Dear Senator Murray: How will you push back against authoritarianism in America?
Dear Senator Murray,
I’m a native Washingtonian who grew up in Bellingham and started college at WWU before moving to California. Since then, I’ve lived most of my adult life either in CA or abroad — currently in Mexico — but I have never stopped loving my home, and most of my family continues to live there.
I believe now is the time for you and Senate Democrats to take a bold, public, and risky stand against authoritarianism in America by impeaching this president.
I lived in LA and briefly had the chance to meet Governor Newsom. I was also, for a time, an active-duty officer in the U.S. Navy. Watching a sitting American president mobilize the National Guard over the authority of a state governor and then call in active-duty Marines is bone-chilling. I agree with the governor: we have crossed a red line in this government’s relentless march toward authoritarianism. MAGA’s populist appeal gives this President enormous influence with line officers and enlisted personnel, while senior flag leadership at the DoD has been quietly replaced in favor of Trump loyalists in recent months.
Today it’s LA. In a matter of weeks it could easily be Seattle.
What will you and Senate Democrats do to halt the slide, Senator Murray? Your entire career has brought you to this moment, and when I watched you taking Howard Lutnick to task (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMrb0oigB0M), defending the interests of all Americans, and especially Washingtonians, I thought, “That’s my Senator!”
I admire Professor Scott Galloway, who advocates a program of Congressional Democrats bringing legislation to committee that, even if it can’t pass, (a) forces Republican colleagues to choose sides and (b) puts the Democratic policy program on record. It moves us from the party of being right and outraged to being solutions-oriented and focused. Today, the most urgent component of that program is articles of impeachment. Democrats must present these for consideration immediately.
From there, the party’s vision of the future should include: investment in public infrastructure; expansion of Medicaid; progressive taxation for the wealthy and corporations; means-tested and progressively taxed Social Security benefits; expanded access to childcare; modernization of DoD’s production and procurement capabilities; aggressive investment in R&D and up-skilling programs for workers impacted by automation and trade; expanded investment in vocational training; and doubling down on greening energy and industrial production.
You and your colleagues need to tell America where Democrats stand, and loudly, Senator, before the moment passes us by. Today, put the President and MAGA on notice: their assault on America’s people and institutions will not go unchallenged. That’s what the party is against. Then tell them what you are for: families, freedom, clean water and air, fiscal responsibility, and a strong, modern military.
I would be grateful to learn more about what you are doing to meet these challenging times.
Sending you strength and good wishes,
Aaron Polhamus
