Dear Rally Organizers: Time to Move Out of Your Glass Houses
Let me tell you a quick story.
Back in 2020 a Lincoln Project team member got into an online scrap with someone from a very progressive organization. I got a call from the group’s leader demanding I take action against our guy. Here’s a recap of that call (as far as I recall.)
Me: “What would you like me to do?”
Them: “Fire him.”
Me: “No.”
Them: “What will you do?”
Me: “Give me an idea.”
Them: “Will you denounce him publicly?”
Me: “No. We’re not Bolsheviks.”
First, I relate that tale because there is a tendency on the part of our more…left-leaning friends to believe they reside on the moral high-ground as if they were born atop the hill.
Next, despite having lost everything in 2024, some of our friends still haven’t learned how to play nicely with others, (or each other), to understand that a ‘big tent’ must also have a wide door, and that when someone offers assistance, the answer should be ‘yes’ whenever possible.
Tomorrow, tens of thousands of Americans will participate in “No Kings Day,” made up of hundreds of individual events in cities and towns in all 50 states, coinciding with Donald Trump’s street-wrecking, Red Square invoking, military parade in Washington, DC.
One of the events is taking place in Nampa, Idaho, about 20 miles due west of Boise. The only reason I know this is because I got a text last night from a friend letting me know that Pam Hemphill, the so-called “MAGA Grandma” had been uninvited from participating in the program.
On its face this would make sense, until you hear Ms. Hemphill’s story. Yes, she helped publicize the rallies on January 6th, 2021. Yes, she was at the Capitol that day. She also plead guilty in Federal Court and was sentenced to two months in prison.
When Trump pardoned approximately 1500 January 6th demonstrators, those convicted, and those awaiting trial, Hemphill declined to take advantage. In numerous interviews she states clearly that what she and the others did was wrong, they were lied to, and she’s trying to make amends.
She told CBS News, “The pardons just contribute to their narrative, which is all lies, propaganda. We were guilty, period.”
Despite her criminal and public contrition, Ms. Hemphill received the following text from the rally organizers in her home state of Idaho:
Let’s breakdown the language here, because it matters.
First: The Passive Voice. “It has been requested…” Who requested Pam not participate? If you’re going to axe someone, have the guts to say who made the call.
Second: The Condescension: “I appreciate you making changes in your life and seeking to make amends for your past decisions.” Glass Houses and all that.
Third. The Judgement. “…Some people are slower to forgive them others.” Who are the people not willing to forgive after Pam admitted her mistakes, refused to take the easy path, and is now trying to tell her story.
Last: The Dismissal. “Best to you as you move on through your life.” Don’t call us, we’ll call you (but don’t wait by the phone.)
We need more Pam Hemphills. Haven’t we been asking folks to leave MAGA and come over to our side. Now when they do, we’re telling them they’re not welcome? How is that helpful or decent? How will this convince any other would-be defectors from speaking up when they’re going to be condescended to further, and reminded why they either joined or remained close to Donald Trump.
In response, the friend who texted me sent his response to the organizer:
This, my friends, is not sustainable. A broad-based, pro-democracy movement can and will include people who do not like one another, nor agree on much. We’re bigger than MAGA, but none of it matters if so-called ‘leaders’ continue to choose division over unity based on their own sense of moral superiority.
People like Pam, or Joe Walsh, Adam Kinzinger, Miles Taylor, or any of us who’ve severed all ties with the political, personal, and professional world we knew, have been front and center in the fight; some of us for a decade.
You can imagine the frustration of seeing people, the vast majority of whom have put little-to-nothing on the line, sitting in judgement of those who understand the nature of the problem and have actually spent time and effort, at personal risk, to do something about it.
The story isn’t quite finished. My friend received the above response to his legitimate frustration. Let’s break this one down, too.
First: No Responsibility. “I did the best I could.” Based on what barometer?
Second: ‘Exhaustion.’ “I am too tired to discuss all of this with you tonight…” You’re tired? I’m sorry, were you digging trenches?
Third: Finding a ‘Solution.’ “…A more personal venue…” We’ll give her a broom closet to speak in.
Fourth: Hypocrisy. “We don’t want to be steered down the dark path of “othering people: or labeling people.” But that’s what we’re doing to Pam.
Last: The Dismissal (Part II): “Thank you for contacting me with your food for thought.” I had to respond because you’re a somebody, but I don’t really like you either, and I’m not dealing with this anymore.
Democratic voters are telling pollsters they want fighters. Take all the fighters you can get, regardless of where they come from. There is no purity in politics, and anyone who tells you so never ran for office or worked on a campaign. Compromise can be as unpleasant as it is inevitable. No one is asking you to make up the spare bedroom for the Pam Hemphills of the world. Common decency will do.
We are at the beginning of this fight. The decisions we make now, the relationships we forge, and the work we do have real consequences. We can choose the easy path of self-righteousness or the harder, more productive road of partnership and participation.
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Is there a way to communicate to Ms. Hemphill that there are lots of Americans who feel differently and would very much welcome her to speak at the Nampa rally tomorrow? Any way to collect messages from your readers and forward them to her?
Well said Reed - this kind of BS is ridiculous - these people need to look where you are as a country - you’re in the fight of your lives and marginalising people who have seen the light and want to come back to the right side of all this is beyond counterproductive