The normalization of threat, intimidation, and violence in our culture and politics should be a matter of grave concern to tens of millions of democratic minded Americans. It is a growing danger, galloping across our country at this very moment.

Driving (and legitimizing) this spike and spread of violence to intimidate opponents and settle political conflicts is a powerful right wing, racist, amoral authoritarian party and movement. If they can, Trump and gang would like nothing better than, to paraphrase Clausewitz’s famous words, turn violence into merely the continuation of politics by other means.

Like any cancer, it must be resisted – and resistance can take many forms, not least at the ballot box. Otherwise it will only get worse and become a springboard to what at one time was an unimaginable future for our country.

The interesting thing in the Economic Policy Institute report is that the surge in strike activity this fall is a continuation – perhaps on a new level – of a trend that began in 2018. No less interesting is the challenge to link the strike surge with struggles in the political/electoral arena. The energy of one would amplify the energy of the other. It seems to me that the leadership of the AFL-CIO is positioned to play a special role in this regard.

A big challenge in the coming two years is to convince people that the future of democracy, as we know it, will likely hang on the outcome of next year’s midterm elections and the presidential elections two years later. The existential threat to democracy posed by Republican rule may seem evident to you, but it isn’t in my experience evident to lots of other voters – tens of millions I’m afraid. They don’t necessarily see the existential threat to democratic governance and democratic rights were Trump and gang back in the driver’s seat.

How to change their perception isn’t so simple however. But I know one thing for sure. It won’t happen if Congressional Republicans, along with the help of Manchin, Sinema, and a few other Democrats, are able to block the main legislative initiatives of the Biden administration.