Action – Play Hatch Act Bingo during the administration’s hijacking of Independence Day. (4) different cards to print out along with nifty tank markers!
card 1 card 2 card 3 card 4 card 5 (create-your-own!)
People are watching. If Trump or anyone else on stage slips into MAGA-mode, his campaign would be liable, under the Hatch Act, for reimbursing our costs. So watch along with Walter Schaub and us with your very own print-out Hatch Act Bingo cards. You get a marker if:
- Trump uses one of his campaign slogans: “Make America Great Again” or “Keep America Great”;
- Trump mentions the election, his reelection, or a desire to stay in office;
- Trump mentions election polling, his approval rating, or his fundraising efforts;
- Trump mentions a candidate vying for a rival party’s nomination for president;
- Trump mentions his political party or a rival political party;
- Volunteers hand out campaign signs, banners, or flyers;
- Other speakers on the stage mention Trump’s campaign, reelection or a desire for Trump to remain in office;
- Other speakers on the stage mention one of Trump’s political rivals, Trump’s political party, or a rival political party;
- Trump campaign officials are present at the event; or
- Any other indicia of political activity.
Background
“He wants to have a parade like they have in Moscow or China or North Korea.” – RNC fundraiser
Our President has kidnapped America’s 4th of July and is dragging it into an authoritarian netherworld complete with tanks. Excited right down to the spurious spurs on his heels, he might not be able to restrain himself from turning what is already an expensive and destructive taxpayer-financed boondoggle into a free campaign rally for himself. Walter Shaub, the former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, now a senior adviser to “Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington” (CREW), has produced a primer on the Hatch Act and how it could intersect with Trump’s celebration. The law, which forbids federal employees from participating in partisan political activities, especially with taxpayer funds, dates from 1939, amongst concerns about state power, fascism and dictatorship. Kellyanne Conway is a repeat violator, and although Trump himself is not subject to the law, his campaign is. If he or any speaker on the podium slips up, the campaign might have to re-emburse the American public for the costs that are incurred.
Since he couldn’t restrain himself in front of a bunch of the Boy Scouts, what are the chances?
Seat the oligarchy first: “Limiting public access to a public monument on Independence Day in favor of wealthy donors just sends a signal that our political system favors the wealthy and well-connected.” – Brenden Fischer, Campaign Legal Center
He’s blocking access to our Lincoln Memorial in favor of GOP legislators, political appointees, campaign donors and their family and friends. The area normally filled with families watching fireworks, will now be accessible only to those with tickets distributed by the White House and the RNC, removing public access from the steps to the middle of the reflecting pool. The view towards the memorial is spoiled with large screens and blocked with temporary bleachers for expensively-clad behinds.
The people’s holiday is going from this in years past…
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
…to this.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
And the corruption for what should be a non-partisan family holiday has begun…The same day a donation of $750,000 in fireworks was announced, the company — Phantom Fireworks of Youngstown, Ohio – got good news: Trump decided to hold off on his threatened $300 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, which include fireworks.
Jordon Libowitz of CREW, stated that his group is suing Trump for violating the Constitution by accepting money from foreign governments through his hotels. “Look for the big donors to make appearances alongside major Trump administration figures at the Trump Hotel. It’s already sold out for the 3rd and 4th despite charging double what the other luxury hotels are charging around the holiday.” Invitations to donors by a campaign committee he controls will also generate cash for himself.
He doesn’t really understand July 4th. The man who’s never washed a dish, changed a diaper, pulled weeds, cleaned a toilet, washed his own clothes or used any tool but fake gold shovels, has no idea how normal Americans want to celebrate the 4th of July. We want our presidents to leave us alone. We want a day where we can just enjoy being Americans, or being in America. One long perfect day with our families, the only worries being how long the potato salad has sat in the sun and when we should leave because it’s a savage first-come-first-choice for the best spots to watch fireworks.
So if the man who wants to turn this day into chain-mesh walls, guarded gates and exclusive tickets so that those judged to be our betters can sit above and apart, who wants to parade weapons of war on a day that celebrates freedom from war, who wants to spend our money by the millions for a wasteful, destructive display but makes the frail and the poor beg for scraps and children cry for food and soap…let’s make his campaign pay for the privilege.
Watch well.
Reading:
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 