The Save Democracy Challenge

Gaslit Nation

Politics, Society & Culture, News

4.7 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 March 2023

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dictators and aspiring tyrants want us to be demoralized, to be bullied psychologically into submission. Bullies are always surprised when people resist and fight back. The 2022 Midterms were a historic time of fighting back: the first major elections since the violent attempted overthrow of our democracy. People showed up and organized in record numbers, denying Trump's Big Lie and the America First fascist movement the victories they needed to steal the electoral college in 2024. Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania are all protected by elected public servants who believe in democracy, and that's thanks to voters and organizers who refused to be intimidated. In this week's special episode, we highlight four Gaslit Nation listeners who worked hard to protect our democracy in the midterms, some volunteering as far as Ukraine.

In this inspiring conversation, you'll meet Dr. Nicole Speer, a recently elected member of the Boulder City Council who manages a brain imaging research facility at the University of Colorado. She shares her story of running for office and how others can do the same. You'll also hear from Hugh Stempfley of Illinois who trained as an election judge alongside his grandson, and shares their story of two generations on the frontlines of protecting our democracy. Jed Holtzman of San Francisco is active in his community advocating for policies and other actions to urgently protect our civilization from man-made climate change and his advice on why text-banking is a great way to pitch in, even if you only have an hour to spare. And finally, you'll meet entrepreneur Isaac Flanagan who left his comfortable home in Colorado to bring desperately needed humanitarian supplies to the frontlines of Russia's genocidal invasion of Ukraine, even while helping get out the vote in the U.S. midterm by calling voters in a California swing House district. We thank everyone who helped get out the vote in these and all elections. Our democracy depends on you, even though it shouldn't. Thank you to everyone who works hard to protect our democracy and shows why we always say: grassroots power is the most reliable power we have left.

In our bonus episode, available to subscribers at the Truth-teller level and higher, we cover the International Criminal Court at The Hague that just indicted war criminal Putin -- an arrest notice that makes Putin a wanted man in well over 100 countries. We also touch on the potential Trump indictment which noticeably isn't coming from the DOJ. We also answer questions submitted by our listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher. Thank you to everyone who supports the show and keeps our civic-action community and independent journalism going. We couldn't make this show without you!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Gaslit Nation. I am your co-host, Andrea Chalupa, and we have a very special episode today.
0:18.3	As Sarah is not here with us because she's in the trenches working on her next
0:23.3	masterpiece. And if she were here, she'd like me to say that this is Gaslit Nation, a show about
0:30.2	rising autocracy and corruption worldwide. And with us today are the winners of the 22 US midterms,
0:42.2	get out the vote, Gaslit Nation Challenge,
0:44.9	where we have Gaslit Nation listeners who,
0:47.7	like so many of you, rolled up their sleeves
0:50.8	and did what we all had to do,
0:52.5	which is get out the vote to ensure that the big
0:56.4	Trump, big lie movement didn't steal a bunch of races and usher in fascism. They came extremely
1:02.3	close in the house, Kevin McCarthy's chaotic house, a very slim margin there. You've got the Putin
1:08.8	caucus, the Kremlin caucus of Matt Gates and others who are trying to
1:12.5	end aid for Ukraine and end democracy as we know it. But we obviously did not give a lot away,
1:18.9	never mind the deadbeats running the New York State Democratic Party. We held our own in the
1:24.8	midterms. And it was thanks to people like today's guests.
1:27.6	We're going to start with Dr. Nicole Spear.
1:31.9	Dr. Nicole Spear manages a brain imaging research facility at the University of Colorado
1:37.4	and is a member of the City Council in Boulder, Colorado.
1:41.8	She is committed to building the beloved community through empowerment and
1:46.0	collective liberation. Nicole, welcome to Gaslit Nation. We're so grateful for you and all the work that
1:53.5	you do. Colorado has a history of being a purple state. It's now more and more blue, thanks to
1:59.8	amazing community organizers like you,
	...

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