Thousands say Hands Off Maine!

More than 10,000 people in dozens of towns across Maine turned out on April 5 to tell Trump and his billionaire pals, “Hands Off!” Portland City Councilmember Kate Sykes rallied the crowd and laid out a political perspective for building a long-term movement than can get stand up to Trump and get to the root of the multiple crises that predated him. — Photo credit @bradleirce

Let me hear you, Portland!

Thank you, Indivisible, for bringing us together. And thank you—every single one of you—for showing up today. How many of you are here attending a political action for the first time?

Let’s hear it for everyone who stepped outside their comfort zone today to be here. This is what we need to build this movement. Now, I know how a lot of us are feeling right now: afraid, angry, exhausted. Because the attacks are real. And they are relentless. We’re watching hard-won freedoms come under attack: civil rights, reproductive rights, voting rights. And what did we come here to say to that? Hands off!

We have billionaires and bigots rewriting federal policy to enrich themselves, while families right here in Maine are losing jobs, losing homes, and getting priced out of the very neighborhoods they helped build. But here’s what we need to remember: this agenda didn’t start today. It didn’t start with this administration. It’s the latest chapter in a decades-long campaign of austerity against regular working people. Ever since the New Deal showed that government could be a force for public good, the right wing has been trying to tear it down.

They’ve spent generations eroding trust in government, de-funding public housing and handing power—and our future—to corporations and the ultra-rich. This current president didn’t start that. He’s just the loudest, most chaotic version of it. And now he’s proving they’ll go to any length—even attacking the foundations of democracy—to get their way. And yes—too many Democrats have gone along with it.

They traded bold vision for cautious compromise. They chased bipartisan agreements instead of standing firm with working people. They’ve been afraid to confront corporate power—and now we’re all paying the price.

Over the last four years, critical programs introduced during COVID have just vanished.

Rental relief? Gone.

The child tax credit that kept families afloat? Gone.

Not stripped away by the far right—but quietly allowed to expire by people who should have known better. By people who promised to fight for us—and didn’t.

And here in Maine, we’re seeing the same thing: cuts to General Assistance. Cuts to shelter reimbursements. Cuts to childcare workers’ wages. This is what happens when government stops leading with values—and starts bargaining with bullies. And those cuts land right here, in Portland. Because we are the last line of defense. And so what are we here to say? Hands off! So what’s at stake when government stops investing in people? Everything we’ve built.

Here in Portland: We’re operating the only city-run homeless services center in the state—and we’re doing it without adequate support from Washington or Augusta. We’re fighting for higher wages—but wage justice means nothing if the price of healthcare, housing, and groceries keeps rising. We’re pushing for social housing, defending rent control, and helping tenants organize—but every cut to housing assistance chips away at our ability to protect each other.

Our public library is a lifeline—for kids, for elders, for job-seekers and unhoused neighbors—and yet we face staffing shortages and budget constraints year after year. Parents rely on before- and after-school programs so they can work—but those programs are stretched thin, and families are stuck on waitlists. This is what it looks like when higher levels of government cut funding, shift blame, and leave cities to clean up the mess. So what do we say to that? Hands off!

Here in Portland—and all over the country—we are not backing down. We are organizing. We are building. We are fighting—with solidarity, and love for one another. We didn’t get here overnight. No, it took steady work: ballot initiatives. Local campaigns. Council races. School board seats.

Not just when Republicans were in power—but when Democrats held the majority, too.

So what do we do now—when the punches are coming from every direction, and it all just feels like too much? What we’ve always done: we organize.

Our opponents will try to distract us. And that’s exactly what’s happening now: Executive orders. Tariffs. Talk of annexing Canada and Greenland. Attacks on trans kids, immigrants, teachers, the arts, and reproductive care. It’s all designed to keep us confused, isolated, and running in circles—while the billionaires rob us blind.

But you know what the billionaires in power fear the most? This. Right here. A movement that’s grounded. Organized. Principled. And growing.

They like to call us “radicals”….so let’s remember what that word really means: it means rooted.

Rooted in history. Rooted in the sit-down strikes of the 1930s. In the Civil Rights Movement. In Stonewall. In the radical suffragists who fought across race and class. Rooted in community. Rooted in the fight for the common good.

Rooted in the deep knowledge that if we want to solve the problems we face—we have to go to the root. Not patch the symptoms. Not tinker around the edges. But dig deep—and organize from there.

So let’s find our root—together. Wherever you are right now, feel your connection to the ground. Take a deep breath in… Let it go and drop your shoulders. Sink your weight into your root. Because that is where our power comes from. And while you’re there—ask yourself: who are you here for? Who gave you the courage to stand up today? Whose memory do you carry in your bones? Maybe it’s your mom—who worked double shifts to keep the lights on and still showed up to every school play.

Maybe it’s your neighbor—who learned a new language, drove a forklift to put both kids through college, and still brings extra food to the block party. Maybe it’s your own kid—who’s counting on us to leave them something better than this mess. That’s your root. That’s your why. Hold that feeling. Stay connected to it. Because when the distractions come—and they will—that’s how we stay steady. That’s how we remember what we’re fighting for. Not just in theory—but in action. Because solidarity isn’t just a word—it’s a practice.

And solidarity is how we win: One tenant meeting. One budget fight. One picket line. One door, one conversation, one act of courage at a time. Resistance isn’t a moment. It’s a practice. And we’re in this together.

I’m so proud of you, Portland. Let’s keep up the fight!