly dismissive to the thousands of people who were literally battling brown shirts in the streets of Berlin leading up to the burning of the reichstag .

      The Nazi didn’t rise to power because people had a defeatist attitude, it’s because the Nazi murdered their opposition, were perfectly fine with intimidating voters, and were backed by corporations and a significant portion of the population who blamed socialism for the economic slump of postwar Germany.

      If you truly believe this, I highly suggest reading “The Death of Democracy” by Benjamin Hett. Phone calls aren’t going to sway the opinions of someone who fundamentally doesn’t think you should be alive.

      • cymbal_king@lemmy.worldOP
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        13 hours ago

        They do not, Trump’s appointments are not yet in place. It’s never too late to fight for democracy.

        • cybermass@lemmy.ca
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          13 hours ago

          As a Canadian looking in, it’s hard not to agree with pearsaltchocolatebar. Although I do love your determination, you might end up having to fight for it more literally.

            • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
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              9 hours ago

              I haven’t read this book, but I’m pretty skeptical of how they define nonviolent resistance and what makes a revolution “successful”

              The Iranian Revolution, 1977–1979

              1. The First Palestinian Intifada, 1987–1992
              2. The Philippine People Power Movement, 1983–1986
              3. Why Civil Resistance Sometimes Fails: The Burmese Uprising, 1988–1990 Case Study Summary

              Are the revolutions they are principally utilizing, and that makes me think this book isn’t exactly the most academically honest study around.

              The Iranian revolution had battles in the streets and plenty of deadly clashes with the Shahs regime. It also led the the largest political massacre in the country’s history.

              The Philippine People Power Movement

              The yellow revolution funded militant groups, featured a helicopter attack on the president’s compound, and only didn’t devolve into a massacre of civilians because a marine commander refused to participate in the wholesale slaughter of tens of thousands of people.

              The First Palestinian Intifada

              Led to the deaths of over a thousand civilians and is a precursor the the genocide we are currently witnessing.

              The Burmese Uprising

              Started fairly similar to the Philippine uprising, except their military commanders were perfectly fine massacring civilians, with a death toll of 3k-10k people…

              I am willing to give this a read, but I would also suggest other people read “Setting Sites” by Scott Crow as a counterpoint.

          • cymbal_king@lemmy.worldOP
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            13 hours ago

            Because the appointments are the current issue that has some ability to be influenced. It helps to lean into issues that are making headlines, partly because reporters are reaching out to offices for their comments to get their stance on public record