Govs. J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill. and Jared Polis, D-Colo., have formed a coalition of fellow state-level executives to resist “increasing threats of autocracy” and potential power grabs by a second Donald Trump administration. Members of the new “Governors Safeguarding Democracy” will harness their collective powers to “catalyze collaboration across state lines,” Pritzker said in a call with journalists reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.
“It’s built off a model that all of us governors have already successfully pioneered through the Reproductive Freedom Alliance,” he said. “And together, what we’re doing is pushing back against increasing threats of autocracy and fortifying the institutions of democracy that our country and our states depend on.”
Pritzker, Polis and others like Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., have struck a defiant tone since Trump was elected president, promising to use all legal means at their disposal to protect their states against federal policies they deem harmful and unconstitutional. Last year, Pritzker formed Think Big America, a nonprofit aimed at passing abortion rights ballot initiatives.
GSD, the most encompassing iteration of state-level pushback against GOP rule in Washington, is supposed to be nonpartisan, but Pritzker and Polis did not mention any GOP participants in the press call. Despite the obvious shadow of Trump, his name was not mentioned, either.
“There’s been outreach to Republican governors,” Pritzker said. “Good conversations, I might add, and there is continued interest by lots of governors. But I’m not going to name the ones that we’ve talked to.”
Asked about a list of participating governors, Pritzker said that some do not want to be named publicly.
According to Pritzker and Polis, GSD participants will discuss a range of options, including safeguarding state-level environmental protection; defending their election systems from threats both foreign and domestic; and shielding immigrants from mass deportation. Pritzker said that they would form a response to proposals like Trump advisor Stephen Miller’s proposal to send red state National Guard units to blue states to assist in the deportations.
The group, which is being funded by philanthropic efforts, is working with think tanks, legal experts, democracy and open government advocates to create plans that will “truly protect the rule of law,” Polis added.
“We founded GSD because we know that simple hope alone won’t save our democracy,” Polis said. “We need to work together, especially at the state level, to protect and strengthen it.”
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.