Because "It's Now or Never," Indivisible Resistance to Trump Gains Steam

From Carpinteria, Calif. to Kansas City, Mo. to Charlottesville, Va., pockets of resistance--catalyzed by the "Indivisible Guide"--to the Trump administration are popping up nationwide.

"It's about resistance and your local communities rising up," said Barbara Dehart, co-founder of Indivisible Women Nevada County, to CBS Sacramento.

The Indivisible manual was written by former congressional staffers, who, as the Los Angeles Timeswrote this week, were "trying to deploy the same strategies against President Trump that made the anti-Obama tea party so successful." And now, branches of this indivisible movement--composed of many fledgling activists--are harnessing the tactics to target lawmakers in their home districts, on issues ranging from Trump's controversial immigration ban to his education secretary, Betsy DeVos.

Take Indivisible KC, where the local group on Tuesday targeted the Kansas City field office of Senator Roy Blunt and denounced the travel ban.

The building of the 3,000-strong group, said Indivisible KC organizer Allegra Dalton to local KSBH, "is just kind of happening organically." She added: "We may not have the power as progressives right now to set an agenda for a long time to come, so what we need to do is shine a light on the agenda that is being set."

In St. Charles, Ill., where about 20 people gathered last week to percolate their ideas for action for the Indivisible Illinois [Congressional] Districts 6 and 14, resident Tom Engelhardt described what drew him to return to activism after decades.

"I have not been active in a political organization since the Vietnam years," he said. "But everything is at risk, guys; everything is in play. It's now or never."

Will these local branches achieve success? Richard Eskow argues: "It will take a countervailing force for change to stop Trump and the Republicans." But, he continues,

The early signs are good. Demonstrators protested the immigration-restricting executive order and the Mexican border wall. Furious constituents are letting Republican lawmakers know what they think of their plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act without replacing it. Multi-issue protests, like the women's marches, are emphasizing the ideal of the United States as an inclusive community. They have also pressured Democrats to hold firm against Trump's most extremist and least qualified appointees.

Trump will undoubtedly go on spinning his apocalypse fables. Doomsday scenarios alone aren't likely to stop him. Yes, the nation and the world are at risk. But the best chance to defeat Trump is by offering a positive alternative vision for the future, with a movement that fights for the things voters need: jobs, shared prosperity, a livable planet and a government that works for its people.