Chris Armitage?
By I don’t know who he is. He’s got a substack, and a post of his was widely circulated over the weekend. It’s plausible and encouraging, but I haven’t seen the material reported elsewhere. Any insights into its reliability are welcome.
He contends that Democratic governors are coordinating via Signal meetings to develop ways to resist Donald Trump’s burgeoning dictatorship.
This is what American federalism looks like in 2025: Democratic governors holding emergency sessions on encrypted apps, attorneys general filing lawsuits within hours of executive orders, and state legislatures quietly passing laws that amount to nullification of federal mandates. Oregon is stockpiling abortion medication in secret warehouses. Illinois is exploring digital sovereignty. California has $76 billion in reserves and is deciding how to deploy it. Three sources on those daily Zoom calls between Democratic AGs say the same phrase keeps coming up, though nobody wants to say it publicly: soft secession.
I’m not fond of talk of secession or civil war. I think we’re a long way from either, soft or not. But it’s mostly a gimmick alongside more interesting assertions in the post.
The infrastructure for this resistance already exists. Twenty-three Democratic attorneys general now gather on near-daily Zoom calls at 8 AM Pacific, which means the East Coast officials are already on their third coffee. They divide responsibilities and share templates for lawsuits they’ve been drafting since last spring.
A case in Washington state shows just how far this has gone. The state Attorney General is now seeking an injunction against Adams County Sheriff for cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, arguing he’s violating state law. The sheriff faces a choice: follow federal directives or state law. Increasingly, state officials are choosing their states.
Eight states have already enacted State Voting Rights Acts that exceed federal protections. Twenty-two states have implemented automatic voter registration. Colorado has created what election security experts call the gold standard: risk-limiting audits with paper ballot requirements.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who successfully sued Trump during his first term, promised she’s “ready to fight back again.” During Trump’s first term, Democratic attorneys general led more than 130 multistate lawsuits against the administration and won 83 percent of them.
Those three paragraphs summarize some interesting actions, but they’re not evidence of cooperation among the states. There’s more like that about the measures that Democratic state governments are taking, but not evidence of cooperation, although it would be no surprise if there were indeed phonecalls and such.
So who is this guy? Reliable or someone looking for clicks? Could be both, too, I guess.