Portside

It is not an exaggeration to say that the future of this country hangs in the balance with this week’s midterm election. Whatever the outcome, we are about to enter a new phase in the fight against rising fascism, and we need to prepare ourselves for the road ahead.

The Importance of Discipline

What is most important is that we hold on to our democratic discipline at this moment. It is exciting to see that discipline in voters patiently waiting in long lines to early vote in Ohio this weekend. I see that discipline in Black leaders like Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and Rep. Jim Clyburn standing in support of Abdul Al-Sayed after Haley Steven’s stunt at a Black church in Detroit on Sunday. Or to see Mr. Al-Sayed refuse to take the bait offered by Stevens’ betrayal, and to instead see him remain on message. I see it in the democracy legal organizations who have been successfully blocking Trump shenanigans in Alaska and California. I see it in the relentless determination of Angie Nixon in her historic run to serve as the Senator from Florida, and of Scott Colom, who refuses to allow Democrats to write-off Mississippi.

I see it in people online who keep learning and speaking, who keep showing up at meetings and town halls. I see it in those who relentlessly search for immigrants who are detained and disappeared in facilities here and abroad. Every video of violent ICE attacks on neighborhoods, and every posting of police misconduct is an expression of the vigilance and discipline we need for the fight ahead. I salute those who bear witness and share it with the world.

I emphasize discipline because Election Day is only the beginning. First, as many have pointed out, there are likely to be Election Day and post-election shenanigans involving securing and counting of ballots, challenges to votes cast, manufactured emergencies, and lots of litigation. That means we must remain clear-eyed and steady. This is not an election in which we should expect that we will know everything on election night.

Second, we must prepare for the reality that whatever the outcome, Trump and the Republicans have no intention of ceding or sharing power. Their conduct over the past year – their usurpation of power, the rampant insider trading, the shady deals, the disappeared people, the scope of war casualties and losses, the mismanagement of agencies, the mislaid treasury and assets of the government, the looting of public spaces, the corruption, the incompetence, and the depravity - has been at such a level, I believe, that those involved will do almost anything to keep the true scope of it from coming to light.

The Lame Duck

This means that the lame duck period for Congress, state houses and other state races will be particularly dangerous. Republican legislators will try to move forward new laws and practices to hamstring ascendant Democratic power. We need only to remember what happened after the election in 2020 to know how dangerous it can be to assume that the election is the end of the story. We have already seen the detailed scenarios laid out by experts like Judge Michael Luttig who has warned in chilling detail keep our eyes on the Clerk of the House, who if replaced may play a role in frustrating the seating of a new Congress on January 3rd.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) would play a central role in any such effort. We need full-time vigilance on the goings-on in the House to ward off any such efforts, or even to block Johnson efforts to pass harmful legislation in the lame duck, or to bury disastrous provisions in otherwise routine resolutions.

And we cannot forget the Senate, where the effort to confirm judges and other officials will shift into high gear in the remaining days of the year. Democrats won’t have the numbers to stop it, so pressure will need to be applied to the few Republicans who may be looking for a way to salvage their reputations before stepping down, or before becoming part of the Party in the minority. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Bill Cassidy (R-La) will have a chance to actually make up for their disastrous confirmation votes of Pete Hegseth and Robert Kennedy, Jr. We may yet need to apply pressure to them and others who may be inclined to peel off from Trump.

Agency heads (like Pete Hegseth) will be looking for soft landings rather than face the specter of impeachment. Rumors already have been circulating that he is seeking to be appointed to the Senate seat occupied now by Marcia Blackburn if she is successful in her bid to become Governor of Tennessee. This would obviously be a disaster. That means that Tennesseans will need to be mobilize and pressure Blackburn to resist that appointment.

There will be countless issues like this that will need our attention. We will not have the luxury of letting down our guard after the election, even if the Democrats win the House and the Senate.

And we will need vigilance at the state level as well. Remember the successful lame duck actions of Republican legislatures in Wisconsin and North Carolina several years ago, that reduced the powers of incoming Democratic governors. Prepare for more of the same and prepare to push back against those efforts. It begins with not taking your eyes off of your state legislators.

We can take comfort in the fact that the array of democracy lawyers will be doing everything they can to thwart Trump Administration and state level attempts to engage in any illegal efforts to hold on to power. We have Defend Democracy, the Elias Group, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the ACLU, CREW, and many other legal organizations that we can count on to block any untoward actions in the courts.

But there will be important work for everyone to do that cannot be addressed with litigation. Pressure will be key.

Accountability and Blocking Abuses of Power

I believe we must treat this election as the beginning of our embrace of a new and more vigorous practice of citizenship. We can no longer afford to vote and walk away. We are required to maintain vigilance, to apply pressure, to stay “on call,” to support, monitor and stand at the ready should our presence, voices, our bodies, our dollars, our phone calls, and engagement become noecessary.

If the Democrats are successful in winning one or both houses of Congress, we should expect them to promptly begin the work of investigating, unmasking, impeaching, removing, revealing, and holding accountable those who have engaged in the excesses that we can only begin to imagine today.

Trump has threatened to veto any legislation passed by a Democratic-controlled Congress. Of course. The real power for the Democrats will lie in investigating and exposing the truth of what has been happening, holding accountable those engaged in misconduct, and taking back the power of the purse which rightfully sits with Congress.

And Democrats must begin to lay the foundation for structural transformation that can better support a re-imagined and resilient democracy. Hearings on Supreme Court reform should be scheduled in 2027 to begin to educate the public and to explore with experts the variety of measures that have been proposed.

Obviously if the Democrats do not prevail in either the House or the Senate, we are in a for a very, very challenging period. We will still need to resist and push back against deepening fascism. Those of us in states with democratic leadership will need to undergird our local leaders with support and with the force of “people power.” We will need to continue to protect the most vulnerable from unlawful ICE activities, and from the weaponization of law enforcement writ large. We still need to support those who have lost jobs, and who face losing their homes because of the disastrous policies of this Administration.

I know that all of this sounds exhausting. But that is only because we have been doing it wrong for so long. Many of us have spent years voting in every election and then waiting for things to get better. We have used voting as the culmination of our engagement, rather than as the beginning.

The Trump Presidency Continues Until 2028

As consequential as this election will be, we must remember that Trump will still be the President for another two years. That means that the road ahead will be tough, no matter what. It is critical that we right-size our expectations. Trump has control of federal agencies, the military, and foreign policy, and we still have a Supreme Court inclined to allow Trump to use that power recklessly. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), recently hospitalized after a stroke, left a confidential briefing on Trump’s war plans in Iran nearly incoherent with outrage at what he learned. Prevented from sharing the details of the plan, Murphy warned that it is “insane,” and will represent “a likely destruction of our commitment to the rule of law.”

With control of Congress the Democrats can slow down some of Trump’s anti-democratic actions, and throw sand in the gears of others, but he will still have a great deal of leeway to do harm. We will need to stay steady and to continue to apply pressure in the march towards 2028.

The Discipline of Joy

Finally, this may sound counterintuitive, but I want to close by reminding us about the discipline of joy which, in spite of it all, I see all around us. I saw it in the creative costumes for Halloween on both children and adults, at those cheering runners at the New York City Marathon, at HBCU step-shows and marching band competitions. I see it in the delight so many are experiencing in one of the most beautiful and colorful fall seasons. I see it in those who still host parties, who share great books they are reading, who post gleefully after binging the Gilded Age, A Different World, or Slow Horses. There are so many extraordinary art exhibits showing around the country that I can scarcely keep up (the Baltimore Museum of Art has a bumper crop). I see joy - or at least gallows humor - in those who will not turn their backs on their NFL teams even when they fail (I’m with you, Ravens Flock), and those who showed up for the WNBA even when their finals game was shamefully scheduled in the middle of the day.

Babies are still being born. People are still falling in love. Children are still laughing. And when we suffer tragedy, people are still comforting, loving, and grieving with one another.

Staying humane in the face of inhumanity and keeping our capacity for joy intact also requires discipline. Don’t let it go.

Sherrilyn Ifill is a civil rights atty/democracy warrior; Vernon Jordan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Civil Rights, Howard Law School; former President & Dir-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense Fund. https://substack.com/@sherrilyn @ sifillwork@icloud.com