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Democracy is not a spectator sport. Whether you want to exercise your right to vote, join a protest, call your congressperson, run for office, or keep tabs on the week’s hottest issues and protests, The Contrarian has you covered.
Here are our top suggestions for getting involved in the days ahead. These are heated times; we encourage non-violent and lawful activism.
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SubscribedCounter ICE
Contact your members of Congress to demand a full, transparent investigation into the killing of Renee Good by an immigration agent in Minneapolis. Include calls for justice and accountability. (Find resources to connect you with your legislators below)
Demand a fight over Homeland Security funding. Democrats such as Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) are leading efforts to slash the mass-deportation budget, vowing “not one dime” for Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. Department of Homeland Security funding is part of budget negotiations that must be completed before January 30. Democrats have rare leverage to slash ICE spending or at least impose meaningful reforms, including unmasking federal agents. But some in the party may be looking to duck another showdown and could use your encouragement. Watch our own how-to video here.
Support the impeachment of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. In the wake of ICE’s deadly shooting, Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) has called for Noem’s removal, alleging “obstruction of Congress,” “violation of public trust,” and “self dealing.” With more than 50 House Democrats cosponsoring the impeachment, you have an opportunity to thank your lawmakers or encourage others to get on board.
Help targeted community members protect themselves from ICE. When federal agents are out in force, many immigrants and citizens of color alike are afraid to leave their homes. Families in Minneapolis (and before them in Chicago and elsewhere) have been demonstrating how to show solidarity:
Distribute know-your-rights cards to help inform neighbors of their constitutional protections regardless of immigration status.
Hand out whistles to blow if deportation agents are spotted in your neighborhood. (Honking your car horn works, too.)
Organize carpools for the children of affected parents or offer to do a grocery run or other essential errands.
Create volunteer teams to monitor neighborhoods near schools and bus stops to ensure it’s clear for kids to move about.
Record interactions between federal agents with community members and distribute evidence of abuses widely on social platforms and to the media.
Defend the Fed
Pressure lawmakers to stand up for the independence of the Federal Reserve. The Trump Justice Department has opened an investigationinto Fed Chair Jerome Powell, ostensibly over renovations to Fed offices. Powell released an extraordinary video calling the probe a “pretext” meant to intimidate him into taking Trump’s orders on interest rates. The issue is creating a wedge in the GOP that can be exploited. Top Republican senators, including like Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and banking chair Thom Tillis (R-NC) are expressing their disapproval of DOJ’s overreach, and even Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was “unhappy” with the investigation.
Honor MLK
To honor the life of Martin Luther King Jr. on the January 19 federal holiday, search Mobilize.us for an event or google for an MLK Day of Service volunteer opportunity near you.
Upcoming Protests
Timed to the anniversary of Trump’s inauguration, the January 20 “Free America Walkout” is a demonstration against fascism. Organizers are calling for a nationwide “walk out”—of “work, school, and commerce”—at 2 p.m. local time.
In Minneapolis, labor leaders are calling for a city-wide general strike on January 23.
Below, find The Contrarian’s standing resources for empowering yourself in American civic life:
Contact Your Elected Officials
It can feel old-school (or even cringe), but calling your elected officials iseffective in moving the political needle. This is true whether you’re calling to oppose an official’s stance or spur them into action that matches their rhetoric. Watch our how-to video here.
To reach the Washington, D.C. office of any House or Senate member, call the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121. In the run-up to big votes, you may have better luck reaching a human by calling the politician’s state or district office.
Common Cause has built a remarkable tool that lets you plug in your home address and receive a roster with contact information for the elected officials who represent you — from city council members to U.S. senators. When you’re ready to make a call, the League of Conservation Voters offers a comprehensive guide on best practices.
E-mail from constituents can be effective too. Democracy.io has a one-stop tool to email your Senators and Representatives.
Find out more at: Common Cause; LCV; Democracy.io.
Get Active with Neighbors
No group has channelled the energies of the anti-Trump coalition more effectively than Indivisible. The group focuses on empowering local activists who come together in periodic, nationwide mobilizations that stretch from big, blue cities to sleepy red-state towns. (Watch Jen Rubin’s interview with Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin on the tactics of effective resistance).
If you’re more comfortable organizing on a Reddit forum or a Discord server than a living room potluck, try the newest player on the activist block: 50501.org. And if you’re just looking to make a difference on your own, Mobilize.us offers an array of local volunteer opportunities, petitions, and events.
Find out more at: Indivisible.org, where you can read the handbook and find an active group in your area or start one of your own. Discover 50501.org’s“Welcome Guide” here. Or click your state at Mobilize.us to find an action that works for you.
Guarantee Your Vote
Donald Trump & Co. are committed to gerrymandering and voter-suppression — including purging voter rolls of supposedly ineligible or “inactive” voters — because they’re afraid of the power of your vote. Don’t be intimidated. Vote.org offers a one-stop shop to double-check your registration status; if you’re not registered, you can sign up in minutes online. The group also offers a toolkit to begin a voter registration drive of your own. The Fair Elections Center has compiled a helpful, state-by-state resource (click the map) that will alert you to registration deadlines and help you find your polling location.
Find out more at: Vote.org, Fair Elections Center. A federal mail-in voter registration form is also available in many languages here.
Help Flip the House
The best near-term hope for restoring American checks and balances is flipping the House of Representatives in November. Swing Left is a progressive organization focused on 33 key House seats for the 2026 midterm—19 GOP-held seats to target and 14 Democratic seats to defend. Around since 2016, Swing Left solicits donations for these high-impact races and organizes grassroots volunteers.
Find out more at: Swing Left.
Run for Office
If you’re ready to take a leap into politics yourself, Run For Something can help you get off the ground. The organization has built an impressive pipeline of progressive talent to reshape our politics—from local races up to members of Congress. Founded by millennial author and activist Amanda Litman (watch her interview with Jen Rubin here), Run for Something specifically recruits next-generation candidates. But the organization offers resources for first-time candidates of all ages, including logistical support to help run “efficient, strategic, grassroots, driven campaigns.”
Find out more at: RunforSomething.net
Embrace ‘Tactical Frivolity’
The serious business of defending democracy doesn’t have to be so, well, serious. As the inflatable frogs of Portland taught us, there is room—and, indeed, a need—for lightness and what academics call “tactical frivolity.” This carnival-like spirit, which may involve costumes or music or goofy protest signs, buoys fellow protesters even as it confounds would-be authoritarians who are counting on fear to reinforce the perception of their power. (Context is key, consider whether your inflatable costume will be out of place at a somber vigil.)
Learn more here.
Consider a Boycott
In capitalist America, one of the most powerful ways to vote is with your pocketbook. Withholding spending can send a powerful signal to corporations that they should think twice before collaborating with the Trump administration or complying with its culture-war marching orders.
Protests at Tesla dealerships played a role in pushing Elon Musk out of his destructive White House stint as unofficial co-president. The Rev. Jamal Bryant has led a consumer boycott of Target, which abandoned its once-robust DEI commitments after Trump’s election, leading to several quarters of reduced revenue. Home Depot, Hilton, and Amazon have all been hit by recent anti-MAGA consumer protests. These protests are effective. Boycotts of Avelo Airlines helped spur that budget carrier to end its deportation-flight contract with ICE. Spotify similarly stopped airing ICE recruitment ads after consumer backlash.
The activist group Choose Democracy has a solid boycott tracker. Also check out the list at BoycottHere.com.
Find out more at: BoycottHere; Boycott Central; TeslaTakedown;WeAintBuyingit; Groundavelo.
Combat Misinformation Online
Social media billionaires like Musk are rigging their algorithms to prioritize right-wing content—especially surrounding ICE operations. Report posts with false or misleading content, add or request “community notes,” and circulate or create factual content. RumorGuard, a project of the nonpartisan News Literacy Project, offers tools to recognize misinformation, including a catalog of hoax content that’s gone viral. Snopes.com also specializes in debunking misinformation.
Find out more: RumorGuard; Snopes
Declare Energy Independence
The planet is overheating and our foreign policy is a nightmare, significantly because of America’s addiction to fossil fuels. The Trump administration wants to keep American drivers hooked on Big Oil and keep the energy grid powered by fossil fuels—and has reduced pollution controls and phased out federal tax incentives for renewable energy and electric vehicles.
But with state-level supports, the economics of green energy still make sense for millions of Americans. Kelley Blue Book maintains a state-by-state catalog of electric vehicle incentives. Homeowners can get a rough cost estimate for powering their homes with renewable energy at Solar-estimate.org. For renters, a group called Bright Saver is lobbying to make “balcony solar”—think: small, DIY solar arrays plugged into your home outlets—legal and accessible across the country.
Find out more at: KBB; Solar-estimate.org; Bright Saver.
Support Nonprofit Media
In an age of right-wing billionaire takeovers of once-great newspapers, broadcast networks, and social media platforms, supporting independent media outlets has never been more critical. Some of our favorites include ProPublica, Mother Jones, and local outlets such as the Barbed Wire in Texas, the Minnesota Reformer, the Tennessee Holler, and the Mississippi Free Press.
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