Fulton County Ohio Media

Last Sunday, at the EJ Ritter Event Hall on Main Street in Swanton, a group of approximately 40 people from various communities in Northwest Ohio got together in an open forum to engage in civil discourse on what to expect from the next Donald J. Trump administration and give opinions about how to deal with it.  The Keynote Speaker was David Pepper, an attorney, writer, democracy activist, former elected official, and adjunct professor who served as the Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party between 2015 and 2021.  His recent non-fiction Laboratories of Autocracy and Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual dissect the attack on democracy taking place in states like Ohio, and guide everyday citizens on steps they can take to lift democracy. Pepper is a regular guest on national television, podcasts, and radio shows—as well as a speaker around the country—advocating for steps to strengthen democracy at the state and national level.

The organizer of the event, titled “Let’s talk About It”, was Janet Ritter, owner of the Studio 101 Salon & Spa, located next to the event hall.  Ms. Ritter explained her motivation behind the event.  “The premise of the event was to bring people together that were concerned about the results and what steps needed to be taken. The attendance included activists, lawyers, doctors, and local business owners who wanted to share their thoughts about Trump’s policies and how it will affect their businesses or their lives. The event was promoted to process the loss of the election. I invited David Pepper for his expertise and knowledge to help navigate through the next steps so we can prepare for 2026.”

Prior to Mr. Pepper’s time behind the podium, Ms. Ritter gave a short speech and it is copied below:

“Thank you for taking time out of your day to be here. For those who do not know me, my name is Janet Ritter, and I am the co-founder of the Indivisible group Northwest Ohio Indivisible Coalition. I’ve been quiet over the past four years, but, unfortunately, with Trump’s reelection, I’ve decided to speak up again.  It has been five weeks since the election, and I don’t know about you, but like Regan from The Exorcist, my head was spinning while I listened to and read the analysis of why we lost the election.  This event aims to help us all process the loss as we face another Trump administration. No one should be afraid after an election, no matter who wins. However, this time, Trump 2.0 is more prepared than ever to carry out his fascist agenda with the implementation of Project 2025.

Like a reality show, Trump is choosing a Cabinet made up of loyalists with little government experience who will support his agenda of retribution. Rather than working to unify the country, Trump is expected to use the presidency to enrich himself further, destroy norms, and demolish the institutions of our government to give him more power than any other president in history. Most importantly, his election victory means he will likely avoid accountability for any of his criminal actions.

The rights of marginalized groups and those who oppose him are in jeopardy. Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Alito will likely retire, allowing Trump to appoint two more extreme conservatives to the bench, which could help the Heritage Foundation advance Project 2025.

Once again, Globally, he will try to pull us out of NATO and the Paris Agreement. Trump will cozy up to dictators around the world because of his desire to be just like them—a tough, strong man with little to no regard for human rights. We’ll have to listen to him do the weave for the next four years as he tries to explain policy with 20 superlatives. He will tell us that he has a policy concept, and we will learn about it in two weeks. We will watch him build a virtual wall isolating us from the rest of the world so we can feel safe and secure because he alone can fix all our problems.

What frustrated me the most was how political pundits immediately blamed the Democrats for failing to connect with middle-class working voters. They argued that the Democrats should focus more on people instead of special interest groups. In the days that followed, all I heard were discussions about the Democrats’ mistakes and the changes needed to bring back their base. They say we lost the support of the working class by concentrating too much on “woke” issues, and there were calls to abandon our Progressive agenda. I don’t know about you, but when did diversity, equality, and inclusion become a far-left agenda that did not resonate with the voters? In the end, it was all about the price of eggs.

For more than eight years, political pundits have used their platforms to express how the GOP has become the Cult of Trump and how Republicans have strayed from their conservative principles, resulting in losses since 2016. In my opinion, the GOP has some reckoning to do themselves. They are no longer the party of the Cheney’s, Romney, Kinzinger, and McCain. Today, they are the party of Trump. They are MAGA.

It’s crucial to note that Trump did not win by a landslide or have a mandate. He won by 2.5 million votes out of more than 150 million cast. When the dust had settled, Latino and Black men who crossed over to Trump and the voters who stayed home cost us the election. Kamala lost the Blue Wall states within the margin of error. However, that doesn’t make Kamala Harris’s loss any less painful.

In my opinion, our flaws were not criminal, our faults were not unethical, and our motives were not immoral. Trump embodied each of these traits. He conveyed the message that voters wanted to hear, and they didn’t care who the messenger was. With the narrowest of margins, he is heading to Washington, where he will continue to undermine our norms, weaken our institutions, and damage our democracy.

Today, we will express our concerns, share how our lives have changed over the past eight years, and consider our next steps. Sitting on the sidelines is not an option, although I’m getting really tired of protesting this crap. The question to ask ourselves at the end of the day is, will democracy prevail?”

Mr. Pepper spoke next and his comments were more of a cautionary tale.  He talked about past eras in America’s history where the rights of certain demographic groups were slowly eroded by legislators until no one could remember that those rights ever existed.  For new generations born into those eras, it was all they knew.  It became the norm and it took several generations, rebellious generations, to realize what had taken place and to reclaim those rights.  In the past 8-12 years, however, laws have been passed that have set civil rights and women’s rights back several generations.  “Don’t let this become the norm,” warned Mr. Pepper.

The floor was then opened to all who wanted to express their opinion on the current state of our nation and what their biggest concerns are when Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20^th of 2025.  Many spoke up and voice not only their concerns, but their fears as well.

Photo: Janet Ritter and David Pepper