How To

M. Gessen, an opinion writer at the New York Times, has written an article appearing today with a formula to deal with growing autocracy. Both Americans and Canadians should pay attention. She uses the recent defeat of Orban to point to ways for others to follow: Read the full article here.

 ·       Volunteer and organize other to do so.

·       Make the case in person going door to door, if you are a politician or major supporter. Don’t just march in protests or spend all your time making a case on social media. (Last year, a Canadian party leader lost his seat to an opponent, who took the time to knock on doors in his riding several times in the preceding two years.)

·       Use clear forward-looking language – don’t go back to “Again”. Say “Start Over”. Name the abuses of the person you want to defeat. Be specific.

·       Take over an existing party instead of trying to create a new one and build its internal organization.

·       Lead it as an outsider – but do so as a person of integrity. Don’t expect an outsider with no integrity to be on your side under any circumstances.

·       Turn supporters into volunteers; grassroot supporters can become allies in areas of agreement

·       Show moral outrage at the Big Lies; don’t just report them without comment. All of us need to recover a sense of lofty ideals, the rule of law and human rights.

·       Be clear that victory means representation of everyone - everyone – not just those who elected the new leader.

·       Apologize to the victims of the previous govenment and hold them accountable

·       Make politics both aspirational and inspirational.

·       Embrace minorities. Never exclude them.

·       Reclaim national symbols from those who would misuse them.