Update: I'm sick! So is democracy!

So we're moving our live interview by a few nights...

Welcome to a very abbreviated Monday night edition of Progress Report.

I was hoping that postponing our live video interview by one night would allow me to kick whatever bug I was dealing with yesterday, but things only got worse, and this morning, I tested positive for the flu. Not fun!

Thankfully, Eric Blanc (organizer, author of We Are the Union!, and key member of the Federal Unionists Network) has been very flexible and agreed to push our interview to Thursday night at 9pm EST. Between the cocktail of Tamiflu and other drugs I’m on, I should be much better by then, and we’ll be able to gather and have a really fun and interesting chat. I’ll also have a newsletter to you before then, likely on Wednesday.

In the meantime, keep protesting and calling your representatives, no matter where you are. Already, the blowback has led to Chuck Schumer canceling his book tour, which is sort of remarkable given the fact that he was due to appear in Philly, DC, Baltimore, and NYC, all deep blue cities who would ostensibly provide him the friendliest crowd possible. (I was going to go cover the event in NYC tomorrow night, so his cancelation is good timing on my part, I guess.)

The protests are also causing problems for legislators in the reddest, most conservative parts of the country. Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman experienced the wrath of constituents representing a broad ideological spectrum, with some of the most pointed questions at her Saturday town hall coming from veterans and miners who were outraged by the cuts being made by the federal government (and uninterested in the culture wars she attempted to use as a deflection point).

The American Gestapo won't spare anybody

With Democrats clocking record low support, it’s clear that we’ve not only go to stop Republicans, but remake the Democratic Party at the same time. The good news is that Democratic politicians are no longer even attempting to co-opt the pushback against Trump and the GOP, and Americans increasingly recognize that this country desperately needs a fresh start.

If you’re looking for a place to get started, the National Education Association — the nation’s largest teacher’s union — will be holding “walk in” protests all around the country on Wednesday, March 19 to push back against the destruction of the Department of Education. You can find a local one or start your own here.

Note: Unlike many progressive advocacy journalists, I’ve gone fully independent, with no special advertising deals or close relationships with powerful politicians to temper what I write. My only loyalty is to you, the reader, and to the cause of progress — economic justice, democracy, human rights, and standing up to oligarchs.

This election showed that progressives desperately need to build up their own alternative political media infrastructure, and for just $5 a month, you can help keep us afloat and build the movement.