![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nortonspeaks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Donald_Trump_By-Gage-Skidmore-CC-BY-SA-2.0-.jpg?resize=326%2C206\")
<\/p>\n
It is not in numbers, but in unity, that our great strength lies\u2026\u2014 THOMAS PAINE,\u00a0COMMON SENSE<\/em>\u00a0(1776)<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The truth is that on a critical issue, we are more united today than most people may realize, but not in a way Donald Trump likes. His approval ratings have plummeted to dramatic and historic pre-Inauguration lows:<\/p>\n ABC News\/Washington Post<\/em>:<\/a>\u00a040 percent \u2013 Compare that to the three most recent presidents-elect immediately prior to their inaugurations: Obama \u2013 80 percent; George W. Bush \u2013 72 percent; Clinton \u2013 81 percent.<\/p>\n Every<\/em>\u00a0major poll confirms Trump\u2019s dismal standing with the American people:<\/p>\n Trump famously ignores or denies the accuracy of polls that disfavor him, as he did in this\u00a0Jan. 17 tweet<\/a>: \u201cThe same people who did the phony election polls, and were so wrong, are now doing approval rating polls. They are rigged just like before.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s Trump\u2019s\u00a0\u201cThree-Ds Strategy\u201d in action<\/a>:\u00a0deflect, divert and distract<\/strong>. Although pre-election polls missed on individual state totals that determined the Electoral College results, they got the popular vote outcome about right: he lost by 2 percent compared to the\u00a0final average of all pre-election polls<\/a>\u00a0that had him behind by 3 \u2014 well within the polls\u2019 3 percent margin of error. Giving Trump the benefit of the same margin barely moves the needle.<\/p>\n Former career pollster Kellyanne Conway and Republicans in Congress surely grasp the harsh truth. Already a historic popular vote loser, Trump is rapidly becoming a regret for many of those who voted for him. As the Republican Party\u2019s albatross, he grows heavier by the hour.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time for the real American majority to demonstrate its unity and mobilize.<\/p>\n Abandon the circular firing squad and\u00a0look at the big picture: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump played all of us against each other, and they\u2019re still at it. Rather than continue an internecine battle over how the last war was lost, resolve to prevail in this one.<\/p>\n The disenfranchised American majority should stop squabbling with itself. Some Sanders supporters believe party regulars betrayed them by tilting the playing field against their guy. Some Clinton supporters think Sanders people didn\u2019t respond with sufficient enthusiasm to her nomination.\u00a0Jill Stein and Gary Johnson voters think that neither party focused on the correct issues. All of them have a point. Acknowledge it, shake hands, join arms and move forward together.<\/p>\n Most Trump voters are American patriots, and many are now having buyer\u2019s remorse. Welcome them to the Trump Resistance Plan. Loyal citizens take differing sides on many social and political questions. Organized, issue-related protests should continue in earnest.\u00a0But unity in the defense of democracy is now a transcendent imperative for all.<\/p>\n Guarding against foreign interference in our elections and resisting institutionalized corruption in the presidency are central to the preservation of the republic. If Trump prevails in his assault on those fundamental principles, party labels will cease to have meaning. Many Republican senators already understand that vital point, which makes them natural allies of the TRP.<\/p>\n Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)<\/a>\u00a0chairs the\u00a0Senate Armed Services Committee<\/a>\u00a0seeking the truth about Putin\u2019s interference with the 2016 election. He and\u00a0Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)<\/a>\u00a0are leading that charge.\u00a0Likewise,\u00a0North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0Intelligence Committee<\/a>\u00a0is investigating possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia. Three more Republicans represent states Hillary Clinton carried:\u00a0Maine\u2019s Susan Collins<\/a>,\u00a0Colorado\u2019s Cory Gardner<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Nevada\u2019s Dean Heller<\/a>. And another six found candidate Trump\u2019s behavior especially problematic, to say the least:\u00a0Arizona\u2019s Jeff Flake<\/a>,\u00a0Utah\u2019s Mike Lee<\/a>,\u00a0Alaska\u2019s Lisa Murkowski<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Dan Sullivan<\/a>,\u00a0Ohio\u2019s Rob Portman<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Nebraska\u2019s Ben Sasse<\/a>.<\/p>\n Contact all of them \u2014 as well as the\u00a0senators<\/a>\u00a0from your own state \u2014 and demand a relentless search for the truth. Write and repeat.\u00a0Every week<\/em>, send a message that conveys this central point:<\/p>\n On the\u00a0<\/strong>Jan. 8 edition of<\/strong>\u00a0Meet The Press<\/em><\/strong>, Sen. Graham promised<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to take the Trump\/Russia election investigation<\/strong> wherever it leads, including <\/strong>Trump\u2019s business conflicts of interest. Hold him to that promise and support his efforts.<\/strong><\/p>\n With Democrats unified, it takes only three Republicans to deprive Trump of his leverage over the Senate. Then he\u2019ll have to deal with those representing a majority of Americans who never wanted him in the Oval Office. Most Republicans in Congress will be reluctant warriors. But love of country and the encouragement of fellow citizens will help them do the right thing. Support the brave and bolster the wary.<\/p>\n The House of Representatives poses special challenges.\u00a0Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA)<\/a>\u00a0heads the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that could follow the Senate\u2019s lead. But Nunes was also on\u00a0Trump\u2019s transition team<\/a>, so send him a message along these lines:<\/p>\n The House must follow the Senate\u2019s lead in pursuing the Trump\/Russia election investigation wherever it leads. Choose democracy over the defense of a dangerous president\u2019s reputation.<\/strong><\/p>\n Even better,\u00a0give him a call<\/a>\u00a0or visit one of his offices.\u00a0Contact his fellow Republicans on the committee<\/a>.\u00a0Encourage\u00a0Democrats on the committee<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 especially\u00a0ranking member Adam Schiff (D-CA)<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 to remain tough and stand strong. In messages to your own\u00a0state\u2019s representatives<\/a>\u00a0who aren\u2019t on Nunes\u2019 committee, express your fear that democracy is in peril.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s stonewalling with respect to his financial conflicts of interest undermines the institutional integrity of the presidency. But so far, that crucial norm of democracy has not found strong Republican defenders comparable to Sens. McCain and Graham on Russian election interference.<\/p>\n Until a courageous Republican voice emerges, it\u2019s up to Senate Democrats to keep the public focused on the issue.\u00a0In questioning HUD Secretary-designate Ben Carson, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) demonstrated<\/a>\u00a0skillfully how\u00a0pervasive Trump\u2019s financial conflict of interest problems are. As Trump\u2019s agenda makes its way through Congress, those problems will become ubiquitous and the spotlight on them must shine ever brighter.<\/p>\n Regardless of party, support any member of Congress \u2014 and anyone else \u2014 who stands up to Trump in defending the two central pillars of democracy that he\u2019s attacking. They need it. They\u2019re worried about Trump\u2019s branding skills and thinking twice before risking his wrath. That\u2019s a testament to the effectiveness of Trump\u2019s \u201cBully and Intimidate Strategy<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\nAmericans acting in good faith are destined to disagree on many issues of public concern. Colonists fighting the Revolutionary War couldn\u2019t agree on much either, but they fought side by side for\u00a0independence from foreign governments\u00a0and the rejection of official corruption<\/a>. Those two founding principles formed central pillars of American democracy. They still do.<\/h5>\n
Facts Are Stubborn Things<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n
TRP Unity Strategy #1: Unite in Opposition<\/strong><\/h4>\n
TRP Unity Strategy #2: Embrace Trump Voters<\/strong><\/h4>\n
TRP Unity Strategy #3: Search for Senate Help<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Unity Strategy #4: Don\u2019t Forget the House<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Unity Strategy #5: Shine a Spotlight on Corruption<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Unity Strategy #6: Think Beyond Your Own Bubble<\/strong><\/h4>\n