Indivisible organizer Ezra Levin told CNN anchor Dana Bash that there’s a reason Congressional Republicans and their affiliates are attacking protestors this weekend.
Bash pointed referenced a Wall Street Journal reporting that the Trump administration is planning to overhaul the IRS, with one of its goals being the pursuit of left-wing groups like Levin’s.
“He’s already got a list of potential targets, I can't imagine that Indivisible, which helps plan these giant protests against the president, … would not be on it. Are you preparing for this?” Bash asked.
“Well, Dana. What do they say? First, they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win,” said Levin. “We're one step from winning. They're not ignoring us. They're not laughing at us. They are worried about peaceful, broad-based protests all around the country. And that's true of any authoritarian regime anywhere in the world.”
“The number 1 thing they fear is peaceful protests, because authoritarian regimes depend on convincing the populace that they are alone and weak and that [the regime] is all-powerful. So, I'm not surprised,” Levin added. “But it is really troubling, and it's unconstitutional and it's illegal. But we're not going to back down.”
Bash played a series of clips of Republicans bashing protestors, including one with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing them as the “Pro-Hamas wing” of the Democratic Party.
Levin admitted that the GOP is ramping up its hostility against angry voters, but questioned why they were escalating their rhetoric at this time.
“The question is, why are they coming at us now?” asked Levin. “And it's because they are worried that they are losing their grip on power. They are worried that other people in blue states, red states and purple states, in rural communities, in Trump country, are going to see the public doesn't support them. And that makes them scared.”
“I think what they're doing is backfiring. Our numbers are skyrocketing,” Levin added, citing more than 2,600 protest events planned across the nation and “more RSVPs” than at the June “No Kings” protests.”