The Chaos Quotient

Why the GOP's chaos is intentional and part of a broader strategy to burn it all down.

Friends, welcome to new subscribers of our newsletter. As I’ve mentioned before, our purpose here is to create a community of activists and voters in Indiana and across the country where we can learn about how Dems can retake Democracy in Indiana and other red states.

If you’re like me, you’ve been glued to the voting or coverage of the Republicans attempting to elect a Speaker of the House. As of this writing, the previous presumptive Speaker, Kevin McCarthy has lost 6 votes in a row, and he’s losing more votes with each ballot. On the other hand, Dems are consistently voting for Hakeem Jeffries unanimously. What a shift from previous narratives of disarray!

Lots of people are decrying the end of the Republican party, talking about the chaos the Republicans are creating as turning off voters. I want to zoom out from this take and look at the Republican playbook as a whole, so we can shift the narrative from one where the Republican party is a normal, but incompetent, political party. What do we shift it to? Continue on, dear readers.

The chaos we see on the floor of the House is exactly what the Republicans want. The Republican party has ceased to be a “normal” party in our two party system, and over the past 6 years has completely turned into a party of anti-democracy, of chaos, and of destruction. The entire GOP is the Chaos Caucus, because they all — as Federal representatives, Senators, or state officers — are courting chaos as a strategy.

The Chaos Caucus wants to destroy representative government and take power unilaterally. The best way to do this? Demonstrate that democracy (small d) doesn’t work and can’t govern. The inability of the Chaos Caucus to elect a Speaker is the proof they’re offering to the American people that democracy doesn’t work and should therefore be discarded (in favor of Christian White Nationalist autocracy, clearly). The group self-named the “Freedom Caucus,” which is made up of seditious conspirators, is better named the Unfreedom Caucus or the Anarchy Caucus.

To be clear, here’s the strategy: Break government—the norms, the principles, the idea of responsible governance. Lead the country into financial ruin. Pass extremist laws that harm and other large groups of people, then run on the idea that democracy is fundamentally broken and should be replaced by a different system in which they will rule. They further this aim by suppressing the vote: making it harder to get to the polls, gerrymandering their way into permanent power, frustrating voters into believing their votes are irrelevant, and keeping them home.

Pro-democracy voters stymied this goal in Blue and Swing States this last election cycle, but the Chaos Caucus managed a slim majority in the House of Representatives. And at the state level, Chaos/Republican supermajorities in what we call “Red” states are poised to extend Don’t Say Gay bills (Indiana), prohibit adult transgender folks from medically transitioning (Oklahoma), and extending government mandated forced birth wherever they can. And so on…

So what do we do?

There are lots of ways to help at all levels. Here at HVA, we’re focusing on State House and Senate races in Indiana. We’ll talk about specific plans as we go on, but for now, what we need is for people in Blue states to adopt Indiana and work to elect Dems at the state level. That will mean ongoing small dollar donations to organizations like ours that are working year round (not just in election cycles) to organize, understand voters, engage, raise profiles of democrats, change the Chaos Republican narrative, and instill hope in disengaged voters. It will mean becoming donor organizers and recruiting friends to give small dollar donations to organizations like HVA, amplifying the Dem message, connecting with people in your adopted states, and joining the pro-democracy community with intention. We welcome you to our community, and if you find a different one, that’s great also! Everyone has a place and a role in this struggle. We all need to make common cause and work together, not in silos that divide us by location, focus, and resources.

Stuff to Consume

Check out Michael Moore’s miniseries within his podcast Rumble. He’s got 12 mini episodes called “Blue Dots in a Red Sea.” I think he’s got some great points about people living in Redlandia (there’s a lot more of us than we think)! I’m less optimistic that we can turn things around for 2024, because I think it’ll take sustained action and organization in a gerrymandered environment to shift the dynamic, as they have in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Georgia (to some extent).

Indiana Insights

Indiana’s policies are driving skilled workers out of state. See this IndyStar article that discusses Indiana’s brain drain, and links it with extremist policies on reproductive freedom, trans rights, and LGBTQ issues as a whole. The legislature is poised to take up a Don’t Say Gay bill in Indiana this session.

Happy New Year, my friends. Please forward this newsletter on to friends and family and stay tuned for more as we keep organizing, fundraising, and engaging. If you can, please get a paid subscription to this newsletter or donate at www.hoosiervictoryalliance.org. Your funds will go toward helping us join Every State Blue, engage with voters, conduct badly-needed research, and do all the things we’ll need to win. If you’re interested in a larger investment, please be in touch with me directly at stephanie@hoosiervictoryalliance.org!