Should Donald Trump try to fire the special counsel, 200,000 people are poised to respond; ‘Dreamers are Americans too’; farewell Frelinghuysen

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Activists plan for Mueller firing

MoveOn has signed up more than 200,000 activists for a “rapid response” street demonstration in the event of Trump firing special counsel Robert Mueller.

People who sign up will receive texts within hours of Mueller being fired detailing the time and place of rallies against the president. MoveOn has also put together a series of organizing materials and suggested social media posts for activists.

“Our response in the minutes and hours following a power grab will dictate what happens next, and whether Congress – the only body with the constitutional power and obligation to rein Trump in from his rampage – will do anything to stand up to him,” MoveOn said in a statement.

Trump reportedly ordered the firing of Mueller in June before being talked out of it. On Friday the GOP, with Trump’s blessing, released a controversial memo that alleges an abuse of power by the FBI. Democrats believe the memo is an attempt to undermine the integrity of Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion between the Kremlin and members of the Trump campaign.

The MoveOn sign-up page is here.

SOTU

Trump swept into the Capitol – solo – on Tuesday night to give his first State of the Union address, and soon managed to inspire a new slogan for pro-immigrant groups.

“Dreamers are Americans too” began trending on Twitter after Trump’s antagonistic statement, regarding recipients of Daca, that “Americans are dreamers too”.

Since then activist organizations have been using “Dreamers are Americans too” to galvanize progressives into action.



Trump had been met with protesters outside – including this finger-wielding man – and on Monday a groups of activists and celebrities had held their own “People’s State of the Union”.



Mark Ruffalo, Cynthia Nixon and Michael Moore spoke at the event, which was organized with Planned Parenthood, MoveOn and Indivisible.

“We must remove and replace the system and the culture that gave us Trump in the first place,” Moore said.

“He is the result of a decades-long corporate takeover of our democracy.”

Oh – and Trump’s ratings weren’t very good either.

Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) Fewer viewers than the first SOTU’s for Obama in 2010, Bush in 2002, Clinton in 1994.



“Which means Trump’s initial SOTU, the third longest in history, is now also the least watched address in nearly a quarter of a century.”https://t.co/rZUpNhzJF0 https://t.co/VUPGtj6Z5i

A resistance update …

In May this email bore news of Rodney Frelinghuysen, a New Jersey Republican congressman. Frelinghuysen was upset that activists from the group NJ 11th for Change, had been pestering him to hold a town hall. (He hadn’t held one in four years.)

To that end, Frelinghuysen wrote to one of the activists’ employers, alerting them to her (perfectly legal) activity. The activist, Saily Avelenda, was then confronted by her boss and resigned. Undeterred, NJ 11th for Change has been holding “Friday’s with Frelinghuysen” rallies at the congressman’s office for months.

To cut a long story short, this week Frelinghuysen announced his retirement from Congress. According to Politico, Frelinghuysen “had never faced a tough election”, but “this year likely would have been different”, in part because of the work of NJ 11th for Change.

“Frelinghuysen’s retirement is an example of what can happen when engaged citizens challenge the status quo, raise their voices, and take action. This is exactly what democracy looks like,” NJ 11th for Change said in a statement.

What we’re reading

• Loral Praeli, the director of Immigration Policy and Campaigns for the ACLU, addressed Trump’s confusing immigration stance in a piece for Time magazine. Trump’s “aim is to use Dreamers hurt other immigrants”, Praeli writes, using Dreamers as “bargaining chips” to fund a border wall and increase deportations and ultimately “reverse the growing diversification of America”.

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