Recently Donald Trump proclaimed: “When somebody’s president of the United States, the authority is total.”

While he got pushback from both Republicans and Democrats who renounced his authoritarian stance,[1] Trump continues to conduct the office of the presidency without any real restraints. With conservative Republicans in charge of the Senate and the U.S. Supreme Court, the other two branches of government have done practically nothing to impede Trump’s autocratic ways.

Earlier this month, Trump fired intelligence community Inspector General Michael Atkinson because he had “lost confidence” in him. Still, it was hard to miss Trump’s true reason: Atkinson’s finding that a whistleblower’s complaint about Trump’s Ukraine actions, which resulted in his impeachment, were both “credible” and “urgent.”[2]

A few days later, Trump removed Glenn Fine, the independent watchdog responsible for ensuring the proper administration of the relief act. By getting rid of Fine, Trump eliminated scrutiny of how his administration would be using our taxpayer funds.[3] According to the Washington Post, Fine’s dismissal appears to be part of a larger endeavor to purge oversight of Trump and his cohorts.[4] Trump’s attempt to eliminate independent oversight is just the latest example of his increasing autocratic control over the federal government, as well as Congress’s failure to maintain any real checks on his executive power.

Both the President and Congress are responsible for the demise of our democracy. And, while the Republican Party has supported Trump’s authoritarian takeover of our government, the Democrats, though not nearly as reckless as the Republicans, must share some of the blame for the failure of our government to represent us. Afterall, Big Money and Wall Street clearly dominate both the Democratic and Republican parties. That control laid the foundation for an American plutocracy, which ultimately has led to the authoritarian Trump regime.

By now it should be clear that Americans cannot rely on any party or person to save our democracy from being dismantled by Trump and the Republicans. Only we, the people, have the power and ability to do that. But do we have the resolve and perseverance to turn back the authoritarian tyranny confronting us and build a fairer and more just society?

It is a huge task. We only have six months until the November election. There is no time to waste. Nor, can we withdraw from the election battle or indulge in recriminations against the Democrats for nominating Joe Biden rather than our preferred candidate. The stakes are too high.

Regardless of your main concern, be it climate change, immigration reform, affordable healthcare, income inequality, or some other, if Trump and the Republicans who control the Senate are not defeated in November, your cause will be lost. And, we know that the Trump mob will use every trick available to win re-election.  So, we must focus our energy and resources on what is most important to ensure winning the election. Here are five key strategies:

1. A massive voter registration campaign
2. Alerting the public to the extreme threat a second Trump term poses
3. A concerted effort to expand early voting
4. Establishment of the universal right to mail-in voting, and
5. Protecting the U.S. Postal Service from being defunded or privatized

The only way to ensure victory in November is through a huge voter turnout, so large that Trump and the Republicans cannot steal or contest the outcome. Now is the time to act. Get involved in a voters’ rights group like the Voting Rights Alliance at https://www.votingrightsalliance.org/ or the Election Protection coalition at https://866ourvote.org/. Together we can, and will, save our democracy.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

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[1]  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/14/trump-claim-total-authority-claim-10th-amendment/2988013001/

[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/04/trump-atkinson-fired/

[3] https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/07/trump-removes-independent-watchdog-for-coronavirus-funds-upending-oversight-panel-171943

[4] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/14/trump-is-waging-war-our-inspectors-general-congress-needs-choose-side/