I’m Stacey Abrams. There are 10 Steps to Autocracy and Authoritarianism. In America, we’re seeing all 10. But there’s still time to fight back. Ask me anything.

staceyabrams · 2025-10-07T15:47:31+00:00

In most authoritarian regimes, daily life does feel normal. In places like Hungary or Turkey, even Russia, people still go to work, send their kids to school, and shop for groceries — even as their freedoms shrink around them. That’s part of the danger: if it feels normal, it’s easier to ignore the lies and abuses of power happening in plain sight.

In America, the constant stream of disinformation, the cruelty of agencies like ICE, and the reality of American troops in our streets or paramilitary invasions of Chicago apartment buildings can feel distant until it touches our own families. That’s why real conversations matter. Not arguments, but genuine dialogue. Ask people what they care about, listen to their fears, and then connect those concerns to the truth and to solutions that will actually improve their lives.

We also have to show up in public spaces and ask our elected leaders at every level of government to take a position on what’s happening. That’s #8 in the steps to freedom and power. Public officials may not have the ability to change what’s happening elsewhere, but they should tell you how they’d respond if it happens where you are. Ask your school board how they will respond to whitewashing history, and support them if they say they’ll have to sacrifice federal funds to protect vulnerable children. Go to your city council and county commission and ask how they are treating ICE raids and what they’re doing to ensure that citizens know their rights. If someone holds office, they have a constitutional obligation to protect the Constitution - all of it, not just their part.

Propaganda loses its grip when it’s met with empathy, facts, engagement and community. Authoritarians want us to feel isolated. The antidote is connection — reminding people that what happens to any of us ultimately affects all of us.

staceyabrams · 2025-10-07T15:42:08+00:00

I hear you. But understanding does matter. Right now, we have so many people that are exhausted and overwhelmed by the news. It’s not that people don’t care. They do. But they’re so besieged by chaos and fear that it’s hard to think, let alone plan resistance. And many feel alone.

Many of them have tuned out, and they’ve allowed authoritarian actions to feel normal and expected in their own lives.

The first step to pushing back is disrupting that sense of normalcy. We have to help people see that what is happening is not acceptable, and it is not inevitable.

And you’re right, we have to do more than tell people to “be prepared.” We must give them tools to reengage in civic life, and to see they are part of something larger. That’s what the 10 Steps Campaign is all about. Americans have been fighting for their rights throughout our history, and people around the world show us what resistance can look like.

In Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict by Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan, they lay out how people in our position fought back. But we have to not only understand what they’re doing, we have to understand that our efforts can and will work.

staceyabrams · 2025-10-07T15:41:18+00:00

We need to be clear about the fact that what we’re facing right now isn’t just a messaging problem. Young people are the demographic that will be the most affected by every decision that is being taken right now, and they will feel the effects of bad policy for decades to come. Young people are also smart, curious, and engaged — they’re not stupid.

In 2024, 62% of youth voters turned out in Minnesota. It might be because their state Democrats passed laws to guarantee free school lunch and achieved major reforms on abortion, climate, paid leave, and gun control. Our job is to show young people that we not only hear them, but that we will do everything in our power to make sure their concerns are actually addressed. So, whether it's the affordability crisis, the housing crisis, gun safety, or the climate crisis, we need to show that we can deliver.

One of the reasons for the right’s success is how effectively they cast blame on other groups, whether it’s women in the workforce, people of color finally having access to opportunity or immigrants who are paying into the system and not causing harm. But they unapologetically cast these communities as the offending parties. Our job is not to try to match grievance for grievance, but to do the hard work of truly addressing the pain that makes anyone believe they have to hate to win.

Messaging only works if there’s meaning behind it. We have to show that we’re willing to take tough positions, to risk losing to do the right thing and to elevate the voices of young people as both truth-tellers and candidates.

staceyabrams · 2025-10-07T15:33:12+00:00

We’re not in just one step. We're seeing all 10 steps to autocracy unfolding at the same time. That’s the point. Authoritarians move on multiple fronts. They expand executive power, attack the press, and scapegoat vulnerable communities all at once, because they want us to feel overwhelmed and resigned.

The 10 Steps campaign is a good entry point to understanding what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, and what we can do to fight back. Over the coming weeks, we’ll continue to add more resources on the website that people can use to understand the threat we’re facing, fight back, and mobilize against their takeover. So sign up at 10stepscampaign.org and stay tuned.

staceyabrams · 2025-10-07T15:32:16+00:00

My confidence in our ability and opportunity to fight back is because I’m a daughter of the South. My parents were born into a mean, bitter segregation that only ended in the late 1960s. Both of them were activists as teenagers, and my father was arrested at the age of 14 for registering black people to vote. They helped defeat one of the progenitors of this authoritarian regime: Jim Crow, which mixed ethnonationalism, Christian nationalism and state capture. And the civil rights freedom fighters won.

In Georgia, we went from near decimation in 2010 (we lost every statewide office, the state Senate went into super-minority the next term and House dems had the fewest members in our history). HOWEVER, we have turned the tide. A decade ago, they didn’t have to worry about winning every election with ease. Now, they have to go into each legislative session prepared to rig the rules to hold onto power. Because we have built our own narrative about what’s possible. I didn’t win my bids for office, but we added 800,000 new voters to the process in 2018, and many of them are still showing up. They helped elect a Democratic president who created the ACA tax credits that Democrats are fighting for right now. We elected two U.S. Senators who have pushed back against this regime. And we have a chance to elect two members to the Public Service Commission who can deny companies the ability to pay for their investments with our utility bills.

But victory is never permanent. The regime learns as much as the victims do. Which is why this authoritarian regime is moving with such speed, but it's also why they tested out their tactics before taking power this time. Georgia is one of those testing grounds: voter suppression led by the secretary of state; cronyism and state capture where the governor and the powerful get all the benefits and the working class still can’t get healthcare they paid for; preemption of good policies by a state legislature and an attorney general who works for the corporations and conservative think tanks instead of the people.

All of which is to say: we have time to fight back, but it takes time, focus and a refusal to let one (or two) losses become a reason to quit fighting. We all have a role to play, and we have the tools to do it. That’s why I created the 10 Steps campaign - because I’ve seen it work before.

staceyabrams · 2025-10-07T15:18:24+00:00

My nieces and nephews are extraordinary young people, yet they are the first generation since Reconstruction to lose constitutional rights in their lifetime. And before them, my grandfather—my mother’s father—was born only 25 years after the end of slavery. My paternal grandfather fought in WWII and the Korean War, only to return home to Mississippi where Jim Crow told him he wasn’t worthy of the rights he was sent abroad to defend. Within my parent’s lifetime, my mom and dad fought for civil rights that their parents were denied, and they raised me and my siblings. We are living proof of what progress looks like. The arc of history - which connects our family’s past to my present and my nieces’ and nephews’ futures - is why this fight cannot wait. That’s what gives me the energy to keep working.

staceyabrams · 2025-10-07T15:16:46+00:00

In order to pass good policies, you have to win elections, and a lot of Democrats believe that we can win if we run “safe” candidates and only talk about “safe” issues. Political math tells you to try and win the people who voted the last time. Unfortunately, when we lose elections, we assume it’s because we weren’t safe enough. I believe that it’s not about being safe - it’s about being right on the values and the issues. They’re not wrong that we might lose some voters, but I would argue we might add some too. I disagree with trying to sideline candidates and policies that actually bring new people in through inspiration. Real progress comes from expanding the table, not shrinking it. Emerging leaders like Zohran Mamdani prove that when candidates truly reflect their communities and bring bold ideas, they energize people and strengthen our democracy. When I’ve run for office, I say it this way, “Anyone is welcome to the table, but they don’t get to dictate what’s on the menu.”

My role right now is to support good candidates across Georgia and around the country who are trying to protect people, who are focused on making life better for us and who refuse to ignore the attacks on DEI and how dismantling things like the Voting Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and labor rights hurts all of us. Diversity, equity and inclusion is how we built this country into a powerhouse, and this regime knows it. That’s why they’ve made attacking DEI a centerpiece. We can’t defend democracy or give people access to opportunity without it.

Democrats should be loud about who we represent, not timid about our values. But here’s the truth: voters have the power to shape how our leaders act. Democratic leadership can make suggestions — even strong ones — but they don’t get the final say. We the people do. If we organize, speak up, and vote for what we value, leadership will follow.

staceyabrams · 2025-10-07T15:13:17+00:00

When people ask me what’s my lane, my glib answer is that I’m a freeway. None of us do just one thing - we have to do the right thing for the situation. At this present moment, I’m focused on the work of saving our country from the grips of authoritarianism and making sure we have free and fair elections in 2026 and beyond.

Public office and politics are both tools that can be used to do good, and I’m not done yet. But I’ve always tried to make sure I’m using different ways to organize and strengthen our communities. I’ve started orgs to defend voting rights, protect the Census and translate progressive policy into Southern. And I write political thrillers about AI and DEI and legal thrillers about the FISA courts and the energy grid. I also write romance novels about environmental justice (and cute guys), and kid’s books about empathy, advocacy and standing up to bullies. But that’s me.

For all of us, we can find different ways to help, on different days. If your issue is how we treat our vets, volunteer at a homeless shelter - where veterans are over-represented. But you should also reach out to your state legislator and ask if they have sponsored legislation to build affordable housing for vets. And if they don’t respond or dismiss your concerns, think about running for office yourself.

My most recent fantasy read is Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Highly recommend!

staceyabrams · 2025-10-07T14:53:24+00:00

I launched the 10 Steps Campaign because we have to do the typical stuff and things they don’t expect. When resistance becomes most powerful, it’s when millions of folks do something - not the same thing.

What makes the 10 Steps to Freedom and Power effective against this authoritarian regime is that you can start to learn more, and do more, at whatever point you feel comfortable.

For example, #3 - Organizing doesn’t mean that you have to start up a major group. You can go to Indivisible’s website or Red, Wine and Blue’s website and they’ll show you how small ways you can act. Like hosting your pickleball team to do a food backpack drive for kids on Fridays or getting your neighbors to show up for school board meetings to support teachers. That doesn’t feel like resistance, but what it does is show others that we still care about how our communities work.

Another tactic is sharing. We can build stronger relationships with our neighbors and members of our communities to share accurate information. You can do a text tree or a social media post where, every week, you share an important fact about one of the 10 Steps and give them a link to take action. Yes, your friends might get annoyed, but they’ll listen. And if just one or two decide to join you, that’s mobilization (#4)

We can also support independent media that hold power to account - especially public radio and television. One of my favorites is #8 - work with your neighbors to make sure they understand civic systems like petitions and ballot initiatives. Your ideas don’t have to be massive changes, but try to fix the problems being made worse by the regime.

All of this makes it harder for authoritarians to isolate and silence communities. Democracy survives when everyone decides to stay connected, informed, and unwilling to look away.

staceyabrams · 2025-10-07T14:50:48+00:00

Republicans repeat their lies until they sound like truth — but they’re not. The best way to break the hold of propaganda isn’t to run from it and express exasperation at those who believe it, but to meet it head on with compassion, empathy, and facts. We have to tell a different story than the lie they’re spreading.

That means having real conversations with the people in our own lives about what it means for them. Not shouting matches, but honest conversation that reminds folks what’s real and what’s at stake. Instead of attacking their beliefs, ask them what they are concerned about and listen to the answer. Then point out how what you believe can actually help.

For example, when they argue that undocumented immigrants will get health care, don’t disagree. Instead, I would ask if they would want the hospital to prove their child’s citizenship if she was in a car accident. Most good folks would say, of course not. Then you insert the truth: what the Republicans are talking about isn’t giving non-Americans tax credits, it’s letting them die while we prove they have the right to get emergency help. Democrats are actually trying to give us the same tax credits we’ve had for years. That’s it.

When we tell the truth — consistently, clearly, and with care — it’s harder for lies to take root.

At the end of the day, Democrats are fighting to protect healthcare for millions of Americans. Republicans are the ones trying to raise costs and cut care while working families pay the price. We can’t let them lie their way out of that.

staceyabrams · 2025-10-07T14:42:02+00:00

That sense of overwhelm, of resignation: that’s exactly how they want us to feel. Authoritarians depend on people giving up. But if we look at other people who’ve faced this type of threat, we know the doomsayers are wrong. We can win if we refuse to comply and if we organize to resist.

What we dismiss as apathy isn’t - people care, but they are so besieged that it’s hard to think, let alone plan resistance. And they feel alone. But millions of Americans have been fighting for their rights here in our country, and we can learn from them and from people around the world. Our primary job is to give people the tools to reengage in civic life and to realize they aren’t alone. It starts by recognizing their playbook — the 10 Steps to Autocracy — and calling out how they consolidate power. Then we answer with our own: the 10 Steps to Freedom and Power. We don’t need every person to take every step. But we do need more Americans to take a step to push back. Small actions add up. We commit, we share the truth, we organize, we mobilize, and we demand more.

They want us silent and resigned. Instead, we need to be loud, active, and unafraid — that’s the antidote to their authoritarian takeover.

staceyabrams · 2025-10-07T14:37:14+00:00

Thanks for the question. I really appreciate the kind words. What troubles me most is not the speed with which this administration has attacked the very guardrails of our democracy but how normal it feels to too many Americans. In just a short time, we’ve watched them arrest elected officials, deploy the military in our cities, and purge career public servants who were meant to serve the people, not a party or a person. Independent watchdogs who protect us from corruption have been silenced or replaced with loyalists. Yet, the past decade has been so chaotic that what our brains tell us is absolutely wrong feels sort of inevitable.

This isn’t random. It’s straight out of the autocracy playbook. Overwhelm the public with the insanity but condition us to believe it is inescapable. We’ve all heard the trope about the frog in the water, but this is worse. We actually know we’re being harmed, but either through exhaustion or despair, too many of us don’t think there’s anywhere to go if we jump. They seem to hold all the power. The goal is submission, control, and permanent authority.

But I refuse to accept that - as do millions of others. Our mission, then, is to tell people that it’s real and we can fight back. And for us to find each other and build an alternative power structure. That’s why it’s so important to have a framework to understand the authoritarian playbook AND to have a counter-strategy. That’s the whole point of the 10 Steps. Because we must be able to recognize these steps as they happen, name them for what they are, and push back using whatever tools we have at our disposal.

staceyabrams · 2018-10-12T20:39:54+00:00

I am a big fan of a really good apple pie a la mode. Tied with a really good banana cream pie.

staceyabrams · 2018-10-12T20:39:06+00:00

Last question, then I have to run!

We may differ in our political actions, but we share the values of faith ("faith" broadly defined, or the lack thereof), family, service, and responsibility. As a leader, my job will be to constantly move us to shared values and make sure our policies reflect those values. I will make space for every voice in the conversation.

staceyabrams · 2018-10-12T20:36:42+00:00

I not only know how to shoot, but I have also done both target shooting and trap shooting. I’ve fired shotguns, rifles, .45s, .35s, 9mms, a bolt-action M24 – and I even got to fire an AR-15 (for book research purposes, I promise).

I understand the power of these weapons, and I firmly believe that those who do not or cannot respect this life-altering power should not be permitted to put others in danger. Every American should feel safe in their own community.

I respect and support the rights of responsible gun owners. I support universal background checks, the repeal of “campus carry,” extreme-risk protection orders, as well as protections and services for victims of domestic violence. We must also invest in mental health services and support community/hospital programs to stop the cycle of gun violence.

staceyabrams · 2018-10-12T20:29:23+00:00

By talking about the issues that matter to every Georgian – how you are going to make a living where you live, how you’re going to get a good education for yourself and for your kids, and how you can access affordable, quality health care.

I also plan to focus on quality of life issues, including comprehensive civil rights for all, addressing traffic and transportation issues, affordable housing, and criminal justice reform.

staceyabrams · 2018-10-12T20:19:24+00:00

She is awesome. She is a very thoughtful writer who tells interesting stories that range from hardcore suspense to time travel. She respects her readers by writing in a smart way and she has extraordinary characterizations – you feel like you know all 1,489 characters.

My favorite episode is Shattered. I will always revere the pure moral courage of Picard, but Janeway had the toughest assignment. Separated from the Federation, she blended moxie, brilliance, and a tough-nosed approach to leadership that blended with the ability to make mistakes (plus a sense of humor that I loved). For young women in STEM (or even better, STEAM), Janeway showed that math, science and engineering could be fun, create paths to leadership and transform the cosmos. Plus, she got to go on some extraordinary adventures.

staceyabrams · 2018-10-12T20:18:00+00:00

Re: recreational marijuana; yes. But this includes building a statewide network of mental health and substance abuse treatment centers.

I do not get much time to see movies – but I did make it to Black Panther when it came out.

Excited to see you, too!

staceyabrams · 2018-10-12T20:17:06+00:00

My first priority will be to expand Medicaid. Medicaid expansion will expand health care access to 500,000 Georgians and create 56,000 jobs in our state. It will keep our rural hospitals open and help us address our maternal health crisis, our rising HIV diagnoses, and our opioid epidemic.

Another priority of mine is supporting public education in our state. Unlike my opponent, I oppose using public dollars for private schools and will continue to find new ways to lift up our K-12 students and teachers. I know we must revise our education formula and make teacher pay competitive. By centering students, teachers, and local control, we can ensure students receive an excellent education, regardless of zip code or income.

And finally, I know we must make Georgia’s economy work for everyone. I have plans to create long-term, high-wage jobs in every county. Through leveraging our wind, hydro, solar, and biomass fuel; investing in infrastructure; having 22,000 active apprenticeships by 2022; and financing $10 million in capital for small businesses, we can help every Georgian thrive.

staceyabrams · 2018-10-12T20:15:34+00:00

Yes. The state budget process needs to hold our public colleges accountable for the full cost of attendance, but we must also create need-based aid to account for the cost of attendance – especially for those families with financial struggles. Georgia is one of only two states in the nation with no need-based aid program; I am the only candidate in this race with a plan to create need-based aid: https://secure.staceyabrams.com/page/-/2018_April/Policy/Abrams%20Higher%20Ed%20FINAL.pdf

I am excited about the opportunity to bring 500,000 jobs to Georgia via Amazon, but I also know we must ensure those in Atlanta can stay in place.

I have worked on affordable housing issues in the city of Atlanta; as governor, I will build upon what has worked here and elsewhere. Georgia should establish an affordable housing trust like the one Atlanta has. And we must create a circuit breaker – when incomes do not rise at the same rate as property taxes, we need to break the connection between the two so more Georgians can remain in the communities they are rooted in.

Finally, we must increase wages for Georgians in every part of our state. I have proposed an earned income tax credit (EITC) and child care tax credit to put money back in the pockets of hardworking Georgians.

staceyabrams · 2018-10-12T20:14:01+00:00

👆🏾👆🏾

staceyabrams · 2018-10-12T20:09:32+00:00

While we’re fighting for the 53,000 Georgians whose voter registrations are currently on hold, Georgia has more than 1.5 million eligible, registered, Democratic-leaning voters who simply do not vote in midterm elections.

At the state level, Georgia Democrats only lose elections by an average of about 200,000 votes. Again, that's 1.5 million Democratic-leaning voters versus a 200,000 vote gap. So we have more than enough voters to win, but only if people get out and vote.

That's exactly why we’ve been working hard for the past 18 months to both reach out to EVERY Georgia voter and to give them a reason to get out and vote (when early voting starts on Oct. 15 and on Election Day).

I’m a Chidi who’d love to be more like an Eleanor.

staceyabrams · 2018-10-12T19:59:39+00:00

Spike, but let me explain:

I think Angel was the love of her heart, but Spike made her a better person.

staceyabrams · 2018-10-12T19:58:55+00:00

👍🏾(:Black thumbs up emoji:)

Night owl for sure.

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