A Coup By Any Other Name Is A Distraction
Let’s be clear. The firehouse of crazy coming out of the nation’s capital is by design. Authoritarians flood the zone with such fascist spectacles, as outrageous decrees (Executive Orders), threats against our allies, freezing federal aid, announcing a takeover of the Gaza Strip. All those things are happening as a strategy to overwhelm and paralyze YOU, the media, the Democratic party, the country. Those who support the Republican agenda are living in an alternative reality and are not overwhelmed unless some of the crazy has hit home. The other 50% of us are in the ‘flood zone’ and are gasping for air. Breathe.
Did You Know:
For today, there is only one thing to know and to fully understand. We will say the same thing in a variety of ways. Repeat after us:
This is a coup.
This is an unconstitutional coup.
This a coup on the administrative offices of our democratic government.
This is a full-blown coup on our democracy.
This is a coup.
Why It Matters:
The first two institutions seized last week were USAID and the United States Department of Treasury. Food being shipped to help starving children in foreign countries is now rotting in ports, medicine is not being sent to victims of malaria, humanitarian aid has been seized by the richest man in the country to help reduce the federal budget to support tax cuts for billionaires. Putin and Orbán abolished their versions of USAID, so the coup is on track!
On Friday night, a group of Elon Musk’s teenage employees of his privately owned companies, dressed in civilian clothes and armed with zip drives, took over the Federal Treasury. They gained access to the basic computer systems of the federal government. They have your SS number, they have the information for payments that go to Social Security recipients, Medicare and Medicaid, and tax refunds. They have control of monies designated to non-profits and foreign aid. Think about it. Elon Musk, an unelected individual originally an immigrant from South Africa, has access to all federal spending.
Elon Musk invested $290 million to Trump's campaign and to other Republican candidates in the 2024 election. This investment awarded him with the ‘keys to the kingdom’. Everything he is doing is illegal and unconstitutional. He is orchestrating a coup.
If our governmental agencies and departments fall victim to the coup, Congress becomes completely ineffective, and we will become an authoritarian state. There will be no going back as a free civil society. No protests will matter, no need to call your elected official. Putin, Orbán and Musk will have won. Trump can play golf and eat cheeseburgers as much as he wants.
What You Can Do:
Pay attention to the big picture. Stay focused on the main issue. Elon Musk is staging a coup. Republican elected officials are aiding and abetting. Elected Democrats are just beginning to find their mojo and act like an opposition party. Citizens are beginning to unite and make their voices known. We do not need a million-person march. We need a million small displays of resistance.
Here's the plan:
If your Senator is a Republican, call and/or visit them and remind them they took an oath to protect and preserve the Constitution which means they must stop obeying Elon Musk. He is the domestic enemy from within.
If your Senator is a Republican, call and/or visit their local office and demand that they do not vote for Russ Vought as Director of Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Russ Vought is the architect of Project 2025. Additionally, ask them to oppose the nominations of RFK for Secretary of Health and Human Services and Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence. These two nominees will support Elon Musk and further deconstruct the administrative departmental agencies of our government.
To contact your Senators, you can call the United States Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Call Rep. André Carson 317-283-6516 or 202-225-4011 and Rep. Frank Mrvan 219-795-1844 or 202-225-2461 and insist they hold town halls. No matter what district you live in, call as a citizen of Indiana who needs representation in Congress. This is bigger than the gerrymandered districts they represent. Attend as many meetings as you can and encourage others to attend as well.
Connect with other civic groups resisting the coup, especially Indivisible. There are four local groups in Indiana:
Here are some tools for action and staying focused:
Letters From An American by Heather Cox Richardson
Pepperspectives by David Pepper
The Contrarian by Jen Rubin and Norm Eisen
The.Ink by Anand Giridharadas
Thinking about by Timothy Snyder
You are not overwhelmed, you are under attack. Stay focused, remember to breathe, do what you can to resist the coup.
We are all in this together.
Yours in resolute resistance,
H4D Team