California Leadership: You Must Protect Us

 

In less than a month, we have seen President Trump and his cohorts dismantle our democracy at record speed. We have been forced to sit by and watch as Elon Musk and his so called Department of Government Efficiency, a department run by unelected individuals and an unelected billionaire, wrest control of department after department. They operate with no transparency, no accountability, and are doing so without any guardrails or consequences. These are individuals who have no clearance and no authority to take the actions that they are. Congress is doing nothing to stop this. The judicial branch is doing nothing to stop this. Our executive branch is doing nothing to stop this. In fact, the Trump administration is enabling it - willingly. This is a coup of the United States of America. 

 

The Democrat party always wants to be the party of compromise. Compromise works when two parties aim for the same goal but have different opinions on how to get there. It does not work when your counterpart wants to go in the complete opposite direction. If you're traveling from Los Angeles to Sacramento and suggest taking the I-5 north, but your counterpart says let's take it south, you cannot get to your destination by taking the I-10 east. 

 

For more than two centuries the people of this country have argued and debated about the proper way to run our country, and while we may not agree on the route we have generally agreed on the destination. Everyday since January 20th we have been witness to a small group of unqualified, uncaring, and unelected individuals, trying to dismantle everything that has been built — the very foundation of this country that has allowed us to become the leader of the free world. They're proving that checks and balances, which we are taught are infallible from a very young age, are merely a concept that previous administrations chose to abide by in order to keep us united. Their intention is to do anything they can to empower and enrich themselves regardless of the consequences to democracy in this country, to the lives of the very citizens they represent, or to the world abroad. 

 

There is a gaping hole where there should be someone leading the charge to fight back and prevent this country from turning into an authoritarian playground. California is the 4th largest economy in the world. We are the most populated state in this nation. We are the trendsetters for the entire United States. It is time for us to show this country, and the world, that we will not roll over and let this country fall apart. We must lead by example. 

 

Every movement needs leadership. We, as very proud, extremely concerned citizens of California, are calling upon our leadership — Governor Newson, Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, all representatives in the US House, Rusty Hicks, Betty Yee, David Campos, Diana Love, April Verrett, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and every single person who has sworn to represent the citizens — to step up, lead the charge, and put a stop to this. We cannot wait until midterms. We cannot wait and hope that the country will correct course as it has before. If we are complacent, we will fall apart. We will not be the UNITED States of America. We will be broken. 

 

You need to communicate to us the plan and vision to save this country. You need to be public. You need to put aside your own political ambitions for future elections. There won’t be any if our country is dismantled at record speed by the current administration, President Trump, and the likes of Elon Musk. We need you to lead the charge. Right now! 

 

If you are unwilling or unable to take action, hand the baton to someone who will. Admitting you don’t have the fight in you is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of a true leader who knows this is not their fight to lead. Staying quiet, passive, and waiting on the side for your chance to advance your own future is not representing those who have put their faith and their votes behind you to lead us. It is simply enabling those in the wrong to keep pushing. 

 

Without you leading the charge, we — the citizens of California — will have no choice but to find our own path forward and we will take your silence and inaction as evidence that you are no better than the very people trying to tear our country down, the very people we must be fighting against. This is your moment to show us you take the weight and responsibility of your positions, as representatives of citizens of what has been one of the greatest democracies in history, seriously. 

 

Take action now. Do not wait. We don’t have time.