Ladies and non-GOP gentlemen:
Welcome to the early days of a real-life Republic of Gilead. Did you ever imagine, in your wildest dreams, that we would be living in times like these?
I distinctly recall watching The Handmaid’s Tale for the first time and thinking how glad I was it was just a dystopian drama. Not real life. The thought of living in a society like Gilead drove my fascination with this series. How did their society allow things to get that bad? What did they fail to do that allowed these monsters to rise to power? What tipped the scale? How did men end up controlling everything?
Yet, here we are, not in a Margaret Atwood novel, quickly and quietly slipping into a totalitarian, patriarchal, theonomic state. And they’ve got us (women) so beaten down and worn out that many of us are losing our grip. The economy is failing, educational institutions are in crisis, women’s rights are in the toilet, and already 8-12 million Americans have lost their health coverage. Food and other household basics are becoming unaffordable. Men are getting away with rape and femicide in record numbers. And soon, many Americans will be experiencing poverty — Americans who grew up middle class and who have worked hard their whole life. Legislative changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the scaling back of SNAP (which has dropped nearly 5 million participants), new Medicaid work requirements, and the expiration of ACA health insurance subsidies will exacerbate this. Oh yeah, then there is all that environmental devastation in the works. You can kiss fresh air and water goodbye, and be sure to give a bear hug to our disappearing national parks, which are, as we speak, being parceled off to developers. Kingsbarn Realty Capital, in particular, will be the first in what promises to be a long line of takers. Buh-bye Yosemite.
All of this is courtesy of the Republican Party — whose politicians are 85% White men voting 100% in their own self-interest.
Are Democrats confronting their own leadership — holding their feet to the fire for doing sweet fuck-all while happily vacuuming up corporate and AIPAC cash? Absolutely not.
Are they stepping in with a snappy retort when their MAGA neighbor corners a minimum-wage grocery clerk for fifteen minutes of conspiracy theories? Nope.
Are they putting teeth into their yard signs, slapping confrontational bumper stickers on their vehicles, or sporting anything more provocative than a faded Trader Joe’s canvas tote? Of course not. Someone might throw an egg at their front door.
Do you know of any Democrats boycotting the corporations that bankroll all those politicians who are dismantling our rights? I do! Unfortunately, that’s only about 7 people.
Far too many Democrats are still packing the parking lot at Home Depot, making leisurely Target runs, receiving twice-daily deliveries from Amazon, and paying $300 for two bags of groceries at Whole Foods. You can’t hide, you lazy-ass cowards — I see you. Some of you are my friends and family.
I know, I know. Many of you rely on the convenience of these favorite shopping spots because you are uber busy coordinating drone footage for the 250 retired liberals spelling out “NO KINGS!” on a beach in San Francisco. Then there’s arranging to meet friends in the Marina for oysters Rockefeller and sauvignon blanc post-protest. That requires lots and lots of text messaging. There is simply no time to shop thoughtfully.
Honestly? Fuck y’all.
In the face of this existential political crisis, you should be protesting right in front of the offices of every GOP candidate, packing their town halls, supporting younger, smarter, left-of-center primary challengers, and you should make complacency really, really uncomfortable for our Democratic leaders. They’ve done absolutely nothing since Trump started his second term, in case you hadn’t noticed. If you don't have time for any of the above, do this at least…
Quit giving your money to the enemy!
And if you can, set aside time every single day to call humans and politicians out publicly. In the store, in your neighborhood, on their cheerful social media posts. Wear your concerns on your sleeve. Quit beating around a bush that has already burned to the ground.
Now let’s get down to business…
WOMEN’S VOTING RIGHTS
Disenfranchisement. Now there’s a word. Disenfranchisement is what the GOP has been up to since Trump’s first term. They have put far more effort into reducing the number of Americans who can vote than into ensuring their constituents have food, healthcare, and a strong economy. For those desiring a full rundown on this issue of disenfranchisement, check out the ACLU’s “Block the Vote: How Politicians are Trying to Block Voters from the Ballot Box.”
Disenfranchisement, also known as voter disqualification, is the restriction of suffrage for individuals or entire groups of people. The GOP has been working overtime to prevent large groups of Americans, many of whom would likely prefer Democrat policies, from voting by restricting the terms and requirements of registration, criminalizing the ballot box, conducting voter roll purges, gerrymandering and redistricting, fiddling with mail-in voting and the postal service, casting doubt on the validity of the election process, creating a frenzy over supposed voter fraud, and trying to legislate strict voter ID laws that disproportionately target low-income individuals and WOMEN.
Whoa! These fuckers have been busy! You’d think they were staging a coup!
The GOP’s latest stunt is the SAVE America Act, which goes to great lengths to disenfranchise voters by requiring them to prove they are American citizens when they register to vote. In order to do this, a person’s government-issued photo ID must match a United States birth certificate. Sounds simple, right? Uh, not really. Especially if you’re a woman and married. There are 68.45 million married women in the United States, and the vast majority of us (80%) have taken our husband’s surname. Suddenly, proving you are a citizen is no simple task. THIS IS DISENFRANCHISEMENT.
Want to know which scumbags supported your disenfranchisement? Well, here you go — all the names, the actions, the evidence. Click right on through. These are the men who would have women return to the days before the 19th Amendment was made law. These are the men we need to take down.
Guess what, ladies? That surname on your driver’s license ain’t gonna match the name on your certified birth certificate. Am I right? That means you might not get to vote, depending on when the Save America Act gets passed and how long it takes you to collect up the additional paperwork needed for connecting the dots on your citizenship. You better be thinking way ahead of the game, or there are going to be problems right here in River City.
Wish I could tell you what hurdles you’re going to have to jump, but that’s a big “who knows?” because the SAVE America Act does not stipulate a specific path forward on connecting the dots between your birth certificate and your current legal name. They’re gonna leave that up to the states. And I think you can guess how that might go down. Conservative states are going to make the process more difficult, like the ones currently pursuing “household voting,” and those that have made it next to impossible to get an abortion or contraception. These states are not keen on women’s rights as a rule.
It is highly unlikely that conservative states, where over 80% of the legislators are male, are going to go out of their way to make the path to voter registration easy for married women. No way, no how. The states where politicians are currently advocating for household voting include Texas, Idaho, Tennessee, and Arizona. Were these states successful in thwarting the female vote, rest assured other red states would follow suit.
There are 54,075,500 married women in the U.S. who cannot prove they are American citizens without a tangle of paperwork and, in some cases, significant expense. This is disenfranchisement.
The SAVE America Act requires that married women find a way to connect their name, as it appears on their original or certified copy of a long-form U.S. birth certificate, with the name on their government-issued photo ID.
Good luck on that, ladies.
These are the documents the SAVE Act, were it to pass, would require in order to prove U.S. citizenship, which in turn would allow a person to register to vote:
• United States passport with the current legal name (only issued to U.S. citizens)
• Valid government-issued photo ID plus a certified U.S. birth certificate with a surname that matches the ID
• Valid government-issued photo ID plus a naturalization certificate with a surname that matches the ID
• Valid government-issued photo ID plus a Certificate of Citizenship with a surname that matches the ID
If the surname doesn’t match (that would apply to all you married ladies who took your husband’s surname), additional documentation will be required to establish that “Smith” was truly your previous name. Each state would be allowed to establish its own process for this, and that process would likely include presenting one of the following at your local election office (in addition to your government-issued photo ID):
• Certified U.S. birth certificate plus signed affidavit attesting that “Smith” was your previous name
• Certified U.S. birth certificate plus certified marriage license (may be allowed if your certified marriage license actually shows your name at birth, and some licenses do not)
• Social Security card that has been updated with your current married name
• REAL ID-compliant driver's license or state ID that bears your legal married name and that explicitly states you are a U.S. citizen (only available in Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, and Washington)
• Proof of Prior Marriage Termination(s), divorce decrees, death certificates
The text on the SAVE America Act does not stipulate that married women must obtain a passport, change the name on their birth certificate through court order, or complete Social Security and DMV name changes in order to prove citizenship. Chip Roy and Mike Lee, the writers of this bill, want you to know they would never expect women to jump through these ridiculous hoops. No, no… those pesky complications would fall on the shoulders of local election officials.
The SAVE Act ensures local election officials will take the fall for the bureaucratic nightmare to come. It will be their fault if married women lose their right to vote or if citizenship is not properly verified beyond the usual affidavit signed during voter registration.
The big boys in D.C. — they want to look like heroes to the ladies as they posture under the noble guise of protecting elections. Reality? They are running ripshod over local election officials and our whole election system, which had been working pretty damn well, thank you very much.
With the SAVE America Act, more complicated documentation will be required at the state level to prove citizenship. Simply signing an affidavit and claiming under penalty of perjury that you are who you say you are and that you are a U.S. citizen is what voters do currently, and clearly, the GOP thinks this is not enough. Why else would we need this ridiculous bill? Why else would they be attacking the State of California less than 2 weeks before the election, when their voters ascertain citizenship for voting registration via self-attestation on a voter registration affidavit? For those of you out of the loop, know that all CA election officials were served papers by Homeland Security agents last Friday, giving them 48 hours to pull ballots suspected to be from non-citizens. I guess they were expected to stay in their offices over the weekend and look through hundreds of thousands of ballots. And what criteria determine a voter is a non-citizen? A Hispanic name? No one knows. The motivation for these nefarious demands from the DOJ is clearly to undermine the election and erode voter confidence.
The danger is clear: conservative states could use the SAVE America Act to burden married women with additional citizenship paperwork, turning a name change into an obstacle to voting. Disenfranchisement by bureaucracy. Thanks again, GOP.
So don’t believe your lying eyes, gals. This SAVE America Act is a trick. It’s double talk. The reality is that Republicans don’t want women to vote because more often than not, women vote for Democrats.
Ladies — time to get your ducks in a row. If the GOP is successful in passing the SAVE America Act and you want to vote, be prepared to have every possible document at your disposal if you intend to stay on the voting rolls. Don’t for one minute imagine the GOP is going to make registering to vote easy. That ain’t happening. Especially if you’re in a red state.
Consider what the GOP has done recently to women when given power in all three branches of the federal government:
• Massively increased restrictions on reproductive health and autonomy by eliminating abortion access
• Proposed voting requirements that negatively affect married and transgender women
• Eliminated crucial economic and social safety net programs that primarily serve women and families
• Rolled back numerous workplace and civil rights protections for women
This brings me back to the midterm elections, which are just around the corner. I know many of you are thinking: “Chris, there’s nothing to worry about. It looks likely the Dems are going to take back both the House and Senate.” Friends!! WAKE THE FUCK UP!!!
Trump and Co. are gearing up to sue the shit out of every state that racks up wins for the Democrats, starting with Alaska and California. In addition to what’s been done in California, Trump is having the DOJ sue Alaska in case the Republican incumbent doesn’t win. Huh? How is that possible?
The next threat to American democracy may arrive wearing a congressional lapel pin. Democrats are preparing for the possibility that Republicans could try to block duly elected Democratic representatives from taking their seats — a scenario serious enough to warrant preparation, though this plan has not been established officially. Mike Johnson has already demonstrated how long he can keep an elected Democrat waiting by using scheduling snafus and other tricks. Rep. Adelita Grijalva’s constituents went seven weeks without their new representative being sworn in thanks to Johnson. That episode is no guarantee he could repeat the maneuver across a newly elected House, but it does suggest he is not above playing dirty, and if there is a way to cheat, he and Trump’s lawyers will find it. Johnson has little respect for his colleagues or for the Constitution.
For a party so devoted to freedom, Republicans seem remarkably determined to bury the ballot beneath paperwork. After the midterms, the Trump Administration and the GOP intend to claim large-scale voter fraud, with or without evidence, just as they have in the past. The difference, this time, will come when the Supreme Court, the majority of whom are Trump’s pals, settles the squabble. They will rule in Trump’s favor, as at least three justices (Alito, Thomas, and Roberts) are looking to avoid major investigations by a Democratic Congress. Any post-election court rulings will no doubt favor Trump and the GOP. Count on it.
Then, the coup will be complete.
We — all of us who call ourselves Democrats — have let the bullies take over our government and our communities. We’re afraid of them, and too often, that fear dictates what we’re willing to defend.
In our group chats, we wonder whether America is “ready” for a woman to lead. We question whether brown-skinned politicians or Muslim candidates can defeat White Republicans. We recoil at the prospect of being called Democratic Socialists.
What the actual fuck.
With fundamental rights under attack, we’re still debating which prejudices to accommodate and which convictions to conceal. We call it pragmatism. But it’s cowardice. We need people who will stand up, speak plainly, and make bullies uncomfortable. Every day we wait gives them more ground. Silence is not a strategy. Especially not nine days out from a major election — one that could take down our democracy if things don’t go well.
And our Democratic leaders (who are propped up with the same money that is given to Republicans and for the same purposes) continue to tout the virtues of reaching across the aisle. Huh? Reaching across the aisle? In this day and age? Tears (of laughter) are streaming down my face.
Just this month, with less than two weeks before the midterms, Hakeem Jeffries had this to say:
“My view from the very beginning of this Congress is that, as House Democrats, we are ready, we're willing, we're able, to find bipartisan common ground on any issue, at any time, any place, in order to make life better for the American people, to address issues related to the economy, public safety, national security.”
Mr. Jeffries. Are you kidding?! This is not leadership. Who is paying you to say this? I think all of us would have preferred something like: “The American people need to fight like hell. Here and now. For democracy.” Then we’d like to witness a good fist-pounding on the podium.
It probably won't surprise any of you that Hakeem Jeffries received $866,425 from AIPAC in this 2026 election cycle alone. Hope that clears up any questions you might have about his motivations.
To say I am disappointed is the understatement of the century. I am disappointed by my friends, my family, my colleagues, the politicians who represent my community and our country, the media — the whole fucking kit and caboodle. There are so few people willing to say what needs saying and willing to do what needs doing. No one is speaking loud enough. Few are going toe-to-toe with these fuckers. Those performing acts of common decency seem to be but a diminishing percentage of the American people.
As you may have guessed, I am mad. And I am no longer a Democrat. I want nothing to do with this wishy-washy, do-nothing party that takes special interest money at a higher rate than Republicans. Don’t believe me? — look it up.
Yes, I will be voting Democrat, but it is very reluctantly. Who else is there to vote for? I pray we will have more options the next time around. If there is a next time around.
Shame on all of you who cling to the past. Yes, boomers, I’m talking about you. You make up 60% of our do-nothing Senate and close to 40% of the do-nothing House. It’s time to go! It’s time for you to get behind younger candidates and to support them wholeheartedly. Show a little faith in the Gen Zers and Millennials who are trying to get in there to stir things up. They have a helluva lot more skin in the game than the rest of us. So back off!
And while I’m bashing Democrats, I want to point out that Dems are the ones who have wholeheartedly supported Israel for the last 3 years as they committed and continue to commit crimes as ghastly as those done to Jews in Nazi Germany. Oh yes, they have. Don’t lie to yourself. And don’t you dare call anyone antisemitic for hating what the Israeli government has done under Netanyahu’s leadership. It is appalling. And we have these same crimes against humanity going on here in the United States. We are doing to our immigrant community what Israel has done to Palestinians. Hurting, killing, torturing, and destroying people’s lives. There is nothing morally right in any of that.
I hate adding to your already full plates, ladies, but this is the moment to start protesting, and LOUDLY, if you haven’t been already. No more making nice. No more being lady-like. No passing out pumpkin spice muffins at work this week. No more wrapping yourself in shapewear, putting on makeup, wearing heels, and crossing your legs. You can also skip being reasonable and pretending you’re not going through some horrible hot flash.
And for god’s sake, don’t keep reaching across the aisle. These MAGA, Trump, GOPers ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS. Don’t be fooled by flowery words about traditional family values, Jesus Christ, peace through strength, freedom, and patriotism. All of it is BULLSHIT.
Being reasonable does not work. Being nice does not work. Being open to compromise does not work. Nothing works in this political climate where narcissists — 75% of them male — hold all the levers of power, be it in government, religion, business, media, the arts, educational institutions, high tech, and medicine. We (women) are fucked. Are you getting this?
So don’t bring an umbrella to this Category 5 hurricane.
The white gloves need to come off, and we need to go after Republicans. All of them. There isn’t a single one worth keeping. Any Republican that might have been worth keeping has either already left the party or gotten out of politics altogether. Sad to have seen Liz Cheney go.
It’s 9 days before the election. Get out there and vote.
xo - Chris
If you heard blanche the ag justify a lawsuit in Alaska if republicans lose, you would explode.
Great article. But if we're trying to starve the robber barons, Broligarchs, gazillionaires who have bought our government and created this mess, we might not want to use AI.