The holiday season is officially upon us, and you can be sure that your web browsers will be flooded with advice on how to avoid conflicts with family members of different political persuasions. Some might suggest you say nothing at all, and keep the conversation firmly geared toward the weather, and the gifts strictly apolitical.
But if you’re someone who has been dismayed by the political climate this past year–the toxic culture of racism and misogyny of which our president, Donald Trump, is very much a part–and you find yourself surrounded by like-minded people, you might notice that it’s tough to feel festive this holiday season. Giving gifts feels frivolous when the government every day, it feels, is threatening people’s fundamental rights.
On the mobile boutique, $100 will get you an ugly Christmas sweater emblazoned with the word “impeach”–a sweater, according to the website “so fabulous that Putin will want to buy one for all his oligarchs!” A $24 donation will ensure that a Christmas card will be hand-delivered, in the name of anyone on your shopping list, directly to Donald Trump.
“We’re not hyper-focused on impeachment,” Wruble says. “But we are hyper-focused on flipping those 24 seats so that if it became necessary to impeach, it would be possible.” The Impeach Boutique is the holiday kick-off for $24 for 24, a larger fundraising effort launched by March On’s Fight Back PAC, the fundraising arm of the nonprofit committed to flipping local and federal seats. The “gift of impeachment,” March On wrote in a press release, “is perfect for family and friends who would eagerly take impeachment over a fruitcake or a pair of gloves.”
While the women-led March On is still a young organization, it’s gearing up to carry the momentum of the Women’s March through to the 2018 midterms next year, and for the duration of this administration. The nonprofit, Wruble says, is in the process of creating a participatory political platform, which March On hopes will reflect the diverse priorities of its members and affiliate organizations. And next year, they’re organizing “March on the Polls, ” a widespread voter registration and participation effort.