Withdrawing our consent by Barry Rosenbaum

Two hundred and fifty years ago, our nation was born. As conceived by the founders, it rested on a new form of government, one whose fundamental role was to secure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for its people. They envisioned a radical centerpiece—not only that the government would derive its power from those that it governs, but also that the people could withdraw that consent if the government violates their fundamental rights or otherwise loses its legitimacy.

The founders were of their era, and their vision was narrow, extending the ideals expressed in the Constitution only to white male landowners. From our nation’s inception and for all generations thereafter, these fundamental rights have not been accorded to tens of millions. Be you a woman, be you of color, be you of a minority religious faith or no faith at all, be you gay, be you “the other” in any other way, these rights have been, for much of our nation’s history, mere platitudes. Our founders could see no further than the class of which they were a part, but the power of the words they wrote resonated well beyond their limited perspective and continues to inform the aspirations of all seeking this country’s opportunities.

Over time, these rights have been begrudgingly extended to others, but progress has been excruciatingly slow and, as it is doing today, it often moves in reverse. Rights given, even fundamental rights, can suddenly be taken away.

We bear full witness to this as Southern legislatures rush to deprive Black people of the right to vote and strip this country of democratic rule. There is a straight line from Jim Crow to the current redistricting of Memphis; from Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge to stopping voting in Louisiana after it had commenced; and from Plessy v. Ferguson, which legitimized the legality of “separate but equal” facilities for whites and Blacks, to Louisiana v. Callais, which just gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act—all are manifestations of physical or political racial violence.

Today’s Republican Party is the hooded mask, the slave catchers, the mob blocking six-year-old Ruby Bridges from entering a white elementary school. It is Bull Conner with K-9 attack dogs, the neo-Nazis and white supremacists marching in Charlottesville, the mob attacking the Capitol, and the silently complicit benefactors of all of these despicable acts.

Reflective of this, our current Republican government is once again deliberately violating the constitutional rights of a huge swath of our population, and its actions leave the people no choice but to withdraw our support. This withdrawal can take multiple forms—collective nonviolent actions, economic pressure, protest, and most importantly at this moment—voting.

The need for major political transformation on multiple fronts is urgent. But that transformation first requires obtaining political power. We can’t reform the Supreme Court; establish a living wage, health care, and adequate housing as fundamental rights; mandate nationwide redistricting by independent nonpartisan commissions; or require billionaires to pay their fair share, among other actions, until we regain control of the levers of power. We must mobilize voters in such numbers that the election results cannot be challenged. In this regard, Hungary—where 79.6% of eligible voters turned out— has now become our inspiration.

 For all practical purposes, the November election is underway. Now is the time to donate to and/or volunteer for one or more of the organizations across the country and here in California that are working to protect our right to vote and to get out the vote. We also must make it even more personal by reaching out to our friends, family, and colleagues:

• Explain what is at stake.
• Make sure they are registered to vote, and do not get dropped from the voter rolls.
• When voting commences, make sure they actually do vote and that they check to make sure their vote is counted.
• Vote as early as possible, not waiting until the official Election Day, November 3, 2026.
• If they are able and choose to vote by mail, they must mail their ballot back early enough so that it is received well before November 3rd. (Vote.org provides a guide to every step of the process.)

We are the carriers of the flame of democracy, and we must overwhelmingly reject the Republican Party’s efforts to hold onto power through fraud, manipulation, deceit, and brute force. As Heather Cox Richardson calmly but indignantly said immediately after the ICE murders of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, the Republican Congress could have put a stop to this madness. “Their decision not to do so puts blood on their hands, too, and Republicans must be made to bear a very high price in November.”

Their culpability and the untold pain they have inflicted on our nation have only grown since these senseless murders. We must never forget. VOTE!