It's Spring Break!

What members of Congress hear in the next two weeks will be important

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Congress will spend the next two weeks on spring break.

Not the kind of spring break where Ted Cruz heads to Cancun to avoid bad weather in Texas. Technically, this is what is called a District Work Period in the House and a State Work Period in the Senate.

In other words, it’s when Republican members of Congress go back to their districts and try to avoid seeing their constituents.

Which makes the work period an invaluable time for building pressure against the Trump regime.

While Republicans continue to hide under their desks to avoid having to account for the indefensible actions of the administration, Democrats and mobilized constituents are planning to use the work period to draw attention to their cowardice and hold them accountable for enabling Trump’s assault on human rights, civil liberties, the economy, the country and the world.

This particular work period comes at a precarious moment for Republicans. Congress just passed a budget blueprint that paves the way for gutting Medicaid, the administration’s defiance of the courts is reaching a boiling point, and Trump’s public support is plummeting as fast as consumer confidence levels. This makes Republicans vulnerable to the kinds of peaceful protests we’ve seen build in intensity and number over the previous weeks.

The pro-democracy group Indivisible recognizes the value of the moment and has published an April Recess Toolkit for anyone interested in taking action while members are back home. Their strategy is to leverage growing antipathy to the Trump administration to force Republicans to feel the heat of public anger.

Their website lists five goals for the next two weeks aimed at pressuring Republicans. Specifically, they hope to:

• Put Republicans on the spot and force them to explain why they support a budget reconciliation plan that gives billionaires huge handouts and pays for them by gutting Medicaid, SNAP, and other vital programs

• Make sure as many people as possible understand the stakes of the Republican budget

• Tie Republican members of Congress to the devastating impacts their actions will have on everyday people

• Make it impossible for them to ignore their constituents by showing up at their offices, events, and anywhere they try to hide

• Ensure Republicans feel the pressure when they return to Washington so they know they’ll be held accountable back home if they vote for the budget plan

Indivisible has a detailed list of tactics designed to achieve these objectives. You can read about them here.

Meanwhile, some congressional Democrats are planning to use the recess to continue holding town hall meetings in states and districts where elected Republicans refuse to be seen in public—including in the district of Richard Hudson, the North Carolina Republican who as head of the National Republican Congressional Committee advised his colleagues to hide from angry constituents.

Democrats plan to target vulnerable Republicans in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Missouri. Cory Booker will be among high-profile Democrats who plan to appear at the sessions.

If these protests are large and sustained they can have their desired effect.

MAGA keeps elected Republicans in line by threatening their political security. The public can provide an important counter-pressure by creating an environment where a critical number of Republicans become as fearful of losing a general election as they are of losing a primary.

With the electoral success Democrats have experienced in recent special elections in Wisconsin, Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa and elsewhere, a number of Republicans in generally safe districts who ordinarily would feel immune from general election threats will take notice. They may continue to hide from the public, but that won’t change the reality of their unsettled political situation. And in private, they will begin calculating the cost of giving their unequivocal support to MAGA.

Deep opposition to the administration is changing the political environment. Since January, Donald Trump has gone from a victorious candidate who commanded the support of almost half the country to a significantly diminished figure who now draws the disapproval of a majority of the electorate and the ire of many. Now is the time to drive it home.

Public anger is strong and growing. Spring break is an ideal time to give it voice.