On Trump’s orders, the IRS tries to quietly freeze all the assets of the tax resistance committee, emptying the offices of computers, files, and even the coffee pots. They want it to be a terrifying story. Your colleague alerts a New York Times reporter, who broadcasts the news — telling a story of insider intrigue over Trump’s worry about your growing movement. Apparently, some Trump administrators argued against the IRS action, worried it would only continue to sink Trump’s approval ratings. The argument that won was that this is a good way to shift attention away from the shaky economy — suffering whiplash from Trump’s changing policies.
That night your team meets. Some are terrified that the publicility makes you look weak and will frighten supporters. You come up with an alternative. The next day you make a very public “reentry” into your offices with a moving van full of boxes. Media trail you. As expected, police stop the van and take the boxes. This turns to humiliation as they lift the boxes…and find them all empty. “This administration is fearful of everything.” You then spend many late nights in emergency meetings to keep the infrastructure afloat. The Tax Resistance Movement holds.
The movement worries deeply it isn’t building enough pressure. Trump’s been given the go-ahead by the Supreme Court to replace 50,000 government workers under Schedule F. He’s been installing judges at a fast rate — and gerrymandered maps now make long-term control of Republican power a distinct possibility. Sure, Trump’s 16-week abortion ban is killed quickly in Congress by the movement’s rapid direct action. And the courts hand Trump another setback when it rules, for the second time, against his Mexican border bill. But Trump doubles down on everything. He vows to return the military to the border. Trump opens up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. He vows to “introduce an abortion bill that everyone will love.”
The resistance wing is uncertain. You know you cannot do reactionary protests to everything he does — much less proposes. But many criticize the movement as too ineffective. Over 150,000 people have withheld their taxes, many in an escrow “until the next President.” With your action, only 12,000 people unsign the petition. Now that April 15th is past, movement energy is dragging. You wonder if you need a bigger perspective to see who is out there and where to find more energy.