It creeps me out when people discuss “the Resistance” as if it were real:
Leaderless and loud, the Resistance has become the motive power of the Democratic Party. Presidential hopefuls already strive to anticipate its wishes. Elected officials have restructured their political calculus to avoid getting on its wrong side. The feistiness and agitation of the moment are propelling the party to a new place.
Aside from a dwindling group of excitable folks posting silly things on FB and Twitter, there is zero evidence of political mobilization. If anything, people are getting less interested in politics because they see it as increasingly irrelevant.
For instance, it was very hard to get people to write a tiny paragraph for congressional hearings about the hardship our lack of state budget caused them. Curiously, the folks I see mentioning “Resistance” on FB did not participate at all yet they see themselves as more politically active as those of us who did.
I experience a sense of being in the presence of something surreal when the same person who begins every conversation with me by asking when I will “finally join the Resistance” refuses even to consider joining a real political effort. It’s as if posting crap on Facebook were suddenly a political act while working for the union or organizing for the next election weren’t.
Clarissa's Blog 
Agreed, the language of “resistance” is overwrought and typically used by people who aren’t doing anything. That said, I’m certainly seeing more than “zero evidence of mobilization” in the part of our state where I live. A lot of galvanizing activity centers on unseating our current Trumpist congressman in 2018, including an organized Letters to the Editor campaign, protests at his office, promoting several possible democratic opponents. There also seems to be a lot more involvement in local Democratic Party doings, with an eye towards fielding and supporting a strong opponent to our useless governor in 2018 as well. And the local FB political groups I’m on routinely circulating requests for witness slips on a variety of issues (including the state budget) and getting responses. Lots of people doing voter registration training, too. Not sure if you’re in IL-13 or not, but email me if you want to know more about the local organizations that are focussed on the 2018 elections.
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What wishes? Is there a manifesto somewhere?
What presidential hopefuls, for that matter? Why aren’t we talking about 2018 congressional and state government hopefuls?
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Yes, the Democrats are making GREAT progress toward winning back the House since Trump won the election seven months ago.
🙂 🙂 🙂
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Well, wrong image! Let’s try again…
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Or should I point out that the Republicans HANDELy won the most expensive election in house history? :- ) 🙂
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