The election redistricting decisions made last week by the Virginia Supreme Court, by a 4-3 margin, and the US Supreme Court, by a 6-3 margin, have outraged, depressed and/or confused millions of US American voters, while temporarily, at least, energizing racists and Trump supporters. But there’s been no substantive change in the polling numbers for Trump. Averaging out the latest polls reported on this week by CNN, The Economist, Reuters and Financial Times, Trump is disapproved by 59% and supported by only 38%.

As important is the issue of who is most motivated to vote. A poll several months ago reported that those leaning Democratic are more motivated to vote compared to those learning Republican by an almost 2-1 margin, something like 49% to 27%. This is not a small thing.

It is important to keep these facts in mind as we continue forward toward the historic November 3 election day. But what happens on that day is too important not to take seriously this redistricting challenge.

It is possible that legal challenges to these court decisions will have some impact in lessening their impact, but we can in no way depend on that happening. The odds aren’t good.

The most important thing radicals, progressives, liberals and other people who support democracy can do is to get involved with voter outreach and communication efforts all over the country. This means doing phone-calling. It means “getting on the doors,” knocking on them and talking to as many people as possible about how important this election is.

Sometimes this will mean relating to those alienated from the system as a whole, for very good reasons, but explaining why the Trumpfascists are such a threat to so many of us that they should vote against Republican House and Senate candidates even if they’re skeptical it will change things or don’t like the Democrats.

Sometimes it will mean talking for 5-10 or more minutes if people aren’t sure what to do because they’ve voted for Trump in the past. We need to have the patience and the discipline to listen, take what they are saying seriously, and do our best to make them feel not dissed but supported in their efforts to rectify past mistakes. People can change!

White anti-racist activists have a particular role to play. In those southern states where much of the hurried efforts are taking place to redraw House of Representatives lines to try to eliminate Black members as much as possible, we need to take on those who are doing this and those who are supporting it. We need to combine our belief, on the one hand, in the need for continued steps to be taken, electorally and non-electorally, to improve the lives of Black, Brown and Indigenous people, those historically disenfranchised and most oppressed, with support for government policies that benefit working-class and low-income people of all colors, cultures and nationalities.

We won’t reach white people influenced by historic racism by making them feel guilty. We’ll do so only by doing our best to get them to see that solidarity is the way forward for all of us, for all working people against the billionaire and multi-multi-millionaire class.

And turnout is key! Orban in Hungary was defeated and his opposition big winners last month because close to 80% of the eligible voting population turned out to do so. If that same thing, or close to it, happened in the USA on, or in early voting before, November 3, the results would likely be similar. The Dems would control both the House and the Senate, almost certainly, with a strengthened progressive wing. The political playing field would be very different than it has been for the last year and a half. Trump and the Republicans would be seriously weakened; not fully defeated but much less able to do the things they are now doing.

Less than six months to go! It won’t be the revolution, but it will be immensely empowering and hopeful for people everywhere. Let’s defeat the Trumpfascists!

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