Trump Won? Now What

Do you believe that Trump legitimately got enough votes to earn an electoral college win? If not, click here.

If yes, then you still have power, and a voice, and the right to be heard. The path forward is to be aware of what you stand for and what you oppose, and to make sure that the government knows it. Contact your Senators, your Representatives, and even the White House, EVEN IF THEY’RE A DIFFERENT PARTY FROM YOU, to remind them that half the people didn’t vote for them. Make it clear that they need to pay attention to what your needs are, not just the needs of their supporters. Here’s how to do it:

1)            Pick a topic that you feel passionately about, or are particularly fearful for;

2)            Figure out where Trump/the GOP stand on that position;

3)            Figure out where there might be some common ground between your position and theirs;

4)            Find out what the polls say about your position and theirs;

 5)            Figure out what the facts are – you weaken your credibility if you resort to lies;

 6)            Figure out how many people, of both parties, are affected by the issue;

7)            Argue calmly but passionately for what you think needs to be done/protected;

 8)            Let them know that you are registered to vote, that you do vote, and if applicable, what organizations or groups you belong to.

NB: Obscure, idiosyncratic issues that affect only a small group of people are easily ignored; petitions that come across as greedy or whining will likely be ignored; attacks on Trump/the GOP/their supporters which demonize or insult them will be ignored;  letters that are vague (“Stop destroying the environment,” etc.) won’t tell them what you want. 

DO THIS EVERY MONTH. WRITE A NEW LETTER EVERY MONTH. SEND A LETTER TO YOUR GOVERNOR, YOUR REPRESENTATIVE, YOUR SENATOR, AND THE PRESIDENT. EVERY. FRICKIN’. MONTH.  Send an e-mail, too, but not just an e-mail: online messages, Facebook posts, and e-petitions are not as powerful as letters. Most elected leaders are worried about re-election, especially Representatives, who have to run every two years. Even if President Trump is not worried about getting re-elected, he has to work with people who are. If you influence those people, they can have an influence even the most stubborn President. And remember that a year ago, even the Republicans were split 17 ways over who should be President, so not everyone agrees with everything Trump stands for, even if they voted for him.

From working in government my whole adult life, let me tell you the power of your letter: elected officials presume that only 1 out of every hundred people write a letter. So your single written or typed letter is like 100 people. And if you get five or six people to write about the same topic (NOT THE SAME LETTER), that’s like 500-600 people. But remember to be specific: I’ve seen letters that say, “Do something about the environment” be re-interpreted to mean “Get rid of all these environmental regulations,” and “We need prison reform” get re-phrased into “Get rid of those weak liberal judges.”

Now pay attention: if you get a response, even a simple “thanks for writing,” remind them of that in your next letter. If they say “We’ll look into it,” remind them of their promise and ask what they found. If you don’t get a response, call them repeatedly until you get some acknowledgement. If they say one thing, and do another, chide them (respectfully) for not listening to you. And if they actually do something, make sure that you thank them, and tell your friends. You might encourage others to follow your lead, if they believe that they can have some impact.

Who has the time for all this? You do. I do. We all do. If you have time to go on Facebook or twitter and complain, knowing it won’t do any good, then you have time to try something that works. If you’re only in it for the riots and the high-adrenaline antics surrounding the election, then you don’t really care about the issues: you’re just mad that you didn’t get your way, or you’re scared about what’s going to happen to you. Turn that madness into action; turn that fear into resolve. They say, “Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups,” and some would argue this election proves that adage. Well how about if we harness the power of thoughtful people in large groups?