It's okay to take a step back...for now
We could all use a break but its just a break
The fight is waiting
As soon as the election was settled I resolved myself to get back into the fight. From that second day after I was urging my organizations to put together plans and coalitions. I was online saying we have to organize and be ready because Trump and his minions have been planning for four years. We had to get in the fight.
Then nature said “Fred, you should take a break,’ and I was forced to schedule back surgery for the end of the month that I have avoided for…well…15 years or so.
Life is funny like that. Sometimes the universe takes its way with things. I was fortunate to fly out to Salt Lake City this week to speak at the annual breakfast for the Alliance for a Better Utah. Originally I was supposed to come out and talk about messaging and how we could reach more people.
Then the election happened and we decided I should perhaps offer some perspective on what happened and a bit of a pep talk in addition to the messaging discussion. I incorporated a bit of all the lessons I’ve learned since the election and what I think we must do going forward.
So, I flew out and took an afternoon to drive up into the beautiful Wasatch Range along Cottonwood Canyon Creek and spoke the next morning.
In the end I talked about the importance of local elections, building coalitions, focusing on issues you care about like saving the Great Salt Lake, and much more. But I also told them it’s okay to be tired. It’s okay to feel burned out by politics for a minute. We have a very big fight ahead of us and I understand a lot of people want a break.
Take it. Enjoy the holidays but I hope you’ll gear back up next month so we can organize and push forward.
So let’s go
As I looked at this week’s On Democracy with FPWellman episode, I thought I would use that keynote as the basis of my discussion. What happened, what we face, and ways we can better message and deliver that message to the people who need to hear it. The bottom line is that like my tattoo on my arm says…we are not done yet.
Check out this latest solo show as I’ve kept my ‘No Trump Clips’ streak going over a month now.
Sunday is going to be incredible
But, you also know me well enough to know I will be in the fight until they drag me off the playing field. This Sunday’s new ‘On Democracy | Sunday’ is no exception.
I’ve been watching the arguments around the new Department of Government Efficiency swirl and the controversy when California Rep. Ro Khanna said he was willing to work with them to make a difference. It caused a huge backlash and he pushed back on that too. In the midst of us arguing on Twitter I invited him on the show and he agreed.
On top of that I’ve been watching the race for Democratic National Chairman unfold with fellow midwesterner Ben Wikler making a strong case. I’ve been wanting to get a chance to sit down with him and we were able to make our schedules work too.
Finally, the panel this week comes supercharged with my friends Christopher Titus and Rachel Bradley joining me. They are hilarious comedians and also observers of the news on the Titus Armageddon Update! Titus has a new comedy special premiering on Christmas Eve, Carrying Monsters.
Catch it live this Sunday, December 15th, at 11:00 AM ET/8:00 AM on the On Democracy Channel YouTube and all of my social platforms. You can click on it now to remind you when we go live and subscribe to our channel!
On Democracy | Sunday!
A note of thanks and an ask
As we approach the holidays I wanted to thank the many new subscribers that have joined this community. I especially want to thank you that have taken the next step of becoming paid subscribers. I do this work as part of a stack of efforts from shows to helping campaigns of any size so your paid subscriptions have become integral in allowing me to do this full time. Thank you and I hope you will consider becoming a paid subscriber to support these efforts.
Fred, there are still opportunities to cut it at the pass.
Biden needs to report on Russian interference ASAP! We are the victims of the Russian war on the USA. Putin admits he did it and demands quid pro quo from Trump. As far as I'm concerned the admission is dispositive and is actionalble and constitutes an emergency.
In 2023, U.S. Citizens and Russian Intelligence Officers Charged with Conspiring to Use U.S. Citizens as Illegal Agents of the Russian Government. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-citizens-and-russian-intelligence-officers-charged-conspiring-use-us-citizens-illegal “Today’s announcement paints a harrowing picture of Russian government actions and the lengths to which the FSB will go to interfere with our elections, sow discord in our nation and ultimately recruit U.S citizens to their efforts,” said Acting Assistant Director Kurt Ronnow of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “All Americans should be deeply concerned by the tactics employed by the FSB and remain vigilant to any attempt to undermine our democracy. The FBI remains committed to confronting this egregious behavior and ultimately disrupting our adversaries and those who act on their behalf.”
On Sept. 4, 60 days before the election, An indictment charging Russian nationals Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, 31, also known as Kostya, and Elena Afanasyeva, 27, also known as Lena, with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and conspiracy to commit money laundering was unsealed today in the Southern District of New York. Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva are at large.
“The Justice Department has charged two employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet, in a $10 million scheme to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to exploit our country’s free exchange of ideas in order to covertly further its own propaganda efforts, and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing.”
Threats to election workers, propaganda about violence, burning of ballots. Bomb threats.
There is also a possible 14th Amendment Senate issue. Section 3.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Sounds great Fred. Looking forward not back.