The Pressure, the Exhaustion: Red State Republican Strategy

Wearing us down is the goal. We're not giving them the satisfaction.

During a break in her debate preparation this week, Kamala Harris visited a Penzey’s spice shop in Pittsburg. She’s a cook. Penzey’s prides itself on making the world a better place and calling out Republican extremism. It made sense.

And on its own it would have been a heartwarming visit, likely featuring chit chat about Thanksgiving and recipe swapping. I’m sure that’s what they were expecting.

That’s not what they got.

Instead, as Kamala entered the store, she caught the eyes of a woman who was openly crying.

“Aww, come here!” Kamala said warmly, as she walked toward the woman. With her arms outstretched she called out “What is that about?”

The camera panned so that now we could see the woman, her face reddened and contorted in that way faces do when we’ve lost our composure. As Kamala enveloped the customer in her arms, the woman half-sobbed, half-spoke something along the lines of – “I think you understand. The pressure, you know.”

Kamala responded with that gently firm and positive tone that we women use with one another when one of us concludes that the world has become too much and we can’t bear it all.

“We are going to be fine. We are all in this together,” Kamala said.

“Yes we are,” the woman nodded, as she took in a deep breath and looked into Kamala’s face.

“Yes we are,” they nodded and repeated back to one another – simultaneously comforting and convincing each other.

“Thank you so much,” the woman said.

“Did you get some spices?” Kamala asked.

“Oh absolutely,” the woman replied.

And everyone laughed.

Image credit: 11 Alive Newsfeed

I was thinking of that woman over the last few days, as the pressure nationally and in my state in particular has ratcheted up. Of course it’s inspiring for our Democratic nominee to be such a kind-hearted person, willing (and able) to offer comfort. But it’s more than that.

This moment, this scene of a woman overtaken by the stress and exhaustion of it all being consoled and encouraged by another woman who just instantly knows what’s wrong … it’s all so relatable.

It’s what we are living right now. It’s what I am living right now.

I live in Missouri. When Roe fell, our Attorney General ran to the courthouse in his slippery office shoes so that he could be the very first one to take a constitutional right away from me. The trigger ban he was so eager to trigger provides no exceptions for rape or incest. To qualify for an abortion in Missouri you need to be not just knocking on death’s door, but stepping over the threshold.

Even then, you’re going to have to fight for it.

But Missourians have the citizen petition process, and through that process we brought an initiative to add an amendment to the Missouri constitution that would enshrine reproductive freedom into the state constitution. Qualifying for the November ballot was a gauntlet.

To succeed, advocates had to secure signatures from 8% of registered voters from six of Missouri’s eight congressional districts. That’s around 180,000 signatures in total, distributed around the state. That’s an expensive and time-consuming process that has taken other signature-gathering efforts the better part of a year and millions of dollars.

But the Secretary of State – a staunch anti-abortion activist – delayed the process intentionally to compress that timeframe even more.

We didn’t have a year to gather the necessary signatures.

We had 90 days.

We understood what needed to happen. Women in cities hosted signing parties. People pledged to drive multiple hours through storms to be one of the first to sign. Zoom meetings overflowed. Rural activists like Jess Piper drove all over the state to bring the petition to women in far flung, tiny towns who wanted to sign, then doubled back to get everything notarized, to make sure that every I was dotted and every T was crossed.

People were clamoring: more, faster.

We have to do this right. We have to get this right. It has to be right.

We needed 180,000 signatures.

We turned in 380,000.

The organizers in charge of the signature gathering estimated that volunteers would gather 25,000 signatures. Volunteers gathered 140,000.

We did do it right. We did get it right.

And we looked around at each other, gobsmacked that we had made it through the gauntlet, and exhilarated at the accomplishment: the petition would be on the November ballot. There was a collective exhale, as Missouri women realized that we would have a say in our futures.

But.

A few weeks ago, with the constitutional deadline to print ballots looming and with every legal challenge having been dismissed, the Republican state senator who wrote the abortion ban threw a Hail Mary. She brought a case that flung every legal argument against the petition at the wall, to see if anything would stick.

And on Friday night at 9:46 p.m., Judge Christopher Limbaugh caught her Hail Mary pass.

He issued a ruling calling into question whether the petition will be on the ballot in November, claiming it did not meet legal standards. Well, at least he found it didn’t meet the legal standard that he had just created – that any petitions amending the constitution must identify all the laws that they may impact.

That’s quite literally unprecedented.

In a past life I was a lawyer, so my instinct is to see judges as jurists and serious people. But Judge Limbaugh was our Republican governor’s General Counsel. He was interviewed by our Republican governor as a potential replacement for the Attorney General position that had been vacated when Eric Schmidt (the very same Attorney General who ran to the courthouse to take my constitutional rights away) was elected to the US Senate.

You may have already guessed that Judge Limbaugh is Rush Limbaugh’s cousin.

It is difficult to see this as anything but a partisan decision made by partisan actors.

The constitutional deadline to print ballots is today. The Missouri Supreme Court heard oral arguments this morning. Their decision must be made by 5:00 pm.

And so today, I am again waiting for a court to decide whether I get to have a say in my own life.

So in the past few days, I’ve been thinking a lot about Kamala’s comforting embrace of the crying woman in Penzey’s. Because we are all that woman, right now.

My phone has been buzzing almost nonstop since Limbaugh’s decision on Friday night. I’ve been consoling, and I’ve been the one that’s consoled.

And through that experience I’ve marveled at not just the comfort I’ve received – but at the transfer of energy and power, one to another, that happens in those conversations. The sharing of motivation. The girding up. The recognition of the exhaustion, coupled with the offer of a shoulder to rest on – for as long as you need to get your bearings … so we can all move forward together.

Because we need to go on, friend – no matter what happens with Missouri’s abortion amendment today, or with the presidential debate tonight, or with the polling that comes out next week.

The Republican strategy has always been to wear us down and wear us out. To deflate our enthusiasm, to blunt our momentum, to sap our energy, to ratchet up the pressure, and to win through voter depression.

The pressure is the point; the exhaustion is the goal.

We fight back by soldiering forward.

We are a hardier lot than they anticipated, I think. And we have a power source that – based upon Republicans’ general dismissal of Kamala’s interaction with the crying customer in Penzey’s – I don’t think Republicans have factored in.

They don’t understand the power of an embrace.

They don’t yet comprehend the power that’s transferred when someone looks you in the eyes, recognizes your exhaustion, acknowledges the pressure you’re under, and then convinces you that you can take another step forward because they’re taking it with you, and you’re no longer going it alone.

“We are all in this together,” Kamala said to the woman in Penzey’s.

“Yes we are,” the woman replied, nodding.

“Yes we are,” they said together.

Yes we are, friend.

Let’s get to work.

P.S. If Missouri Republicans succeed in keeping the abortion amendment off the ballot in Missouri, my sincere goal over the next two months will be to ensure every single Republican in Missouri is so blown back by the electoral and organizing power coming at them that they wish they could take it back. Stay tuned.

Small Deeds to Do for September 10, 2024

Here’s the part where – if you are so inclined – we roll up our sleeves and engage in what I like to call Action Therapy. Each Tuesday I share a few Small Things – usually a Small Thing to Read, a Small Event to Attend, and a Small Call to Make or Action to Take. You can tuck these actions into your week with ease – and know that you’re doing something today to make tomorrow better.

Small Thing to Read: Kamala’s Website!

As you are no doubt well aware, Republicans have been criticizing Kamala for not having policy proposals. That’s a ridiculous argument, of course – not only because their nominee’s proposals are jiberish and conspiracy theories – but because Kamala has been pretty clear about where she stands.

But she’s taken the teeth out of the argument anyways, and released a new section of her website detailing her issue positions. These are not wonky white papers that nobody would have time to digest, but are simple paragraph statements outlining her positions, followed by a contrast with Project 2025. Smart.

It’s worth a gander, and a bookmark: https://kamalaharris.com/issues/

Small Thing(s) to Attend:

Tomorrow: Join Jessica Craven and Climate Action Now Tomorrow for How We Win! (H/T to Jessica Craven of Chop Wood Carry Water!)

The always-incredible Jessica Craven is moderating what sounds like a great conversation on Wednesday. Here’s what she says in her description of the event: Join Climate Action Now for the third event of their How We Win series! In this one you’ll hear from Andrea Miller of The Center for Common Ground, Ariel Volk of Galvanize Action, and Lakiesha Lloyd of Common Defense about their work to galvanize key voting blocs, including voters of colors in voter suppression states; moderate white women in rural and suburban areas; and veterans fighting for progressive values.

Sounds great, right? Register for How We Win with Key Voting Blocs on Wednesday, September 11 at 7PM ET!

Thursday: University of MN Panel - “The Threats to the 2024 Elections”

On Thursday, September 12 at 12pm, join host professor Larry Jacobs (the McKnight Presidential Chair, Walter F. and Joan Mondale Chair for Political Studies, and founder and director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs) for a zoom panel entitled “The Threats to the 2024 Elections,”

Can the United States continue to conduct free and fair elections? Richard Hasen, the Gary T. Schwartz Endowed Chair in Law and Director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA School of Law and Jennifer Morrell, partner at the Elections Group, will consider risks to the fair counting of ballots and the prospect that some voters and candidates may not accept election results as legitimate. Register here: https://umn.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DpUqY0VnQZmuUtMrDQ4iMA#/registration

Next Tuesday: Georgia Election Board Prep Rally With GA Dems

Tuesday, September 17: Because this meeting happens next Tuesday, I’m adding it here because you should put it on your calendar now. The Georgia Democratic Party’s voter protection team is hosting a prep session for the GA State Election Board meeting. Those Election Board meetings are virtual and open to the public. The next one is next Friday, September 20 from 9-5.

GA Dems are coming together to prepare for that State Election Board meeting. They’re describing it as a “dynamic strategy session where we will finalize plans for this crucial meeting.” These are the folks who are on the ground doing the tough work – so if you want to know what’s going on in voter protection GA, this is a great one to get on your calendar. Register here: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/690334/

Small Action to Take: Support Penzey’s

Penzey’s has gotten a fair bit of criticism since Kamala Harris visited their Pittsburgh store. They are an excellent company with an excellent product and an excellent mission. If you have not already become a customer, I hope you’ll consider supporting them now. I swear, there’s always something that I need from Penzey’s.

Head over to their website: https://www.penzeys.com/

And I’ll add an extra pitch that the owner, Bill Penzey, writes excellent emails that I actually look forward to getting in my inbox. You can sign up for their email list here.

Thanks for reading, friend – I’m glad to see you here! If you love what I do and you want to support it, consider becoming a paid subscriber. It means a lot!