by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
It is a tribute to the American temperament that Americans generally are extremely reluctant to radicalize. It’s not like the citizens of Washington D.C. ever rose up and declared an independent commune like the residents of Paris have been known to do on occasion. And when Americans do get radicalized, it’s usually on a macro level because of outside forces, not because they’re just feeling ornery that decade.
So, when I talk about the formation of a “Radical Resistance,” all I mean is there needs to be an ideological framework for ending the Trump Administration via conventional political means, specifically impeachment by the House and conviction in the Senate. That, at least to me, is what I’m talking about when I say “Radical Resistance.”
And, it’s only “radical,” because, well, right now, nothing’s being done to end the Trump Administration. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. This, even though we have the Trump Administration dead-to-rights on any number of different crimes against the Constitution.
For me, for there to be effective Radical Resistance to Trump and his MAGA agenda, we have to know what we believe. The only reason, in real terms, there even needs to be a “radical” resistance is, well what we got ain’t working.
First and foremost, to be a member of the Radical Resistance is agree to follow in the tradition of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. As well as the Reconstruction era Radical Republicans. As such the Radical Resistance will use political means necessary to end the tyrannical administration of Donald J. Trump.
I am completely opposed to any form of violence and I want to destroy Trump entirely on political grounds. That’s it. I want him legally removed from office immediately and if you represent me on a local, state or Federal level, if you don’t publicly come out in favor of Trump being lawfully removed from office I won’t vote for you. I’ll support and vote for someone who will.
Additionally, the Radical Resistance should be a united front. We need great writers and thinkers of #NeverTrumpers for the specific purpose of broadening the appeal of the cause for the specific purpose of ending the Trump regime. After we get that goal, we can go back to bickering about stupid shit on a policy level. You may hate his policies, but if you could get George Will to help articulate a cogent “radical centrist” platform for the Radical Resistance, you’d have a lot going for you.
There’s plenty of broader stroke policy issues that progressives might want to glom on to the Radical Resistance rubric. That’s fine, but I see this as a matter of building the broadest group of anti-Trump forces possible. We have a specific goal — getting Trump impeached in the House and getting 67 Senators to vote for conviction at his trial.
That, at least, is what I want personally.
I just want Trump removed from office immediately and whatever I have to do on a political level to get that goal, I’ll do. Pence sucks, too, of course, but at least he’s something akin to a traditional politician who follows norms. Trump, meanwhile, is an abscess tooth that might go septic at any moment.
The urgency for Radical Resistance is growing with the possibility that Trump could go full tyrant on us by declaring a National Emergency and spending $7 billion in an extra-Constitutional manner. If that doesn’t make you want to become a member of the Radical Resistance, I don’t know what will.
Let’s do this, people. Let’s end this surreal political nightmare.
